Voting on Cascade Hall

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

August 30, 2013 4:31 PM

ATTENTION 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 Midsummer Fair coming up quickly, 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 Fair.

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 have some curiosities about it.

“Hello everyone.” Kiva greeted with a polite smile. She didn’t often get to interact with the students, so even something as simple as this felt a little more personal to her than it probably did to them. “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:

What an unpleasant surprise. by Sally Manger

Voting by Evan Brockert

Just as I thought... by Amira Thornton

Wait, what? by Sullivan Quincy

6 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau ATTENTION 5TH AND 6TH YEARS! 0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau 1 5

Sally Manger

August 31, 2013 9:21 PM

What an unpleasant surprise. by Sally Manger

When Sally woke up this morning, she was fully prepared to vote for Nora. Her best friend was studious and admirable, and being that she was already Prefect, she would be a lovely choice for Head Girl. There was no doubt in her mind at all that, if there was any sort of system to this whole affair, she would see her fellow Aladren’s name on the ballot. She was unsure who else it would be, but the other candidates hardly mattered anyway.

Grey-brown eyes widened in surprise upon discovery of just who the others were. Brianna Japos was unsurprising; while Sally did not know her well, she seemed qualified and kind. However, the third name completely caught her aghast: there, the last name on the page, was her own.

The brunette had never really wanted the position, but in a large part, that was because she thought she would never get it. She had been, for a long time, robotic and unapproachable. Then when she discovered herself and her emotions, she fell through sort of an instability phrase, where her control of everything seemed to fall apart. Nora was prefect and thus the expected choice, but there clearly inked was Sally’s own name as well.

And know she was faced with a choice. She knew Nora wanted this, but almost suddenly, so did she. To some degree, she wished she had not even made the ballot, or at least that one of them would not have, so she would not have had to choose. Voting for herself felt like disloyalty. Voting for Nora felt like self-sabotage. Conflicted, she saved it for later.

The Head Boy selection, however, was a short-lived distraction. The seventeen year old knew none of the nominated boys well, but she felt Linus was the best pick, so she marked his name and returned to her dilemma. She tried to imagine what Nora would want her to do; she knew her friend would not be angry at her for winning (if that somehow happened), but that knowledge only inspired further guilt. No matter whom she voted for, Sally lost somehow.

But she had to choose. Telling one side of her consciousness to kindly shut up, Sally penned in her pick for Head Girl and folded the ballot neatly. Rising suddenly, she hurried the ballot up to the Headmistress before she had time to change her mind.

12 Sally Manger What an unpleasant surprise. 198 Sally Manger 0 5

Evan Brockert

September 03, 2013 8:16 PM

Voting by Evan Brockert

The bet had been called off. Nora had apologized and claimed to see the error of her ways, saying pretty much what Evan had been thinking of, how she had nothing to really gain, and that she realized how she could hurt and humiliate him. The younger Aladren had appreciated this, even though he suspected she did this so he'd vote for her for Head Girl. She was his cousin and he loved her, but he didn't always trust her motives.

And it wasn't as if Nora didn't have good qualities. She was one of the most intelligent people Evan knew. She was responsible. She genuinely cared about her younger sister and her family in general, even if she could be a real....well not only a witch but something that rhymed with it as well.

Yet, she would make a good Head Girl, and he knew she would be devastated if she didn't get it. Nora had only wanted the position since she knew and understood what it meant. And Evan didn't want to hurt her even if she'd hurt him earlier. He was not a spiteful vengeful person, well not usually, there were certain circumstances, certain people who had to be dealt with. Certain people who were actually evil and cruel. People like Uncle Liam.

People like Carrie O'Malley. Spiders coming out of someone's wand was never a good sign and Evan didn't want that in his family, no matter how distant. Amity had told him and Hope how awful she was-when she wasn't trying to pretend most of the other wagon occupants didn't exist and stay as far away from them as possible-and he believed her, having been exposed to that girl in class but he hadn't realized she was actually evil . It made him want to protect Portia and Willow from her-and Lucille too.

Nora, however, for all her clinical detachment, was not like that. He knew she was a good person underneath it all. She wasn't Carrie and she wasn't her grandfather. She just had a way of looking at things that was based on academic interest rather than emotions. That did not, however, mean she lacked them and Evan didn't want to force her to show how devastated she'd be if she didn't win. Which still could happen but he wasn't going to contribute to that.

With that he marked off his votes and returned his ballot to the Headmistress.

11 Evan Brockert Voting 212 Evan Brockert 0 5

Amira Thornton

September 04, 2013 3:38 PM

Just as I thought... by Amira Thornton

Amira knew by now that the announcement at dinner the night before for the fifth and sixth years to stay behind after breakfast meant that it was time for the vote for Head Boy and Girl. She had her guesses that her name wouldn’t be on there, but she had a chance. Anyone had a chance, really. After all, she was Quidditch Captain…

Sure, most of the time the Head Boy or Girl are chosen from Prefects, and that she was not. But sometimes they were not chosen from that select few. With a small shrug, she finished her breakfast and waited for Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau to say what she knew the announcement was. All the younger kids left the room and finally the Headmistress spoke up.

Amira nodded silently as she’d been right to assume that was what they were asked to stay later for. She took a ballot and looked at the page in front of her for a long minute. First, she glanced down the list for Head Boy. Michael, Linus and Sully. Hm… she thought, realizing that it was an easy choice for her. She marked on her ballot for Head Boy and took her second glance at the part for Head Girl. Nora, Brianna, Sally. I didn’t think I’d be on there… she thought, as she read down the list again. Hm… This one will be harder… Much harder… Amira thought to herself, closing her eyes, thinking back on what she knew of all three girls and made up her mind. Marking that as well, she handed in her ballot and went off to class.

0 Amira Thornton Just as I thought... 208 Amira Thornton 0 5

Sullivan Quincy

September 10, 2013 1:58 PM

Wait, what? by Sullivan Quincy

Sully wasn't too worried about the call for fifth and sixth years to stay after breakfast this time. Last year, he'd nearly had a panic attack, but this year, he was pretty sure it was the Head Boy and Girl voting that he'd done around this time last year and not a secret pre-test for the CATS or the RATS.

He still stayed up late doing some last minute cramming after the dinner announcement yesterday, just in case, though.

His first assumption proved to be correct however, and he settle down with his quill and his ballot, ready to mark down his votes for Brianna and Michael when he ran into a snag. Well, Brianna's vote went down without a hitch, but Michael's hit a hang-up. Not because his name was missing from the ballot, but because there was an additional one that Sully hadn't expected to see there.

He certainly hadn't been looking for it, but there it was, jumping out at him, because, well, it was his own name.

He had no expectation of winning. None at all. But that was his own name sitting there vying for contention of Head Boy. So Sully marked that bubble instead of Michael's.

1 Sullivan Quincy Wait, what? 207 Sullivan Quincy 0 5