"I had English lit tuesday mornings but I want that same workshop spot. Anyone got an afternoon lab? I've got first thing Thursday. Alternately, what've people got first thing Thursday that looks safe?"

"Algebraic first principles, safe enough unless math first thing in the morning tends to make you fall asleep."

Julia puts Intro to Shop before lunch Tuesday and Intro to Lab before lunch Thursday because she hasn't heard a Wednesday. She's got language lab end of the day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which is nice, because after comp she can go straight to the library - or, actually, she could swap out comp for history and then afternoons completely off Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, spend the whole afternoon in the library and always have four hours free before assignment deadlines on Fridays - "I've been looking for someone to do my history homework," she says to Annisa and Elizabeth. "If I put down history of artificing, would you be interested?"

Annisa did not particularly plan on doing homework for enclavers but if you're already in a history class it's not that much work, you just have to write all the essays out twice. "What're you offering for it?"

"New York's going to have tea in the library, and croissants on special occasions. You can sit with us every Saturday as long as my work gets done with good grades."

Elizabeth makes a mildly intrigued noise, but glances at Annisa, perhaps hesitant to muscle in on in-progress negotiations.

It's a good deal; the only question is whether taking it costs her with the Boston enclaver, who has a compatible affinity apparently. New York's better than Boston to get in with but not much better, and 'work together in shop class' is a much stronger in than 'gets to sit with them in the library' - that decides her. 

"Do you want it?" she says to Elizabeth. "I ought to focus on shop this semester."

-looks like the girls are doing politics that's flying over his head, again. About schedules. Ghassan is once again annoyed with the Dubai enclave for producing so few graduates over the years; his confidence that he knows what he's doing here is rapidly declining, but he'll have to pretend he's just as capable as any small enclave kid. He does have the skills and the training, even if some of his knowledge is out of date.

"Makes sense. Sure, I'll take it. Pleasure doing business with you both."

There's a knock at the door; it's Silas, who is circulating between homerooms on behalf of New York so everyone knows what their options are and also when their enclave-mates are scheduled. He consults with Julia at the door in hushed voices; other people can ask, if they'd like, but they'll have to make it explicit that they're asking New York for a favor.

Sure, Annisa doesn't have that much pride. "Do you have anything end of the day Mondays and Wednesdays? I need to knock out a bad lit class."

       "And you are?" says Silas, which rankles somewhat because he's obviously New York's bag-carrier. 

"Annie, artificing, weapons. There's a shop first thing Monday morning, if you know anyone suicidal, and I've got the best history assignment volunteered so far, Monday, Wednesday, Friday afternoon history of artificing." Polite, useful, but not desperate to prove herself. But hopefully she hasn't crossed the line into 'thinks too highly of herself?'

Silas looks to Julia. 

"Help the kids out, Silas, it's better for us if the classes we're all taking are fuller," says Julia generously.  

" - there's linear algebra end of the day Monday and Wednesday, there's a lang lab, there's Mandarin lit..."

She already knew there was a lang lab but if there's nothing better she'll take it and hope it puts her in a less stupid lit class. She nods. "Thanks." 

"Don't submit yours yet," Silas says to Julia, even more quietly. "I'm going to ask Orion about shop classes."

Orion will say "sure, whatever" because Orion always says that. What would even need - 

- oh WOW -

Julia goes back to her seat, mostly keeping a straight face.

Marcy wants to know what the New Yorkers were whispering about but she's not going to ask them. Also Kevin just showed up with the rest of the squad's schedules and she needs to talk to him about whether she wants to effectively be taking two different math classes or the same one twice and also swap out European History (interesting enough to be a distraction, not immediately useful) for Maleficaria from 1700 to the Present Day (even more interesting but also important).

Whatever the New Yorkers are up to it's not worth burning mana to find out, and given how she treated Julia earlier that's the only way she could.

She doesn't like not knowing things, but she has can avoid getting too worked up about things it's not worth the cost to learn.

Annie finalizes her schedule. It's tempting to try to stick to what Malak or Daria have but it's actually a good idea to force herself out of her comfort zone a little for the next few months while everyone's trying to make friends, not immediately form a knot of close associates and cling to them. After all, odds are decent they'll be dead by New Years. The fact something in her rebels against that assessment is all the more reason to try to get to know more people rather than get attached to existing ones. 

When she looks back down her finalized schedule is there. Mondays it's now English Romantic poetry, followed by English composition and intro to drafting, and in the afternoons she's got history of artificing and then language lab. Tuesdays is math, shop, more English Romantic poetry and introductory incantations. Wednesdays and Fridays are maleficaria studies, followed by comp and drafting, with afternoons same as Mondays; Thursday is just like Tuesdays except she's got lab not shop.

This is a perfectly solid schedule. She can do this. "Anyone want to stop by the bathrooms on the way to breakfast?" she asks, and stands up to leave. 

"I'm in," says Marcy, who has her final schedule back as well.

Monday mornings are language lab, then Korean history, then lunch, mals since 1700, and an intro German class someone in Kevin's homeroom had. (She's wanted German for a while, but was holding off in favor of improving her Igbo, specifically because it was going to be doable to get German lessons in here.). Wednesday and Friday start with Maleficaria studies and she has Lab instead of Korean History on Wednesdays, then the afternoons are  the same as Monday.

Tuesday and Thursday she has a Mandarin lit class on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms first thing, then her excellent shop slot and Western Europe Through 1500 respectively. (She will probably get spells in at least one of Three Kingdoms and Western Europe but if not she will have to be careful not to waste too much time on them.) Afternoons are an hour of Akkadian divinations, which might mean a second new language on top of the German but it's fine, German is just English with all the Latin sucked out, and then her intro math-for-physics class.

Hah, so declining Julia's homework offer was the right move, there's some New York/Boston rivalry going on. Annisa can work with that. 

After some consideration, Lucy decides to take the good shop class slot, partly because Wilbur will, if he can, and partly because that way if he can't she can bring him good materials. She fills in the rest of her schedule with things that look easy and/or useful (not that there's much in the and slot) and submits her revised schedule. 

Malak stops dithering and finalizes her schedule quickly so she can join Marcy and Annisa on their way to the bathroom.

"Hey Marcy, could I get a quick word alone?"

Annisa can go pee while they talk, sure, even if her brain is SCREAMING that Malak is going to BETRAY HER and point out there's Toronto enclaver's stuff in Annie's backpack. Why would Malak do that. That does not serve Malak's interests. There's a bunch more of Toronto enclaver's stuff in Malak's room. 

Marcy can be peeled off for a quick word, sure.