Jacob Wilson walked down the corridor of the Academy's residential wing, each step on the stone slabs echoing in his ears with a dull irritation. An old sneaker bounced familiarly in his backpack, and headphones hung around his neck, barely audible from the rhythmic bass—the only sound that reminded him of the normal world.

He felt lousy. Just a week ago, he'd been planning how he'd spend the weekend at the playground in Providence, and now he was stuck in a place where someone's whims and "ancient forces" defied the laws of physics. The feeling of home, where the kitchen always smelled of cooling coffee and his parents discussed plans for the school term, now seemed impossibly distant. He'd been torn from a familiar reality and thrown into this castle, where even the walls seemed to whisper behind his back.

Stopping at the door with his room number, Jacob froze. A lump formed in his throat. Not only had he been deprived of his usual life, but at registration, an indifferent woman with a glassy gaze casually informed him, "Due to space constraints, we're having mixed-gender housing this semester. Your roommate is a girl." "Living with a girl? Are you kidding me?" he muttered under his breath, feeling his palms grow clammy.

For a typical Rhode Island kid, whose entire life had been built on clear rules, this was a stratospheric level of nonsense. At his old school, everything had been simple: here's the boys' locker room, here's the girls' locker room, here's physics, here's basketball. But here, logic had gone out the window.

Jacob swallowed, adjusted the strap of his backpack, and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember the feeling of the ball in his hands—it always helped him focus. He didn't want to seem rude or scared; he just wanted to be left alone in his "normality." But the reality was this: behind that door was foreign territory, foreign rules, and a person with whom he would have to share space. He reached for the heavy handle, hesitated for a second, and, exhaling, pushed the door open.

— «Umm... May I come in?»

He almost forgot to knock, but he stopped himself anyway and asked if he could come in... He cursed inwardly for almost creating an awkward scene the first time he appeared