It seems straightforward enough to me on Cascade Hall

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

April 06, 2013 3:01 PM

Attention all 5th and 6th years! by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

It had been announced the night before during dinner that all Fifth and Sixth year students were excused for a short period of time during their first lesson the following morning and were requested to join the Headmistress in the Cascade Hall once breakfast had been completed. With the year coming closer to the end and the examinations forever looming on her students and the final challenge to compete in, Kiva wanted to get the voting completed so that the students could return to their scheduled lessons and she would be able to tally the ballots in time for the announcement at the Ball.

She stood quietly at the Staff table waiting for the younger year stragglers to leave the Hall to head to their lessons and to allow the Fifth and Sixth years to settle in and get over any worry they may have about what this was about. Kiva figured the Sixth years have caught on by now as they have had to do all of this the year previous, but the Fifth years might still have some anxiety over it.

On the table beside her were the voting cards and some quills. She had been on staff for so long that this process lost some of its glamour. She still enjoyed the idea that it was the students who chose who would represent them and their school the following year, but she knew most of the time is had to do with popularity. There was nothing to be done about it. Such things would continue on into their adulthood anyway. Perhaps that was a bit cynical of her to think, but she was in her forties now and saw no difference in how adults work than she did now with the students.

“Hello everyone.” Kiva greeted with a polite smile. She had come back to Sonora at first as a substitute for Care of Magical Creatures when the fifth years had been small little first years. It was difficult to realize that they were old enough now to take their CATS examinations and be voting for their next Head Boy and Girl. Time really flew by. “I asked you all here today because it is time for you to vote for next year’s Head Boy and Girl. I have the ballots here as well as some quills in case you need one.” Kiva held out the ballots and some quills. “Please take one and do not discuss your votes. These will remain anonymous.” She really didn’t care if they decided to chat about it after the fact, but she wanted the actually voting portion to remain fresh and untainted by other opinions.

“I will announce your new Head Boy and Girl at the Midsummer Event. Find a seat and when you are done, please return the ballot and quill to me. If you have any questions, please ask me.”

(OOC: Here is the voting form. Voting is In Character (if you have more than one character in these years, you vote per character) and can remain anonymous IC if you want. You do not have to respond to this post, but you can if you feel the need. Please be sure to vote because your vote does matter.)

Subthreads:

Difficult decisions by Arnold Carey

It seems straightforward enough to me by Derry Four

Decisions, decisions... by Michael Grosvenor

I know it is my Year Of Doom. Must you keep reminding me? by Sullivan Quincy

0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau Attention all 5th and 6th years! 0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau 1 5

Arnold Carey

April 06, 2013 7:34 PM

Difficult decisions by Arnold Carey

Arnold had known it was coming, and had dreaded it for…well, not really all of the past year, since he hadn’t thought of it that much, but he had definitely not liked it whenever it occurred to him that soon enough, the Headmistress would hold his year behind at breakfast and they would have to vote for Head Boy.

He wouldn’t admit it to the girls in his life (mainly Theresa and Fae, but he guessed Sara and Alice sort of counted, too, even though he never had any real idea what went on with Arthur and Alice and wasn’t sure he wanted to), but that was all he was really thinking about as he stood in line in front of Arthur for a ballot. The Head Girl vote would also happen, but he had barely given it a thought. It wasn’t possibly going to make him need to ask for a transfer to Teppenpaw, or at least it was a lot less likely to than the vote for the boys, because as far as he knew, Fae wasn’t locked in any strange academic relationships with any of the other sixth year girls, not at all like Arthur and Preston, who were bound to both be…

It became his turn to be first in line, and he picked up a ballot and blinked in confusion as he scanned the list of eight names. They weren’t both on it?

Arnold looked over it again as he turned to go back to his seat, squinting especially closely at what looked like his own name, but it remained true. The hostility he had been expecting would erupt in the dorm wasn’t going to happen, because Preston hadn’t made the ballot at all. Arthur was nominated for Head Boy, but not Preston. In his place, Arnold had apparently emerged as the competition for Arthur, Russell, and Derry. He shook his head as he sat down at the table again, across from Arthur, feeling, for just one second, kind of relieved.

For just one second. Then he realized that this might actually be worse. If Preston had been nominated, too, he and Arthur might have just decided to be worthy opponents and maybe even gloated about how superior they were to Arnold and Josh and probably Russell, too, but now that Preston hadn’t been nominated, there was no chance of that. There was just Preston feeling insulted, not least because Arnold had made the ballot when he had not, and maybe only the chance of Sara finding the free time and patience to drag Preston off to a secluded part of the Gardens for a while to stand between them all and Preston having a meltdown.

This could be bad.

And then…what if Arthur or Russell won? Arnold knew he was out before he even began, but the other two weren’t. Arthur, at least, could do with the extra work, but he thought the position involved getting to boss around the prefects, at least some, so that might make him worse in some ways, and if Russell won and then Arthur and Preston decided to be angry together….

Arnold shook his head. This was making it hurt. He didn’t like this kind of convoluted, possibility-based thinking off the Quidditch Pitch, and had no idea why his brother did. He looked down to the previously not really registered girls’ names to give himself time to think, but didn’t have to think long about that one: simple loyalty dictated his vote, and after what Alex had told him about the first challenge, among other things, he didn’t have to think twice about it. Though he did feel a little…strange about it. It seemed Fae had come further than he’d realized, even after how she’d called him out on being a coward last year, from how they had been at first years, where he wasn’t sure he had changed at all, especially not for the better.

Finding the topic of Head Boy better to think about than that, he went back to the top of the list, thought over each name in order, trying to think like an Aladren for once, and then, before he could think too much about it, marked a name. Then he took a deep breath of relief and went to hand in his ballot and then out into the corridor, glad that, whatever was going to happen after this, that one thing was over with, anyway, and he wasn’t going to have to worry about it anymore.

And, in the end, to feel just very slightly smug. He had made the ballot of options for the next Head Boy.

0 Arnold Carey Difficult decisions 181 Arnold Carey 0 5

Derry Four

April 08, 2013 2:54 PM

It seems straightforward enough to me by Derry Four

Derry had not really thought much about the implications of his sixth year drawing to a close. He didn't have any big tests at the end of it, the challenges were a fun diversion and his team was even vying for a place in the top five which was awesome and already made them winners as far as he was concerned, and he had already secured not only a date but a girlfriend (!) for the ball. Sixth year was incredible.

When asked to stay after breakfast with the other fifth and sixth years, he was initially confused, having forgotten entirely about the Head Boy and Girl voting. Had he ever given it a little thought, he supposed he would have figured the Aladrens had a sweep for Head Boy, and Reggie was a shoo-in for Head Girl, but he hadn't even given it that much consideration.

He figured out what was going on when he recognized the bin of quills from last year, but when he got his ballot, he was still taken aback to realize the names listed on it came from his own year. Surely, it was too early for his own class to have this vote, wasn't it? But, no, next year was their last at the school, and how terrifying was that? Derry had no idea at all what he was doing after graduation.

There was still time before he had to decide that though. Only a little more than a year, but time nonetheless. Head Boy and Girl had to be decided now.

He made a mark next to Reggie's name without a moment's hesitation as soon as it jumped out at him. She was his best friend, his girlfriend, a prefect, great with people, good at organizing stuff, and he could think of no reason in the world not to vote for her, so that part was easy.

It was when he looked at the boys' names that he was taken aback again. His own was there. True, nobody called him Derwent anymore, and he usually put "Four" down as his surname in place of "Pierce" so it gave him a moment of confusion because (a) his father did not attend Sonora, and (b) someone got his numeral wrong, but he eventually came to the indisputable understanding that he had somehow supplanted Preston Stratford on the ballot.

And, well, why not?

He wasn't the smartest guy in his year - he might, in fact, be the far opposite side of that spectrum - but he was passing all his classes, he did his homework, he participated in class, and even got Es in both Charms and Care of Magical Creatures on his CATS. He was Assistant Captain of his Quidditch team, and his Challenge team was doing very well. He got along with almost everybody he met, and he sat in a weird no-man's land where he knew the customs of both high purebloods and muggles without ever having been formally disowned.

He held no illusions that he could steal the wealthy pureblood bloc vote away from the Careys, but he might stand a chance of being considered more approachable to the remainder of the school than Russell Layne. Derry wasn't on the Aladren Quidditch team, after all.

Having convinced himself he might actually stand a chance of winning, he marked down his vote for Head Boy and turned in his ballot. It would be totally awesome if he and Reggie could have matching badges next year.

1 Derry Four It seems straightforward enough to me 189 Derry Four 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

April 11, 2013 11:29 AM

Decisions, decisions... by Michael Grosvenor

Michael wasn't surprised, or particularly worried when the fifth and sixth years were asked to hold back. It was probably going to be about CATS. Everything at the moment was about CATS. That didn't entirely explain the presence of the sixth years but maybe they were going to have some kind of Q&A session, where they could talk to people who had been through it. Yeah, that was probably it. Part of him figured it beat being in class but a small, previously unknown part of him, thought he might rather be in class just in case small piece of knowledge that might save him from failing his exams was currently being related.

He was a bit taken aback, therefore, when they were told it was to do with head boy and girl. He briefly wondered what that had to do with him, given that his year had only just chosen their prefects. Also, his ability to look to the future really did not extend past his looming exams, and he hadn't really thought of himself as on the verge of becoming a senior student.

Still, he was being asked, so he took a bit of paper and scanned the names. It was weird thinking these students had been in his class last year. They seemed miles away now. They were advanced students. He ticked Derry's name without much hesitation, on the basis that he was the most normal guy there. Michael thought it said a lot about your school when you could apply that appellation to someone who dressed like they were in a different century but it was true. Derry wasn't stuck up. He talked pretty much like a normal bloke. Michael couldn't remember seeing him ever bow to anyone, although he guessed it might well have happened.

He hesitated longer over the girls. Fae and Hope were definitely out. Whilst he'd worked with Hope's cousin at the concert, and he'd never had any kind of hassle off either family, he just didn't think people from those families needed any more suggestion that they were better than other people. So... Josephine or Reggie. He didn't really know either girl well. Reggie had done that party last year, which had been pretty cool. He hesitated over her name. But Josie was probably just as nice and she seemed organised and responsible. By which he meant that he hadn't ever seen her get in trouble. He hovered over her name. She was kind of chunky though. He hovered back over Reggie's name. That shouldn't matter though, he realised, feeling bad at having even thought it. As if to prove that he didn't care about that, he firmly ticked Josephine's name, the tops of his ears glowing red, even though no one could tell what he'd been thinking.

13 Michael Grosvenor Decisions, decisions... 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Sullivan Quincy

April 11, 2013 3:20 PM

I know it is my Year Of Doom. Must you keep reminding me? by Sullivan Quincy

Sullivan had not paid much attention to the previous night's announcements. He'd been trying to finish an essay that was due tomorrow afternoon that he'd had a week to write but was only just then starting. So his first real awareness of the cancellation of his first period class was when the fifth and sixth years were told to stay in the Hall after breakfast.

His first and immediate thought was panic. His assumptions were confirmed by the pile of papers and bin of quills the Headmistress had on hand. With everyone so focused on the CATS, nobody had thought to mention there were Pre- and Post- CATS assessment tests!

He wasn't ready for a test! He was still working with Professor Skies to become even marginally proficient at Transfiguration! He was behind on his potions readings! He wasn't wearing his lucky testing socks!

He was going to bomb the whole thing and destroy Sonora's accreditation and make American Wizards look stupid! His professors would all loose their jobs and federal wizarding authorities would hold back education funding from all schools in Arizona! And it would be all Sully's fault because he had somehow missed the teachers telling him about the pre-test!

Nerves jangling, he accepted his exam sheet and nearly had a heart attack when he saw the entire educational furture of the state rested on two multiple choice questions. What if he guessed wrong on both of them? Would he be kicked out of school if he got a zero on a standardized test?

He didn't breathe again - and was well on his way to a full blown mental breakdown - until he actually read the first question.

Oh. Head Boy and Girl elections. Why hadn't somebody said that? He swore, sometimes he thought the whole of wizarding society was made up of nothing but sociopathic individuals who took unholy delight in their nefarious plans to cause students terror and emotional torment. Seriously. Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills? How could an exam called that come from any governing body that did not enjoy sadism?

Drinking unknown potions for sorting? Facing boggarts with no warning? Sending people across a lake filled with dangerous creatures? Elections held with no reassurance that it wasn't a big old standardized test? Magical education administrators obviously had issues.

Taking a deep breath and telling himself it was wizardkind in general and not him who were irrational and insane, he looked over the candidates and realized he knew almost nothing about any of them. How was he supposed to who would make a good Head Boy or Girl?

He did know Josephine well enough to feel sure she wasn't some kind of maladjusted evil witch who was just waiting for her chance to become a School Administrator, so he marked her off first. Besides, he was kind of hoping he might go to the ball with her.

The boys were more difficult. None of them were in his House so he had no idea what any of them were like outside class. He was pretty sure they all played Quidditch, which eliminated the whole lot of them as sane people. On that note, he elimated Arnold and Derwent, because they Seekers (suicidal maniacs and possibly selfish narcissists who thought the whole game revolved around them) or Beaters (sadistic School Administrator wannabes, plus this one had reality issues as well, judging by his wardrobe). Of the remaining Chasers, one was a Carey, so also mentally unbalanced by genetics alone, and Russell Layne.

Sully marked down a checkmark beside Russell's name on the basis that he was probably the least insane of the four options.

1 Sullivan Quincy I know it is my Year Of Doom. Must you keep reminding me? 207 Sullivan Quincy 0 5