Go along with it...for now.

Swallowing your pride, you spread your hands placatingly. "All right, all right. Fine. We'll do it your way, Terence," you say with a tight smile.

Terence lets out a sharp exhalation; a held breath. You hadn't realized that he'd been tensed, waiting on your response - he seems so generally stiff that it was hard to tell. He gives you a nod and a grimace that you suppose is intended to be a smile, and sits back down at his desk. You shake your head and go back to unpacking the last of your books.

"Well," you say to him as you lift them onto the shelves. "What do you know about Ephesus?"

You can almost hear Terence tilt his head at you behind your back. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know. I didn't visit, so I don't know much about the school, really. Do you know of any good hangout spots? Any frats you want to join? Anyone to look out for?"

There's a long pause. "...Not really," Terence admits. "I confess I came here mostly for their religious studies program. I intend to become a pastor." You roll your eyes slightly, since he can't see. "And you?"

"Undecided." You put the last of your books onto the shelf and flop down onto your bed. "I'm interested in a lot of stuff, but...yeah, I don't know yet."

"I see. Well, you should decide soon! Undeclared students aren't eligible for the scholarship, so most people decide by Christmas." Terence bends his head over his planner and begins to pencil things in from a schedule as you sit up, staring at him.

"What scholarship?"

Terence looks up again and frowns at you. "You haven't heard about the Ephesian Scholarship?" When you shake your head, he blinks. "It's...it's really famous. Every year they award one student a completely full ride for the next year. Not just tuition - housing, a living stipend, the works. It's extremely competitive."

"Oh, jeez." You flop back on the bed. "Well, that sounds like a long shot. What do you have to do to be eligible?"

"Everyone's eligible, but it's based on some sort of performance metric. I don't really know the details. Something about living a model life," Terence says with a shrug. "I imagine they try to give it to a student who, you know...who fears God. Lives well." You manage not to roll your eyes this time, since he can see your face.

"Well. There's a lot of those here," you mutter. What a shame - that scholarship could be quite useful for you.

Terence gets up from his desk as you let out another sigh. "Come on. We'd better get going," he says.

You raise an eyebrow. "Going where?"

"The orientation meeting! Full class. Didn't you read the schedule?" Now he sounds annoyed. "Come on, Luke. I'm not going to be carrying you through the year, you know...this is mandatory."

You grunt. "Oh, all right." Rolling up from your bed, you drop to the floor and follow your new roommate out into the hallway and toward the quad where the orientation is set to begin.