Holly Greer
May 28, 2008 3:08 PM
Big brown puppy dog eyes (Professor K) by Holly Greer
Last year, Holly had heard about the trip to the Flying Horse Ranch. She'd been insanely jealous that only the older kids were allowed to go. This year, she'd overheard more people talking about it, how they were learning about the horses in class before going next spring. So Holly had risked dust and a geek reputation and gone to the library to find out more about them herself. The more she read, though, the more jealous she became of the fifth years, until finally, she just couldn't stand it anymore.She couldn't wait another three long years to see the winged equines in person. She just couldn't. She'd die if she was forced to wait that long.
She considered asking her father to pull strings to get her into the field trip, but he hadn't been able to get her out of potions, so obviously a muggle lawyer - even one who was the DA of Los Angeles - didn't have much influence on a magical boarding school in Arizona. That left only one option: Holly had to talk to the professor herself.
She was a second year now, so Professor Kijewski should know who she was and that - despite an unfortunate screaming incident after unexpectedly finding a green caterpillar climbing up her leg - Holly was usually well behaved and attentive in class. It wasn't like she was a random first year who didn't know anything about the subject. She did well on all of her tests and did all of her homework and was willing to interact with all but the most disgusting of creatures. Surely an exception could be made.
She'd spent a lot of time preparing her case. As the eldest daughter of a lawyer, she knew the value of a good opening statement, the importance of supporting her facts and providing solid evidence, and also the necessity of wrapping it all up with clear and concise closing remarks. She had written a report that was almost ten pages long to demonstrate that she had knowledge of the different kinds of winged horses in the world.
She'd also put together a scrapbook about Wendy, her own white mare, and all the awards they'd won in equestrian competitions. She had photos and ribbons. She described all the things she did to keep Wendy healthy and well groomed and in top shape. She explained all the things she did with Wendy for fun - trail riding, galloping just for the joy of it, jumping fences, playing in the pasture, feeding her apples, braiding her mane, brushing her until her fur gleamed. She wrote about the stable and the tack and the food supply. She described her chores, and admitted that while stablehand dealt with the manure, she was in charge of everything else whenever she was home. She filled the feed trough and changed the water. She washed Wendy and checked her hooves. She put in fresh hay. She made sure Wendy got enough exercise (that wasn't really a chore though). Holly described every little task she could think of, hoping that, by sheer volume, Professor Kijewski would be impressed by her experience and agree that she could pull her own weight despite being three years younger than everyone else going on the trip.
Now, she just had to present it all. She stood outside the door to Professor Kijewski's office and took a deep breath. She could do this. Horses were her life. When she came to Sonora, she missed Wendy more than she missed her mother. Surely, if she could just explain herself clearly, she'd be a shoo-in for going to the ranch every time the school went until she graduated. She could be the Sonora expert on winged horses. It would be fabulous. Professor Kijewski had to say yes.
If she didn't, Holly would just die.
She took a deep breath and knocked. She would do fine. It wasn't like everything wasn't riding on these next few minutes. She swayed a little on her feet, feeling a light-headed from the stress. But she didn't faint. The invitation to enter came, and Holly opened the door, clutching her report and scrapbook close to her chest.
"Professor Kijewski," she said, her voice squeaking embarrassingly. She pushed the door shut with the heel of her foot and advanced to where the teacher was, placing the report and scrapbook on the woman's desk. She'd had a whole speech memorized. How did it go? How did it start? Oh, God, she couldn't remember. Could she rewind back five minutes and start over after she practiced the speech one more time?
"I-I heard you're bringing the fifth years out to see a flying horse ranch," she got out. It wasn't quite how she was was supposed to begin, but it was close enough that she remember where she was supposed to go from there. Her voice grew stronger and more confident. "I would like to attend as well. I realize I'm only a second year, but I've read about winged horses and I find them fascinating. I've always loved horses. I learned to ride when I was six years old, and I've had a beautiful white mare named Wendy for almost that long. At home, I spend three to ten hours a day with her. I would love to have an opportunity to spend some time with live winged horses, and I don't think one short trip in my fifth year could possibly be long enough with such magnificent creatures. I want to know if it is at all possible if I could go every year from this year until when I graduate."
She pointed at the report and scrapbook, "I've written you a report to prove that I know something about winged horses, and I compiled a scrapbook of things that I've done with Wendy so you can see how much I know and care about horses in general. Please, consider letting me go. I'll be on my very bestest behavior, and I promise I won't scream even if a bee lands me. Please, Professor Kijewski?" Holly folded her hands together in supplication and widened her brown eyes at the teacher, using her very best pleading look that always worked on Mom and sometimes worked on Daddy. She threw in few more magic words just to be safe. "Please, please, please?"
She thought about adding that she'd do anything to be allowed to go, but decided that sounded too desperate and far too much like a sycophant than she was willing to sound. She might revise that opinion if the professor said no, though.\r\n\r\n
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Holly Greer
Big brown puppy dog eyes (Professor K)
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Professor K.
June 22, 2008 9:18 PM
You had to say puppy by Professor K.
OOC: I’m so sorry this took forever to respond to. It was a very difficult question to answer on top of RL things. Hopefully, this is satisfactory…though I doubt it. BIC:Kiva sat at her desk listening to the quiet for a long while. There was quite a bit to do for everything that was to come this year and Kiva felt herself becoming a bit overwhelmed with it all. Lessons, Substitutes, Creatures for the Fair, the Retreat. So much to do and there never seemed enough time to do it all. She sighed loudly, making Ria stir in her cushion. “Sorry Ria.” Kiva said politely to her Persian. The knock that resounded shortly after Kiva’s apology to her cat made both occupants of the office jump. “Come on in.” Kiva called out when she calmed her breathing from the fright.
She found herself staring at Holly Greer. She certainly wasn’t someone that Kiva thought would come visit her on her own time. Kiva had pegged Holly for one of the students that would run immediately in the opposite direction of Care of Magical Creatures once her Fifth year was completed. The girl certainly did her work and was nice to have in class, but she never seemed very interested in the subject. Of course, as Holly began talking, Kiva discovered that Holly did have an interest in creatures, or at least, a certain group of creatures.
Kiva sat back in her seat, her hands lightly resting on her stomach as she watched Holly closely. Everything she had brought along was quite impressive for anyone to have done, let alone a twelve year old. But the issue wasn’t whether or not Holly was capable of doing the strenuous work that was going to come with the ranch, but rather, the fact that she just wasn’t old enough to go. It was an extremely difficult subject to talk about as Kiva had known someone may want to come along that wasn’t in their fifth year of schooling yet. But, she hadn’t thought that they would go through this much trouble in order to get the permission to be able to go.
“Holly…” Kiva began, her voice soft while she figured out the correct words to tell the girl. “What you have managed to do with your album and the report is quite remarkable. No one has ever put so much effort into a project for me. It certainly indicates just how much you are willing to do in order to go to the retreat with the fifth years. But,” Kiva paused again because she knew this part would probably start an argument with Holly. Kiva didn’t see her younger students as young and incapable. She more than aware of all that they’ve been able to accomplish and just how strong they really are. It was just that the work that needed to be done and how dangerous the Winged Horses were capable of being, Kiva just didn’t feel comfortable with any of her younger students going to the ranch.
“I’m going to be incapacitated while we are on this trip. I’m relying on my 6th and 7th years to run much of the retreat because they have experience with this. Winged Horses are far more aggressive than domesticated horses. Even trained, one little wrong move and everything wrong that can happen, will.” Kiva stopped for a moment, frowning. “It’s quite obvious, Holly, how much you love horses and that’s something that I can share with you, but if I make an exception for you, I would have to make an exception with the next person who comes along asking to go on the Retreat. Do you really think that it would be fair for me to allow you to go and not someone else?” Kiva asked, sitting up straighter and placing her hands on her desk.
“The Fifth years are currently studying the Winged Horses as part of their curriculum to prepare them for their C.A.T.S. examination. Taking them to the Ranch is more of a privilege than part of the lesson. Something that they earn as the year progresses. And, after their Fifth year, they have the option to continue and the choice to come along to the Ranch with us. I know that a long weekend with these creatures is hardly long enough, but it’s the best that we can really offer.” Kiva sighed quietly. She honestly wished she could give Holly a better answer than the one she was getting.
“When I take the students to the retreat, it’s during the transition period from one season to the next. So, staffing is limited. I’m sorry Holly, we just cannot make exceptions for our younger students.”
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Professor K.
You had to say puppy
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Holly Greer
June 23, 2008 2:53 PM
Of course I did by Holly Greer
OOC: No problem. It's perfectly satisfactory to me. Not so much for poor Holly, though. BIC:Holly knew the news wasn't going to be good, just from the look on the teacher's face. When Professor Kijewski started explaining why, though, Holly tried hard, really hard, not to cry.
It didn't work.
Tears gathered in her eyes which she attempted to blink back, but they were forming too fast and at the end, at the absolute determination that 'we just cannot make exceptions for our younger students' it became too much and they just spilled out. With the floodgates open, the hitching breaths and heartfelt sobbing followed quickly. She had always been emotional and rejection was not something she handled well.
Blindly, she reached out and found the guest chair by touch - her vision was all blurry - and sank down into it, curling herself into a ball of abject misery. While this was by no means the impression she wanted to make on the Creatures professor, Holly couldn't help herself. The disappointment was too overwhelming. Her hopes had been so high and now they were utterly dashed.
So Holly wept.\r\n\r\n
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Holly Greer
Of course I did
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