Stupid homework... on Library

Devian Dupree

May 21, 2007 11:03 PM

Stupid homework... by Devian Dupree

Buried by an assortment of books, everything from Creatures to Potions, all that could be seen of the boy was the tips of his spikey hair. Quills and various inks, for color coding his notes, surrounded him. Mounds and mounds of homework to do. He gave a frustrated sigh. Why did professors have to assign so much work?

Okay, granted, it wasn't just the professors. He went above and beyond what was necessary. He had to. He had to be better than Chris, prove that he was better in every class. No, that he was better in everything! It wasn't fair. Chris did nothing and got it all. He got the best grades. He had had a girlfriend, and not just any girl, but a hot, older one, and now rumor had it, some other hot girl was interested in him. It completely blew. He tried to do everything right, and got nothing.

Focus, Devian thought. He needed to concentrate on his work, not on his cousin. Grabbing a book, he started pouring through it. Jot, jot. Scribble, scribble. Then...crud. It referenced a book he didn't have there. Another large sigh, he pushed back from the table and got up, heading into the stacks. He made his way to the section he needed before stopping dead in his tracks. Could anything else go wrong? Someone was browsing through the book he needed.

A deep breath to calm himself, he approached the person, "Excuse me, but are you going to be very long with that book? I need it."

0 Devian Dupree Stupid homework... 70 Devian Dupree 1 5

Helena Layne

May 28, 2007 7:24 PM

Guess that's the price of excellence. by Helena Layne

At the very end of a mutual class, Helena had passed a note to Geoffrey telling him that she needed to talk to him soon and without Anne in the picture. Though he was still in the dark as to what she wanted to talk about, he'd agreed to go along with her and show up where he and Anne always met her before things - in the library. They had set aside a row of shelves as a meeting point back in her first year, when she had first been Sorted into Crotalus. It had been one of her better ideas, she thought, but now she was worried about it backfiring.

The problem with this spot was that Anne knew about it. She wished there was somewhere in the school they could go that their friend wasn't aware of, but Sonora didn't lend itself readily to espionage and sneaking around; schools tended to be like that. Teachers had a fondness for knowing where the students entrusted to them were. The school's other readily available meeting places were even worse suited to what she wanted to do, since Anne spent most of her free time on the Pitch and it was sometimes impossible to tell if anyone was listening in out in the Gardens or in the Cascade Hall. She didn't want to risk it.

Helena felt almost excited. This was like one of the soaps, with secret meetings and plotting and everything. She could even forget that she was just bullying her big brother into helping her do something nice for Anne's birthday, when she tried hard enough.

Maybe it was because of that sense of almost-excitement, or maybe she was just moving faster than usual and Geoff was a little late for whatever reason, but she had arrived first. After a moment of staring blankly at the neat rows of books in front of her, she grabbed one off the shelf at random to pass the time. It made her feel more in-place there, and it added to the sense of sneaking around; just standing in the library looking at a book was totally innocuous. That she'd gotten a rather dull book bore no weight whatsoever; it was all part of the game...

The sound of someone else's voice pulled her roughly out of her thoughts. "Wha - " Well, at least she sounded the part. Anne or Geoff, who really did get engrossed in books in the way she'd been pretending to, sounded a lot like she had if they were interrupted...At least until they got enough wits back to get annoyed about it. "Oh, hi, Devian." They didn't know each other particularly well, but he was her brother's roommate and they had met before. "Have it - I'm waiting on Geoff." She offered the book to him. "Er - you haven't seen him today, have you?"

16 Helena Layne Guess that's the price of excellence. 88 Helena Layne 0 5

Devian

May 30, 2007 2:55 PM

Can't I pay money instead? by Devian

In the mist of his fury, he hadn't really noticed who he was talking to. Helena Layne. His roommate's sister and his brief class partner. He had thought she was pretty at the time. She still was.

"Hi, Helena. Thanks for the book," he replied, accepting it. Then, thinking he should apologize for his lack of regard, "Sorry, for being so abrupt. I just have a lot of homework, ya know?"

He hoped that she understood. He didn't want to be thought of as being uncouth, a favorite expression of his sister, Danae, when talking about her roommate, Caedence.

"Sorry, haven't seen him, but if I do, I'll tell him that you're looking for him," he offered. Though, he and Geoff barely saw one another, he was glad that they were roommates. They each kept to their own side of the room and stayed out of each other's way. It was a rather peaceful existance. Unlike, Danae, who apparently bickered all the time with the one. If it were him, he would have hexed the person into oblivion by now.

But on to more pleasant topics. "So, uh," he started. He wanted to talk to her more, but he was having a hard time thinking of something to talk about. He didn't know her very well, so he didn't know what she was interested in and he didn't want to offend her. "Um..." he continued. Then, he looked down. There was the answer! He could ask her about the book, "Is this book any good?"

0 Devian Can't I pay money instead? 0 Devian 0 5

Helena

June 01, 2007 3:03 PM

Depends on the teacher. by Helena

She hadn't seen much of Devian since the time they'd worked together in Astronomy, but that wasn't really surprising. A borderline recluse of a Crotalus and an Aladren weren't the most likely of people to mix. Helena was a little surprised that Devian even remembered who she was, though she thought her resemblance to her brother might have helped with that. She doubted seriously that they were friends, and males had being dense down to an art about some things, but surely no one could share a room with someone for three years and not notice what they looked like.

"Don't mention it," she said easily when he thanked her for the book. Apparently, it was a day where she had some share of her mother's ability to talk to people. She hated having to fumble around for words like an idiot in front of people the way she did when she was feeling awkward. "And I know." Everyone, it seemed, had more than they could nicely handle these days; Anne had been in a rough temper for ages over how CATS prep was affecting her fifth years, and Geoff was, between her rants and his averages, usually irritable, too. Helena was still fine, herself, but she had no life to speak of. "It happens to everyone about this time of year."

Helena wasn't particularly surprised that Devian hadn't run into her brother. Geoff was almost an Aladren equivalent of herself - a regular vanishing act - and he didn't spent too much time in his dorm, anyway. At home, she was the one who had to share a room while he had one to himself, and they'd both had difficulty adjusting to the arrangement difference at Sonora. "Don't worry about it," she said. "He knows he's supposed to be meeting me in here. He's just running late." As usual, she added mentally. Geoff could make it to class and Quidditch practice on time, but he'd never turned up on time for anything else in his life.

When Devian started looking like he was fumbling for words, Helena started worrying. If this became a painfully awkward sort of conversation, she would start getting all flustered and nervous and sounding like an idiot. Sounding or looking like an idiot was never fun, but it was a lot worse for her around Aladrens. Outsiders - and, she suspected, even a few insiders - had a less-than-positive view of Crotalus House, and she didn't want to do anything to encourage any part of it. She was grateful when he found a subject. "I thought it was kinda dull," she admitted honestly when asked about the book.

Dumbo, it's a reference book. How often are those really interesting, unless you're Geoff? Her brother liked his Potions books more than Helena liked her soaps. "It's how - um - they present the information," she added, figuring she was already too late to keep the 'Crotalus girls are always stupid' stereotype from coming up. But then, his cousin was one of the fourth years...maybe that would help, at least a little. "I didn't get very far into it, though, so it might get better as it goes along." I have no idea what I'm on about. "So, what are you working on?" Stupid. That's the part where I was supposed to apologize and leave.

16 Helena Depends on the teacher. 88 Helena 0 5

Devian

June 09, 2007 5:54 PM

I suspect not many then by Devian

He wasn't surprised that she found the book to be dull. Most people found reference books to be. He was one of the rare, strange people that found them to be interesting, which was a good thing, given how much he studied. Though, there were those that were even excruciatingly boring by his standards, which was pretty sad, but she had said it was how they presented the information, which meant it just might meet those standards.

Looking a little leery at the book, he still held it, but dropped it to his side. Obviously, it was not going to be a good conversation starter. He was a bit curious, as to why Helena appeared to be lacking. Wasn't she in Crotalus? Weren't they supposed to have mastered the art of conversation? At least, if his cousin, Nicoletta, was anything to judge by. Perhaps, it was just her formal training. He hadn't had nearly the same training and as such, lacked the skills of small talk, but he attempted again.

"So, I hear Crotalus is going to the Championship," he brought up. If he remembered correctly, and he frequently didn't, she was on the team. It seemed like a good place to start.

0 Devian I suspect not many then 0 Devian 0 5

Helena (costarring her brother)

June 17, 2007 9:29 PM

Yeah, I doubt Bulla would approve of that... by Helena (costarring her brother)

Helena's face lit up when Devian mentioned Crotalus playing in the Championship. "Yeah," she said. "We are. Merlin only knows how we got in, but nobody's arguing." From the scraps of information she had strung together, Crotalus' streak of losses had been going on for years, now. Helena didn't know any of her teammates well enough to speak for them, but she couldn't imagine that they weren't all happy - and worried. Maybe a little more worried than happy. "I'm a starter, but with the Craven twins out there..." Helena shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't want to face a team after losing to us."

She didn't know why - the excellence of her team's Beaters was widely acknowledged, and the other two Chasers were as good - but people didn't seem to take it well when Crotali beat them. Anne had almost gone catatonic once it sank in, and Helena though, perhaps paranoidly, that her friend had remained stiff with her for weeks afterward. Anne had, one way or another, gotten herself a reputation, but Lena knew for a fact that it was mostly unfounded. The Cravens had a reputation, too, and she had no real idea if it was at all based in reality. She had a bad feeling that it was.

Her face fell a little. "I just hope I don't make a total idiot out of myself."

She would have said more, maybe, but a drawling, slightly sarcastic male voice entered the conversation first. "I'm terribly sorry about this, Devian," her brother said. Two seconds later, a strangely protective hand took its place on her shoulder, pulling her a bit closer to him. "I look away for a second, and she wanders off and starts getting under people's feet...She's only out on a day pass."

"Shut up," Helena said, slapping his hand away. "You're the one who chases after iron balls charmed to kill, remember?"

He ignored her. As usual. Her brother was often much more predictable than he probably thought. "So, I guess you've met my sister," he said. Was she imagining things, or had he put a trace of emphasis on the last word? And why make the effort to point out the obvious? Of course, there was no forgetting that she was talking about Geoffrey. It was entirely possible that he and his roommate were on mildly unfriendly, or maybe just distant, terms. "Y'all studying for finals? I've heard Transfiguration's going to be pure murder."

16 Helena (costarring her brother) Yeah, I doubt Bulla would approve of that... 88 Helena (costarring her brother) 0 5

Devian

June 17, 2007 11:53 PM

Most likely not by Devian

Devian didn't blame her for worrying about the Craven twins. From what he heard and from the couple times he saw them play, they were brutal. Though, from what he knew Crotalus' beaters weren't exactly the type to play nice either. Either way, the game wasn't going to be pretty, but he was sure that Helena would be fine. She seemed very capable.

He was about to tell this to her too when a third joined in. Geoffrey Layne, his roommate. He never really thought much about the other boy before, merely because they never saw each other. Yet, the sarcastic tone and the stated words about Helena in front of him left a bad taste in his mouth. It seemed rather inappropriate.

He raised an eyebrow at the other's subtle emphasis on sister. Yes, he was aware that they were related. Generally, people that have the same last name tend to be, save for only a few rare cases. He didn't reply quite yet, because he wasn't sure he should or not. He knew if he did, it was going to be sarcastic. Sarcastic, because he viewed the other as talking down to him.

The other had no reason to look down upon him. Devian was a Dupree, meaning that he was among the privileged. Not only this, but he was nearly at the top of the class, except for - oh, Geoff. Geoff was also in the running. His roommate was his competition. Perhaps, there was a bit of jealousy involved, then.

With that, Devian touched onto the topic Geoff chose, going for a subtle dig. A slight smirk of the lips and a touch of the family arrogance to his voice, he replied, "I'm sure if you've understood the material all year, it won't prove to difficult."

This Deivan was different than the one that had been talking to Helena not more than a few minutes ago. This was the Devian with his protective shield. This was the Devian that didn't care what people thought, because he thought he was better than all of them when rather the opposite was quite true.

0 Devian Most likely not 0 Devian 0 5

The Laynes

June 21, 2007 9:43 PM

And since the teachers probably want to keep their jobs... by The Laynes

Helena winced automatically when Devian answered Geoff. She knew him rather well - it kind of went with having lived in the same house for thirteen years - and she knew how touchy her brother could be. Smart people were like pretty people; just underneath the bold, confident surfaces, they were all seething masses of insecurity. An insinuation like that, in a tone of voice like that, would not go down very well with him. It was time for her to step in and try to appease them both.

"Of course not," she said smoothly. This was much more her province than sustaining small talk, at least for the day. She still had to resist the temptation to sigh. If she had learned nothing else at Sonora Academy, spending two years in Crotalus House had taught her two valuable lessons: how to read the mood of a situation, and how to hide something of what she was really feeling. The mood of this chat had, for whatever reason, shifted badly, and letting the others see that she didn't appreciate it would make it worse. "It won't give either of you any problems."

She shot a quick look towards Geoffrey. He looked a little stiff, but that was to be expected. Rich purebloods acting like, well, rich purebloods drove him crazy, and there was no doubt in her mind that he had interpreted Devian's half of the exchange as snobbery. He had always had very strong feelings about that; in his head, the Laynes were equal in worth, if not bank account, to the Duprees or anyone else. Helena agreed with that much, but thought that making it a big deal was just as detrimental as simpering - all it did was draw attention to their perceived inferiority. So long as he didn't do anything stupid, though, he could think as he liked.

Since she didn't much fancy having her person be what stood between Geoffrey and bodily harm, something she thought was entirely possible if Devian continued to play the role of a Dupree and Geoff started playing at being a Suburban Rights activist, Helena decided to get herself and her brother out of the situation. She turned her head around to look at him openly, this time. "Anyway," she said. "Exams aren't what I needed to talk to you about."

She turned back to Devian with a polite smile. Demanding to know what his sudden problem was wasn't an option, the same way telling both of them to get over themselves and grow up wasn't an option. She didn't like the idea of the rich ones looking down on her any more than Geoff did - her blood was as pure as any of theirs, though she didn't really get very worked up about that, either - but that was no reason to be uncivil. Apart from illustrating that money and status were nowhere near as important as some people thought they were, it staved off a trouble-causing confrontation. She had been Sorted into Crotalus for a reason, after all. "Really, I am sorry I've kept you so long," she apologized. "I'm sure you have things you need to do..."

16 The Laynes And since the teachers probably want to keep their jobs... 0 The Laynes 0 5