Dirty little secret on Labyrinth Gardens

Nevaeh Reed (ft. Isis Carter)

February 13, 2018 3:31 PM

Dirty little secret by Nevaeh Reed (ft. Isis Carter)

“What?”

Nevaeh, an Aladren, was usually at least a little more eloquent than that, but she was quite surprised by the information she had just received and wasn't entirely sure how to process it. “You and Professor Xavier?”

Across the desk, Isis nodded. “Like, Herbology Professor Xavier? The one at this school? You're dating him?”

“Is that really so hard to believe?” Isis asked. “Teachers have lives outside of the classroom, you know that.”

“I mean… I guess not.” Nevaeh paused. One hand sat in her lap, and the other reached down to scritch Scout’s fur. “...Does he know about me?” She was hesitant to ask, not sure what to expect except that she had the feeling she would be annoyed no matter what the response. She was tired of feeling like the dirty little secret that Isis hid in plain sight, but she also resented the idea that her mother could tell this to whomever she pleased while Nevaeh was asked to keep it quiet.

“Yes, he does. He knows almost everything about my life.” In fact, Isis was almost sure she'd run out of secrets at this point, which was part of why she was telling Nevaeh about this now; if he hadn't run away screaming thus far, that made it seem pretty certain that this was going to be a permanent arrangement.

“Like what?”

“Like more than you need to,” Isis replied immediately.

“So we're telling people now,” Nevaeh said flatly after an awkward moment of silence. “Thought I was a secret.”

“Now that's not fair, I-”

“No, no, I get it,” the sixth year interrupted. “I didn't tell anyone though. You're welcome.”

“Things are different in a committed, adult relationship,” Isis stated, glancing over the part where she had definitely told Alfie fairly early into their friendship. “He likes you,” she added as if it helped.

“Don't talk down to me,” Nevaeh snapped. “It's whatever. Do whatever you want. I don't even know why you're telling me this anyway. Are you trying to claim me now? Because I don't want to be claimed when it's convenient for you, thanks. You're my mother or you aren't. Quit picking and choosing.” She stood up sharply, and her dog bolted upright on cue. They moved to the doorway but stopped there. “Congrats,” she said. “Just try not to ruin my favorite professor, okay?”

Nevaeh could feel Isis’s eyes glued to her, but she and Scout left and didn't come back. She even left the door open on purpose to let her mother watch her go. “Come on, Scout,” she muttered. “Let's go for a walk.”

The pair soon found themselves in the labyrinth gardens, which were of course the best place to walk. But all at once, Nevaeh didn't really feel like walking anymore. She sat down in the grass and unhooked Scout’s guiding bar. “Go play,” she said. Scout nuzzled her hand briefly as a goodbye before traipsing into a nearby pile of leaves. And Nevaeh just sat there, staring at the blurs.

12 Nevaeh Reed (ft. Isis Carter) Dirty little secret 325 Nevaeh Reed (ft. Isis Carter) 1 5

Raine

February 16, 2018 4:38 AM

Who has to know? by Raine

Term was just getting underway, and Raine had far fewer subjects than last year. Her only full courses with theory and homework were Defence Against the Dark Arts and Herbology. She was enrolled in a couple of other classes just for the practical side, because apparently if she passed enough practicals that counted for halves and meant that she and Kyte might actually scrape something resembling high school certificates out of their time here, even if she couldn’t make passing grades in her given RATS courses. Plus being more adept at practical magic was just always useful. So, she sometimes had spells to practise, but she was actually solidly average at that. Now the theory had been dropped, she felt kind of comfortable in most of her classes. Even with circus practise, that left her time to do nice things like walk - just walk and enjoy.

She was out for such a stroll, arms bare to enjoy the feel of the air on her skin, and appreciating the September smells and sights of the garden, which of course she hadn’t seen for a full year. Raine was partial to spring, with its beautiful flowers, associations with new life, and tendency towards the weather which shared her name. Dancing barefoot in spring rain was one of the best feelings in the world. But she appreciated all the seasons - the change, the variety and the sense of the bigger natural world which helped her keep perspective when she felt frustrated with her schoolwork; the world was bigger than Sonora, and there were more important things than essays.

One such thing was friendship, and she was pleased to see Nevaeh sitting on one of the benches. Unusually though, she was alone. Raine usually got a two for one deal in terms of seeing friends whenever she found Nevaeh.

“Hey Nevaeh. Are you ok? Where’s Scout?” she asked, taking a seat next to her friend. She knew sometimes when Nevaeh didn’t need guiding that she let Scout off, but it was funny not seeing them together.

13 Raine Who has to know? 327 Raine 0 5

Nevaeh

February 18, 2018 10:15 AM

Professor Xavier, apparently. by Nevaeh

Raine was here. Nevaeh recognized the voice after this many years of having her as a best friend, but she knew it was her before she even spoke. Used to identifying by sound, Nevaeh had noticed the way people she knew walked. Isis’s footsteps, for example, were sharp and quick, as she was always moving with purpose. Raine was among the quietest that Nevaeh could identify, always so light on her feet. So the low noise meant that it was either her or someone very, very small, like a prairie elf or an exceptionally tiny first year. The Aladren logically knew what was more likely.

“Scout’s playing in the leaves over there,” she answered, pointing in the direction she heard the most crumpling sounds and saw occasional flashes of blurs. Nevaeh heard in her own voice her apparent discontentment - a resounding anger and sparkles of sadness, the kind of hot mix that could only be called “upset” - and figured she should probably regard her friend’s other question, the one about her.

“And I’m… well, not really,” the sixth year sighed. Raine’s word had been “Okay”, and Nevaeh was not that. “I just had this big fight with my-” She stopped suddenly, catching herself. But then she thought about the fight itself, and what it was about, and why she was upset at all. Then she decided that she didn’t care anymore.

“With my mother,” she finished. “My birth mother. Isis Carter.” It felt good to say it out loud, both because it was a quiet little revenge and also because she’d never gotten to say it out loud before. “Isis is my biological mother,” she reiterated. “And I’m not supposed to tell anybody, because she didn’t want people to treat me differently or something. But, like, surprise! They’ve already got a reasons to do that. I’m blind, and I’m black. I know I already stick out. Anyway, I’ve always kinda felt like it was more for her own sake, so that people wouldn’t look at her differently, because of how young she was.”

“She specifically wanted to talk to me to give me updates on her personal life, like we’re just a normal family. But we aren’t. It’s just when it’s convenient to her.” Nevaeh paused. “She’s dating Professor Xavier, by the way. That was the ‘big news’ she thought I should know.”

12 Nevaeh Professor Xavier, apparently. 325 Nevaeh 0 5

Raine

February 19, 2018 3:26 AM

And me, apparently by Raine

Raine followed where Nevaeh gestured, and indeed there was Scout. She refrained from calling him over even though she’d have loved to say hello and get some doggy kisses from him but he looked like he was having a lot of fun. Scout worked hard, and there were a lot of times when he got to say hello and snuggle with Raine, but probably not quite so many when he got to frolic in a big pile of leaves.

She gave her attention instead to Nevaeh, carefully listening as Nevaeh hesitated and stumbled over her first few words before it all came out in a rush. And ‘all’ was a lot. Professor Carter was? Wow. And she and Professor Xavier were? Oh. That was an awful lot to take in, and Raine really wasn’t sure how to feel about any of it. Although how she felt about it mattered a lot less right now. How Nevaeh felt was much more important, and the answer obviously was not great.

“Oh… Nevaeh…” Raine reached out taking her friend’s hand and squeezing it. A moment passed. “I… I have my thinking face on,” Raine added, because she knew that Nevaeh didn’t know that, although she would know she hadn’t disappeared entirely because she was still holding her hand. Raine knew she had to say something to make all of that better but… well, that was a challenge.

“It’s not nice when people treat you different in a bad way,” she sympathised, because that point was the easiest, although she wasn’t really sure how much it was bothering Nevaeh compared to the rest. “Um…” She had always liked Professor Carter, but she wasn’t sure that was the right thing to say because it seemed like right now Nevaeh didn’t very much. “That’s really complicated. I… I don’t really know how to help, but if I can do anything to make it better, you know I will,” she offered, feeling it was the best she could do, although it didn’t feel like very much.

13 Raine And me, apparently 327 Raine 0 5