Dreading the break on Pecari Commons

Clara Abernathy

July 08, 2013 12:06 PM

Dreading the break by Clara Abernathy

Clara sat with her legs tucked up underneath her in one of the large overstuffed chairs in the Pecari Common room, her head thrown back against the back of the chair and her hands clutching a couple of letters that had been delivered to her by a couple of her family’s owls. She held both of the letters on one hand and was covering her face in frustration with the other. One of the letters she held was from her father back home while the other was from her cousin Dimitri there at school. Her cousins’ letter was frustrating enough, but it seemed like her father had the same idea Dimitri did and his letter arrived just minutes after Mitri’s. “I swear…its like my family has some weird radar when it comes to sending letters with “bad” news in it,” she grumbled as she pulled her hand away from her face and read through both of the letters again, more slowly this time. She started with Dimitri’s letter first.

“Clara,
“Hey cousin, Darina and I signed up for the Fencing Club here at Sonora. I’ll bet you didn’t know they had one huh? Anyways, showed up for the first meeting and met your friend Lucian. He seems like a pretty cool guy. I got to talk with him a little bit, offered to let the other members use some of my fencing gear (and by fencing gear, no I do not mean the stuff we use for the SCA) I mean the actual collegiate gear. The “proper” stuff as it were. I’ve already sent mom home a letter asking her to send my gear. Anyway, while I was talking to him I noticed that your name wasn’t on the sign up sheet which is weird because you were actually pretty good at fencing. At least that’s what my dad always said. I told your friend Lucian that as well and I grabbed a permission slip for both of us while I was there. I figured you might be a little busy so I went ahead and sent it to Uncle Bryan for you as well. You have to have it signed by a parent before you can actually fence. You’re welcome. I figure you’re probably kind-of sore with me right now for doing it behind your back, but I know you won’t be mad for long. You never are. Anyway, I’ve got homework I’ve got to get back to so I’ll see you around school I hope. Sincerely,”
“Dimitri”

Clara glared at the letter from Dimitri and sighed heavily. She had seen the sign-up sheet for the Fencing Club that Lucian had started and read the names of the people who had signed up. Among them was Honey’s sister Heaven. She didn’t see his sister’s name on that list, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t just randomly show up just to make them miserable. Clara had been relatively nice to Alex at the pool party when she decided to show up and tear into her and Lucian. Clara knew, however, that should Alexandra decide to try her beratement of them again, Clara would not be as nice about it. Clara didn’t really see Heaven being there as problematic, after all she apparently hated Lucian which Clara wasn’t so sure about. The way he described her behavior towards him it sounded more to Clara as though Heaven actually did like him and she was trying to make him jealous. Jealous of what though, she wasn’t entirely sure. Clara shrugged the thought away and turned back to the issue at hand. She closed her eyes again and sat up a bit. Why would he think she was too busy to send the permission slip to her own father? She wrote her dad at least once a week about everything happening at Sonora. Okay…that wasn’t entirely true. She hadn’t really told him yet about her and Lucian. Technically there really wasn’t anything to tell him yet so its not like she was leaving anything out. When there was something to tell her dad, she would, until then there was no point in mentioning anything. She groaned slightly as she wondered what her right now annoying little cousin may have told her father that she hadn’t. “I’d like to stuff Dimitri in a Portmanteau and ship his rear end to Abudobi,” she grumbled to the air. “At least then Nermal might have someone more annoying than himself to play with.” A portmanteau wasn’t a shipping box, but it would serve the same purpose she supposed. Besides, she actually had a portmanteau handy, she didn’t have any shipping boxes.

Clara took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She knew her cousin meant well and she tried to hold onto that thought as she glanced over his letter one last time. She finally just shook her head over the matter and moved on to the really disturbing letter. She had finally gotten a letter from her father after no reply to any of the ones she had sent home thus far. She had been delighted to receive her dad’s letter until she opened and read it. She had immediately dropped into the chair she was sitting in presently. She still couldn’t believe what she was reading. “Peanut,” it began. “I’m sorry its been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to write to you. Work has been keeping extra busy as well as the vineyard. Your grandparents have needed an extra set of hands with the horse ranch so I’ve been traveling back and forth between Napa and England to help out. Your uncle Damon has been as well. I spoke to your grandpa while I was there and he has asked me to pass along a bit of news. He and grams have chosen a boy there from Surrey whom they would like you to spend time with while you’re home on break. If all goes well between you two, gramps would like to discuss with you the possibility of a betrothal between you both. I know you don’t like the idea of them, but they aren’t really all that bad if they’re done for the right reasons. That’s why our family has always done them the way we have. The boy’s name is Dean Livingston. I believe you met him at the birthday party over the summer.”

Clara did recall a boy named Dean at the party that she spoke to briefly. He hadn’t really seemed all that bad. He wasn’t as boring as the others she met. He was actually kind of funny. That was the only reason she hadn’t ditched him at the party. That and her grams would have been furious with her. She continued reading. “I also have a bit more news Peanut that will probably come as a shock. It was to me that’s for sure. I spoke to your other grandparents in France the other day over the phone. It seems that they have been talking with my parents and they want me to get remarried or at least date for whatever reason. They know that I have chosen to this point not do so because of the fact that I didn’t want them to feel like I was trying to replace their daughter with someone else and they have respected that. They also know that I chose not to do it because of you Peanut. I didn’t want you to feel like your mother was easy for me to replace and that I didn’t care about her or love her. I loved her very much and 10 years later I still miss her. I will always miss her, but I think its time for us to move on and for me to stop grieving Peanut. That being said, there is someone I want to introduce you to when you come home for break. Her name is Danielle and I met her on my trips back and forth. She’s from Bordeaux, like your mother was, and she loves horses which is why she was at the ranch helping out. I really think you’re going to like her Peanut. I just hope that you will give her a chance. I’ll see you at Christmas break Peanut. Until then keep writing me okay. I love you munchkin, Dad”

Clara felt her eyes watering up at the mention of her mother. She had suspected that part of the reason why her dad hadn’t remarried or dated was because of her, but she had never really had any proof. She had kind-of hoped that her dad would find someone nice for himself, but then she worried that if he had he would forget all about her. It doesn’t really help the grieving process much when you have a constant reminder of the person you’re grieving for in front of you all the time. Clara knew that despite missing her mother, her father never saw her as anything other than a gift that her mother had given him. She knew that no matter who her father might get married to he would never leave Clara behind. She sighed a little as she wiped away the tears that had escaped down her cheeks. She missed her mom sometimes, but the harsh truth was she didn’t mourn her like her father did. She barely remembered her. Does that mean I’m a bad daughter? she wondered to herself as she glanced back over her dad’s letter. Clara really didn’t know the answer to that question. She thought about asking someone, but she wasn’t sure who to ask. Clara sighed heavily again as she folded up the two letters and held them against her chest. She still wasn’t all that happy about her cousin’s antics, but he had been right. She wasn’t really angry with him anymore. She was actually kind-of grateful in a way. Outside of Quidditch, maybe fencing would be a good outlet for her. She shrugged. She would have to wait and see about that one. As for the prospect of a possible new step-mother, Clara was incredibly lost there. She had no idea what to say about that one or what she should feel. At the moment she had only one gut reaction to the whole ordeal, crying. Clara pulled her knees up into her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs, rested her head against her knees and silently wept. She knew that she was still in the common room where people could see her, but she didn’t care. At that moment Clara was all raw emotion and she didn’t care who saw it.

0 Clara Abernathy Dreading the break 232 Clara Abernathy 1 5

Amira Thornton

July 11, 2013 2:25 AM

Watching a cousin by Amira Thornton

Amira had just spent the better part of three hours sitting in the library doing both homework and planning for Pecari’s Quidditch Team. The only reason why she’d left the Library at all was because she’d almost fallen asleep in her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. She hated that she’d almost fallen asleep in that book, as it was one of her favorite classes, but she took that the fact that it was time to go back to Pecari.

The Captain walked into the Common Room, rubbing her eyes. But when she spotted her younger cousin legs tucked under her in one of the overstuffed chairs, clutching some paper. Mira stood in the doorway of the Commons for a short few moments and watched in the shadows as her cousin read both papers. With the first one Mir heard her grumble about family and something about bad news. The sixth year’s brow furrowed as she watched Clara from afar. Clara sighed and Mira worried about what was on those papers, but still didn’t come out just yet. She wanted to gage Clara’s feelings more before she did anything. If there was someone hurting Clara, she would see to it that it wouldn’t happen again. That was for sure.

From Mira’s viewpoint, she saw Clara close her eyes and sit up a little bit. Then Clara groaned and Mir inched closer. When she inched she was able to hear Clara say that she wanted to stuff Dimitri in a Portmanteau and ship his rear end to Abudobi. Mir stifled a small giggle, and held it back as best as she could so that Clara didn’t see or hear it just yet.

Clara breathed in deeply and let it out as she switched papers in her hand. Mir still watched from her hiding spot. She hoped that nobody would walk in and catch her staring at her cousin, that was for sure. The look on Clara’s face changed a little and to her older cousin it looked as if she may cry. In fact, moments later, she did. When Clara wiped away the tears, Mira made to walk closer, but stopped as Clara sighed and folded up the papers, holding them near her heart.

Clara pulled her knees up to her chest and pulled her legs into a hug with her head on her knees and when Mira saw that she couldn’t wait any longer. Mira wasn’t generally the caring one, sure she loved her family, but she wasn’t the one to show kindness. That was more Addison and Aubrielle, But Amira also knew that at this point, Clara needed it and she was the one that was there. As awkward as it was going to be, she knew that it had to happen.

Mir walked over and sat down next to her, putting her hand on her shoulder. Speaking softly, she looked at her little cousin. “Clara? What’s the matter hunnie?” Mir was worried, (an odd thing for her, but it was true). “You’re not the type to sit and cry…” Mir wondered if she shouldn’t have just went for Addison and had taken Clara to see her, but there wasn’t time it seemed.

0 Amira Thornton Watching a cousin 208 Amira Thornton 0 5

Clara

July 12, 2013 11:08 PM

Watching me cry...great... by Clara

Clara faintly became aware that someone was talking to her. She pulled her tear streaked cheeks upwards and was a little surprised to see her cousin Amira there. She was even more weirded out when Amira sat beside her and put her arm around her. Amira really wasn’t one for showing public displays of affection, but Clara was glad that her older cousin was there. Clara shrugged heavily when Mira asked what was wrong. She really didn’t know how to put into words what bothered her the most. She felt incredibly lost when it came to the subject of her mother. All Clara’s had to go on are pictures her dad has kept and stories told by relatives. Clara, herself, has no actual memories of her mom. She saw bits and pieces of things flash through her mind, but nothing concrete. She sees a woman’s face smiling at her, but she can’t place who it belongs to. It has always made Clara feel like her own mother was nothing more than a stranger to her. She had always secretly felt like a horrible daughter because she couldn’t produce a single full memory of her mother and that made her feel like she was betraying her somehow. She knew that she really wasn’t, but it made her wonder sometimes.

She leaned against Mira’s leg and rested her head on Mira’s thigh. She hiccupped lightly from the crying and sighed. “I don’t know,” she replied softly. “I don’t quite feel like myself. I’ve got this horrible wave of cramps cursing through my body at an alarming rate. I’m irritable, grumpy, bloated and I want to cry for absolutely no reason whatsoever,” she confessed. She had an idea why all of that was happening, but she didn’t really want it to be happening just then. Not with everything else going on. “If that wasn’t fun enough, grandpa and grandma apparently have picked out some dweeb they want me to spend the break with on top of Arista’s wedding going on. I want to invite Lucian to the wedding, but I know that they’ll say no because of the boy they want me to hang out with. They’re hoping that we hit it off, but I don’t know that I want the same thing. I mean, I don’t want to be mean to him or anything, but I don’t really want to actively participate in the whole betrothal nonsense.” She wiped her hand across her nose as she rattled on.

“Even if I were so inclined to participate, what would I do about Lucian? I really like him Mira. I don’t want to hurt him at all. What am I supposed to do about it? What am I supposed to tell him about Dean? Do I tell him about Dean?” She glanced up from her cousin’s thigh at Mira’s face and sighed. She knew that she was pretty much rambling now, but it felt kind-of good to get it all out. “I mean its not like I’m dating my best friend, but it would be nice if his little sister understood that. Did you know that she actually scolded us for spending time together at Charlie’s pool party? I mean the nerve of that bossy little twirp. How dare she tell us who we can be friends with! Granted, I’ll give her the fact that we didn’t really consider Honey’s feelings about our spending time together, but its not like we were doing anything we should be ashamed of. Just because he’s betrothed to Honey doesn’t mean that we can’t hang out together, right?” She looked at her cousin with confusion.

She got up off the chair and began pacing back and forth in front of her cousin, getting a tad agitated. She was still clutching both of the letters from her dad and her cousin Dimitri. “Then if that wasn’t bad enough, Dimitri goes and signs me up for Lucian’s fencing club, then has the nerve to send the permission slip to my dad instead of giving it to me. I mean why would he do that? Its not like I couldn’t have sent it in myself. I mean come on Mitri…seriously?” She knew that she was probably getting more annoyed than she intended to, but she found that she really couldn’t help herself. She continued to pace, her steps becoming much more erratic. “Oh and if all of that wasn’t fun enough now my dad apparently has decided that he’s going to date after being alone this whole time.” She held the letter from him up in front of her to read from it to her cousin. “He says that its time he and I moved on, that it was time we stopped grieving and that he’s already met someone he wants me to meet during the break. Can you believe that? He wants me to meet some stranger that he’s been seeing this whole time and hasn’t told me anything about until now. I mean, this woman could potentially became my step-mother and he doesn’t even bother to say anything to his own DAUGHTER about her. Who does that?”

She stopped pacing long enough to catch her breath as she tried to calm herself down. She crossed her arms over her chest as she went back to pacing. She hadn’t realized that she had been holding so much inside of her as she continued to rant. “Its bad enough I feel like a horrible daughter to my own mother whom I don’t even remember. How can he expect me to be a good daughter to some woman I’ve never even met yet? I’m, like, completely at a loss here Mira. Then there’s the cherry on this cake of crazy…I can’t believe I actually signed up to play Quidditch! Quidditch of all things! Did I suffer some horrible brain trauma or something to sign up for that? I must actually have been crazy to think that I could play Quidditch without killing myself or someone else. I mean, seriously Mira…how could someone with my track record expect to keep myself, let alone others, in one piece?” She finally stopped pacing and glanced seriously at her cousin who was still seated on the arm of the chair (at least Clara was pretty sure she hadn’t moved). “What do you suggest I do?” she asked hoping that her cousin might have some ideas that could help her at that moment. Up until she had unloaded, she had felt like she was coming apart at the seams. It felt good to finally unleash.

0 Clara Watching me cry...great... 232 Clara 0 5

Mira

July 23, 2013 10:03 AM

And utterly surprised… by Mira

Amira had been watching her cousin, yes. And sure, she’d been worried, but she didn’t think that the answer to her question was going to be that emotional either. Mir was never one for public displays of affection. Ever. Clara just looked so lost that Mira felt that was just the right thing to do.

When Clara leaned against her leg and rested her head on Mira’s thigh, the older Pecari felt very much out of her element. Clara started off talking about what Mir knew was the womanly time of month and she nodded in total understanding. “That’s a normal reaction to Aunt Flo coming Clara. Trust me… I know I have never really been around you much when my own Aunt Flo comes to town, but even I can get like that.” she said, hoping it helped Clara to know that she was very normal in that regard. “Some people get grumpy, others get upset, others get angry and still others disappear off the face of the planet when there’s comes.” she added, trying hard to help Clara.

When Clara went on to tell her about the fact that Grandma and Grandpa Abernathy had picked out someone for her and Mira knew what that meant. Her own face fell for her cousin, glad that she didn’t just get placed with someone necessarily. Sure, she’d sort of been, but not like Clara. At least she liked Marston! “I don’t blame you there…” Mir said to her as Clara wiped her hand across her nose. Mir searched her pockets for a tissue to no avail and listened as Clara went on.

Clara glanced up at her and Mir was shocked into an almost stutter. “Well… It’s not like this whole thing was your idea, so Lucian couldn’t be mad at you, could he?” Mir asked her cousin. Amira didn’t really know Lucian, all she knew was what Clara and Bri had said about him and from what she knew it didn’t seem like he’d be mad at her for a decision made without her desires. “Lucian’s sister really has no authority, as she is younger, right? Nor is she his mother, so I think you did the right thing. Yes, I know what happened, Bri told me.”

“And I agree. You should be more than free to hang out with whoever you want to. You’re not married yet, and neither is he. And even then I still don’t see a problem with hanging out with your best friend…” Maybe Amira was not really privy to the betrothal information, but she still didn’t see it as wrong.

Clara got up out of the chair and paced back and forth in front of her. Mira knew that Clara was agitated and upset and she wished there was something she could do for her. Clara spoke up again, talking about Mitri this time and Mir listened, slightly shocked at that. She didn’t have much time to say anything to that as Clara went on about something her Dad had sent her in a letter form. Mira treaded lightly over this idea as it seemed that this was one of the biggest issues Clara was having. “Well, maybe its not such a bad thing? I mean, with you away at school all year long he’s got to be lonely. Lucy too… I mean how much can she do for him and he for her? It may be a good thing after all… Like Silas. You never know. It may be something that would be fantastic more than awful.” Mira shrugged. Maybe I’m not terrible at this? she thought to herself. “And maybe he didn’t want to say anything until he knew it could be something good. He doesn’t want to hurt you Clara, he never has…” she added to her cousin as Clara stopped pacing a moment and crossed her arms over her chest before starting to pace again.

Clara’s pacing was starting to make Mira really nervous, which was a rarity for sure. “But you’re not a horrible daughter. You don’t remember full memories, that’s true, but you were really little. At least you have told memories of what happened… We don’t even have that with Dad.” She paused there herself, getting heated as well over the things that were all going around in their family.

“You know… I think Uncle Bryan waited cause he wanted to be sure this would be something that worked out, but he’s not going to do anything you don’t like. That’s why he’s telling you now. I also think that he’s not expecting this woman to take over and suddenly you have your mom back again, I really think he’s trying to give you a motherly type person. As much as my Mom and Aunts Charlotte and Simone can try, and me and the others too, that’s not the same thing as having a woman who’s like a mom in your own house…”

“It’s like the whole thing with Silas… Dad spent 16 years with me in our house and everything, but in just a few weeks Silas has done MUCH more with me than he has… Your Dad has done more than mine has done for me…” Mira, herself was starting to get all worked up over it all. No wonder Clara had been sitting here crying… This was way too much for anyone to deal with.

This is why I do stupid stuff… I keep everything inside… If I didn’t do that it may not be that bad… she thought to herself as Clara went on talking about Quidditch.

“Clara, you’ve gotten MUCH better, and with practice and a little confidence in yourself you could really be the best player on our team! You have the team spirit, the desire, and the love for it… THAT is why you’re on the team. THAT is why so many people love you. You’re an awesome person and even with everything going on, you’ll still come out on top! I know it!”

“What do I suggest you do?” Mira repeated. “I think that you need to calm down and think about the most pressing issue first. Then once that one is either solved or calmed, the next can be taken care of. And so on and so forth. And you can come and talk to any of us. We all love you, always have.” she said, hoping that she’d helped her cousin and didn’t make it all worse…

0 Mira And utterly surprised… 0 Mira 0 5