The nicest thing about graduation, Bea thinks, is that in the brief window after breakfast and before the flames burn through, most of the mals are migrating down to the graduation hall. So it's possible to let one's guard down slightly more than usual and not feel too bad about it. And if you go two to a room instead of separately to wait for the cleansing to finish... it's not like curfew's being enforced.
And she'll head off to her next class (which she doesn't share with El and Lu).
Yeah.
"So, the short version is that we want to set up an enclave in here for kids without enclaves."
"A lot of people will think you have an ulterior motive - nothing's free, especially not in the Scholomance."
"And that's an apt demonstration of why we wanted to ask you for advice. And assistance."
"A lot of the pitch will depend on implementation details. Like, what exactly do you mean by an enclave for kids without enclaves?"
"We're still working on what exactly we can accomplish but- a support structure. Something that people can use to survive and build on."
"Could extend to a support network after school, but... Not like a new enclave, because that entire system is fucked up. Just... Something like what Shinta does after induction, looking for freshmen who didn't make it to the cafeteria and patrolling the freshman hall that first day. Something like what I do, if it's possible to do that without - literally me sitting there."
"That last one will be harder to get consistently, since powerful kids like you won't need the support structure as much - unless we somehow get the school to count protecting other students towards senior rankings, in a way that doesn't allow much cheating..."
"Shanghai will probably be willing to take over the first, just fyi, and would definitely use it as a propaganda and recruitment tactic."
She nods. "You'll want to work out your priorities, all the same - like, if you can't get everything, what do you want most?"
...Hum. "That'll be... Hard. And it'll probably need to be bigger than just one enclave."