fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day

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!event: welcome picnic

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day

Whoever worked the weather magic around here had done an excellent job to make sure things were nice outside for all the new (and old) residents of Fandom. It was warm and sunny, but not so humid that people would melt. There was plenty of ~~moddable~~ food and drinks, places to sit in the shade, and more than enough nametags to go around. It was time to celebrate the start of the summer!

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Oh, that was definitely a shared smile. "Hi! Thank you. I'm Kamala," she said, also just to find another friendly face her age.

Honestly, Arden. The bus was filled with old men. And Stewart.

"I'm an incoming freshman. So just finding my way around. Have you been on the island?"

"A year in September," Arden said. "It's...a whole lot to adjust to, I can tell you that."

On a whole number of levels, which included coming from a large geographic area with a diverse population to, well...

…An island of people who look like they stepped out of an underwear ad. Kamala had noticed.

“Yes, I was just talking to Lydia about the place. I mean I knew about the nexus thing but… this place is flat out weird.”

And Kamala hadn’t even spotted Tony Stark yet. Or Steve Rogers. Or…

There were going to be a lot of “or’s”.

Yeah. It was a problem. Everybody was so hot.

"You knew about the nexus thing?" Arden asked. "Huh. Did you know someone who used to live on the island, then?"

“Not really. There’s a guy we know who used to run SHIELD who suggested this might be a good college for me,” Kamala explained. “He had a dossier on the place and my mother approves of it. I’m not sure how a paintball class will further my education but hey, I’m just rolling with it.”

"SHIELD?" Arden asked. "Oh but hey! I'm in paintball, too! And you can absolutely spin it as lessons in precision, accuracy, staying cool under pressure, and thinking on your feet."

"Oh, you probably don't have SHIELD," Kamala said shaking her head. Duh. Different realities. "It's like a big spy group who keeps the world safe. And I hadn't thought of spinning a paint ball class like that. Actually those skills might be a good thing for me."

"A big spy group that keeps the world safe," Arden repeated, eyebrow arching up. "That sure sounds like a thing they'd want you to believe, anyway."

That was one of the ways Duskwatch billed themselves as well, but then, Elementals like Arden were some of the 'threats' they assured everybody they were protecting people from.

“They did get infiltrated by a bunch of bad guys so you don’t really hear about them a lot anymore,” Kamala agreed. “And yeah I had a run in with a government division like that a couple of years ago that didn’t end well. But I trust the guy that sent me here. He’s definitely a good guy.”

Or at least he really loves cats and someone who loves cats can’t be all bad.

Weeeeellllll...history might disagree with you there, Kamala, but Arden sure wasn't because she didn't want to be disagreeable!

"You had a run-in with a division of the government?" Arden asked. "How?! Why? You're okay?"

“Yeah, uh, it’s a long story? But let’s just say that unfortunately because of who I am, me and my family come under a lot of… scrutiny,” Kamala said trying to make sure not to say too much. “And luckily I have friends and family and a community who had my back. It ended up being a public relations disaster and they’ve left me alone since then.”

"I'm so sorry," Arden said, definitely assuming that it was the government's well-documented tendency to go after specific marginalized groups - which, all right, technically still counted but not in the way she was assuming. "I'm glad they're leaving you alone. And all the better to head somewhere you can kinda...keep your head down for a bit?"

She looked around. "Okay, maybe now down so much as..." Everything else was bigger and weirder?

“Oh, yeah, Fury said I could definitely cut loose here more than I could back in Jersey City,” Kamala said with a grin. “I’m looking forward to it. But as my mom and dad told me:”

Kamala’s voice then dropped into her mother’s accent and range. “Kamala! You are here to learn! We have big expectations for you beta.”

Arden laughed. "So then you're definitely going to be playing up the thinking quickly under pressure aspects of paintball," she said.

They'd need to, up against a bunch of cops and Jedi.

"What other classes are you taking?"

“A cooking and a craft class,” Kamala said with a chuckle. “I was expecting a science or language requirement. Maybe the school is just trying to ease me into it.”

Ahahahaha, oh Kamala. Thinking the school you went to had requirements...

"Which cooking one?" Arden asked. "I know there was one about eating monsters and one about doing unspeakable things to bananas."

"Wait. The monster thing wasn't a misprint?"

Oh.

Oh, no.

Arden shook her head. "I don't think so," she said, and pointed to the dwarf in armor cooking something over a campfire. "I heard him talking to Professor Raiden about hunting dungeons earlier when I was talking to my new little sib."

“Ooooooh.”

That class is probably not halal.

“Well I just have to cook it right? Not eat it?”

Not even a little bit.

"I...guess?" Arden asked, shrugging. "I have some dietary restrictions that meant I didn't want to take the chance and sign up for it."

In typical Kamala fashion, she shrugged and smiled. “I’m sure it’s fine. It’s weird but fine. It’s all fine. I’m fine.”

She took a long deep breath. “Yep. I’m good.”

Arden looked at her. "You sure?" she asked. "Cause it's okay to not be good. We could head to the ladies' room on the first floor if you need to, like, be loudly not good but not in front of people?"

“Nope! I’m good!” She said, shaking her head. “Momentary freak out. I think I’m entitled to at least one.”

Arden laughed and shook her head. "I've been here almost a year and I still get hit with one on a monthly basis at least. You're good."

The laughter put Kamala at ease. “Okay. Well I guess I have that to look forward too. At least there’s good weird. Like the room I’m in? It’s a pocket dimension in the shape of a house. And the house has a mind of their own! My room decorated itself and it’s perfect!”

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