Ugh, I'm exhausted… It had taken most of what was left of the day to set up her half of the small room she shared with Levy, and Lucy was tired. Levy had helped where she could and, in Lucy's opinion, she had really hit the jackpot when it comes to roommates. Lucy was definitely looking forward to the rest of the year with the tiny Solid Script mage.
"Hey, Lucy? How about I show you around campus tomorrow? We don't need to rush to do anything if you just want to rest, but I think you'll really like it here in Magnolia." Levy smiled at her from where she was lounging on her bed.
"No, that sounds great! I really appreciate you helping me and everything, Levy." Lucy smiled back, and Levy beamed.
"It's no problem! I'm happy to have you as a roommate, you seem really great. I think we'll have a good time and be great friends!"
"You too, Levy. I think we will have a great time; I'm really looking forward to this whole experience! I'm excited about having some time to write my novel too." Lucy confessed.
"Oh, wow, you're writing a book? You really are amazing! Hey, can I read what you have some time?" Levy eyed her eagerly and Lucy was a little taken aback. She had never let anyone read her novel before.
"O-okay, sure. I suppose I could you some feedback anyways!"
"Great, thanks Lu!" Levy exclaimed, snuggling down into her blankets. Lucy was really enjoying her first day at Magnolia University and having Levy as her roommate, and she certainly was enjoying the fact that she had her very first nickname from a friend: Lu.
"Alright, this is the main area where people like to just come to hangout, it's called the quad. Sometimes they'll hold small events, like fundraisers for clubs and stuff here, but mostly it's where people come when they have time in between classes. Occasionally you'll see some of those douchey guys playing a guitar and singing on a bench though." Levy snickered and Lucy couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Up there," Levy pointed to the left of where they were standing in the middle of the quad, "Is the library, I spend most of my time there, I can't help it. But they have a really cute café in there; it's really peaceful to go grab a tea and do some work." Levy informed her and Lucy noted the café as somewhere she'd definitely be spending some of her time in.
"So… Most of the dorms are where we are?" Lucy mused as she didn't see any other halls around.
"Yeah, kind of. We're in the biggest co-ed dorm on campus, Fiore Hall, but on the other side of campus there are a few dorms. But yeah, our area has mostly all of them. It's a bit of a walk to campus, but you'll get into a routine and it will get easier."
"Okay, that's cool. Are you friends in our hall?"
"Yeah, most of them are. I think we got a little bit of special treatment since the dean of the school was also the guy who raised us in the orphanage." Levy giggled and Lucy raised her brows.
"Really? That's really convenient, he sounds like a great guy."
"Yeah, he really is. I'll have you meet him some time, his name is Makarov Dreyar, or some of us call him 'Gramps'." Levy told her and Lucy couldn't help but smile.
"That sounds great. Wow, there really is a lot here to see… I hope that I can learn everything and remember everyone." Lucy fretted slightly and Levy laughed lightly.
"Don't worry, it won't be as overwhelming as you think. Anyways, right here is Fairglass Hall; this is where all the science people go, you may need to take a couple classes here to fulfil some university requirements." Levy pointed to a sustainable looking building with solar panels dotting the roof, and large glass windows wrapped around the circular building reflecting the sun and anyone who passed by it. "Over here is where we will be spending most of our time; this is the English building, Foxwick Hall." Lucy took in the rather average looking building, but was nonetheless excited to be spending her time there.
"I'll show you more of the buildings tomorrow, you'll have to show me your schedule so I know where you're going, but I really want you to meet everyone if that's okay? We had planned on hanging out today anyways, how does that sound?" Levy asked.
"Oh, of course!"
"Oh, Lucy, have you heard of fraternities and sororities before?" Levy asked tentatively and Lucy shrugged.
"I think I've heard about them a bit, aren't they just groups formed by students?"
"More or less. Well, anyways, fraternities are for the guys and sororities are for the girls. Sometimes they can be pretty pretentious, but… Well, the guys I grew up with formed their own fraternity. It's called Fairy Tail, anyway, what I'm getting at is they have a sister sorority and all of us girls are part of it. It's called the Fairy Girls. Now, you don't have to make your decision now, but we'd love to have you if you want to join? We have parties, banquets, and balls. We're both really close and do a lot of stuff to help each other out, it's really fun!" Levy explained and Lucy had to admit it sounded interesting. It certainly would be something to do in my down time.
"Are you sure that everyone else would have me...? I'm not sure they'll even like me." Lucy chuckled nervously and Levy scowled.
"Of course they'll like you! Don't be silly. C'mon, let's go to the house then."
"The house?" Lucy questioned confusedly.
"Oh, sorry, the frat house. It's where the older members live and where we have most of our events. The girls' house is right next door so it's really convenient!" Levy skipped along, leading Lucy down the sidewalk that was along the main road. "Next year we'll be able to live in the sorority house if we want to." They made their way down the road for a short while and then Levy took a right where two old, but grand houses stood proudly.
"Wow, looks like you guys have a prime set up, no?" Lucy commented and Levy looked at the buildings proudly.
"Yeah, you could say that. Forget about the dorm, really, this is our home. The orphans that is." Levy sighed and stopped briefly to take in the site.
"Well… You guys seem to have something really special here, I'm not really sure that I'd fit in, you know? I wasn't part of your orphanage, and from the sounds of it they members are mainly from where you grew up." Lucy said hesitantly.
"It's true that most of our members are from the orphanage, actually, I don't remember someone ever even coming to join Fairy Tail of Fairy Girls. We have a little bit of a reputation…" Levy giggled slightly and Lucy eyed her suspiciously. "But if you are okay with that and can keep up with our crazy members, I think you'll do just fine! And, stop me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but I don't want you to feel lonely. Not that you are, I just, I don't know, I'd like to have you as a friend too, okay?" Levy wrung her hands together nervously and gazed up at Lucy. Sure, Levy was a little forward with everything, especially seeing as this was only Lucy's second day at Magnolia University, but Lucy couldn't help feeling utterly touched by the girl. Lucy hadn't felt at home ever since her mother died, and here, she was finally starting to feel like she had a place, somewhere to look forward to, to be with people she looked forward to being with.
"A house isn't a home, people are." Lucy blurted out sounding rather cliché, and Levy looked at her in mild confusion, "That's what my mom used to say. At least that's what I was told, my caretakers would always say that to me, I think it was to keep me grounded." Lucy chuckled slightly. "But it really holds some meaning to me. What I mean is, I never really felt at home in my house, it was filled with emptiness. People are what make you feel at home and, for the first time in a long time, I actually feel at home here with you, Levy. You've welcomed me so warmly, and it's only my second day, but I just feel so… So, at home. Does that make sense?" Lucy glanced back over to Levy you had tears spilling over her cheeks.
"Oh, Lu! I don't know what to say… I-I know what you mean. The people here, they may be rough around the edges, but they are my home. And we can all be your home too, if you'd like. I'm so happy you feel this way!" Levy grasped Lucy's hands tightly, and Lucy couldn't help holding back her own tears. This place was filled with broken people who pieced each other back together; this was just where she needed to be.
"Alright, let's go in, okay? Everyone should already be there; I can't wait for you to meet everyone!" Levy cheered and dragged Lucy towards the building that had "Fairy Girls" in old, steel script. "I'm going to have you meet the girls first, I mean after all we are the better house!" Levy giggled. "But the boys can be… I bit much at times, but Erza usually takes care of it if they get too rowdy."
"Who's Erza?" Lucy questioned as they walked up the steps of the porch.
"She's the 'House Mom' which is basically like the head of our sorority. She decides if a pledge can join and who would be a new member's 'big'." Levy explained, but Lucy came out of it feeling even more confused.
"Er… A 'pledge' and a 'big'? What's that?" Lucy asked feeling embarrassed.
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it, it's all kind of stupid labels for stuff that doesn't necessarily need to be labeled that way. Let me give you a brief run down: you know what a House Mom is now, that's Erza. A pledge is someone who has received a bid from a member of a sorority or a fraternity. A bid is like an invitation now, if a pledge is picked to join, after going through an initiation period, then they become, respectively, a sister or a brother in a sorority or fraternity. So, if you are accepted into Fairy Girls, you'd become our sister. A new member, you, is given a 'big' and you would be referred to as a 'little'. A big is an older member that kind of takes care of and guides the little through her first experiences in the life of a sorority. So, Erza will pick who your big is, but you're probably going to have to go through our initiation ceremony. Sorry, that's a secret, I can't tell you what we do!" Levy winked at her and continued, "Anyways, there are other things like formals and mixers, but you don't need to worry about those now, we haven't even had any yet. Does this kind of make sense?" Lucy stood there taking it all in for a moment and then slowly nodded her head.
"Y-yeah, I think so. So, I still have to get accepted, I can't just become a new member?"
"Yeah, but don't worry, I can almost guarantee you'll be accepted. Anyways, I give you my bid so you're officially a pledge! No one's really going to argue it, we're not that formal and uptight." Levy snorted, "All of this is to appease the other fraternities and sororities here. Some of them are really competitive and by the rules. It certainly can get exhausting trying to keep those hot heads from breaking down their doors." Levy gestured over to the building that was labeled "Fairy Tail" in the same script as the Fairy Girls.
"Wow, there certainly is a lot that I didn't know about college." Lucy exhaled.
"But it's actually rather fun. We have this thing called the Grand Magic Games every year, it's really fun. All the fraternities and sororities gather together and pick their best members to form a team. There are magic duals and contests- the top prize is a million jewel for the winner's house treasury!" Levy gushed and Lucy gasped.
"That's a lot, geez!"
"It's just that amazing!" Levy laughed and then finally pushed open the door to the Fairy Girls' house. "Welcome to Fairy Girls, Lu!"
