#edgeofmadness

She had her dorm room to herself. Not standard policy for EU but when your family have been patrons long enough to have their own scholarship fund you get a bit of leeway. That and the last member of her creepy family to enrol went through five roommates in the first month. The administration thought it best to nip that in the bud rather than gamble this one would be less “eccentric” than her forebears. They were glad they did when she moved in and brought all her luggage inside a coffin. Why are the wealthy always the kooky ones?

In her case the answer was obvious to those in the know; Her family estate was in a thin spot smaller but just as fragile as the University. She had grown up on top of the fractured boundaries between realities. As a result she knew all the mysterious Rules when she got here; Which made it even more spooky when she broke them constantly. She would go out without iron or salt, she wandered the forest at night, and she always…ALWAYS used her True Name.

No one understood how she hadn’t been Taken yet; Other than Them of course, They got the message loud and clear. That name told of a long and ancient story of love, war, death, and truce, long lost to history; Human history at least. However the ending was short and simple, “This one is off limits”. She knew this well enough, she didn’t need salt, iron and noxious herbs, just her name. She was an Addams; Family was protection enough.

The freshman art majors were tasked with creating a project piece by combining two themes drawn from a hat. Thriftstore got the themes “high-class” and “irony” so she decided on making some fancy clothing from some less than fancy materials. A waistcoat, top hat and bow tie fit the bill perfectly. Did you know you can get a thousand of those gaudy plastic beads online for less than $8? She had no use for the resulting eyesore after it was graded so it was freely given to someone who could best appreciate it. Jimothy practically hyperventilated itself inside-out that day. Thriftstore never came to any harm at EU after freshman year. She was almost Taken once but was saved by a sudden hailstorm; At least she thinks that was hail.

The game “the floor is lava” is banned within University boundries. The Administration claim potential property damage as the reason. They’re technically not wrong. The last time a group of Gentry learned about that game there was a particularly expansive glamour created that night. The illusory fires might not have caused any damage but the people trying to put them out sure did.

I feel selfish about how glad I am that stupid mirror is finally gone. With how big and ornate it was it must have cost a fortune but my roommate just brushed it off like it was nothing. No one saw who broke it at the party but I guess we’ll figure it out when we see who gets seven semesters of bad luck. At least I won’t get scared into thinking my reflection is an intruder three times a week; My blood pressure can’t take it anymore. Even now that it’s gone I still get uneasy whenever I see my roomie studying at the desk they put in its place. I’m probably just getting paranoid from being on campus for too long. This place plays tricks on you. Still…I could have sworn they were left handed.

Most students know that space being more fluid on university grounds than the outside world often leads to people winding up in the wrong classrooms. Not so many know that it being more ridged than in Elsewhere can sometimes give Them the same problem.

Unlucky Gentry: (Wait, that’s not the poetry professor)

Chemistry Professor: “Good morning class, today we will be discussing the relationship between metals and salts.”

Gentry: (!!!)

Prof: “While the term salt is most often used to describe the common table salt, sodium chloride, there are in fact millions of different types of salt.”

Gentry: *Internally screaming*

Prof: “A salt is any chemical in which the hydrogen in an acid has been replaced by a metal. Hydrochloric acid produces table salt when reacted with the metal sodium. However it is possible to make a salt from any metal on the periodic table, such as iron.”

Gentry: *faints*

The chemistry students were eyed even more warily after that day.