The atmosphere shifted when Kuram waltzed through the crowd and made a beeline for their table. Juniper saw the tension in the way the corner of Klause's eyes crinkled, and in the way everyone had dropped their current topic to talk about college algebra and things like cosines and quadratic equations.<br/><br/>She'd never seen this boy before, but he walked with a confident purpose that kept her eyes glued to him. He had a distinct presence.<br/><br/>"New?" Her heart raced then. Did he know about the syndicate? "Not exactly. I was new last year, but just became a Sophomore this August. Glad I still look as young and fresh-faced as ever." She gave him a cheeky grin then, took his hand and shook it without a worry in the world. "Nice to meet you Kuram. Strawberry shortcake is good, but I'm more of a blueberry cheesecake kind of gal. You looking for the nearest cafe?"<br/><br/>Juniper was good with people, and she planned to use it to steer him away from their conversation in a manner much more polite than Klause's glaring. That guy needed a Communication 101 class, he really did. That, or a how-to-smile-more book or something.<br/><br/>"I'm sure one of us can show him the way," Klause butted in.<br/><br/>"Mhm, nearest one isn't too far off campuse," another person added.<br/><br/>The sooner they got this meeting on the road, the better it would be for all of them.<br/><br/>Juniper continued to smile politely until all pretenses were shattered and he mentioned the syndicate. "What?" She eyed him seriously then, all traces of earlier mirth replaced with a burning curiosity. "I mean... keep your voice down. So, Kuram, you're a member from another division, I take it? Did someone send you over to join our team? We were told we might be getting an extra member or something."<br/><br/>"Juniper," Klause hissed.<br/><br/>"Sorry."<br/><br/>"So, Kuram. Who are you?" Klause wasn't intimidated by the difference in height. He continued to glower, waiting for some sort of answer.