Looking for Sally Manger on Library

Paul Bennett

September 21, 2011 10:41 PM

Looking for Sally Manger by Paul Bennett

Paul had been at the Opening Feast with everyone else and heard about the ball happening at the end of the year, and it had lurked at the back of his mind as though it were something he had forgotten, though the event itself was something he remembered. It was more like he wasn’t sure why he was remembering it, what was important about it.

Observing other people was one of the things he did a lot, though, and that had led him to realize what it was. It was a party. He was supposed to attend it. And since it was a formal dance, that meant a formal dance partner, and since his sister was a third year and so too old and certainly too tall to go with, that meant finding a formal dance partner among the other first years.

His first thought had been to ask Brianna, even though she wasn’t the most formal member of their class, but Linus had asked her first. The matter wasn’t something Paul cared enough about to be upset about, so he’d just started considering who to ask all over again, if this time with a little more energy and interest than before. He personally wasn’t that concerned with what Linus did or didn’t do so long as it didn’t have a negative effect on Paul, but some people would think that it meant something if Linus had a date and he didn’t.

Finally, he narrowed it down to three and flipped a coin. It landed tails-up, so though he saw Attoria Covington and Nora Dobson both before he saw Sally Manger and reconsidered twice, he finally went with his original instinct to let Fate decide it and hung out in the library until he saw Sally coming along. Perhaps it was for the best; though Mother had mentioned that the Dobsons often married into relatively new families in a very meaningful voice one time and he liked Attoria, he had technically known Miss Manger the longest, so it seemed polite.

When he saw her, he stood up and went to intercept her path. “Good afternoon, Miss Manger,” he said. “May I have a word with you?” Since she might be hurrying somewhere or something like that.

0 Paul Bennett Looking for Sally Manger 201 Paul Bennett 1 5

Sally Manger

September 22, 2011 4:02 PM

Your search was successful. by Sally Manger

It seemed, she realized logically, that she was prevaricating to herself. Forcing the ball to the back of her mind would not cause it to cease to exist. The brunette was of course of what some would have called “better” blood, but she was not one for social events such as balls. In fact, she was more of the bookish type, as indicated by her Sorting into Aladren House.

Of course, she felt no distain for her Sorting. As it was, Sally essentially approved of the placement. Being among the intellectuals of her level pleased her otherwise reclusive nature. She very much liked her roommate Nora. Her other roommates were not as closely known to her, and Katrina… Well, she was not her favorite person. It was nothing personal against the girl called Kitty; she was simply too energetic for the other first year’s tastes. Merely Kitty was too loud.

Loudness was another reason that Sally was perpetually imaging that there was no ball. Volume was not her friend. The only resonance she wished into her ears was the silence arising while her brain portrayed a novel. The eleven year old was a quiet girl, and that was simply how she liked it.

Because pages were the only companionship she truly sought, the Aladren resided often in the library. Many an evening had she spent in its unspoken sanctuary. Had she attended a school without such an academically ostentatious library, she would not have known what to do there. Perhaps at such a place she would have been forced into society, an idea she did not take terribly much pleasure in.

Speaking of society and balls, Paul Bennett was approaching. She had met fellow first year at a ball the term before, which she had attended with Aunt Lilac. Not being much interest to most, Sally had assumed he had all but forgot about her. However, that was evidently not the case.

“Good afternoon, Miss Manger. May I have a word with you?” Blinking once, Sally replied, “Of course you may.” Her curious mind wondered what he could be intending to say, but that, she supposed, would be revealed in a moment’s time. For now, the logical girl could only speculate. Her small hands clutched a book tightly to her chest; she had read it before, but it was one of her favorites.

12 Sally Manger Your search was successful. 198 Sally Manger 0 5

Paul

September 22, 2011 10:10 PM

That's one thing out of the way, then by Paul

Paul was a little surprised to hear that he could of course have a word, as though he should have expected that, but it didn’t seem very important. Maybe Sally was under the impression Paul was more important than he was, or just always had time for casual acquaintances from some time ago, or just made time for everyone, though that sounded more like a Teppenpaw trait than an Aladren one to him. Plus, everything he had seen suggested she was very quiet and didn’t really interact with people much.

How she lived with Kitty McLevy, then, without someone getting killed, he didn’t know. It did, though, bode well for having her as company for an evening. It suggested either an incredibly even temper, total indifference to the people around her, or both, and that meant it would be hard for him to create a problem for himself.

“Thank you,” he said. “I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me to the school ball.”

Since there were, after all, others. Eliza’s whole summer would be taken up with them and other kinds of parties. Those, however, Paul still had at least a year or two before he had to worry about, but she might not know that. Families varied about when they began systematically torturing their children in that way. He was just glad his left it alone for a while, and that most of their focus would remain on his siblings at least until Eliza was married, if not longer. He thought the younger ones were more interesting than him.

For their parents, anyway. He didn’t think he was boring, but he was good at not being noticed when he didn’t want to be, and around his parents, he usually didn’t want to be. Adults made things so messy and complicated if they got involved in your life, and he didn’t want to deal with all of that yet. Even Father somehow just noticed at least Liza more than he did his eldest son, and he was usually aware of everything, or at least everything that touched the Bennetts. Anyway, Paul’s main objective was to be left alone as long as possible, so he didn’t mind.

0 Paul That's one thing out of the way, then 0 Paul 0 5

Sally

September 25, 2011 9:12 PM

And what is next? by Sally

…Oh. That made sense, she supposed. Pretending the ball did not exist had left her mind blank to the possibility that someone would ask her to go to said occasion. Sally had, after all, met Paul at such an occasion. It was only logical that he would ask her.

There were, of course, probably other candidates. She could hardly believe that she was the only girl of approximately his age that he knew of. There were, in fact, many girls in their year. Why he chose her beyond the fact that they had previously met was beyond her. Other than the intelligence on which she prided herself, she did not consider herself much of anything special.

“That is very kind of you to ask,” she answered. “Yes, I would enjoy to go to the school ball with you.” As previously pondered about, the brunette was not a fan of commotion and such, but the more she thought about it, the angrier, she realized, her father would be if she did not attend. If he grew angry at her, then her mother would aid her defense. Sally did not want to cause another fight between her parents. It was tiring enough as it was to hear it.

She experienced great guilt about it, about leaving her brothers with them. Their quarrels were always verbal, but Ross Manger could say very hurtful things. Many times, Sally had heard through the walls her mother’s late night sobs, then felt the shame of not knowing how to make them cease. She wanted her mother to be happy. Not going to the ball would, by extent, make that impossible.

Blinking grey-brown eyes at Paul, she inquired, “What color do you wish for us to wear?” The eleven year old was not fastidious about color, but it did seem proper for her to match her escort.

0 Sally And what is next? 0 Sally 0 5

Paul

October 06, 2011 8:47 PM

Deciding on colors, apparently by Paul

Some of the social customs they had been brought up on annoyed Paul, sometimes, and that comment about it being kind of him to ask was one of them. It wasn’t kind, it was just…just sort of looking out for his own interests. He would be thought less of by some people if he didn’t have a date to the ball when Linus did, and his mother wanted him to socialize with pureblood girls and be a miniature adult, so asking Sally allowed him to handle two problems at once.

His slight, pleasant smile deepened, that being better than looking annoyed, for a moment before he got it back into place. Being like that about it wouldn’t change things. People were going to go through the words, however stupid or even untrue they were, and there were enough times when he liked that. Having the scripts could be a comfort, a way out when he couldn’t think of anything original to say. He could carry on a whole conversation with someone without either of them ever really saying anything, and if it made him feel a bit wrong after, like it was stupid and shouldn’t be done, well, it got him through the problem.

Slightly abstract thought, though, was dispelled by the mention of colors. His smile fell away, his face going blank, then bewildered. “I…hadn’t thought of it,” he admitted. “Mother and Eliza kept talking about red while we were at home…” Red, and dark red, and other shade words that didn’t even sound properly like words to him and were a complete mystery. Paul was careful about his clothes and cared how he looked, but the world of fine color distinctions was one he felt firmly belonged to women. The lengthy processes they went through with their seamstresses, with all the discussion of what the person doing the sewing was doing and other women being there to critique it and fabric everywhere, seemed more like the rites of a strange religion to him than anything involving something as mundane as flattering clothing.

“I hadn’t really thought about it at all,” he admitted again. “Do you have any preferences about that?” His dark hair and eyes were common enough to go with anything, and his features not very distinguished. His sister was considered pretty, and he was supposed to look a lot like her, but Paul thought that if his overall coloring had been a little lighter, he would have been completely unremarkable looking. Clothes were especially the domain of girls; if she had a strong feeling about things, it was likely that they would go with that theme. Mother, he was sure, was not invested enough in much to do with him to really care what he wore so long as he didn’t look like a stark fool in it, or clash completely with his date. Even with the pre-Richard, pre-Sonora system of one parent taking two, Mother had spent far more time on Gemma than Leo of her two.

0 Paul Deciding on colors, apparently 0 Paul 0 5