"Interesting. Miss Luthra also mentioned some form of shapeshifting?"

"Well, yeah, but everyone has that... er, all the magical girls do anyway."

"Voluntary shapeshifting is a comparatively rare power among mutants. Much more common is the Exemplar trait, which causes them to transform into an idealized version of themselves but doesn't admit of further changes."

"This is mostly what I really look like, I'd want my family to know me if I ever did go back. I put on the wings and fixed my teeth and such."

"Reasonable. At any rate, would you like to get signed up as a student? I can handle the scholarship details while you fill out the form - that is, if you're literate. Are you?"

"Yes! I don't know that I'm very quick at it but I can read."

"Congratulations!" Mrs. Carson says with a relieved smile. "That's very important these days, I'm glad we won't need to teach you."

She pulls out a form; lightning-quick, she scribbles in a few of the more confusing boxes, crosses out a few more, and then passes it over to Rebecca. The form contains some relatively standard questions (home address [which has been crossed out], blood type, age, and gender [with a wide variety of options]), and less standard questions (tentative power ratings [Carson has put "Sh-5, Man-2a (ice)"], GSD/BIT/MATD irregularities ["wings"], age of manifestation, sexuality). It's not very long, but it is a bit dense.

"What's a blood type? And a sexuality?"

"Sorry about that, I still don't know what year it was in your home world, you can leave blood type blank if your scientists haven't discovered it yet, we'll find out at your medical checkup. Sexuality is whether you are attracted to men, women, both, neither, et cetera."

"1803. - I suppose I can't just say 'I'm a magical girl now'?"

Mrs. Carson blinks. "I'm afraid I'm not sure what-all that would mean."

"Well, uh, you kn- you don't know. Uh. People say we don't make very good wives unless you like to be left alone and... don't mind your wife being very close with some other magical girls."

"Magical girls specifically, or just women in general?"

"Oh, magical girls specifically."

"Alright, you can just circle 'other,' that doesn't sound like it'll come up since we don't actually have magical girls."

"Okay... why do you need to even know?" She circles 'other'.

"Some students require an environment more supportive of their sexuality, which we provide by putting them in a cottage with other students with similar needs. It also helps mitigate bullying by separating vulnerable students from those who might be intolerant."

"What does 'other' do then?"

"If you would like to be in Poe, with other students of alternative sexualities or gender configurations, you have the right to be there. Otherwise, we can place you in one of the standard girls' cottages. It's up to you."

"I... think a standard girls' cottage will be fine."

"Alright, we'll put you in Whitman." Mrs. Carson makes a note of this. "That should be all we need, then. Shall I summon a tour guide to show you around the school?"

"I guess if that's next!"

“I believe it is.” Mrs. Carson picks up her desk phone and dials a number. “Hello, I need a student ambassador for a new student. -sounds good, you can send her over.”

Within a minute or so, the door opens. "Hey!" calls the girl who opened it. "I'm told there's a new student?"

"- me, I guess!" In an undertone to Mrs. Carson: "I thought you said you didn't have magical girls here!!!"

Mrs. Carson raises her eyebrows and whispers back "We don't have magical girls as you know them; Ariel can't shapeshift, and her powers derive from a magical spirit rather than physical attractiveness, though she does have that."

Ariel dutifully ignores the whispering. "I love your dress. Where on Earth did you get it?"