The class ended rather uneventfully. Being the first day, the only thing touched on was the course's syllabus for the semester: rubric for grading, various tests and assignments, and the specific topics of discussion. Perhaps if Lori paid attention, she would know exactly what they were going to talk about in that class and calmed down at least a small amount, but she spent the entire hour playing through all the different scenarios she could find herself in her head; most of them ended in her on an operation table with her body sliced open while wide awake with a myriad of hands, claws, and tentacles probing her insides.<br/><br/>That won’t happen.<br/><br/>But she wasn’t paying any attention to anything anymore. It was only until the first student began packing their things back up did she rejoin the living. She elected to stay sitting right where she was, wanting everybody else to leave the room before she dared to move. Whether or not she would get the opening to escape, however, remained to be seen as the professor seemed to not be in near as much of a rush to go anywhere as the students were. She then began to fear being alone with the naga and what the large snake man would do to her without prying eyes. A chill ran up her spine as a few images ran through her head. Some were gory, others were....her cheeks turned a strange shade of pink amongst the pale white of her face. Glancing at the professor who seemed to pay no mind, she began debating what the best course of action was. All she knew was that she wanted to leave this room, but not in such close proximity of so many monsters. She needed to see the dean and talk to him. There must have been a mistake.<br/><br/>Or was the dean a monster too? There’s no way she could talk to him then, was there? He would just force her to stay, keep her there against her will. No, she’d have to play it cool. He said he brought her stuff to her dorm. Okay, so, she’d just go to her dorm room, grab her things, and very nonchalantly leave campus. She wasn’t being put into chains by anybody it seemed, and the professor did ask the students to treat her like one of their peers. So, assuming that wasn’t code for something else, she could easily just walk right out and nobody would think anything of it. Right?<br/><br/>As her escape plan was set and made to some minimal degree, the professor finally slithered over to her after having cleaned up the chalkboard behind them. Again, Lori froze like a deer in headlights as she watched him, eyes unwavering from his. All he could do was just smile in response to her tight-lipped frown. She was terrified and it was palpable, but he fear was ill-placed as far as he was concerned. “Miss Hathway,” he began, keeping his voice soft so as not to startle the poor girl any more than she already was, “I’m aware of the stories that have been told of our kind in your realm, so I understand where your fears are coming from. I’m not sure how much good my word will do, but even if it allowed just a little amount of help to ease your nerves, then every bit counts. All I can do is try to assure you that we are not the monsters of your lore. While bad monsters do exist, they are in the same quantities as bad humans. Most of us are only trying to live a fruitful life in the most peaceful way possible. As I’m sure can mirror your own sentiments for your life. Otherwise I doubt very heavily the dean would have chosen you as the first for this new program.”<br/><br/>“But...” Lori managed to finally squeak out in barely a whisper, her voice trembling, “but...why me?”<br/><br/>To that, Lazard could only sigh and shake his head, “that, I can’t say. I don’t know why. Perhaps the dean saw something in you that perhaps you yourself do not see yet, something that would not only fit in our realm, but thrive, and shine. Give it time. And if you have need of anything, anything at all, please, come and visit me. My door is always open for my students. And while you are not technically my student, I will not treat as anything differently, because you<i>are</i>a part of our community now, just as I said during class.” Lori inhaled deeply and lowered her gaze to the ground, nodding in understanding, but not fully assuaged of her fears. “Give it some time.” He repeated as his hand went to her shoulder once more. This time she calmed, genuinely this time. She wasn’t wholly convinced that she shouldn’t escape and go back home, but at the very least if there was no opportunity to flee, Professor Salini seemed genuine enough to help her if the need arose.<br/><br/>“Also, if any student<i>should</i>try to harm you in any way, bad apples exist everywhere I’m afraid,<i>do not</i>hesitate to seek out the nearest faculty member. We have a zero tolerance policy on violence here, but many will still try, even to each other. I don’t want to see you get caught in the middle of any altercation. If there is one thing from your stories about our kind that rings true, it’s that we are more powerful than humans, and some of us with abilities to add. And should any student leer at you for longer than comfortable, they’re likely feeling their....” he hesitated before continuing, unsure how to word the next part of his statement, before electing to take the vague route with his warning, “well....let’s just say your best course of action would be to leave and get to wherever your destination is at that time as quickly as possible.” His eyes flickered towards the devil from before, whether he was still there or had already left. Salini had noticed the way he stared at their new model, and knowing what he knew of his kind’s sort of Thirst, Lori would need to steer clear of him so long as she felt the way she did. For her own sake, in more ways than one, she needed to remain calm, and luckily she seemed to be moving in that direction already.<br/><br/>Lori wasn’t too comfortable with the thought that others would try to hurt her, but he was right. Bad apples existed everywhere. She’d dealt with her own share of bullies at her previous school. Why should this one be any different? Luckily for her nerves, she didn’t notice the professor’s quick glance at the student of whom she should be most wary. So with a nod, she stood from her seat, much to the professor’s delight. “Thank you...so if I need help, I can come back here?” She asked, repeating his open door policy for her own confirmation as well as to reiterate the soothing notion of having an ally through this.<br/><br/>Salini nodded, his smile widening greatly, showing a mouth of pearly whites that looked no different from her own. Not sharp and terrifying as one would expect from a snake. Lori couldn’t help but reflect the expression with a nervous, but genuine, smile of her own. “Absolutely any time at all, Lori. Now, why don’t you head to your dorm. Unpack your things. Get yourself situated. Find a real home here. I’m certain whoever the dean had chosen for your roommates will be very accommodating to you.”<br/><br/>Lori nodded once more and, with her folder in her hand, headed out the door and thanked him once more. By this point, most, if not all, of the HSE 101 students had left the classroom. As soon as she took a few steps into the hallway, one word he had said finally processed in her mind: roommates?!<br/><br/>For the moment she froze, trying to understand what that meant. She’d be rooming with monsters. She’d be rooming with guys. She’d be rooming with monster guys. Was that okay? What if they were the bad apples that Salini warned her about? He said the dean would have chosen better than that, but could she trust his word? She had up until this point. “Just...give him the benefit of the doubt, Lori.” She mumbled to herself as she continued to make her way down the hall towards the residential wing of the building. “Worst case scenario, just revert back to your original plan. Simple. Easy. Right?”<br/><br/>Keeping her head down, she quickened her pace, her heart rate elevating again, just trying to making it to her room, stopping only if somebody stopped her. If nobody did, she would reach her room, open the door, and greet her new roomies in the calmest tone she could muster to feign.