There’s a cute boy over thataways! He towers over most of the student body, including the older kids, but he remains noticeably fourteen, and he smiles at her for a moment when he spots her in the crowd.

He is, at first, in the middle of a conversation with someone else, and then he is not in the middle of a conversation with someone else.

Well, she can try the relatively direct approach. "Hi! My name's Rebecca."

“Hi! I’m Zeke; you have super pretty eyes,” says Zeke, who always tries a relatively direct approach.

"Aw, thank you! Are you like, from a wizard family? I'm not and I'm super weirded out by everything!"

“I’m from the New York enclave, yeah! - that seems, like, super scary, are you okay?”

"It is REALLY SCARY. I'm literally in my pajamas! I traded my hair for slippers! I miss my family and I want a hug!"

Zeke hugs her, unless she meant that in a less immediate sense and this is indicated by her body language!

Nope she was super angling for a hug. She is very snuggly and her pajamas are soft. She faceplants on his shoulder. "You're tall," she mumbles."

“I am! You’re soft and pretty and nice to hold,” he says, gently squeezing her.

"Awwww, thank you! I like you."

“I like you too!” he says, lifting her slightly off of the ground in the process of hugging her and then setting her back down, still en-hugged.

"Eee!" she giggles.

He gigg- he chuckles, because he is a mature fourteen year old boy baritone who does not giggle, no sir, and hugs her tighter!

"Aww I'm really glad I met you, the whole mood here is super dire but now I have hugs and everything is better. Do you wanna try to figure out where the supply room is together? I think I need to sew myself some clothes."

“- I dunno that the supply room is a super keen idea right now, do you wanna borrow some of my stuff for now? We can, like, do a trip with lots of people tomorrow, or something, probably.”

"Gosh, I bet all your stuff would be big on me but that sounds good anyway! I don't need to change right now but where can I find you in the morning so I don't have to wear them to breakfast?"

“I’m in 282B! Where’s your room?”

"303B! That doesn't sound so far away but I don't know for sure how it's laid out yet."

“It’s super confusing, I dunno either.“

"I guess we'll pick it up! Oh, there's map things, on the wall, maybe they have numbers."

“Ooh!”

Would Rebecca like to be CARRIED over to one of the blueprints on the wall.

Oh GOSH yes. "Wow, you're really strong!"

“Thanks! You’re really pretty!”

It transpires that Zeke is the innermost ring of scholomance dormitories and Rebecca is in the outermost ring, in the same section of the school and on the same level! There’s only a very short walk between their rooms. 

"We're neighbors! Awesome. Annnnd there is the supply room looks like."

“Cool!”

"First thing in the morning! I'm excited about magic songs even if everything else about school is dumb."

“Ooh! I dunno any magic songs but they sound fun, are they, like, your affinity?”

"I think so? I've never done any magic without singing, anyway."

(Zeke is still holding her in a bridal carry.)

“Cool! I’m good at, like, the kind of magic thingy where the effect is really small at first and then it builds up a lot over time, like, incremental layering stuff. You should teach me magic songs!”

"Sure! Can you read sheet music?"

“Yeah!”

"Then I can totally write up the ones I know once I have paper!"

“Cool!”

He... sets her down? That maybe seemed like a setting-her-down sentence.

She nuzzles his arm a little bit once she is on her feet. "Do you know what time it is here? There's a curfew to worry about, right?"

“1:30ish? Curfew isn’t until, like, forever from now.”

"Oh good. I got woken up in the middle of the night but I don't think I could sleep now if I tried, this has been really, uh, awakening."

“It’s all super weird even when you’re, like, expecting it, it still sucks so much that you didn’t get a chance to prepare or anything. See you tomorrow morning or at dinner?”

"Do you need to go do stuff? I thought now wasn't a good time to go to the supply place, that's why I said first thing tomorrow..."

“Julia looks like she’s doing a thing and I should be, like, a supportive enclave-mate about that, but you could come with?”

"Sure, I'd love to meet your friend!"

“Nice!”