Meredith? Where art thou? on Pecari Commons

Elly Eriksson

November 30, 2008 2:59 PM

Meredith? Where art thou? by Elly Eriksson

The first week had been manic, as usual. Elly knew from her past four years that it was only going to get worse - there was Quidditch, charms club, Novelling, and now her prefect duties, which included work for this concert at the end of the year. Plus there were CATS, and Elly was still trying not to think about them - there was no chance at all she would manage to pass everything. On top of all this, she had no home to go back to in the holidays, and she was pretty sure that Custard was getting sick again. He didn't want to eat banana anymore; Custard had always eaten banana.

At the end of the first full week, on Sunday evening, Elly finally finished her assignment due for the next morning and only closed her eyes for a brief second. She'd been busy all week unpacking, having a birthday, picking Quidditch back up and what-not, and she was exhausted. Not only that, but she hadn't spoken much to her friends, either. True she'd seen most of them over the summer, but she hadn't caught up properly; Elly wanted to ask Echo if he'd done the counselling thing, she wanted to ask Caede about her new siblings. She wanted to ask Irene about her father, and her holiday with her uncle, and wanted to find out from Danae if she'd only imagined the tension between Josh and Matt in the past week.

But mostly she wanted to talk to Meredith. She needed to know if her friend and her family had survived the summer; she needed to make sure Meredith was okay. Besides, she wanted to tell Merrry all about her own summer, particularly the very last bit - Elly hadn't yet had time to tell anyone about that.

Even though she'd only closed her eyes for a second, Elly opened them to realise the room had got darker and she was no longer alone. "Must have drifted off," she yawned, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

0 Elly Eriksson Meredith? Where art thou? 92 Elly Eriksson 1 5

Meredith Lail

December 02, 2008 11:33 AM

Hither, friend. What dost thou desire? by Meredith Lail

From the reactions she had seen from older students in fifth year, Meredith had expected to feel nervous about the year she took the CATS. But as things stood, this year felt just like the previous years. Greeting her friends at the Opening Feast and then starting up classes again, albeit classes that were a little harder than they had been, and practicing gymnastics and Quidditch and loving every moment of it that she had to miss out on the year before. There were too many other things taking precedence in her mind. Maybe the weight of CATS would catch up to her later.

After the first long week, Meredith still didn't see much of a change and didn't see what other students had been so scared of. All she felt was the usual wear and tear effect that school had on students. The only difference that wasn't even so major and wasn't unique of that year was the occassional nightmare. It wasn't often anymore, which surprised her over the summer being back at the cause, and she wasn't violently aroused from her sleep anymore. If she woke up feeling unusually sad or scared without reason and couldn't remember her dream, she could safely guess what it was about and settled to simply wish her mother's ring good morning rather than dwell on the nightmare.

After another outdoors session that always made her feel perky, Mere returned to the dorm room she shared with her friends. Elly was sleeping on her bed. Prefect duties must have taken a bigger toll than Mere thought. She felt a little more thankful for not being picked and hoped Elly was handling it all right. She showered and changed before returning to the dorm where Elly continued to sleep. With a stifled laugh, she crept over to the foot of her friend's bed. After a pretend stretch, she straddle jumped onto the mattress. The small bonce seemed to wake Elly.

"Must have drifted off." Meredith laughed.

"Must have, Miss Prefect. What's Headmaster Bulla got you doing that you're so sleepy, huh?"

0 Meredith Lail Hither, friend. What dost thou desire? 0 Meredith Lail 0 5

Elly

December 03, 2008 1:19 PM

A council with thou, should it be welcomed by Elly

"Must have, Miss Prefect. What's Headmaster Bulla got you doing that you're so sleepy, huh?" Elly's eyes focused to Meredith, sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Bulla? Nothing yet," she yawned. "I'm exhausting myself," Elly said with a sleepy smile as she leant forward to give her friend a sleepy hug. "Stop me from doing too much, won't you?" she asked Meredith's shoulder. Then using Meredith for support, Elly hauled herself up and round so she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, facing Mere.

"So," she said, a little more brightly now she was awake again. "How are you? Haven't spoken to you properly for ages." Elly grinned. "Plus I have a secret to tell you, but I absolutely refuse to tell you until you tell me and make me believe you that your summer was okay."

Pulling her ginger curls back from her face in a no-nonsense kind of way, Elly looked at Mere sternly - well, it would have been stern if she weren't trying, but failing, not to smile. "So get comfy," Elly said, "and talk to me."

0 Elly A council with thou, should it be welcomed 0 Elly 0 5

Meredith

December 04, 2008 8:44 PM

Indeed it shall. Let us make haste then. by Meredith

"I'll do my best," Meredith told Elly's wild hair while returning the hug. "Can't lose you under all your work. That'd make for an awfully boring Elly which would make for an awfully boring school."

For a minute Mere didn't understand what Elly wanted her to say about her summer and she was much more interested in whatever secret was being kept. The summer was what it was, but then she remembered the totally out of character conversation the girls had last year when Meredith told Elly about the attack and knew she couldn't be surprised that Elly was asking. Mere just hoped she hadn't wasted any effort really worrying. Her confused stare gave way to a conceding smile

"I'm fine and my summer was fine," she started. "I spent most of my time outside playing Quidditch or practicing gymnastics with my instructor. Ms. Laura said I could help her at the studio next summer if I practiced enough! And of course I had to get myself back up to par after a year off, but I'm totally ready to kick butt in Quidditch. " She struck a battle-ready pose and laughed. She had a feeling that her game would never be quite the same, but she doubted anyone would really notice. She was proud of all she accomplished that summer and more training would only make her better. "But I just love being able to do them again, you know?"

"And besides, whenever I was home I had to use my 'woman's touch,'" Mere said with finger quotations, "to clean up the house so I kinda tried to avoid it. I can think of a billion things I'd rather do, but Daddy needed help and Max and Anthony are hopeless so it turned into my job. Daddy and I got the garden growing again though. I just don't know if it'll be there when I get back." She shrugged with a tame grin. "So do you believe that my summer was okay?" she asked half jokingly.

Those were the details Mere cared to retell and it was the bulk of her summer anyway. The only significant thing she left out was the small memorial service for her mother on the anniversary of her funeral. She didn't think it needed mentioning, especially if she wanted to convince Elly her summer had been good. And it had been. There were very few sad moments like that.

"Come on. Tell me about yours. How'd everything work out with that lady at your house? And what's the big secret?" She bounced on the bed eagerly.

0 Meredith Indeed it shall. Let us make haste then. 0 Meredith 0 5

Elly

December 09, 2008 5:01 PM

Making haste. by Elly

Elly listened attentively as Meredith explained her summer. She was trying to look out for any signs of upset, but there didn't seem to be any. Meredith could help coach gymnastics next summer ("That's great!" Elly said) and she'd been playing Quidditch. "The team is going to rock this year," Elly added with a fierce nod. Even the bit about cleaning the house up wasn't so bad - Elly had to do her own chores, after all, and tidying was probably the sense of normality that Meredith needed. "Ah, typical men," she said with a grin and a roll of her eyes.

"Yes," Elly conceeded when Meredith was done, "of course I believe you. I'm glad you had a good time," she said with sincerity and a big smile. Of course then it was Elly's turn to talk.

"Well," she said dramatically with a cheeky smile, "that woman hung around til August, and I had to pack up my life into boxes - yes, that does sadly mean that my finger-painting masterpieces have been thrown away. Dad's going to stay with Mum in Austria when he's not at work, and in hotels when he needs to work in London. So, on the plus side we're pretty rich, but on the downer I have no home," Elly pulled a sad puppy-dog face before she gave in to laughing again.

"Um, aside from that I turned down a modelling job," (here she pulled a face and her tone made it very clear exactly what she thought of that) "and kept up coaching the kids with Vicky. All hockey-d up." After a pause, Elly added, "And then..." She laughed and without really meaning to she leant closer to Meredith. "There was a big party at Vicky's house, as usual, and her cousin Ryan was there. We liked cousin Ryan," Elly said, nodding. "We might have done some kissing with cousin Ryan," she said, raising an eyebrow in an almost self-mocking fashion. It felt very strange to be sharing girly stuff like this - Elly hadn't ever really had anything to share before.

0 Elly Making haste. 0 Elly 0 5

Mere

January 02, 2009 1:53 PM

Now feeling hypocritical by Mere

Thankful that she was believed, because thinking of Elly worrying over her wouldn't make Mere happy, she gave Elly her full attention. She absolutely had to know what the big secret was. But that had to wait until the less happy and exciting summer news was told. Mere was sorry about Elly having to basically uproot herself and her whole life. She could empathize in a way. Nothing about her house would ever be quite the same, but both girls would adjust. Mere was sure of it. She kept a smile, even adding, "Aw. I love those paintings. I'm gonna miss them," before grinning in a manner very typical of her.

"So when you go back home for the summer or midterm, where are you going to stay with all that new money you got?" Mere asked. She almost hesitated from adding her next sentence, but got over any lingering doubt. "You're always welcome in Nashville, but of course you knew that already."

Then Elly continued with the rest of her summer story. Mere laughed at the face Elly pulled over the modeling job and when her friend seemed to reach the best part, Mere raised her eyebrows and followed Elly's lean without realizing she had done it. For a minute she didn't know why the statement both made her half gape in cheer and made her stomach twist, but then the mentioned name shot through her mind painfully. She ignored it and kept listening. There were other people in the world named Ryan and she couldn't get upset whenever she heard the name.

Mere blinked at Elly and a lopsided smile tugged at her lips. She wasn't exactly sure how to respond to what she heard. Mere didn't know much about couple stuff. Boys never seemed interested in her for anything but friendship, which was all Mere ever wanted in return. Even when she went to the Ball with Matt, he asked her specifically because she wouldn't make a big deal of it and they could go as friends.

"And just how much do we like cousin Ryan?" Mere asked half jokingly. "Do we plan for future visits and future parties and future kissing?" She winked.

0 Mere Now feeling hypocritical 0 Mere 0 5

Elly

January 08, 2009 11:00 AM

I hear it's going around by Elly

"So when you go back home for the summer or midterm, where are you going to stay with all that new money you got?" Mere asked.

"No idea," Elly replied. "Mum says I can stay with her but," she wrinkled her nose, "we get on better the less we see each other. I don't think living together again would be a good thing." Elly smiled at being welcomed to Meredith's. "You're such a sweetie," she said with a smile. "I might drop by over summer." This had almost as much to do with playing Quidditch as it had to do with seeing Meredith, but Elly thought her friend would understand.

Then Meredith was giving Elly an odd smile, and asking questions that Elly had barely given any thought to herself. "I don't know," she said, resting her chin on her hand, elbow on her knee. "I'm guessing nothing more will come of it - I mean, not that I go around kissing people randomly," she explained unnecessarily, "but I don't know if I'm even going to go back to England, you know? Probably to see Grandma, but aside from that," she shrugged. "He knew I was leaving at the end of the summer. Didn't stop it being fun though." Here Elly couldn't help but grin again.

"But," she said with a sigh, shifting her weight again, "now we are back at school and kissing opportunities are minimal. Oh, that reminds me," Elly sat up a little straighter, "what's off with Matt and Josh? You think something happened with Danae? Do you know anything?" The trouble with living in Muggle-Land all summer was that Elly often missed out on a great deal of news... and gossip. She had to rely on others, like Meredith, to fill her in.

0 Elly I hear it's going around 0 Elly 0 5

Mere

January 17, 2009 6:13 PM

I wonder what you take for something like that. by Mere

Meredith stuck her tongue out of a crooked grin at Elly's compliment. "What can say? I'm a giver." She laughed. "Just don't let the drop in food quality scare you away, okay?" Mere joked. She wanted to have her friends back to her house. Maybe that would help everything feel even more normal and she wouldn't have horrid flashes of nightmares whenever she walked through her front door. Normalcy was the only thing she wanted for the time being.

Mere stifled giggles during Elly's explanation of the good Ryan and how nothing else would probably come of their kiss. She couldn't help but wonder if, had Elly been able to stay in her house in England, something might have come of it. Would they be having more chats like this, huddled close and laughing over boys and kissing? Would it mean anything more to Meredith? And then Elly mentioned Matt and Josh.

She thought for a moment, rolling onto her back and stretching her legs up and alternating between flexed and pointed toes. She definitely recalled something off between the twins she still confused if only given a passing glance. She wouldn't know what to make of it if Elly hadn't mentioned Danae and even then she didn't trust any deductions she could make. She only shook her head and looked at Elly, now upside down in her eyes.

"I don't know anything for sure. You don't think they're fighting over her or something, do you?"

That would be sad and ridiculous to hear considering the boy to girl ratio at Sonora Academy and considering Matt seemed closer to Eavan Valentine than Danae Dupree. Also, Matt and Josh always seemed really close, something Mere connected with the fact that they were twins. What a dumb thing to fight over!

0 Mere I wonder what you take for something like that. 0 Mere 0 5

Elly

January 19, 2009 2:00 PM

Ask your pharmacist by Elly

Elly grinned; she would definitely be visitng Meredith over next summer. It felt like a long way from now, but she knew how fast the school year went if you didn't keep an eye on it.

Mere turned upside down and lay on the bed. Reaching forward, Elly pulled loose a small clump of her friend's hair and began to braid it while they talked. Meredith put forth her views on what might be up with the Santoro boys, and Elly chewed her lip while she thought about it.

"I don't know," she replied. "Danae definitely likes Josh." Elly already had this impression just from being in such close contact with Danae all the time, and then talking to Eavan had confirmed it, "but I wouldn't have thought she was Matt's type." Then again, how would Elly know what Matt's type was? He'd taken Mere to the ball but that was just as friends, like her and Echo.

Elly laughed suddenly. "We've probably taken two and two and added them together to make five," she said, gently tugging Mere's new plait. "Would be funny if they were fighting over a girl, though. Not from their point of view, obviously," she giggled, "but I mean it would be ironic." This was quite fun, just chatting idly about ridiculous girly notions. Elly was trying to forget about the amount of work she would no doubt have to do over the following week. "We could do with an influx of boys," she said decisively. "Is it just me or were all the transfers girls?"

0 Elly Ask your pharmacist 0 Elly 0 5