Laurie Cider
December 07, 2007 7:40 AM
*TAG* Any of Laurie's Christmas card recipients from WtS by Laurie Cider
Laurie had been using her letter announcing Sonora's future festivities as a bookmark for the past week and a half. It hadn't been a purposeful decision, just a convenient one; she had needed to mark her place, and the letter had newly arrived. She had opened it, of course- and read it. The news about the fair had particularly excited her, as well as the fireworks. She wasn't sure how she felt about a dance. . . she supposed it might be fun, maybe if she could go in costume. She turned a page slowly, having finished reading it a good five minutes earlier. Her eyes kept falling back down her makeshift bookmark, which took her thoughts to considerations of the events to come.Until her enclosure was invaded, that was. Laurie had to fight back the dirty look that threatened to shoot over to the interlopers’ way. Honestly, weren’t libraries supposed to be places of study and quiet? She was just as much for the occasional loud-fest, but she wanted to read and think. She picked up her book and sweater, and meandered further into the library for a slightly harder to reach alcove. She surprised herself by finding a settee of sorts, pushed between two bookshelves. A pillow laid at one end, openly beckoning for someone to please sit down and enjoy the convenience. Laurie obliged and instantly released a sigh of satisfaction once settled with her back against the bookcase and her legs stretched out before her. She placed the sixth book in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events carefully on her lap, and opened the letter detailing the summer solstice activities once more.
For whatever reason, she still felt nervous about the idea of a dance. She wasn’t quite sure why it bothered her, but all the same, an apprehension filled her stomach at the idea of dressing up and flitting about with the entire school watching on. She bit down on her lip and let neck dip so that her forehead pressed against the cool stone of the library wall. Her movement, however, caused her letter to slip from her lap. She began to make the movements to retrieve it when a hand appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, giving the letter back to her.
“Thanks,” Laurie began, and then: “Oh, it’s you! Did you get my Christmas card?”
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Laurie Cider
*TAG* Any of Laurie's Christmas card recipients from WtS
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Laurie Cider
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Talen Dupree
December 07, 2007 1:39 PM
*Is tagged* by Talen Dupree
Returning to Sonora after midterm always gave Talen mixed feelings. In the summer, he had no such conflict, as he would have much preferred to stay home, but around the holidays it was different. Home was no longer a safe haven, as people came to invade it on New Years' eve for the annual Dupree party. He didn't necessarily mind large numbers of people, however, what he did mind was the fact of what they insisted on doing. The older women would pinch his cheeks until they stung and say 'What a big boy he was getting to be.' It was rather embarrassing, as he was twelve years old! The men would comment on how fragile he seemed to be.It wasn't true. He was merely built differently. His fingers were especially a blessing. They were long and graceful and flitted easily over the piano keys. That was the other problem with parties. Everyone kept touching the beautiful grand piano, his piano, as though they thought they had some form of musical talent. A complete joke, as they weren't able to string even the simplest set of notes together. Worst yet, was when they set their drinks on it. Luckily, his mother invaded at that point to shoo them away from the piano for which he was thankful.
The other problem with the holidays was seeing his cousins. He didn't mind Danae or Lucie, but with Chris and Nicoletta not there, Devian was the oldest and he thought it was his job to order the rest of them around. If he had been in Devian's home, he might have listened, but this was his home. He liked everything to be a certain way and didn't appreciate the older boy coming in to destroy his order. This continued throughout the whole midterm vacation up to the party. By the end of that night, Talen could be found sitting under some table just to escape it all. He would have gone up to his room, but he stayed, just in case his parents needed him. They usually didn't, but one never knew.
Once this was over, Talen was semi-eager to return to Sonora. Unfortunately, this didn't last long. He felt out of place at the school. His roommates were rather different from him. Actually, most of his classmates were and he could never manage to make a friend. Though, this year was different. He had met Laurie, his first friend. His hand reached into his pocket to touch the box that resided there. He hadn't been sure of whether he should get her anything or not. He wasn't quite sure what the rules of friendship were, but then a Christmas card had arrived. He had stared at it for a long time, amazed that someone would think of him. After that, he knew that getting her something would be all right and he was glad, because it was something he wanted to do.
Unfortunately, he hadn't seen her right away after arriving back. He kept hoping to run into her, so he could give her the present, but hadn't had such luck. At least not until he walked into the library to return a book he had checked out before midterm. An odd sensation struck him, as though something were important here. He was never one to turn down a gut feeling, and so he opted to look around a little. He had turned into between a pair of bookshelves, ready to give up on the tiring effort, when there she was. He had finally found the elusive friend.
Tentatively, he approached. He ran a hand through his curly mane in anxiousness. He was about to clear his throat to get her attention when she dropped her letter. Quickly, he picked it up and handed it back to her.
'Oh, it's you! Did you get my Christmas card?'
Talen gave a shy grin. “Yes, thank you. I do apologize that I didn't send one back to you. Um...” he fumbled with the box, scared to death to give it to her. Quickly, he handed it to her. “This is for you.” It wasn't much, but the thought she might like it. Inside were a pair of rabbits, the closest in color that he could find to the picture of her real ones. They were tiny, only about the size of a thumb, and were charmed to hop around like real ones. He had picked them out, hoping it would help her miss her French lops a little less while she was at school.
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Talen Dupree
*Is tagged*
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Talen Dupree
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Laurie Cider
December 09, 2007 2:07 PM
WotW: Now, you're it! by Laurie Cider
During the opening feast, when Laurie had learned she was a Crotalus, her thoughts had been ones of dismay and apprehension. Then that first meeting in the dormroom- friends and enemies made in a few minutes! But that first day had passed, Laurie had learned so much more about the girls in her house, about their thoughts and families, their laughs and their flaws- it was such that Laurie now loved her house. She loved Sonora with its differences; she missed less and less of her computer and her malls and her tennis team- all of the superfluous little tidbits that separated her life before from her life now.She gazed down at the small package in her hand, surprised. She hadn’t expected any gifts- her cards had merely been a natural thing for her: she wanted her friends to know that she was thinking of them. Talen’s expression seemed so open and eager; Laurie’s smile came slowly and softly. “Thanks,” she beamed.
She pulled away the wrapping carefully, and lifted the lid. Her fingers fumbled, and into her lap emptied a pair of tiny rabbits. The two small figurines fit perfectly in the palm of her hand, and for a few short seconds, she thought nothing at all. “Oh, Talen . . . they’re wonderful!”
The details on the rabbits were intricately made; the craftsman who created them must have had a rabbit of his own once, one that he loved. She hugged them carefully to her chest; she thought of the classmate who had described Talen Dupree as cold and uncaring- how could anyone think such a thing? A dozen different responses ran through her head; she opted on the first one. “Thank-you.”
She felt a sudden movement against her chest; and nearly jumped from her seat when one of the figurine rabbits hopped free from her grasp. “Oh my gosh,” she breathed. “They can hop, too?”
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Laurie Cider
WotW: Now, you're it!
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Laurie Cider
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Josh Warren
December 09, 2007 4:11 PM
I love a good game of tag by Josh Warren
Josh was still adjusting back to American time zones. Christmas had been hectic, argumentative, and... foreign. It was the stangest thing being in Tokyo for Christmas. He would have much rather have been in the States with Irene and Uncle Mike, but his parents had insisted they be dragged off to Japan with them. The new broom, The Wildfire, really wasn't even that great. No offense to Mom and Dad, but it couldn't do anything up to standards. The whole trip was worthless in the first place, in his opinion, but then his parents wanted them to join in the misery? He wouldn't have minded if they had actually spent more than a few hours on Christmas morning with them. But no. They were off at meetings and obligations almost all day, everyday. And they wonder why Raye blew up at them? Even Elaina, who was still in her cling-to-the-parents age, was on Raye's side for this.Josh entered the Library, planning to check out a good book on Puddlemere United. He walked past a table and picked out a framiliar voice that lifted his tired spirits. Laurie was sitting at a table, accompanied by a boy he didn't really know that well. He was one of the Duprees, but placing the first name was difficult. He and Raye had recieved a card from Laurie over the break. It was great to hear from a friend and the pictures of rabbits on the front made him smile. He headed towards the table, wanting to say thank you.
"Hi Laurie," he said. "I, um, got your card." He gave a nod to the other boy. He wanted to say thank you to Laurie and maybe talk to her a bit, but he didn't like talking in front of other people. Laurie was one of the first people he had talked to at Sonora, after Rorrie and Irene that is. It hadn't been the longest of convorsations, but he sort of remembered her being upset. He remembered Raye telling him that he was already back in the girl's-guy-friend zone again. He use to think that wasn't such a good thing, but why does it have to be bad? Josh liked talking to girls, not becuase they were girls, but just because he felt he could talk to them more. He didn't feel it was such a bad thing anymore.
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Josh Warren
I love a good game of tag
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Josh Warren
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Talen
December 09, 2007 10:02 PM
Especially when it becomes awkward *grins* by Talen
Talen’s eyes studied Laurie waiting for a reaction, as she opened the gift. He felt like he had a boulder sitting in his stomach, hoping she would like them, fearful she wouldn’t, but then she exclaimed that they were wonderful. Breathing a little easier, a wider smile spread across his features and reached to his eyes. “You’re welcome,” he replied.A laugh escaped him at Laurie’s surprise over the hopping rabbit. Then, he explained, “They’re charmed to act like real rabbits. They will hop, sleep, and so on. You don’t have to worry about feeding them though since they don’t eat.” The more he talked about them, the more he wandered if he shouldn’t consider getting a model instead of an actual pet. Then, his parents wouldn’t have to worry about any of the problems of having animals in their home.
When a comfortable silence fell, Talen took the opportunity to attempt to gather his courage. Over the break, he had received an owl about a dance. He wasn’t thrilled at the possibility of going, but had thought that it might be fun with Laurie, and in honesty, he really did have to work on his social skills. He had just managed to get out, “So, uh, there’s supposed to be this dance…” when another voice was heard.
Turning, Talen saw an unfamiliar boy. He gave an internal groan, but just gave a nod back to the boy. He willed him to go away, at least long enough so that he could finish asking Laurie to the dance. He really didn’t want to ask in front of the other boy, as it seemed wholly awkward. Then, a worse thought occurred to him. What if he wanted to ask Laurie? What if he beat him to it?
Slightly panicked at the thought, Talen did something he thought he would never do in a million years. His face crimson, he took a deep breath, and let it out all in a question, “I know this is bad timing and might be embarrassing,” an apologetic look to each, “but I wanted to ask you, and I understand if you say no, yet I didn’t want to not ask you and then miss out on asking you, so what I’m saying is, Laurie, would you like to go to the dance with me?”
That was mortifying! His eyes were on the floor. He couldn’t believe he had asked in front of the other boy and worse was the possibility she would turn him down in front of said boy, but at least he had gotten it out, at least he had taken a chance, right?
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Talen
Especially when it becomes awkward *grins*
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Talen
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Laurie
December 09, 2007 11:45 PM
I'm thinking of a word. . . by Laurie
Laurie’s hand opened into a comfortable, half-palmed wave when Josh fell into her alcove. “Yo!” she greeted with a grin. “I have a kind of sequel to the card in my dorm room, if later on you don’t mind being a guinea pig. My dad was able to perfect one of his Quidditch recipes before I left: Bludger-Nut Fudge.” She winced in memory of her dad’s first attempt at the recipe. He had experimented with the idea of the fudge beating its eater if not chewed quickly enough, but one visit to the dentist later quickly nixed that idea.In between her exchange, she completely missed Talen’s softly uttered words. She opened her mouth to continue, intending to offer introductions to the two boys, when Talen suddenly blurted aloud, his words rushed and his face flushed. “I know this is bad timing and might be embarrassing, but I wanted to ask you, and I understand if you say no, yet I didn’t want to not ask you and then miss out on asking you, so what I’m saying is, Laurie, would you like to go to the dance with me?”
There was perhaps more than one reason why Laurel Cider hadn’t been sorted into Aladren; her amazingly poor grasp of the obvious was one of the more glaring reasons. It wasn’t so much that she was unaware of what it meant when a boy asks a girl to a dance, but that she did not consider herself that sort of girl. She was gender-blind in that aspect; yes, some of her friends were boys, and some were girls. However, she certainly was not a girl, nor was Talen a boy. She was simply Laurie, and he, Talen. And so it was with guileless equanimity that she was able to make the following reply:
“I’d like to, but I don’t really know how to dance, Talen. I mean, I know how to do, like, the electric slide. They taught us it as part of phys. ed. back in third grade, but who does that for real?”
One of the charmed rabbits, feeling neglected, gave an attention-seeking nip on her thumb. The other, perhaps motivated out of jealousy, had a go at her index finger. She scooped the two nibblers back into her lap, and then further clarified, her wide mouth folding in contemplation. “Um, so if you don’t mind not dancing, sure.”
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Laurie
I'm thinking of a word. . .
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Laurie
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Josh
December 10, 2007 4:55 PM
Awkward? by Josh
“Yo! I have a kind of sequel to the card in my dorm room, if later on you don’t mind being a guinea pig. My dad was able to perfect one of his Quidditch recipes before I left: Bludger-Nut Fudge.”Josh nodded, "Sure," he said, "When I heard about the cook book I thought it was a great idea. I don't mind being a guinea pig." Josh was thinking about asking her if she still wanted to learn some Quidditch. When they were in the Gardens she had been aking about it. Maybe she would want to head to the pitch sometime? Nothing, you know, like that, just for fun. That was one thing about being friends with girls. People usually thought he liked them or something... Not that Laurie wasn't awesome, nice, funny, and all that. She was one of the girls he had considered asking to the dance, but he had talked to Rorrie before break and he couldn't help but notice how cool she was. He was about to ask Laurie about the Quidditch thing when Dupree spoke up,
“I know this is bad timing and might be embarrassing, but I wanted to ask you, and I understand if you say no, yet I didn’t want to not ask you and then miss out on asking you, so what I’m saying is, Laurie, would you like to go to the dance with me?”
Wow.
Talk about awkward. Josh felt his face warm up just sitting there. Wow. This was one of those things where you wish you could just walk away, but it would be entirely too obvious. This desire was couple with a strange feeling of let-down. It wasn't a drop in his mood or anything, not like being cut from the level four after a short glance, but he still felt a little disappointed. Good for Dupree, though. Josh probably would never have gotten the nerve. Well, maybe he would have, but not at that second.
“I’d like to, but I don’t really know how to dance, Talen. I mean, I know how to do, like, the electric slide. They taught us it as part of phys. ed. back in third grade, but who does that for real? Um, so if you don’t mind not dancing, sure.”
Josh examined the fabric of his jeans, listening as the moment passed. Was that a yes? 'Sure' qualified as 'yes', but he couldn't help but notice how Laurie's face didn't light up at once. But, hey, he didn't know what she was thinking and he didn't even know her that well. For all he knew she had been waiting for this for a while. ... This was still very awkward. But it got him thinking... Should he be asking Rorrie soon? He didn't think Brett had even asked Irene yet, and they were going out! But he knew how pretty Rorrie was and how she was so funny, and other people were sure to have noticed. But what if she said no? He couldn't assume she'd be like Laurie and agree. Maybe Rorrie hated dances. They had never talked about it. Maybe she only talked to him because she felt bad for the kid who doesn't talk. But there was only one way to find out. This whole dance situation was way too crazy for him...
And this was still awkward.
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Josh
Awkward?
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Josh
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Talen
January 03, 2008 2:06 AM
It is the word of the thread by Talen
Talen glanced over to Laurie as she spoke. He really still couldn’t believe he had done that and was utterly mortified, but he had felt panicked for he really knew no one else he could ask and if he didn’t ask someone, he would most likely end up one of those people that stood in a corner for the entire night. So, when she said yes, albeit, in an odd sort of way, relief washed over him. Going. Yes. Dancing. No. “We don’t have to dance if you do not wish to.” He could do that. The entire point of why he wanted to go was in order to attempt fun and socialization.On that note, he looked to the nearby boy with the realization that he had missed on a golden opportunity to actually meet someone and instead made it awkward. Should he apologize? Should he pretend for the most part nothing happened? He went back and forth between the options for a moment and potential reactions to each. If he apologized, he would be drawing attention to the fact that he had made the situation embarrassing. If he ignored it, then the other boy might have felt like Talen was snubbing him in some way, as most people tended to think due to his rather unorthodox nature.
Introductions! The thought flashed threw his mind and he smiled. So, it wouldn’t be the best introduction, but that was all right. It moved the subject away from the staleness of where it sat at now. To the boy, he politely held out his hand, as per instructed, “Hello. My name is Talen Dupree.”
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Talen
It is the word of the thread
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Talen
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Josh
January 07, 2008 5:24 PM
Certainly seems to be by Josh
The boy, who introduced himself as Talen Dupree, offered a hand out to him which Josh took. This guy seemed nice enough, but Josh still hadn't quite shaken that weird feeling of disappointment that had just arisen in him. It was obvious what the cause was, but it was so unexpected. He hadn't thought he'd liked Laurie that much. Well, he knew he liked her, just not like that. At least, not that much. But now he was kind of surprised by his own feelings. But he gave a weak smile, grateful for that moment was over with, and replied,"Hi. Josh Warren."
Josh wasn't the best at convorsation starters. He wasn't the best at convorsations. He searched his mind for something that might make this a little more casual. It wasn't until a second later when the obvious response hit him.
"Do anything fun over break?" He asked, hoping he wasn't walking into one of those "No. It sucked majorly," replies. But he wasn't one to complain if he did get that answer. After all, he was one of the people giving that answer. Renaye was probably the one who would, no fear, reply with a "It sucked. How was your holiday?" She easily dismissed the topic while not making all too weird. But most people he talked to seemed to have a nice vacation, so worrying about a negative response was usually for nothing.
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Josh
Certainly seems to be
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Josh
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Laurie
January 07, 2008 8:06 PM
Oblivious is a good word, too. . .for this. by Laurie
Laurie performed a mental palm to forehead. She should have thought to pass along introductions right away. As it was though, she couldn't help the fond little smile that skimmed over her lips as the boys exchanged names. Talen spoke and held himself so diffidently, while Josh was as casual as they come. They were two very different boys, but she was glad to have them both as friends. Somehow the universe felt properly ordered when one had opposites around.She mistook Josh's question as directed at herself, and fell into a description easily. "It was way too busy- and then I barely saw my oldest brother at all. He was gone on some kind of winter retreat up in the Catskills or something, skiing. Dad kept interrogating me about school, and then my other brother underwent some weird kind of metamorphasis. He even has himself a girlfriend now, which is beyond strange." She paused for a moment, a finger braced against her lower lip thoughtfully. "I always kind of pictured him pairing up with an insect or reptile someday, not a girl."
"Specifically fun, though. . ." She brought her mind back into focus. "Well, I guess you can call the beach fun. We went at least four times, the weather was so warm. But that's Florida for you."
She stood up gingerly, her foot having fallen asleep minutes earlier. She carefully tucked the pair of rabbits back into their box, patting them softly on the ears as she closed it. "They really are a wonderful gift, Talen," she reiterated, beaming. "But what did you do in between present shopping? Oh, hang on!" Laurie's gaze lit up as she interrupted herself. She had nearly forgotten! "Josh, weren't you in Japan over Christmas? What was that like?"
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Laurie
Oblivious is a good word, too. . .for this.
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Laurie
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