About to burst on Cascade Hall

Headmaster Bulla

November 11, 2008 9:30 AM

Let the Opening Feast Commence! by Headmaster Bulla

Another new year, Manfred thought to himself as he glanced out the window at the last batch of students alighting from the wagons and heading boisterously towards the main entrance. There were almost certainly Pecari's in that crowd. The sky was starting to darken, so he left his office and strolled down the hall of plants, heading for the main lobby of the school and from there into the Cascade Hall. He acknowledged Mims on his way past, nodding at the old portrait's greeting.

"We'll see," he said to a query. "Just because they've done so well in the past few years doesn't mean that Crotalus has the House Cup wrapped up for this year too! I suspect that Teppenpaw might give them a run for their knuts this year." Or Aladren, or even Pecari, but although he strove to be fair and equal in his treatments of all the students at Sonora, the house one spent seven years in - not to mention was the Head of for some years - did keep some allegiance. "I'm sure you'll keep careful note and be sure to keep me up to date though."

He made his way to the staff table at the front of the room, nodding at Kiva who had come for the feast despite the time and commute, and Sadi who was still acting as his Deputy, but specifically he sought out Charles Schmidt, the new Potions Master.

"And now the test of fire," he said, with an almost unusual amount of levity. "This will be the first time in eight years that anyone new has made the sorting potion. I do hope you've made enough for all our first years." And that it worked, he thought but did not say. The man's appearance gave one small pause for doubt, but his credentials had been quite respectable.

Nodding and indicating that they would talk more later during the feast, if Professor Schmidt wished to, Manfred took to the centre stage. He checked his pocket, patting it to make certain that he hadn't forgotten the box containing the badges he had to give out, and once satisfied looked out over the gathering students. Most of the older years had taken their seats, although a couple dashed in as he decided everyone was there. Directing a look at them that was designed to send them sheepishly to their places, Manfred nodded to indicate that the potion should be brought in and took his seat. The sorting had commenced.

Goblets, filled with a potion somewhat unique to Sonora and generally only known to those who had held the position of Potions Master or Mistress - it was, after all, a strictly held secret - there, were given to each new student while the rest of the school looked on. The potion was clear and bubbling, just as it always did and Manfred nodded with satisfaction. All would go as per normal then.

Of course, for some of those new students, what was about to happen was anything but normal.

The potion changed their colour - from tip to toe, hair, nails and everything - the dominant colour of the house they were to belong to. Those who turned a bright blue were beckoned towards the table where the Aladren students had gathered for the feast, while those who went deep red were summoned to join Crotalus, the muddy brown first years were raucously cheered over to Pecari and the others, who were sunshine yellow were warmly welcomed to Teppenpaw, each by the older students already assembled and well used to seeing this spectacle. The colours didn't last long, generally a few minutes at the most, but that was generally quite long enough for the house to be obvious and the unsuspecting first years to get quite a surprise. Manfred waited until things were starting to settle down again and then stood.

"Good evening," Manfred said to the gathered staff and students. "Here we are again for what promises to be another exciting year at Sonora Academy. I hope you are all rested after your summer holidays and looking forward to a year of learning, quidditch, soccer - if Mister Hodges continues his usual efforts in the gardens - or participating in any of the other clubs and activities that I'm sure will continue this year. I'm sure that Mister Elms and his friends will be looking for new people to join his Novelling Fury, and Mister Ashwood will be continuing with the Charms club amongst others. And, as our older students know, there will be a school concert at the end of the year to celebrate the Summer Solstice. So, there should be plenty to keep you all occupied and enjoying yourselves this year!

Now, there are a few more small announcements to be made, and then you can all enjoy the feast that the Prairie Elves have been working hard to prepare for us. Firstly, I would like to introduce our new Potions Master. As our older students will remember, Professor Connell left in the middle of last year and were lucky enough," if you didn't include the wall and the disruption it had caused, "to secure Professor Hallmond to sub for the spot for the remainder of the year. This year we have a proper replacement, and I hope you will all give Professor Schmidt the proper respect his position deserves."

He moved out to the front of the stage while the students were dutifully clapping their new Professor, pulling the box out of his pocket as he went.

"Now, I would like to call some students to the front of the room. If Mr Paul Tarwater of Aladren, Mr José Santoro of Crotalus, Miss Elfenbein Eriksson of Pecari and Miss Eavan Valentine of Teppenpaw could make their way up here... Oh yes, and if Miss Izabella Santoro and Mr Christobel Dupree of Aladren could join them..."

With a wordless gesture and smile, he left the older two students off to one side while he greeted the first four summoned in a voice lowered from the tone he had used to talk to the entire gathering.

"Congratulations all of you. As I'm quite certain you've worked out you four have been selected to serve as prefects. Please remember this is a position of both privilege and responsibility. You will have the power to give and take points, and will be expected to assist your Head of House and the Head Boy and Head Girl if a situation arises. I'm sure you will do us all proud in your new capacity."

All four were handed prefect badges - bronze metal embossed with the crest of Sonora and the word 'Prefect' underneath the crest. Manfred straightened up again afterwards to address the school again.

"A round of applause for the four students who have been chosen to join the ranks of our school prefects. I won't keep them up here, although I'm sure I'll be talking with them all very soon," he shooed them back down towards their friends, paying particular attention to Josh before beckoning the new Crotalus Prefect's older sister and Mr Dupress over. "And last, but most certainly not least, our new Head Boy and Head Girl." He handed the two the last remaining badges from the box, but made sure not to close it, as the interim badges that had been handed out at the end of last year would have to be returned to the box. They were a little bigger than the Prefect badges, one of which Christobel had already pinned to his uniform, and the Quidditch Captain badges although were of the same basic pattern - the school crest and the title of their newly official role embossed smartly into the metal. "I'll need the interim presumptive badges back," he said quietly to them both, taking advantage of the congratulatory noise the rest of the hall had erupted in.

He returned the badges to their box once they were handed to him, and closed the lid, before slipping it back into his pocket.

"As I can't justify keeping you from your feast any longer," he said with a what might have been a twinkle in his eye, "Enjoy!"

He waved his hand and each and every table was suddenly groaning under a multitude of dishes plates and jugs, each filled to the brim with one or another of a quite impressive variety of foods and drinks. Enough, indeed, that no student had yet found the feast lacking, and no student was ever likely too.

As he moved back to his seat, he noticed another person in the hall. He frowned, pausing midstep. The man in the far corner of the room nodded at him and then slipped out of the room. Manfred stood there for a moment, looking at the door he had left by and obviously thinking before continuing to his seat.

"How is Emery getting on?" he asked Kiva, as he selected some food distractedly.\r\n\r\n

Subthreads:

Go ELLL-LLLLLYYYY! by Saul Pierce with Elly Eriksson, Meredith Lail, Irene Liddowe

Here's something unexpected... by Paul Tarwater

Feeling a little Blue by Daniel Nash II with Eun Ae and Mike Song

About to burst by Nathaniel Leon with Pippa Brockert, Nathaniel

Re: Let the Opening Feast Commence! by Aeon Coure with Indy Choudhry, Mike Song, Aeon

Grabbing our new Badges! by Izabella Santoro and Brothers with Helena Layne, Josh

Commencing! [OOC inside] by Irene Liddowe with

At the Crotalus table... by Miles Turner with Deepa Rajaram, Miles, Benvolio Dramulan

Here we go again by Oliver Abbott

The stuff dreams are made of by Charlotte Abbott with Adelita Garcia, Charlotte, Charlie, Lita

So what's this place like? by Cynthia Smythe with Lila St. Martin, Cynthia

This can't be good by Cecily Smythe with Kendra Paully, Chelsea Brockert

I am my own person by Amelia Smythe with Ian Grimm, Amelia

Choking, Being "rescued" and spilling water on myself by Josiah with Laurie Cider

This is always so enjoyable by Professor Kijewski

Another year another...TAG: Renaye by Alexis Ashwood with Renaye Warren, Alexis

I'm a Blueberry by Taylor Li with Jera Valson

home again!! by Mollie Buchanan with Jaeven Dimitri, Mollie

Oh joy. by Adam Brockert

What a way to start the year by The Valentines

The Blues. by Chrissy Hollister (and a bit of Samantha)

39 Headmaster Bulla Let the Opening Feast Commence! 2 Headmaster Bulla 1 5

Saul Pierce

November 11, 2008 1:02 PM

Go ELLL-LLLLLYYYY! by Saul Pierce

Saul returned to Sonora for his sixth year the proud holder of two Es and two As from his CATS (as well as two Poors and a Dreadful, but he wasn't dwelling on those). Dropping potions (the Dreadful), Comec and History (the two Poors)was going to give him a lot more time for not doing his homework. Time better spent in his campaign for Head Boy. Given that the last two years it had gone to Aladrens (and Zack Dill had beaten Stephen Baxter) it was going to be nearly as hard a campaign as Harvey usually ran with the Muggle Integration or Communist parties.

Not quite as doomed though, Saul figured. He had an outside chance at it. He was, after all, more popular than the other boys of his year. But so had been Stephen. It would be a tough battle, but he had come prepared with campaign posters and fliers and even a campaign platform. ("The issues," Harvey had advised, "Make sure they know where you stand on the issues. Rhetoric and popularity will only get you so far. They want to see a plan." - Saul had no idea why Harvey had never gotten elected to anything.)

He was one of the last to arrive in the Hall after stashing his stuff in his room, but he wasn't quite the last, and he watched and cheered for the new Pecaris. But when Elly, the girl EE, one of his most favorite people ever, got called up to the front, Saul was on his feet.

"Go, ELLLLL-LLLLLLLYYYYYY!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air and grinning at her.

Whatever criteria the teachers used for picking Pecari leaders . . . well, he hoped it helped get him on the Head Boy ticket. After all, he was already wearing a badge just like the one Elly - the Queen of the end-of-year-pranks - was getting, and his new Quidditch Captain badge, which had belonged to Ash and Sorrel Craven before him, was pinned opposite it.

1 Saul Pierce Go ELLL-LLLLLYYYY! 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Paul Tarwater

November 11, 2008 1:03 PM

Here's something unexpected... by Paul Tarwater

Paul was sort-of glad to be coming back, after all the hounding his mother had been doing this summer. She was entirely back to her cheerful, sunny self, and seemingly always around Paul. Most fifteen-year-old boys would be incredibly frustrated and do everything to hide from the woman who gave them birth, but Paul had already worried his mother very badly before. And so, while deeply frustrated in her constant attention, Paul took it as it was, his own way of apologizing for worrying her. Of course, when it came to her buying him new clothing and little things like that, the dark-haired boy set his foot down and walked out. He could wear his father’s clothes; he had been since first year. Now that he was growing taller, and longer, he was fitting into them better than before. There was no need to waste money on new clothes.

He still had visits to the hospital, and they still described him as “needing more help”, especially the new counselor that they were paying for (this was against Paul’s wishes). The counselor had went on about how “unsocial” people like Paul always ended up, then suggested Paul be “more open” and “caring towards others”, it all sounded like “sunshine and rainbows” to him. He ended up making the counselor cry, with a few rude remarks on her view of life, but of course he wasn’t very concerned about her when his mother was red faced and embarrassed on the side.

Cissy had laughed when she told him, as had Horace (taking back to his habit of following the girl around nervously). His sister had been spending a good deal of time around her “fiancé”, or maybe it was the other way around? Either way, she’d taken a liking to him, probably because he worshiped her. Despite their mother’s fear of Horace hurting Paul “again”, she allowed Cissy to be around the boy more. Which was perfectly okay with Paul, it meant that the girl had left in the floo network long after him. It also meant she wasn’t there to ruin his haircut by distracting their mother and leaving the uneven job alone the whole summer. Danae had helped last year, at least making sure the hair he’d neglected for two years wasn’t in his eyes any longer, but his mother was finally able to fix it up to normalcy.

Normalcy so that when he walked into the bustling Cascade Hall, he no longer had to push his hair away to see. Instead the black locks curled nicely around, missing his eyes and face. He hadn’t slept well last night, in fact he never slept well anymore, but he looked just fine. Used to it. He found an unoccupied seat and took it, watching the door to see his sister flounce in, it frightened him slightly. He missed how she was when she hated Horace, as she never touched him then. Now he couldn’t be so sure. He looked away and ready to eat, dreading the actual speech of the Headmaster simply because it kept him from food he never had at home.

Fully prepared to simply doze off for the minute or so he was able to tune out most of it… until of course he heard his name. Paul sat up, looking around at his surroundings when he realized that his name really had been called. What? Uneasily, and thinking this whole thing to be a joke, Paul made his way up to the Headmaster, feeling paranoid and unhidden from the crowd. She, his sister, was probably aware of him now and all while the Headmaster was talking Paul was thinking, this has to be a joke. There was no way anyone would pick him for something like this, he wasn’t a good person at all.

But he took the badge with an attempt at a smile, a whispered “thank you” once he got his badge. He made an effort not to look at his other three classmates, least of all Elly who he had found irritating the past few years. Paul did not need any encouragement to walk straight back to his seat either, and again he made the conscious effort to look at nobody. This time, the least-of-all was directed towards Cissy, who was either grinning maliciously or glaring darkly. When he reached his seat, he sat like lead, ignoring the cheers for the new Head boy and girl and looking at his own badge with a sense of fear. This is a joke, he thought, he wasn’t responsible, wasn’t a good person. He must have been the last person in Aladren.

For the first time, Paul didn’t even look up when the food was being brought up around him. He was too busy rationalizing this badge in his mind, and good food wasn’t top priority anymore, not until he reached a conclusion.

0 Paul Tarwater Here's something unexpected... 0 Paul Tarwater 0 5

Daniel Nash II

November 11, 2008 2:48 PM

Feeling a little Blue by Daniel Nash II

OOC: For any characters who watch muggle detective shows on cable TV, this is what happened last night from 8-10pm on the show Street Beat, in which Daniel played the main character's son. BIC:

Danny - no, it was Daniel now, he'd decided on the wagon ride here - walked into the Cascade Hall with his older half-sister, Holly. They'd arrived on the same wagon from Hollywood, California, and Dann-iel was just as glad to see her abandon him for her friends. They could get along for small bursts of time, but the trip from California to Arizona was stretching their tolerances to the limit. Even if she had spent the whole time flipping through a fashion magazine while he'd been reading his very own potions textbook, simple proximity had been causing problems and they'd spent the last half hour or so surreptitiously kicking each other.

"See you, Danny," Holly told him breezily, as though she hadn't recently given him a bruise on his shin.

"See ya, Hols," Danny- Daniel - returned with a wave, as though he hadn't recently given her a matching bruise on her shin. He was a much better actor than her, after all. He could match her air of friendliness easily.

She stopped and turned back and reminded him for about the zillionth time, "Remember, I'm Holly Thistle of the Hollywood Thistles, here." She'd offered to let him join her little family clan but he had zero interest in being a 'Hollywood Thistle' whatever that was.

"And I'm Daniel, now," he told her for the second time.

They shook on it, at truce again for the time being, now that they were about to part company. "Daniel." "Holly Thistle." They nodded politely to one another and then Holly was off to join her friends.

That left Daniel with the other new students, not entirely sure what to do now that his sister had gone without telling him what to expect next. He could vaguely recall her story from two years ago, when she told him about getting to the school and then promptly turning into an African American for a few minutes, but he checked his skin and he was still Caucasian.

Looking around, he thought he saw one or two of the other kids eyeing him as if they thought they might recognize him, but he didn't recognize any of them. Just then the Headmaster spoke up, and Daniel turned his attention to him. He looked at the bubbly liquid in the goblet as it was handed to him and he frown distrustfully at it, but with every eye in the room seemingly on him, he felt pressured into taking the sip he was clearly expected to take.

Shortly thereafter, his skin did change colors, but instead of darkening to brown like Holly had described, Daniel's skin brightened to an alarmingly bright blue color. Looking at his neighbor, he saw the completeness of the transformation and reached for his hair, crossing his eyes to look up at the lock of his bangs. It was as blue as the fingers holding it out in front of his eyes.

The only thing keeping him from freaking out were the twin points that (a) everyone was turning weird colors, and (b) blue was the color of Aladren, the House that had sounded better than any other, by Holly's descriptions (not least because Holly wasn't in it). He followed the calls to the table for bookish smurfs, and looked curiously at his new Housemates.

Nodding at the first of them to meet his eyes, he held out his hand. "Hi. I'm Danny Nash - I mean, Daniel. Daniel Nash." The Second, but that sounded pretentious, so he left it off. \r\n\r\n

1 Daniel Nash II Feeling a little Blue 130 Daniel Nash II 0 5

Nathaniel Leon

November 11, 2008 4:37 PM

About to burst by Nathaniel Leon

Nathaniel wasn’t embarrassed to kiss his sisters and parents goodbye, with a happy grin on his face he told his father and his mother that he wouldn’t eat any meat and that he would respectful and creative. Oh, right, and don’t let the professors conform you to the mind set of others, that was something else he promised to watch out for. And there was much more, such as practice your finger exercises, try learning the flute in your dorm (wind instruments being the new section for him), oh and there was a bunch of books on magic (written by people who probably had no idea of magic), and here’s one of Mommy’s paintings to hang above your bed...

Nathaniel took it all in with his easy smile, beaming like a good little son. Yes, his mother had given him one of the smaller paintings she’d make (it was a bunch of circles and splatters, only in shades of blue and green), and his father had given him the old flute, Lucy had given him a kiss before waddling off to play with her own little musical toys, and Star had been the one to take him to get his things for school, his family rarely went out of their way to give him things, but he supposed that this was a one time thing. Star also brought him to the place that would take him to this new Sonora place.

And now, Nathaniel found himself here. The tall, thin boy wringing his hands together, beaming with obvious excitement. As a child, he’d been told all the stories, everything magical and fairy tales from every country. He’d started to grow out of believing in magic and fairies, though, as any child growing up would. And in came a letter to this magical school, and Nathaniel was lost again in thoughts of childhood bliss. He was magical, really how cool was that? What kid didn’t want to find that out?

There was talk of a new Potions guy, but Nathaniel knew that he wasn’t going to see any difference, all the Professors here looked new to him, because he was new. But this talk of a sorting potion excited him, and Nathaniel tried to be one of the first up there, but this was impossible for him without pushing and shoving, so he settled for somewhere in the middle. He got his potion soon enough, and drank it down without fear (why would they hurt their students?). Just as he was starting to drink it down, the others around him began to change colors, and after a second Nathaniel joined them.

Or, only a few of them. Some were blue, some were brown, and some were red, Nathaniel was one of the ones who turned yellow, however. Gasping in great surprise, the long-haired boy lost himself in the excitement of being yellow. He was waved over to a spot, and one of the older students had told him that his house was Teppenpaw, and asked him to sit down. That anonymous person left however, and Nathaniel was left kicking his legs to listen to the rest of the speech. The clubs thing sounded interesting, but the first two were sports, and Nathaniel was upset as he wasn’t the “sporty” kind of person (Quidditch and Soccer were definitely out). However, the Charms, the newspaper, and that Novelling ones all sounded fun enough, he might try them all.

Prefects were announced (Nathaniel took them as the “hall monitor” people, they must have all been really good here to deserve them), and then finally the food came. The boy’s stomach growled in response, and Nathaniel began to load on the food. “This place is great,” he said to no one in particular, “Magic, and lots of food, and clubs too, it sounds so cool.” Plopping the plate in front of him, Nathaniel made sure that the pasta sauce he put on was cheese, and that no meat was present before he actually started picking at his meal. For a small frame, he had a very big plate.

0 Nathaniel Leon About to burst 133 Nathaniel Leon 0 5

Eun Ae and Mike Song

November 11, 2008 5:36 PM

Better than black and blue, right? by Eun Ae and Mike Song

They couldn't have resembled each other less if they tried.

This was, of course, if one ignored the fact they were siblings, and, while not twins, carried the same black hair, tawny skin, and dark brown eyes that charactarized their Korean ethnicity. Aside from that, though, they were as a different as different could come.

Eun Ae Song's brand new school clothes consisted of a recurring pattern: a knee-length solid skirt (blue, black, or grey), a short-sleeved collared oxford (white only), a cardigan (blue, black, or grey), knee socks or tights (black or white), and a pair of black flats. In direct opposition, her younger brother, Min Ae, had been given full reign to spend his $150 allotment on clothes of his choosing. Their mother had said nothing of protest against the ratty t-shirt, cargo shorts, and flip-flops he'd thrown on early that morning.

Eun Ae had been scolded for squirming while her mother pulled her hair into matching braided pigtails. Min Ae made faces from across the kitchen table the entire time. Their mother merely patted his head and pushed a second helping of breakfast rice toward him. It was a dynamic Eun Ae had grown used to long ago. It didn't matter that she had been the first born. She was the daughter, and Min Ae- he was the Son, pride of the family, and champion of all. It didn't help that he was better at most everything than her.

He was taller than average; she two inches below it. He entered every sport as if he had played it from birth; she was always the last picked for teams. He never studied and still managed above-average grades; she spent hours in books and only then managed to do better than him. He made friends like letters in the alphabet; she made people feel uncomfortable and awkward.

In everything, it seemed as if Eun Ae came in second to Min Ae's very distant first.

But this- having magic- she couldn't help but feel that this was her chance to step away from that history. Maybe she could finally become Eun Ae Song instead of Min Ae's older sister. It was this thought that kept the timid smile creeping across her lips the entire plane ride. She barely noticed the painful bumps of the wagon ride to the school; she was too wrapped up in the thoughts of what coming to Sonora Academy could mean for her.

~*~*~*~

As usual, his sister was stuck in her head and completely missing the rest of the world. Min Ae Song, or Mike as he introduced himself to anyone who cared to let him, had been counting down the days til their departure since he first learned he was a wizard. When days had turned to hours, his wrist watch had become his best friend. It helped as well that he could pester Euna every three minutes with updates on their traveling progress.

"Seven hours, sixteen minutes and forty-nine seconds. . . three hours, fifty-seven minutes and nine seconds. . . one hour, four minutes and twenty-two minutes. . .zero hours, forty-three minutes and thirty-eight seconds til we get there. . ."

And then the moment he'd been waiting for since, practically, forever: "Euna, we're here!" He gave one of her braids a tug to further emphasize his enthusiasm. She ignored him. As usual. She was completely not fun that way. "Chaa. . . I know you're excited. You've been smiling a storm since we ditched Oma at the airport."

This provoked a reaction. "Min Ae," she scolded, "you know how hard it was for Oma to let us come here. Don't be rude like that."

"Whatever. I know you're just as pleased to be here as you are to be away from her. Maybe you'll even unbraid your hair one of these days and stop pretending to be some kind of Chosun kick-back." Pleased with both his retort and his historical reference, Mike picked up his sister's carry on, along with his and fell into the crowd of students being led into the most singularly unique room he had ever seen.

"Oh!"

He heard his sister's hushed exclamation and nudged her not-so gently. "I'm guessing magic makes those waterfalls go, huh? What do you think?"

"Definitely," she answered, too caught up in the moment to frown over his bullying.

"And now the test of fire."

Mike promptly shut-up. Those opening words sent brief panicked thoughts of actually having to some kind of test by fire, like walking on coals, or eating coals, or any derivation there of. Thankfully, he continued to listen and by the time his sister was called to drink from the goblet, he had returned to his normal state of lazy excitement. It was disconcerting to see the familiar form of Euna change to a bright blue, her skin clashing terribly with the somber colors of her clothing, making her look like a walking bruise. Somewhat anti-climatically, his skin turned several shades darker, a tone his cousin was able to manage naturally every summer simply by never leaving the beach.

A welcoming roar pulled him over to his new house, Pecari, and that greeting alone filled him with a sense of belonging that allowed him to forget his sister entirely. A fact that she half minded and half didn't.

~*~*~*~

Eun Ae was blue; she was part of the Aladren House, best known for its love of knowledge and rational minds- or so the school catalog had described it. She had memorized the descriptions of each of the houses, and while she knew almost immediately that Min Ae would end up with the boisterous Pecaris, she had been doubtful regarding her own fate. It seemed that her desire for quiet had won out over her timidity. She gave her brother a last look before shuffling over to the table of welcoming Aladrens, a few fellow blue-cast first years already there.

While waiting for the Headmaster to finish his speech, she stole cautious, curious glances at the other slowly fading blue students around her. These would be the people she would be sharing a house with for the next seven years. This was her chance to present herself as someone different from who she was at home, a chance-

Her dark eyes went wide. She'd been caught staring.

"Hi. I'm Danny Nash - I mean, Daniel. Daniel Nash."

Her alarm withdrew; he seemed friendly. She ought to reciprocate. "Hi back," she managed. "I'm Eun Ae Song." Spoken aloud, her name sounded more like yoon-eh-ah. "I'm from Key Largo, in Florida. Um. . .you?"

Hidden from view, the fingers in her lap carefully crossed. So far, so good. 'Fighting!' as her cousin would say.

0 Eun Ae and Mike Song Better than black and blue, right? 0 Eun Ae and Mike Song 0 5

Daniel

November 11, 2008 6:21 PM

Yeah, as my shin will attest by Daniel

The girl was of Asian - Daniel wasn't entirely sure which form of Asian, but definitely Asian - descent and dressed equally as primly as Daniel himself. At a loss for how else he should attire himself at a magic school (Holly had helped make sure the school robes were properly tailored, but she claimed anything could be worn under them), he'd defaulted to the same private school uniform he'd worn at home before he'd stopped going to school entirely. His slacks were grey, his shirt white, his tie diagonally striped in grey and navy blue, and the vest was navy blue. His black shoes were comfortable but dressy.

Unfortunately, the long bumpy ride on the flying wagon and his own inspection of his altered hair color had conspired to muss his usually neat hair, making it look more like Nate Bealer's untamed mane (and it took an awfully long time in the make-up trailer to get it that messy) and less like Danny Nash's precise trim. Still, the ends of his bangs, just barely visible at the top of his vision, were turning brown again, which was reassuring.

He smiled back at the Asian girl. "Nice to meet you, You-yoonea," he struggled with the pronunciation. Knowing he botched it badly, he flushed and apologized, "Sorry." Hoping that if he just answered her question, he'd lessen the embarrassment for both of them, he added, "I'm from Hollywood, California. I'm a . . ." What was the word Holly used? "A muggleborn? My parents don't have magic. But my half-sister does," he gestured vaguely toward the Pecari table, "so this isn't completely new to me. Do you come from a magical family?"

The question was meant more to assess how alike their backgrounds were rather than because Holly had warned him that most other muggleborns were a bit crass. Holly was an elitist and Danny wasn't prone to accepting her opinion unless it agreed with his. And Danny didn't have enough data yet to make a judgment aside from his suspicion that Holly was being a snob.

1 Daniel Yeah, as my shin will attest 130 Daniel 0 5

Aeon Coure

November 11, 2008 7:16 PM

Re: Let the Opening Feast Commence! by Aeon Coure

Aeon had to admit, he was slightly nervous. He had come from a family of two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister. So far all of them except his little sister had exceeded in school; but none of them had gone to Sonora.

He looked around anxiously. He was surrounded by lots of other first years. But he had no clue who would be in his house, but that's not gonna stop him. He waited until Headmaster...Bulla had started his speech, before looking around the room. It was cool, but he barely had time to look around. Headmaster Bulla was looking around the room, watching as the older students who were left standing took their places at the appropriate tables.

Soon a bubbling cauldron was brought out. Aeon guessed that he would have to drink it. He shuddered at the thought. Most of the stuff he drank that was bubbling never really tasted so delicious. Aeon waited in line as the students each got a little bit of potion and drank it. When he got to the front he was handed some potion. He looked it over and with one final intake, downed the little bit he got in one go.

It wasn't too bad. At least he hadn't gagged in front of the whole school. That would have been embarrassing, but being a first year, he had a slight feeling he was going to be one of the runts of the school for a long time. By the time he was done contemplating the horrible 'what ifs' that ran through his head, he had barely even noticed that his entire being was now a muddy brown.

"Pecari..." he whispered to himself.

He brought his hand to his face and scratched it, trying to see if he could scratch the color off. No such luck. Before he could even take a second look at himself, he had been shunned over to the Pecari table. He sat down and waited for the rest of the first years to be sorted. He turned to the person next to him and smiled.

"So when does this wear off?" he said pointing to his arm, which was still a muddy brown.

0 Aeon Coure Re: Let the Opening Feast Commence! 0 Aeon Coure 0 5

Izabella Santoro and Brothers

November 11, 2008 8:44 PM

Grabbing our new Badges! by Izabella Santoro and Brothers

Bella entered Cascade Hall with her twin brothers on her toes. This would be her last year at Sonora. Her last Welcoming Feast. Her last time seeing the first years turn radical colors before hurrying to join the rest of their houses. This would be her last year in school forever. Well, she hoped forever. That really depended on whether or not she made it in the music world. It was excited to know that she was old enough to be leaving Sonora, but it was also a bit depressing. Sonora was where she made much of her memories. Her first friend. Her first roommate. Her first boyfriend. Even her first kiss happened while being here at Sonora. It was all part of growing up, she supposed. And, at least her last one she would get to see Adelita have her first one.

This year was also bound to be very different for her, not only because she was a seventh year, but also because she was the new Head Girl of Sonora. She hadn’t wanted the position. Not really. It meant more responsibility than she cared to have in her last year, but there wasn’t really much she could do about it. She was honestly surprised that she had been the one to get it though. Lexi had Prefect status already and Dalila was fun and the new Quidditch Captain now that Jake was gone. Both were in leader positions. Bella didn’t have any of that. She certainly had her own intelligence, but most people saw her as an entertainer. Which suited her just fine. She didn’t think they saw her as anything more than that. It was nice, even if it meant more responsibility.

She said farewell to her brothers and took her seat at the Aladren table waiting for her friends to join her.

………………..

Matt and Josh followed Bella into the hall and automatically stopped chitchatting in Spanish to one another. It wasn’t really as though they were discussing something of great importance that had to remain a mystery so much as out of habit. The twins had been out of sorts all summer but for different reasons. Josh had his own things to think about now that everything with Danae had been sorted out and Matt had to adjust to the fact that Josh couldn’t have fun with him anymore. Or, at least, not in the same sense as they were used to.

For awhile, Matt had been rather upset at Josh for having agreed to anything at all. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Danae, because he did. He thought that his brother and her would make a great couple. He was just upset with how it was all done. It wasn’t fair to anyone. Not really. But it wasn’t for him to comment on and Josh made sure he realized that.

The twins moved to their prospective tables and greeted those around them while waiting for the speech to begin.

The one thing that both twins had forgotten all about was that this year their class was up for Prefects. Neither of their siblings had received such titles, but Jake had been Captain and Bella had become Head Girl. Matt definitely did not want any title while at Sonora except for maybe ‘Best Looking’ that he had yet to make but Jake had won every year. Josh didn’t have a thought about it either way. Though, he did feel that being Prefect would look good for his college applications.

Both twins popped up when Josh’s name was called. Josh out of sheer surprise and Matt in completely disdain. He could not believe his brother would have such a label as Prefect. It was just so wrong. They were supposed to remain inconspicuous, not have titles where people would notice them! Matt remained in his chair gapping at his brother while Josh stood and walked up the rows to meet up with the fellow year-mates and sister.

Bella happily clapped for him as she walked up to the front and nudged him when they met up in the front before moving to stand beside Chris. Their parents were going to be quite proud of Josh when they found about his new status. But that could wait.

Josh accepted his badge with a polite nod and smile and waited patiently to be dismissed again. He was happy that he received the badge because it meant recognition of some sort, instead of being in the background all the time, but it also helped him get ahead in life. Something he wasn’t sure Matt quite understood yet.

Taking his seat, Josh clapped along with everyone else when Bella received her new badge.

Bella, who had been as happy as ever standing there watching her brother receive his badge, fidgeted slightly. She was well aware that she didn’t look the role as someone who was deserving of authority. She had her nose pierced, ripped jeans, hot pink coverse shoes, and graphic t-shirts. She also had a tattoo, but that was a recent thing and only her siblings and Chris were aware of it (and should remain that way unless Anne were to catch a glimpse of it while Bella was changing). She wasn’t anything like what Jennifer brought to the table. She wasn’t proper. She wasn’t always polite. She was honest and blunt and above all else, she was flawed. Flawed and proud of that. She was Bella and she had learned that if someone didn’t appreciate her as she was than they weren’t worth her time. But, how many of these students could look past that and see her as more? She didn’t think many could. Than again, she was voted for this spot.

Grinning at the Headmaster (and feeling far better in her current outfit than in her previous one she had been wearing around him), Bella gave him back the old badge and pinned the new one to her robes. Finally dismissed from her spot, she walked back to the table, uncertain as to whether or not Chris planned on returning to the table with her or heading to sit elsewhere. She was hungry though and needed some delicious food.

0 Izabella Santoro and Brothers Grabbing our new Badges! 0 Izabella Santoro and Brothers 0 5

Indy Choudhry

November 11, 2008 8:57 PM

Not much of a change here, huh? by Indy Choudhry

Indy could only imagine how relieved his father had been to put him on the flying wagon this morning. Not that Dev didn't love his son--as it was just the two of them, and had been since before Indy knew any better, they were very close. But Indrajit Choudhry had been incapable of talking about anything other than Sonora Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry (outside of the occasional 'what's for dinner?') for the last month and a half.

And now he was here. He tugged at the tie his father had knotted around his neck this morning--a real one!--and looked around the huge hall, fidgeting throughout the speeches. It wasn't that he didn't want to listen. Honest. He just really, really, really wanted to know what house he'd been sorted into. He'd done his reading, and he knew which one he was hoping for--

--So when he took the sorting draught, he stared anxiously at his hands, chewing his lip. After a few moments his already brown complexion--his father had brought him to the United States from India when Indy was barely an infant--deepened and muddied.

"Yes!" he cried, doing a double fist pump for joy. "Pecari!" He practically sprinted to the Pecari table and vaulted into a seat, grinning at the people around him. "Yo yo yo!" he chirped.

The boy next to him smiled in response. "So when does this wear off?" he asked.

"No idea. Not going to wear off for me!" he grinned. He imagined that he looked something like an Indian cartoon character. "I'm Indy, by the way. Indy Choudhry." He offered his fist for bumping.

0 Indy Choudhry Not much of a change here, huh? 0 Indy Choudhry 0 5

Helena Layne

November 11, 2008 9:36 PM

Congratulations! by Helena Layne

Helena blinked as she moved from the darkness of the school grounds to the bright lights of the lobby with her brother, trying to clear her vision of the patches suddenly floating in it. The school's interior didn't seem to have changed at all, giving the peculiar illusion that she had never really left at all. Some of the faces she expected to see were not there, but it wasn't too hard to imagine that the graduated members of the Crotalus team were just lost in the crowd of students moving toward the doors of the Cascade Hall.

Just inside those doors, she and her brother stopped. "See you," they said simultaneously, then turned on their heels and went in opposite directions, him heading for the other Aladrens, her aiming for the other Crotali.

She slipped into an open seat halfway down their table and smiled politely around at her nearest neighbors, feeling a few muscles in her shoulders relax. The overlap of voices, shoes, chairs scraping, and the waterfalls blended to make a sound that was uniquely Sonora and definitely not South Carolina, which was, for now, a good thing.

As everyone settled in, Helena kept her eyes on the staff table. The Head Boy and Girl elects had been announced at the Fair, but the prefects hadn't, and she had, literally speaking, half a chance of being selected. The thought of extra duties wasn't exactly appealing, but the idea of an honor to put on college applications was, so she'd been hoping for it all summer and still did. She was sure she'd live and prosper if she wasn't picked - she wasn't, in short, Anne - but she wanted to be.

The firsties were Sorted - she did her best to smile warmly at the new ones, though she knew it was probably in vain if they were one of those years that ran heavy to the breed of rich pureblood that saw the likes of her as maybe half of a step above half-bloods - and Bulla began his speech, which, for a change, was mostly about extracurriculars, though the new Potions professor was introduced. Helena was glad about that; Professor Hallmond had seriously scared her at times.

She sat up straight when Bulla said he was going to want a few students at the front, but deflated on the second name he called. They'd picked Josh. There was only one reason a single person from the fifth year of each House was called up with the new Head Boy and Head Girl, and it was because he or she had been selected for office. At least she would be spared daily dealings with Lila and Jordanna. When they were all confirmed as prefects, Helena clapped with all of the other Crotali for her yearmate and stamped down traces of disappointment as well as she could.

Glancing over at the Aladren table to see how they reacted to getting Paul for a prefect, she caught Geoff's eye. The seat next to him - Anne's - was empty, which made Helena a little nervous for some reason. Her brother made a face as he spread his hands in what Lena suspected was a universal gesture for What can you do? She shrugged in answer before turning back to the table as Josh rejoined it.

After Chris and Bella were cheered back to their seats and the feast begun, Helena moved down a few seats so that she was across the table from Josh. Just as well to get it out of the way now, so there were no misunderstandings or hard feelings. "Congratulations," she said, pointing to his new badge with a smile.

16 Helena Layne Congratulations! 88 Helena Layne 0 5

Irene Liddowe

November 11, 2008 9:44 PM

Commencing! [OOC inside] by Irene Liddowe

OOC: TAG: Brett, if you're not too busy I'm sure Irene wouldn't mind having you around ;) Anyone feel free to reply. Two is nice, but more less isn't always more!

BIC:

Irene loved, loved, loved summers. Especially this one. The town down the street was always nice to visit, but she had never actually spent that much time there, just enough to know the faces, places, and names. This summer though, Uncle Mike had treated her to a "Night on the Town" for her birthday (which was in May, but he always felt bad for missing it). They had gone out to eat, gone to the beach, and then stopped by Cosmica, the arcade, to allow Irene to perfect her Tetris score. She felt horrible for even putting thought behind it, after all, Brett was awesome and she couldn't ask for someone better, but she swore the boy behind the counter was looking in her general direction. They had talked, a little, but nothing that would imply anything beyond aquaintences. He probably didn't even remember her name.

The rest of the summer carried on with ensuing entertainment, swims in the pond, Quidditch training (with a wet twist... water balloons as Quaffles), and maybe fitting in a little soccer here and there. She was going to be better at the scrimmages this year as long as she could help it. On a more serious note, Dad wasn't handeling withdrawl very well. He had told her about the shivers he got sometimes where he just couldn't stop shaking. He told her about how sometimes he thought his head was going to explode. Dad had gone to the doctor (on her advice) because he couldn't keep any food that wasn't liquid down. Irene let out a sigh as the thoughts crossed her mind. Fourteen was too young for this stuff.

But hey, she was a Fourth Year now! The signifigance of this hit Irene as she walked into Cascade Hall, her brown hair tossed over her shoulders, having grown much more over the summer. She had even grown an inch or two, but Aunt Claera assured her that was due to "growing up" and "girl stuff." That may have been one of the most awakward conversations of her life... On a plus, that talk had resulted in Aunt Claera gifting her a stick of brown eyeliner ("Nothing too dark, your eyes are too pretty to be hidden."), and a light pink blush. Irene wasn't too sure on what to do with the stuff. She didn't have a close relationship with her roommates to figure the stuff out with either. Irene sat down at the Pecari table, grinning around at the familiar faces and waving at missed friends. She craned her neck around for Brett before turning to the Headmaster.

"...Miss Elly Eriksson of Pecari..."

"Elly?" Irene repeated as she tuned in to the speech. A grin spread over her face as she watched the head of red hair walk to the front. "Woo! Go Elly!" She called to the girl, though she probably couldn't hear her over Saul's enthusiastic call. After a bit more babble from the Headmaster it was time for the kiddos to change their colors. She cheered as the skin tones turned to brown and made their way to the table. Finally, it was time to dig in. Irene piled on the foods: sweet potatoes, chicken, a bowl of delicious smelling soup... It wasn't until she directed her blue-green eyes up from the perfectly arranged plate that she noticed the person beside her.

"Oh, hi!" she said, smiling warmly, "Starving, you know?"

0 Irene Liddowe Commencing! [OOC inside] 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Miles Turner

November 11, 2008 10:30 PM

At the Crotalus table... by Miles Turner

You gotta be kidding.

It was the phrase of the summer. And just like that song that you hear over and over again on the radio until you think you might lose it if you hear it one more time, Miles was sick and tired of this phrase. It had all started a couple months ago when a strange man in a dress showed up at the door and told him and his mom that Miles was a wizard, and as a wizard he could perform magic tricks with a stick of wood, and everything would change from here on out. But he was just a kid from South Central, L.A. It was unreal.

You gotta be kidding.

Miles said this to himself.

Then the social worker began to come around, and this lady was like no one from earth he'd ever met. She couldn't figure out the old creaky elevator to his family's apartment, yet she was supposed to help Miles become prepared for Sonora. Her name was something strange that he couldn't pronounce but it sounded like it might have been Latin. He just called her ma'am, much to her amusement. She took him to places where wizards and witches go. And then there were the new robes, the cauldrons, the wand shopping, the quills and parchment, the weird creatures - or maybe they were people - that hung around all these places.

You gotta be kidding.

The phrase beat at Miles at every turn. Nothing was real.

Finally, the summer drew to a close, and here he was at the final destination. Flying wagons, talking portraits, waterfalls indoors, and hoards of other wizards like him filled his arrival to this point. And then there was that "test of fire" or more like the bubbly junk that no one in their right mind would ever drink. It didn't look safe and really reminded Miles of a cleaning product his mom occasionally used.

You gotta be kidding!

He thought the phrase again, this time with added emphasis as he saw each of the first year students drink the liquid and almost immediately change color. Did these people have any common sense? Miles just didn't understand why they would go to these ends to split the school up.

But then came his turn. The phrase circulated his inner thoughts becoming louder and louder as he approached the goblet. It was telling him this was a really bad idea but...everyone was watching him. So, he closed his eyes, pinched his nose, and took a swig before the phrase could stop him. And he was...red.

Miles walked over to the Crotalus table, shoulders slumped as though sulking. He was feeling kind of sick after drinking that potion. And there was a weird taste in his mouth. So, the Headmaster's speech went on with him looking rather ill and uncomfortable. This had been enough for one day. The appearance of food didn't help matters much either.

"You gotta be kidding," Miles mumbled to no one in particular while looking around at the food with a rather sickly expression on his face. Pushing his plate out of the way, he lay his down on the table and watched the person next to him dig into their meal.

0 Miles Turner At the Crotalus table... 0 Miles Turner 0 5

Deepa Rajaram

November 11, 2008 11:12 PM

...Making conversation? by Deepa Rajaram

By the time Deepa reached Sonora Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she was exhausted. Her uncle in Agra had offered to Side-Along Apparate her from her home in India to the school, but her mother had been too anxious about any possible splinching accidents. Every other manner of travel had been shot down with equal terror on her mother's part until her grandparents had suggested a long series of short Floo trips. From Agra to Lahore, Lahore to Kabul, and then to Tehran, Tbilisi, Bucharest, Belgrade, Vienna, Paris, Dublin, Reykjavik, and then across into North America, where Deepa and her uncle bounced through exotic places she'd only heard of in textbooks, like 'Maine' and 'Ohio.'

So, by the time she'd gotten to Phoenix, Arizona (what a romantic name!), she was worn out. Her body clock was turned topsy turvy until her uncle gave her a potion to alleviate the time-traveling effects. He'd kissed her forehead, made sure she had everything, and sent her on the last Floo trip on her own.

And now here she was in Sonora. Why had it been necessary to send her to school half way around the globe? She glanced at the other students around her--so many of them older, and all with unfamiliar looks--and had a sudden desire to summon her uncle back. She felt so out of place in her salwar kameez, and for a moment, when she accepted her draught, thought she might have forgotten English, despite having grown up speaking it as well as Hindi. "Thank you," she whispered at last, and hurried away to down the concoction.

She pinched her nose, swallowed, and waited, holding her hands out in front of her. As she watched, her warm skin tone blossomed over with a deep red; she sighed with relief. Red was an auspicious color.

She inspected her ruby fingernails and took a deep breath, forcing a small smile onto her face. She smoothed her hands over her traditional Indian garb--a lovely shade of golden-orange, her favorite, which happened to compliment her crimson hue beautifully--and made her way to the table she recognized as belonging to the Crotalus house.

She glanced at the food warily; most of it was unfamiliar, and she wasn't sure what had meat in it. Her religion, of course, dictated vegetarianism.

As she picked at some sort of long, green vegetable, she heard the boy beside her mutter something. She looked up in time to see him shove his plate aside and put his head down on the table. She hesitated for a moment before laying her fork down and touching one small hand to his shoulder.

"Excuse me," she lilted, her voice flavored with an Indian accent. "Are... you well?"

0 Deepa Rajaram ...Making conversation? 0 Deepa Rajaram 0 5

Aeon Coure

November 12, 2008 6:19 AM

I'm not exactly sure. by Aeon Coure

Aeon was slightly taken aback at the energy the boy was emoting. He had to believe, that even with his outgoing spirit, he had never been this energetic before. But the flare the boy had was entertaining and he seemed nice enough.

"No idea. Not going to wear off for me!" he grinned. "I'm Indy, by the way. Indy Choudhry." He offered his fist for bumping.

Aeon hadn't really a clue what to do when the boy stuck his fist out. His friends from home had never really done it. He stared at Indy's hand before closing his in a fist and bumping Indy's knuckles. He smiled and looked up.

"Hey. I'm Aeon Coure. Pecari obviously. Uh, I'd tell you about the technical background of my family and how i got to Sonora, but honestly, every time I tell it, even I fall asleep. So...yeah, I'll save it for some other time." He said as he looked over at the Headmaster quickly. He was handing out badges to certain students and every occasion, someone would cat-call the student’s name.

The headmaster talked about the students who were now prefect and head-boy and girl and then, he started the feast. Mounds of food pounded up on the table. Aeon looked over the food. There were potatoes of every kind, juices and milks, green veggie’s, and finally an assortment of meats that looked delicious. He reached over for a bowl of mashed potatoes and scooped some onto his plate and looked around again. There was a bowl of green bean casserole about a foot away from Indy’s right hand, and a plate of pork chops two feet away from the person’s hand sitting on his other side.

“Hey Indy, can you hand me that bowl of casserole??” he asked.

He then turned to the person next to him and smiled.

“Hello. Could you hand me the plate of chops?” he asked smiling. “By the way, I’m Aeon.”

Aeon sat in his seat content with all the people he was meeting. He couldn’t believe the year could get of to a better start than this.

“So what are you guys most excited about this year?” he asked excitedly, hoping to get a responding question of the same sort. He had been thinking about what he was looking forward to most since he first got his acceptance letter.
\r\n\r\n

0 Aeon Coure I'm not exactly sure. 0 Aeon Coure 0 5

Elly Eriksson

November 12, 2008 9:35 AM

grins Hey Saul by Elly Eriksson

Incredibly excited to be back at school (which under normal circumstances would be peculiar, but an exception could be made for Sonora), Elly was even more bouncy than usual, if that were possible. She'd started the day neat and pristine, but that had been a wagon ride and a portkey ago. Her uniform robes weren't quite so neat as they could be and her hair, not having been tied back, was now trying to take over, but she certainly looked a great deal more composed than usual. Though as her peers would agree, that wasn't too difficult.

Excited about classes, food, sharing a room with the other Pecari fifth year girls, being a fifth year and her birthday next week, Elly bounded into the Hall and sat fidgeting at the Pecari table. There was something she really wanted to tell Meredith, but she knew it would have to wait until after the feast, when they were back in their dorm room, anyway. So instead Elly amused herself by watching the new first years. She couldn't believe quite how small they were. Surely she'd never been that small? Elly positively towered over them, now. Even the tall ones.

Eventually the Headmaster started talking. There was some vague interest in his speech this year because prefects woul be picked from out of Elly's year. All ears, she grimaced as Paul's name was called - she had difficulty liking him seeing as he seemed to hate her so much - and grinned for Josh, and then almost fell off her chair as her own name was called. Elly didn't even hear who was called from Teppenpaw as she stumbled over her own feet in her short journey to the front of the room. Last year when Saul had been called prefect Elly had though the staff were mad; now she knew if for sure. Absolutely everyone else in Pecari would have made a better prefect than her.

Taking her badge, Elly tried not to grin too widely at the commotion her friends were making in her honour. She grinned at the other prefects (aha! Eaven) before heading back to her seat. "Snap," she laughed, pinning her badge onto her robe and grinning at Saul. "They must be mad," she voiced her thoughts aloud.

0 Elly Eriksson *grins* Hey Saul 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Oliver Abbott

November 12, 2008 10:43 AM

Here we go again by Oliver Abbott

Oliver was a nervous wreck by the time he got off the wagon. He still thought Charlotte coming to Sonora was the right thing, but he hadn't anticipated it would cause him so much stress. For a start, he began to worry that maybe his sister had inherited their parents' poor magical ability, which Oliver had somehow managed to escape. She might fail all her classes, be teased, and hate him forever for recommending Sonora to her. She might join the Quidditch team and get seriously hurt. She might date the entire male population - to be honest, that was concerning Oliver most right now. Charlie had broken up with her most recent boyfriend just two days ago, and seemed eager to replace him. Oliver had tried to talk her out of it on the wagon journey, encouraged her to maybe spend time on her studies, instead. To his dismay, his sister merely turned the conversation round to Oliver's love life, or lack thereof - a conversation his sister had enforced many times and was guaranteed to make Oliver clamp his mouth shut for the duration of their time together.

Finally in the Hall, Oliver felt he could breathe more freely. There were a whole bunch of first years, all of them as likely to screw up as each other. He really ought not to worry. Taking a seat, Oliver cast his gaze around the Hall, looking for one girl in particular. He was going to ask Hannah out this year. The very worst that could happen was that she would say no, and at least then Oliver could forget about her. Well, he could try, anyway. Hannah wasn't exactly the sort of person one could just forget about about.She was beautiful and smart and - Oliver's attention was suddenyl brought back as the first years began taking their potions. He sent Charlie a thumbs up signal as she took a swig.

In the couple of seconds it took for her to change color Oliver held his breath. Then let it out in a relieved sigh. He watched his sister join other Crotalus first years not far away, and continued to watch her throughout the Headmaster's speech. Finally the food arrived - always the best part of coming back to school - and Oliver began helping himself to pie and potatoes. "Could you pass the salt?" he asked the person seated next to him.

0 Oliver Abbott Here we go again 99 Oliver Abbott 0 5

Charlotte Abbott

November 12, 2008 10:58 AM

The stuff dreams are made of by Charlotte Abbott

There was no reason for Julian to have sulked all morning, especially as it was the last time Charlie was going to see him until almost Christmas. Her oldest brother did finally relent and give her a hug goodbye, but then he slammed his door and didn't come out again. His own stupid fault, Charlie knew, and she was determined not to let it bother he on her first day at school. She was also determined to find out as much about the school as she could before she got there. She spent the whole wagon ride - which was a groovy new experience - asking her other brother, Oliver, questions about life at Sonora. He mostly refused to answer them, but Charlie was far too excited to really care.

As she gathered with the other first years in the Hall, Charlotte gazed open-mouthed around her. The Hall was so beautiful with its waterfalls and chandeliers. This was amazing; she never could have even dreamt of a school being this fabulous.

As entralled as she was by being in a magic school, Charlie didn't hesitate to drink when a liquid was passed to her. With only a cursory glance at her brother, she drank the bubbling potion and stood awkwardly for a short while. Only when she saw others changing color did Charlie look to her own skin. She was delighted to discover it had turned red, placing her in Croatlus - Oliver's house. She emitted a short squeak of excitement before joining other Crotalus first years at a table.

"Oh my gosh I'm so excited!" Charlie had to sit on her hands until the Headmaster finished talking to stop herself from fidgeting. At long last food came - well, it miraculously appeared on the table in front of her, which was even better. "I love this magic stuff," Charlotte exclaimed excitedly, helping herself to lasagne.

0 Charlotte Abbott The stuff dreams are made of 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Saul Pierce

November 12, 2008 11:20 AM

beams Hey Elly. by Saul Pierce

Saul's eyes were bright as he applauded and cheered Elly's returned to their table. At her assertion that the staff were mad, he had no other option but to keep grinning and nod in absolute agreement. "You know? That exact same thought occurred to me last year," he confided with a tap on his own Prefect badge.

He leaned over and spoke in a stage whisper that did nothing to actually decrease its ability to be heard, "I think they accidentally mixed up the Class Clown page in the yearbook with the Pecari nominations." He sat back and his voice returned to its normal volume, "I mean, that makes the more sense then them picking us, right?"

His eyes sparkled as a sudden thought occurred to him, and this time he really did lower his volume, though not by much. His grin, though already prominent, strengthened. "So, are you gonna have to give yourself a detention when you do your prank this year, or do you think you won't catch yourself? I mean, you're pretty sneaky. I was sitting two seats away and I completely missed the potato thing, right?"

By the way he was only barely able to restrain himself from a nudge and a wink, this 'oversight' was clearly an outright lie. In fact, it hadn't even occurred to him until this moment that maybe his status as a prefect meant he should have done something other than applaud the dancing and singing tubers and make a stage out of plates and celery for them to perform on. He couldn't imagine what that other action should have been though - the potatoes were entertaining and harmless - so he figured what he had and hadn't done was the best option.

He leaned in closer. "Dude, next year, if Irene or Brett or Jae get Prefect," and Saul couldn't really see it going to Cissy, or even Talen, but then, neither had he expected it to go to himself or Elly, "we'll have a Prefect sweep in Pecari. I have a bet. I'll wager a cheese pizza," because Elly was vegetarian, otherwise it would have been pepperoni, "that whoever wins the Pecari Prefect next year, will also be a Class Clown in the yearbook this year." Granted, Irene hadn't held the honor yet, but Jae and Brett both had, and Saul had faith Irene could snatch the title from Talitha. Talitha wasn't even a Pecari, and she didn't hang around Elly and Saul.

If Elly and Saul were any indication, Saul would put his money on Brett, since he was Class Clown for the last two years running. He also had the whole Editor-in-chief of the newspaper thing going for him, too. That had to impress teacher-types.

1 Saul Pierce *beams* Hey Elly. 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Eun Ae

November 12, 2008 2:19 PM

Then the blue serves as a convenient camouflage presently? by Eun Ae

Eun Ae's lips twitched over the name stumble. It was a pretty universal stumble, unless you were Korean, grew up with Koreans, or watched excessive amounts of Korean television. "You can call me Euna, if it's easier." The nickname came from when Min Ae was still a toddler and unable to manage her name; the normal yoon-eh-ah devolving into a simpler yoona.

"Hollywood?!" She exclaimed and then quickly lowered her voice, her cheeks warming in embarrassment. "Sorry. It's just, I always kind of thought Hollywood was a place that movie stars worked at. I didn't think it was actually a place regular people could live."

"Eh? Muggleborn?" she repeated a moment later, her tone quizzical. She could only vaguely place the term, a small detail read earlier in the summer rising to the surface of her thoughts. "You mean, like someone without magic in their family?"

She supposed, technically, her family was without magic. If it wasn't for her brother being a wizard as well, she'd have categorized herself in the same boat. As it was, though, there was the very strong possibility that her father might have been a wizard. She had thought him deceased up until a year ago, when her Uncle Haneul confessed over a bottle of soju that she and and her brother had been born out of wedlock. Their father ran off shortly before Min Ae was born. The one time she had tried to ask her mother about it, she'd been sent to pray before St. Andrew for four hours. Eun Ae did not ask again.

"I'm completely green to all of this," she admitted frankly, her hands finally freeing themselves from their knot beneath the table. "My brother and I only found out this summer, but since we're not twins, I've been thinking our dad might have been a wizard. Still, though, I can hardly wrap my mind around it. I grew up reading stories with faeries and witches and magic, always wishing in the back of my head that it was true but then knowing it wasn't. So finding out it really all is true, I just-" she broke off, unable to find the right sort of words to express the pure surge of happiness she felt every time she remembered that not only was magic real, but she was part of it. "I guess there's really nothing else like it, is there?"

0 Eun Ae Then the blue serves as a convenient camouflage presently? 0 Eun Ae 0 5

Cynthia Smythe

November 12, 2008 3:05 PM

So what's this place like? by Cynthia Smythe

All this messing about with her schooling was starting to make Cynthia really edgy. She’d gone to Salem Institute for two years, and then rumours about the school not meeting Council standards was sufficient for her father to haul her out and have her tutored at home for a year. Then it seemed he had changed his mind again, and wanted to try Sonora Academy instead, where several of Cynthia’s cousins already attended. So it was that Cynthia was sorted amongst the new first years, despite entering her fourth academic year. It was a truly barbaric ordeal, having to share her sorting with children three years younger, but it was over soon enough and Cynthia could join her Crotalus housemates.

Cynthia hadn’t been worried about to which House she would belong; there was no doubt she would be in Crotalus, along with her cousins Cecily and Amelia. Aladren with Lucas wouldn’t have been too bad, but Dana was even now the shameful brown of Pecari. What a disappointment.

With silent indifference, Cynthia listened to the Headmaster’s words only processing that there were far too many extra-curricular activities for students to properly concentrate on their studies, and that there was a distinct lack of decorum when prefects were being named. Otherwise she held no interest and was relieved when at last the feast could begin. She didn’t intend on eating a great deal, but she was looking forward to finding her new sleeping quarters and assessing her new roommates. They could only be an improvement on her last.

Settling into her new school life as best she could, Cynthia cast a critical gaze over the students seated with her. One was unfortunate enough to catch her eye. Not offering a smile or greeting of any sort, Cynthia maintained unblinking eye-contact as she said primly, “Could you please pass the pumpkin juice?”

0 Cynthia Smythe So what's this place like? 103 Cynthia Smythe 0 5

Cecily Smythe

November 12, 2008 3:06 PM

This can't be good by Cecily Smythe

Cecily was feeling rather apprehensive about this year. There were going to be far too many of her family within the school for her to ever properly relax, she knew it. Not only was Lucas’ little sister a terrible tell-tale, but Cynthia had started Sonora, too. That just wasn’t fair. Lucas was a quiet sort, so Cecily could ignore him most of the time, but Cynthia was far too outspoken. She couldn’t be ignored. Besides, Cecily spent most of her holidays trying to stop Milly and Cynthia from killing each other. Somehow she feared this pastime might transfer to school. At least those two weren’t likely to spend much time in class with each other but, as had been predicted, they would all three of them be in the same house.

She was determined not to let it bother her, but family coupled with warring roommates wasn’t going to be fun. Despite Laurie’s pleading in the yearbook, Cecily couldn’t imagine that she and Anabel were going to see eye-to-eye for very long with Renaye.

Lost in thoughts, Cecily didn’t really notice where she sat in the Hall. Even when the food arrived, she didn’t feel inspired to take any. Instead she stared without seeing at a spot on the table top. “Better stuck with them here than at home, I suppose,” she said aloud. Her voice didn’t hold its usual enthusiasm, and it took her a short while to realise someone had replied to her musing. “Pardon?” she said, not having registered the initial utterance.

0 Cecily Smythe This can't be good 122 Cecily Smythe 0 5

Amelia Smythe

November 12, 2008 3:07 PM

I am my own person by Amelia Smythe

Hair freshly highlighted, eyelashes recently curled, Amelia bounced into the Cascade Hall with an elegant smile and bounding gait. She couldn’t be more pleased to be off that wagon, all the more delighted to not be in first year any more. She was second year now, which meant there was a whole year full of younger students that she could boss around. Phenomenal.

Seating herself comfortably in an available chair, Amelia took to admiring her nails, twirling the ends of thick strands of hair between her fingers, and humming odd bars to herself while she waited for all the dull formalities of the start of the year to get out of her way. There were very few announcements that truly concerned Amelia, although she might attend some of the clubs for newspaper article writing purposes, and she would have to be involved with the concert in some way for similar reasons. Plus if she got a focal role in the concert she would be noticed by practically every student in the school. That could definitely work to her advantage.

After what felt like an eternity, the food finally materialized and Amelia wasted no time in helping herself to any number of the available dishes. While she was at home her mother kept her on a strict diet so she didn’t end up ‘as round as her Aunt Marjorie.’ Milly knew she wasn’t fat; true enough she had more curves than some girls but she certainly didn’t mind the extra weight she was carrying. She’d rather be plump than a stick like Cecily, anyway.

With her plate piled high and a few mouthfuls swallowed, Amelia found time for conversation. “So are you going to take part in this concert thing?” she said cheerfully to whoever would listen.

0 Amelia Smythe I am my own person 121 Amelia Smythe 0 5

Mike Song

November 12, 2008 3:25 PM

Title change! Chaa! (Translation: three's a party!) by Mike Song

Mike Song dug into the tuck like any healthy, self-respecting, boy of his age would when presented with a wide assortment of meats, sides, and other such things. He was also very happy by the complete and utter lack of rice. He couldn't remember that last supper he'd sat down to that didn't include ten buckets of rice. He was totally okay with being Korean and his family being Korean and all, but still. They lived in America for pete's sake! Couldn't they eat like it?

When his first half a plate was polished down- something he managed in an indecent amount of time- he reached for the platter holding a pile of steaming pork chops. Not pig intestines boiled and then grilled. Not pig fat melted down and then worked into a roll. Just good old fashioned pork chops. First magic, then boarding school, and now a satisfied stomach- Sonora Academy was getting better and better.

He was in the midst of cutting into his first bite of the pork chop when he received a request from his neighbor. A neighbor who, he just realized, was also slowly fading from a dusky brown. He swallowed hastily. "Sure."

He speared down into another bite and in between chews, returned the introduction. "I'm- chew- Mike- chew-Song." He avoided supplying his actual name as he generally hated it. It was so irritatingly matchy with his sister's. He stood up from his chair briefly to throw a greeting toward another of the Pecari first years, a boy who didn't look quite as strange with the color change as the more fair haired kids did. "Yo! I'll be your roommate for the next seven years- Mike Song here. Let's look after each other, yeah?"

Mike landed back in his chair with a dull thud and quickly returned back to the task of stuffing his face. Who knew a wagon ride and some hokey potion would lead to such a massive appetite? While weighing whether he could take on another chop, he considered Aeon's question. He hadn't actually given the whole magic part of his new school due thought. He had vague, generalized plans to learn stuff, maybe make some things blow up- that whole flying thing, too.

"Actually, at the moment, I'm just looking forward to what we get for breakfast. This is so way better than my Oma's meals, no doubt." As if to accentuate his conviction, he finished his final bite of food, and then, with a prompt wipe of his mouth sans napkin, posed a quick question of his own. "So, Aeon, your name- were your parents big gamers or something?"

0 Mike Song Title change! Chaa! (Translation: three's a party!) 0 Mike Song 0 5

Daniel

November 12, 2008 4:11 PM

Although, it looks like our other house color is black. by Daniel

"Euna," Daniel repeated, relieved that he could pronounce that, at least. He made a mental note to practice saying her real name, but for now, it was good to have a name that he could use for her in the interim.

He flushed a little as she expressed her previous belief that Hollywood was populated entirely by movie stars. While that wasn't true, neither was her assumption that Danny was one of the overlooked 'normal' people that did actually reside there. He tamped down the slight disappointment that she hadn't recognized him and reminded himself that eleven year old girls weren't exactly Street Beat's target demographic. And he had hardly played a large enough role in any of Mom's movies to really get noticed.

She moved on, answering his own question about her family's background, though he'd already guessed her answer by her reaction to his home town. Her confusion over the term muggleborn only confirmed it. By the time she actually told him she was brand new to the whole magic thing, it didn't come as a surprise, though her uncertainty about her father's magical status was.

"Not really," Daniel agreed when she said there was nothing like magic. "I've had two years to get used the reality, but until Holly started going here, I never believed in anything like this. Holly was totally into all the princess stuff and magic and everything, but she never spent as much time on set as I did."

He shrugged, and added in explanation, "Normal people do live in Hollywood, but I'm not one of them. Both my parents are actors. Mom's even been up for an Academy Award twice. But when you grow up watching movies get made, you realize magic is just wires, fancy camera work, carefully executed special effects, stunt doubles, and green screens."

He waved around, indicating the whole of Sonora Academy, "This isn't possible in real time. I know. I play Nate Bealer on Street Beat. I can't even cross the road without people needing to edit it to make it look good. And this," he picked up his fork and pointed it around at the food that had appeared in front of them at the table. "There'd have to be a cut in there so the crew could bring in the food. I'm convinced magic's real now, it has to be real because not even Hollywood can fake this, but yeah, you got it right. It's just hard to wrap your mind around."

1 Daniel Although, it looks like our other house color is black. 130 Daniel 0 5

Miles

November 12, 2008 5:19 PM

And looking for sympathy by Miles

Miles lifted his head slowly. It felt like it weighed a ton. And it would be only moments before it came crashing down again, leaving him stuck to the table. At least that's how he felt.

He looked over at the girl who he had previously watched eating. She was different. She was a girl but Indian, he thought, and there weren't too many of them back home. At least he thought she was Indian. Unless that bubbly drink they all took resulted in some freaky stuff. But no, his brown skin turned red and they told him to sit at this table. She must have been red too. Miles couldn't remember, and he failed to notice what was going on while wallowing in his own nausea. Speaking of which, was he OK?

"No," he answered truthfully in more of a grunt than true English. If his mom were here she'd knock him silly for trying to soak up sympathy, but she wasn't and he didn't feel well. Miles wasn't really sure if he was sick because of the potion or because of all this...unknown territory around him. Either way he wasn't feeling much like sucking it up. And he was more inclined to blame it on the potion.

He sat up straight with another grunt as though it took every last ounce of strength he had.

"What do you think they put in that stuff we had to drink, anyway?" he asked the girl, almost immediately fearing the answer. The one school book he had involving the use of a cauldron or pot or whatever that was didn't appease his nauseous stomach in the slightest.

"Do you think they used bugs?" he asked with a grimace, remembering glancing at the one too many diagrams where an odd assortment of creatures was involved. Maybe he didn't want to know what they just drank after all. Maybe it was best left unknown.

0 Miles And looking for sympathy 0 Miles 0 5

Pippa Brockert

November 12, 2008 5:54 PM

Me too. by Pippa Brockert

Pippa was filled with a sort of nervous excitement about being at Sonora. It had always been expected that she would attend like her elder sister Melora and her cousin Angus had and all of her distant cousins had or did or would and that her sister Tawny surely would next year. Going to school and being sorted was a major milestone in the life of a young pureblood witch or wizard but despite her background, Pippa wasn't really sure what to expect. What house would she be in? What would the classes and teachers be like? The staff had certainly changed since her parents or even Melora or Angus had been in school here. More importantly, Pippa wondered whether or not she'd make friends and get along with her roommates. She would personally try her best but there was always that possibility that they would not like her.

Furthermore, even though she hadn't been gone very long, Pippa was already a bit homesick. She was very close to both of her parents and had never been on her own before. Before she had left, her father assured her that she wouldn't really be and that there would be plenty of relatives there including a third cousin. Actually, though, Pippa and said third cousin, a boy named Quentin whom she'd met very few times in her life, were the two oldest of a continuous stream of her great-great-grandparents' descendents or something. It was actually all a bit confusing for her. There were supposedly some older and distant cousins here too, but Pippa didn't really know them either.

Her parents had also assured her that she would make plenty of friends besides the relatives and that she would do wonderful in her classes. Her parents always had such confidence in her. Pippa was their "Good Girl",the one who never caused a bit of trouble. It was a fact that seemed to irk Tawny and make her highly jealous. Pippa had been the target of many of Tawny's explosive tantrums and had a few scars to prove it. Still, she loved her sister and even missed her a little, though she probably wasn't going to miss ducking under things or running to a different room to protect herself from Tawny's outburts.

She took a deep breath and approached the potions, taking one when she reached them. Pippa drank it and flushed a brilliant shade of yellow. Teppenpaw. This was what had been predicted by her relatives. They didn't even bother to place bets on it.

Pippa took a seat next to some lanky boy and listened politely to the rest of the speech. There would be time to make friends afterwards, while she ate. She wasn't going to be rude while the headmaster was speaking. There was an announcement of prefects and Head Boy and Girl but none of the names meant anything to Pippa really. The clubs were a bit more interesting, they'd be a good way to make friends. Quidditch and soccer didn't appeal to her in the least but maybe the others, even though neither writing nor charms was really her passion. Pippa's passion was for arts and crafts. She enjoyed all sorts of them from jewelry making and beading to sewing and making dolls and stuffed animals and pillows. She had made quite a few for herself.

A voice broke through her thoughts,

“This place is great,” he said to no one in particular, “Magic, and lots of food, and clubs too, it sounds so cool.”

Pippa turned to see that the lanky boy had spoken. Butterflies fluttered nervously in her stomach. She hadn't really spent much time around males her own age and didn't exactly know how to communicate with them. Pippa took another deep breath and responded. "It is pretty neat." She agreed. "Um, I'm Pippa Brockert."

11 Pippa Brockert Me too. 132 Pippa Brockert 0 5

Meredith Lail

November 12, 2008 5:57 PM

And hello Dolly! by Meredith Lail

Mere's summer had been something of an eventful one. She had pushed herself a little harder than she anticipated she would with rekindling her passion for both Quidditch and gymnastics. Not that she was particularly happy to see the Captains Craven go, but the beater spots were available again and it was still her most loved and best played position. She also missed working with Ms. Laura last year and was determined to get back into the second thing she truly loved.

She had noticed something while playing Quidditch that she didn't let bother her at the time because she figured it was just from her lack of tough practice on herself after so long, but she was pretty sure she wasn't aiming her best. She had always been a poorer shot on her right side and she did work her left side back to something of its former glory, but it wasn't how she remembered it. More training would straighten that up though. No problem. And she had enough of being sad.

When the bubbly fifteen year-old returned to Sonora to begin her fifth year, she was as cheerful as any previous year, excluding last of course. She entered the always beautiful Cascade Hall and looked around for her friends. Elly was always easy to spot, a head higher than the rest of them and easily seen red hair, but before she could reach her, she snagged a seat quickly as the first years were brought in. She wouldn't have been late entering Cascade Hall if Pence hadn't put up such a fight for no reason. Suddenly he was offended by the new room or something. Why couldn't he just behave like Dot, the puffskein who shared a cage with the mouse. She mostly slept or purred in a corner or on Pence's back.

Mere applauded the first years, grinning profusely if she caught any new Pecaris's eye. Then out of courtesy that had been instilled in her over the course of a summer two years ago, Mere remained where she was for the Headmaster's speech. She applauded the names of the new Prefects, completely forgetting that it was her year's turn to have students picked, and almost missed the fact that Elly's name had been called. She gaped in pleasant surprise before cheering loudly along with the other loud shouts for the newest Pecari Prefect.

"Way to go Elly!" She ignored any stares as she got up and clapped while cheering. Clearly the manners hadn't fully taken over. When the Headmaster finished his speech and the food appeared, Mere glanced at the firsties once more, giggling at their reactions to the potions and then grabbed a carrot stick before making her way over to where Elly was sitting with Saul. She draped her arms over their shoulders with a grin.

"Hi guys. Oh wait," she pretended to pause in serious contemplation. "I hope I'm not interrupting a Prefect conference," she winked and laughed. She took a seat on Elly's other side and eyed the two of them jokingly. "The staff must be crazy."

0 Meredith Lail And hello Dolly! 0 Meredith Lail 0 5

Elly

November 12, 2008 6:41 PM

... Who is Dolly? by Elly

Elly thought it might be disheartening to let Saul know she had thought the staff were mad last year, too, so she kept that to herself. Though as Saul continued on about mixing up Class Clown nominations with prefect nominations, and whether Elly should give herself a detention for her own pranks, she couldn't help as the laughter increased and her eyes began to swim with tears of mirth.

"We'd have to put ourselves in permanent detention," she said through her laughter. "Taking food from kitchens, walking round after hours, coaxing portraits into revealling secret passageways, never mind the pranks!" She really was the worse choice for prefect. There was no way she would use her new powers for good - she'd be evil all the way.

"You reckon?" The bet sounded fair if Saul was right about Class Clown being prefect two years in a row, and Elly had no reason to doubt him. "So basically, all we've got to do is choose who want to be prefect, then use our influential powers to get everyone to vote them clown?" she joked with a smile. "Or is that not how it works?"

Elly was saved from pondering this conundrum by Meredith's timely arrival. Elly grinned at her and gave her an awkward sort of backwards hug. She'd jsut started to recompose herself when Meredith repeated their earleir sentiments about the staff and Elly burst into fresh peals of laughter. Yes, she was setting a terrific example.

0 Elly ... Who is Dolly? 0 Elly 0 5

Nathaniel

November 12, 2008 7:08 PM

We can make our own club! by Nathaniel

Nathaniel drew his eyes to another yellow girl, who actually appeared to be less yellow than he. Wait, no, Nathaniel checked his own arm once more and saw the color fading on him too, unfortunate, he had wanted to keep the color for a little longer to take a picture, though he remembered that might not exactly work out. Star had read him the rules about “Muggle equipment” and the boy guessed that meant even his Polaroid camera. Not that it would even hurt him to try, so he thought.

He might be able to figure that out later, Nathaniel could probably also find some way to turn yellow again. His mother would love that, and it would be a wonderful trick to bring home. Lucy would be amused as well, the girl still very young but so interested in so many different things that she’d be in such an awe if Nathaniel came home with yellow skin. Or blue, or red, or brown to think of it. Looking at the small, blonde girl who seemed to be afraid he was going to bite or something Nathaniel frowned slightly.

Did he look scary? He didn’t think he had a very frightening appearance, though the people he knew could just be very used to his looks. Knowing that his hair was almost to his shoulders he didn’t believe that was the problem, the colorful button up shirt shouldn’t have been frightening to anyone either. He smiled at her, and nodded, ignoring his food for the time being. “I’m Nathaniel Leon, you were yellow too?” he said, pointing to the girl’s fading skin tone.

“That means we’re in the same house, right, Pippa?” The boy was still obviously starstruck by the whole idea of magic, and easily slipped in the girl’s name finding that addressing someone was supposed to make him or her more comfortable in conversation. Quickly, he picked pieces of his salad (ranch dressing and croutons were there too) and bit into it, hungry having not eaten for a few hours. Making sure he chewed and swallowed first, Nathaniel was able to address Pippa again.

He was curious, having been told that he was one of the rare magical types that come from “non-magical families” (his mother had ‘hmphed’ at that one). There were people who were just coming here that knew about this their entire lives; Nathaniel took it as that at least. “Its really hard to wrap my mind around, er sort of. Actually its easy too, I always liked thinking there was magic out there.” Dazed. Maybe that was the correct word to describe Nathaniel, “What about you, Pippa?” he asked, wishing to make her more comfortable next to him and not blabber on about himself.

0 Nathaniel We can make our own club! 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Adelita Garcia

November 12, 2008 7:25 PM

What's that? Food? or Magic? by Adelita Garcia

Adelita Garcia was excited about being at Sonora. She was excited about starting her new adventure away from home. She had an advantage that some probably never believed a person could have, but she wouldn't let in on it for awhile if she could help it. It was hard enough knowing that she would never be in school on her own. Tia Izzy and her Tios would be here her first couple of years and then her sister would be here to finish off the last of her years. She would always have family at school with her. But, that was why she was going to try her hardest to make a name for herself without people knowing who she was related to.

Especially since her Tia was just made Head Girl and her Tio a Prefect. It also didn't help that Tio Jake, who had graduated the year before, had been a Quidditch Captain and apparently quite popular. She had a lot to look up to, but it also meant that she had a lot working against her. If she wanted to step out of the shadows of her Santoro side, she would really have to step up her Garcia side. And she planned to do exactly that.

Having already turned a lovely shade of red and taking a seat at the Crotalus table, Adelita was doing her very best to look as though this was an every day thing for her to take part in. But, the truth was, she was nervous. Petrified even. Adelita wasn’t so sure she could make friends here. Or enjoy being a roommate with other girls. It wasn’t to say that she didn’t know how to make friends, she had plenty of friends back home, but she wasn’t sure if she could find common ground.

At home, her friends and her all danced. They had been dancing together since they were four. Dance was what they relied on. And play groups came as a result of dance. But Sonora was different. She didn’t know what these other girls liked to do and she wasn’t sure what she would say to any of them. Plus, she had never shared a room before. When Jorge was born, her mom threatened to put Dulce in Adelita’s room, but after Adelita had a ‘talk’ with them, they turned their old den into another bedroom. It was best for all. But now that she was at school, she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

As soon as the feast was produced, Adelita took a deep breath. The awkward beginning part was over, now to try to make some awkward small talk. If all else failed, she could give up trying to be cool and go sit with her Tio. To her astonishment, a girl beside her spoke up, almost startling Adelita and ruining her composure. Quickly running a hand down her braided pigtails, Adelita looked at the girl. “Have you never had magic before?” Adelita asked her, genuinely intrigued. She knew halfbloods and purebloods, and her father’s mother was a muggleborn, but that was the extent to which she knew about them. “I don’t know what life would be like without magic.” Adelita commented lightly while she slowly picked out some food to eat.

6 Adelita Garcia What's that? Food? or Magic? 136 Adelita Garcia 0 5

Nathaniel

November 12, 2008 7:31 PM

... I totally just answered myself instead of you by Nathaniel

0 Nathaniel ... I totally just answered myself instead of you 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Josiah

November 12, 2008 8:53 PM

Choking, Being "rescued" and spilling water on myself by Josiah

Josiah sulked the whole wagon ride to Sonora. He had had another ball in his honor over the summer and it all went horridly wrong. Not only was his new betrothed such a bother with the most hideous red hair. His new fiancée’s sister informed him that the color of red resembled Ariel from some muggle mermaid movie made by some group called Disney. Josiah didn’t know about muggle children movies, nor did he care. All he knew was that the girl he really wanted wasn’t available to him anymore. It sucked, quite frankly. Josiah didn’t even know why, as young as he was, he needed a fiancée anyways. It was just plain ridiculous.

As were the balls! He was a guy! Perhaps his “princess” loved them, but he didn’t like them at all. Yuck! Wearing those suits and making his usually unkempt flaming orange hair tidy was just plain annoying. He hated it.

On the plus side, his parents still didn’t know that he was playing Quidditch and his cousin Lexi still hadn’t told them. Actually, Lexi was being… well nice. Which was odd. Usually, if he and Lexi were in the same room together, they would start to fight. In fact, that’s exactly how they got a detention last year. At the ball over the summer, Lexi even fetched him a fresh cup of punch. Josiah didn’t drink it, however. He was afraid that it was poisoned.

So, after the long, somewhat painful wagon ride barely cushioned by a poorly performed cushioning charm, Josiah was glad to make his way into the Cascade Hall. He couldn’t wait to chow down on all the food offered at Sonora. Or, as much as his growing teenage lanky body could eat. He couldn’t believe how old he had gotten. He was halfway to turning 16 already. Okay, maybe a fourth of the way was a closer number, but still. Even if Josiah wasn’t a girl, it couldn’t be denied that he was getting pretty old. He couldn’t wait until he was a seventh year, and 18 years old!

He grabbed his usual spot, nodding to a few of his friends. He needed to branch out, and widen his social net. He looked down with a slight frown at all the empty plates. Why couldn’t they sort the firsties after they could eat? Josiah was a growing boy! He needed all the food he could get! A snarl from his gut seconded his thoughts.

Headmaster Bulla began to speak, welcomings were spread all around. The new children turned the house colors and he hooped and hollered along with his fellow Teppenpaws. Hopefully this batch would stick around longer than some of the others. Josiah stood up as best as he could when his club was mentioned, waving an arm excitedly. He hoped to keep having a good turnout.

Josiah applauded with slightly less enthusiasm to the announcement of a new Potions master. Connell, it couldn’t be denied, was quite attractive. One less pretty woman on the staff. A pity. Coach Fox was divine, but dangerous. Kind of like a cougar. Beautiful, but if you try and flirt she’ll claw your face off. Not fun at all. Of course, Professor Powell was still rather young… or even Professor Yuma. Professor Taylor was too old, and crabby.

Josiah shook his head violently. Why in the world was he thinking about the attractiveness of professors anyways? Plenty of gals to flirt with his age! Sonora was a cornucopia of pretty girls. Albeit girls who sometimes slap him.

He tuned into Headmaster Bulla’s speech again. He whooped loudly when Elly was announced as a prefect. And then finally, finally it was time to eat. Josiah began to shovel food in his mouth in as fast a rate as humanly possible given the size of the orifice. Unfortunately, he misjudged the size of a mouthful and started coughing.

Mouth cleared, coughing controlled but not stopped, he was on his way to lift his goblet of water to his mouth when an over-enthusiastic hand started to pat him on the back. His goblet was jarred, spilling water everywhere. Josiah started to cough harder, and when he finally was able to stop he turned to his “rescuer”.

“Thanks, buddy, but CPR isn’t quite needed.” He joked. Then, thinking that it might have come off as too harsh, added with a good-natured chuckle, “But hey, don’t worry. I needed a bath right?”

0 Josiah Choking, Being "rescued" and spilling water on myself 0 Josiah 0 5

Aeon

November 12, 2008 9:29 PM

Four's a Rave. by Aeon

Aeon watched as the boy next to him chewed on half of his plate. He honestly had no idea how those other boys did it. But when the boy passed the plate of pork chops, Aeon forgot completly about his earlier thoughts and grabbed two off the plate.

He listened as the boy introduced himself between chewing his food. He was Mike Song.

"Hey." Aeon said. "This is some good food."

Aeon took one of the chops and took a bite. It was delicous. He bussied himself with eating for a few minutes before Mike delcared how they were roommates and that they should stay tight. Aeon thought about all that had happened so far and smiled. He hoped the whole year was this cool.

He looked back down at his arm to reaveal that the muddy brown was gone and his dark golden brown skin was back. He looked back up and noticed that Mike was begining to talk. Aeon thought he must think right now because his next important thing was breakfast tomorrow. Aeon chuckled outloud and finished listeneing. When the origin of his name came up, he was dumbfounded.

He had never really been asked about his name. He knew it was an odd one, but no one ever pushed it. it was his name and that's it.

"Oh. Umm. Well no. My dad w'rk'd at the Tra'e Centa and my mom w'rk'd in ta' city." He said as he tried to swallow the bite of food he just took. "I don't think they were gamers. But my mom did like watching Cristmas Movies. There was a vulture in one. His name was Aeon."

Aeon hoped to death that Mike wouldn't make fun of where he got his name. He went through it in New York and he hoped that here was different.

He took another bite of pork chops and turned back to Mike. There was a silent pause as he chewed before he swallowed and shot off another question.

"Do you have any magical siblings? I do but they're not at Sonora." he asked.

0 Aeon Four's a Rave. 0 Aeon 0 5

Professor Kijewski

November 12, 2008 10:20 PM

This is always so enjoyable by Professor Kijewski

Kiva had entered the hall shortly before any of the students were expected to arrive. Her mother was at home with Emery currently while she was here at Sonora doing her Professor duties. She had been gone from the school for most of the summer and being here now reminded her of all the reasons why she was still a teacher. The atmosphere was always so alive. It was as though the air was full of electricity caused by the excitement for a new year to begin.

She had the entire summer with Emery and she had enjoyed every moment of it, but she also missed adult interaction. She missed interacting with her students. Kiva had missed it so much that she had joined a group of moms who got together once a week with their babies to chat while the babies interacted together. Twice a week, Kiva took Emery to the park just for some more social interaction. She loved being at home with him, but she loved to be around people too. Being back at Sonora would make Kiva feel immensely better and being able to go home to Emery would only bring her great joy at the end of the day.

Standing at the staff table, Kiva pondered where she was supposed to sit now. Normally, she would have sat at Manfred’s side, but Sadi was the Acting Deputy Head for the time being and so she would naturally be at his side. Although, she supposed that Kiva could just sit on the other side of him or near Simon as he was usually the one who spoke to her. Hm, it might look a bit odd if she suddenly weren’t sitting where she usually did. Not having much time to dwell on the matter, Kiva decided to sit on one of Manfred’s side but would otherwise remain in the background.

She smoothed her robes neatly against her just before taking her seat. The crowds of students were beginning to arrive along with their staff. Kiva sat back and watched the students mingle and the staff greet each other. She liked to watch them converse. Comfortable, happy, and in their elements. Summer was always a nice break from school, but no one could deny the feeling being back to Sonora always brought to a person. Even more exciting to watch, however, were the ever changing first years as they took their sips of the potion that would sort them into the homes they would reside in for the next seven years of their life.

It seemed all too soon, but Manfred began the Welcoming Feast. Kiva eyed the new Potions Master when he was introduced, hoping he was willing to take on the role that Marian had stepped down from. As bad as it was, Kiva wondered if other schools had such a turnaround for professors. Hopefully he would take the role as Potions Professor to heart and the students didn’t give him too much of a hard time as the new professor.

With everyone else, Kiva applauded the four students who were chosen to be the newest Prefects at the school and celebrated when Izabella and Christobel were awarded to more official badges as Head Girl and Boy. She was still delighted that both were from her house Just as Zack had been the year before. Aladren may have been the book house, but at least they were getting recognition for their achievements.

Soon everyone was dismissed and the feast arrived. Kiva always loved Tuppy, who had made up a salad for Kiva. Tuppy and the other Prairie Elves had always been kind to Kiva by serving her foods that were from soy products. Although she wasn’t a full out vegan (Kiva liked cheese and milk), Kiva did not eat any meat products which was a hard thing to do these days. The Prairie Elves made sure to give her food that were of the tofu nature or filled with fruits and vegetables. The best way for that was by making a salad for her.

Kiva turned her attention away from the salad and onto Manfred when he spoke to her. “He’s getting on splendidly.” Kiva answered, smiling openly to him. “He can’t quite crawl yet, but he pushes his body across the floor. I swear, once he figures out how to crawl properly or gets on his feet, I won’t be able to catch him. He just loves to move.” It was hard to believe that Emery would be five months in only a couple of weeks. Five months since that embarrassing walk with Irene and Simon had come. Everything always seemed to fly by so quickly.

“Everything alright, Manfred?” Kiva asked, giving him a concerned look.

0 Professor Kijewski This is always so enjoyable 0 Professor Kijewski 0 5

Benvolio Dramulan

November 13, 2008 11:24 AM

Joining the crowd by Benvolio Dramulan

Benvolio Dramulan stood in his spanking new green robes amidst the queue of first-years waiting to take the Sorting Potion, his mind still asking himself how he failed to notice the magic in his blood for the past decade or so of his life. As he waited for his name to be called, his thoughts wandered back to the time in kindergarten when the playground bully's school bag suddenly exploded in a cloud of purple smoke, and how his mother appeared, on numerous occasions, to be able to cook dinners large enough to feed armies in less than a half hour. Benvolio wondered how he could have conveniently ignored all these signs that blatantly pointed to something extraordinary in his family.

As the student in front of him walked up to take the Potion, nervousness built up in Benvolio's stomach as he wondered whether or not he would end up in the same house that his mother was in. When the letter from Sonora arrived, Benvolio's mother began holding sessions with him and his father in the sitting room at night (Benvolio's little brother was "too young to know about his heritage", or so his parents put it) when she would tell them about life as a member of the wizarding community. It turned out that Benvolio's father was a Muggle, and his mother would Obliviate their children whenever they accidentally witnessed her performing magic in the open. More often than not, Mr and Mrs Dramulan would happily reminisce about their past, while Benvolio sat on the couch, wondering how much more fantastic his life could turn out to be. Was he going to become a mutant next?

At least I get to skip real school for this, Benvolio thought to himself as he realised that he was next in line to drink the potion. Calming his nerves as his name was read, Benvolio strode up to the goblet that was prepared for him, lifted it to his lips and took a sip. He felt his insides churn as his platinum blond hair quivered and flashed a bright red, along with every inch of his pale skin. Thinking that the world would never be normal again, Benvolio was gestured towards the Crotalus table amidst much cheering.

Benvolio walked down the table to an empty seat beside two other students whom he recognised as fellow first-years. He settled down in the empty seat as a multitude of food appeared on the tables, and his eyes widened at the sight of the magnificent feast laid before him as he pulled his chair in. Bringing his attention back to the first-years that he was sitting with, Benvolio attempted to smoothen his now orange hair before noticing that the boy he was sitting with seemed unwell, and that the girl who was sitting beside him did not seem like a local.

"Do you think they used bugs?" Benvolio heard the boy ask as his face formed a queasy expression. Recalling some of the more funky diagrams and ingredients that he came across while perusing his textbooks with great interest in his bedroom, Benvolio began to contemplate the possibility of having just swallowed mashed insect body parts.

"I'd expect so," Benvolio replied. "Everything I've seen in our textbooks seems to involve something from animals or insects. By the way, I'm Benvolio Dramulan from San Francisco, and it's great to meet you guys here." Benvolio smiled at his fellow classmates, hoping to make as many friends as possible. \n

0 Benvolio Dramulan Joining the crowd 269 Benvolio Dramulan 0 5

Saul Pierce

November 13, 2008 11:33 AM

A sheep, right? by Saul Pierce

Saul laughed as Elly listed all the reasons why she ought to put herself in a permanent detention. He had his own share of infractions, and wondered briefly what the Headmaster's face would look like if he heard the Pecari Prefects had taken to given themselves and each other detentions for the most minor of rule bendings. He was half-tempted to take the detention just for the reaction.

But he was distracted from the thought as Elly suggested they rig the Class Clown vote to improve the chances of one of their friends getting the prefect spot. "We could try it," he suggested, but Meredith arrived at the same time and he was diverted again.

"Hey, Mere. Yeah, we were just saying the same thing," he agreed with her assessment as Elly burst into laughter again. He grinned widely around Elly to the blond girl on the girl EE's other side. "The running theory is there's some kind of mix up with the Class Clown award in the yearbook. We're thinking about picking our next prefect ourselves by rigging the Class Clown vote." He thought about it, and then amended, "Though it might be Most Talkative. I think Elly and me dominate both categories."

He grinned at them both, "I'm already planning to campaign for Head Boy. We can throw in a few posters urging people to vote for someone for Most Talkative and Class Clown."\r\n\r\n

1 Saul Pierce A sheep, right? 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Charlotte

November 13, 2008 11:36 AM

All of it! But the magic most of all. by Charlotte

Charlie's excited outbursts had caught the attention of the girl sitting next to her, who was also a Crotalus first year. That meant they would be sharing a room! Charlotte smiled at the girl and quickly swept her eyes over her, in that important initial judgement. It was wrong to form an opinion on someone so quickly, Charlie knew, but that didn't stop first impressions from occurring.

"Have you never had magic before?" the other girl was aksing. "I don’t know what life would be like without magic."

"Oh, I have seen magic before," Charlie said with her brown eyes wide. "My uncle's a wizard and he used to let us ride his brooms when we were younger." Though only until her parents found out. It was only Oliver who saw their uncle these days. "But at home we're Muggles." That much made sense to Charlotte even if it didn't make sense to the other girl. "So you have magic at home? Wow, that must be so much fun," she said, getting excited all over again.

Before she lost control, Charlie practised her counting to three. She pushed back the front strands of her dark hair that were too short to reach the rest of it in a ponytail and waited for the other girl to reply. She'd never find out anything if she always did all the talking, and she really wanted to learn about families who could do magic whenever they wanted. Her own familiy should have been like that - Oliver had explained about Muggles, and wizards who call themselves purebloods. That's what she was: a pureblood, whether or not her parents liked it. Magic was part of her culture, part of her heritage, and Charlie wanted to explore it quite thoroughly.

0 Charlotte All of it! But the magic most of all. 0 Charlotte 0 5

Deepa

November 13, 2008 11:43 AM

Which three isn't, in this case. by Deepa

Deepa suppressed a frown as the boy mumbled a negative answer to her question about his wellbeing, and patted his shoulder again, letting her hand rest there. He reminded her an awful lot of her cousin Jayashri, who had a habit of falling ill whenever she was exposed to new situations.

When Jayashri did it, it irritated Deepa, because she was always expected to take the seven-year-old out of wherever they were and calm her down while the others carried on with whatever they were doing--but with this boy, her heart went out. Maybe it was because she sympathised with him, perhaps more than he could know--she had just, after all, been thrust into a totally unfamiliar culture, and the nearest relative to her was a third-cousin who lived in New Jersey. She squeezed the boy's shoulder sympathetically and felt her stomach knot with homesickness.

"Don't worry," she said quietly. "I'm sure they don't--"

"I'd expect so. Everything I've seen in our textbooks seems to involve something from animals or insects."

Deepa looked up, perplexed, to see another first year looking at them; for a moment she wanted to hit him for saying something so likely to upset the first boy (not that she would; she was, after all, well-bred, despite her illegitimacy), but was distracted from that by the way the newcomer's hair was faded from orange to a very exotic pale yellow. She blinked, taken aback, and found herself blushing when he smiled at her.

"By the way, I'm Benvolio Dramulan from San Francisco, and it's great to meet you guys here."

She bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. "Deepa Rajaram," she introduced herself. "I am from Agra, in India." She looked back at the first boy and squeezed his shoulder again, more bracingly this time. "Do not worry about insects. This is a good school. They would not use anything that could harm us. You are just a little nervous. Here, try a little bread. It will settle your stomach." She took a roll off a nearby plate and handed it to him, mildly surprised at how easily she seemed to be transitioning from naan to bread.

0 Deepa Which three isn't, in this case. 0 Deepa 0 5

Irene Liddowe

November 13, 2008 3:39 PM

Moving threads... (nm) by Irene Liddowe

0 Irene Liddowe Moving threads... (nm) 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Irene Liddowe

November 13, 2008 4:08 PM

I thought Dolly was the one with the big hair? by Irene Liddowe

Irene looked a few seats down the table where she heard Elly dissolving into laughter. She turned to the person next to her and said, "Hey, it was great meeting you! I have to go hug my friend." She gave them a smile before standing and making her way down a few seats. Finding an open seat beside her friends, the brunette girl took the spot, waving enthusiastically at the framiliar faces beside her.

"Hey everyone!" She said, "Elly!" She gave her a shocked expression. "Prefect? Quite the accomplishment." Irene recalled what Saul had just been saying and replied, "Advertising for Most Talkative and Class Clown? Trying to steal my spot?" Irene still thought it was funny how she went from Most Serious (really?) to Most Talkative. Well, maybe she had been a little serious, but not the most serious... right? She couldn't have been that serious anyway because Brett still talked to her then. Either way it doesn't matter now because she wasn't the most serious anymore. Hah. Speaking of Brett... where was he? Irene had definitely not forgotten today's date. Two years. Two. Two! Wow, time flies...

Irene blinked as she realized the time she had left in Sonora. She now had more time left behind her than she had ahead of her! Wow. Wow. The prospect of being a fourth year didn't seem to different from third academically speaking, but in the muggle world, fourteen meant the first year of high school! This was so cool! She had never felt like one of the older kids, but at the moment she was getting that feeling. She didn't mind too much either...

0 Irene Liddowe I thought Dolly was the one with the big hair? 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Meredith

November 13, 2008 4:53 PM

All I know is that she has a pretty voice. by Meredith

Meredith leaned forward on the table to see Saul clearly and began swinging her legs beneath the table while cracking off the head of the carrot stick between her teeth. She noticed that her sneakers scraped against the marble floor much easier than in previous years. She must have grown a bit more over the summer. She hadn't really noticed. She was a bit preoccpied. She only noticed her hair growing because it got in the way when she was training all summer. She rid herself of the nuisance immediately though admittedly she kept it a little longer than she used to.

A mix up for Class Clown? If she remembered right the winners were deserving. Elly had gotten it. Saul had gotten it. The mix up was with giving the class clowns the title of...oh! Mere understood as Saul continued. It really made her wonder what qualities the owner of the title "Prefect" needed. Mere wasn't surprised that she wasn't awarded Prefect. At least not by what she had imagined the standards were. Obviously the staff saw something special in Saul and Elly and Meredith was happy for both of them.

"Well if you guys were picked because you're class clowns and super talkative that makes sense, but doesn't make the staff any less crazy." She stuck out her tongue playfully. "Use your Prefect powers to rig both spots. No one would be suspicious to see our friends get Class Clown or Most Talkative."

Mere's smile held a touch of intigue at Saul's announcement to campaign for Head Boy. It made sense since the student body, the older ones anyway, picked their Head Boy and Girl. It took another moment to realize that Mere was a part of that student body this year. The years were going by so quickly she could barely keep up. And then Irene suddenly appeared and the litte dinner party grew a little more. Another reason years weren't carefully observed was because she had friends in a number of different years. It just didn't matter much.

"Hey Irene!" Meredith greeted and picked off a chipped part of her carrot while the younger girl addressed Elly as the others had. She looked up again after Irene spoke to Saul. "If Saul is gonna run for Head Boy, he's got to make himself sound like the best choice, right? Saul Pierce. Everything you could ask for in a Head Boy," She began, talking into her broken carrot stick like a wand with the sonorus charm cast. "Quidditch Captain. Prefect. Lady charmer. Loud mouth. And all around funny guy. What more could Sonora Academy ask for?"

0 Meredith All I know is that she has a pretty voice. 0 Meredith 0 5

Elly

November 13, 2008 5:32 PM

I think I've lost the thread of this thread by Elly

"Irene!" Elly greeted another friend as she joined them. "Staff are crazy," she repeated the general consensus with a wide smile and a knowledgable nod of the head, sending her curls bouncing madly.

Elly tried to concentrate on the conversation, but it was starting to sound rather mad. She began picking at food in the mean time, but didn't take too much at once because her friends were prone to making her chuckle, and Elly didn't want to choke.

"You forgot he's a guide, too," she reminded Meredith when she was listing Saul's ideal qualities for Head Boy. "I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have the support and guidance of Saul the Guide," she grinned at him.

"What you need to do," she said at the next pause, "is check out your competition. Not belittle them any, because that's petty, but just point our what you have that maybe they can't offer." Elly wasn't used to campaigns of any sort, but it didn't seem like bad advice to be offering.

This talk about Saul being Head Boy made Elly feel much older than being named prefect, even though they both pointed towards the same conclusion: they didn't have long left at Sonora. Next year Saul might be Head Boy, and then the following year he, too, would be gone. Then two students out of her own year would be named Heads. She began to think through her yearmates, considering who might be a reasonable option, then a thought struck her and she said loudly, "Where is Echo, anyway?"

To be fair, Brett and Caedence weren't there either from the usual crowd Elly ate with, but she'd sat by Echo every first day of term so far. It wasn't a trend she was eager to break.

0 Elly I think I've lost the thread of this thread 0 Elly 0 5

Miles

November 13, 2008 7:32 PM

Maybe if you're claustrophobic or something by Miles

Miles had felt the bile rise quickly in his throat as the boy, Benvolio, confirmed his fears. People sure had weird names around here, and very foreign. He hoped he wouldn't be expected to spell them any time soon. And Deepa, another strange name at that, had barely pacified him with a piece of bread and the comfort that the school wasn't out to harm him. Somehow that didn't make him feel better. Miles gratefully took the bread from Deepa, testing it's sponginess by squeezing it in his hand a few times.

"Thanks, this'll sure soak up that bug juice."

He was only half joking. Miles bit off a piece and swallowed uneasily. Eating was still the furthest thing from his mind right now.

"My names Miles Turner, and I'm from Sou-" Miles stopped mid-word. Would they know what South Central was? Shoot, he didn't even know where Agra was, and he barely could point out India on a map.

"I'm from L.A.," Miles corrected himself. "Yeah, L.A."

It wasn't just because everyone in the world knew L.A. that he preferred to call it home. His neighborhood had a reputation. It wasn't that he didn't have pride in it (his mother would again knock him upside the head for showing a lack of pride), Miles just didn't see any of the other kids from this fancy boarding school being from the same situation he was. He was just lucky. Really lucky. Well, if you considered drinking bug juice being lucky, that is.

He felt his stomach lurch in protest as it was invaded by the courageous bread.

"Man, that stuff was nasty." His face twisted grotesquely at the thought of it all again. "I hope this isn't going to be normal around here. Drinking mystery liquid, being thrown around in an old wagon. If they're not trying to hurt us then they're sure making it difficult. What's this place like, anyway?" Miles was well aware that these guys were also first years. However, he thought he could pretty much guarantee he was the most bewildered of them all. What he knew of magic, after all, came from a lady who had never seen an electric can opener before.

0 Miles Maybe if you're claustrophobic or something 0 Miles 0 5

Ian Grimm

November 13, 2008 7:44 PM

Because I couldn't resist. by Ian Grimm

Ian Grimm entered into his second year with a comfortable sense of satisfaction. His summer had passed in an expected breeze of self-indulgence, two forced but admittedly advantageous social engagements, and one much deserved fishing trip. He completed the two months and change with equally as expected returns: a fading sunburn which made his cheeks appear endearingly pinch-able, an unwanted but necessary penpal, and a brand new notebook. His return to school also heralded the ushering in of the obligatory Grimm Summer Favors. It was an unavoidable tradition.

Two weeks before the start of a new school term, John Grimm always took his one and only son Ian down to Chesapeake Bay to their smallish cabin to spend their time fishing, unsuccessfully building fires without the use of their wands, and doing other manly things. Vyra Grimm took that time to head north for the Hamptons and the late summer soirees. When the three finally reunited a week and a half later, items were exchanged. Vyra took in the unwanted addition of a month's worth of fish based meals into her kitchen. In return, John agreed to attend a weekend bridge tourney, which then left his son vulnerable to the Summer Favors. The Favors generally consisted of cutely decorated baskets or baggies or satchels or whatever was in vogue with the pseudo-country chic that year; these were then filled with assorted chocolates, candied fruits, and sometimes the rare piece of uniquely crafted jewelry. Ian didn't keep track.

Over the years, he had learned to simply accept the Favors and promise his mother to disburse them among his supposed many friends. He never really broke his promise, technically, because he didn't rightly have friends. He was solitary by nature, disagreeable to most, and felt little to no inclination to change his character. Most years, he simply handed the Favors over to his teacher or personal shopper and promised them undue terror if any word of it escaped.

This year was far simpler. Ian was at a boarding school clear across the country. He could ditch the Favors anywhere. He was half of the mind to leave the Favors in the Aladren common room with a note reading Eat Me; it would be interesting to see how many waffled over whether to obey the note or not. This was Aladren House after all.

His mind abruptly changed, however, when he spied the one person in his year that he could honestly admit to finding interesting. There was, of course, the unfortunate fact that said person was a girl and a prissy one at that. There was also the fact that as much as she made the time interesting, he also found her terribly annoying. It was strange and mixed, but all the same, still true.

Ian answered her greeting, even knowing that it was not directed at him. He wasn't even really supposed to be over in the Crotalus section, he didn't think. It seemed that generally the lower years stuck to their houses when at meal times.

"No. But somehow I envision you joining in wholeheartedly. Wait," he ordered, holding up his hand to stem off any kind of retort. "Take this first. Now respond."

The 'this' in question referred to the pre-shrunk and now enlarged basket he pushed into Amelia's lap. This year's Summer Favors consisted of judicious amounts of salt water taffy, not-yet-released-to-the-public Godiva chocolate specialties, and a series of custom made Mother-of-Pearl jewelry pieces that, according to his mother, had the New England elite enraptured. Once relieved of the thing, Ian slipped on his glasses and proceeded to finally consider the dinner spread.Sonora Academy had always done rather well when it came to meal times.

0 Ian Grimm Because I couldn't resist. 110 Ian Grimm 0 5

Josh

November 13, 2008 8:47 PM

Thanks! by Josh

Josh was still getting used to the idea that he had been chosen for the role as the Crotalus Prefect when the food arrived. After he had initially taken his seat, his brother had caught his eye from across the room and gave him a look that Josh could easily read. He was not impressed with Josh’s new status. Matt was already agree with him for flat out refusing to do any more pranks. He had outgrown them some time ago and while Matt still liked the ego trip, Matt had also grown passed them and moved on to try to settle in with girls. Girls were a whole other story that Josh was still trying to understand.

Speaking of girls, one of them sat across from him and began to address him. Josh, who had been looking around at the food while simultaneously ignoring the looks his brother was throwing him, glanced up at Helena looking momentarily confused at her until he realized that she was talking about the Prefect position. Feeling his ears burn, Josh looked down at the badge and back at Helena with an apologetic smile.

Helena was the only other person in the house that would have gotten the badge. He liked her well enough, but that was probably because he didn’t really know her. Odd as that was. They were the only Crotalus in their year and Josh didn’t really converse with Helena outside of class, if at all. He wasn’t really sure why that was. She was smart and had always been polite to him and she wasn’t one of the Pecaris who had taken up a group all their own without very many invitations to those outside of it. In all reality, he probably should be better acquainted with her.

But now that Josh realized he was the only reason why she wasn’t the one wearing the badge, he felt suddenly embarrassed for having been the one picked. If he knew it wouldn’t have been so obvious, Josh would have hidden the badge behind his hand and simply pretend it didn’t exist around Helena, but that wouldn’t look the best so Josh would have to suck it up and face Helena like she was with him now. “Yeah, thanks, Helena.” Josh said, still looking rather apologetic about it. He didn’t know if he should keep on about the badge and say he was sorry for getting it, so instead, he just randomly said the first thing that came to mind. “You look nice, did you have a good summer?”

0 Josh Thanks! 0 Josh 0 5

Eun Ae

November 13, 2008 9:00 PM

Then we blend in just fine. by Eun Ae

Not for the first time, Eun Ae wished her mother was more like other mothers. She was the only kid, aside from her brother, to ever raise her hand in class when a teacher would run a poll on who didn't have a computer or television at home. Min Ae generally lied in those situations. As if to compound her gaffe on not recognizing him, she had never even heard of his show, Street Beat, and chances were strong that if Daniel were to share his parents' names, she'd not recognized them either.

"Sorry, I don't really watch much tv. . ." she explained after a moment of uncomfortable silence, knowing full well that her expression more than shared her lack of understanding. "But I guess you're saying that this sort of thing can't be faked, right?"

Eun Ae felt herself retreating, the momentary surge of confidence and comfort in her new situation diminishing quickly behind the return of her normal discomfort and insecurity. As excited and happy as she had been over the idea of going to a new place, she hadn't actually considered how frightening of an experience it might be. Being in a strange place, with people with lives and backgrounds she knew nothing about, and having no real place or person to turn to- it was all starting to dawn on her. Unbidden, her eyes sought out her brother's engaged form across the room. He looked like he normally did: at ease and energized.

"Um, maybe-" She shook her head, cutting herself off, deciding instead to attempt to recoup. When in doubt: ask questions. "Nevermind. Um, what sort of show is Street Beat?"

0 Eun Ae Then we blend in just fine. 0 Eun Ae 0 5

Adelita

November 13, 2008 10:05 PM

Magic is, by far, the coolest. by Adelita

For some reason, the girl reminded Adelita of her Tia with how excited she was and how she displayed her excitement. Adeltia, when she was excited, had the tendency to giggle incessantly usually behind her hand. She would giggle so much that she wouldn’t be able to breathe and then her stomach would hurt and her mother would have to rub her hand against her belly until Lita calmed down. Her little sister wasn’t very excitable. She had her moments where she would grin widely at the world or possibly squeal, but otherwise, she seemed rather aloof with things that made her a very odd nine year old. Jorge was still too young to pass judgment on. He wasn’t even three years old yet.

But her Tia Izzy had a habit of being very vocal and off the walls when something made her very happy and very excited. It was somewhat overwhelming, but Lita figured she could get used to it after awhile. After all, the point of school was to learn and compromise. Well, that’s what her mother said anyway.

Adelita listened carefully to what the girl had to say. It was always polite to listen and since this would be her first real experience with other people, Adelita wanted to do her best to do everything right. She wasn’t quite sure that she understood what the girl meant. Her uncle was a wizard, but her parents weren’t? Was her uncle a Muggleborn? And, if her parents were Muggles, she was a Muggleborn too, right? But, was that possible? If an adult was a Muggleborn and a niece was a Muggleborn, was it possible that one of her parents were magical but only as a Squib?

She wasn’t really sure how all of that worked, but that was just another thing that she would learn while here. Or, maybe she wouldn’t and that was just something that she would never understand. Did it matter though? She didn’t think it would. At least, not for her.

Lita grinned when the girl asked about her magical family. “Oh yes, my family is quite magical. I’m a Pureblood or something. Mama loves to teach us magic things. Well, not with wands, obviously, because we weren’t allowed them, but she would show us with hers.” Lita could talk with the best of them if anyone let her and if she got on a subject she loved, it was hard to get her off from it. “Daddy takes us to Quidditch games and stuff. I mean, I’m not really a fan, but I have to be by default cos of my Tio, but it’s fun because everyone is really happy being there. And Daddy likes to have us there with him.”

Adelita picked through her chicken with her fork. She would have used her fingers, but that wasn’t very ladylike and she was in public. “I’m Adelita Garcia.” She greeted, realizing that she hadn’t said her name yet. “But everyone calls me Lita, unless you’re my sister, Dulce, and then you would call me Del. We’re roommates then, yes?”

0 Adelita Magic is, by far, the coolest. 0 Adelita 0 5

Benvolio Dramulan

November 13, 2008 10:45 PM

But I don't think any of us are by Benvolio Dramulan

Benvolio's smile faded slightly upon noticing that the boy opposite him seemed worse after he said aloud his suspicions regarding the presence of insects in the potion. Benvolio always had a knack for saying things at the wrong times, and he made a mental reminder to think twice before opening his mouth in future. The heavenly smell of the feast reminded Benvolio that it was time for dinner, and his stomach growled, telling him to feed himself; he was definitely hungry after the long and violent wagon ride to Sonora.

Benvolio began heaping spoonfuls of pasta onto his plate as he heard Miles wonder aloud what the school was like. Benvolio's mother had told him so much about the school, about the corridors that seemed to change locations every now and then, and about the plants that seemed to be capable of thought. In fact, she had told him so much about Sonora that his father felt it was best for their eldest son to get a "normal" education in a Muggle school. It was only after a long argument that they both agreed to allow Benvolio to come to Sonora to study magic.

"My mom mentioned something about sentient plants and ghosts here, but I think we'll be just fine," Benvolio said, now chewing on a sausage skewered upon his fork. After causing Miles to fall into a deeper state of uneasiness, he felt that it was his responsibility to comfort him. "After all, like Deepa said, no school would harm its students on purpose," he continued.

"I'm halfblood," Benvolio continued, trying to make the atmosphere less tense with a bit of conversation. "My mom was a student of Sonora during her days. My dad's a Muggle, but we get along just fine. Took him a bit of convincing to allow me to study here, though, he felt I'd be missing out on a normal child's experience with algebra and science." Benvolio shrugged and took another bite out of his sausage.

Looking around, Benvolio noticed that Deepa wasn't eating much. Trying to be friendly, he picked up a nearby platter of chicken and held it in front of her. "You'll need lots of energy for school," he said. "Have some chicken!"\n

0 Benvolio Dramulan But I don't think any of us are 269 Benvolio Dramulan 0 5

Deepa

November 14, 2008 12:22 AM

Not that I'm aware of. by Deepa

Deepa took her hand from Miles' shoulder as he and Benvolio--what strange names these people had!--carried on the conversation, and looked at the plates on the table. None of the food was very familiar, so she went for what she could best identify as vegetarian--basically, anything green--and put a bite's-worth or so of each on her plate. She tasted some sort of leafy green and almost gagged at the bitterness; her fork became more of a tool for pushing vegetables around her plate while the other two said their parts.

She made note to ask Miles about Los Angeles later, and to ask Benvolio about growing up with a Muggle father. Her whole family was magical, and Agra was completely and horribly boring. For a moment she was caught up by fantasies of what her life would have been like had she grown up elsewhere, but she couldn't picture herself in anything other than her salwar kameez, which pretty much ruined it. She shrugged it off and turned her attention back to the conversation.

"My family has been magical for almost one thousand years," she said, then gave a little laugh that was more exhalation than anything else. "There are a lot of us." She became a bit more contemplative, resting her fork's tines against her lips and resting her cheek against her knuckles. "I do not know why they sent me here, though. There are good schools in India, and my cousins attended school in England." She shrugged.

Deepa blinked her large, dark eyes in surprise as Benvolio--whose hair had now been leached of its orange hue--offered her a plate of chicken. For a moment she was almost offended, but then remembered--the likelihood of him being a Hindu was slim. She gave him a smile; the expression was luminous and quiet at the same time, and full of wry good humor. "No thank you. I do not eat meat." She glanced over and grabbed a plate of the bitter greens, offering them to him. "Leaves?" she asked, a humorous, ironic edge to her voice.

0 Deepa Not that I'm aware of. 0 Deepa 0 5

Daniel

November 14, 2008 3:33 PM

I'm more concerned that our colors are black & blue together by Daniel

Daniel had not expected everyone at his new school to be familiar with Street Beat. Holly said only those with a non-magical background even knew what a TV was. Even among the muggleborns, Daniel knew not all of them would watch or even be aware of the show. It was on a cable network and didn't usually air until 9pm on Wednesdays. Since it was an hour long show, it didn't wrap up until ten. The only reason Daniel was allowed to stay up to watch it was because he was in it.

Besides which, it was definitely aimed at an older audience. Dad had at least one scene every episode where he wasn't wearing a shirt. Daniel was almost positive this was due to the fact that Dad was dating the script writer, but the producers and studio executives were possibly complicit as well.

So he wasn't terribly surprised Euna didn't know about it.

He was more put out that the meaning of his words weren't clear to people who weren't Hollywood savvy. He'd have to work on that. While a certain about of fame and recognition was expected and even wanted, he did not want to be known as an actor first and a Sonora student second. If he wanted to be identified an actor first and foremost, he would have stayed on the show. The last thing he wanted to be when he grew up was an actor. He had to be able to communicate with non-actors if he was going to move beyond his child star status.

"Yeah, it can't be faked," he confirmed.

But before he could change the subject to something they might have in common, she asked, in seeming genuine curiosity, about the television show that had been Daniel's whole life for the last year or so. "Cop drama," he answered, the name of the genre telling just about everything one needed to know about it. "Detective show. A new crime gets solved every episode."

It was a little more involved than that - Barry was a decent writer even if he did take advantage of his power to dictate Dad's wardrobe, or lack thereof - but it wasn't anything that could be easily explained in three sentences or less. Daniel left it to the fact that the show made it past the first season to prove it did have more than its genre to recommend it. Though Dad's fan base may have had as much to do with that, especially when rumors began to circulate about his real-life son joining the cast for the second season.

Not wanting to dwell too much on it - he wasn't generally prone to homesickness, but there was no sense in poking at the memories until it started to hurt that he wasn't there anymore - he tried to change the subject. "So, you live with your mom?" he asked, having gathered from her uncertainty about her father's magical ability that he wasn't really involved in the family anymore.

"My folks are divorced, too. It was a Hollywood marriage, doomed before it began. It lasted less time than the pregnancy. They weren't married when I was conceived and they weren't married when I was born, but they were married for about two months in between. They've got split custody of me now."

He didn't specifically ask about what happened with her parents. That was a personal question and they barely knew each other. (The facts surrounding his own birth and the details of his parents' love lives, past and present, were a matter of public tabloid record and he was used to everyone knowing whether or not his mom was dating someone new before he did.) But his curious look ought to let her know he was interested if she did want to share her own background.

1 Daniel I'm more concerned that our colors are black & blue together 130 Daniel 0 5

Kendra Paully

November 14, 2008 4:08 PM

What's not good? by Kendra Paully

Kendra didn’t really like the extravagance of having your skin turn an abnormal color. She found it slightly disturbing, if not helpful at the least. She could tell who the other first years were and what table was actually her table. She peered down at her skin, hoping for nothing other than red. Her heart fluctuated as she saw the red glow from her skin. She squealed to herself and tried to walk calmly over to the Crotalus table. Once she got to the table she looked it over and sighed. She had no one to sit with. She tried to find an open spot that wasn't surrounded by people that talked obnoxiously. She found a spot a bit farther from the end and sat down. She sat and waited for the rest of the first years to sit down also.

She noticed that even as her skin wasn't completely back to its original color, it was still wearing off fairly quickly. She smiled and looked over to see how many people had been accepted to the other houses. She smiled as she saw a fair amount of first years sitting down and also examining their skin.

There was a fair amount of shouting as prefects and head boy and girl were chosen and then the Headmaster started the feast. Kendra looked around the table and scooped potatoes and two pieces of buttered bread onto her plate. She peered next to her and noticed a girl who seemed to be contemplating a difficult situation in her head. Kendra tried to focus on her meal and get to the commons as quickly as she could, but her attention kept getting caught by the girl. Kendra had almost focused completely on her meal when the girl started muttering to herself. Kendra listened in, even thought every fiber in her body told her to mind her own business.

“Better stuck with them here than at home, I suppose,” she said aloud.

"They can't be that bad, whoever they are." Kendra replied, forgetting that she wasn't being talked to. She realized this fact as soon as she had said it. Her eyes widened and she stiffened. She glanced over at the girl. She seemed to not have noticed. Almost as if in slow motion, Kendra saw the girl turn to face her.

"Pardon?" she said.

She must not have heard her entirely the first time. Kendra contemplated simply saying she was asking for some food near the girl, but realized that the food there was not to her liking. She looked back up at the girl and breathed silently, or so she tried.

"Uh. Well, they can't really be that bad, but not that I would know. I don't know anyone here." Kendra said quickly, hoping to not cause offense of any kind. She smiled what she thought to be a friendly yet slightly appologetic smile before waiting for the girl to react.

0 Kendra Paully What's not good? 0 Kendra Paully 0 5

Chelsea Brockert

November 14, 2008 4:16 PM

I suppose it could be worse... by Chelsea Brockert

Chelsea was honestly glad to be back at school. It was awful to be stuck at home. She would much prefer to be back at Sonora with her friends than back in Portland with her family. While she was incredibly proud to be a member of the Brockert clan,Chelsea wasn't overly fond of her siblings. Adam was a wimp, Kaylie was an idiot (which somewhat worked to Chelsea's advantage) and she downright hated Nina. Plus, if it weren't for Adam, Evan and Kaylie, she would be heir. Nina was simply a pain in her backside. The only one she could find no immediate objection to was Hope, and Chelsea merely wasn't interested in the six year old.

Not to mention, nearly everything this summer focused on Kaylie and Adam, what with Kaylie graduating and going off to college and Adam having to go start learning his heirship duties and getting his CATS results. The plus with her brother's thing, was that he wasn't actually home most of the summer. It irritated Chelsea, however, that Adam was the one who got to go off and spend the summer in their great-grandparents' luxurious mansion and attend elegant parties. She would have made a much impression than he probably did.

She scanned the Cascade Hall, looking for one of her friends and spotted Cecily. Chelsea walked over and sat across from her. She was about to greet the Crotalus girl when Cecily spoke.

“Better stuck with them here than at home, I suppose,"

A look of confusion came to Chelsea's face. Was she talking about Laurie and Renaye? The Aladren gave an involuntary shudder at the mere thought of them being in her house. "Whom do you mean?"

“Pardon?”

"I asked whom you meant" Chelsea replied, helping herself to a salad. Puberty had been kind to her thus far, though she would have given anything to have Kaylie's chest, but it would never hurt to start watching what she ate, most of the time. Plus, she was in public, she wasn't going to lower herself to acting unladylike and eating like a pig.

11 Chelsea Brockert I suppose it could be worse... 108 Chelsea Brockert 0 5

Alexis Ashwood

November 14, 2008 4:32 PM

Another year another...TAG: Renaye by Alexis Ashwood

It was decided. Alexis Ashwood hated Josiah with all of her being. He was absolutely no fun over the summer. She had tried to be nice, really, since he tried to defend her and all last year for some really strange and still unknown reason. He was such a pain, though. He just didn't want to accept that she was trying to show some kind of kindness or whatever towards him.

He had been totally sulky at that ball. Come on, so what if that mudblood Hyana hadn't been there? He could've gotten over it. Merlin, he was so annoying. He kept expecting her to tell his parents about him playing Quidditch. She couldn't figure out why he was so rude about it, and stupid. Of course she wouldn't tell. She had played Quidditch the previous year, too. He wouldn't even drink the punch she had gotten him, declaring that it was poisoned.

Well, his punch would most certainly be poisoned next time.

She brushed past him when they left the wagons. She walked inside and headed right to the Crotaus table. Even though she wasn't the biggest fan of Sonora, it was good to be back. She liked the Cascade Hall, at least. Her roommies were a different story. She wished that she could follow through with Laurie's hopes that was written in her yearbook (which was also not shown to Alexis' parents. Being voted 'most likely to become a criminal' two years in a row was not something they would accept, that was for sure), but she doubted she would be able to see eye to eye with Cecily ever again.

Headmaster Bulla began to talk. Alexis didn't really care. He said the same things every year, it seemed. She clapped politely at the new Prefects, only knowing one of them by name, Elly. It wasn't because she was friends with the girl or anything. Alexis knew Elly was a mudblood who was really close to Josiah. They could never be friends, not really. It just wouldn't work out. Elly probably though she was a horrid person anyway, and she could certainly thank Josiah for that.

Food appeared and despite herself, Alexis' stomach growled. It wasn't loud enough for the person next to her to hear her, thank Merlin but...wait, someone was next to her? When did that happen? Alexis glanced up.

"Hey Renaye." she said, not expecting her sort of friend to be there. She wasn't sure what to call Renaye. Her parents would certainly call her a disgrace. If her parents knew that she was sort of friendly with the Warrens...well, Alexis didn't want them to know. End of story. "How was your summer?" she asked, reaching for some baked chicken. "Full of Quidditch and fun, I presume?"

0 Alexis Ashwood Another year another...TAG: Renaye 117 Alexis Ashwood 0 5

Miles Turner

November 14, 2008 5:24 PM

We can find out...ever been locked in a closet? by Miles Turner

Miles ate another large mouthful as Benvolio answered his question with something completely unexpected.

Ghosts? His eyebrows took a leap towards the ceiling and his large, round brown eyes widened. They had ghosts here? He had no idea what the word sentient meant, and a plant was a plant was a plant. And plants did nothing but sit around and look green. That he wasn't worried about. But ghosts??? The idea gave him the heebie-jeebies. Miles was really starting to think he sided with Benvolio's dad on this one. A normal childhood experience. No ghosts. No bug juice. He was in fact about to go on a spiel about how his mother had the exact opposite idea and wanted him to apparently have an abnormal experience, even going to the point of forcing himself to swallow a half-chewed piece of bread and inhaling as though about to speak.

But then, he stopped himself. Miles didn't want anyone to know his business. After all, he didn't know these two. And he was still not completely convinced they could be trusted with more than his name, place of birth, and the truth that the whole sorting by bug juice had made him uneasy. Plus, they were too nice. Much too nice. People were usually not nice unless they had a reason to be. Unless they wanted something from you. Miles mulled this over while pensively chewing on another bite of bread.

He was yanked, quite unwillingly, from these thoughts as a plate of chicken appeared in front of him. And then greens. There was also the added wonder as to why Deepa wasn't more disturbed by drinking bugs as he was. But, he was tired of talking about that now. Miles felt better.

"I'll take some of that," Miles said, taking a fork from the table and stabbing it into a piece of chicken. "You can keep your greens. I've eaten enough of those for the rest of my life." That was a thought. No one was here to make him eat vegetables. A twitch of a smile appeared on the corner of Mile’s mouth. Maybe going to boarding school had its perks.

0 Miles Turner We can find out...ever been locked in a closet? 0 Miles Turner 0 5

Taylor Li

November 14, 2008 6:03 PM

I'm a Blueberry by Taylor Li

The buzzing with excitement and fill of nervous energy had begun about a week before Taylor left for school. It was her first time ever going to school. She would be with what she presumed to be normal kids, not Hollywood kids, even if they were wizards and witches, which technically she was now too. She couldn’t wait. She was going to be just like them. She would go to classes, eat regular meals (though, before leaving, she promised her mother she would be careful about her diet), and most importantly, the one that topped her list, make real friends. At least, she hoped she would.

Being dragged around to auditions by her mother, Taylor had made a couple of acquaintances with those that hated acting just as much, but for the most part, it was cut-throat competition. Rumors were spread, set-ups made, and the only thing someone could hope for was to survive it. Now, she had the chance to leave that behind for almost the entire year. What was even cooler was that in this year, she was going to be learning magic. Her mom was magical too, but didn’t use it much. Taylor supposed it had to do with her obsession towards being muggle and had actually been disappointed when Taylor had gotten a letter. Luckily, her father had put his foot down and she had been permitted to go.

The sense of energy that had started had continued with her to school and had seemed to be caught by Kinetic, who was in the bag she always carried around, as he kept shuffling around. She stuck her hand in the bag to pet his triangular head soothingly while she looked around Cascade Hall. It was fairly amazing, which was saying a lot since her father was a well-known architect who had a hand in designing some pretty prestigious buildings, and a sense of thrill went through her over thinking about what the rest of the school must look like, especially if it had a library and, oh, what books it must have!

Before any of this could be thought with any details, a clear liquid was being presented that they were to drink. She wrinkled her nose looking at it. She didn’t like the idea of drinking something she didn’t know exactly what was in it, but it didn’t seem as though she really had any choice. With a final grimace, she swallowed it down. With a start, she looked down to find that she had turned blue. Hmm. Interesting. She went off towards the blueberry table. Taking a seat, she pulled out her notebook and a pen. On the top of the page, she carefully wrote A Study into the Scientific Properties of Magic. There just had to be a scientific explanation to why a drink could cause the reaction it did or anything else they would be learning and she had seven years to figure it out.

Taylor was completely absorbed in writing out everything she could think of in regards to magic, both what was believed by muggles and what she had seen so far that she almost forgot exactly why it was she wanted to go to school so much. She was much too used to working independently. She stopped writing for a moment and went to grab an apple, which also gave her a pause to look at the other students, but it seemed fate had other plans as someone else went for the same apple. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said to the other person with a gesture that they should take it. “I’m Taylor. Are you new as well?”

0 Taylor Li I'm a Blueberry 128 Taylor Li 0 5

Mollie Buchanan

November 14, 2008 6:59 PM

home again!! by Mollie Buchanan

In having walked back into the one place she truly considered home, Mollie instantly felt at ease, a much better feeling than the anxiety of last year. She was excited to see her friends, set up her room and back into the swing of things. Her classes this year were sure to be exciting and she was no longer a first year, which didn't really matter, but at least she wasn't on the bottom of the ladder any more.

Her summer had been spent in the orphanage. She had made the decision to go back for one more summer so that she could wrap things up and the following year she would speak with some of her administrators about helping her get into the wizarding orphanage network. She planned to speak with her head of house about it. But for now, dressed in her favorite pair of jeans and a red t-shirt sporting the Superman symbol, completed by her black converse sneakers, Mollie made her way into the hall for the feast. Her hair was unusually pulled back into braided pigtails and her bangs were nice and neat for once. It helped having 'older sisters' at home, they helped her look a little more presentable.

The tables were packed and she squeaked into an open seat without looking at who she was joining. The headmaster had risen to make his speech and Mol didn't want to get caught in the inbetween. She would see her friends soon enough, she was sure they were around somewhere. She'd spent the summer writing to Ian and found it made the time in the orphanage a little easier. Sure she had friends at the home, but it felt like she was hiding a part of her because she couldn't talk about her experiences at school. When writing to Ian, she could be herself and pester him about all of the things she wanted to know about the magical world. He had been a wealth of information, plus it was nice to have a friend. She just hoped she hadn't been too much of a pain.

Paying loose attention as she listened to the headmaster speak, she clapped along with everybody else as the prefects and heads were announced, looking to note their faces in case she ever needed one. But now it was time for her favorite part of the year; the food. She'd been spoiled last year on the amount of food she had consumed and when she'd gone back to Boston, she'd lost weight for the size of the proportions. Now she could eat as much as she wanted again. Reaching for the mashed potatoes to compliment her roasted chicken, Mollie met resistance. Looking up, she immediately let go and smiled. "Sorry, go ahead, I'll take 'em when yeh done."

0 Mollie Buchanan home again!! 0 Mollie Buchanan 0 5

Adam Brockert

November 14, 2008 7:09 PM

Oh joy. by Adam Brockert

It had been a long summer for Adam. He'd spent it in Colorado at his great-grandparent's mansion, learning the ins and outs of what the head of the Brockert family would have to do, even though he wasn't going to be in charge for decades. Not all of it had been bad, learning the family history and lineage was interesting enough, if a bit complex, and Adam liked getting to know his great-great-grandmother Gwendolyn better. The woman was half-senile but she seemed to genuinely like him. He was thrilled-and surprised-about that.

On the other hand, Adam really didn't feel all that comfortable with keeping abreast of all his relatives' doing. These were mostly people that he'd met very few times in his life and he didn't feel right prying. Never mind that they might resent his intrusion and hate him for it. Even worse was having to attend upscale pureblood balls. Adam didn't care for parties in general.

Not that Adam was the least bit glad to be back at Sonora. Why would he want to be at a place where nearly everyone hated him? It was one thing not to be part of the In Crowd, but to be downright despised when he'd never done a thing to anyone was a different thing entirely. He was just plain sick of it all. It was just unfortunate that he could do nothing about it. The only thing he was truly looking forward to was seeing Talitha. Period.

He watched as the first years were sorted. Adam knew there were two third cousins in the group but he certainly didn't know what they looked like. He had pictures, given to him by his great-grandfather, but Adam would rather not look at them. It felt way too much like spying. He'd already had to read the files his great-grandfather kept on them.

Of course, if he didn't do what his great-grandfather wanted, that wasn't good either. Adam didn't think he'd be disowned or anything but he certainly didn't want to the older man to be displeased with him. He didn't need any more disapproval. Still,the thought of keeping an eye on Quentin and Pippa made Adam feel just sort of wrong inside.

The names of the prefects were announced. Adam rolled his eyes at the announcement of Elly Eriksson for Pecari. It wasn't anything personal, he really didn't know her and Talitha spoke highly of her, but it was just another example of the popular kids getting everything. Granted, to a certain degree, he could understand Saul getting it over Morgaine last year as Morgaine wasn't the most personable. On the other hand, she was seriously way more intelligent and conscientious than Saul. Still, the whole thing made Adam sick to his stomach. One could say whatever they wanted about Lila St. Martin being a snob but at least she wasn't part of that group, whom Adam felt was just as snobby and stuck-up as any of the pureblood elitists,the only difference being what they were snobby about. They were no better than Chelsea and her cronies.

He was starting to understand Lily's point about such groups.

On the other hand, Adam clapped politely for Paul and Eavan. He and Eavan had worked together in class at one point and she seemed fairly nice. Paul...well, even though Adam had never spoken to him, he was sort of starting to feel a bond with the other truly unpopular kids and was glad to see one of them become prefect. Of course, this would have pleased Adam more if Paul had not been the only Aladren left in his year.

Next came the announcements of Head Girl and Boy. Even though Adam had not been at the fair last year, he had heard from his sisters who had gotten it. It still made him want to vomit, even two and a half months later, that it was that boy who'd gotten the title. This year it was his own class that would be up for it. Great Grandfather Clifford wanted Adam to get it, Adam didn't think he had a chance in the world. He wasn't even sure he wanted it. Being the heir to his family and heading it several decades from now was more than enough for him. Power was something that Chelsea desired, not Adam.

Besides, he was pretty sure that Saul was going to get it, something just slightly less gag-worthy than who had it now. Adam couldn't help but hope for anyone but him. Guenther or one of the Geoffs would be the best but if it came right down to it, (meaning they were the only two options) he'd even vote for Devian over Saul. Adam didn't like Devian either, but at least he was intelligent...and not part of that popular group. As for the girls, he was half tempted to vote for Morgaine if she was on the ballot but that would seem terribly disloyal to Briony or Pepper. Though, much like Saul seemed not to, Adam didn't relish having to choose between them.

He took a plate of spaghetti as someone sat down next to him. Adam couldn't help feeling a bit wary due to knowing what most of the people here thought of him and turned his head to see who it was, sincerely hoping it would be Talitha.

11 Adam Brockert Oh joy. 78 Adam Brockert 0 5

The Valentines

November 14, 2008 7:33 PM

What a way to start the year by The Valentines

"Wow." Two identical voices breathed at the same time as the four Valentines entered Cascade Hall. For seven years, Ethan and Elliot had been hearing stories about Sonora. First from Earl, then Eavan. Stories about Quidditch triumphs and charms gone wrong and dancing potatoes and amazing creatures. Now, finally they were going to experience all these thing themselves. And it started off with an odd potion bubbling in a goblet.

"I wanna be a snake...or a hawk." Elliot said as he stared at the liquid in his cup.

"As long as it's not a groundhog or whatever it is," Ethan added just as they clinked goblets and drank. Eavan huffed while Earl chuckled. "It's a prairie dog, Ethan. And they're cool in their own right."

"No they're n--hey! I'm red! You said we'd turn into the house animal!" Ethan said. Both Earl and Eavan laughed and Earl shrugged his shoulders as if it were out of his hands what he tells his younger brothers.

"I feel jipped," Elliot added, staring at his own sickly yellow arms. "Though I'm glad I'm not a hedgehog right now."

"It's a prairie dog! It's not that hard," Eavan said exasperatedly, but realized the futility and smiled. "You're a Tepp, Elliot!" She squealed and hugged Elliot tightly in the middle of the hall, soon grabbing Ethan and making him join the hug. Earl rolled his eyes and grabbed Ethan back.

"You're going to kill them both before they have a chance to screw up our houses. C'mon, we're blocking the entrance." Earl pulled Ethan away by the scruff of his collar and took him over to the Crotalus table. Eavan sighed and lead Elliot to where the Teppenpaws were sitting.

Then the speech began and relative silence fell. There was polite clapping for the new potions teacher, but when everyone cheered for the new prefects, Eavan stayed silent.
Her? She felt a hand clap on her back and turned her stunned face to Elliot who was cheering and forcing her up. Still in a rather zombie-esque mode, she walked up to the front and received her shiny new prefect's badge. She stared at the badge as she walked back, but this time a smile was on her face.

0 The Valentines What a way to start the year 0 The Valentines 0 5

Cecily

November 15, 2008 10:39 AM

Two at once! by Cecily

As she realised she was being addressed by two people, Cecily made more of an effort to sit up properly and pay attention. She offered Chelsea a small smile in greeting; it was fantastic to see a friendly face. The other girl was a first year, as evinced by her statement of not knowing anybody.

"My family," Cecily said, replying first to Chelsea with a roll of her eyes.

"And they're not that bad," she added to the first year with a air of superiority, "but then I do have to live with them." She paused and cast her eyes over the younger girl in an assessing kind of way. "Welcome to Crotalus," she said at length, on deciding she could be seen talking to first years as long as they were in her house anyway.

"I'm Cecily Smythe, and this is Chelsea Brockert," she indicated her friend. If this first year was worth knowing, she'd have heard of both girls' families enough for Cecily not to have to elaborate. "Chelsea's in Aladren," she added, her tone making clear what an unfortunate circumstance that was - Chelsea should be in Crotalus with her and Anabel. "At least you don't have to share with that Warren girl," she said darkly to Chelsea.

"So," Cecily said, eyeing the new addition to her House with a carefully practised manner of disinterested curiosity. "Who are you are where are you from?"

0 Cecily Two at once! 0 Cecily 0 5

Cecily Smythe

November 15, 2008 10:39 AM

OOC: joined threads below (nm) by Cecily Smythe

0 Cecily Smythe OOC: joined threads below (nm) 122 Cecily Smythe 0 5

Kendra Paully

November 15, 2008 12:58 PM

Holy Moly! by Kendra Paully

Kendra smiled as the girl replied in a direct, but not exactly harsh manner. She sighed inwardly and listened as the girl first stated the problem, her family, and explained the reason for her exasperation.

She welcomed Kendra to Crotalus before introducing herself and the other girl that had joined them. Cecily seemed upset that Chelsea wasn't in Crotalus, even if she never said it directly. Her next statement was off to Kendra, so she decided to make sure she understood.

"Who's the Warren girl? And what's bad about her?" Kendra asked, once again realizing that she was talking out of her turn. She closed her mouth and watched Cecily. The conversation continued on for a short while more before Cecily asked Kendra a question.

"So," Cecily said, "Who are you are where are you from?"

Kendra noticed that Cecily was eyeing her, and after making sure it was, hopefully, not of disgust introduced herself.

"I'm Kendra...Paully." she said realizing she should add her last name. "I'm from Staten Island. New York. But I was born in Michigan and raised there until I was five. Then we moved to New York"

Kendra had been expecting one of the girls to say, 'where's the accent?' so she set it straight that she didn't have one.

0 Kendra Paully Holy Moly! 0 Kendra Paully 0 5

Pippa

November 15, 2008 5:08 PM

laughs by Pippa

Pippa nodded. "Yes, that's right. We're both in Teppenpaw. It's nice to meet you, Nathaniel." She eyed the food, not really feeling much like eating. Truthfully, she was still pretty nervous and excited. This was new to her. Well, Sonora was anyway. The way Nathaniel seemed was that he was even more new to it all than she was. Pippa's heart instantly went out to him, even though he didn't seem too anxious.

Still, it must be rough to be in a whole new world, as she suspected he was muggle-born. At least Pippa had been raised with magic. Not that it made her a better person, it was just that she should have been feeling less nervous than he was. In fact, it made her feel a little guilty that she was acting like such a baby when Nathaniel was clearly thrilled about being at Sonora.

She gave a small smile. "Actually, I sort of grew up with magic." Pippa took a small plate of some casserole. "My entire family has it." Her maternal grandmother wanted her to befriend others with it as well. Grandmother wouldn't be very happy about her speaking to Nathaniel, but Pippa didn't care. He seemed nice and that was far more important to her than his bloodline. Besides, the rest of the family didn't mind, even Grandpa, so Pippa wasn't too worried. "I can't really imagine life without it but I know there are some people out there who don't have it."

Pippa took a bite of the casserole and washed it down with a sip of milk. She breifly gazed around at the other students, wondering what they were like. Pippa hoped they were as nice as Nathaniel seemed to be. She turned back to him. Perhaps she could help him get better adjusted to the magical world and perhaps he could help her feel comfortable away from home. It would be so much easier to make the adjustment with friends.

11 Pippa *laughs* 132 Pippa 0 5

Helena

November 15, 2008 8:34 PM

Any time! by Helena

"You're welcome," Helena said, spreading her napkin on her lap before laying the silverware formerly wrapped up in it out neatly beside her as yet empty plate. "I'm sure you'll do a great job with it."

His apologetic look troubled her a little. The only reason she had come over was to make sure there wasn't any real or imaginary misunderstanding or problem, but the way he was reacting made her worry she'd done it wrong. A part of her wanted to just ask, but that would be rude.

"Thanks," she said instead, feeling a bit awkward herself. She never knew what to do with compliments, and worse, she was pretty sure that one had been false. She hadn't seen a mirror since they'd come in, but the wagon ride did no one any favors in the beauty department. "My summer was pretty uneventful, but that was okay. The only thing I really had to happen was my brother getting his CATS back."

True enough. Nothing happened at home, but Geoff's out-of-proportion reaction to the owl with his results would have been memorable in any house. In the end, she'd been the one to open the envelope and read his grades aloud for the whole house to hear, though she doubted the only other person in it besides them had been conscious.

"He was...kind of worked up about it. I guess I'll be the same way next summer." Just thinking about CATS put a hard, queasy knot in her stomach. If her parents and teachers had ever failed to drive the importance of CATS home, Geoff had more than taken up the slack. Since the only way to work on passing now was to leave the table and start reading all of her old notes again, though, she decided not to think about them at the moment. "What about you? Your summer, not CATS. I think everyone worries about those."

16 Helena Any time! 88 Helena 0 5

Lila St. Martin

November 15, 2008 11:59 PM

Depends. Is this place Sonora or Crotalus? by Lila St. Martin

Lila took a seat at the Crotalus table, a social smile on her face for the benefit of those sitting near her. If an inch of her wasn't sore, it wasn't letting her know about it, and she was worried she might have missed dust on her clothes when she'd gotten off the wagon. Add it all to an absolutely rotten summer, and she wasn't in the best mood to start her sixth year with.

She paid little attention to the first years as they were lined up to be Sorted, as she knew none of them and would probably never come into contact with most of them. Short of a professor seeing a Crotalus do something wrong while she was there, she wasn't going to deduct points from her own House, and the Crotalus stupid enough to be caught by another House's prefect didn't deserve to be one, anyway. Instead, she studied the staff table, looking for the new Potions professor, who she expected she would come into regular contact with.

That individual's name came into Bulla's speech, and Lila was disappointed to not recognize it right away. She made herself a mental note to write to her father and ask what he knew about him. If Roland St. Martin didn't know, he'd find someone who did. He was displeased with her, but she was sure he'd still do that for her. Knowing about professors was important.

The Santoro boy was made prefect, earning a minute of light applause from Lila. He was from the West Coast, which could always be regarded as a personal failure, but he was better than the alternative. Lila knew less than nothing about the Layne girl, but that surname would have been enough to make her unfit for office even without that obnoxious brother of hers standing as proof of bad breeding. The Laynes were the most minor sort of pureblood, were irritating historically, and, presently, mostly seemed to just be pathetic.

She was looking for the usual components of her Feast meal when her eye was caught by something odd: a strange face a good deal too old to be a first year. The school was quite another story, but Lila prided herself of knowing everyone in Crotalus at least on sight. She didn't know this girl - a fourth or fifth year, by the looks of her - and that was unacceptable.

"Certainly," she said with a smile markedly cooler than the one she'd started the Feast with. Dimly, she remembered the adults talking about something being wrong with Salem, so a logical guess said New Girl, like Rosalind, was from there. Rosalind, however, hadn't acted as though Lila was a new member of her school instead of it all being the other way around, at least not in Lila's presence.

She passed the pumpkin juice, but didn't immediately let go of the jug. "My name is Lila St. Martin," she said. "Of the South Carolina St. Martins. I'm also the sixth year prefect for Crotalus." She smiled sweetly as she released the drink to New Girl. That should have been enough to knock her back into her place. Pride wasn't necessarily bad, but Lila felt very strongly about the need to correct someone else's when it made her life less comfortable. "Since I don't know you, you must be new. Who are you?"

16 Lila St. Martin Depends. Is this place Sonora or Crotalus? 80 Lila St. Martin 0 5

Renaye Warren

November 15, 2008 11:59 PM

Tag. by Renaye Warren

Renaye hadn't realized exactly how much work moving her stuff back into her room would require. There was so much clutter and she had not even realized it was there. This and that from here and there had to be thrown out from her old-new room. She hadn't been there in years but now she was going back. The awkward tension was obvious throughout the house. Mom and Dad were acting normally, but small slips, like not knowing who Laurie (Laurie!) was, made their distance seem like a decade. Renaye and Elaina's room, though small, was able to accommodate the two girls. They still remembered the half-and-half rule. Elaina kept her pictures to the left of the dresser and Renaye kept her DISCUSS article, her Quidditch League newspaper cut-out, etc. on her side. They had quite the system, even if Laina got paint on her sheets every once in a while.

Returning to Sonora was refreshing. At Sonora she knew what was happening and she knew where she wanted to be. Though her roommates were difficult to keep the peace with, she always found comfort in the fact that she always had Josh, Laurie, and Irene. She knew she could escape to Pitch should the need arise. There wouldn't be those weird moments where she would have to relive her sorting simply because her parents hadn't heard the story yet. Josh's disappointment in sticking out the summer without his girlfriend (still weird) didn't help to elevate the household mood. Renaye felt like it was something she had to take upon herself. She was the happy one. She was always the uppity one. She was always the optimist. So why did that feel like such a burden?

Summer, as always, has its props. Like Joe. Joe, the cute Keeper with a handsomely boyish face. He was nice to her every year come time for the summer league to start. This year it seemed like they had talked so much more. There were those harmless, accidental caught glances that made the other aware that the other was looking. There was the side comments like, "Hey, you played awesome today." There was the, "Raye, you have something in your hair..." The only frustration she had with Joe was the fact that they only saw each other over the summer and she had no idea if he could ever like her back. She was such a tomboy she doubted he would.

The feast began and Renaye took a spot at the Crotalus table, Josh having gone to find Laurie. Not that he was whipped or anything. No... Not Josh. Ha. After the quick announcements and a cheer for Elly, Renaye turned to the glorious food that was appearing in front of her.

"Hey Renaye." The blonde girl looked sharply around, not having noticed who she may have been situated between. She let out a small breath was she realized it was Alexis, relieving the horrifying thought that she was sitting next to a certain girl who name rhymed with Cecily Smythe. "How was your summer? Full of Quidditch and fun, I presume?" Renaye let out a soft laugh.

"As always," she said with a smile, "Actually, my parents just came back from traveling for a little more permanent stay. So I was mostly remaking my room to be a little more 'Me.' Our team went to States again, but we lost. That seeker of ours had her eyes on my brother instead of the snitch..." She stabbed a piece of roast beef bitterly. Lynnie and her crushes. They got to be quite inconvenient. "Other than that though, it was pretty fun. It's nice to relax and just take in the sun. Hey, look!" she said, holding out her arm, "I even got a tan." The skin on her arm was maybe a shade darker than her normal complexion. She hoped Alexis would catch the detail.

0 Renaye Warren Tag. 0 Renaye Warren 0 5

Charlie

November 16, 2008 12:23 PM

Magic is truly awesome by Charlie

If this had been a month ago, Charlie would have been insanely jealous of this other girl and her family, growing up with magic and being allowed to do magic at home, and going to Quidditch games, and other things that Charlie had never done. But as she ate the most delicious lasagne ever (though she wouldn't dare to tell her parents that), Charlie wasn't too jealous, because here she was, training to be a witch, the same as all the other girls in her year. Even with her slight envy of the other girl (who she thought might be a bit Spanish - she said Tio which, if Charlotte remembered her class last year correctly, meant 'uncle'), Charlie appreciated that growing up with Muggles might have given her a perspective that some of these other pureblood witches didn't have. It would be beyond exciting to find out.

"Lita, then," Charlie replied with a genuine smile. "I'm Charlotte Abbott, but everyone calls me Charlie," she gave her own similar introduction. "And yes, we'll be roommates," she exclamied excitedly. "I'm so looking forward to it. I've never shared a room before," Charlie explained. "Except at sleepovers." Part of her was hoping that having rommates would be like having a slumber party every single day. "Hey, we should have a midnight feast tonight to celebrate!"

Granted, the girls might be too tired on their first day to stay up until midnight, but right now Charlie felt as though she was too excited to ever sleep again. Plus she wanted to explore her dormitory and commons very thoroughly that same evening, and she couldn't wait to find out what the rest of the school would be like. "I can't believe how excited I am," she repeated again. She was aware that such pointless repetitions might make her sound a bit stupid, but she just couldn't help it.

0 Charlie Magic is truly awesome 0 Charlie 0 5

Amelia

November 16, 2008 12:47 PM

That's because I'm irresistable by Amelia

Ian Grimm was a very peculiar creature; Amelia was sure she wasn't alone in this assessment. He seemed intelligent but he was incredibly awkward with his social manner, and more often than not was far too rude and abrasive for Amelia to want to spend much time with him. But then he wasn't particularly unpleasant and his rare and surprising bouts of laughter were worth putting up with the rest. Even now when he abruptly forbade Milly from speaking and thrust an item upon her, he was being far from friendly and yet had obviously purposefully come over. Most peculiar.

"I may well do," Amelia replied with a raised eyebrow and a half-hearted attempt at a glare, once she was again permitted to speak. She was used to having her own way, with no exceptions, and probably would have made more of a fuss if she hadn't been distracted by the basket she now seemed to be holding. "What is this?" she demanded to be told even as she began rummaging through the contents. Upon finding them to be unexpectedly pleasant, Milly looked at Ian again, this time with an expression that was a spectacular mix of unexpected pleasure and curious mistrust.

"What and why?" she asked in a no-nonsense sort of way.

0 Amelia That's because I'm irresistable 0 Amelia 0 5

Chelsea Brockert

November 17, 2008 3:57 PM

Yes, two at once can be a problem... by Chelsea Brockert

"Tell me about it" Chelsea replied to Cecily's statement about her family. "It seems I am always going to have someone from mine here. Not only is Nina, " her tone implied her disgust at the mention of her younger sister "going to be coming in as soon as Adam granduates, but apparently shortly after I was born, my distant relations decided to breed like rabbits." Chelsea stabbed a bit of lettuce. "However, I don't know any of them and hope to ignore them the best I can."

She gave the firstie a cool appraisal, as she spoke. "The Warren girl is Renaye Warren." Chelsea's voice was much like it was when she mentioned Nina-dripping with disgust. "I advise you avoid her. She's..." She looked for a word that was appropriate in description yet appropriate for her as a proper young lady to say, "an abomination. Renaye is disgrace to purebloods everywhere and what they stand for. She's not what a respectable young lady should be and flaunts it at every turn. She cares for nothing but Quidditch, and is thus deadly boring as well."

Kendra introduced herself and Chelsea wasn't quite sure what to make of her name. The name Paully wasn't immediately recognizable to her. She looked to Cecily to see if it registered with the other girl.

11 Chelsea Brockert Yes, two at once can be a problem... 108 Chelsea Brockert 0 5

Ian

November 17, 2008 5:28 PM

Your logic seems flawed. by Ian

“Summer favors,” Ian said, his tone stating clearly that those two words alone should suffice as explanation. “My mother makes me bring them to school every year after she comes back from her parties up in the Hamptons. When she comes back, she always has her favors, the latest exclusives for the Families and such.”

The Families referred to the thirty or so blue bloods that lived in sparse clumps up and down the New England coast line. There were three other families like the Grimms, their legs standing in both the Muggle and Wizarding business worlds. They all feigned modernity and tolerance, but when it came down to it, it was money that drove their motivations, not blood. Ian had learned that much from observation alone. The rest had come from judicious visits to the File Room.

“It’s either you or the Aladren common room; and somehow I imagine you might have a better appreciation for Mother-of-Pearl than the general populace. The chocolate’s not bad, either. I doubt that the amaretto filling was intended for the under-age crowd, though.” He gave up his considerations over the supper options, deciding that he wasn’t hungry after all. No. . . what he was feeling wasn’t hunger; it was simple curiosity.

“Curious, wasn’t it, that the Headmaster didn’t introduce that one fellow in the back. He introduced everyone else and his brother, so I wonder why. . .”

0 Ian Your logic seems flawed. 0 Ian 0 5

Alexis

November 17, 2008 8:27 PM

Exactly! by Alexis

For a second, Alexis thought that Renaye was mad to see her. Maybe she had hoped to talk to Laurie or something...but Josh was dating Laurie (which was completely weird), so he was probably wanting to talk to her alone. Maybe it had just been her imagination. Yes, that had to be it.

"As always, Actually, my parents just came back from traveling for a little more permanent stay. So I was mostly remaking my room to be a little more 'Me.' Our team went to States again, but we lost. That seeker of ours had her eyes on my brother instead of the snitch...

Alexis giggled. "Yes, girls and their silly crushes." Not that she really knew. Although Raoul seemed to interest her, but she didn't really have a crush on him or anything. She hardly knew him. At Renaye's exclamation of a tan, Alexis squinted her eyes and looked closely.

"No, I don't see it. You look as pale as ever." She pulled back with a grin. "Kidding! Yes, you have gotten a tan. I think you are lucky." Alexis held out her own arm in comparison. "The Irish or whatever kind of blood that makes my hair red won't let me tan. I burn." She shrugged, letting her arm fall to her side.

"Your summer sounds completely awesome. I'm going to have to get back on the Pitch as soon as possible if I want to make anything besides a reserve. I couldn't stand watching Josiah play last year and I couldn't!" She blushed a little. "I'm sure he got to practice over the summer or something. I don't know if I'll make it on the team...but I know you and Josh will!"

0 Alexis Exactly! 0 Alexis 0 5

Cynthia Smythe

November 18, 2008 3:58 PM

Start with Sonora by Cynthia Smythe

The juice was passed, and Cynthia was immediately introduced to her aide, with somewhat less than subtle undertones which Cynthia had no trouble in detecting. Raising one hooked eyebrow to accompany the one-sided half smirk, Cynthia thanked Miss St Martin for passing her the requested juice, and she set about pouring herself a cup and didn't deign to look up again until she had finished and replaced the jug solidly on the table top.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lila St Martin," Cynthia said, her voice not quite the high, harsh sound it had been a few years ago, but not pleasant-sounding by any means. It was nasal and crisp, and couldn't be welcoming if she tried. "I am new, by some accounts," she said, looking at her prefect directly eye-to-eye. "My name is Cynthia Smythe, and I'm in fourth year," she thought she may as well give the details that would otherwise be sought in due course. "I cannot vouch for my permanency here, as my father seems unable to decide where and by what means my education should be conducted," she said dryly. For all the moving around she'd done since her eleventh birthday, Cynthia wouldn't be at all surprised if she were not to return after the next summer. Her father was not the upstanding member of society that he would like to be, but Cynthia was in a fortunate position to share the surname of her wealthier, socialite cousins. Unless especially familiar with the family, no person could be certain Cynthia belonged to the lower end of the hierarchy, and she was in no hurry to correct them.

0 Cynthia Smythe Start with Sonora 103 Cynthia Smythe 0 5

Mike Song

November 18, 2008 4:59 PM

Hopefully, not the silent kind. Those are scary. by Mike Song

“A movie, cha. . .” Mike mused aloud, his stomach finally sated. Minus that small space he always reserved for dessert, of course. “I was all geared up thinking you had gamer parents, but that’s cool, too. Still spades better than my mom and her need for tradition and garbage.”

He grimaced out of habit, but the feeling behind it was genuine. Some ancient Korean tradition dictated that siblings had to have some kind of theme to their meanings. In his and Euna’s case, they both had the ‘Ae’ which meant ‘love’ or ‘loveliness’ or something along those lines. It was Euna’s job to remember needless details like that. His mind had much more relevant pursuits.

“There’s just my sister,” he half rose to point to the short, plainly Asian girl seated at the Aladren table, “Euna. And no,” he rushed, stemming what was almost always the next question, “we’re not twins. She’s my honest to blog older sister, by nine months. She totally acts like it all the time, at that. Euna is a total No-Fun Zone.”

Mike had all levels of stokedness down pat, just over the joy of being in a different house. Sure, Euna was fun to mess with and annoy, but she always managed to get him to feel bad when that was the last thing he wanted to feel. It was an instant fail, and Pecari seemed like just the sort of House to not induce unnecessary emotions like guilt and consideration.

“Why are you here then, if your sibs go to school else where?” Cupcake it was then, he decided once finished with his question. His masculinity was in no way bothered by the fact that said cupcake had sprinkles, either, even if some of them were pink.

0 Mike Song Hopefully, not the silent kind. Those are scary. 0 Mike Song 0 5

Laurie Cider

November 18, 2008 5:28 PM

Rescuing. . .sort of. by Laurie Cider

The chip on her shoulder was nearing the two-ton level of heaviness, but Laurie was unable to shake it. She was still peeved at her parents and their summer stubbornness; she was doubly as peeved that they hadn’t even bothered to explain themselves. Just more of that ‘we’re the parents, you’re the child’ nonsense. She was thirteen, for Merlin’s sake, a teenager. She wasn’t seven any more and so easily assured just by hearing ‘Mom thinks it’s for the best.’

Her tepid ire was even further stoked by the fact that once again, her parents had made her fly to Arizona. The previous excuse of having to drive all the way to Orlando for the port key station was removed; a new station had been opened in Tampa, which was where she had to fly from anyway. But no- just more of that, ‘Dad thinks it’s for the best.’ So here she was, over thirty minutes late to the Welcoming Feast; she had missed the first years drinking their potions, the Headmaster’s speech, and the entire Crotalus table seemed full up.

She’d been forced to slide into an open space near the end of the Teppenpaw table and despite some serious effort on her part, had been unable to find Josh Warren anywhere. Renaye had been spotted fairly easily; she was in a discussion with Alexis Ashwood. Laurie was reluctant to crash in on that. Glumly, she turned in her seat, tucking back some of her now four-inches shorter hair behind an ear, and half-heartedly considered whether she was in the right sort of mood for eating or not.

She’d just reached the decision that some bread wouldn’t be out of order when the boy next to her began coughing. When the coughing persisted, she worriedly gave into the compulsion to help the coughing along and began hitting his back. Her efforts were apparent immediately, but not in a favorable way.

Aghast, she stopped, her hands to her mouth, apologies ready. Her ill-timed efforts had resulted in a very damp school mate. “Oh god, geez,- I’m sorry. I didn’t really think I had that much strength to me- shoot, what was that spell again? I think it was . . . yes, it was-” Somewhat hastily, she yanked her wand from its shrinkable holster around her neck and did the proper flick, twist and swish for the spell. “Thank Merlin I paid proper attention that day. Seriously, though, I’m sorry about that- are you all dry now?”

0 Laurie Cider Rescuing. . .sort of. 0 Laurie Cider 0 5

Nathaniel

November 18, 2008 7:15 PM

blush by Nathaniel

Nathaniel nodded, great! She was in Teppenpaw too, so he was starting to get these things right. He nodded along, pulling food into his mouth while he watched Pippa. He was grinning at the blonde girl, resting his chin in his hand as he imagined what kind of things they’d be exposed to here. Magic, it was so hard to believe, so cool, it was magic. He’d seen some while walking through the shops to get the weird school supplies, but now he’d be doing it.

He hoped he wasn’t coming off too emotional, too excited. It just happened that way for a boy like him. He was probably acting stupid; the girl was probably thinking he was some kind of hyped-up freak. Nathaniel hoped not, but he’d been told many times before to “calm down” the things he was fussing over stated as being “not that big of a deal”. And some of the people in here radiated that sort of idea, magic “not that big a deal”, but Nathaniel couldn’t help it. It was that big a deal.

Pippa let him know that she had been born into this whole magic thing; she couldn’t imagine life without it. And with that, Nathaniel’s whole face animated surprise and awe, like he couldn’t believe it. Like Santa was standing there in front of him. “That’s so cool,” he was able to say, nodding, “I mean, its probably…” he tried to tone his voice, easing away from the emotions and it flattened out slightly, “Not that big a deal to you.” Oh how he hated that phrase!

The pure bliss hadn’t kept from his face very long, really it hadn’t left his face merely hid while he tried to seem less enthusiastic than he actually was. “My mom would love to be magic though,” he said, choosing to initiate more conversation while he was eating here. “She told me she was going to try and become magic while I left, I wonder, can you do that? Just start… practicing and then get it?” he questioned her with curiosity, she probably knew so much more than him.

“Well, my dad thinks its crazy, what my mom is trying to do, he doesn’t think it will work,” Nathaniel’s face beamed with hope for his mother and himself, “But even he admits, you never know. If I can get it, couldn’t she?” Picking a little at his food more, the boy pushed back the small length of hair. Looking at Pippa, he wondered if she was a little less anxious than she seemed before. “Hey, do you think you’re going to join any of the clubs here?”

0 Nathaniel *blush* 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Anabel McIntosh

November 19, 2008 1:12 AM

Ooh Gossip, My Friend by Anabel McIntosh

"She cares for nothing but Quidditch, and is thus deadly boring as well."

Anabel had long ago come to the conclusion that coming into the tail end of a conversation had both its benefits as well as its repercussions. While one could quite often catch the grasp of the conversation in just a few words, Anabel knew that there were times that one's assumptions were quite often wrong. And Anabel never liked to be wrong. There were some situations, however, that Anabel immediately threw caution to the wind and jumped right into the conversation. This situation was most definitely one of them.

"I would assume we're talking about Renaye," Anabel stated matter-of-factly, taking a seat. She offered smiles to Chelsea and Cecily before turning her attention to the only unfamiliar face of the trio. Anabel immediately assertained that the girl was a first year, which meant that she was easily impressionable.

"I'm Anabel McIntosh," she added after a moment. She looked to Chelsea or Cecily to introduce the newcomer to her, as it was apparent that the group had already made introductions. "Sorry I'm late, by the way. We were in Europe for the summer again and there was a splinching at the Apparition site so we had to wait while they cleaned up the mess. We didn't get back until a few hours ago and while I had already gotten all of my stuff for school, I still had to pack." Rolling her eyes, Anabel pushed a stray lock of hair neatly behind her ear. "It's been a bit crazy especially as my cousin Lizzy was with us for part of the summer. I'm so glad to be back here."

0 Anabel McIntosh Ooh Gossip, My Friend 120 Anabel McIntosh 0 5

Amelia

November 19, 2008 12:38 PM

The only flaw around here lies in your manners by Amelia

After hearing the explanation, Amelia was suitably satisfied and, as she had been brought up to do, said, "In that case, thank you very much." She rummaged through the basket a little while longer, pleased to have obtained such an acceptable gift for nothing. When Ian queried the presence of a particular person, Amelia placed the favors to one side and spared a moment to look at 'the fellow in the back.'

"Who knows?" Amelia said with a shrug, her efforts at feigning interest minimal and unbelievable. The fact that some unknown person wasn't important enough to be introduced didn't bother her in the slightest; if they were important she would no doubt find out soon enough.

Her limited interest in that matter now expired, Amelia turned once again to the delight of consuming a delicious meal. Not far away she could see several of her relatives as they too settled into their meals. "Loads of my family are here this year," she commented idly, for she had grown up believeing that conversation was always welcome, and to be especially encouraged during mealtimes. "Dana's in first year and Cynthia's come back to school, now, too." She swallowed a large mouthful in a manner that could be presumed undignified. "It's going to be a real pain with the teachers this year," she predicted. "You know, 'I teach your cousin, don't I?' Who cares?"

0 Amelia The only flaw around here lies in your manners 0 Amelia 0 5

Cecily

November 19, 2008 12:47 PM

Our reason for living by Cecily

Cecily was delighted as Anabel came to join them; she would have gone crazy if she didn't have Anabel sharing their room with the collection of peculiarities unfortunately sorted into Crotalus that year. Elegant as always, Anabel introduced herself to the first year. In return, Cecily immediately offered the information her friend was subtly seeking.

"This is Kendra Paully," she said, her head tilted just to one side almost in question; Cecily knew nothing of the name 'Paully' herself, and judging by the lack of response from Chelsea, the Aladren had no knowledge of it, either. Cecily wondered whether Anabel would be able to make some comment that would enlighten them - otherwise they would have to continue conversing with the girl and hope she elucidated.

"Splinching?" Cecily repeated with obvious disgust. She even halted her movements of placing a small helping of salad on her plate and narrowed her already small brown eyes. "How vile. And so inconsiderate to delay your return, too." If Anabel had been on time perhaps none of them would be stuck talking to a first year, and could enjoy their summer catch-up in peace.

0 Cecily Our reason for living 0 Cecily 0 5

Jera Valson

November 19, 2008 1:06 PM

Welcome to the pie by Jera Valson

After a full year at school, being at home on her own for almost the entire summer had been somewhat lonely. Not that Jera was really ever alone, with family visiting every week and the druids just up the mountain, but she did miss the constant company of eager young learners her own age. Yet when she entered the Hall again, the sheer volume of students overwhelmed Jera, and she hastened to find a seat among the Aladren students and immersed herself in a book. This [articular one was called 'Insects and anthropods: habits and habitats' and Jera was about halfway through it.

She barely noticed as other students were sorted, and only half-listened to the Headmaster's speech - she knew she could find out any important details later. In fact, Jera was only distratced by her reading as her stomach rumbled just a little. Barely looking up from her book, she reached a hand out towards the nearest dish but retracted it once she realised the girl next to her had been aiming for the same piece of fruit.

"It's okay," Jera smiled back, indicating the other girl should take the apple, and she helped herself to a cheese sandwich instead. She really wasn't fussy about food; as it was she'd only realised she wanted to eat because of her stomach growling.

"No, I'm not new," she replied, placing her sandwich on her plate for the moment. "I'm Jera," she returned the introduction, "in second year." She offered Taylor a shy smile. "Welcome to Aladren."

0 Jera Valson Welcome to the pie 112 Jera Valson 0 5

Lila St. Martin

November 19, 2008 10:02 PM

I have (relatively) few complaints. by Lila St. Martin

Lila kept her smile on, but inside, she was seething.

Who did this insolent little brat think she was? No one ignored a St. Martin girl, especially not for a cup of juice! She had to be Muggleborn; even a member of a larger or more influential family wouldn't just snub a St. Martin to her face, even if she was only a second daughter.

Her temper was not improved by the introduction of her new Housemate. Not only was she wrong, but New Girl had a good set of connections here - much better than Lila's, anyway. It really wasn't fair. She'd done absolutely nothing awful enough to warrant having Allie, Anne, and the two Savannah Carey girls be her only family at Sonora.

"So you have family here," Lila said, still taking care to be sweet. "That's really, really good! Cecily and Anne can help you adjust. I think you're going to find Sonora a lot different than the places you've been before."

Crotalus would be, anyway. Lila was almost looking forward to hearing how well Cynthia got along with her roommates - a Muggleborn and that ridiculous Cumni girl, if she wasn't entirely mistaken. Her reaction to finding out who her new prefect had just pretended to confuse Amelia with might be amusing, too, but Lila wasn't sure she wanted to be there. Anne could be a controversial topic.

16 Lila St. Martin I have (relatively) few complaints. 80 Lila St. Martin 0 5

Lita

November 19, 2008 10:14 PM

Magic is the greatest! by Lita

Adelita smiled openly at Charlotte. “Oh, Charlie! That is such a great name! “ Adelita complimented with enthusiasm. She didn’t know any girls who had boy names, even as nicknames. She found it to be exquisite to know that a girl could hold such a title. The women in her family all had very feminine names, Sofia, Izabella, Maria, even Dulce, whose name most people associated the sound as masculine, literally meant sweet. The girls whom she danced with all had girl names. Kelli, Theresa, Dana, etc. All female names. Charlotte was female, but Charlie was so much more than that. And, it completely changed on how Adelita perceived the girl.

“I’ve only ever shared a room with my sister and that was very very very brief.” Adelita told her new roommate. “We’re close but that’s just too close for me. She gets into everything” Adelita explained. Her sister, the doll that she was, liked to play with all of Adelita’s things, even when she had the same stuff. If it was Adelita’s, Dulce had to touch it. Lita hated sharing what was rightfully hers to be begin with. And that also meant her bedroom. Her parents tried hard to make sure that they had their own things so that the girls weren’t fighting about something, but it never worked out quite like they imagined. So, when push came to shove, Dulce was to have her own room again and she was not allowed into Adelita’s room without Lita’s explicate consent.

“My friends from dance have sleepovers all the time. They were so much fun. Kelli’s halfblood and her dad’s a muggleborn so they have these really cool things like…um….what’s it called again?” Adelita screwed her face up in thought, trying to recall the name of the object that Kelli had in her living room and in her bedroom. It was a neat thing that Adelita had fallen in love with the moment she had laid eyes on it. Apparently, her father had one when he was growing up, but her mother didn’t want one because she was worried that it would make Adelita and her siblings lazy. “Well, I don’t remember what it was called, but it’s this box that has pictures on it. But the pictures move and talk and have stories.”

She wasn’t so sure that was the best way to describe the object, but it was the best that she could do. It wasn’t like she saw it all the time. Maybe once every couple of months. Adelita smoothed her braids once more while she lightly munched on her bit of chicken. She was excited and nervous so her stomach felt like knots and she was worried what would happen if she ate too much. She started giggling behind her hand when Charlie suddenly exclaimed how excitedly she was… again. “Do you think our roommates will be fun?” She asked her, suddenly realizing that it might not just be the two of them in their dorm room.
\r\n\r\n

0 Lita Magic is the greatest! 0 Lita 0 5

Josh

November 20, 2008 8:15 PM

If only this could get awkward! by Josh

Josh wasn’t so sure her compliment or reassurance with how he would handle the job really fit him. Josh remained in the background, mostly unnoticed. Or, he assumed unnoticed. His siblings were always the ones who liked the spotlight, but Josh liked to remain inconspicuous for as long as he could. Why he was chosen for such a role was beyond his comprehension. He was good at his lessons, but had never been one to lead a crowd. He was nice to those around him, but not openly friendly the way Eavan and Elly were. It was a wonder to him why they had decided on him over Helena. “Thanks. I hope so.” He commented lightly, glad that she didn’t seem angry at him for having it.

As Helena spoke about her brother and his reaction to his CATS score, Josh’s apologetic look became one of amusement. He could remember when Sofia had received her scores and had received average scoring on her exams. She was a professional model, but it proved she had a brain somewhere. Jake’s had been rather dismal, but he had been happy to have passed anything at all. Bella hadn’t been too concerned over her results. Turned out, she hadn’t really needed to be. Her scores were the type that Aladrens were expected to receive. Josh had been too young when his other siblings had taken their CATS, but figured they must not have been too bad. Especially since Paco was following in their father’s footsteps and currently completing law school and Julia had entered into the Auror Program and graduated at the top of her class. He wasn’t quite so sure about Juan or Hannah since Juan left the family when Josh was only four and Hannah hadn’t done anything after her schooling. Well, aside from becoming a mother.

Thoughts of Hannah reminded Josh that Adelita was now in school and had been sorted into his house. He looked for a moment before spotting her sitting with the other first years and chatting away with one of her new roommates. Breathing out silently, Josh returned his attention to Helena and after a moment of silence, realized she had asked him a question. “Oh…er…” Josh racked his brain for a moment. His summer… did he really want to mention everything that had happened? There was quite a bit that went on. No, he’d keep it simple. No point in telling Helena things she probably didn’t care to hear about anyway.

“It was a bit strange. Jake moved to Portugal with Jen and our family friend, Anita. So, it’s odd not having him around. Bella’s friend, Chris, came to visit in Mexico, and Danae and Eavan came to visit us in Spain for a bit.” Josh told her, acting as though this happened all the time. “Paco’s baby is almost here, which is an event in itself. And Sofia made the tabloids for dating some rocker guy.” Josh was rambling. He was fairly certain Helena had no idea who Josh was talking about, but that was probably for the best. Josh’s family really was just too big sometimes. “But, mainly just the usual hanging out with the relatives. Nothing too exciting, I don’t think.”

0 Josh If only this could get awkward! 0 Josh 0 5

Jaeven Dimitri

November 22, 2008 9:31 AM

Preeeetty much by Jaeven Dimitri

Jae had a marvelous summer, volunteering at the Humane Society and riding horses and spending time with his aunts. The house next door was empty now; the girl who had been his best friend for years and years had moved. Jae was upset that she had moved, but was also a little relieved. After he'd started at Sonora, things had gotten a little chilly between them. And then the boyfriend had happened, and she'd started doing bad stuff, and it hadn't been good. But the house was empty now, and Jae was hoping that some sort of madcool kid would move in while he was at school this year. Someone like Brett, who Jae had started to be more and more friends with as the years went on. It was pretty awesome.

After the wagon ride, one of Jae's favourite parts of the year (and Jenny's least favourite), Jae had made his way to the Cascade Hall. But he didn't see Brett, which made him sad. So instead, he saw a girl sitting near the mashed potatos and he slid in next to her. During the usual pre-school speech, the boy didn't pay much attention. Instead, he bounced up and down, blonde dreadlocks swinging about, and tried to catch a glimpse of Jenny, who had immediately bolted away from the wagon upon arrival to Sonora. Probably she was chasing gnomes in the Labyrinth Gardens, Jae decided, and focused enough on the speech to hear the end of it.

Foodtime!

The green-eyed Pecari quickly gathered food, running into problems only when he aimed for the mashed potatos. The girl sitting next to him let him take them first, which made Jae pretty happy. She seemed pretty nifty!

"Thanks!" he chirped, beginning to dig into his large plate of food. For a short thirteen year old, Jae ate an awful lot. He liked food. He also liked animals, and pudding, and some sports, and people. People were awesome. People and pudding together were like, awesome squared. People and awesome and Sonora again were almost as cool as whatever came after awesome squared. Jae had never been the best at maths, but he didn't mind much. Nina had always helped him. At least until she got mad about Sonora.

"I'm Jae," he introduced himself with a wide grin. "I'm in Pecari, and I'm a fourth year now. My cat's name is Jenny and she's probably trying to eat gnomes, even though she hasn't ever caught one yet. Who're you?"

0 Jaeven Dimitri Preeeetty much 104 Jaeven Dimitri 0 5

Renaye

November 22, 2008 10:26 AM

Exactly, indeed! by Renaye

Renaye grinned at Alexis's retort to her tan, and telling her she simply burnt. That was one of the curses of pale skin: the pink that preceeded the tan. Renaye nodded in understanding, taking a bite of her roast beef as she listened to the redheaded girl return the favor of Qudditch talk. "Your summer sounds completely awesome. I'm going to have to get back on the Pitch as soon as possible if I want to make anything besides a reserve. I couldn't stand watching Josiah play last year and I couldn't! I'm sure he got to practice over the summer or something. I don't know if I'll make it on the team...but I know you and Josh will!"

Renaye couldn't help but smile a little at the last bit. She certainly hoped so. Last year there wasn't an overflow of people competing for beater, but you never know. She liked to be optimistic, but not unrealistic. The beater position was open, now all that mattered was who showed up and played their best. "Thanks," she said with a smile, "But don't worry about it so much. There is much more extra room on the team this year than last year. There is..." she ticked off the positions on her fingers for a second before frowning, "Okay, nevermind. There's two open positions. Seeker and Beater. And I don't mind competition, so feel free to go for whatever you want."

Renaye looked around Cascade for a moment, spotting Laurie talking to Josiah, Alexis's cousin, the kid at Charms Club. Where was Josh... Renaye allowed herself to shrug it off and her mind returned to the Pitch far away. Sometimes she wished the team didn't favor returning players, but all the same it was a very nice comfort for those on the team. Josh had to be feeling better about tryouts this year. Pecari, for example, held free-for-all tryouts.

"So," Raye said, "You have any goals for the year?"

0 Renaye Exactly, indeed! 0 Renaye 0 5

Charlie

November 22, 2008 2:24 PM

The best! by Charlie

Lita had mentioned her sister a couple of times now. "I don't have any sisters," Charlie said. "I've got two older brothers," she said, rolling her eyes. Boys were always a pain - especially her brothers. Granted Oliver was generally nicer, but he could be so hopeless sometimes. Julian was moody but less boring.

Charlie's roommate didn't object to a midnight feast. She didn't agree either, but what she did say immediately distracted Charlie from pursuing the issue. "It's called a television," she said, rapidly brushing aside the unanticipated question before getting right to the point: "Your dance friends?" she repeated excitedly. "You mean you dance? Oh wow, what do you do? Ballet is my love but I learned jazz and character too, just for fun." If Lita was a dancer too they already had far more in common than Charlie could ever hope for in a new friend. Maybe she sang, too? The only thing Charlotte loved more than singing was dancing ballet. Though her parents wouldn't let her learn pointe yet; they said she was too young. Hello, she was eleven already!

"Do you think our roommates will be fun?" Lita asked.

"Undoubtedly," Charlie said with a smile. In her mind's eye she was imagining another couple of girls with dark physical features to match Lita's and her own dressed in pink pyjamas and having the best time of their lives. "I can't wait to meet everyone!"

0 Charlie The best! 0 Charlie 0 5

Ian

November 22, 2008 2:39 PM

Eh, can't contest that. by Ian

Ian slouched back against the table, his elbows propping up his back from the full edge of its surface. It was typical of most to not pay attention to the important things. An un-introduced stranger after a speech full of introductions obviously meant the lack of introduction was a purposeful thing- or at least, that was Ian's opinion.

"I'm sure the Headmaster knows," he muttered darkly, making more mental notes to look into the stranger's identity as soon as possible.

He listened, only partially interested, as Amelia rambled on about family relatives and having cousins and the like. He had no siblings, no cousins, no living uncles or aunts or grandparents. There was only his father, his mother, and himself left, a fact he was well acquainted with and while a touch annoyed to have the label 'Last of the Line' foisted on him, he didn't find the fact too morbid. There was also the small chance that he might not be the last one after all. If that letter he'd found could be believed, there might just yet be one more Grimm out there.

"I don't, not particularly," he agreed, also not caring that the question was of the rhetorical nature. "I have no siblings or cousins, or relatives really of any sort. There's me and my parents." There was also an unfortunate third cousin twice removed sleeping out the rest of his days in a coma somewhere in British Columbia. Supposedly. "I'm the end of it, so I've never had that experience."

What should have been a depressing statement had so little actual feeling infused it in, that Ian managed the comment with seeming glibness. "But I guess it could get a bit. . ." he reached for the word, not entirely comfortable with this seeming need for polite responses, ". . .er, crowded, I suppose."

Reminded of his original purpose when having entered the Cascade Hall- that not being to greet fellow classmates, listen to the Headmaster's speech, or welcome the new first years- Ian needed to weigh out the atmosphere to launch his chapter of Grimm Inquiries. He had the business cards made; they layered the bottom of his trunk, and he'd already distributed more than a few complimentary consultations. He was unsure, though, whether he wanted to station himself in the Hall or in the Library. The Hall allowed for a fairly open viewing, but the Library promised privacy.

Perhaps-

"I need an opinion." Ian did not specify that he needed Amelia's in particular, but she was conveniently already in conversation with him. "To conduct a business opening, which would serve better: here in the Hall, or in the Library?"

0 Ian Eh, can't contest that. 0 Ian 0 5

Mollie

November 23, 2008 4:11 PM

wonderful, in't it? by Mollie

"Oh yeh, no bother." Mollie smiled at the boy and took the spoon for the mashed potatos when he was finished and piled a small mountain on her plate. "Nice to meet you Jae, I'm Mollie, a second year in Teppenpaw," She had to laugh at his introduction; it was so enthusiastic. "My cat's name is Binx and he's probably upstairs in my room sleeping on my pillow." Mol found it a little odd that he introduced his cat, especially when it wasn't even with him, but she went for it anyway. Jae seemed like a genuinely exciting person, so she didn't want to offend him.

"I wish Binx would go chase gnomes, I think that's hillarious." Mollie laughed at the thought. Though she had a hard time picturing her kitten out in the gardens chasing gnomes; it would deffinitely be a sight to see. Binx was a very loving kitty, but not too active. She was positive that over the next five years he would end up weighing twenty pounds. Pausing to dig into her potatos, Mollie relished in the buttery taste that she'd certainly missed all summer. It really made a difference in how she felt. Not that she begrudged what she got at the orphanage, but it was really nice to pig out now that she was at home again. It reminded her that she needed to hunt down her HoH and ask them about the wizarding orphanage network.

"So, em, how come poor Jenny hasn't caught any gnomes yet? Are they tricky little creatures?" Mollie had just barely entered the wizarding world a year ago. As far as she knew, garden gnomes were cute little rosey-cheeked critters in red hats. She'd done a slew of reading, but hadn't been able to learn everything she wanted to about new life. She also liked to learn things by experiencing them, which is why she enjoyed talking to people so much. She was by nature, a people person and thoroughly enjoyed listening and conversing with people.

Jae especially, seemed like an interesting person to chat with. She rather enjoyed his friendly attitude. Ian had warned her that some people at this school wouldn't be as open to her heritage as some others. However, Jae didn't strike her as one of those people. Besides, she was pretty sure she could handle herself if somebody said something against her. After all, she didn't actually know if she was of wizarding heritage or not, and even if she wasn't, it seemed like a rotten way to judge people.

0 Mollie wonderful, in't it? 0 Mollie 0 5

Helena

November 23, 2008 10:03 PM

That would be so totally awesome! by Helena

If what she'd said about Geoff was enough to take Josh from apologetic to amused, the whole story would've probably put him on the floor laughing. She wasn't offended, though; the superboy Aladren almost passing out at the sight of his own name on an envelope was kind of funny. The dramas of Anne's abrupt arrival and Geoff's effusive thanking of what had sounded like everyone he'd ever met had made it as good as a play.

After her question, though, an awkward silence fell, and it made her worry again that she'd said the wrong thing. She'd almost made up her mind to take it back when he began going on about a bunch of people, not all of whom were or, to the best of her knowledge, had recently been students at Sonora Academy. Assuming they were all family or close connections to the family seemed like a safe bet, though.

"We're very boring," she said pleasantly, her face close to straight. "I think I like it that way, though. It's safer." She looked down to cut into her grilled chicken, giving him a flicker of a smile to take away the too-serious edge that comment could have easily gotten. "Anne stayed at the house one weekend, but other than that, it was pretty much family for me, too."

16 Helena That would be so totally awesome! 88 Helena 0 5

Lita

November 23, 2008 10:18 PM

Without a Doubt! by Lita

Adelita understood the look on Charlie’s face when she mentioned her brothers. Adelita’s little brother wasn’t old enough to cause her any issues currently aside from nearly taking her room away, but she did have a bunch of uncles and male cousins to make up for that fact. “My brother will be three this Christmas.” Adelita informed the girl. “But, I do have Tios and cousins who like to bother me.” Lita nodded her head as though she completely understood what older brothers were like.

To be honest, Adelita always bothered her Tios. She wanted to be involved in their lives and wanted them to be involved in hers. It was strange for some people to understand that her youngest uncles were only a couple of years older than she was. But then, her mother was seventeen years older than her littlest brothers. It was odd to think, even for Adelita, but this was as it had always been and she had never really questioned it. Either way, whenever she was able to see them for the holidays, Adelita had followed them around like a lost little puppy and they humored her by watching her recitals or helping build sand castles with her.

Adelita’s face lit up when Charlie opted to tell her the name of the object that she had been struggling to remember, “Oh yeah, that’s it!” She commented, before blinking at Charlie for the sudden change in topic. A grin erupted across her face when Charlie spoke of dance. It wasn’t the same sort of grin that had displayed on her mouth previously which had been one of excitement. No, this grin was one of pure happiness. Dance was everything that Adelita was. She lived to dance just as her sister lived to play her music. “I’ve been studying Ballet since I was four and a couple of years ago, our instructor had us pick another form of dance, so I started doing Contemporary too.” Her nose wrinkled slightly at the mention of the second dance as though she didn’t like it at all.

Adelita loved Contemporary. She loved it more than Ballet, but there were a few people who didn’t understand the style and, therefore, didn’t understand why she would like it so much. So, she pretended to hate it too just so that people didn’t think her odd. “You dance too? That’s amazing!” Adelita exclaimed excitedly. “I was going to miss it so being here, but since you dance too, maybe we do some dancing while we’re here! Wouldn’t that be so fun?”

Although Adelita started to giggle again behind her hand, she was in agreement with Charlie. She really couldn’t wait to meet everyone as well. She was still so very nervous about it though. What if she didn’t get along with all of her roommates like she was now with Charlie? Or what if people judged her because of her family? What if they expected her to be like them when she wasn’t like them at all? Her stomach was starting to hurt just thinking about it. She had to keep positive. Her mother always said, if you think about the brighter things than the darker things won’t matter so much. “I’m nervous about the classes. I’ve never used a wand. What if I’m terrible at it? Will they throw me out?” Adelita asked, her voice going to a whisper, afraid of one of the older students hearing her and making fun of her for it.

0 Lita Without a Doubt! 0 Lita 0 5

Cynthia

November 24, 2008 12:37 PM

And Crotalus? by Cynthia

Cynthia couldn't fault the older girl, which disappointed her greatly; she delighted in making others lose their composure. Cynthia only managed a feint grip on her own, so it seemed fair to encourage others down to her level. Then again, it others had often commented that Cynthia had a warped view of 'fair.'

The slip-up of family names didn't go unnoticed, though Cynthia had no reason to believe it wasn't genuine. Sonora was not a big school by any means, but certainly large enough for a sixth year to confuse the first name of a second year. Cynthia didn't bother to correct her; she didn't care for either of her silly cousins (although she was interested to discover what sort of standing they held at school) and she was far more irritated by the insinuation that she would need to rely on them in any fashion. "I'm sure I'll muddle along just fine," she replied tightly. After a heartbeat of a pause, she added, "Though I'm sure, as my prefect, you'll be only too keen to show me the ropes during my first few weeks."

As she waited to see if the sweet Miss Martin could stand to refuse her offer, Cynthia considered she might not necessarily consider it a great trial. The St Martins were, in most cases, perfectly respectable. Not that Cynthia cared hugely about such matters, but it did mean that a person would be more likely to share similar opinions. Her father might not be the patriarch Cynthia knew he envied, but he knew how to raise his children properly... he didn't need to know they disobeyed his teachings on occasion.

0 Cynthia And Crotalus? 0 Cynthia 0 5

Charlie

November 24, 2008 12:52 PM

We're so lucky by Charlie

Lita did dance! Charlie clapped her hands together out of sheer delight. "Oh but contemporary's okay too," Charlie said consolingly as her new best friend admitted to the dance style. "It can be much better than character sometimes." To be fair, any sort of dancing was good, but ballet would always be Charlie's soft spot. The real ballerinas were so beautiful and graceful. Besides, it was just about the only sport where you could dress completely in pink and get away with it.

"So much fun," Charlie agreed, nodding her head fiercely. "We could practise in our room, maybe," she suggested, although she wasn't sure yet how big their room would be, and if they would really have enoug space for dancing. Sometimes she and her dancer friends had made up routines in each other's bedrooms but quite often there wasn't space to do anything very spectacular.

Charlotte was happily finishing up her pasta dish and eagerly awaiting dessert when Lita distracted her with some rather worrying questions. If she were truthful, Charlie would admit to having had similar thoughts herself. Yet she thought voicing them outloud wouldn't help any, so she tried to be sympathetic instead. "I think everyone has those thoughts," she said with a smile. "I know I do. But I figure if we were really bad we wouldn't have got our letters in the first place," she said wisely. "I was terrified of taking that potion just now and not being sorted at all - that some signal would go off to say I wasn't good enough." She smiled more shyly; the Abbotts had good reason to worry about their magic skills - Charlie's parents had apparently just given up on magic because they didn't seem to be able to pull off spells properly. Of course Charlie wasn't supposed to know any of this but she'd been listening behind doors for many years.

"You'll be much better than me, anyway," Charlie told Lita. "I've hardly seen magic being done. You're already ahead of me."

0 Charlie We're so lucky 0 Charlie 0 5

Amelia

November 24, 2008 1:12 PM

Then you agree I'm right? by Amelia

Amelia gave Ian a sidelong glance; he really was odd. Who says they don't care about family and then prattles on about how they have none? If Amelia didn't care about her own family, she was hardly likely to care about anyone else's. But then, she'd always known Ian was peculiar. "Yes. Crowded," she replied flatly, knowing full well neither of them cared right now.

"I need an opinion," the strange boy said abruptly. Amelia was on the verge of telling him where he could go to get one but remembered just in time that she was supposed to be a young lady, and as such probably shouldn't say such things, even to an Aladren. Instead she let Ian continue with his dilemma, and once he'd finished she answered him instantly.

"Here, of course," she said with a small tint of disdain. "Not all of the students live in the library," she said, referring to everyone who wasn't in Aladren. Amelia herself had only been in the library three times in her first year, and could probably reduce that this year, if she tried. "Whereas everyone eats here. You should do it just after a meal, then people can hang around afterwards to see what you're selling. No inconvenience to them because they're already here."

Having answered the question and given her opinion most forthrightly, Amelia took another large mouthful of food. Once she'd swallowed it, she thought to ask, "What sort of business are you doing, anyway?" If Amelia approved she could possibly stretch to writing an article for the Aronos on his behalf.

0 Amelia Then you agree I'm right? 0 Amelia 0 5

Jae

November 24, 2008 5:03 PM

Yeah, it gives me the squirrel feeling on the inside by Jae

Ah! Jae hadn't seen the girl around very much because she was in Teppenpaw, and a second year too. He spent a lot of time in Pecari because Pecaris were pretty cool. The fourth year had always looked up to the Craven twins (even though Sorrel was scary) and of course, Saul, and had plenty of real friends in Pecari too. Like Brett, who he was roommates and Muggle-buddies with. Even after four years in the magical world, Brett and Jae still occasionally got confused by some things, and they usually figured them out together. Plus, Brett had gotten to keep one of Jenny's kittens when Aunt Marla had finally put her foot down on the number of animals in the house. Of course, they'd gotten a third dog over the summer, so Aunt Cheri had pretty much been able to persuade her otherwise, but that was okay. Jae was glad that Jenny's kittens had found happy homes.

It was also pretty nifty that Mollie had a cat too. After a few years at Sonora, Jae had almost completely replaced his vocabulary of 'madcool' and 'mad awesome' and other things to do with 'mad' with words like 'nifty' and 'splendiferous' and 'rad, yo!', although he hadn't had time to use the last one this year yet. It was a new-found discovery over the summer, probably from watching too many oldtime movies with his aunts and the animals. Jae loved his family. They were a lot cooler than the other families he saw in movies or read about in books. They always seemed so sad and un-nifty because they fought so much, or didn't like each other for dumb reasons. That wasn't what a family was. Families should love each other!

"'Cause, she had kittens two years ago," Jae explained, mouth half-full of some green beanish thing with butter on it. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but that hadn't ever stopped the blonde-dreadlocked boy before. "And now she's kind of fat because she also steals food from the other cats, and our dogs when she's home." Another contemplative mouthful, this time of the potatos. "Plus, I don't think she'd like it very much if she caught them. They're not very nice sometimes. So she's probably only trying to play-catch them."

0 Jae Yeah, it gives me the squirrel feeling on the inside 0 Jae 0 5

Mollie

November 24, 2008 9:05 PM

the squirrel feeling by Mollie

"Oh yeah eh? Sounds like where Binx is headed in the next few years." Mollie laughed as she reached across the table to snag the bowl of cranberry sauce. She sincerely missed that over the summer. This stuff was fresh-made, none of that canned crap. Not that she hated the canned stuff, she just appreciated the effort that went into this kind more. He eats a lot and doesn't get out much. I think they would get along just fine." It was curious to think about if cats made friends. She herself had very few friends, she could count them on one hand, maybe her cat would have better luck.

"Are gnomes really that nasty?" It struck her as odd. Then again, maybe she was misinformed about them. She made a mental note to check a book out of the library on gnomes and other garden creatures. What an intersting way to start the year. Her reading list got longer and longer every day. This would be particularly intersting to read about though she supposed. The animals and the potions and the spells were of certain interest to her. The potions especially. Cooking was one of her favorite things, it came naturally and she hoped potions would be the same; so far so good.

Listening to Jae talk of his home made Mollie a little whistful. "You have a lot of pets at home?" Mol wished she had place like that which made her light up. If she could talk about school like that she would. However she couldn't talk about it back in Boston. Sonora was her home and she loved every inch of it. Fortunately for her, she had six more years including this one and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. Then she would be old enough to find another nitch for herself and support herself doing something she loved. Maybe she'd go to college, if she could make the grades here.

"Em, so where are you from?" She questioned, since he had mentioned home. She liked listening to people talk of home, even though it made her a little sad, it made her even happier to watch their faces light up. "I'm from Boston, if you can't tell by the accent." She joked. Boston was the only other place she called home. Not the actually buildings she lived in, but the city itself, its people, its lights, the action, all of it. She supposed Boston was the only other place she could talk of as home, but it was weird to call a city itself home, she supposed.

0 Mollie the squirrel feeling 0 Mollie 0 5

Jae

November 24, 2008 9:44 PM

Cha! All warm and fuzzy on the inside. ^-^ by Jae

Thinking it was a splendiferous idea for Jenny and Binx to be friends, the blonde-dreadlocked Pecari bobbed his head energetically when it was suggested that the cats would get on well. He liked the idea of Jenny having friends. She used to play with Todd when she was a kitten, but after Todd died and she'd had kittens, Jenny had gotten lonely, he thought. It was sort of like how he'd gotten really lonely last year, because him and Gwyn had stopped talking as much, and Mika had gone away. But then he'd started talking more to Brett. Jae liked Brett. They were brain-twins a little bit, because they thought of stuff the same way sometimes. Plus they were roommates, which pretty much meant that they got to see each other a lot more than maybe some other people got to see each other.

"They bite," Jae informed Mollie seriously, focusing his green eyes intently on her. He knew from experience too. His very first DADA lesson, when he'd partnered with Caedence, he'd fallen off a statue and hurt himself and learned about gnomes not being friendly too. It had been a very educational lesson. Since then, Jae had been very careful about climbing statues too fast and had kept his distance from the gnomes. After all, he didn't want the poor gnome to bite him because it was scared and then have to be put down! That happened once to a dog at the Humane Society, and Jae had been sad.

"Oooh, that's a Boston accent?" Jae tilted his head a little bit and looked at the younger student. He didn't know very much about accents, because nobody in Colorado had them, except for a little bit on the a's. And that was only according to Aunt Marla, who'd lived in New York for almost forever before her and Aunt Cheri had moved out to Colorado. Aunt Cheri was from India. Well, not for real, but her family was. She made awesome Indian food. And sort of had an accent, but not really because Jae was so used to it. "My aunts and I live in Colorado, near Boulder," the fourth year explained, very seriously. "We have three dogs now, Sasha, Terrier, and Gen. Also two cats, Jenny and we kept one of her kittens, but he stays home with Aunt Marla and Aunt Cheri. Also a horse, and he lives out back. Aunt Marla keeps saying no more animals, but Aunt Cheri always convinces her to say yes," Jae giggled a little.

"Oh, and I used to have a puffskein," the Pecari remembered. "His name was Todd, but he died when I was in second year. I was sad, but he was sick and he probably feels better in heaven. Do you have pets?" he asked, again with a tilt of the head. Talking to Jae could be something of a mix between having a conversation with a six year old and talking to someone's pet budgie. It really depended on the day.

0 Jae Cha! All warm and fuzzy on the inside. ^-^ 0 Jae 0 5

Alexis

November 25, 2008 1:15 PM

Oh, yes, indeed by Alexis

Yes, Renaye was right. It wasn’t good to worry about the Quidditch try outs. Alexis thought she might try for seeker this year. She was going to stay away from Beating. No matter what Renaye said, the position belonged to the Warrens. Alexis was going to leave it to them. They may not have been great friends, but Renaye was getting more tolerable over the years. More than Cecily, anyway.

She looked around, seeing who she could spot. Laurie was talking to Josiah. Alexis was a little suspicious. Was he trying to trash her or something? Make Laurie not like her? The girls already thought she was two-faced. She really didn’t need Josiah emphasizing that. Besides, she wasn’t two-faced.

She just didn’t know which side to join.

"You have any goals for the year?"

Alexis blinked. Goals? Not really. Did she? “Well…I guess I want to survive.” she said simply. “These last two years have been insane in our dorms. Mother wants me to do better in classes, too. I want to make it on the Quidditch team, but my parents would be horrified if they found out. And…” She was a little embarrassed to admit this. “I want to be a better friend to you, Laurie, and Josh.” Okay, that confession was over with. “What about you? Any burning ambitions you’re dying to tell?”

0 Alexis Oh, yes, indeed 0 Alexis 0 5

Lila

November 25, 2008 5:29 PM

Internal politics are the usual order of the day. by Lila

For a moment, Lila thought she might have actually managed to annoy Cynthia into embarrassing herself. Unfortunately, at least for her, the younger girl recovered admirably. If she learned to smile and to speak pleasantly to those with the breeding to deserve it, she might, as Lila did, manage a "good enough" time here, if not popularity, respect, and the pleasant things that went with them.

"Of course," she said, mostly because she had no choice. It was a toss-up as to where a Smythe girl was compared to one of the St. Martins, but her father was already sufficiently displeased with her without her trying to find out. Cynthia would also win if Lila rejected her, and Lila hated to lose at anything. "It would be my pleasure."

She made a mental note to see if she could pull off pushing responsibility for Cynthia onto Jordanna. She'd never tried pulling social rank on the older prefect before, but if she could catch Jordanna somewhere without Catherine, who, as a fairly substantial heiress, offered her a certain degree of protection...

"Our Head of House is Professor Powell," she said, nodding to the high table. "She'll show you to the Crotalus common room with the first years after we eat." If that didn't do to knock Cynthia down a peg or three, Lila might gradually come to admire her; she couldn't imagine being lead around with a load of eleven-year-olds, but it sounded awful. All first years thought themselves very dignified and grown-up and so forth, but even a fourth year was old enough to see that they were not. "Unless you take Muggle Studies or Ancient Runes - the electives - you'll have all of your classes with your roommates, so you can follow them to the classrooms. Can you think of anything else that you'd like to know now?"

16 Lila Internal politics are the usual order of the day. 80 Lila 0 5

Lita

November 25, 2008 8:16 PM

And the rest of the school is lucky to have us! by Lita

Adelita giggled again. She seemed to always be giggling while chatting with Charlie. That was a good thing, right? Her mom had told her that when she met her friends, she would know because they would make her very happy. And, Adelita was happy, so… Charlie would be considered a real friend. Maybe making friends wasn’t as difficult as Lita had originally believed it to be. She had already met someone who shared the same passion for dance that she did and was going to be her new roommate. If nothing else, she had a companion in the dorm room. That could be labeled a success.

“Is character like Broadway dancing?” Adelita asked. She wasn’t ashamed for not knowing a specific dance. She was well aware that there was a lot out there that she had yet to discover when it came to the arts. Her mother tried to help her out by taking her to see recitals and plays every so often. It was their mother/daughter bonding time together whenever they did that. Adelita would miss those days terribly while she was attending Sonora. “My mom takes me to Broadway plays all the time. I like how they dance. It’s fun but still professional.” She said with a look as though she knew exactly what she was talking about even if she was just saying what she had heard other people say about it.

Charlie seemed up to dancing together, which put Adelita at ease. Her instructor had told her that she would need to continue practicing while she was away at school if she wanted to continuously advance in her level. And, if Charlie danced with her, Adelita wouldn’t feel so odd about having to dance around the school. “It would! I have my slippers with me. I’ve finally broken these ones in and I want to make sure that I don’t get rusty. My instructor would not be happy if she had to teach me everything all over again.” Adelita joked, mostly. She had begun pointe back in January and her feet were still healing from the blisters and calluses that had formed on them, but she loved doing it. She felt like a real dancer when she was on the very tips of her toes.

Deciding that she was done picking at her chicken (her stomach just wasn’t cooperating with her at the moment), Lita pushed it aside. Charlie admitted to having the same feelings about magic as Adelita did. Somehow, that made her feel immensely better. Knowing that she wasn’t the only one who was terrified of not being able to do magic meant a lot to her. She knew that she was here for a reason, but this was something entirely new for her in the sense that she had never had to do it herself when it came to magic. She wasn’t so sure she’d be very good at it. Oh well, she was sure that someone could help her if she needed it.

“You say that now, Charlie, but watch you sky rocket straight to the top of our class!” Adelita exclaimed with a large grin on her face.

0 Lita And the rest of the school is lucky to have us! 0 Lita 0 5

Chrissy Hollister (and a bit of Samantha)

November 25, 2008 10:10 PM

The Blues. by Chrissy Hollister (and a bit of Samantha)

No way.

No freaking way !

Chrissy watched in astonishment as her twin sister Samantha turned blue. Not as in choking, which would have been much preferred to her current predicament, but as in Samantha being in Aladren . This was not supposed to happen!

Her own blue skin had not been a shock. Chrissy lived and breathed all things academic and based on what she read that was the kind of house that Aladren was. She belonged there, Samantha did not. Chrissy's twin did not care one iota about her studies. Samantha was shallow and vain, she only cared about the way she looked, getting admirers and WAIL. Plus, she wasn't very bright and way too gullible.

This was so unfair . Chrissy had never shared a room with Samantha and it wasn't a new thing she relished trying. It was going to be a long year.

"How the-" Here Chrissy loudly uttered a word that made Samantha clap her hand over her mouth, "did this happen?"

She sat down at the edge of the Aladren table. Chrissy grabbed a napkin and began to wad it up. This was dreadful.

To her dismay, Samantha sat down across from her and began to speak. "This a tragedy!"

Chrissy fixed her eyes on her twin coldly. "Finally something we can agree on." She replied curtly.

"Not for you! You love books! Aladren is for nerds! Not respectable ladies like me I should be in Crotalus," Samantha whined. The older Hollister twin brightened. "But I guess I can at least keep an eye on you and try to bring you back to liking men"

Chrissy began to eye her steak knife. "I do like men...and I am not having this conversation with you. Why don't you go find someone else to bother." Before I lose it completely, she silently added.

11 Chrissy Hollister (and a bit of Samantha) The Blues. 55 Chrissy Hollister (and a bit of Samantha) 0 5

Josiah

November 27, 2008 3:35 PM

My Hero? by Josiah

Josiah smirked fetchingly at Laurie. “Hey, no problem. I’m as dry as parchment.” He held up is hands in the surrender position. “I just appreciate that someone cares if I choke to death, really. I’ll be sure to give you a call If I ever need a hero.” He winked at her, then added, “But sorry I made you think I was about to die from lack of oxygen.”

The redhead looked the other girl over. “Laurie, right?” he was sure that they had talked on at least one occasion or another. She was a grade younger than him, so it wasn’t all together impossible that they had spoken in the past. He just didn’t recall any conversations they had had before.

“Umm, Josiah,” he said awkwardly, fishing for something to say. Josiah shoved a hunk of bread in his mouth to fill the space.

“So, I don’t think I’ve seen you in Charms Club, have I?” He asked.

Josiah wanted to kick himself. He was meeting a new girl and all he could think of was a recruitment? What the heck was that about?

OOC: I’m really sorry about this post. I just cant think of how to start up the conversation. If you can’t think of a reply, let me know and I’ll try and re-do this.

0 Josiah My Hero? 0 Josiah 0 5

Pippa

November 28, 2008 4:35 PM

blushes too by Pippa

"Oh, it is a big deal!" Pippa replied. "I mean, I'm used to magic but I've never done it before on purpose." She continued, "and going to Sonora is a big deal too. It's the biggest event in a young witch or wizard's life." She picked at her food. Pippa was still feeling kind of anxious and she didn't want Nathaniel to think she was sort of jaded on this whole magic thing because it was a part of her life. "I really really don't know that much," Pippa admitted, her desire to show emapthy so he didn't feel bad winning out over her worries about him getting angry that she was being insensitive.

"I mean my whole family has magic and I know what some things are that those from a non-magical background won't but..." She looked down. "I don't know that much about Sonora. I don't have anyone who can tell me. The last person to go here was my sister Melora and that was quite awhile ago. I have cousins here, like distant cousins, and one who's supposed to be starting here this year, but I don't know any of them." Pippa hoped she didn't sound too scared and worried. It wasn't right for her to be so. He was new to magic, she was not.

Pippa shook her head apologetically. "I'm afraid not. It's very rare for magic to happen late in life and it can't happen by just wishing it. Otherwise there would never be squibs." She realized that Nathaniel probably didn't know what that was. "A squib is the opposite of a muggleborn, like you. Squibs are someone born without magic in a magical family." she explained.

"Well, I don't have much interest in Quidditch." Pippa replied. "I mean I don't mind watching it if I have to but I don't want to play. I'm not really into sports much. I like making things. I don't actually know what soccer is but Novelling Fury and Charms club maybe."

11 Pippa *blushes too* 132 Pippa 0 5

Laurie

November 28, 2008 6:38 PM

Sure! Now I need a spiffy name. by Laurie

OOC- You did just fine! Every conversation I've ever started has begun with some awkwardness.

IC-

Laurie nodded slowly, a little put a back by the friendliness her bumbling rescue prompted. Outside of the Warrens, most of her friendships existed in an uneasy plane of insecurity and inequality. There was Talen, who barely spoke with her at all during the last year; she was completely unsure of where she stood with him. It felt as if things went south after the Midsummer Ball. Her amicability with Cecily felt forced most of the time, and unnecessary the rest. Alexis remained an unknown in her universe; the redhead's seeming friendship with Renaye was certainly a positive, but there existed a skepticism in the back of her mind that refused to sneak away.

Still though, the friendliness was a welcomed change, if unexpected. "Laurel Cider, but yeah, it's just Laurie."

The requisite response followed, and her mind gave a mental snap of its fingers. Josiah, as in Josiah the Charms Club's founder and leader and such. "Well, you might have seen me, but it would have been from behind a camera." She made a clicking and snapping gesture, holding up a mock lense to her eyes. "I was at one of your meetings last year taking pictures for the Aronos. It actually looked kind of fun."

The hint of surprise in Laurie's tone was not of an insulting nature. She had honestly been surprised by how good of time everyone seemed to be having at what ought to have been considered a scholastic extracurricular. For whatever reason, she had thought the club to be on par with a science club or chess club- fun for a few, but a chore for the rest.

"You know, I've been curious since then, but how do you decide which charms to use for the club? Are you given a list before hand of what's allowed and what's not, or is it more a free range thing?" She leaned forward, genuinely interested, and for the first time since the day prior, she forgot her irritation at her parents.

0 Laurie Sure! Now I need a spiffy name. 0 Laurie 0 5

Ian

November 28, 2008 10:21 PM

Allow me to qualify: you are partially correct. by Ian

Ian held no compunctions against giving into the urge to roll his eyes. Amelia was so painfully obvious with everything. "Not every business involves the bartering of trade goods; sometimes, the dealing requires privacy and discretion."

This opening ought to have led directly into a proper explanation of his upcoming commercial endeavors, and yet, he hesitated. He held no reservations in terms of his confidence in the success of his plans; the entirety of it, though, was still a very private thing of his. Unlike other children, who might feel jealousy over a valued object, or undo possessiveness over a favorite toy, Ian treated his projects like a very near, and very dear friend. He treasured the idea, contemplated over it, worried over and feared for it. He could tolerate no word of criticism or suggested improvement without feeling the project unjustly insulted.

It was a bit silly, but Ian Grimm was an admittedly odd sort of child, even at his ripe old age of twelve.

He gave his companion a considerable look, the choice and his answer sitting at the base of throat, awaiting a decision. The fact that Amelia was a Smythe finally decided it for him; there was bound to have been an use of Grimm Inquiries somewhere in her family tree. There was such an instance in most families' trees, some lesser branch requiring a trinket or heirloom to bolster a claimed pedigree.

"I'm opening a subsidiary branch of Grimm Inquiries here at Sonora," he said, finally. "I'll offer my services on an exchange basis only, and to begin with, I'll focus on the business of information. Background checks, familial histories and the like. Depending upon interest, I'll expand in my later years to include some of our additional services."

Ian did not feel the need to elaborate on what those 'additional services' might entail. Anyone who was anyone knew of Grimm Inquiries, and it followed that those same anyones would also know of the pomp and circumstance they so uniquely offered.

0 Ian Allow me to qualify: you are partially correct. 0 Ian 0 5

Nathaniel

November 28, 2008 11:15 PM

Silly, why are you blushing? by Nathaniel

Nathaniel felt a lot better when Pippa exclaimed that it was a big deal. He felt slightly less foolish about being all excited about the thoughts that he was magic and all. Grinning, he stuffed more food into his mouth as he listened to Pippa go on. "Really? You've never used magic before this?" he asked, slightly confused. He'd thought someone born magical would have had loads of magical experience before (which would make Nathaniel feel way behind). He grinned, "Well, that makes two of us I guess. Still I'm jealous that you've seen it so much before," he told her, kicking his legs slightly.

"Well," he nodded, thinking about it slightly, his face was still bright. "Well, I know coming here has got to be the biggest event in my life," he said, wondering if it was the correct thing to do, to speak for himself like that. He gave no indication of worrying about his impression on Pippa, but it was something that he did, naturally. He was someone who cared if he offended people, not that he was always able to stop it (Nathaniel liked to think no one could stop everything they said). Really, he just wanted people to like him.

She had an older sister too? For some reason, Nathaniel always connected the littlest things in his mind that made him similar to the other. He thought of his sister Star with a smile, but still Pippa looked nervous when talking about having her family here. A small frown touched his features (not for long), "Hey, don't worry about that," he told her, hoping that he would succeed in reassuring the girl. "You're not alone in... being alone," he chuckled slightly, "I should say, you're the only person here that I've even talked to." Of course that probably should have been obvious.

Another small frown, his mother would be so disappointed. Not that he was going to tell her, no he wouldn't dare burst her bubble like that. Plus, who knew, his mother could be a special case, Pippa had only said it was rare. That meant... there was some, right? "Oh," he said, about to question the definition of "squib". Of course, Pippa specified immediately and he nodded along. Something hit him, he giggled like a child, "The words all sound kind of funny, Muggle and Squib. You know? Muggle sounds like some kind of... fog or something and squib, I just keep thinking of squid."

Probably not the proper time to admit that, Nathaniel's face turned hot. "Uh, sorry, that was not at all what we were talking about."

Nathaniel nodded about the Quidditch thing, grimly. "Honestly, I never was all that into sports," he admitted. "I was told about Quidditch on my trip to get my stuff, and well flying sounds kind of cool. But the whole sports thing, I never was into it." She mentioned not knowing about soccer and he smiled lightly, wondering if from her point of view, "soccer" was as funny a word to her as "Muggle" was to him. "Soccer is a sport too, lots of people like it," he waved the popular sport away like it didn't matter (it didn't, to him).

"Oh! I really want to try those two, Novelling and Charms. Charms especially," it sounded so different, new. Well, probably because that was a kind of magic, but still. Happily the boy leaned in more to Pippa. "Making things? Like what? Art?" he grinned, thinking of his mother at home, "My mom, she likes making art. Like, weird cool art. She threw paint at the walls when she was angry, its interesting. I helped. Oh, and once she sewed forty-six fortunes to wax paper from fortune cookies for her forty-sixth birthday! Things like that?"

0 Nathaniel Silly, why are you blushing? 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Josh

November 30, 2008 11:33 PM

Why haven't we spoken before?!?! by Josh

Josh grinned at Helena. She seemed to have a rather simple life. Josh would never understand how that life worked. He enjoyed his family and the chaos that they brought along with them, but he also wanted a bit of that simple life too. He supposed it was something that he could only gain the older that he became because it certainly wasn’t a part of his life now and it wasn’t looking as though it was going to come any time soon either. No, the simple life will come after Sonora and after he’s moved out of his parents’ home… which, hopefully, wouldn’t be too soon after graduating.

“I wish my life was as boring as you’re making yours out to be.” Josh commented, stirring his mashed potatoes around for a moment in thought. “It never is. Well, except while I’m here at Sonora. Which is sort of funny since school is hectic with exams and things. But, when I’m home, it’s L.A. then Acapulco to visit family for a month and then it’s Madrid to visit more family for the rest of summer until we head back to L.A. again. All the while, people are coming and going, kids are running around, there’s never a moment of quiet…” Josh shook his head. He loved his family. He really did. But there were just so many of them. How anyone was kept in line, Josh would never know. He definitely appreciated his parents all the more now for all that they had done for them.

Apart of all the traveling, there was also the fake betrothal. Well, fake between him and Danae. Okay, more like fake between, Josh, Danae, Eavan, Matt, and Josh’s parents. But fake all the same. That was causing all sorts of drama between everyone. Josh didn’t see what the big deal was. He was giving Danae another option. She didn’t have to take it if she felt like it was the wrong thing to do. And his parents didn’t have to agree with it if they felt it was the wrong thing to do. But Josh saw it as helping her. At least, this way, she could do the things she wanted to do instead of being the slave to someone for her parents’ benefits. He thought he did a pretty good job of thinking this up to begin with. But, apparently, no one else saw the wisdom in his decision.

“Seriously, be glad for the boredom.” Josh commented. “I still don’t know how I haven’t gone insane yet… Or my parents for that matter.”

0 Josh Why haven't we spoken before?!?! 0 Josh 0 5

Mollie

December 01, 2008 3:28 PM

sounds wonderful! by Mollie

OOC- sorry for the wait, end of the semester pile on!

BIC-
"Oh yeah, pahk ya cah in Hahvahd Yahd. And all that." Mollie smiled as Jae recognized her accent. It was pretty strong most of the time, though she was slowly trying to decrease its prominence in her speech; sometimes she was hard to understand. Nodding her head at his serious comment about gnomes, Mollie knew better than to go try and catch one now. She'd had a vague idea to go and try, but she was pretty sure Binx could handle himself if he ever got into a scrap with one. Her Binx was a tough little punk when he wanted to be. But only with the other kids in the orphanage when they pulled his tail, no matter how many times she warned them he didn't like it.

Listening as Jae described his family, Mollie smiled. "Sounds really nice. I'm so used to the city." She shrugged. In coming to school here, it made it a little easier to envision living somewhere besides a big city, because this wasn't nearly as big. However, living in a state like Colorado seemed like a totally foreign concept to her. The desert of Sonora was a nice reprieve from the city, but in all honesty Mollie didn't mind the city. It was full of people, and she loved people. People fascinated her, their thoughts, their actions, their lives. Everybody had a different story, so everybody was unique. Mol could listen to people talk about their lives all day. She absorbed pasts like a sponge.

"That's a lot of pets!" Mollie grinned as Jae listed them off. "I can't even imagine cleaning up and taking care of so many critters!" Though she probably wouldn't mind. It would be like having a family, even though nobody could talk back to her. She didn't mind talking to herself, she did it a lot anyway. Her roommates, besides Krisalyn of course, probably thought she was crazy. Mollie was always singing or dancing or talking to Binx. She never minded, but then again, she never really thought about it either. "It must be fun though, like having your own zoo!"

0 Mollie sounds wonderful! 0 Mollie 0 5

Anabel

December 02, 2008 10:49 PM

That's For Certain by Anabel

Anabel listened intently as Cecily took charge in introducing her to the first year in question. "It's nice to meet you, Kendra." Paully, Paully, Anabel ran the name over and over again in her head, trying to see if she could make any connection. She had never been acquainted with a Paully but there was always the off-chance that Kendra might be related to one of the better known families. It was conforting to see that Cecily's confusion mirrored her own. Since birth, she had studied and memorized the most prominent families: the Pierces, the Boyds, the Smythes, the Brockerts...and of course the McIntoshes. There were a number of more obscure families, however, that still had prominence but weren't as well known. Perhaps the Paully's were one of them.

Turning her mind away from the subject, Anabel listened as Cecily discussed the splinching. "I know," Anabel returned, rolling her eyes as she reached for a roll, "it was absolutely ridiculous. Some people are so inconsiderate. And Daddy, being who he is and all, had to go and make sure that everything was alright. Luckily Lizzy wasn't there-- she returned home last week so she could get ready for Hogwarts-- or I would've gone insane. She is just so vile. I can't believe she is my cousin."

Pausing for a moment, Anabel scanned the food surrounding her as she tried to determine what next to place on her plate. "Lizzy is so much like you-know-who. She loves Quidditch. She was the Captain at Salem but now that it's all closed down she had to move on. I'm just so glad she isn't here. I swear I'd die if I had to deal with her here too." Shaking her head, Anabel added a baked potato to her plate. "How was everyone else's vacation?"

0 Anabel That's For Certain 0 Anabel 0 5

Helena

December 03, 2008 11:29 PM

I...don't know, actually! by Helena

Helena smiled a little wryly at the thought of her dull and peaceful life, which, when she was at home, was more like a painting than a play. If one ignored the part where she and Geoff were siblings and painted their sister out, the scene was almost cozily domestic. She made herself a small mental note to ask Geoff what he thought about Christmas. She felt she could talk him into going home for the holidays if Anne could be painted out for fifteen minutes, but she wasn't as sure that she wanted to.

"Madrid?" she said, blinking. "As in Spain?" She realized how very stupid that statement made her sound. "Sorry...I know Madrid's in Spain. It just surprised me." She smiled a little wistfully. "My mother's family is in England - she met Daddy while she was on some ambassador's staff and he was in the Cabinet's DIMC - and we used to go see them in the summer like that."

They didn't now, of course. Her father had never much liked her mother's family, and now that Mark didn't much like her either, he didn't keep in touch with her family. Her mother might have had an opinion about that, but if she did, she'd kept it to herself. She had gotten it into her head that it was entirely her fault that Lavinia was a Squib, and they'd been able to do nothing to persuade her otherwise.

She shook her head slightly. Lavinia wasn't a nice topic to think about over dinner, while having a nice, rare, non-academic talk with someone. Maybe their mother would snap out of it sooner or later, but Helena was half-convinced Vinny was going to get herself into serious trouble before she could. She didn't know, she couldn't prove it, but she was as sure as she could be that Lavinia was doing things she shouldn't do, and it worried her. They might not be able to speak for five minutes without it turning into an argument, but Vinny was still her baby sister.

Josh's comment about his parents being driven insane by an extraordinarily large-sounding family made her laugh. "I'm pretty sure that's families in general," she said. "Even if Geoff's not giving Daddy heart failure, my Uncle Henry and Aunt Elizabeth are trying to drive him crazy. His family's scattered around South Carolina, now, and our house is the one right in the middle of them all."

16 Helena I...don't know, actually! 88 Helena 0 5

Josiah

December 06, 2008 5:19 PM

Captain Apple? Get it? Apple Cider? :P by Josiah

Josiah nodded. He remembered the article in the Aronos on Charms club. He hoped that it would help get people wanting to join up. This year he has some very cool ideas. Unfortunately, when he asked for approval, he was told that he needed adult supervision. That stinks! He thought one of the coolest things about Charms Club is that there was no adult involvement. Josiah was, however, just slightly curious as to why she sounded surprised at the fun factor.

“Well,” he said in reply to her question, “I do lots of things to decide the spells. Its pretty free range as far as what I do, but its all on an approval basis. If Professor Taylor and Headmaster Bulla don’t like my spells, I wont do it. Also, I gotta think about where I can do these spells. So far, its been easiest to use spells that are able to be done inside.”

He leaned in in almost a conspiratorial way, “But you know the pranks pulled every year? The person who does them helps me decide spells. I’m allowed to do her work if I don’t use too many of them.”

Pulling back, Josiah nodded as if he had shared a huge secret that he hoped Laurie would keep. Then he went on, “I also watch other kids doing charms around school and look them up. Or I’ll just do it the old fashioned way and read. Usually I try and use other people’s ideas. This year it’ll be really cool. I never share my spells ahead of time, but lets just say… it’ll be a blast.”

Josiah only ever told Elly his spells ahead of time, because he was so lousy with spells that she almost always had to teach him what to do and how to do it right. Elly’s always been one of his best friends, ever since he met her ages ago. Josiah wasn’t sure, but he thought their first meeting was at Care of Magical Creatures Class. That was when Paul Tarwater was such a jerk to her. Josiah didn’t get it. Elly was so gorgeous, why would anyone want to be mean to her? Josiah still hadn’t forgiven Paul for that.

“So, do you like Charms at all, or was it just that you were forced into checking me out… er I mean my club. You know what I mean,” Josiah blushed. “Do you know many Charms at all? Are you any good?” he added quickly to cover up his mistake.

0 Josiah Captain Apple? Get it? Apple Cider? :P 0 Josiah 0 5

Chelsea

December 07, 2008 7:57 PM

It sure is by Chelsea

"Oh I know what you mean," Chelsea responded to Anabel's comments about her cousin, Kendra forgotten. "Imagine having someone like that as a sister " She shuddered. Not only was Nina interested in Quidditch, but she was always so... suspicious of Chelsea. Not that Chelsea was never up to anything, it was just that Nina got in her way. Besides, right now, the only thing she was really up to was getting rid of Flatt which was for the good of the whole school. A small smirk found its way to Chelsea's face. "But Nina may never get to play. Ever since Kaylie's accident, my mother doesn't want any of us to. Not that it's an issue with me, of course."

She took a roll. "Oh how awful " Chelsea replied,rolling her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "To have to give up playing Quidditch and perhaps become respectable and proper. What a great tragedy " It would be obvious to all but the most dense of people that she had little sympathy for Lizzy. "I don't know why anyone would want to play that vile game anyway. It's so...unimportant." Chelsea really didn't understand why those who played it at Sonora tended to be popular. The people like her should be the most popular in school, not the Renayes of the world. Though she was pretty sure she and her friends were more popular than Renaye. It was the older years that seemed to have this problem.

She turned to Cecily. "You're lucky. Even though you're being bombarded with relatives, at least none of them play Quidditch." Chelsea paused. "Do they?" She was pretty sure Amelia didn't and Lucas didn't count, being a guy.

"Summer was rather dull. We couldn't really go anywhere. Only Adam got to go to my great-grandparents' and its not like he even appreciates such things like I would." Chelsea still didn't think it was fair.

That's when she heard the first year Aladrens being called. This in itself didn't matter as she was a third year. However, it wasn't Professor Kijewski who was calling to them-it was Flatt. Chelsea's arch-nemesis was now going to be the head of her house. A mixture of horror and disgust came to her face.

This was it. She had to get rid of him once and for all.

11 Chelsea It sure is 108 Chelsea 0 5

Anabel

December 07, 2008 8:22 PM

Crazy people, those Quidditch players by Anabel

"I know. You'd think they'd actually die without the stupid sport being part of their lives. It is dangerous and stupid and it really gets them nowhere. And it's so embarrassing," Anabel added with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, I can understand why my cousin Trey likes it, he's a boy. I'm kind of skeptical why my cousin Leslie used to like it but she's married now to a doctor and doesn't play anymore. But Lizzy, it's like it's her life." Shaking her head, Anabel exhaled deeply, as though resigning herself to the fact that her family was beyond hope.

"I don't know how you can deal with your sister being like that," she said, offering a reassuring smile to Chelsea. "At least you have us though. We Ladies will stick together. At least, those of us who still stick to the code," Anabel added, her eyes darting in the direction of Alexis. The girl in question was easily spotted with Renaye. "Is it odd to anyone else how they have brainwashed her into thinking that that stupid sport is good? It worries me. She doesn't even seem to want to hang out with us anymore."

Turning to Cecily, Anabel nudged her friend in a joking manner. "Your family can't be all that bad; although I definitely understand how it can't be fun having them all here." It was then that she noticed the disturbing look on Chelsea's face. Turning her head, Anabel noticed that Professor Flatt was calling all of the first year Aladrens. "Did I just hear that wrong or is Flatt calling the first years from your house?" Turning back to face Chelsea, Anabel leaned in, lowering her voice to a volume that only Chelsea and Cecily could hear. "Who in their right mind would let him be in charge of one of the houses? He's insane."

0 Anabel Crazy people, those Quidditch players 0 Anabel 0 5

Cecily

December 09, 2008 5:27 PM

Crazy is as crazy does by Cecily

Cecily was actually starting to feel pretty good about her family after listening to Chelsea and Anabel complain about their more unfortunate relatives. "You're lucky. Even though you're being bombarded with relatives, at least none of them play Quidditch." Chelsea said. "Do they?"

"Of course not," Cecily said, and the answer was so obvious she even managed to laugh a little. Her cousin Lucas sometimes played, but she didn't need to mention that, because he was a boy and awful at Quidditch anyway. Cecily had her doubts about Dana, but she wasn't going to voice those anytime soon. With Amelia, Cynthia and herself to keep control, Cecily was sure they could keep their younger cousin in line.

"I don't even know what's going on with Alexis," Cecily said, eyeing the girl with great distrust. "I swear her family don't know she signs up for the Quidditch team. I'm so on the verge of letting it slip." It was so odd how Alexis had been perfectly nice and respectable in their first year, and then turned tail in second year, even going as far as to try out for that brutal sport. "She either needs saving or ruining," Cecily said decisively. "Addie too. We should make sure she doesn't try and play Quidditch this year. She needs our help." Cecily didn't spend much time with their quietest roommate - she could probably be one of the Ladies if given the chance. Her background was a little dubious, but then Holly was a Muggleborn, and a true Lady.

However, all thoughts of family and Quidditch and her roommates was forgotten as Flatt called the Aladrens together. "Who in their right mind would let him be in charge of one of the houses?" Anabel said. "He's insane."

"He's not only insane, he's a narrow-minded jerk," Cecily said, still staring at their much-hated History Professor. "Merlin, Chelsea, I feel so sorry for you," she turn to her friend. "I swear you were sorted into the wrong House. I mean, we" (she indicated Anabel and herself) "have to put up with Renaye, but Flatt? That's just not right."

0 Cecily Crazy is as crazy does 0 Cecily 0 5

Chelsea

December 14, 2008 6:52 PM

And that they are by Chelsea

Chelsea smiled back at Cecily. She was genuinely glad that she'd cheered her friend up. There were times that she was downright jealous of Cecily, having such a normal, acceptable sister. She was also glad that Anabel could understand how she felt...and deep inside, she felt a bit of pleasure that Lizzy wouldn't be able to play anymore and Nina would never get to.

"My vote is for ruining." Chelsea said, on the subject of Alexis. "She's a traitor, pure and simple. How anyone can choose Laurie and Jenaye over us is beyond me." She went on with a smirk. The other two were probably smart enough to get it, but she felt it needed explanation anyway. "I call the Warrens such because let's face it, they have like no independence from one another. They're pretty much the same." She didn't know about Addie. Truthfully the only time Chelsea gave her any thought was when she filled out the yearbook surveys. She didn't view her the same as Alexis though. "Addie could be saved perhaps." They could make her into a project or something, but Chelsea was currently more interested in destroying Flatt and Alexis.

"Oh I know " Chelsea sighed. "He shouldn't even be teaching. He's cruel with all those pictures he puts up, look how what they do to Holly. And that's only the beginning. Flatt's a racist. He has it in for us because of our families and you can tell how he always stressed the greatness of muggleborns and evil of purebloods in his lessons...when he isn't making Holly sick." She eyed Cecily and Anabel. "We need to get rid of him...and soon." The three girls came from powerful families, ones who the school had to answer to, ones who not only paid tuition but donated money to Sonora. Certainly they could use that to their advantage. "We need a movement or something. Petitions and whatnot. An investigation."

11 Chelsea And that they are 108 Chelsea 0 5

Anabel

December 14, 2008 8:03 PM

So we avoid them by Anabel

Anabel nodded in response to both Cecily's and Chelsea's sentiments. It had been a hard hit losing one of their ladies to the dark side, but they had taken it with dignity. A smirk quickly grew on her face at Chelsea's assessment of Josh and Renaye. "Jenaye," she repeated with a laugh, "I like that." The twins seemed to be attached at the hip, doing everything together, even sharing Renaye's best friend, Laurie.

"I have to totally agree about Alexis," Anabel stated. "I mean, I'd normally be willing to give someone another chance but she obviously doesn't care what we think. We've made our views very clear and she has even tried to make us look stupid from time to time." At this she paused, her eyes showing the smallest flash of anger, "And I don't accept that. Down with the traitors, if you ask me."

She turned her head, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of her other roommate, before looking back at her friends. Perhaps there was hope in Addie. It would be a win for their side if they could save her, bring her back. Addie had never truly been part of the ladies. Maybe they should have made more of a point of adopting the shyest of their year. "I suppose saving Addie would be the best. She probably just got talked into it. We should adopt her and see if we can convince her that she's better off with us."

It would be a project and a fun one at that. Crossing her legs at the ankles, Anabel's mind started to drift off as she began to think of ways to correct Addie's errors. Her attention was quickly caught again, however, as Chelsea began to speak of Flatt. Flatt the Prat. "Get rid of him?" Anabel asked as she rubbed her chin. "Oh, let's do it. I can't stand him. I hate going to his class. And it is so cruel to Holly and he is so horrible to us. It's as though he wants to punish us for being better than him. How do we propose to do it, though?"

0 Anabel So we avoid them 0 Anabel 0 5

Cecily

December 15, 2008 12:11 PM

And plan a little revenge by Cecily

"Ha, Jenaye!" Cecily said, at the same time as Anabel. She was definitely going to adopt that from now on whenever she would refer to both Warrens at once. "Genius."

Cecily was a little surprised by her friends' adamant proclamations about Alexis. The Ashwoods were a respectable family, but then one only had to look at the Sonora contingency to see the strain was weakening. "Down with the traitors," she repeated Anabel.

As united as Chelsea and Anabel were about ruining Alexis, they both chose to save Addie. Of course unanimous votes to be rid of Flatt were expected in any sort of reasonable society. "How do we propose to do it, though?" Anabel asked.

"Hmm," Cecily frowned while she thought. "Well, Alexis will be easy. We just all tell our mothers she's on the Quidditch team and making a spectacle of herself. Agreed?" If Mrs Ashwood was anything like Mrs Smythe, Alexis would be forbidden from playing in an instant. "And we can work on Addie. Maybe we should have a party or something? Just us Ladies, and we can ask Addie along?" Rather like the pre-ball frolicks, Cecily thought, but maybe not held in a bathroom.

"Flatt is a problem. I've already told my father how vile he is, so repeating it won't make a difference," she said. "If we confront him directly he'll only put us in detention again," she exchanged a dark look with Chelsea. "I think we might need to put some real thought into this."

0 Cecily And plan a little revenge 0 Cecily 0 5

Anabel

December 15, 2008 7:52 PM

And get even by Anabel

Anabel listened as Cecily proposed first a plan to get even with Alexis and then a plan to get Addie on their side. "Tell our mothers," Anabel repeated after Cecily, rubbing her chin in thought. "I like that idea." It was simple and cut straight to the heart of the issue. If Alexis's mother found out through the grapevine that her daughter was playing Quidditch, Alexis would surely be punished. "We could also use that WAIL stuff you gave us last year. I wonder if those information packets give us a way to contact them. That could get to her, Jenaye, even Coach Fox."

Besides Professor Flatt, Coach Fox was Anabel's least favorite professor. The Quidditch coach had little manners and no respect. It was also embarrassing that such a lady came from such a respectable household. Anabel had also caught rumor that Coach Fox had also returned to her former team, whatever the name was, and was once again playing.

"As for Addie," Anabel started, "I think a party would do us all good. It's been a while since we've all gotten together. We really need to find an abandoned classroom or something to make our own. How much fun would that be?" Enthusiasm crept into Anabel's voice as her mind started whirling with thoughts. "If we could find one, then we could decorate it and maybe make it to where others don't notice it or something. It'll probably take all of us but I think we could do it."

Realizing she had gotten off subject, Anabel blushed. Clearing her throat, Anabel considered the issue of Professor Flatt. "Professor Flatt is definitely going to take a lot of thought." Looking up at the professor's table, Anabel glowered as she saw him. Looking at the faces of the other professors, Anabel stopped once she saw an unfamiliar face. "Anyone know who the new professor is, or at least what he is doing here?"

0 Anabel And get even 0 Anabel 0 5

Laurie

December 19, 2008 8:40 AM

/groans/ And yet, I like it. by Laurie

OOC- Sorry about how late this is. Got ill and died and then had to resurrect myself through voodoo zombie powers. And then there was the brain search- well, you know.

IC-

"That makes sense," Laurie agreed with a nod. The administration seemed fairly lenient with giving their students some autonomy over its clubs, but safety was always a priority. A smile tugged on her lips at the mention of the annual year-end pranks. There was many a theory over who the mastermind was behind the events, and Laurie was almost certain that this year's issue of the Aronos would contain an article regarding said theories. She had a pet theory of her own- that a member of the faculty was actually the culprit.

Of course, though, she couldn't quite figure out which member of the faculty had the right sort of temperament to come up with pranks to pull on the students. Maybe Coach Fox? She seemed a likely suspect, if only because she seemed the least adult-like from all of the professors.

"A blast?" Laurie didn't miss the slight pause. "Hmm. . . sounds potentially interesting." Her mind was imagining fireworks, but she wasn't certain that, as students, they'd receive the go ahead to setting off what were, essentially, the charms version of mini-bombs.

"Well, actually, it's kind of a mixture of both," she explained in response to the first question. "Amelia was there to interview you and write about the Club's activities, and I was there to take pictures of you and the Club and such. I mean, I was there because I was assigned to, but I do like Charms- it's one of those things that needs a visual mind, and that's how I think- visually, that is." She paused and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, realizing that her explanation was verging on scattered.

"Sorry- I mean to say that I do like Charms and while not a pro, I'm not terrible. The only reason I didn't come to a club meeting before was-" She hesitated, not wanting to speak badly of Alexis and also not knowing the relationship the two cousins shared. There was also no way to explain herself without coming across as insulting- was there a tactful way to say that she didn't want to come because Alexis was Josiah's cousin and Laurie didn't trust the girl still, despite a year of seemingly different behavior from their first year? The reasoning was convoluted even in her own thoughts, and the discussion material was hardly soft enough to consider for comfortable conversation.

Instead, she bit down on her lip and shrugged, unable to prevent herself from glancing toward where Alexis now sat with Renaye, the two in seemingly friendly conversation. "- well, for different reasons, but I'll be sure to come by this year. I have to take some more pictures anyway."

0 Laurie /groans/ And yet, I like it. 0 Laurie 0 5

Josiah

December 28, 2008 4:09 PM

And that means i am the winner of puns! by Josiah

OOC: Sorry for my delay. I didn't even notice the reply >.<

IC: Josiah smirked. He enjoyed having a little secret that no one else knew of. Elly's secret was always safe with him. Josiah was never much of a blabber in the first place, and didn't like to go off and tell anything to just anyone. Unlike Alexis. She, Josiah was sure, would tell how to break into the Presedent's suite, get past all the security and steal his watch off of the bedside table if it profited her. No, Josiah didn't care how good it was for him, he never shared secrets. Well, almost never.

Josiah couldn't help but bark out a laugh at Laurie's explination of why she was at Charms. She seemed rather likeable. However, if he wasn't mistaken she was also in Crotalus. He knew about the Crotali's bad reputaion. He was, as his mother often said, a less than desirable sort of pure. He couldn't care less about money or blood. Unfortunately, there were alot more strict people around, and Josiah didn't like that one bit. No, just like his cousin, most Crotali he knew of were, well, very strict.

Laurie seemed to hesitate telling him about why she hadn't been in Charms Club until now. Josiah looked at her oddly, prompting further explination, but recieving nothing more that her off-handed reply.

"I'm glad to have you back." He said in reply to her vow of returning. "I'm not that great at charms myself. I have always needed extra help to pull off some of the Charms I do, but I love to do it. Charms are always the most fun part of being a wizard... well after Quidditch. The worst part is potions and muggle studies. Yuck!" Josiah made a face.

"So, what about family for you at Sonora?" He prompted, "I have Alexis, but we don't talk much..." He left the sentance hanging for her to interperet as she wanted to, "But soon enough, when I am a sixth year, my other cousin, Joy, is coming. She's bound to be an Alarden. She's such a smarty pants I am almost amazed that she's not more of a snob." He grinned.

Josiah also failed to mention she was a half blood and disowned from the family because her mother married a muggle. Josiah's mother and aunt didn't like him even mentioning his younger cousin or his aunt and uncle. They felt that their estranged family members were dead to them. That didn't stop Josiah from visiting them, of course.

Chewing absently on a carrot stick as he listened to Laurie, Josiah thought about what he was going to do about Quidditch this year. No way was he missing out on it, despite Lexi's threats last year of telling on him. He couldn't wait for the list to be posted!

0 Josiah And that means i am the winner of puns! 0 Josiah 0 5

Chelsea

December 28, 2008 7:10 PM

So let's plot. by Chelsea

Chelsea smiled, obviously pleased that both Cecily and Anabel liked her new nickname for the two-headedcreature that was the Warrens. She considered their idea about Alexis. "That would be a good start."

Chelsea had been thinking more of finding a way for Alexis to be ostracized by the whole school, but this would work. She supposed they could try turning everyone against her if she tried to retaliate in some way. Besides, as things stood, Chelsea had no idea how to make sure nobody wanted anything to do with Alexis. Honestly, she wanted to see the other girl destroyed. It was just that more of her focus had been on destroying Flatt. However, Alexis had betrayed them. She'd chosen what was basically the very lowest of the low over the very best when she'd had a chance to be one of them. That was completely unforgiveable on so many levels.

She thought of something else. "I'm not sure how much good telling my mother would do though." Chelsea replied darkly. " Her objection to Quidditch is more that its dangerous and nobody should play it than that its improper for fine young ladies. Maybe it would do to tell my great-grandmother in my case." Chelsea's great-grandparents were more the old-fashioned types than her parents or even grandparents.

"A party sounds wonderful," Chelsea replied. "I wonder if there's some way to get into the old Astronomy room or the old Divination room since those classes are no longer being taught. Perhaps someday they could help others the same way if it worked well with Addie. The shyer girl would probably be forever grateful to them for their help and certainly, others would be too. That too would probably stick it to Alexis.

"Actually, I've given Flatt a bit of thought." Chelsea replied. "We could write down our grievances about him. I actually got the idea last year when I saw Holly writing down her own. Then we should compile them and write a letter to the board. As I'm stuck with him as a Head of House, this might be easier for me to do while one of you talks to Addie since she's your roommate." She went on, "We could even ask others to give us their complaints if they have any." Normally, Chelsea wasn't much for helping others outside her circle, but this was for the benefit of all.

She turned to look at the new professor. "You mean Professor Schmidt? I think he's the new Potions professor. He looks sort of...weird."

11 Chelsea So let's plot. 108 Chelsea 0 5

Headmaster Bulla

Let the Opening Feast Commence! by Headmaster Bulla

Saul Pierce

Go ELLL-LLLLLYYYY! by Saul Pierce

Paul Tarwater

Here's something unexpected... by Paul Tarwater

Daniel Nash II

Feeling a little Blue by Daniel Nash II

Nathaniel Leon

About to burst by Nathaniel Leon

Eun Ae and Mike Song

Better than black and blue, right? by Eun Ae and Mike Song

Daniel

Yeah, as my shin will attest by Daniel

Aeon Coure

Re: Let the Opening Feast Commence! by Aeon Coure

Izabella Santoro and Brothers

Grabbing our new Badges! by Izabella Santoro and Brothers

Indy Choudhry

Not much of a change here, huh? by Indy Choudhry

Helena Layne

Congratulations! by Helena Layne

Irene Liddowe

Commencing! [OOC inside] by Irene Liddowe

Miles Turner

At the Crotalus table... by Miles Turner

Deepa Rajaram

...Making conversation? by Deepa Rajaram

Aeon Coure

I'm not exactly sure. by Aeon Coure

Elly Eriksson

*grins* Hey Saul by Elly Eriksson

Oliver Abbott

Here we go again by Oliver Abbott

Charlotte Abbott

The stuff dreams are made of by Charlotte Abbott

Saul Pierce

*beams* Hey Elly. by Saul Pierce

Eun Ae

Then the blue serves as a convenient camouflage presently? by Eun Ae

Cynthia Smythe

So what's this place like? by Cynthia Smythe

Cecily Smythe

This can't be good by Cecily Smythe

Amelia Smythe

I am my own person by Amelia Smythe

Mike Song

Title change! Chaa! (Translation: three's a party!) by Mike Song

Daniel

Although, it looks like our other house color is black. by Daniel

Miles

And looking for sympathy by Miles

Pippa Brockert

Me too. by Pippa Brockert

Meredith Lail

And hello Dolly! by Meredith Lail

Elly

... Who is Dolly? by Elly

Nathaniel

We can make our own club! by Nathaniel

Adelita Garcia

What's that? Food? or Magic? by Adelita Garcia

Nathaniel

... I totally just answered myself instead of you by Nathaniel

Josiah

Choking, Being "rescued" and spilling water on myself by Josiah

Aeon

Four's a Rave. by Aeon

Professor Kijewski

This is always so enjoyable by Professor Kijewski

Benvolio Dramulan

Joining the crowd by Benvolio Dramulan

Saul Pierce

A sheep, right? by Saul Pierce

Charlotte

All of it! But the magic most of all. by Charlotte

Deepa

Which three isn't, in this case. by Deepa

Irene Liddowe

Moving threads... (nm) by Irene Liddowe

grins Hey Saul by Elly Eriksson

beams Hey Elly. by Saul Pierce