Galaxy Kills - FanKyle

Refreshing - Thurs, 8.20.20

As the lanky form of Kyle Bloodworth-Thomason stepped off the train into Galaxy Hills there was a sudden wave of calm that engulfed the wizard. The now 20-year-old hadn't stepped foot in this town since he was 13, when his dream school, Milkweed Academy, took him back under their wing to learn the arts of wizardry and witchcraft. It all felt so new but familiar, like coming home to the same house you're used to but with a new coat of paint inside. The ginger had been carrying so much stress and he didn't even realise it, but it seemed to dissipate the moment he gathered himself and his surroundings.

He wondered if the Fanlair was still there.

Oh, what a silly first thought to have about your childhood town. Of course, it wouldn't still be there, even the two complete dopes that have lived there surely were sane enough to have come to their senses as they got older and had someone tear down that hazard of plywood and spraypaint they called a lair. Kyle shook his head at the silly idea of the haphazardly built but somehow rather sturdy abode still perched atop the comic shop. He cleared it from his mind and set off to his brand new life in education.

Now, nobody in Galaxy Hills particularly struck him as a very smart individual even in his youth, but he was rather impressed that it was home to one of the top-ranked colleges in the country. Galaxy Hills University, or more fondly referred to by residents as just GHU, sat at the outskirts of town where nature seemed to take over a bit more than the concrete and steel of the central community. It was only a few minutes drive from town, but it was amazingly wonderful how the sides of the road turned from patchy, unmowed grass and cracked sidewalks to lush forests, undergrowth and plump moss seeping over the edge of the bitter asphalt. Wood vines snaked up thick trunks of the trees that provided a bright green and yellowish canopy, a few mushrooms popping up here and there. The natural parts of this state Kyle found quite pretty in contrast to the never-ending cities that his magical highschool was in, much farther away from Galaxy Hills and an entirely separate building yet somehow still a Milkweed establishment. It wasn't long until he was pulling up into the (thankfully free) parking lot on campus.

After running about a bit to fill out a small bit of paperwork and a few trips to and from the car to put all his things in his dorm, Kyle decided to adventure the campus and see what it had in store for him. Also, he was just a bit hungry and was well aware of the student-owned restaurant down in the west wing. The ginger clutched at a map of the campus, index dragging along the paper to the restaurant, clearly also named by the students, and rather crudely might he add. The Flaming Eggplant. It did have a nice ring to it though. He was honestly surprised at such a lax atmosphere for such a highly rated college. Usually, they tolerated nothing close to the fun the students had here, Kyle knew that if Milkweed were to ever be proposed anything named a "Flaming Eggplant" they would turn up their noses in an instant. There was nothing student-owned, and it definitely did not hold the all-inclusive vibe this school had. This little restaurant was even vegan-vegetarian friendly! Milkweed tolerated no fuss about the food you received, you either ate it or got nothing.

When Kyle arrived he was greeted with the smell of savoury food and quiet Britpop playing, because what sort of alt vegan-veggie friendly college restaurant didn't have Britpop playing? It was probably The Wombats or Arctic Monkeys. Kyle wondered why there were so many British music groups named after animals. The smell of banana bread quickly caught his attention again, his stomach leading him to stand a bit away from the counter to eye the menu. Right as he had decided to get a coffee and a slice of banana bread though, a sudden very energised mass bowled into him and ensnared him in their arms. Kyle wiggled in confusion before he recognised the voice squealing his name.

"Kyle!!" the high pitched voice chimed, drawing out the 'y' for far too long, "I haven't seen you in foreverrr," they whined, "what're you doing here? I thought you went to your magic school." Kyle had somehow managed to pull himself away from the girl long enough to actually see how she looked now after all this time. It was Yo alright, her old pigtails swapped for a bun placed messily on the crown of her head with some long bangs framing her face. She had a sticker of a glittery star stuck on her cheek, her black shirt's bright cyan design matching the shape. Kyle grinned at the sight of his old friend and was glad to see that she seemed to still be as full of happiness as always. She grinned, pulling at a loose thread on her cuffed, patched, and doodled-on jeans as Kyle thought about why he was here.

"Well, I guess I just learned all I needed to learn. It's not like they have wizarding colleges. No point in wizards hiring other wizards, so there's no point in a degree," he shrugged, "I thought I'd get myself a proper normal diploma at least, just in case I need something to fall back on," he said. He hadn't really planned out what he wanted as an adult, but the plan he had so far felt right, wanting to at least be able to get a regular job if magic things don't work out or if he's in a pinch. Yo seemed like she had stopped paying attention to the conversation at hand when she realised he was going to get food, gasping,

"I have to buy you lunch! Then do you want me to show you around? Have you already found your dorm? Oh! We should check if our dorms are close!" She rambled, dishing out questions faster than Kyle could even think of an answer. He blinked as he processed everything she said before reciting the dorm number, to which Yo lit up even more if that was possible. She clapped her hands, "ohmigosh- we're dormmates! Did you already get all your stuff up to your room? I could help you decorate!" She chirped.

After Yo had bought their lunch (to which Kyle insisted he could pay but to no avail) and gotten out all of her jitters from seeing her old best friend, they had headed back up to their dorm, where they were putting up the finishing touches to Kyle's room such as shelves and pictures and whatnot. Kyle was neatly making his bed as he listened to Yo chatter before something she said caught his full attention, the mention that she was the singer in a band.

"What band?" He asked when she had paused to take a breath, usually the only time she was quiet. He plopped down on the edge of his bed, pulling his maroon jumper around himself tighter, the scruffy fabric of the embellished writing in the front feeling scratchy against his wrists. Kyle wasn't fond of loud noise, but supporting his friend and viewing her interests seemed like a good way to spend his time rather than pushing everyone away and studying. During his time at Milkweed Kyle had soon grown out of the idea that having friends hindered your learning after he found that being alone was actually quite depressing. He had decided he'd try being a little more open during his new adventure into the real world.

Yo grinned at his question, seeming she was quite proud of her band and was excited to boast about it. She blabbered about how they - the band cleverly named "Galaxy Kills" - didn't really settle in one genre of music and how they did little shows either outside on campus for passing students to stop and listen or in the Flaming Eggplant whenever they hosted an open mic, usually full of the literature majors shyly reading out their poems for classes only for the calm atmosphere to be cut by the bands' sudden music bit in the middle. As she kept babbling on, Kyle wondered if he'd be able to mesh well with her bandmates. He couldn't see himself being able to make any new friends very quickly and if he didn't get along with Yo's band then he'd probably be alone quite a bit since it seemed she liked to practice with them quite a lot.

His mind wandered off to thoughts of more people he's already met being at this school that he could easily fall back into friendships with. He wasn't surprised that Yo had made it into such a hard school to get into, she had always been rather smart despite her ditzy personality she usually sported in elementary. He could name a few other kids who may have gotten into such a school as well, assuming they had stayed in town, like maybe Nancy or Francine, and he didn't doubt that Duke had probably gotten a scholarship due to playing football or something, he always seemed like a sports kid. There were quite a few he could imagine trying to get into this college and failing miserably though, like Cher or Cheech, who seemed either too absorbed in their social life or spacing off to ever pay attention. Or maybe those two bumbling idiots bothering him all the time. He wondered if they still wore those silly outfits and capes. Though he did admire how well-made the costumes were, he had to admit, the fact that they had probably been made by the dopes wearing them was impressive for the fact that the costumes could hold up so well against their antics. How silly, the thought of them now wearing the same outfits.

Kyle was snapped out of his thoughts by Yo shaking him by the shoulders, "hellooo? Earth to Kyle? Are we gonna go or what?" She laughed at Kyles blank look of confusion, the gears in his head furiously turning to try and remember what she was on about. "Showing you around campus, silly! C'mon, I'm taking you anyways, whether you like it or not," she announced, and with that, he was dragged out of their dorm.