Abigail De La Garza
July 21, 2016 5:38 PM
It's only me (tag Wu) by Abigail De La Garza
Abigail did not understand. Was there something wrong with her? It made no sense whatsoever that Wu still seemed so shy around her when they were now well into their third year of sharing a bedroom. It was a real shame. Abby had originally thought that her roommate would be like the sister she’d never had by this point but as it turned out, she didn’t even think Wu would be prepared to call her a friend.In all fairness, Abby probably could have made a bit more effort and not settled with the assumption that her roommate didn’t actually like her very much as soon as she had done. The third year understood that people could be shy - she could be one of those people too sometimes - and the last thing she wanted to do was make it an issue but it was hard to pretend that she wasn’t disappointed. She and Wu were supposed to stay up late on the weekends, having girly chats and doing each other’s hair and borrowing one another’s clothes (okay, their size differences kind of made that one impossible but that was besides the point). The last thing Abby wanted to do was try too hard to become friends with Wu and make the foreign girl feel at all pressured by her. She wanted Wu to like her for sure, but mostly she just wanted her roommate to at least feel comfortable around her and trust her.
It had not escaped the Teppenpaw’s notice that Wu had managed to find herself a group of friends at one point and she had been mildly jealous and offended (although refrained from letting this on) but Wu no longer seemed to be around those people these days and it made her wonder why. Abby also wondered who the Chinese girl did spend her time with now because she didn’t like the idea of her being lonely. Abby had grown attached to her quiet roommate, in spite of her hidden frustration towards her, as a part of her did feel that Wu was genuinely very shy and for that reason she felt protective of her (not that Wu would probably appreciate such a sentiment from her).
Sticking with the thought of Wu being lonely, it had occurred to her that she probably wouldn’t have a date to the midsummer ball. Abby herself had still hoped some boy might surprise her since returning from the midterm break but had known this was unlikely to happen. She knew who she wanted to go with - the hunky Teppenpaw Quidditch Captain - but knew there was no way on earth he would ever even think to ask her. Having reluctantly resolved that no boy was interested in taking her to the ball as their date, platonic or otherwise, Abby had moved swiftly onto Plan B which was to find as many dateless “friends” (using the term loosely) as she could that might want to form a group with her so that she would have no fears of being alone on what could be a fun evening.
“Hey,” she smiled at her roommate in the friendly manner in which she always did, upon entering their shared dormitory at the end of a long school day. “Have a nice day?”
Abby flopped down on her bed and stared upwards for a moment as she waited for Wu’s response before propping herself up on her elbows and looking directly at her roommate. “You know, I’ve been thinking about this midsummer ball thing,” she began, hoping her company wouldn’t shut her out instantly at the mere mention of the social event, “and, well, I don’t have a date so I was wondering if you don’t, then maybe we could go together so that we aren’t on our own? And if there’s anyone else we know of that doesn’t have a date, maybe we could invite them to join us so we could make a group to go with?”
“It’s just, the last thing I’d want for myself is to be on my own at the ball and I’m sure there are others in the same position as me so it makes sense for us to join up and go together,” Abby hoped she was explaining it well. She really liked the idea of having a nice group of people to go to the ball with and she definitely didn’t want Wu making the mistake of thinking she was a lesbian and wanted to go with just her in that way - no, that definitely would not help her relationship (or lack thereof) with her reserved roommate.
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Abigail De La Garza
It's only me (tag Wu)
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Abigail De La Garza
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Wu Peizhi
July 24, 2016 4:54 AM
And I'm glad for it. by Wu Peizhi
A few days had passed since the conversation with Professor Skies, and though she had taken leaps and bounds of progress forward, Wu felt no closer to a solution to her problem than she had over midterm. The Transfiguration professor recommended a hybrid solution, trying to be friends with the “right people” like Kira Spaulding as her father wanted as well as trying to be friends with the people that made her happy. But that plan was so, so hard for a couple reasons. For one, Wu was naturally very introverted, and she didn’t know how much time she could give that many people. After all, it couldn’t be just Kira; she had to befriend the Kira Spauldings and the Dustin Newells, the Andrew Careys and the Kelsey Atwaters. Wu didn’t know if she could give those people and her former little band of misfits enough time to really mean anything before having to retreat to her room, as sacred as it could be with a roommate (nothing against Abby, just that seclusion was optimal).But perhaps even more than that, the Teppenpaw wasn’t sure her former group would ever forgive her. Jax had seemed pretty angry, and from the way he spoke, Gia and Laila--perhaps even Sammy, who acted like she felt nothing but happiness--were incredibly hurt. Why would they want to accept her again when all she had done thus far was tag along quietly and then run away with her tail tucked between her legs?
It felt like all she could do was hurt. Maybe she was just like her father after all, cold and merciless and alone. There had to be differences, she told herself, because if she was completely cold and merciless, this wouldn’t have hurt nearly this much, and she really didn’t want to be alone anymore. Not like this.
She knew she had homework, but all Peizhi could really manage was to lay in her bed and stare at the top canopy of her bed, although she kept the curtains about half open. She thought maybe that way, she could pretend she and Abby were friends, though the distance between them was through no fault of the other girl. It was Wu who, as always, didn’t put in the effort, letting them coast along on Abby’s natural kindness and calling that a bond of some sort.
And there she was. “Hey,” she greeted, like she always did. “Have a nice day?”
“Yes,” Wu lied. She didn’t really have nice days anymore.
Usually, statements beginning, “You know, I’ve been thinking….” were a red flag to the quiet Chinese girl, but at this point, she was so desperately lonely that the possible strain and fear of a conversation were outweighed, and she listened closely but without moving.
As Abby went on, though, she sat up slowly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and pulling the curtains open the rest of the way. Wu did her best to hide it, but she felt on the verge of tears. Abigail De La Garza,
Maybe things would be okay, after all.
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Wu Peizhi
And I'm glad for it.
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Wu Peizhi
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Abby De La Garza
August 07, 2016 3:25 PM
Are you sure? by Abby De La Garza
Abby was pleased when Wu sat up and stopped hiding away behind the curtains of her bed. The shy girl seemed to have perked up, at least curious as to what it was she was going to say.There were two ways that Abby had anticipated her ball suggestion to go, the first and most realistic expectation being that Wu would politely turn her down with the excuse that she was already going with someone else or that she didn’t fancy going at all. The other, more hopeful, possibility was that Wu would agree to going with her in minimal shy words.
The latter actually turned out to be the reality, as it happened, but not in the way that Abby might have expected. Wu was crying! Abby’s initial reaction was to feel absolutely mortified, the last thing she had wanted was to reduce her roommate to tears.
But the words coming out of Wu’s mouth contradicted the water falling down her cheeks as she told Abby that she would like to join her and even thanked her. Abby felt confused - Wu’s tears were happy ones? Suggesting that she and Wu go to the ball together if neither of them had dates had just been a small action on her part, although an attempted step towards friendship all the same, but Abby didn’t think it deserving of such great emotion. She felt touched, albeit still very confused, but even more so concerned because clearly there was more to her roommate than met the eye. Something was going on and Abby wanted to help.
“Here, have a handkerchief,” the Teppenpaw offered as she opened up one of her bedside drawers to withdraw a white embroidered handkerchief. She crossed the room and handed it to Wu. “It’s clean,” she added with a smile, “you can trust me.”
Abby didn’t know if she was crossing the line and stepping to much into the shy girl’s territory too soon by sitting down on the bed beside Wu but she did so anyway because she didn’t want to stand there looking down at her and potentially make her feel small.
“I’m so glad that we’re going to the ball together,” she smiled, speaking the truth and thinking that talking positively might help dry Wu’s tears and assure her that they definitely were happy ones. “It’s going to be so much fun. Just think of all the lovely dresses there will be…”
She couldn’t do it, she just had to ask. “Are you- are you okay?” Abby didn’t want to sound patronizing or to pry or anything remotely like that but tears were far from what she had expected and she wanted Wu to know that whatever it was that had caused her to react in such an emotional way (not that there was anything wrong with that), whether it be directly linked with Abby or not, she was going to support her and be here for her no matter what. Although she knew better than to claim Wu as one of her friends (something that might hopefully change now that Wu had essentially promised to spend time with her), they were roommates and to Abby, who had never had such a thing before Sonora, that meant something.
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Abby De La Garza
Are you sure?
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Abby De La Garza
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Wu Peizhi
August 08, 2016 6:03 AM
Definitively by Wu Peizhi
It was a very simple statement in a very simple context: “You can trust me.” The handkerchief was clean. But it wasn’t about the handkerchief. It wasn’t even about the ball. It was all the gestures Abby made, the line she cast out that Wu had never bitten off before. Maybe partially because she’d had a hook in her mouth from her former nearly-friends, but either way, she hadn’t been a very good roommate. Despite Wu’s shortcomings, Abby was still trying. That meant a lot, attested to the other Teppenpaw’s character. Wu had never been very good at trust in any capacity, reserving full trust to a single individual, though she had gotten close to something like it with Laila and maybe Jax. Maybe she could trust Abby. Maybe she could learn.She took the handkerchief.
Gently she dabbed her tears, relieved as they seemed to ebb, while Abby talked. Wu liked that a lot; she was such a quiet girl herself, but she liked listening to other people talk. Unfortunately, Abby didn’t talk too long, trailing off before sending the conversation back to Wu with a hard-hitting and nervous question: was she okay?
It was a solid question, a fair one to ask. A girl asking her roommate to hang out wasn’t the type of thing that normally resulted in somebody crying. So was she okay? “Yes,” Wu replied automatically. She sniffled, looking down at the handkerchief. Abby’s handkerchief. “No,” she modified. “Not really.”
“It is, uh… complicated.” It had been very draining and difficult to give so much information to Professor Skies the other day, so even beyond reasons of trust, she was a bit weary to give Abby much detail. “I do not really want to talk about it,” she offered weakly, hoping that would be enough. “I will be fine.”
“Do you know what you will be wear to the ball?” she asked, trying to redirect the conversation. “I am not certain how different the clothes will be from what I know.”
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Wu Peizhi
Definitively
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Wu Peizhi
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Abby
August 15, 2016 5:27 PM
Now it's my turn to be glad. by Abby
Wu tried to pretend, just for a moment, but then she seemed to change her mind. She was surprisingly honest and upfront and Abby appreciated that. It didn’t make her feel any better though, because now her roommate had just confirmed that she was suffering.Abby certainly hadn’t expected Wu to confide in her but that wasn’t the entire point of her asking. She was concerned and she’d wanted to voice it so that her fellow Teppenpaw would at least know that she cared. It was now entirely up to her whether or not she thought involving Abby would help in any way. She seemed to think it wasn’t, so Abby didn’t push her any further.
“That’s fine, I understand,” Abby told her gently. That wasn’t completely and utterly true because she couldn’t possibly understand what she didn’t know, but the point was that she knew she wasn’t Wu’s first choice confidante. And she could deal with that, for now. There was no real reason why the Chinese girl should want to talk to Abby about her problems and Abby sincerely regretted not making more of an effort towards her roommate. Who knew how long Wu had not been okay?
“I just want to make sure you know,” Abby continued, not trying to press Wu for information but just letting her know she was here to support her. “I’m always here if you do want to talk. Or even if you don’t want to talk, I’m here too,” she shrugged, smiling. “We’re roommates - I’ve got your back.”
Abby smiled again when Wu moved the conversation on. It was probably a distraction tactic because she didn’t want to talk about whatever it was she was going through but Abby didn’t mind. Wu was actually making conversation with her!
“I’m wearing a black dress,” Abby told her roommate, resisting the urge to bite her lip or give away any other telltale sign that she wasn’t entirely comfortable about her whole dress situation. Black was a dark colour and not really one she would have imagined herself wearing to a midsummer ball. But she’d picked up one of those magazines from Fashion Club before midterm and read something she probably already knew - black could make you look slimmer, and that had stuck in her mind since.
“It’s satin, and knee-length,” Abby continued, trying to be cheerful because she was actually rather pleased with her brand new dress in spite of her fears. “What about you? Have you decided what you’re wearing?”
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Abby
Now it's my turn to be glad.
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Abby
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Wu Peizhi
August 18, 2016 5:57 AM
This almost feels... normal. by Wu Peizhi
Despite the reassurances--which Wu completely appreciated--she was glad when Abby let her semi-distraction worked. Listening to Abby talk about the ball and her dress was a lot easier than to explain (or not explain) her own life situation, especially when she did not even fully understand it herself. She had never understood why she had been sent here when, aside from her relative English skill, she was so grossly unprepared for this. Did her parents think forcing her to interact with Americans would be good for her somehow? No, of course not. Like everything else in her twelve years of life, nothing was for her. It was for the family. Peizhi was an envoy, a surveyor, a spy. She just had to spy on the right people.“You will be beautiful,” she responded with a smile. Abby’s dress sounded wonderful, and Wu genuinely meant the compliment. Abby looked very different from anyone she had seen before Sonora, both on the grounds of her size and her ethnicity, but she thought nonetheless that Abby was a nice-looking young lady. Not to mention, she held dear the belief that internal beauty--kindness, understanding, generosity, traits Wu herself lacked--was the type of beauty that spilled outward, and that only worked further in Abby’s favor.
“I do not know yet what I am wear,” she commented as to her own attire. “My mother said she will send something. She knows many things about clothes.” Her mother was always extravagantly dressed, a shining trophy to attest to her father’s success. Because aside from someone to raise the son he already had, when Bohai’s mother died, their father had needed someone to show off, someone to represent him in women’s circle and endear him in men’s. He had found that in the woman who would then provide him two more children.
“I hope it comes soon,” Wu commented nervously, afraid of sounding too demanding even continents out of earshot from her parents. She had it on good authority that her father had eyes and ears everywhere. After all, she was supposed to be a set, herself. “I would like to see it with much time before the ball.”
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Wu Peizhi
This almost feels... normal.
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Wu Peizhi
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