Enrollment Day
At first glance there was nothing about the small community college to suggest that there was anything out of the ordinary. There were the usual groups of students going to and from classes, and others who stood in small groups talking with each other. At first their conversation was light and cheerful, until he came within earshot. Then they lowered their voices, giving him suspicious glances as he walked by on his way to the administration building. Some of them have better than average hearing, he reminded himself.
Their reaction was understandable-he was, after all, a new student, he clearly wasn’t one of them and they probably hadn’t seen anyone new in a very long time. Given the school’s history, he could see why they would distrust anyone new, no matter what their age.
But then he reminded himself that he wasn’t there to gain anyone’s approval-he was here to prove himself, to earn his way through in spite of his family heritage, not because of it. Once inside the admissions office, he waited somewhat nervously at the desk as a woman who looked like she was in her late twenties one minute and her sixties in the next looked over his enrollment form with weary disdain. If she recognized his last name, she didn’t show it. “Lots of graduate students come here,” she said, handing him some more papers. “Sign these, and bring them back when you’re done.”
He sighed as he carefully went over each question, checking off those that applied to him with regards to talents and abilities. He noticed that the form didn’t ask (literally, as it spelled out each question on its own) whether or not if his abilities were inherited or acquired. Once done, he handed the papers back to the bored creature behind the desk.
The crone’s interest picked up when she saw his name, but then she simply shrugged as she entered the information into her computer. “I always wondered if he had any modern descendants,” she commented. She handed him a temporary ID. “The Dean’s chief assistant will be here to show you around. Classes geared towards your abilities and talents will be pointed out to you.”
He nodded, and waited again until the woman returned with a distinguished-looking elderly (or so he seemed) man. His face was smooth and wrinkle-free, but his eyes showed what might have been his true age.
“I’m honored to have someone with your family name on our small campus,” he said in a deep voice that hinted at something not quite human behind it. “We’re a small college, but we have our standards, and I hope you will remember to hold to those standards while you’re here.”
Franklin Victor gave the appropriate bow. “I’m here to learn to the best of my ability,” he replied. It was the standard response, one that his great-uncle had told him to say. “I…won’t have to donate, will I?” he added somewhat uneasily.
The man chuckled. “We don’t do that sort of thing anymore. It’s too unsanitary. But there are…commitments…that you may have to honor later on. I’m sure you understand. It’s all in our student guidelines.”
Franklin nodded. “Then I’m ready for the tour, sir. And I’m ready to begin.”
He followed the old man down the long hallway that led to the classes he would be taking, wondering how long he would really be here, and what he would really learn.
THE END
