"Yes, I know that Professor Majere doesn't use phones. That's why I'm calling you."

The man emphasized his words with choppy gestures, almost throwing his phone across the campus. When he realized he could hardly hear the response, he brought it back to his ear.

"No, I don't have time to come to the faculty in person. And certainly not to write him a letter. There are a thousand things to do before the gates open. Just go over to his office and tell him that his idea doesn't work."

He impatiently listened to the reply and then continued, "Well, his attempt to save personnel costs in the maintenance budget. A pair of sunglasses, gloves, and a splash of cologne aren't enough! Just tell him that, he knows what I'm talking about."

Using his other hand for support, the man managed to end the call on the second attempt and fold his ancient Nokia phone shut. Then he stuffed it into a holster on his tool belt. He looked up and cast another disapproving glance at the figure slowly shuffling along the path, pushing a wheeled trash bin ahead of him. The dark blue work clothes, and especially the opaque sunglasses, made the pale face look even unhealthier due to the contrast. The pale man stopped and took a trash picker from its holder. The gripper aimed at a crumpled sandwich wrapper lying on the path. It closed, and the paper was moved toward the trash bin. Along the way, it came loose and fell back to the ground. The gloved hand with the gripper hesitated for a moment, then the gripper moved with the same deliberate speed toward the trash again.

"Schickelgruber! What's going on here?"

The addressed person turned around, reached for the heavy tongs on his tool belt, but then let his hand drop when he saw who was approaching him.

The tall, bald man stomped across the Nexus University grounds as if he owned everything here. Which, as far as the janitor knew, was actually the case. The first thing he noticed, as always in every encounter, about the rector was his sheer size. He clearly exceeded the two-meter mark, and that with a body width and mass that would have been impressive even on a significantly smaller man. But that was just the effect of his physical appearance. His personality spread far beyond his physical body, seized the grounds, and conquered it with the psychic equivalent of a flag of dominion driven into the ground. The dirty and worn-out sneakers formed a jarring contrast to the expensive dark brown tailored suit.

Janitor Schickelgruber's gaze slid from the sneakers up to the bald head gleaming in the sunlight. As always when he looked at this slick surface, he felt a sense of unease. Something was off about it. He had spoken with several students about it, and they all felt similarly. One had even claimed to sometimes see a slight shimmer above the scalp, but Schickelgruber knew that the chemistry student frequently tested his experimental pharmaceuticals on himself and therefore hardly made for a particularly credible witness.

He mentally prepared for a reprimand as the giant stomped toward him. Involuntarily, he noticed the buildings in the background. He suppressed an inappropriate smile as his favorite story about the construction of the university came to mind, as it often did. It was widely known, although no one would say it to the rector's face, that he had no clue about architecture. Therefore, he had simply asked around which universities had the reputation for looking the best and most impressive. Most respondents had raved about the venerable universities of Cambridge and Oxford. About sandstone facades and neo-Gothic architecture. After that, the rector had randomly selected an architect from the phone book and informed him that he wanted exactly that. The poor guy naturally didn't believe at first that, as an unknown beginner, he would get a major contract, completely without a tendering process, out of the blue. In principle, he had done quite well as a beginner, but some aspects of the building arrangement could have been much more practical.

But that was one of the lesser problems the janitor had to deal with. He pushed aside the distracting memories, straightened up, and clicked his heels together as the rector came to a halt directly in front of him. As always when he stood before his boss, he had to tilt his head back to see his face and not just his chest.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Schickelgruber! I clearly ordered that I don't want anything on the premises that frightens the new students this time. At least not until they've settled in a bit or are in controlled small groups. The Veil will be fully occupied later anyway. I can't have large-scale panic outbreaks."

"Good day, Mr. Rector Argus. Don't worry. I've taken care of it. Professor Majere is informed. By the time the freshmen arrive, we will have collected all his new assistants."

The janitor nervously ran his hand through his greasy black hair and refrained from giving a military salute at the last moment when he remembered that his employer couldn't stand such formal gestures.

The rector nodded in satisfaction, then furrowed his high forehead as he concentrated briefly. He made a disgusted face. Without turning his head, he gestured to the side, directly at a student who was using the early morning hour to jog undisturbed. "Hey! You there! There's a street sweeper lurking by the parking lots. One of that sort here. Get him and take him to Majere's faculty."

The student looked around confusedly, glanced in the direction where the parking lots were located at the other end of the university grounds, and wisely decided to just do what he was told. He nodded. "Sure thing, Rector. On my way."

He changed direction and jogged away at a slightly faster pace.

The rector watched the student for a moment to make sure he was heading in the right direction. Then he shooed his janitor away. After all, there was still more than enough for him to do. When he was about to continue walking, he nearly stumbled over a gray-blue feathered bird the size of a swan that had settled directly in front of him on the path. The bird nervously fluttered its tiny wings, tilted its head, and looked at him somewhat stupidly. Then it rose and waddled away.

"Dumb creatures, no wonder they went extinct."

He pulled a smartphone out of his back pocket and brought up a list that his secretary had prepared for him. She would surely have been surprised that he was actually using it for once. This time everything was prepared for the start of the semester and the arrival of the new students. The reception tables outdoors were set up, and he had made it clear to the Meteorological Faculty what he thought of excuses like "We only predict the weather." And also, what he would do to them if it rained contrary to his instructions. The students who had appeared during the semester would be awakened from stasis, cryosleep, or magical stupor on time. Depending on what his deans had used to prevent curious newcomers from wandering around all year. The Veil had also had enough time to provide them with the most important information and mitigate the worst culture shocks. Soon, all the planned arrivals would show up.

In the building he was passing by, a window on the second floor opened. Loud animal noises became audible. Grunting and shrill screeching. He took the trouble to turn his head and look up. Something with brown fur became visible. Large wings spread out. Hairy paws desperately clung to the window frame. Before he fully understood what was going on here, someone from inside pushed the creature completely out of the window. The wings spread out, flapping frantically once, twice, then the animal crashed onto the lawn.

The winged chimpanzee got up, shook its head briefly, and looked around anxiously. Then it hurried away on legs and finger knuckles as fast as it could. The large wings flapping uncoordinatedly on its back probably came from an eagle or maybe a large vulture. The rector was too uninterested in ornithology to be able to judge that accurately. But he knew who had to be responsible for the creature. He stuffed his smartphone into his pants pocket and shouted up to the still open window, "Hey! Doctor West, how many times do I have to explain to you that the damn rules of aerodynamics can't be overcome by sheer stubbornness? Without magic, your flying monkeys will never take off! Leave the poor creatures alone or get some guys from the Faculty of Applied Magic."

An old man with thick horn-rimmed glasses and hair sticking out in all directions rushed to the window and looked around the courtyard. He glanced briefly at his rector but otherwise ignored him. Instead, he watched his creation go: "Fly! Fly, my little monkey! Come on! Do your best!"

The rector shook his head slightly. The doctor didn't adhere to rules or any instructions. How could he be mad at him?

This time, his students had become smarter and had disappeared in time. Therefore, he randomly entered the next building, reached around the corner, and pulled out a surprised, chubby black-haired girl. "You, find yourself a few helpers and catch the flying monkey again. Bring him to Doctor West in the Biological Faculty."

"What flying monkey? What are you talking about?"

"It's a chimpanzee with wings. You'll recognize him when you see him. And now get going!"

Satisfied, he watched the student running away. He glanced at his list again and tapped the icon for "Capture any experimental animals running around if necessary" next to "Done." Then he stretched and set off to take a nap on the couch in his office before the first newcomers arrived. He was curious to see how they would all react...