Alone in a crowded room on Labyrinth Gardens

Professor Nathan Xavier

February 24, 2017 10:55 AM

New Student Orientation by Professor Nathan Xavier

A new year was beginning and with it came the wagon loads of students, arriving from all over the country and even the world. Nathan Xavier stood on the open lawn between the school building and the main entrance to the Labyrinth Gardens, greeting the kids disembarking from each wagon as it arrived in the early afternoon.

"Hello, welcome back, good to see you again, no leave your luggage, welcome to Sonora, hello, good summer I hope, welcome back, welcome to Sonora," he greeted each student individually but quickly, one greeting running into the next and barely pausing to breath. Once the wagon was empty, he addressed the group, "Returning students, there's snacks and sandwiches in the Cascade Hall or you can head out to your dorms or the library." For all but the second years, it was the same routine as last year and some hadn't bothered waiting around to hear it again. Neither had he even tried to stop them. There were prefects and staff about to see nobody got into trouble, but the returning students were largely free to settle in and entertain themselves until the Welcoming Feast began at dinner time.

"New students," he addressed the remainder, opting against calling them First Years this time because there were transfer students among them this year, "You'll be having an orientation in the Gardens, go ahead and follow the signs to the mixer area. Enjoy the food, grab a introductory folder, meet your fellow students." There were staff members within the gardens as well, making sure nobody got lost along the way and again to prevent anyone from causing trouble.

Once all the wagons had arrived, he walked with the last group of new arrivals to the garden clearing where tables of food were set up, offering both healthy and unhealthy alternatives to consume after their flights in the enchanted covered wagons that carried them here. Magic ensured the safety of all on board and helped the wagon cross the miles very quickly, but the benches to sit on were wood and the cushions meant to soften the seats during turbulence were . . . less than entirely effective from what he had overheard over the years.

He gave the last batch some time to collect plates and folders. The latter mostly consisted of a map of the school and a copy of their class schedules (he hoped the transfers found the folders labeled for intermediates without too much trouble and the first years had all taken theirs from the larger stack of folders labeled for beginners). There was a more general schedule as well, with the hours when the dining hall served food and the library was open and when curfew was in effect and so forth. Another page invited anyone who was having language, writing, or study habit difficulties to contact Professor Skies and attend her academic help sessions in the Transfiguration classroom; the days and times that met were also provided. He had additionally included a page with the school's code of conduct on it, but he didn't really expect anyone would bother reading past the title of that one.

He gave them a little more time to chat, eat, and look through their materials, then he cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Hello, may I have your attention please?" He waited for most of the conversations to pause, repeating his entreaty as necessary until he had the attention of the majority of the new students. "Thank you, and I would like to extend a warm welcome to each of you to Sonora Academy. I'm just going to go over a few things about your new school here, then you may continue getting to know each other for a little while. At four-thirty, we'll start a tour of the school and its grounds to get you familiar with where everything is, then that will conclude in our dining room, the Cascade Hall, where you will each then be Sorted into one of our four Houses. At that point, you may join your Housemates and enjoy the Welcoming Feast with the rest of the school."

He paused a moment to let them process the day's schedule of events then launched into his Orientation Spiel. He would repeat some of it, add to it, and expand upon some of the points during the tour, but this was the condensed version of Things You Need To Know About Sonora that were important to introduce first.

"Let me start by introducing myself. I am Professor Xavier, the Herbology teacher and a Head of House in the school." He opted not to specify which one so as not to show bias. He also did not mention that he was still serving in the groundskeeper position until a new one was found because he was in the process of phasing out of that job.

"As most of you should know, Sonora is a magic school for witches and wizards between the ages of eleven and eighteen, covering seven years of class material. Sonora is a small school, so we only have three levels of classes: Beginner classes are for first and second years, Intermediate classes are for third, fourth, and fifth years, and Advanced classes are for sixth and seventh year students. This will allow to meet and work with students in your neighboring year groups and learn from their experiences as well as your own."

"We have seven core subjects that all students are required to take through fifth year. These are Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. Starting in third year when you begin Intermediate lessons, you may additionally pick up one of our electives. Sonora currently offers Muggle Studies, Astronomy, and Divination as electives. If you wish to learn a different subject that the school does not offer, please speak to your Head of House about our Independent Study program. After fifth year, you may drop whichever classes you like so long as you keep at least two, though it is strongly recommended to take a minimum of three. Two passing RATS grades are required for graduation. RATS are the standardized tests everyone takes at the end of seventh year. CATS are the standardized tests at the end of fifth year and passing those is required to continue into Advanced classes. Any questions so far on academics here?"

Once he fielded all relevant questions, he continued, "Extracurricularly, Sonora has a wealth of student run clubs for you to join. And if none of them suit your interests, you can create your own, too! Some examples from last year include an Art Club, Book Club, Spirit Club, an Orchestra, Fashion Club, a Fund Raising Club for charities, and more. Each House also has its own Quidditch team, who compete against each other, if you are interested in that. Crotalus is the current reigning champions."

"Sonora has four Houses, which are decided magically based on your personality and values, so hopefully you should find yourself living with people you can find common ground with. Your Head of House and prefects are there to help you with any trouble you are having, whether that be academic and you need help finding a tutor, or you just need to talk to someone about being homesick, or to help resolve conflicts between you and someone else in the House, or outside of it for that matter. Those in the same year group, House, and gender will all share a room together. You can earn House Points for exceptional classwork, good behavior, and participation in school activities. Likewise, misbehavior loses points. The House with the most points at the end of the year gets a special treat and the honor of hosting the House Cup in their commons the next year. Any questions on Houses, clubs, or Quidditch?" The school brochures went over the qualities of the four Houses in pretty good detail, and most students seemed to have already put a lot of thought into which one they might find themselves sorted into prior to arrival, so he didn't feel the need to rehash that part unless asked.

"Okay," he concluded once all of those questions had been answered, "You may now spend some time getting to know each other until it is time to leave on the tour."\r\n

\r\nOOC (Out of Character):
\r\nWelcome new students to Sonora! You can post a reply here (click that 'Post Reply' button underneath this text) to meet your new classmates or ask staff questions. This thread is intended for first year students and transfers to have a chance to try out posting and get acclimated to the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming. So post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC board or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can.

Subthreads:

Like draws to like (tag a transfer) by Zevalyn Ives

A genuinely catastrophic idea by Jen White with Brett Newell

Alone in a crowded room by Eden Manger with Ryder Knight

Setting up shop by Cleo James

1 Professor Nathan Xavier New Student Orientation 28 Professor Nathan Xavier 1 5

Zevalyn Ives

February 24, 2017 12:43 PM

Like draws to like (tag a transfer) by Zevalyn Ives

Zevalyn had initially been able to equate waiting for the 'wagon' to pick her up in Pheonix to waiting for her school bus. This illusion was shattered when she actually saw it. She had figured the term 'wagon' was being used in the same way the Welcome Wagon or the Food Wagon used it: as a metaphor. But no. There it was. A covered wagon, right out of Oregon Trail. Except this one could fly and it didn't have a team of oxen pulling it.

Dad helped her get her suitcase and cauldron (dude, this place required kids to bring a freaking cauldron!) into the wagon. Then she gave Mom, Dad, and Amber (who had come along to see her off) big tight hugs and tried not to cry at the thought of not seeing any of them again for months. She'd be fourteen tomorrow; she was too old to get all bawl-y. Even if this was going to be the first time she was away from her parents for more than a night or two.

Between squeezing her eyes tight and clenching her teeth during each hug, she did manage to keep the tears inside and the sobs from erupting. Then she fled into the wagon before anyone could say anything sentimental and break down her dams.

Then the wagon was flying away. From Pheonix, it didn't have far to go to get to the Sonoran dessert, so she was still marveling at the sensation of flying when it began its decent and landed beside what looked like a large mansion.

A middle aged guy helped her get out and sent her into a hedge maze. Fortunately, it wasn't hard to find where she was supposed to go, and she headed right over to the piles of introductory folders. She hesitated over which type of folder to take for a moment, but Mr. Quincy had gone over what to expect at the magic school and she knew she was enrolled in beginner classes for now, despite her age putting her into the intermediate bracket. She picked up a beginner folder then went to get some snacks.

Her trip had been relatively short, so she'd eaten lunch before getting on the wagon, so she just grabbed some tasty looking fruit pastries. Cheese cake squares maybe? she guessed. She tasted them. Yep, cheese cake squares. Maybe magic school wouldn't be all weird after all.

She looked around and was surprised to find she wasn't the only one older than the standard first year and drifted naturally to another older student taking Orientation.

"You're new, too?"

1 Zevalyn Ives Like draws to like (tag a transfer) 380 Zevalyn Ives 0 5

Jen White

February 24, 2017 3:56 PM

A genuinely catastrophic idea by Jen White

No wonder they'd been abandoned in the desert, Jen thought as she trouped into the designated clearing along with the other new students; a hidden boarding school for teenagers and pre-teens learning and practising magic spells was a genuinely catastrophic idea. They didn't even have a skate park, Jen inwardly grumbled, the hems of her skater jeans dragging along the floor as she strode, head lowered to avoid making eye contact, towards the food table. She viewed the spread through the lenses of her black-framed glasses and decided against eating, despite the instruction she had been issued to ‘enjoy the food.’ She lived in Arizona, so had not had time to develop an appetite during the short wagon ride. Instead, thin fingers - with no nail varnish because that, along with her skateboard, was a maternally-banned substance at her new school - poked out the sleeve of a lightweight black hoodie to retrieve an information pack. Jen spent the next few minutes casually considering its contents and avoiding social interactions until a staff member came to complete the orientation introduction.

A tour of the school sounded useful; herbology sounded like a class about herbs, which was odd. The extracurricular clubs sounded okay, but only for the first two examples, and then they just sounded weird and cliquey. Quidditch was something Jen was contemplating. She didn’t really like sports, because she didn’t really like people who liked sports. Or physical exertion. Or enthusiasm. But her options on leisure activities were limited here, so she wasn’t out-right rejecting broomstick flying as opposed to skateboarding. It was not the same, nor even remotely comparable, but she would need some distraction if she wasn’t going to be driven completely crazy.

Having no questions to ask, Jen remained in silent apathy at the end of the speech. She didn’t really want to get to know her fellow classmates - at least not right now, as it was inevitable over the course of the next seven years - but considering they were all standing together in a comparatively small area with the instruction to interact, Jen didn’t really see how she could avoid it. Exhaling audibly, she turned her head to view the person next to her. Her mousy-brown hair was short and choppy about her head, and occasionally fell frustratingly into her vision, but the eleven-year-old could rarely be bothered with grips to keep it back. Tucking the front strands back behind her ear - a futile movement as they would only fall forward again in a few moments - Jen tried not to frown at the other student. “So. Hi,” she greeted. There, she had made contact.

0 Jen White A genuinely catastrophic idea 388 Jen White 0 5

Eden Manger

February 25, 2017 4:20 PM

Alone in a crowded room by Eden Manger

Eden Manger kept her head down as she stepped off the wagon. She had kept her head down the whole ride here, despite every bump in the ride, every chat she overheard. Certainly no one knew anything about her - it wasn’t like she was famous or anything - but really, she just wanted to keep to herself.

It was hard to be excited about school or be in the mood to make friends when she was still mourning. Her dad had just died in June, and he was her everything. She had learned because of it that she and her older sister Desiree had four other siblings, which was nice, even if it didn’t change really lessen the grief. She especially liked Jake, who was the closest to her age. But even he could not be with her at Sonora, because he had just graduated weeks before everything happened. So she was here, at the school three of her siblings had gone to, but without them. All alone.

A lot of the time, Eden liked being alone, but this new level of being alone felt scary and absolute, and she didn’t like it nearly as much. At least the professor who was there to greet them seemed friendly. He didn’t say which House he was Head of, but the name he gave sounded familiar, so she thought that maybe he was in charge of the one Jake had been in. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember what that was at the moment. It definitely wasn’t Crotalus, which was the one Professor Xavier mentioned specifically as Quidditch champions. Jake played Seeker last year, and he definitely hadn’t caught the Snitch.

After some basic information and the time period allotted for a potentially painful question and answer segment passed, they were free to mill about until the tour began. To hopefully avoid looking as lonely as she felt and therefore getting talked to, Eden decided to check out the food arrangements. It seemed to her to be mostly snack stuff, which made sense since there was a feast on the horizon. But it was dinner time on the east coast, and she had insisted before leaving that she wasn’t very hungry. Now she was. She supposed she would just have to sustain herself on cookies.

12 Eden Manger Alone in a crowded room 385 Eden Manger 0 5

Brett Newell

February 25, 2017 7:37 PM

That's my summoning call! by Brett Newell

“Bye, Flo! Bye, Makenzie! Bye, Dustin,” Brett said in decreasing order of importance as he separated from his family members at the end of their wagon ride. His sister had told him to expect a bumpy ride, but he hadn’t expected it to be that bumpy! It was awesome! Super fun, like a thrill ride! Flo had told him once about something she’d read about that Muggles did, roller coasters? Those sounded awesome too. This was kinda like that, but like, not as much.

There was a big dude greeting everybody individually when they got off the wagons, and Brett thought he was pretty cool. He stretched up as far as he could to offer the man, who would soon be introduced as Professor Xavier, a high five.

He flounced over to the concessions immediately, popping a cookie in his mouth as he grabbed his schedule and looked it over. Brett wasn’t really an academically-minded kid, but he figured Flo would ~~do his homework for him~~ help him with anything he didn’t understand on his own, so he wasn’t particularly worried.

Professor Xavier talked about classes, too, as well as a bunch of other stuff, but Brett honestly sorta tuned out. No offense to the dude, but Brett was just ready to get this show on the road. He was eager for the tour, and even more eager to come back sometime in the future for his own tour. Flo said she hadn’t explored too much without him, so he was super excited to get into all the school’s nooks and crannies with his big sis, maybe get lost in the Gardens somewhere and find something exciting!

Brett struggled to suppress a groan at Professor Xavier’s conclusion, resisting the urge to toss back his head in frustration, partially because having a bad attitude on the first day was a bad plan and partially because he didn’t want to deal with his brown curls flopping in his face. Seriously, how far off was 4:30? Brett had no problems being sociable and getting to know his new yearmates, but he really wanted to get the tour going.

“So. Hi.”

Brett turned to face the source of the greeting. A girl. “Hi,” he grinned at her. “I’m Brett. What’s your name?” When he had gained that information, he asked a follow up question. “Are you excited about the new school?”

12 Brett Newell That's my summoning call! 384 Brett Newell 0 5

Jen

February 26, 2017 2:59 PM

Do you have a banishing call? by Jen

The stranger was smiling, and he had brown curls that were flopping about in a manner way more irritating than Jen’s hair. He introduced himself as Brett, so she guessed he wasn't a stranger anymore. “Jen,” she replied, adding no further comment. She didn't need to, because Brett was already talking again, asking if she was excited about the new school.

Jen shrugged. “I dunno.” Not true; she was excited on some level but she didn't want to share that with not-a-stranger Brett, same as she didn't want to share any of the other emotions she was experiencing. Trepidation and pride were just some of the other feelings she was not planning on owning aloud. She did recognise that it wasn't helpful to be sullen so she looked upwards as if summoning strength to talk. “It's my fourth school,” Jen explained flatly. “First magic school, though,” she added, sounding very almost like she was expressing a positive emotion. It would, at least, be a relief to not hide her magic from Muggles.

“You?” She surveyed Brett through her glasses - her current model had black plastic rectangular frames. With her high cheekbones and small nose, Jen felt the glasses added some distinction to her face. The rest of her frame was similarly unremarkable to Jen’s mind, being small, slight, and shorter than average, but she was usually swathed in baggy jeans and hoodies anyway. She tried not to judge people on appearance, but sometimes it was unavoidable. Besides, the modern culture thrived on people physical appearance to express themselves in whatever way they chose. Jen, for example, often wore skater jeans, allowing people to correctly assume she was a skater. She also tended to favour tops emblazoned with band logos, which declared her musical tastes to anyone who cared to look. Not today; she didn't want anyone to try and bond with her just because they'd heard of The Fire Nymphs.

0 Jen Do you have a banishing call? 388 Jen 0 5

Ryder Knight

February 27, 2017 12:15 AM

Well, that doesn't sound like much fun. by Ryder Knight

Ryder wasn’t sure what to expect on his journey to Sonora, but he certainly had not imagined the ride to be so bumpy. As he stepped off the wagon, he rubbed his back by his tailbone and stretched his back and legs. When he felt somewhat human once again, he assessed his surroundings. This new terrain was going to take some time to get used to. For most of his life, Ryder had lived next to the ocean in Santa Monica, and now he was going to be spending most of his time at a school in the desert. However, Ryder was a realistic optimist, and had at least brought his skateboard. It was securely attached to his black Vans backpack, which he would be reunited with later.

As he was listening to the speech about the school and houses, Ryder bent down to tie his shoe. He frowned at the amount of dust that his shoes and clothing had collected on the wagon ride, and tried to brush most of it off. He wore his black Diamond Supply Company t-shirt with blue palm trees, bright blue shorts, and his black Vans skater shoes with a light blue stripe. He was starting to think wearing black was a mistake. By the time he was done fussing with his clothes, the speech was over and Ryder had been left with the encouragement to meet his peers.

He assessed his surroundings once more. He noticed a girl who was talking to a boy nearby and considered introducing himself, but he decided to check out the snacks first. A girl seemed to have the same idea that he did, so he figured he would just start his introductions with her.

“Hey,” he said turning to face the girl, “My name is Ryder. I am from California.” He then turned his gaze to the snacks and started speaking out loud as he contemplated his hard decision about which cookie to choose. “Chocolate chip cookies are good…but so are Snickerdoodles. Those are my favorite. Sometimes it is just too hard to choose.” He shrugged and took one of each cookie. “How was your ride here? Mine was pretty bumpy.” He broke off a chunk of chocolate chip cookie as he waited for the girl to reply.

0 Ryder Knight Well, that doesn't sound like much fun. 383 Ryder Knight 0 5

Cleo James

February 27, 2017 7:36 AM

Setting up shop by Cleo James

Cleo took a deep breath and decided that her lip was definitely not trembling. She had cried when she’d had to say goodbye to her daddy and had sat sniffling on the wagon until an older student had offered - or possibly even transfigured her - a handkerchief. It wasn’t that she wasn’t excited to go to school, or that she was even scared or anything. She just didn’t want to leave her daddy. It had always been the two of them - all Cleo knew about her mother was that she had been unable to take care of her, and had left her with her father when she was less than a year old. She didn’t even remember her. That brought its own share of confusion and curiosity, and sometimes hurt, but it was also just how it had always been. And she and daddy did everything together. He ran the general goods store in their small town and every day, their neighbour would walk Cleo home from school, she would run inside, pull on the little apron that hung behind the counter, open the till and take out the badge with her name on it which declared her to be ‘Assistant Shopkeeper’ and which her daddy had allowed her to decorate with glittery star stickers when she was much smaller. Then she would help out in the shop until closing time, perched on a tall stool behind the counter, chatting happily with their customers. When it was time to close, she would pull down the left-hand blind, which had an extra cord hanging off the loop so she could reach it, whilst daddy did the right. Then, once no one could see in, she would turn the heavy key in the door, whilst her daddy added additional protections with his wand. Then, he’d set the broom to sweeping the store floor, and take the cash from the register upstairs to count before he made Cleo her tea. It wasn’t a lot of jobs, really, and she knew that he was a grown up who could manage without her (a thought which actually wounded her pride and sense of importance a little) but they had their routine, and Cleo was sad to think about him doing it without her, both for his sake and because she felt lost and left out.

Cleo listened to the welcome speech. Most of it had already been covered in information sent about the school but it was always good to get a refresher. There was a lot to take in as, even though she had a magical parent, he hadn’t attended this school. She was excited to be reminded that they would do Herbology, and to learn that this man would be their teacher. She and her daddy spent most of their Sundays up on the allotment, where they grew vegetables. They’d cook most of them up themselves but if they had any excess that they couldn’t eat, they left them outside the shop with an honesty box. Daddy didn’t like to sell them through the shop, because it got all bogged down in needing to do it officially and properly, and because people came to expect it, and the allotment wasn’t for either of those things. It was to relax. If they got to spread some good cheer with practically free vegetables, that was an occasional plus side. Because of where they lived, they could only grow Muggle plants, and she was excited to learn about more magical ones.

They were then given free time to mingle. Making friends wasn’t a massive concern for Cleo. Certainly she wanted to be liked - who didn’t? - but she didn’t need to be the centre of everyone’s attention to feel happy. She was content to be with people, or to be by herself. Also, she had never really experienced not being accepted. Cleo was a pretty little girl, and whatever people said about it being your actions or your personality that really mattered, a cute face got you a long way in life. Plainer girls with her personality may well have been over-looked, but with her big grey eyes, shining blonde bob and delicate little features, people gravitated towards her - they wanted to count someone like her amongst their friends, and to gain her approval. As a younger child, she had had a determinedly selfish streak, and a bit of a temper, neither of which was helped by being an only child or easily liked. However, for all that she was by default the centre of his world, her father was a down to earth man. He didn’t take nonsense, and believed the two most important things in life to be doing an honest day’s work and being kind. As Cleo became more mature, this had steadily won out against her naturally less desirable tendencies, and she was, on the whole, a pleasant person, even if she hadn’t had her ability to share or to consider others pushed to its limits terribly often.

When they were free to mix with the other students, Cleo made her way over to another first year. Whilst she wasn’t a social animal, she did want to get to know her fellow students and make some friends.

“Hi,” she smiled, “I’m Cleo. Are you excited for school?”

13 Cleo James Setting up shop 389 Cleo James 0 5

Eden

March 01, 2017 2:21 AM

Can confirm, it's not by Eden

Drat. The food table route had not saved her from conversation, as a boy walked right up beside her and started talking. He seemed friendly enough, but she was just not in the mood for it. Still, Eden knew to be polite - partially because she didn’t really know any other way to be, and partially because she knew she ought to be - and did her best to offer him a smile. “I’m Eden,” she answered quietly.

She didn’t give anything else in terms of personal information, but that didn’t seem to be an issue, because Ryder (what an odd name for a little boy) was already off, babbling about the different types of cookies. Eden felt very old in comparison as she listened, unable to suppress the thought of how she missed the days where types of cookies were her biggest complaint, days that were recent and yet so long ago. Then she reminded herself that, as a younger one for her class, there were good odds that Ryder was older than her, and that this wash of elderly nostalgia was entirely inappropriate for a girl her age.

Ryder returned his attention to her, directing the conversation right at her, and surprisingly enough, she was actually glad. At least talking and thinking about a reply meant she couldn’t just stand there and pity herself more. “It was pretty bumpy, yeah,” she replied. “I’m from Rhode Island, so it was really long, too. I might’ve fallen asleep if not for all the bumps.” She almost had, in fact, dozed off a few times, but always to be met with a large enough jar to force her back to reality.

“Um,” she stumbled nervously, not sure what to talk about next and grasping for something. “I like your shirt. Those are, uh, those are cool... trees.” Eden felt entirely stupid and immediately regretted the statement the moment it left her lips, but she supposed there was no going back. If the past could be changed, she’d be in a far better mood right now.

12 Eden Can confirm, it's not 385 Eden 0 5

Brett

March 01, 2017 2:33 AM

Well, they haven't found one yet! by Brett

Brett contemplated Jen’s words for a brief moment. Huh. “I’ve never been to a school before at all,” he replied curiously. “I’ve just had, like, tutors and stuff at home.” Then it clicked. She said schools, and only this one magical. “Wait, so, are you a Muggleborn?”

His tone as he asked was that of genuine interest and not any sort of hatred. Brett didn’t share the sort of sentiments he imagined his brother felt toward people who weren’t Pureblood like them, not that “like them” was even a good measure anymore, since they were an outskirts family of desperation ever since the previous summer. Brett just thought it was dumb to hate in general (although he probably hated his brother frequently), so hating her for something out of her control seemed extra dumb.

But he was curious. He didn’t think he’d ever met a Muggleborn before in his entire life, so potentially meeting one in his very first conversation at Sonora was an awesome prospect. Then again, he wasn’t super sure he’d ever met a halfblood, either, so if she was that, that would also be cool and interesting.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he clarified, just in case she misread his tone and thought he sounded accusatory about it, or if she had learned enough about the magical world already to know that some people might think less of her for her (potential, since he still didn’t know for sure) background with regards to magic. “I’m a Pureblood,” he added, “But, like, it doesn’t matter to me if you aren’t.”

12 Brett Well, they haven't found one yet! 384 Brett 0 5

Jen

March 03, 2017 3:33 PM

More's the Pity by Jen

Never been to a school before? Jen had heard of homeschooling but had never met anyone who had tried it. That was different. She sort of wanted to know more, but she didn’t like people to think she was ignorant. Or interested in what they had to say - that opened a gateway for them to share all sorts of stuff with her, and, from her experiences of just that, people usually just spouted boring nonsense. She nodded once to show her acknowledgement that Brett had tutors instead of class teachers, and left it at that. He, apparently, had more questions of his own, concerning her heritage.

She answered his question with a curt, “No.” Apparently unsatisfied by her response, he went on to tell her that there was nothing wrong with being Muggleborn. One of Jen’s eyebrows raised, although whether it was in curiosity or disdain she couldn’t be sure. Not a stranger, but definitely strange.

“I’m a Pureblood,” he added, “But, like, it doesn’t matter to me if you aren’t.”

“Good. It doesn’t matter to me that you are,” she replied levelly. She didn’t want to be rude, but she did want to make sure he understood that she did not care the tiniest bit about whether or not his grandparents played with wands when they were kids. Then, with a great effort because she was trying really hard not to make enemies on the first day, Jen sighed. “My Mom’s a witch,” she told him. “I’ve just lived and gone to school in Muggle neighborhoods, alright?” She could tell him that her Mom was Muggleborn, and that the man who fertilized her that one time was a Muggle, but as she had known him for literally one minute she decided this personal information fell neatly into the category of None of His Business.

0 Jen More's the Pity 388 Jen 0 5

Ryder

March 06, 2017 12:53 AM

One is the loneliest number. by Ryder

Ryder smiled as the girl quietly told him her name. Eden was an interesting name. It reminded him of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. Not that he was particularly religious or anything. Ryder was young, but tried to keep an open mind. His parents always allowed him to explore whatever beliefs he was interested in.

“Eden,” he repeated her name out loud, “Cool name.” Ryder smiled at her again and continued talking. “East coast huh? I have never really been anywhere except California. Oh, well, there was that one time I went to Seattle with my best friend to visit her family. That is still west coast though.”

Ryder never considered that he usually tried to control much of the conversation when he spoke to other people. He never tried to be rude, he was just genuinely interested in other people.

As he ate another chunk of chocolate chip cookie, Ryder chucked quietly at Eden’s remark about his shirt. “Oh thanks! Those are palm trees. They are everywhere back home.” He smiled again to reassure her since she seemed to stumble over her last comment. “So are you excited to be here? I am not sure what to expect.” Ryder leaned against the table and continued eating his cookie while he awaited Eden’s response.

0 Ryder One is the loneliest number. 383 Ryder 0 5