Oh hey, that kid looks like he speaks Japanese! He's not from Kyoto though, and she's pretty sure he's not from Tokyo either. Indie?

She moves to stand next to him in front of the Scholomance blueprint. "Lost?"

Oh, god, it's a person.

"Not — currently," he says, haltingly. (He doesn't have all that much of an American accent, but it's there if you squint.)

Ah! He can speak Japanese! Maybe not well, but that's fine.

"Oh? Then what are you looking for?"

"Yesterday the stairs...ate me."

No, wait, that's weird. He tries again.

"They wouldn't end. I had to go back. I want to know how long the stairs are."

Ohh jeez.

"Well, studying the blueprints should help. If you know how long the stairs are, then they will probably be around that long. It's best to go with other people. Especially upperclassmen, because they know where things go."

Despair.

“I’ll…stay in groups. Thank you.”

Expecting things has never been his strong suit.

"You're welcome. Where were you trying to get to?"

“Supply closet.”

He’s moved on from staring at the map to looking at her face. He still looks like he’s trying to make sense of an Escher drawing.

"Hmm... it may not be totally cleared out yet? You might be able to get a run together and pick up some of the more common supplies. It might be easier to just trade for it, though, depending on what you brought with you."

“I made it that night. But there were some things missing.”

Mei's estimation of him goes up. She had figured he had given up and turned back.

"What do you still need?"

“No vertical lined paper. Or highlighters.”