UnderPressure/SchoolGrounds

History of Crimson Orchid Academy:

Mnemon Nakanishi's legacy, the school has managed to become quite well-respected despite the early struggle over it even existing. According to a strict interpretation of the charter of her trust fund, the money could not go to any school with male students, as the female gender was used throughout. In a brilliant, if sleazy tactic, the person charged with controlling the fund had a friend of his challenge the legal precedent, and used the money for his own investments while the school waited, half-built. Eventually it was straightened out, and construction resumed of an all-girl's school, which eventually became one of the most respected and difficult schools to graduate from in the Realm.

The Campus:

Boasting almost a hundred acres on the official deed, they use far less. Simple low buildings, heavily built and sheathed in marble line a promenade, with a single spire for the record-keeping, faculty rooms, and equipment storage in the basement. A fountain cools the courtyard in the summer, so it is a popular gathering place, and also almost always under watch, being a similarliy popular place for showdowns of both the physical and social sort. The dormitories are seperated by years, with one single dormitory for the Exalted at the opposite end of the promenade from the spire. Visitors are allowed in once every other week, and trips are taken out to nearby towns and other schools for the purpose of socializing on special occasions.

Lacrosse is the major sport of the academy, with a vicious rivalry between it and an upstart Peleps school. Alcohol and the less noticable drugs are available for a hefty price, with the trade split between two-factions that hand down leadership from year to year as the previous ringleader graduates. Despite the name of the school, the flower-arranging and gardening clubs are poorly attended, with the more martial clubs commanding waiting lists and even school-sponsored events.

Uniforms:

Being bankrolled by a Mnemon-led trust fund causes certain design aspects of the school to be conservative, and this extends to the uniforms in the most backwards of ways. Short-sleeved button-up shirts and knee-length skirts outside of winter, when they lengthen appropriately. Shoes are up to the student, and are the biggest expression of individuality in fashion terms, with several clever students sending messages by shoe selection. Black with bronze trim for the unexalted, white with platinum trim for the exalted, red with gold trim for the staff. The metallic color grows from simple banding as the rank increases, with the class president being entirely metallic. The red orchid that is the symbol of the academy is embroidered on each shirt, with thread spun of rubies for the senior staff and the class president. Many rumors abound about the actual properties of such items, but nothing substantial has ever been proven.