They're shown into a little box of a room and she takes a second before she moves to her seat. Just a second and a quick glance, not careless or nervous. There simply isn't a lot that she didn't already expect to see. A window (and it could only be a window), a clock and chairs. There are two of them and placed facing each other as if for interrogation, as if for enemies. She sits, waits, tipping her head to the other chair to signal her interview partner to sit as well. Not a gesture of command but not of invitation either, more the courtesy paid at the beginning of a duel. Incongruous with any impression made of her based only on her appearance. Seventeen in a schoolgirl skirt but there is something precise in the way she sits with her crossed ankles, shins in black socks, arms bent at the elbows so that she's all strong lines and angles.

Suddenly she relaxes back into her seat, a softening of her body meant to deceive, to create a false lull so that when she asks "What do you think the Drift is like?", her voice is a knife-slice of sound in the quiet room.

[ she's used to the summer of an urban city, sunlight reflecting off glass and steel, the noise and the claustrophobic crowd. the Chilean summer is different. The heat is a weight pressing down on her, relentless and without a single cloud or skyscraper to obscure the full glare of the sun. only their instructors seemed unaffected and even seemed inspired by it, sadistically assigning them daily runs although as former track star, this isn't that much of a change to Hitagi. but this is the academy and there's always the Drift to keep in mind so they're assigned to run in pairs.

you run together and if need be, you fall down together. one of you wants to stop, you both stop, rest but don't sit down and then move when you're both ready. no leaving your partner behind and no skiving off somewhere either and pretending you ran the miles.

her partners change daily. some are faster than her, some have more stamina. some are more sensible and know when they're about to hit their limit. hitagi never asks to stop even when her partner decides to extend the run past the initial mile.

she's pinning her hair up as she looks at the partner she's been assigned for today's run ]

I'm not going to ask to stop. Don't mistake this for a challenge though. I'm not concerned about your pride and neither should you worry about mine.