Part II: More Magic, More Fantasies

Chapter 2- Dorm Days

You got to your room first. You were on the fifth floor this year- only a floor up from last year- and the room looked almost the same except this room had very Victorian furniture. From what you gathered, each floor had its own theme of furniture and the fourth floor had been minimalist. Thank goodness you weren't there anymore.

While you were sorting through some things in the living room, you saw Mishaela come into the room with a small woman with dark brown hair, blonde-streaked, and the same bright hazel eyes as Chiara. She also wore glasses, so you knew this was her mother. She carried a very small box in her hands, and sat it on the immediate counter when you entered the room.

"Penso che questa sarà tutto." Mishaela looked around the room and saw you, and smiled as she waved. "Grazie per tuo aiuto."

Her mother nodded, smiling, and the two hugged before she left. When you walked up to her, Mishaela smiled again and pointed out of the door. "My mom."

"She doesn't speak English?" you asked.

"Not very well. She insisted on helping, so I let her carry my smallest box."

"She's adorable," you said as you helped Mishaela bring her things inside. "Are you taller than her?"

"Yeah. She's taller than Chiara, though." Mishaela turned to you, then took a look around. "I really like our furniture."

"I know!" you agreed. "The fifth floor rules! Speaking of which, have you seen anyone we know? I know that Yuffie and Yuna have a room down the hall, but..."

"Serah told me that she and Selphie are on the sixth floor now," replied Mishaela. "Their room is decorated in a retro style. I haven't seen Rikku since I got back in town. Have you?"

"Yeah, she and Jaiden are on the third floor, because I ran into them when I was helping Reiko move into her room. I asked them to keep an eye on her." You winked.

Fantasy High dorms didn't separate by grade level, so you were potentially on the same floor as freshmen as well as seniors. As a matter of fact, not counting anything against the law, the dorms really only had one rule: no boys. Ever.

The next few minutes were devoted to unpacking and sorting everything out, and throwing out anything that had broken. Mishaela had offered to stock the fridge herself for both of you, but you could only take so much prosciutto and focaccia. You'd split it, and decided you'd share whenever.

"So, Serah and Selphie have coordinated a 'welcome back' sleepover tonight," Mishaela told you. "Same policy as always, we just have to bring something. But if you don't wanna go, I'll stay with you."

You looked over to see the Italian girl rubbing her temples, as if she had a headache. "No, we don't have to go," you told her. "What's wrong? Do you have a headache?"

She nodded feebly, before sliding onto you guys' couch. "I've been having them for the past few days. I thought they were done, but..." she sighed. "It's stress. I'll get through it."

"You know what relieves stress? Calm music." You thought, "Why don't you listen to some of that and take some medicine? Maybe a nice hot bath, too."

"I think I will do all three of those." Mishaela smiled weakly. "Thank you, [name]."

As she went into your bedroom, you sent a text to Serah saying that Mishaela was sick and you were taking care of her. The best thing was that it wasn't a lie.

You went into the room where Mishaela had already left a pile of clothes on the floor (Serah had mentioned that this was Mishaela's worst habit). You left them alone, and went to find her. You opened the door, but shut your eyes tightly. "Mishaela, are you in-"

"It's okay, I still have my towel on."

"Oh, okay." You opened your eyes and came in. Her hair was tied into a messy bun, and she'd lit a few candles by the tub. "I'm gonna go back to Cloud and Tifa's to get my uniforms; I left them there. Will you be fine by yourself?"

"Sì, sì, I will be fine," she agreed. "Don't worry about me."

Cloud and Tifa lived in Cloud's old house, so it wasn't that far from the dorm building. You knocked on the door, and waited, as a light switched on and Tifa answered the door.

"Oh, hi, [name]," she said. "You must be here for your uniforms. Come in!"

You walked in and immediately saw where your uniforms were hanging in the living room. "I just need to get some plastic to put over them to protect them from the elements. Say, have you noticed the changes they've made to this uniform?"

"Changes?" you asked. Like last year, the uniform consisted of a black blazer, a white blouse, and a red plaid skirt. There was also still a crest on the breast of the blazer, but this year, instead of it being its official colors it was silver and had two rings around it, like it was Saturn with two rings.

"Oh, I see," you said.

"Yep. They've also made the skirts a little longer, but they're still just above the knee. And, finally, you have these..."

Tifa picked up a pair of white wool knee-high socks.

"Oh, hell no." You shook your head. "I am not wearing those. Nope."

"You have to. They're part of the uniform." The look Tifa gave you was a look of sympathy.

"Ugh. Now I'll never be able to pay attention in class, I'll be too busy scratching my itchy legs." You sighed, and took the socks from Tifa.

"Now, in case they start to smell, you can buy extra pairs in the school store." Tifa handed you your uniforms. "Have fun."

You frowned. "I'll try."

_

{a/n}: For the record, the school I went to for kindergarten required us to wear socks like those in this chapter, and just, ugh. Anyone who makes those a requirement has to be a sadist. But enough on that. The next chapter is the start of school! Yay! I might split the first week of school into each day like I did last time but, I don't know, it depends on the length of the chapters.