I guarantee no expertise in college dorm life, college orientations, magical girl lore, dormitory bathrooms, or the classification system for magic Im cribbing from an amalgam of other magical girl-adjacent properties.

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Eventually the hallway of students got sleepy. Some shouts from Reese indicated that their card game had concluded, and a few stragglers left to go to bed.

Ruby pulled out her laptop ten minutes in but still participated in any conversations lobbed her way (none of which, Glynda idly lamented, managed to come from Glynda herself).

Glynda talked a little bit more, but it didn't feel like she was being excluded or actively letting herself fail to socialize, or other negative feelings, even though this was her one chance at a first impression and she was way less talkative than she normally was which wasn't actually what she was like so she was giving them all a false impression-

And welp there came in all the negative emotions-

But Glynda took a few deep breaths as she swiped her phone and thus the dorm card slotted in the latex holding sticker on its back against the card reader on her door handle, and the reader beeped her door unlocked.

And once she calmed down a bit more, she realized she was, actually, incredibly tired. She made herself change into her pajamas as the one nod to her regular nightly ritual, before she climbed back onto her bed, properly this time. There was a slightly damp spot from either her drool or her tears, from the nap she'd had like 3 hours ago, so Glynda re-positioned that part of the bedding away from where she'd place her face, and she fell asleep.

The next day was orientation day.

Glynda woke up excited, because her excitement had recharged over the night. Or, more likely, her energy had recharged over night, like what usually happened when you slept.

But she was definitely way too old to jump out of bed with a yawn and some peppy background music- the way to start your day excited when you were old, was you sat up on the first try and stretched to creak all your limbs and then you got up and waddled to your day's activities.

Glynda plucked her glasses off her nightstand and grabbed her dental kit (especially since she had neglected to brush her teeth the previous day, and she could feel the buildup of plaque on her front teeth) and her shower bag and a change of clothes, and made her way back to the communal bathroom.

The quiet golden somnolence of the previous day gave way a much more mundane bustle of residence and activity, today, this morning. Now that there was natural light streaming in from the window slits, all the stone and metal surfaces seemed less, ethereal. And the running of showers and idle sounds of gossip and the occasional toilet flush made the place seem less, quiet and peaceful.

And there were a gaggle of students in various states of pajamas (And Glynda tried not to ogle anyone- not even the particularly athletic girls- because she was still trying not to be the old weirdo creep at a postsecondary education institution trying to awkwardly join in on the sexy adolescent self discovery), showering, putting on makeup, and occasionally, brushing their teeth, doing the things you'd expect people to be doing in a bathroom in the morning.

A few of the girls did that thing where you raise your eyebrows and tilt your head back and raise some fingers up in non-verbal acknowledgement of your existence, and Glynda awkwardly waved back as she went to brush her teeth next to a girl who she didn't recognize from the night before (but probably not everyone in the hall spent the night out in the hall)

And after Glynda did her best to forestall the inevitability of dentures, she made her way to the line of girls waiting for a free shower stall.

Glynda briefly considered trying to wait out the shower line, but immediately after she got her place another girl lined up behind her, so it was probably better to get it out of the way sooner than later. She preoccupied herself with trying to find patterns in bumps on the ceiling paint and ignore the fact that a good deal of the students seemed to be perfectly willing to walk all the way down the hall to their rooms in just a towel before changing into clothes.

The stalls had a little section with a short bench and some clothing hooks before another door to the actual showers, so Glynda didn't have find some place in the corner of the shower to keep her clothes and glasses until she finished showering (the one time in her life she considered a gym, the fact that its shower stalls were just a door, was the dealbreaker.)

And it was a quick shower where Glynda briefly missed her apartment's showerhead's familiar water press and stream distribution, where she tried not to think about how many naked young women were around her and she had washed the night's grime away and was up for whatever the day threw at her. Yeah.

And with the luxury of that shower foyer, Glynda changed all the way into a business casual skirt and blouse before stepping out of the shower stall to find, hey, the line was gone.

And after dropping her supplies back off at her room and drying out her hair and the various parts of her clothes that got wet as she was changing in the shower stall's add on, (and she figured she'd either get better at changing in a hurry, or she'd just start showering in the middle of the night) Glynda was ready for her zeroth day at magical girl school.

It wasn't hard to tell where she was supposed to go, since groups of students gravitated (even though Glynda'd memorized the school layout and knew exactly where the Sumika Memorial Auditorium was in relation to her dorm, and to the rest of the school.)

And Glynda stepped into the grand auditorium where first year orientation would be held (and Glynda estimates that the whole freshmen class seemed to be about 100 people). She scanned the rows of seats, and she saw a familiar head of dark hair tinting red at the edges, alone in one of the rows most distant from the stage.

"Oh, hey Ruby, " Glynda said, and she did that thing where you raise your eyebrows and tilt your head back and raise some fingers up in non-verbal acknowledgement of someone's existence.

Glynda adjusted her glasses slightly, to see how the stage looked from here. It wasn't amazing, but she could probably tell different people apart. And Glynda noticed some giant speakers on the wall behind them, so presumably hearing whoever would be addressing them wouldn't be a problem.

Ruby looked up and grinned and waved and pulled her backpack off the adjacent seat, and Glynda took a seat next to her.

"So," Glynda said, to fill the air, "This is going to be a lot of, 'Don't drink, don't go to sketchy parties alone, don't magically duel someone without a medic nearby and yes means yes', right?" Glynda said.

Ruby made an awkward half-smile. "I, guess?" She said. "Honestly I, was probably going to see if i could, discreetly pull out my laptop during the whole thing…"

"Ah." Glynda said, and she made her own awkward half-smile.

Glynda coughed and tried again. "So, you're a Dark magical girl, then?"

"Oh! Yeah, like, mostly." Ruby said. She shrugged. "I know some swords techniques and a few Cups one, but other than that its all Blood."

"So, are you," Glynda said, "looking to continue that here?"

"Oh, well, " Ruby rummaged through her backpack, "I'm hoping to build on Cups at least for now? I think that'd be good for me."

"Ah, you want to be a healer?"

"Well, mostly heal myself, I guess, since that's occasionally been a problem."

"Wait- are you," Glynda said, slowly, and she tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow, "sanctioned to go on missions already?"

"Um, sort of," Ruby said, to the wall. Then she turned back to Glynda. "So, what do you hope to awaken as?"

"Oh, ah," Glynda made a smile, or perhaps a grimace, "I'm not picky…."

"I could see you as a Seer, maybe?" Ruby said.

Glynda smirked accusingly, facetiously, "Because I'm old?"

Ruby immediately smushed her mouth. "N-no- cuz, you seem wise…."

"Did I?" Glynda said, and she smirked, "I seem to recall most of my interactions with you involving breaking down over a sink, " she waved her hand in idle circles. "So the only reason I can think that you'd think I was wise, would be based on assumptions based on my outward characteristics."

Ruby's mouth flattened and her eyes wobbled, just a bit, "N-no, you like, gave a speech and all!"

Ruby then pouted and frowned at the same time, theatrically, accusingly, "And I'm holding you to your promise, you know."

Glynda laughed. "Of course." She said. "But, isn't giving speeches more of a Muse thing?"

Ruby wobbled her head in half a nod and half a shrug. "Well, most Calling have had some famous leaders from them. I mean, even Blood, technically. But, I think you'd be a good Muse too."

"I don't have any artistic hobbies though," Glynda said, "and I figured that was unofficially required, to be named after a greek artistic patron."

"Oh?" Ruby said, "What are your hobbies, then?"

"Statistical analysis," Glynda said, because it sounded more impressive than 'watching TV' and 'wallowing in self pity on the ground, while drinking'.

Ruby blinked. "Wait, really?

Glynda made a half-hearted shrugging motion over the course of five seconds. "Yeah? I made a career out of it, for a while, so I must have been into it a little bit."

"Dang, that's hardcore, then," Ruby said, "See, mine's just video games. " She wobbled her head in half a nod and a shrug. "I guess I also did track and field in high school."

"That's cool," Glynda said, "Do you think you'll continue that here?"

"Nnnnnah," Ruby said, "I don't really wanna have to be beholden to, like, competition schedules and training regimes and stuff. I still go jogging every morning- granted I've only been in the dorms for four days- but I've kept it up since I've got here."

Glynda nodded. "Probably keeps you fit for the missions, though?"

"Oh, definitely. Its a lot of legwork."

Glynda chuckled at the pun (or, maybe, it was just literal? Well, too late.)

And some powerless part of Glynda's perceiving consciousness watched helplessly as her traitorous mouth formed the words "Maybe, I could join you sometimes?"

And Ruby nodded and smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great! It'd be cool to have a jogging partner."

And internally Glynda screamed, since she'd just committed to waking up early and exercising, in front of a cute girl who was obviously way more in shape than her-

.

Wait, did, she just think of Ruby as cute?

.

Like, it wasn't wrong, objectively speaking-

Like, Ruby had good skin and nice eyes and a beautiful smile and she knew how to bake-

And you know, most girls who would be of the age normally associated with attending Beacon would be pretty attractive based on youth alone, but also might be old enough that they were finding an aesthetic style that suits them-

But Glynda was trying not to be the old weirdo creep at a postsecondary education institution trying to awkwardly join in on the sexy adolescent self discovery, so, it'd be best not to continue that line of thinking-

"Well, if seer and muse are out," Ruby said, rescuing Glynda from her thought, "you'd make a good Page."

"Oh, ah," Glynda cleared her throat. "You don't think I'd be a Jack or a Knight?"

"Jacks are weirdos," Ruby said, "so unless you're secretly hiding being a huge weirdo, I don't think you'd awaken."

Glynda made a conscious effort to mentally punch down her subconscious self-doubt chiding herself for hiding being more than just a huge wierdo.

"Certainly not all Jacks." Glynda said. She cleared her throat and refreshed her smile. "What would they say if they say if they heard you making such blanket assertions?"

"Well they'd probably say, quote," Ruby inhaled 'A Bloogie bloogie woo' and then breakdance in an anachronistic fashion belying the supposed thematic underpinnings of their origins."

Glynda assumed that was a reference she didn't get.

"But its like," Ruby added, "If your M.O. is coming up with quirky solutions to things you're going to miss that the usual solutions are that way because they work the best."

"Well as a Knight, it makes sense that you think that," Glynda stated.

Ruby blinked, but then she clicked her mouth and smiled. "Don't I know it."

"Speaking of which, you don't see me as one?" Glynda said. When she was younger, Knights seemed the most glamorous but ever since her dream (lowercase, mind) was reborn she figured if she was going to awaken, it'd be as one of the Callings less prone to physical exertion.

"Besides," Ruby said, "Knights are the most common Calling."

"Ah," Glynda said.

"And if you end up as a knight, then it'd be less likely we end up on the same team together."

Glynda felt her cheeks heat up and her heart catch in her throat-

But again, trying not to be the creepy old weirdo, so, it was probably best to preempt - whatever that was-

"So, are you, not happy as a Knight? Glynda asked. Then, immediately after saying that, she added, "not, to get too personal, ah-"

"Nah, its fine." Ruby waved the air. "I mean, I've never felt like it was the wrong one for me. But like, I'm the offensive Calling of the dark side of the offensive Invocation, so, well. You know it ended up with me trying to learn some Cups to round it out."

"Maybe you'll learn enough Cups to officially change your title?" Glynda ventured.

Ruby made a grimace. "Iiii- Well, I'd probably be okay with that, but I'm not particularly aiming for that?"

Ruby leaned back and chuckled forlornly, "Or maybe I'll, just, light side it up enough to just be a boring old Knight of Swords."

And their conversation got cut short as the Auditorium lights flickered and dimmed and from aways away at the head of the stage, nested ring of cyclopean runes radially effervesced from a portal of eldritch light, out of which Headmistress Salem emerged, left palm first. She closed her hand and the runes dissipated.

And the auditorium went silent.

"Hello students, and future Magical Girls," intoned Salem, her voice magically amplified, "Today marks the first day of your formal Magical Girl training. I don't have to tell you that it will be a rigorous and dangerous road ahead of you. Statistically, one girl next to you will not make it to graduation, hopefully because of a voluntary drop out."

Glynda scrunched her mouth at the side of Ruby's head. They were far enough back that nobody else had ended up sitting next to them.

"But since all of you have been admitted, that means all of you have been judged to have the potential to become bastions against the darkness, the light that guides the future. And we will do our best to lead you down the right path."

Glynda could have sworn Salem somehow picked her out of the crowd and the darkness to look directly at her, then.

"May those who accept their fate find happiness." Salem intoned, "May those who defy it find glory."

Salem stepped back from the front of the stage.

"And now, the deans of each School will say a few words," Salem said, with a slightly less imperious tone, "and explain some of the rules of the school."

Salem dismissed the spell around her throat and stepped back.

And the Dean of Wands walked up and turned on the microphone that the Headmistress had neglected.

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Ozpin said, into the microphone.

Glynda was one of the few to laugh.

"Just a little humour, since the rest of us don't get to do the fun 'inspiring speech' part of the job." Ozpin said. "But on a more serious note: ensure your vaccination records are updated with the health center. The basement of the observatory is off limits to all of those who do not wish to die a most painful death. The school store holds a raffle at the beginning of each semester for a voucher for textbooks, so I hope most of you didn't just buy yours for cheap on ebay."

"Aha," Glynda said aloud, because that exactly what she did.

"Yeah, I just pirated mine," Ruby said.

And after that, each of the deans made to speak. The first seven gave short speeches talking about the school, how exciting the new semester was going to be and also, telling the audience not to drink, not to go to sketchy parties alone even if they had powers, to always duel in formal settings and never without a medical professional nearby, and also that you should always respect someones desire not to have sex if they tell you, but seeking positive consent was a good way to insure there was no ambiguity. It also turned out that getting a parking permit for campus was a labyrinthine nightmare of bureaucracy.

And after the dean of Tears concluded her speech about recyclables, the students were dismissed to wander the quad where the various clubs and student groups had booths out to solicit for recruitment.