Let's get together... [Ji-Eun] on Pecari Commons

Chloe Jareau

May 31, 2015 9:39 PM

Let's get together... [Ji-Eun] by Chloe Jareau

Chloe did not have a long travel time from her home in New Mexico to the school in Arizona. It was probably one of the shortest after those who actually lived in the state of Arizona. So when they were starting school earlier in the day due to this new orientation process that they had with the First years, Chloe had no idea what to do with herself. She wasn’t tired, so there wasn’t any need to have a lie down and she wasn’t all that up for wandering around as she did that enough during the school year. What was she supposed to do?

Deciding that her best option was to just unpack and get some time in with Ji-Eun before they had to deal with the rest of the school. Last year had been a long one due to the C.A.T.S examinations, so she felt like she hadn’t really been able to hang out with Ji-Eun like she used to. There was no one to blame really, Chloe spent a lot of time studying (under Emery’s orders), and hanging out with Aladrens as a result of that, she really felt like she let Ji-Eun down for girl time. She definitely wanted to do better with it this year and hopefully get Ava and Ji-Eun together so that the three of them could have girl time together. It was a real shame that the other girl wasn’t in the same house as the two of them but rather, was stuck with her boring brother.

Things over the summer had been rather tense for awhile, mostly because of her own poor choices with certain people, but some good had come out of it too. Physically, Chloe looked and felt better about herself. The baby fat was finally gone from her face and all the bike riding she had done over the summer and really slimmed up her waist and thighs, making her feel rather sexy (even if no one else did). After meeting her mother and seeing her life spiral out, Chloe didn’t want that for herself. She didn’t want to become what might be genetically inherited to her. So, she was going to get healthier, get confident, and be happy. That was the goal anyway. And if, by chance, these changes brought the notice of one particular Pecari Seventh Year, well, that would be a bonus.

She didn’t think Malcolm would see her as the type of girl who would be appropriate for him to date, but even if he just noticed her as a girl than she could probably live with just that. She knew there were other guys who noticed her, but not any she cared to date. That was probably because she used to be apart of that group of boys when they were growing up and she knew exactly the type of people they were. She wanted nothing to do with any of that. She was still surprised that Emery hung out with them during the summer, but then again, what else could he really do?

Chloe sighed and sat on her bed, tired of unpacking. “Hey Ji-Eun.” Chloe can remember the first time they met and Ji-Eun was teaching her how to say her name correctly. Now Chloe felt like an old pro at it. “I’m bored, let’s talk instead.” Chloe declared. “How was your summer? Did you guys get to do anything fun at all?”

6 Chloe Jareau Let's get together... [Ji-Eun] 267 Chloe Jareau 1 5

Ji-Eun Park

June 05, 2015 10:20 PM

Far have I travelled by Ji-Eun Park

Ji-Eun trudged up to the dormitory, glad she didn’t have to drag her luggage but finding moving her own body up the stairs to be effort enough. The wagon ride was fairly long for her, on top of which the school had decided to make it earlier this year - it was perfect timing when she was still struggling with the time difference between here and Korea, where she’d spent a large chunk of the summer, and needed every lie in she could get. She had spent a lot of the wagon ride nodding off but it hadn’t been comfortable or continuous sleep. She kept jerking awake, worrying she’d been snoring or drooling or something gross.

She smiled at Chloe, glad to have an enthusiastic room-mate to keep her awake. Her Sonora bed was so big and comfy that without Chloe’s presence, she was sure she’d be tempted to crawl into it just for a little nap, and then end up sleeping straight through dinner and being awake in the middle of the night.

“We spent the last three weeks of it in Korea,” she answered Chloe’s question. She had mentioned the trip in her letters to her room-mate so doubted the news came as much of a surprise. “It was really fun. It’s been a long time, so everything seemed new and interesting. Though my cousins kept teasing me for acting like a tourist, and my grandparents complained about my accent the whole time - not just that, apparently it’s possible to not only talk but walk breathe and generally exist ‘like an American.’” She rolled her eyes. “It was nice to see them though. And they did kind of spoil us rotten between all the criticisms,” she admitted guiltily. She had had a fabulous time roaming the clothes shops and no shortage of spending money to treat herself. Her trunk was stuffed.

“I got you these,” she added, opening the top of her trunk to pull out Chloe’s presents, which were a pair of socks with half a cute cat face on each sock, and a little teddy keyring wearing traditional Korean hanbok. She handed them over a little shyly. Chloe seemed more grown-up looking than the Chloe she’d left behind last year. She supposed they were sixth years… She worried that her presents might be a little childish, but she had thought them cute.

“How was your summer?” she asked.

OOC - Chloe being more grown up based on Emery’s post in CH.

13 Ji-Eun Park Far have I travelled 268 Ji-Eun Park 0 5

Chloe

June 07, 2015 8:17 PM

Why don't we make a scene? by Chloe

“Oh, that’s right. Lucky duck.” Chloe stated when Ji-Eun reminded her of her trip to Korea. Chloe was certain that her family could actually afford a trip to some foreign country if they really wanted. Her father made good money working in his advertising firm and her mother had made good money when she was the Headmistress of the school. They had a lovely home and they help pay for Ayita’s schooling, Angel’s medicine, and have college funds set up for Emery, Chloe, and Harper (they had future discussions with Chloe and Emery over the summer). But, because of Angel’s health, they could never really go anywhere too far. Chloe didn’t blame Angel for this, it wasn’t his fault his biological family were disgusting inbreds who were the sole cause for Angel’s birth defects.

Chloe really hated some of these traditional Pureblood types despite both her parents being born of them. Of course, not all of them were terrible, but some of the traditions or (such as Angel’s family) beliefs were so crazy she couldn’t believe they were still being followed. Even though she wished her mother had a better life, Chloe was glad that both her mother and her father had been thrown out of their families. She felt that life would have been so very boring for her had she grown up in that world.

Then again, she might have more of a chance with Malcolm if she were still included in the Pureblood family of the Jareaus…

Ugh, what a terrible thing to think of. Chloe shouldn’t be so shallow.

Focusing in on Ji-Eun, Chloe listened to her talk about her grandparents. Chloe thought perhaps she should be offended by the term ‘like an American’, but didn’t know how to go about it. She didn’t see anything wrong with being an American just as she found nothing wrong with being Korean. However, she was quite aware of different cultures and cultural Pride, etc.

“Aw, these are cute!” Chloe exclaimed, when Ji-Eun gave her the socks and the keychain. Chloe would put the keychain on her house keys (although they were magical, they still lived amongst Muggles), but she wasn’t sure what to do about the socks. They were cute, but they were from Korea and she didn’t want to ruin them by wearing them… But then, would Ji-Eun be upset if she didn’t wear them? Maybe since she had the keychain, it would be okay to wear the socks. She’d just have to find an outfit to go with them. “Thank you!” Chloe said as she took the items from her roommate.

“You’re so lucky to be able to travel the world.” She wasn’t sure if Ji-Eun really understood how lucky she was or if she just thought of it as ‘going to grandma’s house’, but not everyone had such opportunities. “All I did with my summer was make up for lying to my parents about my biological mother.” Chloe had written to Ji-Eun about meeting her mom, but she hadn’t really gone into detail of the events that happened. She wasn’t hiding it, it was still something that she was trying to understand.

Not wanting to talk about her mother, Chloe changed topics, “So, were you ever going to tell me that you and Arnold were dating?” She asked, hoping that by catching Ji-Eun off guard, she would tell her the truth. “I mean, you could have just let me know.” She said this lightly as she wasn't really angry about it.

6 Chloe Why don't we make a scene? 0 Chloe 0 5

Ji-Eun

June 10, 2015 6:50 AM

I'd rather not... by Ji-Eun

Chloe exclaimed the gifts to be cute, which she said in a fairly genuine and positive sounding tone of voice, so Ji-Eun relaxed a little.

“I know,” she nodded modestly, when Chloe claimed her to be lucky. Really, Korea wasn’t quite the same as ‘the world.’ London and Paris were on her dream destination list but she felt she had very little chance of her family deciding to take a holiday there. Still, she knew that some people didn’t get to go abroad at all. With her brother being so sick, Chloe was probably amongst them. Chloe possibly didn’t even really get to go on holiday because they’d always need to be near Healers who knew Angel, and it would be all stressful and complicated, so she didn’t want to seem ungrateful for what she had, and what had - overall - been a very exciting trip, even if there was no Eiffel Tower.

“Oh, yes what-” Ji-Eun began to ask, her brow furrowing a little in concern as Chloe mentioned what sounded like a rather messy summer involving her biological mother. But her room-mate cut her off. She drew her questions back in, though she was a little worried at Chloe not wanting to talk about it. Mostly she was concerned for Chloe, cos not wanting to talk about something rarely meant anything good, though a small part of her that she felt rather guilty and selfish for having worried that Chloe just didn’t want to talk to her about it - that maybe she’d got closer to the other clique in their year group and Ji-Eun wasn’t her best friend any more. She knew it was a really petty thing to worry about when Chloe was dealing with big real life things but she couldn’t help it.

At what Chloe interrupted with however, she felt her face grow hot and her jaw dropped.

“I would do” she squeaked indignantly, “You would be the first person I would tell!” She looked genuinely hurt and worried at the suggestion that things might be otherwise. “But we’re really not. You know a load of rubbish gets put in that section of the yearbook.”

13 Ji-Eun I'd rather not... 268 Ji-Eun 0 5

Chloe

June 10, 2015 5:24 PM

But they are so fun! by Chloe

Chloe hoped that after she graduated from Sonora that she would be able to travel the world or, at least, part of the world. There were so many things that she had heard about or seen pictures of that she would love to see in person. She was never left wanting from her parents, of course. She had a pretty nice life all things considered and the rare few vacations they had taken these last six years had been to amazing places (like the Grand Canyon or the Hoover Dam) and popular enough where people from all over the world travel just to see. But they weren’t able to do things as a whole family. One parent had to stay behind with Angel and Angel could never leave the bubble in which was his life. It was a difficult life despite all that they have.

Sometimes Chloe could become jealous of other people if she thought about all the differences between them and all the things she felt that she was missing out on. Not that she would have say or do anything regarding those thoughts. But, seeing how Purebloods just do whatever they wanted as though money or consequence were nothing was beginning to bother her. She had a family, somewhere, who didn’t think about her ever. Didn’t her dad’s family want to know their grandchild? Did she have cousins? She often thought of those things, even more so now that she’s met her mother. Her family, like other Purebloods that she had heard about, just dismissed what didn’t fit into their lifestyle. Their lifestyle of traveling everywhere, living in mansions, throwing expensive balls…

Feeling herself grow sour, something she was trying to avidly avoid, Chloe forced her face into an open look and relaxed her features. She felt herself always tightening up whenever she thought her mother and her unknown family. They used to only be passing thoughts to her and now they were a constant annoyance. Plus, with all the talk over the summer about her future, Chloe felt strained to have some idea of what she wanted. She wasn’t Emery or Ayita. She had no idea what she wanted other than to just get away sometimes. And she knew that was a selfish thought to have so she kept it quiet.

Chloe smiled, amused by Ji-Eun’s reaction. She was glad that Ji-Eun would still tell her important things like boyfriends. “The yearbook isn’t what I was referring too.” Chloe said, her voice light as she sat back on her hands on her bed, her long blonde hair dangling behind her, “Last year, you were always flirting with him and stuff. Things that girls do with their boyfriends. I thought maybe you guys were secretly - or not so secretly - dating and you didn’t tell me. The yearbook just confirmed that I wasn’t crazy and other people noticed too.” Chloe commented. “Anyway, if you aren’t dating… do you want to date him?” She asked.

6 Chloe But they are so fun! 0 Chloe 0 5

Ji-Eun Park

June 24, 2015 3:49 AM

If by 'fun' you mean 'awkward and embarrassing' by Ji-Eun Park

OOC - scratch mentions of the yearbook, as Ji-Eun and Arnold weren’t listed as a couple, it’s just my faulty memory.

“No I wasn’t,” she defended, when Chloe accused her of flirting with Arnold. Although that seemed a pretty odd thing for her friend to have imagined… “Was I?” she asked. She didn’t think she knew how to flirt, and she definitely hadn’t done any such thing knowingly. “What did I do that was flirting?” she asked, bemused but also concerned. If you flirted with boys, they thought you liked them and… well, she did like Arnold but….

“I can’t. My mum would go nuts,” she responded to Chloe’s question of whether she wanted to date Arnold. She was so used to governing her behaviour based on parental expectation that it didn’t even register that she was answering a subtly different question to what Chloe had asked her… Whether or not she wanted to wasn’t something she had given a great deal of thought to.

“And I’d always tell you,” she confirmed. “And… and if there’s… stuff you want to tell me. I don’t mean just about boys but about…. anything, you know you can… right?” she asked. She was aware it was an awkward shift, a massive change in topic and atmosphere, even if she was just hinting at the subject. She didn’t even mean that Chloe had to talk to her right now about it but she just wanted to check that if she wanted to, she still felt like she could. “Any time,” she added, to clarify that she wasn’t trying to pressure her to open up right now.

13 Ji-Eun Park If by 'fun' you mean 'awkward and embarrassing' 268 Ji-Eun Park 0 5

Chloe

June 26, 2015 5:06 PM

Yes, yes, I do. by Chloe

Chloe had to stifle a laugh when Ji-Eun asked her how she had been flirting. She knew that Ji-Eun was sort of sheltered from basically life, but surely she had read books where flirting happened, right? And didn’t at least some of her KPOP stuff have the singers flirting with the opposite sex? (or same sex if that was their thing). “Well, things like, constantly touching him or laughing at everything he says, even if they aren’t really funny. Or thinking he’s funny because you like him so much when the rest of us just think he’s dry.” Chloe said that last thing as more of an example. She didn’t really know Arnold well enough to consider him funny or dry, but she knew enough girls to see them act that way when everyone else couldn’t stand the person. “For someone who isn’t a part of the two of you, it totally looks like you two are a couple with how close you are. I’m not saying that’s bad, but it is a little confusing.”

Although Chloe would never say it out loud or to her friend, Chloe felt that Ji-Eun’s mother might have been a little racist. Ji-Eun was not allowed to date someone outside her own race. They called it something like Cultural pride or whatever, but to not approve of someone due to the color of their skin or their Nationality, well, it screamed certain negativity to Chloe. “I don’t really care about your mother’s opinion.” Chloe stated firmly. “I want to know whether or not you want to date Arnold. He likes you so if you aren’t really interested – and I mean you, not your mom – maybe you should try to tone down the flirtation and give him a break. Otherwise, you’re leading him on and that’s not fair or nice.” She wasn’t trying to lecture Ji-Eun or make her feel bad, but Chloe felt that being honest about such things to people involved would leave less heartbreak later on.

“Arnold seems like a nice person and I know Emery says good things about him. Plus, you seem happy when you’re around him.” Chloe stated. “If you like him as more than a friend, it’s okay. Just… see where it goes, I guess.”

At Ji-Eun’s comments, Chloe looked down at her lap, abruptly self-conscious and uncomfortable. She felt her cheeks heat up and her ears felt like they were burning. She had no reason to be embarrassed. Things happened. Life happened. Ji-Eun knew enough about Chloe’s mother’s past that anything she told her now probably wouldn’t be too much of a shock, but Chloe couldn’t help but feel ashamed of everything. Like her biological mother’s actions reflected down onto Chloe somehow.

“I know.” Chloe said, still looking at her lap, finding eye contact difficult. “It’s just…not easy to talk about.” Chloe admitted. “Like, it’s just, it’s really messed up, you know? I guess you wouldn’t know.” Chloe added, remembering that she didn’t tell Ji-Eun about why she stopped seeing her mother. “I expected too much from her and it was wrong to do that, I think.” She wasn’t making sense. This is why she didn’t talk about it. She couldn’t work it out herself. “I wish I never met her.”

6 Chloe Yes, yes, I do. 0 Chloe 0 5

Ji-Eun

July 22, 2015 4:23 AM

I'm just going to hide under my duvet until it's all over by Ji-Eun

In some ways, Ji-Eun was used to the concept of tough love. She knew that her mum nagged her about her grades because she wanted her to do well in life, and that was also to her own benefit (although she suspected some selfish motivation based around bragging rights contributed to her mother’s attitude). But, for her, it was something she was only used to receiving from authority figures - parents, teachers. It was their job to be tough on you to make you do better, and because they held a position where they had to be respected. Friends were the people you cried to about it when the criticism was too harsh, or when you felt like you were trying your best but still not getting there. Friends were the ones who offered you kindness and support. It therefore came as a bit of a shock to hear Chloe’s firm tone, as she laid out how Ji-Eun was behaving and why she thought it was wrong. To Ji-Eun, it seemed very harsh, and she found it hard not to see it as Chloe somehow being angry with her, or taking Arnold’s side.

She left Chloe’s question about whether or not she liked Arnold. It seemed kind of rhetorical, especially as Chloe continued on with her thoughts on the matter. If she did, it only made her life more complicated, so it was better not to think about it. Chloe’s assertions that if she did that was ok, it was allowed sounded much more like a supportive friend but unfortunately it wasn’t true. Would Chloe be telling her the same if she was some society girl who liked a Muggleborn? Had she been such, she was sure the damage would have been done by her flirtatious behaviour thus far, besides which she hated it as analogy. She could see how wrong blood snobbery was. But it fitted in some ways. In the sense that life could be complicated. That a family could put an untold amount of pressure on a child to conform to what they wanted. And that Chloe, whose family seemed like they might win awards for ‘Most Open Minded People of the Year,’ would never understand that, although perhaps she’d get the theory and the implications better if it was the version she was more familiar with.

As Chloe fiddled, staring at the hands in her lap, Ji-Eun took the chance to brush away a couple of tears. She didn’t want to have hurt Arnold, and she didn’t want Chloe to be mad at her for it, but apparently she’d gone and done both of those things. What if she wound up with no friends at all? Still, now wasn’t the time to wallow in those sorrows, or get upset with Chloe, as she started to share what had happened over the summer - a topic that definitely trumped whatever was going on with Ji-Eun and Arnold.

“I don’t know but that doesn’t mean I don’t care, or can’t try to understand,” she said softly, at Chloe’s assertion that she ‘guessed Ji-Eun wouldn’t know’, assuming that her friend meant her lack of direct experience with such matters, rather than because she hadn’t been filled in on the details. “Do you want to try telling me why?” she asked, when Chloe stated that it had all been a mess and she wished it had never happened.

13 Ji-Eun I'm just going to hide under my duvet until it's all over 268 Ji-Eun 0 5

Chloe

July 24, 2015 10:52 PM

But that's no fun. by Chloe

Chloe contemplated whether or not she should tell Ji-Eun about her summer and the experiences she had with her biological mother. On the one hand, Ji-Eun was her best friend. As such, Chloe was supposed to be able to tell her everything that was going on and know that her friend accepted her either way. But Ji-Eun was also a person whose family seemed hyper-critical about people who weren’t like them and even though Ji-Eun didn’t seem that way didn’t mean that she couldn’t start after hearing Chloe’s story.

Her father had reminded her after it had all happened that Chloe was not her mother. It was all about the choices that they made in their lives that would determine the sort of person they would become. As long as Chloe made the right choices and did the right things, she would do okay for herself. Chloe had always thought she had done the right thing or made the right choices but she had still gone down the wrong path by lying to her family and seeing her mother several times. Chloe had known there was something wrong. She knew it but she still hadn’t said anything. She should have. She could have several times, but she hadn’t. She hadn’t wanted to share her mother with anyone. She wanted her to be her little secret for as long as possible.

Even now, she didn’t understand why she had been like that. She didn’t understand her absolute need to not tell anyone that she had been spending time with her biological mother. She supposed a part of her had been so fearful that they would take her mother away from her that Chloe would never have another opportunity to see her ever again. The other part was probably just a selfish desire to have a secret. Her parents would have never forced her to stay out of her biological mother’s life. She knew that. They probably would have just put up safety measures to keep her from getting hurt, but they never would have kept her from Chloe. That just wasn’t the sort of people her parents were.

Chloe stood up and paced their dorm room. How was she supposed to explain this to Ji-Eun? Hey, so my mom’s a crack addict or some sort of drug addict and one time she took me on her bender and overdosed in front of me. Yeah, that would go over really well. Ji-Eun would was so sheltered by her family that she wasn’t even allowed to like a boy without their approval first. There was no way that she could possible understand where Chloe’s mind was right now.

Just thinking about what had happened was making Chloe feel agitated. She didn’t want to think about what had happened. She didn’t want to think about what she had seen. If she had stayed outside like her mother had asked her too, Chloe would have the ability to see Thestrals now. The doctors (Muggle Hospitals were so similar and yet so very different then Magical ones) had said that Chloe had found her just in time. Just in time.

“I lied.” Chloe finally said, “I lied to my parents for half the summer just so that I could see my mother.” Chloe gave a hard laugh. “I don’t even know why I did it. They wouldn’t have stopped me from seeing her. They would have supported me through it, had me take it slow with her…” Chloe ran her hand through her hair in frustration and anger. She had so much of both that sometimes she thought it would just boil over.

“But instead of just telling them about her, I lied and said that I was hanging out with friends.” Chloe thought that if she could just get it out of it. Just get it all out of her, she would feel better. But she wouldn’t. She would never feel better. How could anyone ever feel better after going through that? “I thought that it was okay though. We were getting to know each other but then she started her habit again and everything just went south.” Chloe wasn’t sure if she had ever mentioned her mother’s habit or the reason why she had given Chloe to her father back when she was born, but she didn’t want to just come out and say ‘drugs’ either. Drugs. Drugs, drugs, drugs. She could think them just fine, but saying it all out loud to someone outside of her family right now would just confirm it all.

Drugs were more important than Chloe would ever be to her mother.

6 Chloe But that's no fun. 0 Chloe 0 5