Such a Bookworm is me! on Aladren Commons

Zoey Welsh

July 13, 2005 10:43 PM

Such a Bookworm is me! by Zoey Welsh

Zoey strode as gracefully as she could into the commonroom with her arms loaded with books. She was constantly carrying books around with her and she was sure her back would be permantly hunched because of it.

She set the books down at the closest table and stretched her long body for the first time in what felt like days. She had previously been studying in the library, where she could usually be found. She was only a second year and in the first half of the year, but she liked to be prepared for the future, so she had taken books out on every one of her subjects and has been taking notes on everything that she could. She felt it better prepared her for the Magical world.

Of course, if her brother knew this, he'd smack her on her head and tell her to stop being such a grown-up. It was the one difference between them (besides gender). Dillon, though he loved to read, still had room for friends and fun. Zoey, on the other hand, spent most of her days holed up somewhere with a textbook in her hands and no time for conversation. Though, she supposed that was very healthy.

She stood by the table with a heavy frown on her freckled face. Her auburn curls were pulled back into an unruly ponytail and her normally pale face was even paler for lack of sun. The only time she left the library or common room was for food and lessons. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she hadn't made any knew friends (had barely a handful of them as it was) and hadn't seen her brother at all unless in class.

The thought that she hadn't been social as she had promised herself, saddened her and her shoulders hunched forward once more. She scanned the common room slowly with her tired eyes, but not even seeing anyone she hardly knew. Of course, she had her roommates, but they were always busy...or gone. Like Layla or Sally and even Leann, but she hadn't seen them all that often (or at all) since term started. And then there was Zack, who she saw more with boys than she did anywhere else, so she could only assume he had moved on with the friends. Course, she was sure that if she stuck around with her brother, she could have been friends by association, but then she would be just as she was when they had attended muggle school and she didn't want that.

So Zoey stood there for a moment contemplating what she should do, but finally deciding on what she always did. Zoey took a seat at the book covered table and set to work with her studies, only glancing up every-so-often when she heard the commonroom door open. \n\n

6 Zoey Welsh Such a Bookworm is me! 39 Zoey Welsh 1 5

Zack

July 21, 2005 10:07 PM

Conspicuous Arrival by Zack

Zack pushed open the door to the common room with some difficulty. It was a heavy door to begin with, and the way his overstuffed bookbag was falling off his right shoulder (the left strap had broken) and completely throwing off his normal center of balance certainly wasn't helping. The bag thunked loudly as it finally slid off his shoulder, hit the door then dragged Zack down to the floor with it when his elbow wasn't strong enough to support the five textbooks and four notebooks inside the bag.

"Oof," Zack grunted upon impact, then added, "Ow," even though nothing actually hurt. It just seemed the thing to say after taking such a loud and no doubt attention grabbing tumble.

Climbing to his feet, he dragged the bag a few steps away so the door could close, then looked around to see who was staring. "I meant to do that," he announced, the lie obvious, but, then, he wasn't trying to make anyone believe it. If he laughed first, they weren't laughing at him.\n\n

0 Zack Conspicuous Arrival 0 Zack 0 5

Zoey

July 22, 2005 11:31 PM

Oh so smooth by Zoey

Zoey had slumped low over her opened book with her eyes unfocused and glazed over. She had been in this state for nearly half an hour and didn't look like she'd recover anytime soon. That was until the sound of a loud thud.

The sound startled Zoey so badly that she had jumped in her seat banging her knees painfully against the table. She hissed momentarily while glancing around for the source of the noise. It wasn't so hard to spot as she saw Zack picking himself off the floor and dragging his bookbag a bit. It was probably the first she had seen of him outside of class without his male friends surrounding him.

Smiling, Zoey stood and made her way around the table her books were piled on, "Hey Zack, you alright? Sounded like that might have hurt."\n\n

6 Zoey Oh so smooth 39 Zoey 0 5

Zack

July 23, 2005 8:31 AM

Thanks, I thought so too by Zack

Well, she wasn't laughing at him, which was good. In fact, Zoey looked a bit concerned, which made Zack flush a little and grin slightly in mild embarrassment. "Nah, just my pride," he admitted. He waved down toward the bookbag that was nearly as big as he was - "The bag got the worst of the abuse." He gave said bag an identifying kick just in case the wave and the fact that it was the only bag in sight wasn't enough.

Unfortunately, he caught it just wrong, and he started hopping around on the other foot and grabbed onto Zoey's arm for balance, "Oh, ow!" Shaking his ankle and grimacing, he blushed deeper, "Okay," he confided to Zoey, "That hurt. Gotta trim my toe nails."

Still clinging to her a little as he carfully tested putting weight on his foot again, he asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject from his sudden and unprecidented burst of clumsiness (while hoping that it meant he was finally getting a growth spurt), "So how've you been?"\n\n

0 Zack Thanks, I thought so too 0 Zack 0 5

Zoey

July 26, 2005 4:53 PM

You just like to show off for the girls by Zoey

Zoey grinned at him and rolled her eyes slightly while shaking her head. Well, she had to admit that Zack had a good sense of humor and was willing to admit something simple like that, whereas, her Thunderheads of brothers would go around saying they could take anything thrown at them.

She startled again when Zack grabbed her for support when he kicked the bag and had to menuvor herself so that she didn't topple over from being unbalanced by his added weight. Her other hand shot out to grab him and to help re-righten herself. Zoey could hold back her laughter though and let it go free as Zack admitted his pain. Though, she had to admit, it grossed her out a little with the toenails, but she kept that information to herself.

Letting her arm fall from his, though he still held onto her other one, Zoey breathed inwardly to slow her laughter and finally ended it before she could answer him, "I've been okay, I guess. Just doing a bit of studying." She said while waving her free hand at the table behind them that was loaded with books. Her own face flushing beneath her freckles.\n\n

6 Zoey You just like to show off for the girls 39 Zoey 0 5

Zack

July 26, 2005 9:07 PM

That's it exactly by Zack

Okay, now she was laughing at him. He flushed a little brighter and released her arm, having decided that his foot to handle its usual percentage of his weight. The toe still hurt, though. Thankfully, though, Zoey was willing to go with his change of subject and he nodded in complete and utter understanding of 'doing a bit of studying' in leiu of any more interesting news like 'well, I ran into a door today, then stubbed my toe on my bag'.

If she hadn't just seen him do exactly that, it would be his response as well. Unless he decided to confide in her his suspicions about Stephen's origins. Which he might do, if the opportunity presented itself. It might help to get a non-involved perspective. The Cravens certainly couldn't be expected to hold a reasonable opinion about anything, and of course Stephen would deny it, so Zack couldn't check his conclusions with any of them.

Of course, Zoey didn't really know Stephen all that well, so she might not be the best person to ask either. But he could supply adequate support to his conclusions, and see if she thought he was looking in the right direction or if he was completely off-track. But he was jumping ahead of the conversation.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I've been spending a lot of time in the library. I'm trying to read everything they have on Astronomy. That's easily my favorite class." He quirked a grin at her, "Still haven't found a real Vulcan, but I haven't given up yet. I've still got two thirds of the section to go."

\n\n

0 Zack That's it exactly 0 Zack 0 5

Zoey

July 30, 2005 8:12 PM

See, I've got your number by Zoey

Zoey leaned herself against one of the many chairs decorating the common room. She had stopped laughing and was listening quietly to what Zack was saying. "Vulcan? You mean like from Star Trek?" Zoey asked, a bit surprised that Zack would be looking for such a thing.

She smirked at the idea that someone would honestly believe in such a thing, but it was a short lived sort of smile. Three years ago, Zoey had believed magic to be something in fairy tales, nothing more than a little girl's belief that Peter Pan was real with his Tinkerbell and that one day he would fly into her window and ask her to be his Wendy. That all changed when she received her letter.

"Can't say that I like Astronomy all that much, but if you believe in Aliens from another planet, I'm not going to tell you you're crazy. But why, may I ask, are you looking for one?"\n\n

6 Zoey See, I've got your number 39 Zoey 0 5

Zack

August 15, 2005 12:24 PM

I shall have to alter my villianous plans now by Zack

It was good that she wasn't going to call him crazy for believing in aliens from other planets. That meant he could tell her about Stephen. But that thought got caught half formed when she asked a question he had never once considered himself.

Why would he want to meet an alien?

Well, in Stephen's case, there hadn't been an option. Stephen was in their class. But other aliens, ones that weren't from a small planet the vicinity of Betelgeuse and looked exactly like normal Earthers, why did he want to meet them?

He just did. He always had. It might have been his subconscious reason for learning to speak Kling-on rather than Spanish. Aliens had always sat together with magic and elves in his mind, but until he'd gotten his acceptance letter to Sonora, Zack had always figured that the aliens were the more likely of the three he'd ever get to experience. He'd had every intention of taking long drives in the dessert or between wheat fields when he grew up to increase his chances of being abducted.

"I guess to see who was closer to the truth - Star Trek, Babylon 5, or Star Wars. Hitchhiker's Guide. ET. War of the Worlds. All of them. None of them. Who's right? I mean, that's the big question, right? What would life be like on other planets? An alien could tell you."\n\n

0 Zack I shall have to alter my villianous plans now 0 Zack 0 5

Zoey

August 17, 2005 11:22 PM

Nah, I won't tell your secret by Zoey

Who's right? I mean, that's the big question, right? What would life be like on other planets? An alien could tell you."

Oh. Well, that made sense to Zoey. She had grown up watching Star Trek with her older brother, Les. He was into that sort of thing. It was the one thing they did together that didn't involve Dill or the older brothers. And even though she had watched it religiously with Les for all those years (and continue to watch it via repeats), Zoey couldn't remember a time in her life that she'd ever wish to actually meet an alien.

"Well, if I had to choose, I'd say ET or Hitchhiker's guide. They seem to be the most pleasant. I mean, War of the Worlds and Independence day stuff, the aliens are trying to wipe us out and in Star Trek, Babylon 5, and Star Wars, everyone is at war with one another." Zoey commented after thinking about it. She looked over at Zack and smiled.

"So, if they're nice, I'd like to meet them. If they're mean, let them stay on their own side of the galaxy."\n\n

6 Zoey Nah, I won't tell your secret 39 Zoey 0 5

Zack Dill

August 22, 2005 10:41 AM

But the hero might torture it out of you by Zack Dill

Zack nodded, not so much in agreement, as acknowledgement of what she said. "Stephen Baxter's from near Betelgeuse, like Ford is, you know," he remarked, not really conscious of what his tongue was saying because his mind was caught up in trying to determine how likely it was that aliens would be beligerant, friendly, or neutral toward Earth. "I think he counts as a nice one."

Zack kinda thought Babylon 5 was pretty good, but that sort of assumed that 'human nature' wasn't limited to humans. Of course, most of them did, except maybe War of the Worlds, but he didn't really think anybody would come after Earth unless Earth did something to provoke it. Well, not to destroy all living things on Earth. They might try to colonize on it or include it in some sort of Empire or something. Or study it. Alien scientists might already be here, pretending to be human or just watching them like zoologists watch gorrillas in the wild. That was definitely possible, too. That might account for the alien autopsies, too.

Maybe miliary scouts came by occassionally, just to see if humans were ready to take to vacuum with any real chance of getting anywhere anytime soon. That would be prudent, given how violent a race humans could be and how possessively expansionist they tended to be when new frontiers were discovered.

He blinked, suddenly aware that he had spoken and he had no idea what had just left his mouth. Probably something about Hitchhiker's Guide, cuz she'd just mentioned that. Maybe he'd pointed out that the Vogons had blown up the Earth in that, which wasn't really a very friendly action, even if it wasn't anything personal.

But, somehow, he didn't really think that fit Zoey's reaction.

OOC: I don't intend for that last line to have impinged upon your character. I'm just assuming here that she's not going to respond to the revelation that Zack thinks Stephen is an alien with a slap to her forehead and say 'oh, right, the interstellar thruway! Forgot about that.'\n\n

1 Zack Dill But the hero might torture it out of you 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Zoey

September 03, 2005 7:49 PM

Wouldn't be much of a hero then by Zoey

"Stephen Baxter's from near Betelgeuse, like Ford is, you know. I think he counts as a nice one."

What? That was the first thing that ran through Zoey's head as Zack spoke. Stephen Baxter...She knew the name. He was a second year like them that much she knew. An Alien? Was he being for real? He seemed to be, but-but, that was insane! Yes, she enjoyed watching things on the television that dealt with aliens, even liked to read a book or two on them, but actually saying that one was at this school walking around with them was, well, it was absurd!

Zoey stood silently beside Zack. She couldn't find the right thing to say. She didn't know what to say. She had to think. Either Zack was crazy, or he was right in believing Stephen was an alien (who's to say there wasn't proof of such a thing), or she was the crazy one. He seemed to say it so casually as though he had given it thought. And it was his casualness about the subject that made Zoey feel as though he had to be right. And that thought made her think that she was, indeed, the crazy one.

She didn't know how long she had actually stood there staring at Zack, could have been a few seconds, could have been as long as ten minutes, but it didn't matter. She still couldn't think of anything to say, but felt as though she had to say something, "I-" she stopped, closed her mouth, opened it, closed it again before finally opening it once more, "Stephen's a...he's a what?"\n\n

6 Zoey Wouldn't be much of a hero then 39 Zoey 0 5

Zack

September 14, 2005 12:25 PM

Hmm, true. A rival villian then. by Zack

By Zoey's long silence and obvious shock, Zack was seriously begining to worry about whatever the heck it was he'd just said. When she did, finally, try to speak, her tongue failed her. Twice. Unless that was what "?" and "!" sounded like. But he had quite clearly put his foot in it deep this time. He just wished he knew which it it was in.

Had he told her his somewhat sacreligious theory about the Vulcans being descended from the elves of Middle Earth? Or his hypothesis that the Star Trek transporter was less a marvel of science and more a mechanical tool that somehow manipulated magic to induce an aparation like effect? Or his backup hypothesis that magic didn't really exist, and wizardkind had merely learned to manipulate physics in weird ways that the rest of humanity hadn't discovered yet?

"Stephen's a...he's a what?"

Oh, frell. His eyes widened a little in surprise and dismay, and he felt himself pale a bit (not that it was really all that noticable - he was an indoorsman and didn't have a lot of colour to begin with.)

Yeah, telling her about that would certainly explain her reaction. Well, no going back on it now, and he'd meant to eventually confide this to her anyway. He just wished he knew exactly how he'd broken the news. Though the fact that she hadn't petrified him and mobilicorpused him down to the infirmary already was probably a good sign, right?

At any rate, the fact that she'd asked for verification of what he'd said meant she wasn't ready to immediately declare him clinically insane. Of course, she was possibily just double checking her own hearing first, and after his next words she'd do the petrifis and mobilicorpus thing.

But he wasn't going to lie to her. So he looked around to make sure nobody else was eavesdropping, then confirmed that she had indeed heard him correctly, "Stephen's doing the whole Clark Kent thing; he's an extraterrestrial pretending to be human. He was probably raised by humans like Clark was, too. Though he doesn't have any special powers - well, besides magic - that I know about. You, um," he faltered now, as he hadn't during his insistance of Stephen's true nature, "you're not going to commit me, are you? Aliens are real and Stephen's the proof."\n\n

0 Zack Hmm, true. A rival villian then. 0 Zack 0 5

Zoey

September 23, 2005 3:43 AM

yeah, that sounds better. by Zoey

Zoey listened to him explain himself about exactly why Zack thought Stephen was an Alien. He talked about how he was like Superman doing the disguise thing (which could be possible but not probable) but, even though he sounded sincere about his findings...he was only joking...right?

Zoey chuckled hesitantly at Zack as though he were joking, but it faded rather quickly. Her eyes danced around the room before returning to look at him. She frowned in thought. He really was serious. Everything he had just said to her, he meant to the very depth of his soul. And, as scary as all this was, Zoey felt herself believing him. Or at least believing that he truly believed Stephen was an Alien.

"No, I won't commit you." Zoey told him lamely after she finally found her voice again. It was low and she sounded a bit tired, but she didn't know what else to say. Did she believe in Aliens? She wasn't sure, but she was accepting the possibility that they existed, just as she did with everything. Of course, finding that ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and everything else existed, why couldn't aliens?

Zoey sank into the nearest chair and rested her head in her hands, looking at perplexed at Zack, "So, you think he's an alien...how come?" She asked, finding herself curious as to what proof Zack had about all this.\n\n

6 Zoey yeah, that sounds better. 39 Zoey 0 5

Zack

October 06, 2005 5:56 PM

Okay then by Zack

Zack opened his mouth to begin listing his many and varied indisputable reasons why he knew Stephen to be an alien. Unfortunately, not a single one of them popped to mind. He realized suddenly that all his assumptions had been based on the predicate that they'd been about to battle Vogons or defend Sonora from some other kind of alien threat that only Stephen had known about, but it had turned out that Stephen only wanted to build a no-girls-allowed fort.

But he'd just told Zoey that Stephen was an alien. And Zack knew he was. He knew it. He just didn't have any evidence anymore. But he couldn't tell Zoey that. Zoey wouldn't believe him if he just said that it was a gut feeling. So he gave something less than a fact. Only by a little. It probably was a fact. He was sure Stephen had one. Zack just hadn't seen it yet, hadn't even been given any hints that Stephen had it. But Zack was sure he did.

"He's got a hitchhiker's thumb," Zack told her with complete confidence and assurance that he was right. He knew this on faith, but that didn't make him any less certain. "I mean, not like," he held out his own thumb which bent backwards at the knuckle, "but a real technological one that can hitch him up onto passing spacecraft. And it lets him know when one's in the area."

This was how Stephen was supposed to have known about the invasion of Sonora; it was how Zack had been tipped off to Stephen's extraterrestrial origins. But since Sonora hadn't had an alien invasion, this proof of the Thumb no longer existed. But now that Zack knew, this lack of evidence wasn't going to convince him otherwise. Stephen had one. That was all there was to it.\n\n

0 Zack Okay then 0 Zack 0 5

Zoey

October 14, 2005 12:55 AM

Yeah... by Zoey

Zoey listened to Zack explain how Stephen had some sort of technological thumb that allowed him to travel through space picking up rides. And Zoey could feel herself sucked in to the whole idea that perhaps Stephen really was an alien. The fact that Zack (who Zoey figured was a smart guy who knew his stuff) was so convinced that Stephen was, well, was somehow seeping into Zoey's veins as her hazel eyes grew wide in fascination.

"You mean like Ford does?" Zoey questioned. "I mean, in the movie that ring is wicked cool cos all he has to do is point and it glows and in a matter of minutes they are picked up, whether consciously known by the ship or not. I would love to have something like that. Just stick out my thumb and bam I'm half way across the universe." Zoey commented, more to herself than anything. She smiled happily in her own little world imagining the possibilities if she had a ring like that. The places she could go and the people she would encounter. A world would be her's.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Zoey looked back at Zack, her smile still visible on her face. Whipping some of her loose waves from her face, Zoey stood and excitedly paced a small portion of the room around them, "Have you seen it?" Zoey asked, finding herself becoming excited at the idea that such a ring could actually exist.\n\n

6 Zoey Yeah... 39 Zoey 0 5