"I'll say, this places is magnificent! It's huge and the structure is beautiful. Eltz academy has that old feeling to it but it doesn't look run down. Just like it has a lot of history. What about you?"
"Yeah." Alice raised her eyebrows and glanced around the room mildly. Riley seemed more interested in the academy part of the conversation Alice noticed a little disappointedly. She had begun assuming that everyone at Eltz had powers, and it was such a strange new concept to her. Until she'd found out about Tessa she'd never really considered that there might be many others with abilities. But there were so many people here at the academy and so many more probably out there in the world, she was curious to find out more about others like herself.
Maybe that was faux pas to ask about powers? Or more likely it was just personal. She shrugged mentally, there'd be time enough later to find out the niceties of Eltz society. While she was content with her own company, maybe it was wise not to alienate the first person to give her the time of day. If Riley wasn't going to talk about it Alice wasn't going to pry.
"Yeah, I agree, it's a great place. I'm glad I ended up accepting a place here, I didn't think I would originally, you know? Some secret organisation sends you a letter letting you know that they've been watching you... but this place does seem to have history and everybody appears pretty chill, so it can't be too bad. I suppose it's good to know that there are people who can help us learn more about our... um... well just, to learn more."
Real smooth, Miss Social-butterfly, Alice thought wryly and took another bite of her sandwich a little viciously. Thinking about Tessa was not going to lead to any sort of happy thoughts. And she was trying to avoid making Riley uncomfortable about the topic of powers not leave it hanging unspoken in the air. "Aaanyhow... classes should be interesting."
It was some attempt a rectifying her own pitiful attempt at conversation. She sighed with a resigned smile and reached for her coffee while it was still hot, enjoying the strong sweet dose of caffeine.