Gio rounded a corner and immediately began to filter the new information. The majority of students he encountered were leaving their dorms zeroing in on the students with the same color tie that looked a bit younger figuring it must be one of the differences in uniforms between years.
He arrives at a building that a male first year, one of his classmates he couldn't remember the name of, but he could tell by the slight waves of deja vu he's come to associate with the less than complete memories he got from Wyatt, was exiting passing by him he entered the building and was now at a complete loss of where his room was.
He was hoping to follow the strongest sense of deja vu, but here, he got nothing.
Coming up with an idea he went outside again found two heavy boxes re entering the dorms he knocked on a door he was surprised to see a girl with a blue tie answer. dressed in the student tunic, wearing glasses that magnified her sharp, calculating brown eyes. Her short, hair was neatly contained, giving her an air of cool, focused scrutiny.
Sarya his mind provided instantly Wyatt must only remember the girls. they do co-Ed dorms here? he thought
but his excuse flowed easily. "Hey Sarya I have a couple boxes I need to bring up to my dorm can you help carry one?"
Sarya didn't move. She remained framed in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. Her expression was neutral, but her body language was closed and calculating. Her eyes quickly scanned the boxes, then traveled up to your face, lingering briefly on the crystalline focus in your eyes before dismissing it.
Sarya: "You know where your room is, Wyatt," she stated, her voice cool and entirely devoid of emotional inflection. She shifted her weight slightly, leaning against the door frame. "And you know I don't carry things for others. What's in the boxes? Artificers' tools? You looked like you were heading for a full meltdown in CCR on Friday. So, what is the quid pro quo?"
Wyatt (Gio): "I'll carry your supplies all next week?"
Sarya let out a soft, dry exhale—not a laugh, but a quiet assessment of the poor offer. Her sharp gaze didn't leave your face.
Sarya: "No, you won't, Wyatt. You're physically incapable of carrying your own load, let alone mine, and you know it. Besides, the trade is moot. There's no school this week."
Her statement hung in the air, a piece of critical, unexpected data. Gio's facade flickered for a fraction of a second. No school? A full week? His focus tightened instantly.
Sarya: "Yeah don't you remember, the faculty announced on Friday that the ranking exam next Friday morning will be the first major test before the electives begin, until then it's prep time, Your offer to help next week is worthless. If you want my time, I want the predicted failure points for the CCR 101 practical portion Friday. That saves me hours of analysis. Do we have a trade?"
Gio could feel what she asked for sounded caught familiar and were likely accessible somewhere in Wyatt's notes and if not he could figure something out. The negotiation had to close now.
Wyatt (Gio): He gave a sharp, immediate nod. "Deal." He needed the final, essential data now. "I can give you the breakdown by the test. Just tell me, what time is the ranking exam exactly?"
Sarya's demeanor shifted instantly to transactional. The negotiation was over.
Sarya: Without a word, she efficiently reached down and lifted the heavier crate. Her grip was strong and practiced. Her eyes flicked briefly over Gio. "You look like garbage, Wyatt. Clean it up before you talk to me next time."
Sarya: "First class is Runic Theory at 07:00. The CCR practical is period three." She began walking down the hall, assuming Gio would follow. "Why did you come to me in the girls dorm. You're 412, right? I'll carry this to your door."
Gio's internal relief was immense. He now had a week to prepare.
"Yeah, Thank you, Sarya. I'll slide the CCR notes under your door asap"
He followed her, matching his stride to her brisk pace. He now had a hard deadline and a place to sleep.
Sarya led Gio through the quiet hallway, and across the small field that spanned the gap between the two buildings and up the central staircase up to the 4th floor stopping at the door right next to the stairs.
"Good luck on your exams," Sarya murmured, the closest thing she offered to human kindness, before putting down the boxes and turning sharply toward the stairs heading back to her own room.
Gio nodded a farewell. Cold, gray granite walls and a long line of numbered, identical doors.
He tried the door to Room 412 his Wyatt side recognized it distinctly. The door was a heavy, dark wood, scarred with years of use. He leaned the heavy crate against the wall and carefully put his hand on the brass knob. Locked and he had no keys on him.
Wyatt's mind provided the info in a round about way . Not a memory, but a sudden, certainty of how the lock worked. He pressed his bracelet to the handle—and the latch clicked open.
He pushed the door inward and stepped inside, letting the remaining crate thud quietly to the floor.
The room was small, sparse, and entirely functional: a single narrow bed, a metal locker, and a heavy wooden desk piled high with disorganized scrolls, theory notes, and half-eaten, stale rations.
The overwhelming smell of cheap ink, ozone, and old anxiety hit him. This was the host's sanctum—a portrait of a stressed, desperate student.
But Gio didn't care about the aesthetic. He cared about the magic.
He moved to the door and quickly sealed the lock, then swept the small room for anything that would help him. Finding a couple used notebooks and a nicer worn leather bound book that must be a diary, that was tucked between the bed and the wall.
he slid to the floor behind the desk, pushed the scrolls away to clear a spot, and began his desperate task.
Objective: Absorb one month of academic knowledge in 5 days and enough about Wyatt to not out myself as a trans-dimensional body snatcher.
The prep time was his time, now, he just had to survive the ranking exam.
Opening up the found diary to the newest entry gio begins to read.