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Claremont Academy. Third Floor, Rita Kord Dorm. September 4, 2018 10:05 am Lulu didn't have too much stuff to bring in; most of her clothes were still back at the Harrows' place across in North Bay, still in the boxes and bags from the mall. She was used to travelling light, carrying her most important belongings in ziplock bags tucked into a backpack and a gym bag. Growing up in rural Alabama, there were always floods or hurricanes or tropical storms that forced you to relocate for days at a time, pulling up stakes in a hurry as you grabbed some bottled water for the road. Most of the houses in Columbia were either trailers or simple uninsulated structures that were cheap to repair or rebuild. There was no real sense of permanence; God could wipe out everything you owned with a simple wave of His hand. But Freedom was very different; everything here was built to last, or even survive assault by supervillains. The walls and floors of Claremont were thick and well-worn, scuffed and polished by the passing of hundreds of youthful hands and feet. Everything was spotless and freshly-cleaned, yet you could still feel the history of the place. Lulu found room 309 with little difficulty, and stood in the doorway for several seconds as she took in the space that would be her academic home for the next three years. Two beds, two dressers and two desks in a pleasant, airy room that somehow managed not to smell like a hotel. She picked the left-hand bed at random, dropping her two bags next to it as she laid down on her back, staring up at the ceiling, idly flexing her sneakered feet this way and that. "Well...here we are."