I need help! [Lita] on Crotalus Commons

Charlotte Abbott

July 25, 2011 4:50 PM

I need help! [Lita] by Charlotte Abbott

To the untrained eye, it might seem that Charlie was dancing, dressed as she was in her warm-up leggings and cardigan, and poised as she was en pointe. To the more trained observer, however, the arrangement of college brochures strewn haphazardly on her bed explained that she, in fact, trying to sort out her future. She's simply gotten frustrated and taken one of her plentiful breaks... which, ironically, was leading to further frustration. Charlie frowned as she stood in full elevation in second, and then brought herself back down to demi-pointe after a moment. "What is wrong with you?" she asked her shoes - her most recent pair that no matter how she tried, she couldn't seem to break in the way she liked. She lowered to flat, brought her right foot forward to fifth position, and rose again, raising her right arm above her head to properly stretch her back as she did so. "Come on," she chastized her shoes. "You're going to throw my balance."

The door to the dormitory opened at this point, and it took a second or two for Charlie's expression to mutate from annoyance to guilt. It was hardly a well-kept secret that she hadn't thoguht any further into the future than the next Quidditch game, and she was leaving it dangerously late for college applications. "I'm working on it, I swear," she said, to Lita, coming out of position and stretching down to reach her toes. She untied her shoes and slipped her feet out. "Just a quick break to sort these damned shoes out," she was assuring herself as much as Lita.

"Oh, but now that you're here," she gently tugged Lita's shoulder towards her bed that was serving as a workspace, "I may need help. I've read these things about a thousand times and I swear I'm no closer to knowing what to do or where to go." The only thing she knew for certain was that she didn't want to go back home. A few weeks, that was fine - she suffered as much every summer - but she'd outgrown parental supervision in a big way, and had no intention of going back to being her parents' baby girl on a permanent basis. Going to college would be the simplest option, because it would give her a place to live, new people to meet, and something productive to do with her time. Her grades weren't a concern - she'd always been able to keep up with the work, and any fuzzy areas were now being sorted out by James, her own personal tutor. It was just that she had no idea what to study - she wasn't drawn to anything in particular, and it was maddening that so many of her peers seemed to know what they wanted to do.

If she didn't go to college - which was also an option Charlie was considering - then she could maybe get a job. She didn't think she really had in her to be as flatigious as to move to LA and dance in nightclubs for a living, but she could get a proper, sensible job and work her way up in a business. She felt that being prefect and Head Girl was providing pressure to do something useful and meaningful, but she wasn't sure she really had the ambition to work really hard for something, especially when she didn't have anything specific to work for. "I'm so lost," she said, sinking down onto her matress in despair.

0 Charlotte Abbott I need help! [Lita] 135 Charlotte Abbott 1 5

Adelia Garcia

July 30, 2011 10:47 PM

And I can give you that? by Adelia Garcia

Being a Seventh Year meant that Lita’s time was often split into two different categories; Studying and practicing her dance. Her RATS exams were coming up in a few short months and even though much of their class didn’t give her any credit when it came to her lessons, she actually did try. She was really good in Charms and Transfiguration, so she had no qualms about how her exams would go in those lessons, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to make sure she reread and practice all her past lessons prior to the examination. She wanted to do well incase her dance didn’t go where she wanted it too.

Of course, college for charms was only her second choice. Her first was getting into Julliard. That was the best performing arts school and she knew if she were able to get into it, she would have her career as a Ballerina within her grasp. She had an audition for the upcoming fall during Midterm break. She was using all of her spare time to perfect her audition. Nick was also auditioning during midterm, so she would know at least one other person there. He had been her dance partner since she was fourteen. Nick was who she trusted the most when it came to dance.

After an afternoon of practice, Lita walked into her dorm room with only thoughts of a nice hot soothing shower on her mind. At least, it was until she found herself looking at Charlie who was apparently taking a moment to remind herself of ballet.

It sort of frustrated her that she worked really hard for things in her life and each time never knew where it would land her, but things just sort of fell into place for Charlie. She knew that Charlie was a hard worker… when she wanted to be, but it didn’t change the fact that things went her way whether or not she worked diligently for it.

She knew in the case of whatever happened next in Charlie’s life, it would end up going smoothly for her because it always did.

Not that she ever said any of this. It would do no good anyway to voice such negativity. Although, after Lita’s stint over the summer, her mother has been trying to get Lita to be more vocal about the things that bother her instead of acting out. So far, all Lita had done was avoid things. She had rarely spoken to anyone other than Charlie. Not to Daniel and most especially not to Juri. She could barely even make eye contact with him let alone hold a conversation. She wanted to say that she was over it, but she wasn’t. And the face that Charlie pined for Daniel for a year and then suddenly started dating James after a couple of weeks of summer irked Lita. Daniel is her friend too and Charlie’s rapid change in feelings just showed she was really shallow about things. No, this negativity was better left unsaid. So, avoiding it was where she stood.

“I don’t know how you expect me to help you, Charlie. We’ve already been over this.” Adelita commented as she rifled through some of the paperwork. “If you aren’t interested in anything, how are you going to be able to figure any of this out?”

0 Adelia Garcia And I can give you that? 0 Adelia Garcia 0 5

Charlotte

August 01, 2011 3:39 PM

I'm failing on my own by Charlotte

Lita's comments pretty much summed up how Charlie felt - how was she supposed to figure it out if she wasn't interested in anything? It was so tiresome, and Lita was undoubtedly getting as bored of this topic as Charlie was herself, but then, Charlie thought with envy, Lita already had it all worked out, didn't she? It was so unfair that lita knew exactly what she wanted to do, had the means to do it, and had the support of her family and friends. Rigt now Charlie felt like she would give her left arm just to know what she wanted to do - she might throw in her left leg, too, to have the means and support that she was fairly sure Lita didn't even notice most of the time. It was perhaps some lingering jealousy for Adelita's situation that was simply adding to Charlie's frustration, instead of it being diffused by her friend's presence.

"Exactly," she said with conviction. "I haven't even got a clue," she said, though her actual words were interspersed with more colorful ones for emphasis. She then at least had the decency to look ashamed with herself for swearing at Lita. "I know I should be able to make these decisions by now," she said, trying to calm her tone a little. "I feel totally incompetent, like everyone else can do whatever it is they want to, and I can't even make a simple decision." She looked like she was going to sulk for just a split second, but then her demeanour changed to one of excited confusion instead, as she declared, "But it's not simple, is it? It's the whole rest of my life and I could do anything with it, and I just don't even know where to start!" She made a noise of anguish and then tugged distractedly at her own ponytail.

She tried to turn pop-psychology on herself just then - why the hell did it even matter so much, anyway? Her parents didn't care what she did, Lita would probably still be her friend whatever she decided to do (so long as she actually got on with it and made a decision), so what did it even matter, anyway? "maybe I should just close my eyes and pick," she suggested half-heartedly before doing just that, jabbing her finger onto a place on one of the many brochures. Opening her eyes, Charlie looked at the title she'd selected with dismay. "Troll training? Give me a break."

0 Charlotte I'm failing on my own 0 Charlotte 0 5

Lita

August 04, 2011 9:33 PM

Isn't this where parental guidence comes in? by Lita

Adelita sat down on Charlie’s bed and listened to her talk about her future. This was a normal routine for the two of them lately. Normally, Lita would sit there and listen and let Charlie rant it all out without the two of them actually resolving anything, but this time around seemed different. For one, Lita was tired of having this conversation. For another, Charlie was running out of time and she really needed to figure out what it was that she wanted to do. Lita didn’t even flinch when Charlie dropped a few sour words. Adelita tried hard not to curse, but she didn’t want to tell others not to do it. Besides, Charlie was upset, so cuss words were going to happen.

"Troll training? Give me a break."

Adelita sat quietly for a moment, but her lips twitched dangerously and her shoulders shook without control. And then she erupted. Adelita laughed so hard that tears spilled from her eyes. She knew that she wasn’t laughing at Charlie, well, not completely, but laughing because she really needed to laugh. She had been so stuffy, so angry, so… overwhelmed with everything that she hadn’t allowed herself the time to just let go. This whole thing had just boiled over and now Adelita was just letting it all fall away in a fit of laughter.

After a couple of minutes, Lita had finally composed herself and gave Charlie an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from.” She stated, taking a breath to calm herself some more. “Troll Training? I didn’t even know that existed…” Adelita took another look at the brochures that littered Charlie’s bed and sighed. “Charlie, repeatedly looking these things over isn’t going to suddenly make you realize exactly what it is that you want to do. We’re seventeen. Some of us know what we want and some of us don’t. But we’re seventeen.” Lita reminded her. She knew that her life was set for her since she was three years old. The moment she saw her mother dance and then saw the ballet. But she was also aware that not everyone had that moment of clarity. Look at her Tio Mateo. He was still living off his inheritance and wasn’t likely to stop to find a job any time soon.

“Go to a college that looks good to you and maybe something there will interest you. Or, you’ll get a degree in Fine Arts and move onto the next thing. You have time, Charlie. Stop forcing herself into finding something, otherwise, you’ll end up hating your life.”

0 Lita Isn't this where parental guidence comes in? 0 Lita 0 5

Charlie

August 07, 2011 8:20 AM

Try telling them that by Charlie

Lita began to laugh. To laugh. Charlie looked at her incredulously for a couple of seconds before her own lips started to twitch against her will, and soon she was joining her friend in uncontrollable giggles. Any initial hurt Charlie might have felt by not being taken seriously completely disolved as she allowed herself to laugh and relax.

"I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from," Adelita apologized when she'd calmed down enough to talk.

"It's fine," Charlotte assured her, now grinning from ear to ear. It was probably better for her than staring at those pamphlets some more, anyway, and definitely much better than arguing. She even nodded graciously as Lita explained - not for the first time, but probably for the final time - that just staring at brochures wasn't going to help, and it really was okay if Charlie didn't know yet what she wanted to do.

"You're right," she said, scooping the glossy pages on her bed together into a more organized heap. "Of course, as usual," she laughed. "I can pick a Muggle University with a magic branch - there seem to be loads of those - then I'm keeping my options wide open, right?"

She sighed as she stood, happy to not have to deal with the pressures of choosing something in particular any more. It didn't really matter where she went, or what she studied, and she could always change her mind, anyway - Lita was right; nothing was fixed, nothing was final. The only thing Charlie knew for sure was the only thing that was still bothering her. "I'm sure it'll be fine," she said, in the manner of someone who was trying to convince herself of something. "I'll figure something out eventually. It's just..." she hesitated, not wanting to start the argument again, but then she decided this was okay to voice, and she continued on. "It's just the only thing I really want to do is stay more or less as I am now - you know, living with you, taking classes with Daniel, captaining the Crotalus team..." she shrugged, knowing how pathetic she sounded. She couldn't help it; she liked her life at Sonora. It seemed unfair to have to move on to something that might not suit her so well.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she said, throwing her arms round Lita in a tight hug. "You're my best friend in the whole world."

0 Charlie Try telling them that 0 Charlie 0 5

Lita

August 08, 2011 8:48 PM

... no thank you. by Lita

Lita was relieved that Charlie wasn’t upset over her laughter. Lita wasn’t sure if she’d have been so forgiving if she were dealing with something that seemed to be traumatic and upsetting with something in her life. But then, Charlie was more free flowing about things than Lita was. It was a wonder how they could be so close when they were so different about things.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan to me.” Adelita said lightly. College really was the best choice for Charlie to make. Lita knew she didn’t want to be stuck at her parents place for a long period of time and Lita didn’t think she was quite ready to take on a full time job just yet. Not to say that Charlie couldn’t do it or handle it, but rather, Lita didn’t think she would want to let go of her freedom at age eighteen. College would give her options and, eventually, Charlie was bound to figure out what exactly she wanted out of life. “Besides, I think you’ll like going to a University rather than having to get a job.” Lita teased.

Adelita quieted down when Charlie stumbled on trying to get out her next few words. Okay, so stating that going to college without much else wasn’t really a deeply planned out future, but it was a start and Charlie should be happy with that. It gave her something to look forward too, or so Adelita thought. Adelita may have known what she wanted out of life, but there was no certainty or security in her future. There was a very good chance that she wouldn’t get into Julliard and then what? But she didn’t want to think about that now.

Lita giggled as Charlie hugged her. “Yes, life here is simple and things are going nicely.” Adelita agreed. Well, nicely for Charlie, pretty average and bland for Adelita. “And even miles couldn’t ever keep us from being best friends. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Adelita said, grinning. “I’m terrified of the future and excited at the same time. I mean… life could really be amazing and college could totally make you forget about Sonora.” Lita really hoped what she just said was the truth. She really hoped no one looked back on their life and said that their primary schooling had been the best years of their life. That just seemed rather sad.

0 Lita ... no thank you. 0 Lita 0 5

Charlie

August 11, 2011 10:20 AM

Suit yourself by Charlie

"Even miles couldn’t ever keep us from being best friends. You can’t get rid of me that easily," Lita said after Charlie hugged her, eliciting a grin from her friend. "I’m terrified of the future and excited at the same time. I mean… life could really be amazing and college could totally make you forget about Sonora."

"Yeah..." Charlie said, thinking about how weird it would be to one day forget about Sonora. She'd already forgotten what it had been like not to come to school; in another seven years would she have forgotten about all her classmates, professors, and Quidditch team members? "A life with no Professor Crosby," she didn't sound too disappointed by this scenario - in fact she was smiling a little. "A life with no Quentin," she said, her smile turning into more of a smirk. She really had nothing against Quentin - she'd even fancied him for a short while - but she wouldn't deny that the affect he'd had on their yeargroup had been irreversible; none of them were likely to be vague in class anymore. "A life with no Juri," she sought Lita's eyes, aiming for a gentle encouragment with her own. "No James..." she trailed off, then blinked suddenly at what she'd said. She hadn't relaized it until just that moment, but apparently she didn't see herself staying with her current interest.

"I mean, probably not," she amended. "I mean, I like him and everything. And he's really good at, well," she smiled a little impishly. "He does this thing where -" at Lita's expression she stopped and laughed. "But yeah, I'm not sure he really sees me as a post-school girlfriend," she surmised with a resigned sigh. "He won't see me over midterm because he's busy with college stuff." Charlie made a face.

"Anyway," she smiled brightly, "I guess I'd better get started on sending off some applications now I've decided not to stare at these things any more. Maybe Mr Right will be waiting for me at college."

0 Charlie Suit yourself 0 Charlie 0 5