Ryan O'Malley
May 23, 2011 12:00 PM
News from home by Ryan O'Malley
The second year winced as a large owl swooped in and deposited an envelope in front of him. Ryan was somewhat paranoid about getting mail after the Howler his mother had sent him for no good reason last year, other than he deserved to be treated that way.This letter at least, was not in a red envelope. It was just a normal letter, addressed to Ryan in his father's handwriting.
After giving the owl a treat, Ryan tore the letter open.
Ryan,
Your mother and I are getting a divorce. You will be staying with me full time when you are not in school. Your mother will not be able to harm you any more. Custody of Carrie will be decided later but she will stay with your mother for now. While I'm away on business, you may continue staying with your grandparents, just like always.
I'll see you soon. Don't forget that you do matter.
Love,Dad
Conflicting emotions started within Ryan at the moment. On the one hand, he was relieved. He felt....free. Could it really be over? Could he be free of his mother forever, was she really going to stop hurting him? Were things really going to be okay from now on?
It wasn't exactly what Ryan wanted, he had wanted her to love him. Treat him, if not as well as she treated Carrie, at least like a human being. But, he would have to settle for this, take what he could get.
There was so much not said in his father's letter. Things that didn't need to be. That Ryan's mother was not pursuing custody of both children, just Carrie. She still didn't want him. She never would.
Here was where the conflicting emotions came in. Ryan was still hurt, even though he should have expected all of this. Her not to fight for him, only Carrie. Granted, anyone would say the Crotalus was better off, but it still reminded him of just how little she cared about him.
Furthermore, Ryan felt guilty. This was his fault. If he'd never been born, his parents and sister could have been a happy family. His parents wouldn't fight, as most of their fights tended to be about him and how his mother treated him. They wouldn't be getting divorced right now.
Another owl swooped in, this one carrying a red envelope. Ryan felt slightly ill. Please don't let that be for me.
He went even paler as the red envelope was dropped in front of him...
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Ryan O'Malley
News from home
176
Ryan O'Malley
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Eliza Bennett
May 26, 2011 11:42 AM
Offering advice by Eliza Bennett
Eliza was always careful to look around the common room before she got very far into it, because the day she smiled at That Female in a way that suggested anything other than a deeply rooted desire to watch her weeping after Eliza ground her into the dust was the day she withdrew from society, never to be seen again. It was frustrating, having to allow That Female to dictate, to some extent, her ability to smile politely at any part of the rest of the House that happened to be unfortunate enough to be in her vile vicinity, but Eliza really couldn’t see another choice.Today, happily, the cancer of Crotalus was not defiling the common room with her presence, so Eliza was able to enter with a pleasant expression designed to convey her good will toward everyone else. Her day became much better just for that.
She saw Ryan O’Malley with a letter, and started to go over to say hello since they were in the same year and he was going to be a fought-over commodity in a few years and it was important, even if she did feel a strange reluctance to even entertain the idea of marrying him, to maintain good relations. About the time she arrived, though, another owl approached him, and the letter it held was red.
Eliza’s eyes widened at the sight of it falling in front of him. She had never gotten one before, because she had never given anyone a reason to send one, but she had seen Howlers. Her uncle had gotten one two summers ago, and it had nearly frightened her and her siblings and cousins to death when it suddenly began screaming about politics. This room, though, was built differently than the dining room there, so the sound would work differently, and there were more people, people who weren’t just family….
“Oh, Ryan,” she said sympathetically, forgetting formality for a moment. “I’d take it and run. If it was me.”
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Eliza Bennett
Offering advice
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Eliza Bennett
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Ryan
May 29, 2011 5:59 PM
And taking said advice by Ryan
Ryan's pale face flushed deeply and his stomach constricted as Eliza Bennett approached. It was nothing against his fellow Crotalus second year, she seemed perfectly pleasant enough to Ryan. It was merely that he didn't want her-or anyone-to see (or hear) this .It would be beyond mortifying. He knew that purebloods were not supposed to air their dirty laundry in public. Scandals were to be avoided at all costs and the last thing Ryan wanted was to be blamed for one.
Nor did he want Eliza to know what was going on at home. He might have liked her well enough but it wasn't as if they were close friends. Ryan didn't want anyone-other than Sophie-to know how his mother treated him.
Furthermore, he wanted the other second year-as well as everyone else-to like him. Now, Eliza would think Ryan was a troublemaker. That he had done something horrible and perhaps he had. What could be worse than destroying your family? She would certainly think less of him for it. Troublemaking wasn't quite the badge of honor in Crotalus that it might have been in Pecari.
So Ryan nodded to Eliza, who at least seemed sypathetic towards him. "Sounds like a plan." He grabbed the letter and did as she recommended, running up to his room as quickly as he could before it errupted and opened it up.
" It's all your fault! All your fault!" the letter screamed at the Crotalus. Ryan felt even queasier and lied down on his bed for a moment clutching his stomach before forcing himself up again. Ryan didn't want to go back downstairs, lest Eliza question him about the whole thing but it would be rude not to and he certainly didn't want Eliza Bennett to think he was rude.
He walked tentatively downstairs and approached his classmate once again. "Sorry about that." Ryan apologized. "So, how are you doing? Are you looking forward to the Bonfire?" Ryan could not bring himself to ask her what she had planned for the summer, not because he didn't care, but because he was afraid to have the same question asked of him.
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Ryan
And taking said advice
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Ryan
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Eliza
May 30, 2011 12:24 AM
Taking my advice is usually smart by Eliza
Maybe it was only her imagination, knowing that something was going on, but Eliza almost thought she could make out the shouting coming from the Howler somewhere in the boys’ half of the dormitories, if not the exact words someone was using to chastise Ryan for…something, though she really had trouble imagining him doing something that would warrant a Howler. Other than his bizarre friendship with that Jamison girl, who was just plain odd, he had always seemed to Eliza like very nearly a perfect gentleman.Absently, she wondered if she could quietly find out what this was about, without really letting Ryan know, if he didn’t tell her. She couldn’t see any real use for the information, but it still seemed like the kind of thing that would be good to know.
She had just made up her mind to go up to her dorm and leave the question for another time, though, when Ryan came down the stairs again, apologizing for the commotion. He looked terrible, and in spite of herself, Eliza felt a twist of pity for him.
“I think it’ll be fun,” she said. “Except for having to sleep outside, of course.” She thought she had a tent sorted well enough – she and Jordan could throw Sara Raines a bone and let her be their fourth; the only problem would be if Daisy was feeling adventurous, which sometimes seemed to be the case – but she would much rather they had just had some nice event where they opened the common rooms to other Houses and mingled that way. She liked her big bed, and the only compensation for losing it was the prospect of a night where she didn’t have to discipline herself against doing something horrible to That Female sometime late in the night. “Um, are you okay?” she asked.
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Eliza
Taking my advice is usually smart
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Eliza
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