"How many scrambled eggs is that, again?" Lucas looked at my plate, which was covered in a mass of yellow.

"Four. I think. Or was it five?" Honestly, it was probably closer to six. Today was a big day, after all.

"Exactly how much protein is that?" I frowned, looking down at it.

"Yes?"

"That's not an answer, but I see your point," Lucas let out a sigh. Without military funding, I would probably be eating them out of house and home. And they already had two more black holes in the wings, one in puberty and the other on the near cusp of it.

"Are those pop tarts under there?" he paused, raising an eyebrow. I only gave a slight grin in response. "You are a bottomless pit."

"If I'm a bottomless pit, what does that make your children?" I chuckled, causing Lucas to let out a snort.

"Sassy today, aren't you?" he shook his head. "Stressed or something?"

"First day at a new school, halfway across the country," I managed to get out between spoonfuls. "Of course I'm stressed."

"Relax," Lucas patted my back. "You'll be fine. I've heard plenty of great things about the place, and besides, you won't be the only shipgirl there, either."

I knew things were going to be just fine. That it was just my anxiousness and never getting to me, rather than a sign things were going to go wrong. But it's just one of those things, that worms its way into the back of her head, like a dark whisper that only you can hear. It wasn't like I wasn't used to doubt whispering in my ear, either.

"I know, I know," I waved the feeling off. "You know how I get sometimes. I'll get over it pretty quickly."

"That you will. Besides, I'm willing to bet your parents will try to call you sometime after you get out of class. They'll probably want to ask about how your day went," Lucas picked up one of the remaining plates at the table, putting it into the dishwasher.

"Of course they will," I grinned. I tried sending them both a text at least once a week, so it wasn't like I was out of touch.

"You have to be the only kid your age that doesn't mind talking to your parents like that. Last I heard, your brother was busy being a little fart about spending time with them," Lucas frowned, turning back around.

"What can I say? I got through all my teenage angst early," I shrugged, shoveling a few more bits of eggs as my eyes flicked towards the clock. Still a few more minutes before I had to get out the door.

"Early? You didn't have any angst in the slightest! I mean, you got quiet and moody a few years during Elementary School, but you otherwise mellowed out," Lucas chuckled.

"That's what I mean by I out all my teenage angst out of the way early," I cracked a grin myself. Beyond that brief period in Middle School, which nothing had prepared me for, well, that. So I didn't exactly blame myself for taking that whole, thing, rather poorly. There was nothing in the world that could prepare anyone for that. Especially someone who never had to deal with it in the first fight to the death with puberty.

"If only all parents could be so blessed," I kind of had to roll my eyes on that one. That was certainly neither here nor there. My brother was always going to be a bit of a pain, and I saw no reason to act like the stereotypical teenager.

"Besides, the bus will be here in a few minutes, so," Lucas gestured back upstairs.

"You really think I was going to head to school for the first time without brushing my teeth? Are you insane? I'm not trying to speedrun becoming a social pariah or anything," I grinned, taking the stairs two at a time. Which was something I stood a decent chance of getting away with, these days. Before now, I usually ran the risk of tripping up the stairs. Not anymore! With my longer legs, I could spring up two at a time, no problem! Unless.

My foot landed slightly off, landing a bit too close to the step's edge before it slipped clean off. My forward moment was too much for me to stop. I couldn't stop myself. In a moment, my arms pushed forward, half-remember instinct put into a falling technique, all in a desperate hope to arrest my forward fall.

My arms out, forearm, and hands making a triangle to distribute the force of the impact. There was just one problem. One tiny, but largely significant problem.

This falling technique was made for flat surfaces. Not stairs. So instead of hitting the ground and distributing the force, I got two sharp points of impact along each arm, causing me to hiss in pain.

"Son of a donkey," I muttered under my breath, pushing myself back onto my feet. Looking down at it, I winced. Still, it probably wasn't going to bruise. Just hurt for a little while.

"As my kids say, can you please stop yeeting yourself up the stairs," Lucas tried to sound stern, but I knew without a doubt he had recorded the whole incident. Either to show off at family gatherings or just to show my parents at some point in the future. "Also, langue, young lady. I know your parents wouldn't approve of that talk."

"Really? I'm not that young," I rolled my arms, taking the steps one at a time. For the stairs were treacherous little gremlins, and I'd get them eventually.

"Yes Ma'am," Lucas snickered, shaking his head.

"Don't you start with this Ma'am nonsense! I work for a living," I peeked my head around the corner as I headed towards the bathroom to finally get my teeth brushed. Lucas was in absolute stitches, clutching his sides like they were a lifeline.

"Not right now you don't!"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

This was. Well. Big. I hadn't been expecting a stereotypical school by any stretch. Everyone's seen it in some form or fashion. Stairs to the front door, the multiple levels full of classrooms, flag pole just right out front. Most schools weren't like that at all. And this one?

Was no exception. But compared to my old school? Even with the outbreak of the Abyssal war, none of them saw any major change. Sure, there were bunkers added in, layouts tweaked to be more efficient, that sort of thing. But it had all been, minor. Almost unnoticeable. For most students, there probably wasn't much to notice.

But that was in the interior of the country. And while I certainly wouldn't say the school looked like a bunker, it certainly had this fortified look to it. Not an obvious one, that would send the wrong message, but I certainly picked up on it.

"Sup, new girl," I felt someone elbow me in the arm, bringing me out of my daze. I looked over towards the offender, a girl with snow-white hair and dark skin. There was a faint flicker about her, like a faint mirage. It was like back at base, around other shipgirls. But, foggier. She was, unawakened, then?

"Dang, are you okay? Zoning out like that already, new girl?" she chuckled to herself. I shook my head. Right now, I kind of had bigger problems to deal with than an unknown ship being the first person I meet.

"Sorry. You don't exactly see schools built like this in the Midwest," I turned back towards the building slightly. Of course, I had no hope of finding the Principal's office out here, so it was probably time to get a move on.

"Oh, I understand that completely. It was quite the shock seeing this place for the first time, myself," she grinned, flashing her teeth. That's odd. Must have been a trick of the light. Though I could have sworn that there was a skateboard sticking out of her backpack just a moment ago.

"I can show you the Principal's Office if you want. This place is a bit of a maze if you aren't used to it," I paused for a moment, considering her offer. She did know the way, after all, if she'd been here a while. Plus, she could point out other important rooms and locations within the school.

"Well, it would be quite rude of me to refuse," I faked a little curtsy, grinning as I went, which earned me a howl of laughter.

"That does not suit you at all, new girl," she managed to wheeze out, voice slowly evening out. "My name is Anong. I'm assuming you got one of your own, new girl?"

"My name is Kathrine. It's nice to meet you, Anong," I paused for a moment. Did I get that right? I certainly hope so.

"Kathrine? That's a pretty big name, new girl," Anong hummed for a moment, before snickering. Really? Was 'new girl' just my nickname now? "And you butchered it, by the way. Most people just call me Ann for a reason."

"No, no, I'm going to get this right. Even if my tongue wants to kill me for it, I will pronounce your name right," I frowned. Anong. Anong. Anong. Over and over, I went over it in my mind, trying to get the pronunciation down just right.

"I like your moxie, new girl. But we should hurry up. Don't want you to be late, after all."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Anong, whose name I was doubtlessly still getting terribly wrong, dragged me through the halls at top speed. Maybe dragged was the wrong word. But that didn't stop her from pulling me through the crowded hallways, the throng of people parting like the Red Sea. It was almost as if they were used to getting out of her way, as I couldn't help but notice the puzzled glances. Not ones sent towards her, but the ones sent towards me. So some part of this was at least a regular occurrence.

"And here we are!" Anong shouted as we came to a screeching halt. I nearly tumbled over, forward momentum still applying to me, but I managed to stop myself from tumbling over.

"Thanks, Anong," I rubbed the back of my head. I hadn't quite expected something like that, rushing through the halls at nearly the speed of sound. Not like anyone could expect that.

"No problem, new girl! I'll see you around sometime, okay?" and then she was off, a blur of motion right down the hall. Was that how I looked just a few seconds ago?

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Well, it certainly didn't take long for weird shipgirl stuff to find its way to me. Maybe it works like magnates? Probably would be my guess. Alright. It's time to do this. I knocked firmly, but gently, on the door, three times, before stopping. For a moment, there were only slight reverberations, echo's bouncing off the halls.

"Come in," a woman's voice came from the other side, as I slowly pushed open the door. Part of me had been expecting another shipgirl. It would just be my luck, after all, and honestly, it kind of made sense. I was here. Then there was Anong, who was a warship in some form. If there were at least two, there had to be more. And if there were two, it might be good to have a shipgirl in charge to help bring down the boot as needed.

But then again, there would probably be issues with that, I'd imagine. Plus, keeping one ship out of the field could be problematic, especially for something like this. It wouldn't surprise me if the Navy was certainly keeping an eye on the place though. Antics were okay, as I understood it, but things could be taken too far.

"Welcome. You must be Kathrine," she offered me her hand, partially standing up from behind the desk. "My name is Principal Williams."

That name was fairly masculine as far as last names go, but on that front, it was hardly worth noting. There were quite a few other things that were a much greater draw on my attention. Towards the back wall, I saw a few medals and trophies, most of them having to do with her old high school accomplishments. But that had nothing on the row of medals in a small case, facing towards the door.

Those were all military medals and honors. Even a purple heart. So she was a veteran, no doubt about it. And depending on the injury, it would go far to explain her age. She didn't look too old, at least, no older than late thirties to early forties at worst. Though that just simply being a case of good genes wasn't wholly out of the question.

"Thank you," I shook her hand in return. Her grip was quite firm but warm in a sense. "It's very nice to be here."

"I see you've already met my sister-in-law," she smiled a bit, as I paused. Sister-in-law? Anong was the only person I met here so far, which meant she was the only real option. Unless she was talking about someone back on the naval base. But that opened things up to a whole lot more people.

"Anong?" I guessed, lips twitching into a slight frown. There just weren't a whole lot of specific options on that front. It had to be at least someone she expected me to know. She grinned slightly, nodding as she turned around a picture that I just now noticed was facing the other way. There were two people in the frame. One, was, of course, Principal Williams. The other.

I frowned. Her face looked familiar. Long pink hair wasn't unheard of when it came to American shipgirls, Lexington being the first that came to mind. But it wasn't exactly a common trait, either. And I knew Lexington's face well enough to know that the other girl standing in the photo wasn't Lexington.

So who was it? Was that? Quincy? I mean, the hair was certainly on point, being well past shoulder length, as was the color. She wasn't often seen without a red bow in her hair, but given the occasion being photographed, a white one would be far from out of the equation.

But, if Principal Williams was married to Quincy, then that would mean Anong was a New Orleans class cruiser?

"Congratulations. Both on your marriage and your service," I offered, working on getting all this new information stored away. I wasn't aware that Quincy got married. I either must have missed the news, or completely forgotten it. Which was strange. Even if it was just keeping tags on shipgirls as a whole, I should have gotten such news. Maybe I just filed it away as gossip and never bothered to remember it.

"Thank you," she paused for a moment as if collecting herself. "Once again, I must formally welcome you to this school. I'm sure you've come quite a long way. Halfway across the country, in fact, if your paperwork is correct."

I nodded. Of course, it wasn't like the navy, or my parents, for that matter, were going to get that wrong. Of course, it was this whole thing of transcripts, getting those ordered and signed off, alongside everything else. I would have done it myself, but my parents insisted on it. Honestly, that wasn't an argument I was willing to have.

"We've managed to get your schedule put together," a piece of paper came across the table. Yes. Schedules. Back in college, you got to design your workload. What times you didn't want to be in class, which classes you wanted to take, and when. High school was sort of similar, or at least, mine was. But there were far fewer options, classes were shorter, and you took them all back to back.

"It's temporary, of course. If you want something changed, all you would need to do is speak with me. We've made sure that all classes you were taking at your old school are matched with courses that best fit from our own," Principal William reassured, as I looked over the paper.

Well, I wasn't going to the specialty program during the morning hours like last time, so they didn't have to spend time finding an alternative to that, at least. I could only imagine the havoc that could have wrought. Doubly so for the band. A new person transferring in could prove to be a nightmare, though it would be a nice way to meet people.

So, what did that give me? English was first. A bit early in the morning, but that was workable. Lunch was right at the start of History class. It was best to have lunch at the beginning or end of a class period. That way the lecture wouldn't be interrupted, which could cause problems. Computer classes were not long afterward. At least it was simple programming languages. Math was in the last period, rounding out the day. Which was fine.

The only oddity I could find is that replacing one of my classes was a study break. One was fine. I could work with that. But two? That was a bit excessive. So what had been cut? I had English, Biology, Geology, History, Programming, and Math, which meant. Really? Did my Foreign Language not make the cut? How?

"I'm missing," I pointed out on the sheet. She winced slightly.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have a Latin Class here," she looked quite apologetic. I bit on my lip, holding back a sigh. That was, annoying. I'd put a lot of effort into that class, actually intending to get through four years of it, instead of throwing in the towel at just one. That was a lot of sweat and effort down the drain. But life is just like that sometimes.

"It's fine," honestly, something like a Latin teacher would probably be in short supply in the best of times. Let alone this one. "I just have to ask if the credits still transferred over?"

Principal William's nod did bring a sigh of relief. Good. If they hadn't, I'd be a bit more concerned. Still, it wasn't like I couldn't put the open period to good use. Extra study time wasn't exactly a bad thing. Maybe this will end up as a blessing in disguise? Maybe. I'd still probably want to look for something to fill that spot though. It wouldn't be good if the time just simply ended up being wasted, either.

"Can you give me a list of available course's so I can look it over when I have the time?" I questioned, looking up from my new schedule.

"Sure," Principal Williams handed a small yellow packet, alongside a smaller sheet of paper. Oh, login information for my new school personal account. That was useful. I'd have to stick it someplace I'd remember and try and get it memorized. Until then, losing track of it wasn't going to be an option.

"Thank you," I quickly stuck both pieces of paper into my binder, keeping my schedule on hand. I'd elected to take a backpack to school. While probably a few people knew my face at this point, there was no real need to announce that I was a shipgirl at the top of my lungs to the entire class by pulling stuff out of my hull. While it certainly would be easier than the whole, lugging around my books thing, it wasn't worth the convenience on that front.

"I'll give you a brief tour of our school. After all, it's not every day we get a new student like this," Principal Williams stood up, and I quickly followed her out the door. It was impressive how much prosthetics technology had improved over the years.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

What time was it again? Vestal blinked, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to fight away the sleep. It was, damn, I've spent way too many days awake, o'clock, just like when she last looked.

Still, it was done. Well, not done, done. But it was close enough. Sure, they'd have to run tests, minimizing the chances of a nasty surprise, but this was it. This was as good as they were going to get, without some type of crazy redesign that would break several national banks.

Would some kinks needed to be worked out? Sure. Probably. But those could be dealt with during training and work up. Still, she should probably call Kathrine and tell her the good news.

She was, forgetting something. Today was, Sunday? No, Monday. Today was definitely Monday. Which meant, Kathrine would be at school? Right? Probably? If that was the case, it was probably best to wait until after. That would give Vestal time to sleep then. After all, Kathrine would positively ecstatic. No need to distract Kathrine on her first day of school.

She just needed to submit the design for final approval. Vestal could certainly do that. Right after this nap.