Kara dropped her ratty black suitcase where it was, and threw her duffel bag onto one of the two beds in the room. She left her backpack on, for reasons unknown.

"I wonder if my roommate wants that bed..." Kara instinctively muttered to herself. She didn't even know if she had a roommate. She just figured that two beds equals two people.

Plus, that tidbit was in the pamphlet.

She deflated onto the bed and dwelled on that for a moment. The thought of living with someone else...in the same room...spending every night six feet away from some person she knew nothing about? What if they turned out to be a mass-murder, or a serial rapist, or something worse? What even was worse than a serial rapist? A teletubby?

Kara breathed out a long sigh of irritation as she attempted to quell her absurdly hyperactive brain. She instinctively reached for her Anxiolytic, until she remembered that it wasn't anywhere in her luggage. Knowing her parents, it would arrive with the rest of her luggage about three weeks after she really needed it.

Kara sat there for a few more seconds, before reaching for her duffel bag.

This was gonna be a long day.

Teddy was walking around the hallways in his basketball shorts and a t-shirt. That was the great thing about living at the mansion. He could pretty much wear whatever he wanted and no one would say anything because chances were that they had something else that looked far weirder. He came across what looked like a new person just starting to get checked into their room. The giveaway was the duffle bag on the floor that the girl was reaching in.

The teen paused in the doorway for a second and decided to introduce himself to her. She might need help unpacking or something. Teddy poked his head in the doorway and knocked on the door. "Hi. You must be new here. Do you need help unpacking?" He waited outside the door waiting for the girl to reply. There was really no reason that he shouldn't at the very least introduce himself. Maybe he'd be the first kid she's at the mansion.

There was a lot on Kara's mind as she unzipped the duffel bag. Namely, where exactly she had put her Anxiolytic. She closed her eyes and thought as hard as she could. Did she leave it on the bathroom counter? No, she moved it somewhere. She remembered the TSA agent giving her crap about it at the Train station, but did she send it home or put it somewhere else?

>>"Hi. You must be new here. Do you need help unpacking?"

The voice surprised her so much that Kara immediately curled up, threw her hands in front of her face defensively, and screeched at the top of her lungs, "AAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

Then the shock wore off, and she just felt like an idiot.

She parted her hands enough so she could get a good look at the strange boy. Then she quickly decided to close her hands. Finally, slowly, and never taking her eyes off the stranger, she returned to a sitting position (though after a couple moments, she habitually crossed her legs).

She took another good long look at the boy. He didn't look especially dangerous. He actually looked kind of cute. God, now he must think she's insane. 'What were you thinking, Kara?' she thought to herself. 'Now look what you've gone and done! If he panicks and runs, it's totally your fault!' Realizing she was staring, Kara immediately averted her eyes, becoming especially interested in the door frame. The last thing she needed was to make him think she was a creeper on top of being a weirdo. She finally decided that the akward silence was a bit long, and so she mumbled a response.

"Erm...hi...uhhhh.....I'm sorry....for...erm...freaking out like that. You just...erm...surprised me...is all."

'Smooth, Kara. Real smooth.'

Then she thought for a second. Didn't he ask something else? Kara wracked her brain, trying to think of what he said. But there was nothing. She was probably screaming over his question. So she decided to call upon her silver-tongued rapier wit to help her out of this.

"What did you say again?" she stammered.

Teddy jumped a little. He didn't think that he would have frightened her that easily, especially since he was standing in the doorway. Ted thought that she would have seen him but apparently she didn't. After a little while she seemed to calm down, but be a little nervous about meeting him. "Sorry I didn't mean to." Teddy stammered. He certainly wasn't expecting that reaction. Maybe she was just a little high strung mutant. He couldn't blame her.

"Erm...hi...uhhhh.....I'm sorry....for...erm...freaking out like that. You just...erm...surprised me...is all."

He then realized that she was staring at him. Did she expect him to turn into a monster and attack her? Maybe she just wasn't expecting him to look so normal? He didn't know but he wasn't about to ask. Maybe once he knew her for a bit he would ask her.

"What did you say again?"

"Oh I was just asking if you needed any help unpacking." Teddy repeated. "I'm Ted by the way. What's your name?" Teddy took a cautious step into her room. The bed next to hers was empty and he guessed that she didn't have a roommate yet. It would only be a matter of time before she got one. It seemed like new students came in daily. Teddy still didn't know how the mansion managed to have room for everyone that came in to live there but they did. It also made him wonder just how many rooms were actually in the mansion.

>>"Oh, I was just asking if you needed help unpacking. I'm Ted, by the way. What's your name?"

"Um...Kara. Carragail. Whichever, I guess. And..." Her voice trailed off as she glanced around at her luggage. Her duffel bag had apparently been kicked over by the local Ms. Clumsypants, though it hadn't splayed her clothes onto the floor. Her suitcase was almost halfway across the room, and was simply laying where she'd haphazardly set it. Her backpack was still on her shoulder, and she still didn't know why. She awkwardly slid it off onto the bed, and glanced around the room idly.

"And...um...kind of. I kind of...misplaced my...anxiety meds," she muttered. "And...where do we check in?"

She grabbed her backpack and set it on her lap, though she had yet to actually do anything with it. She knew her meds couldn't be in there. All there was was her laptop and headphones, maybe a few cables and speakers. No, she wasn't interested in looking there. She was more into the idea of having something solid (well, semi-solid) between her and Ted.

She glanced him over again. Still not lethal-looking

"I think I'll stick with Kara. Sounds easier to pronounce."

Anxiety meds. That explained why she was so jumpy. Teddy stopped at the bed closest to the door. She still seemed uneasy about him being in there and to tell the truth he wasn't all that comfortable with being in there himself. "I don't know where exactly you check in. Its been a while since I've had to do that." Teddy told her. When he came to the mansion there was someone that checked him in. "You're probably already checked in if you go your room." Teddy wasn't to sure how it all worked.

Teddy sat down on the bed across from her. Kara still looked uneasy but now he just supposed it was from the meds. Great the one time I meet someone she turns out to be crazy. Ted thought as he smiled at her. Maybe it was just his luck but he really felt like she was expecting him to turn into Freddy or the Hulk and mutilate her. "Are you expecting something? I'm not going to jump you or anything." Teddy asked. IT may have been a bit blunt but he wanted to know if she was expecting him to do a trick.

>>"I'll stick with Kara. Sounds easier to pronounce."

"Okay," she breathed, slowly leaning down to grab her duffel bag and straighten it out. She still clutched her backpack to her chest, mostly for comforts sake. Even if it was a bit of a hassle to keep it from falling onto the floor.

She glanced up at him again. He was sure taking his sweet time walking into the room. Which was odd, because he didn't seem very nervous or anything. Naturally, her brain went to the worst possibility, but she immediately busied herself with the duffel bag's stubborn zipper, trying to keep her mind off of that.

>>"I don't know exactly where to check in, it's been a while since I've had to do that. You probably already checked in if you got your room"

"No, I haven't..." She stopped. Then she completely dropped.

They give you your room when you check in.

And Kara hadn't checked in.

'Oh God...What if I'm in the wrong room?' She glanced up at the door, as if expecting the actual owner of this room to stumble in. That would certainly be a situation worth avoiding. But...wait a minute...What if Ted was that person? What if he was just sitting there waiting for her to...no no no! That's not right! He said he'd checked in long ago. But maybe...

>>"Are you expecting something? I'm not going to jump you or anything."

Ted's question completely interrupted her thoughts, so much that she almost jumped up, but didn't. "Oh, no," she stammered, "I just get....anxious...around people."

So he says he isn't threatening. Kara was still mentally deciding if she wanted to believe him or not. But it did beg the question...

"What can you do, anyway?" she blurted out.

Teddy smiled at the girl. People don't usually get nervous around him. He always thought of himself as a very nonthreatening looking teen. Some of the others around here would definitely give Ted the willies but he didn't think he was one of them. Maybe it was just her way.

Her question seemed to indicate that she was relaxing a little around him. He didn't know if that was exactly true but this was usually a question that brought a lot of 'aww so cute' reactions from girls. Teddy took a deep breath and said, "I can turn into stuffed animals."

"Not the most threatening power in the world but hey... I bring the cuteness to any hide and seek game." Teddy said smiling. He was joking of course but he certainly wished that he could use his powers for more than just getting a 'that's so adorable' reaction out of girls, and winning hide and seek.

Ted patiently waited for her reaction and the question that usually followed his explanation of powers. "What can you do?" He always hated asking this because he was always afraid that someone was going to clam up and shy away because of their powers. It didn't always happen but it did every once in a while.

>>"I can turn into stuffed animals. Not the most threatening power in the world, but hey...I bring the cuteness to any hide and seek game."

"Oh, ok," Kara muttered. So definitely not threatening. And it was probably a good thing that she didn't own any stuffed animals, so she didn't have to be paranoid about that. And unless Ted knew karate or something similar, which it didn't look like he did (granted, people are full of surprises, but things like that are usually easy to tell from first glance), he wasn't very much of a threat.

'Hear that, brain!?' she mentally hollered to herself. 'NOT dangerous!'

>>"What can you do?"

"Oh, me? I...light up." Then, deciding that was too vague, she added, "Like a lightbulb." She nodded slightly, as if confirming to herself that that was specific enough.

Having successfully zipped up her duffel bag, she scooped it up and placed it on the bed, trying to keep the noise down to a minimum (for no particular reason). Then she went to grab her suitcase, but quickly realized that it was way out of reach. And she didn't want to get up. It was a thing of Kara's; she hated being the first person to stand up in a room. It always made her clench up when she had to, and she'd much rather avoid mentally dealing with that for some stupid suitcase.

On the other hand, though, she really needed to go check in. So for a few long seconds, she simply sat there, caught in a stalemate, nervously eyeing Ted and itching to get up. Finally, she blurted out, "We...we should probably go find the check-in."

For a moment, she paused. We? Why had she said we?

Then the moment passed, and she pushed those thoughts aside.

Teddy listened to her explain her powers. "That must save on your energy bill." Teddy said to her jokingly. He guessed that she'd probably heard it about a million times but it was to late to take back the joke. She seemed to get anxious again. He didn't' know if it was the weird silence that was going on but he figured it might be.

"We...we should probably go find the check-in."

Kara suggested that they go find the check in. He only supposed that she said 'we' because she was offering for him to tag along and help her find the check-in. Teddy stood up and made his way to the door again. He was going to lead the way since he'd been her a while he knew the mansion a lot better than some of the others.

"Sure I'll come with you. I don't have anything else to do. I think I know where to go. Shall we Kara?" Teddy said. He was now standing by the door and waiting for her to join him.

>>"Sure I'll come with you. I don't have anything else to do. I think I know where to go. Shall we Kara?"

She nodded, standing up slowly and trying to subtly stretch out a cramp or two. In all honesty, Kara was still reeling slightly from Ted's joke about her power. It was so bizarre. There was no, "Oh, man, that's so weird" or, "Show me, so I can put this video on youtube and make a fortune!" It was just a simple little jest, that she even found genuinely funny. It was the last thing she expected to hear, but in a good way.

Maybe this place could be an actual home.

'Don't get ahead of yourself, Kara. You still don't know your roommate.'

In the depth of her thoughts, Kara found herself nearly falling over, having tripped on her suitcase. She quickly steadied herself, then grabbed the suitcase and placed it on the bed. Satisfied that it wouldn't go anywhere, she immediately darted back to the door (though she kept Ted outside of her 'Danger Zone').

Once she arrived, she made a quick gesture, as if to wordlessly say, "After you!"

Teddy was glad that his joke went so well. He smiled when she stumbled but he didn't say anything. Sure it would have been a little embarrassing for her but he was just glad that she didn't completely fall on her face in front of him. When Kara walked past him he walked out of the room and said, "This way."

He turned and started to walk down the hall, in the direction that he was originally headed when he first stumbled across her. "This way will take us to the main lobby area." Teddy explained as they walked. It was more of a way for him to keep a conversation going rather than just walking in silence.

It didn't take long before they were close to the offices. "Theres a few offices right there." Ted said pointing to a few closed doors. He stopped in front of one of the offices. "Here ya go... I think." Ted waited. He didn't know what would happen of if she would even want to go in, but they were there and he was no tour guide so he couldn't really say what would happen after he got her there.

Kara plodded along behind Ted like an obedient puppy, her gaze shifting between Ted's back, the hallway, the occasional passer-by, and the particularly intricate floorwork (which still wasn't as good as the floor in Neuschwanstein, but that's pretty hard to contend with). They mostly walked in silence, with Ted giving the occasional direction to where they were going. There was no way she'd remember this. She'd probably spend one of her summer days exploring this place and drawing a map for herself.

When she looked up again, she noticed that Ted had stopped, and was now at a very uncomfortably close distance.

She screeched to a halt, then scampered back a few feet until Ted was no longer in the Danger Zone. Then she finally stopped and listened to what he was saying.

>>"Theres a few offices right there. Here ya go... I think."

Kara followed his finger to where he was pointing. It was down a small branch, and a few closed, wooden doors dotted either side.

Kara made an audible gulp. She began walking towards the nearest door, but her progress was significantly hindered by the fact that her legs had spontaneously turned to lead.

A little closer...

A little closer......

Finally, she was less than a foot in front of the door. She went to knock, then withdrew. Then tried and failed again. Finally, she turned to Ted and asked, as if looking for confidence, "You're sure this is the right place."

Teddy watched Kara walk towards the door that he pointed to. She was apparently nervous about going to talk to someone and didn't want to knok on the wrong door. He couldn't blame her, he certainly wouldn't want to knock on the wrong door. But there wasn't a lot of options on whose doors they should or shouldn't knock on. She turned and asked if he was sure it was that door.

"Ya I'm pretty sure." Teddy replied with a reassuring smile. Honestly he wasn't really sure if this was the right door. He could have been wrong but he'd have to wait until she knocked on the door to find out if he was right about the door or not. The teen wasn't sure if he should wait for her or not but he was going to at least stick around until she knocked on the door and started talking to someone. He didn't want to just desert her like that; especially considering how anxious she got about things.

>>Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"Pretty sure?" she squeaked. She glanced at the door. Pretty sure? Pretty sure!?

On one hand, she faces a total stranger with a lot of power of her her (potentially).

On the other hand, she never checks in, and spends the next four years on the streets.

Nervously, she stretched out her hand toward the door. Then she hesitated, before finally tapping lightly on the door three times. She waited a few brief seconds, mostly out of pure paralysis, before finally backing away. She was all set to run for it, when the door lurched open. And in less than a few seconds later, she was staring face-to-face (from a few yards away) with a slightly older-looking gentleman, who looked too much like the villain from the Lovely Bones for Kara to actually think properly.

"Can I help you?" he asked, in the friendliest voice she'd ever heard.

"Um...uh...buh..." she stuttered, unable to respond. Finally, she managed to stutter out something along the lines of, "Um...I don't know where to check in..."

He smiled. "Oh, it's at the front desk. It's right near the front door, you can't miss it. Now, if you'll excuse me..." he disappeared back into his room.

Kara squeaked a quick thank-you and scuttled back near Ted (though she kept a bit of distance). After a few deep, relaxing breaths, she muttered with a nervous chuckle, "That wasn't so bad."