"No, it isn't." No one wants these tables, which is presumably obvious to the other kid, too, but maybe they're pretending there's nothing wrong with these tables. 

He should say more. "I'm Miguel."

"Val. Alchemy, you?"

Shrug. "I will have to learn what -" he doesn't know the English for affinity, even though he's sure someone said it to him just yesterday - "what I'm good at."

"Yeah, that seems good to figure out sooner than later."

"Do you know yours?"

It hadn't occurred to him that Miguel was reaching for the word affinity, there are just so many reasons someone might choke in the middle of a sentence and rephrase, but - that's not the right turn of phrase if he wasn't awkwardly circumlocuting around a noun - it takes Val a second but then it's obvious.

"I'm not totally sure about my affinity yet but I know how I think and what I'll have an easier time paying attention to."

Oh good, there are other people who don't know their affinity yet. He'd been worried everyone somehow - how, paying tens of thousands of dollars to a diviner?? - learned theirs before they were twelve, they all rattled them off so confidently. "Where are you from?"

He names a little town in Iowa and doesn't even give the state. "How about you?"

"Venezuela. My grandfather is in an enclave." Not a Venezuelan one but that's not really what matters. "I am the oldest of my sisters so I am hoping to help them when they arrive next year."

"Oh, wow. I don't have any living siblings but it seems really cool that you're hoping to look out for yours. How're you planning on doing that?" He'd ask about the enclave but he's not confident he can avoid sounding stupid and anyway this way he can use a word he suspects Miguel doesn't know in a context that makes the meaning obvious.

Siblings is maybe 'sisters' but masculine? He hates how English masculinizes and feminizes its words, it makes no sense. "Well, older students cast better wards, have done the homework and can give it to you, can share mana in emergencies. Like an enclave, some enclaves have only a few children in the school in a year."

Wards. Homework. Mana. He will remember that these things are useful trade goods later. "That makes sense. Although I think enclaves also have..." vague gesture, "you know?" Because Val does not know but maybe Miguel will fill in the blank.

Snort. "They have money. But money doesn't matter so much, here. And they have - if you mess with one, the others come after you - sis-sibings have that too - but just friends, don't, people don't know your friends will pick a bad fight to make a point over you." He is not sure he got his point across at all.

"Yeah, it's good to have - real allies. Who'll go down with you because they'd rather die than leave you unavenged. I've definitely considered that with the people I've met here but it's, you know, a little early for that."

"Even if you have - real allies, if other people don't know, if other people think it's not real, it doesn't keep you safe. Sis - blings - people understand that, they know it's real. Enclaves they know are real. Even if you build a real gang, here, it would be hard, for people to hear of it, and know it's real. Senior year, allies for the hall, people know that is real. Freshman year? No."

Another muggleborn, short-haired, is looking at the table with a plate full of bits and scraps. She peers skeptically at the vent half a table away but shrugs slightly. She makes eye contact and waits a beat so she's not interrupting.

"You two mind if I sit here? I was reading my spellbook, and now all the good spots are taken."

He puts on a welcoming smile but glances at Miguel really quickly to coordinate about that.

Yeah, sure, he's not in a position to be choosy. "Hello, I'm Miguel."

"Wendy. Artificing. Hopefully. Uh, yeah, sorry for interrupting."

She manages not to actually sigh by going over the incantation for that specifically-block-liquids shield in her head again. Maybe the reason it didn't work is because she doesn't know what the 'purzel' part of that compound word in the last line means?

It's going to be pretty hard to actually do something Productive right now. 

...She brings herself back to the present.

"Uh, English, Spanish, awful German. Since that's the standard intro thing and all."

"Is it? I've mostly heard home towns and affinities rather than languages."

"I am from Venezuela and don't know my affinity yet. I speak English and Spanish. My father is an artificer, like you want to be."

"I'm from the shi- The bad part of Chicago. The poor part. Hometown probably matters more for people who expected to be here." It's not like she can hide it.

"You did not expect to be here? You did not get a spot?"

"No-pe," she says, popping the P. "Chicago's wizards are all dead, apparently, so the school went - let's find some more Chicago wizards - I didn't know about magic until yesterday. Not like I can hide that, can I? Not long term. I'm told I have better odds in here than out there, which is probably true, the mals were getting bigger and less ratty by the day."

Oh, boy, what a tremendously awkward conversation.

"Yeah, I hear they had an entire enclave that just - isn't, now."