Headmaster Brockert
April 15, 2016 1:00 AM
Opening Feast by Headmaster Brockert
Nothing, it seemed ever changed in Mortimer's life. His daughter-in-law, Amanda, Gene's wife, had just announced her pregnancy last week. At least, though, it wasn't Opal. In fact, after Amethyst's birth, Mortimer had had a talk with Zeke about not having any more kids, which had been awkward as can be.However, since it was Gene and Amanda and it was their first, he supposed he could be happy about it, like most people were about having grandchildren-and really he shouldn't have been that surprised to constantly having grandchildren since he had five sons and they were more than old enough to do so. Besides, Amanda was overall less stupid than Opal. Not that that was saying much since Mortimer suspected there were actual opals that were smarter than his daughter-in-law of the same name.
And just as every other year, when the first years filed in, he stood and began to speak. "Welcome to Sonora for the new first years and welcome back for all older students. In just a minute,first years will be receiving a goblet distributed by Deputy Headmistress Skies, in order to sort you into your houses. You will turn the color representing your house which are blue for Aladren, yellow for Teppenpaw, red for Crotalus, and brown for Pecari. Afterwards, you may join your house table."
Of course, this year there were relatives among them, a Brockert girl and another girl who was Clifford Brockert's great-great-granddaughter or something. That wasn't anything new either, they just weren't that closely related to him. Next year his own granddaughter would be here.
Come to think of it, maybe it was good for things to be the same. When things weren't that meant they were going wrong and it was a lot of bull crap that he had to deal with. Then again, things had started normally when the Charms facility had malfunctioned and when the Satori had shown up, so it really didn't matter. It was just painfully repetitive.
After the first years had been sorted and found their tables, it was-like every year-time to announce Head Student and prefect. Mortimer picked up the official ballot and while his face naturally did not betray his inner emotions, he internally did a double take. This was certainly something new and different. "Would Duncan Brockert and Serena Brockert please come up and get your Head Student badges. In addition I'd like to call up John Umland, Aiden O'Neil, Makenzie Newell, and Joella Curtis to recieve their prefect badges. Congratulations." He was rather surprised really, no Brockert had won Head Student in over twenty years. There were those two girls whose grandmothers had been Brockerts but they themselves had been a Dobson and a Lennox. He thought the last person whose last name had actually been Brockert to win was actually Duncan's father but he wasn't really sure. It was hard to keep who was related how straight. His niece Alessa was as far he knew, the only one who could. Mortimer would be shocked if Clifford himself knew.
Anyway, he had one more announcement as they sat down. "This year's Midsummer event will be the ball and this year there will be theme, to be announced later.Now we will sing the school song." Though I am not sure why we bother.
Every day we strive
Learning to survive
Life’s hardships and to solve its mystery.
Learning to defend
Our honour and our friends,
Flying high to meet our destiny
We will stand and face those who want to harm us.
We won’t let the world transfigure, jinx or charm us
I won’t fight alone, as long as you are with me.
Sonora be my home, my tutor and my spirit
Vasita quoque floeat; Even the desert blooms.
With that, food appeared, students were free to converse, and he was free to enjoy his meal as well as a family victory.
Subthreads: So many changes! by Jake Manger with Aiden O'Neil
Don't worry, I've arrived. by Makenzie Newell with Daniel Fintoc
Y'all know the drill, I'm in it for the food. by Sammy Meeks with Liliana Bannister
Another year. by Dustin Newell with Emilia-Louise Scott
Back in "action". by Wu Peizhi with Raine Collindale
Feeling kinda chatty. by Nevaeh Reed with Barnaby Pye
Wait, this is wrong, where's my blue? by Jozua Sparks with Georgia
Seeking friends. by Abigail De La Garza with Gabriel Valenti
Can it be the Closing Feast now? by Camden Miller with Kyte Collindale, Camden
I'm turning blue! by Farrah Welsh with Arianna Valenti
All about that feast. by Chuck Fintoc with Killian Everett, Chuck
Man with a plan. by Alistair Johnson with Laila Kennedy
What? Me? by Joella Curtis with Gia Donovan
Adults Conversing. by Librarian Amelle Nicchi with Nathan Xavier
Regrettably here. by Jax Donovan with Louis Valois
Time to make even more friends! by Theresa Whittaker with Lily Spencer
I'm starving. by Jack Spencer with Madeleine Dautin
Terrified by Juniper Brockert with Finbar Scott
Time to make (appropriate) friends by Sébastien Évreux with Cecilia Carey
Oh joy. (Tag Caelia) by Kira Spaulding with Caelia Lucan
Yay, John! by Clark Dill with John Umland
*grunts* by Arne Reinhardt
Me? (Tag Araceli) by Duncan Brockert with Araceli Arbon
Arriving. by Arianna Tate
Guilty conscience by Ingrid Wolseithcrafte
Out of breath (Jemima) by Owen Brockert with Jemima, Owen
Here's to another year. by Joseph Umland with Ginger Pierce
Shocked by Serena Brockert
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Headmaster Brockert
Opening Feast
6
Headmaster Brockert
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Jake Manger
April 15, 2016 3:28 AM
So many changes! by Jake Manger
Stepping off the wagon felt like stepping into the unknown. Or, like, the sorta unknown. Everything felt so different this year, so much less like home. Because home was not a place, it was the people you went there with, the people you loved above all reasons and cares, the people you couldn’t imagine your life without seeing. People like Arnold.But Jake promised his mother (and himself) that he would try to make it work, so that was what he was going to do. At least he did have other friends here, nice friends like Duncan and Ginger and Diana. And as a Teppenpaw, if he got sad, he could always just find somebody in the Common Room and talk about it. His Housemates were all so kind--it was a requirement!--that surely someone would listen to him and support him. Ginger’s friends in particular always seemed like such good kids. They would listen.
So maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad. His bright eyes caught momentarily on the back of someone’s head, a young brunette, and seeing her made him feel all the more at ease. Maybe this would be okay, indeed.
Or maybe not. His feelings for Ginger had only grown over time, despite his best efforts to keep them at bay. She was just so young, only now the age that he was when he first started feeling things for her that he wasn’t supposed to, big feelings that he wasn’t ready for and couldn’t understand. Fourteen years old was way too young to know anything about girls. He was sixteen now, and she fourteen, and maybe that was less weird. Duncan’s girlfriend(?) Araceli was two years younger than him, so maybe that meant it would be okay. Jake just didn’t know. He was so confused about the whole thing.
But beneath the confusion, he still felt an overwhelming warmth when he looked at her, picturing her hand in his or her mouth so very close. It made him feel a lot of ways. Happier and more scared than he’d ever been before. Maybe that was what love was: the universe’s fulcrum between pure joy and pure fear. Tip too far either way, and it all caved in, stabilized only by balance.
Apparently, he was more mature than he realized.
He took his place among the yellow House with little thought to placement, his cautious optimism for the year outweighing even his drive to locate Ginger. She was probably with her roommates, anyway. Girls always seemed to locate one another and travel in flocks. They were weird like that.
The Headmaster started talking pretty soon after that, getting the ball rolling. Jake watched with mild interest as they all shuffled about, their skin brightly colored. He wondered if that was what Arnold looked like at college, scurrying to and fro, trying to find a seat with his new House. Of course, he wasn’t bright blue this time around, but the point was still valid.
Next the Prefects and Head Students were announced, and Jake could hardly contain himself. “Yeah!” he exclaimed happily, a huge grin spreading across his face. “Way to go, Duncan! And, uh, everybody else,” he added a bit more nervously, aware that he might have brought some undue attention down upon himself. And how cool to have both the Head Girl and the Head Boy from Teppenpaw? That to him suggested a very friendly year ahead of them. It was gonna be the best-....!
IT WAS GONNA BE THE WORST! The Headmaster went on to mention the Midsummer event, and for a second, Jake was afraid his very life would be over! He totally forgot it was going to be a ball this time! That was the worst thing ever! He’d had a great time at the one when he was twelve, and he’d gone with Diana, who thereafter had become a great friend to him, but now Ginger was here and things were different. He’d been slightly worried about this type of issue last year when the three of them had all been on one team for the challenges, but now he actually had to make a choice. And he couldn’t really go dateless, either, because he had to do the prefects’ dance! NOOOOO!
He wanted more than anything in the world to go with Ginger, but Diana might have been expecting him to ask her again, and he really didn’t want to hurt her feelings or make her end up alone. The thought distracted him through the song, which was probably to the benefit of his neighbors (he wasn’t an awful singer, but he definitely needed some work if he was going to do anything more than occupy himself in the shower), but he snapped out of it around its conclusion. After all, the ball was a whole school year off. He had a little time to figure it out.
For now, he chose to be happy, especially for Duncan’s achievement. As food became available and he began filling his plate, he turned merrily to a boy sitting beside him. “I’m so excited. My roommate, Head Boy!” Jake was still so grateful the school had allowed him and Duncan to room together. Having no one in his year made him sad, and since Duncan was the only boy in his, it was a match made in heaven. The arrangement had supplied him with a young man who was easily his best friend. “I think I’m gonna sneak out of here early to go decorate our room. When I go, do you wanna come with me and help? Maybe we can find some girls to do Serena’s.”
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Jake Manger
So many changes!
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Jake Manger
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5
Makenzie Newell
April 15, 2016 3:53 AM
Don't worry, I've arrived. by Makenzie Newell
Makenzie Newell stepped off her wagon with the grace and poise typical of one raised with her level of breeding and culture. Her exterior was well-kept, dotted with slightly more makeup than she had worn last year, another birthday in the books providing more insight and materials from her mother. She was a little taller, too, and her hair a little longer, though just as fiery red. She had a look in her grey eyes that told a very simple yet very bold tale: she had arrived.Things were a little bit different now, but back to normal, in a way, though the other state had been the default for some time, just without her knowledge. Miss Araceli Arbon was once more at her side--figuratively, at least, as she just kept missing her today--as she was meant to be, as she had been over the summer, though obviously to a less frequent degree. A part of her missed Delphine, who had become more than a friend, more like the older sister she had never had and always wanted. Makenzie had realized that no matter which Arbon sister was with her at Sonora, she would never be satisfied, because now she wanted both of them. But it was fine: she knew how to lie to herself by now.
But it was hard, harder than usual, because there was no closure. Delphine had no swan song, no last hurrah. Makenzie had understood that possibility at the bonfire, but still, there was an unsaid goodbye that needed to be said. Or else the conversation needed to continue. She was debating asking Araceli if she could write letters to her sister, but that would also depend on where Delphine even was. If she was with their family, there was no way they could manage it inconspicuously unless they signed Araceli’s name on the envelop, and even then, their father might read it or something.
Makenzie told herself that she was fine, and she chose to accept it as fact. This was not the time nor the place to contemplate such things, anyway. She plastered on an air of subtle confidence and found a place at the Crotalus table, glancing weakly across to the Aladrens, to Dustin. It was the last year that it would just be the two of them, with his sister Florence just around the corner and his brother Brett the very next year after her. Secretly, she hoped they pestered him the way he had pestered her, breathing down her neck every step of the way, until finally he either got bored, got tired, or found something else to stress needlessly about. Although maybe she ought to hold that thought, since he’d be in her classes this year, spending every day in her proximity.
She paid polite attention to the Sortings but only really listened up for the announcement of the badges. Much to her dismay, she was the won granted the honor of Crotalus Prefect, another example of her accidentally receiving something that would have better helped Araceli, just like much of the yearbook. Makenzie kept her expression neutral except a hint of surprise and excitement, but internally, she felt almost like she should apologize. And she probably would, later and in only Araceli’s confidence.
The redhaired fifth year did not sing, but she hummed along absentmindedly as she fastened her new badge to her robes, conscious of the one hundred percent chance of Dustin staring at her. When she looked up, it was confirmed, as he offered a proud nod in her direction. But he had no right to be proud of her; he was just a child. He didn’t know anything.
She reached forward to pick up the plate of ham in front of her, but her hand bumped against someone else’s. “Sorry,” she offered humbly. “You go ahead and get some, and then I’ll take it when you’re done.”
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Makenzie Newell
Don't worry, I've arrived.
291
Makenzie Newell
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Sammy Meeks
April 15, 2016 4:08 AM
Y'all know the drill, I'm in it for the food. by Sammy Meeks
Sammy had already had a pretty full time, basically running since she got off the wagon, what with taking her things to her room and hanging out with her friends and doing weird team things with the Pecari Quidditch team, but she showed no signs of going. Because even in the most dire, desolate of situations, one motivator always kept her going. One beacon always shined in the distance, its luminosity beckoning to her, welcoming her back to its tender, loving arms. Sammy, it called to her, I am here for you. I will always be here for you. And she believed it, for she had never been wronged by her most precious love.FOOD!
The Headmaster’s talking was all well and good, but, to put it lightly, Sammy did not give a poop. She just wanted to eat. But noooooo, she had to sit through a Sorting she didn’t care about, a badge-ceremony she didn’t care about, an announcement about the Midsummer event that she didn’t care about, and a song that, guess what, she didn’t care about! Hell, she hardly even paid attention to any of it. She definitely didn’t notice when he mentioned a ball, or else she would have either immediately panicked. Sammy had never been to any sort of dance in her short but athletic lifetime, so if this “ball” wasn’t going about the kind that were orbs you threw at people, then she wasn’t about it, plain and simple.
But she didn’t hear that, so it was a reaction prolonged for another day. For now, all that mattered was that all of that stupid stuff was over and she could eat. She reached forward to grab a plate of her sweet, sweet love, sausage, but clanked her hand against somebody else’s. “Please. Me first?” she said weakly, gripping and reeling in the plate before they had time to really protest. She piled the lovely sausage on her plate, giggling slightly as it rolled around, before handing the plate back to her neighbor.
“Sorry about that,” she grinned sheepishly, one hand going behind her neck in a very anime-esque pose. “I think my body is like eighty-six percent meats, and if I don’t refuel, I will probably die a horrible, painful death.” Sammy helped herself to some bacon, and ooh, was that turkey? before saying much more. “So,” she said when she did, “are you excited for the school year? Because I am. I’m a fourth year now, so I’m basically the middle-est age, so that seems pretty cool. What about you?”
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Sammy Meeks
Y'all know the drill, I'm in it for the food.
310
Sammy Meeks
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Dustin Newell
April 15, 2016 4:29 AM
Another year. by Dustin Newell
So his cousin was a Prefect. Excellent. Dustin offered her a proud nod, perhaps the kindest gesture he had ever sent her direction, and hoped she appreciated it more than she seemed to. Did she just roll her eyes at him? He hoped so, for her sake. Makenzie would do well not to give sass to the family heir.Despite her annoyances, he had to admit that he was eager to be in classes together. He would have liked to say it was so he could monitor her progress, ensure she did well but not too well, but really, it was just in case he wanted her help. Dustin couldn’t deny that his cousin was a pretty good witch, and secretly, he longed to reach her caliber. And surpass it. By the time his sister would arrive next year, he had to be the strongest Newell in the school, or else she--and consequently their two younger siblings--would not give him the proper respect, which he so deserved for all of his hard work for their family. As the heir, he had to do and know more than any of the others could possibly imagine, except for maybe Brett, since he was sort of backup in case Dustin died horribly before he had a son of appropriate age.
He wasn’t as smart as he thought he was, but objectively, he knew some stuff.
Dustin’s green eyes scanned the tables for the recently assimilated first years, some of whom had no doubt already begun to fade slightly, others of whom were still bright blue or yellow, red or brown. He looked among them and wondered what it would be like next year when Flo was around, sitting a table (hopefully not his), or the year after that, when Brett would come (definitely not his table). He was pretty sure he would be out of here by the time Ana came, but she was a shoo-in for Teppenpaw, for as spoiled as she was, she was still a very kind and tender spirit.
He shooed the thoughts away, trying not to be too sentimental about his foolish little siblings. Dustn had to focus at the task at hand…. Okay, just kidding, the task at hand was the song, and he was not participating in that for the fear of feeling foolish himself. He watched Makenzie fuddle with her badge, wondering slightly if she knew he was looking, When she looked up, he gave another nod, certain this time she actually saw and relieved that she offered no sassy response. Makenzie was good. For now.
The food before him genuinely looked wonderful, but Dustin found himself not altogether that hungry. He’d had a few snacks after getting off the wagon, plus his mother had insisted on a solid meal before he left. Still, beneath all his layers of arrogance and killjoy-hood, Dustin was a thirteen-year-old boy; his stomach was basically a bottomless pit, and since it would just be such a waste not to partake, he indulged himself, grabbing himself a nice assortment of food items. With his plate filled, he turned cordially to a neighbor and asked, “So how was your summer?” Dustin took a bite, ready for his neighbor to answer while he chewed.
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Dustin Newell
Another year.
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Dustin Newell
0
5
Back in "action". by Wu Peizhi
She hadn’t meant to nap, but her bed had been so soft and nice, and she was just so tired. She couldn’t help it. When she woke up and saw Abigail’s things put away in their room, she felt a rush of affection toward the other girl, grateful she had managed to move about without waking her up. Despite living together for two years, Wu didn’t know Abby very well. That was admittedly primarily her own fault, for being so withdrawn. She generally interacted with other people outside of their dorm--Laila, the Donovans, and Sammy, namely--and by the time she got back to their room, she was so worn out from the interaction that she generally just holed up in her bed with the curtains closed. The only time she really talked to Abby was to ask about homework.And that was sad, and Wu felt bad about it. Abby seemed like a very nice girl--she was most assuredly a considerate roommate--and was likely someone with whom she might like quite a bit if she was not so darn introverted. She felt similarly about a lot of people at Sonora. As far as she had experienced, there were not many mean or unlikable people here, but people tired her out so greatly, and overall, she was just so weary to really find out for herself.
So with a pang of guilt weighing heavy in her heart, the small Teppenpaw made her way slowly to the Cascade Hall for the Opening Feast. She slid innocuously into the table, instinctively wishing any of her peer group were in her House. At least then she’d be among people with whom she felt relatively comfortable. Here, she just felt nervous (or, at least, more so than usual), even though she knew logically that this was the nice House and there was nothing to fear.
She tried to focus on what was happening around her, watching the scurrying first years dart to their new Houses, their skin brightly colored beneath their robes and atop their multitude of expressions. Wu remembered being them just a couple years ago, so recent the experience still felt fresh, like yesterday. She was quite a bit smaller then, if that was possible, and less developed, if the same could be said. Puberty had only just begun, but looking at the women in her family, she didn’t expect much. Serenity was quite tall, but that was because her mother had been, as well. Wu’s mother was smaller, a perfect Chinese bride. And none of them were very curved.
Wu noticed with mild interest that both the Head Boy and Head Girl were named Brockert, a positive testimony to the family into which her sister would soon be marrying. There were a couple good names among the Prefects, too, which was something positive she could bring back to her father at midterm when he questioned her. And he would, most assuredly, question her.
The song passed with little eventfulness; she sang along quietly, if nothing else than to get her lips readjusted to passing English through them. Being allowed to speak in her native tongue this summer had been both a gift and a curse, as she had been more comfortable, but now her English was a touch rusty. To that end, she was unable to process what the person beside her said, and nervously, softly, she replied, “I am sorry… Could you say again?”
12
Wu Peizhi
Back in "action".
316
Wu Peizhi
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Nevaeh Reed
April 15, 2016 5:50 AM
Feeling kinda chatty. by Nevaeh Reed
Nevaeh and Scout once more found themselves in the Cascade Hall, stomachs ready for a feast. It was weird to be able to just go sit since last year Nevaeh had to drink a suspicious potion and let her skin change color before heading off to her newly learned House. This time, they just had to find a seat, sit in it, and wait for food. Scout led her to the table and pushed out a chair, guiding her into it before lightly pushing her up to the table and laying beneath her. “Good boy,” Nevaeh smiled, scratching his ear. The German Shepherd panted his appreciation.Her summer had been of little significance, mostly spent reading in her room. The best spot was the bench in the window, where she could feel the sun without having to fight all the irritants of the outdoors. Of course, she had to go out once in awhile because Scout got bored. He was a service dog, but he still needed to run and play like any other dog, especially a herding dog like a German Shepherd. Sometimes her parents took him out for her, asking her to just sit still for the next twenty minutes or so. Sometimes she listened.
Just like now she sometimes listened to what the Headmaster was saying. She was too young to really care about Head Students or Prefects--Maybe next year, she told herself, when Barnaby is eligible--and the announcement of a ball didn’t mean a whole lot. She was only twelve and not particularly interested in boys yet, although the idea of having an actual date did send butterflies through her stomach. Maybe Barnaby or Kyte would ask her. Those would definitely be “as friends” dates, but at least she’d have somebody to dance with. It might be nice to be led by a boy and not by a dog for a change. And maybe a theme could be cool.
The song was pretty boring. It was hard to sight read Braille, but she was starting to get a hang of the music, a surprising amount of recollection from last year leading her. Overall, she didn’t know most of the words, but she remembered the notes, so she hummed, fading in and out as she so desired. Then she tucked all that knowledge away for another year.
Nevaeh didn’t feel particularly hungry, so instead of grabbing food, she grabbed a conversation partner. “Hi,” she beamed happily to whomever was seated to her left. “How was your summer?”
12
Nevaeh Reed
Feeling kinda chatty.
325
Nevaeh Reed
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Jozua Sparks
April 15, 2016 10:52 AM
Wait, this is wrong, where's my blue? by Jozua Sparks
Jozua enjoyed the tour Mr. Xavier gave them, but as his stomach began to tell him in hungry growls that the time of the Feast was approaching, he became increasingly distracted as he wondered which House he would be put into. Pecari was growing on him, thanks to Lily. She was the only person he knew and getting to know more people just sounded daunting.But then Crotalus sounded calmer from what he'd read in the school literature, and of course Mom was hoping he'd end up in her old House (and frankly, with his hometown sharing the same name, there was a bit of *expectation* that he'd represent them by joining the House named for them). Jozua tried not to get set on it though, because that could lead to disappointment if he got sorted elsewhere. Then there was Teppenpaw. Well, that one at least was unlikely. Jozua didn't talk enough for them.
Finally, the tour wound up at the Cascade Hall, and for a moment all Jozua could do was stare at the great falls cascading down the walls. Well, there was no question how this room got its name.
The headmaster was talking but Jozua wasn't hearing it. Soon after, a goblet was handed to him and for a second he was confused, but there was really only one thing people did with goblets, so he took a sip of the potion inside of it. And then his skin began to turn ...
Yellow?
Wait, wasn't that Teppenpaw's color?
Dang it, he'd been supposed to go to Aladren! What was this?? He was from Aladren! He was supposed to go to Aladren!
So much for not being set on it. Apparently, he'd absorbed more of the expectations than he'd thought he had.
Baffled, disappointed, and stunned, Jozua made it it over to the Teppenpaw table and found a seat next to another yellow skinned student. What did he do wrong? Had he hated doing his homework too much? Was he not a good enough chess player? Was one adventure book a month not enough reading?
And why Teppenpaw? Mom said they were talkers! How was Jozua supposed to survive if everyone in his House wanted to talk to him?!
He tried to clamp down hard on the anxiety he could feel starting to rise. One person at a time. He'd just have to take it one person at a time. A stranger to an acquaintance. Acquaintance to friend. Rinse. Repeat. It would be better once there were no strangers left. He looked around at the vibrantly colored people. The year group wasn't that big, and the yellow ones were even fewer. He could get through this.
He managed to reason himself down and tune back into the Headmaster's speech just in time to hear about the ball.
A ball?! He groaned aloud. That was just what he needed! He hadn't even packed any fancy robes! At least it wasn't until after Christmas. He could being them back with him after midterm. And he had most of the year to figure out who the Maartens would approve of. With luck, Lily would get cleared and he could ask her. Then they could sneak off and hide in trees. He'd see what she thought of that idea later.
In the meantime, there was food (yay!) and a yellow person nearby to de-stranger-ize.
"So," he began awkwardly, "Were you expecting Teppenpaw?"
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Jozua Sparks
Wait, this is wrong, where's my blue?
348
Jozua Sparks
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Daniel Fintoc
April 15, 2016 12:32 PM
And what an arrival. by Daniel Fintoc
Daniel parted ways with Chuck and Emmy-Lou right from the onset of setting foot in Arizona again, as usual determined to be independent. They headed of to Cascade Hall, tempted by the mention of refreshments, whilst he headed to the Crotalus common room but he took a fairly roundabout route to get there so he could stretch his legs after the wagon ride. He hadn’t spotted either of the girls in his year once he reached the common room, although admittedly he didn’t hang around to look for very long. Instead he chose to head up to his lonely dormitory where his luggage was already waiting, thanks to Sonora’s efficient elves, and begin unpacking.He had grown a bit over the summer, although still a small skinny little boy who looked rather ridiculous beside his bulky 6ft-plus cousin Chuck. It was clear that he had spent most of the break outdoors from the way his freckles were enhanced and his skin tanned but that was probably to be expected of a kid who lived on a ranch and had also spent a couple of weeks under the California sun.
Daniel watched with interest as the first years sipped from the goblet in turn, knowing that all of them would be in his classes for the rest of the term and paying particular attention to those that turned red. It was odd to think only this time last year he was one of those nervous first years, not that he’d acted nervously but he knew from experience that there was something nerve racking about starting school for the first time. He now felt so old and mature compared with these little people.
The Head Students were announced but Daniel was too young to know who they were, besides picking up on the fact that they were both from the same good family. The prefects were called up next to collect their badges and the second year didn’t hesitate in heartily joining the applause for Makenzie Newell. Prefect! Could she be anymore amazing? He smiled at the older girl when she returned to her seat, which was near him, but he didn’t think she noticed.
Daniel didn’t know what to think when Headmaster Brockert told them that this year’s Midsummer event was going to be a ball. The bonfire last year had suited him just fine, a much more familiar scene, but he supposed this would be good practise for the sort of formal events he would attend in his future of restoring the Fintoc family name to its original notoriety. The Crotalus knew that having a date wouldn’t be mandatory but he wasn’t sure if it would be expected, seeing as he was only twelve and had no romantic motive behind going with someone. Unless that someone was Makenzie which was an absurd idea but one he could secretly dream about nonetheless. Going with a girl did sound as though it could be fun and he thought it would be a nice thing to do - hopefully it would make whoever he ended up asking, if he ever did, happy and maybe even flattered. The obvious options were Angelique or Artemis but choosing one over the other did not sound easy, or very kind. However, the event was at the end of the year so he had plenty of time to think about it and see how the year panned out.
After singing along to the school song with everyone else, Daniel started helping himself to the plate of ham but his hand got there at pretty much the same time as someone else’s.
“Sorry,” he hurried, blushing a little when he realised the owner of the hand was Makenzie. He hoped she hadn’t thought it rude of him to go for the dish he probably should have seen that she too was reaching for. After all, she may be significantly older but he was still supposed to be the gentleman. But she was very polite about it, not that he would expect any less from the perfect young lady, and allowed him to go first.
“Thank you,” he said, taking some of the ham and then pushing the dish closer to Makenzie when he had enough on his plate. “Congratulations on becoming Prefect,” he nodded briefly to the badge already pinned to her robes, “that’s really impressive!”
He wanted to tell her that he’d known she’d get it but he didn’t want to overdo it and embarrass himself. “Did you have a good break?” Daniel asked politely, giving her the opportunity to speak before he said something uncharacteristically daft.
8
Daniel Fintoc
And what an arrival.
333
Daniel Fintoc
0
5
Emilia-Louise Scott
April 15, 2016 4:33 PM
And it's going to be <i>fabulous</i>! by Emilia-Louise Scott
Emmy had dived straight for the refreshments in Cascade Hall the instant Mr Xavier had revealed their existence. Daniel went off to do his own thing but Chuck accompanied her, his own huge bottomless pit of a stomach growling for some snacks to keep him going until the feast, which he was no doubt looking forward to. Once there and topping up her energy supply, she saw Abby De La Garza and they got chatting. It wasn’t long, however, before Louis appeared and she forgot all about food in her pleasure in seeing him again. They walked to the Aladren common room together and spent the entire time from there until the Opening Feast just catching up with one another after an entire summer apart.Emmy watched the first year sorting, suddenly feeling grown up at the thought of being in third year and therefore moving up into the Intermediate class. Prior to this moment she hadn’t felt all that different to last year, certainly not having grown over the summer. She wondered if she’d be a baby-faced midget for the rest of her life or if she was just a late bloomer who would turn up to the start of seventh year with long model-like legs and huge boobs. Somehow she doubted it but having noticed how much Joella had grown and matured in just one summer, Emmy had a glimmer of hope that perhaps she’d surprise herself one day.
When Joella was called up amongst the prefects, the Aladren couldn’t help pausing from her clapping to wolf-whistle and then grinning and giving a thumbs when her newly-titled friend looked over at the sound, which was louder than Emmy had thought she was capable of. Apparently she’d already forgiven the older girl for not including her in her summer shenanigans. It wasn’t surprising that the pair of them were growing apart. Sonora especially had provided them with new friends and they seemed at very different points in their lives right now, which wasn’t surprising considering the two year age difference.
The mention of a ball for the Midsummer event was quite exciting. As much as Emmy always liked to complain when her father forced her to attend formal events, there was something about them that appealed to her. It was probably the dancing, and the socialising (although there were always so many people at those kind of things that she would rather not socialise with). Emmy also loved to dress up, only her ‘dressing up’ was sometimes considered a little unorthodox compared with the prissy proper pureblood girls but she never cared about this, loving to do anything that put her in the spotlight and made all the stuffy people turn up their noses.
If Emmy’s hopes of starting up a Fashion Club this term came together then for all she knew she may get to make her own Midsummer ball dress - creating a dress herself was a long dream of hers. She had spent a lot of her summer planning for her club idea and she was really keen to make it happen so it was very likely that it would. She was Emilia-Louise Scott after all and had a very determined head on her shoulders. Since her best friend was a Valois she very much intended to rope him into helping her with the club but she hadn’t actually broached the subject with Louis yet, not that she had any doubts about her persuasive and manipulative abilities if he turned out to be reluctant.
After joining in merrily with the school song in an unrestrained manner that suggested she was under the fallacy that she was a super talented professional singer, Emmy filled up her plate eagerly. She simply loved Sonora feasts and the great selection of foods available to her. She hadn’t actually eaten that much earlier in the hall as she’d been far too busy talking so she was definitely ready to satisfy her stomach now.
Before she had much time to put anything in her mouth, Dustin prompted her to speak and she certainly wasn’t going to reject the opportunity. “I had a lovely summer, thank you,” she responded with a sudden attempt to act all refined, dropping the chicken drumstick she had just picked up and wiping her greasy hands on her napkin with an innocent smile. “I spent a lot of time at beach - I live in Santa Monica, mostly - and got back into a lot of sports that I don’t get the chance to do here like horseback riding. And I stayed at my step-family's ranch - the Fintocs that is - in Colorado which is always super fun and there’s lots of horseback riding to do there as well as one of the ranch horses there is mine.” She was still pretty proud of the fact that she had an actual horse of her own, even if it was kept at the Fintocs’ ranch and not either of her California homes which would allow her to see her more but that made sense, especially considering it was one Granddad Fintoc’s stock which he he’d given to her a few years ago. Apparently everyone in the Fintoc family had to have a horse so it had kind of been a default gift when her mother married Chuck’s dad and they became accepted into the Fintoc clan.
“Chuck and his cousin Daniel also stayed at my house for a couple weeks at the start of the holiday which was cool as Dan’s never really been to California before so everything was really new to him and I got to show them around and stuff,” Emmy added, already dropping her brief plans to try and be a refined young lady - who was she kidding? Technically it was also Chuck’s house she’d spoken of since his father Robert had long since moved in but Emmy’s step-brother himself never called it home and he was hardly ever there, much preferring the comfort of what he knew in Colorado. Emmy was also encouraged to call Dan and the rest of them her cousins but even after what must be about five years she still couldn’t help often tagging the word “step” onto the front of words when talking about her Fintoc family. After all she still would refer to Robert as her “step-dad” if explaining who he was to someone as, although she frequently wished she didn’t, Emmy still had a real dad in her life.
“How about yours?” Emmy decided it was time to return the question, even if she thought she had plenty more to say. The third year was fairly sure she’d managed to sound like a sane person, aside from the fact that she didn’t show much care for the idea of pausing for breath in between sentences. Although to be honest, Dustin had probably heard enough of hers and Louis’s conversations in the Aladren common room that he had a good concept of what she was really like. She picked up her cutlery to start eating whilst she listened to Dustin’s response, not daring to return to the messy chicken drumstick and act like the caveman she was in front of him. Dustin wouldn’t approve of such a thing, she was sure.
8
Emilia-Louise Scott
And it's going to be <i>fabulous</i>!
313
Emilia-Louise Scott
0
5
Abigail De La Garza
April 15, 2016 5:35 PM
Seeking friends. by Abigail De La Garza
Abby was relieved that her bustling about the bedroom had been quiet enough that she hadn’t appeared to disturb Wu from her slumber. When her roommate had finally woken there hadn’t been much time for a proper conversation attempt before the Opening Feast so Abby just greeted her and asked after her summer before heading to Cascade Hall and taking a seat at the Teppenpaw table. She hoped that by the time they returned to their dorm Wu may feel a bit more talkative after being surrounded by so many noisy conversations. Of course, there was the more likely scenario that filling herself with food from the feast would just make her sleepy but seeing as she’d taken a nap already then maybe the Asian girl wouldn’t feel particularly tired until quite late.Abby looked forward to the Opening Feast mainly because it was so lovely to see all the familiar faces again collectively and catch up with someone whilst she ate, or meet someone new. She watched the first years being sorted - they all looked so cute and tiny! The third year paid polite attention to Headmaster Brockert’s announcements. He never said much, only what was necessary, but she supposed that was a good thing. Abby wasn’t overly familiar with the Head Students and prefects but she recognized most of the names, having been at Sonora for two years now, and thought it pretty cool that the Head Students were both Teppenpaws. Aiden O’Neil was the prefect for her house. She didn’t know him a great deal but she definitely liked him a lot for reinstating the Archery Club last year. She hoped he and Lena would run it again this term, although she understood if his prefect duties were too time-consuming. Perhaps one day she would be brave enough to run it. Over the holidays she had considered asking her parents in they could arrange archery lessons or something so she could really improve but she’d kept putting off revealing her love for the sport and then it was just too late and before she knew it she was on the wagon ride back to Sonora.
The Midsummer ball was an exciting prospect but she knew it could only really be fun if she had a close group of friends to go with, or a date - that would be amazing. Abby didn’t really know of anyone that might ask her but was sure she wouldn’t be the only dateless student so she guessed it didn’t matter. At least that’s what she liked to think but once the idea of having a date entered her head it wasn’t going to go away too quickly. She thought her best bet was to just secure some better friendships with her classmates this year so a group of them could go together or something. That was one thing about Sonora that had surprised her - her lack of particular friends. She got on well with pretty much everyone she’d interacted with and her year group had even voted her ‘Most Likely To Brighten Your Day’ in the yearbook at the end of last term (which she’d thought so lovely of them), but in spite of this she still had no go-to buddy that she frequently hung out with.
Abby sang along to the school song, not too loudly but fairly confidently. She was always told by her family that she had a lovely voice but she was more content to sing amongst others than by herself and be in the spotlight as her younger cousin Inez was clearly starting to enjoy.
Once they were permitted to start eating, Abby began to serve herself from some of the dishes closest to her that she liked the look of. As she did so she turned her neighbour. “Hi,” she smiled in her usual friendly manner, “did you have a nice time over the break?” There were so many different sorts of people at Sonora so it was always interesting to hear about what they did whilst they were away.
8
Abigail De La Garza
Seeking friends.
315
Abigail De La Garza
0
5
Camden Miller
April 15, 2016 10:13 PM
Can it be the Closing Feast now? by Camden Miller
Coming back to Sonora wasn't something Camden had been excited about. In fact, he was kind of miserable attending the magical school, but his parents had told him he had to. His first year at the school had been plagued with studying and catching up with all the magical stuff that he did not know. It had been hard, especially since the Pecari boy had trouble with the academical part of life. He struggled to even pay attention for more than 5 minutes in class. He had asked the staff for continual help because his grades had been pretty abysmal the first few months of the term. His parents had not been very happy about that, so that was why Camden had focused on studies and not making any friends. He. Was. Miserable.However, despite his horrible first year as a Sonoran, his summer had been amazing. Camden had spent most of it at camp with his Muggle friends. They had played every Muggle sport they could and hiked and swam and did summer camp stuff. It had been so much fun. He wished he had friends to share his summer stories with. Camden could not share anything from the magical world with outside people. It had been kind of hard to maintain the secret.
Camden sighed in exasperation as his foot began moving under the table while the Headmaster (a dude that Camden did not like. He had a very evilish vibe) talked about stuff. Of course, the Pecari did not hear anything that was said. He just played with his fork not minding about the people around him. His existence was quite miserable at the moment. The brown haired Pecari boy mirroring the people that inhabited the Cascade Hall. He had no idea what was happening. He did not hear anything, he did not care about it.
Consequently, he did not realize someone had sat besides him. The boy had gone from daydreaming about his summer to getting excited about food suddenly appearing in front of him (He never got tired of that!) and rushed haphazardly towards the mashed potatoes in front of him. Camden accidentally knocked the gravy besides it with his elbow.
“Oh damn,” he cursed quite loudly as the gooey liquid clung itself to his sleeve. He growled in annoyance at himself, but quickly reached for a napkin to clean it. “Amazing way to start the year,” he grumbled sourly at no one in particular. Camden wanted to go back home now.
0
Camden Miller
Can it be the Closing Feast now?
337
Camden Miller
0
5
Farrah Welsh
April 16, 2016 3:24 PM
I'm turning blue! by Farrah Welsh
Farrah followed the rest of her first year class into the Cascade Hall. Her breath caught when she took in her surroundings, feeling overwhelmed by the look of the room that she lost sight of her new friend-ish, Killian. But who could really blame her? The walls were waterfalls! Not just like a fountain sort of thing, but actual waterfalls! Farrah had been to Niagara Falls before and that had been absolutely beautiful, but now she was going to be staying somewhere that had waterfalls where people ate all their meals! This was amazing. She could understand why her dad didn’t want to tell her anything about Sonora and spoil it for her.The Princi-no, Headmaster, stood and began to address the crowd. Farrah’s eyes grew wide in surprise when he explained how the sorting was going to be handled. She quickly scanned the crowd to see if she could find Killian among them and have a moment with him since they had literally been discussing this very topic earlier at the orientation. Now they were actually going to change their appearance! (at least, the color of their appearance). Obviously, it was not a permenant thing since her dad was not yellow, but she was definitely going to feel strange having different colored skin.
She watched as a couple of others went ahead of her and began to change colors. Some turned yellow, a couple brown. It was probably the strangest thing she had ever seen. She had stared, open-mouthed, at the entire process. Sadly, she couldn’t watch everyone go before her and she found herself standing in front of the Deputy Headmistress. She took the gablet and had herself a sip. It wasn’t the most pleasant tasting thing, but she managed to get it down. Surprisingly, she did not have to wait long to discover what house she belonged to as she found herself blue. Blue! She was actually the color of a smurf or, more awesomely, Mystic! Or like the girl, Violet, in Willy Wonka. Thankfully, Farrah wasn’t also beginning to fill and expand from juice. Farrah gave a shrug because she wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to do and wondered towards the table making the most noise, assuming this was the Aladren table.
Farrah took a seat and nervously began fidgeting while the rest of the sorting and the speech. She had no idea what Head Students or Prefects meant or what they did, but based on the reaction from everyone else, these were important things or positions. She wondered what she had to do or how it was that she could get such awards. That meant that she would have to do some research later one to figure out what everything meant.
Her aunt had been an Aladren and had enjoyed her time at Sonora, at least, that was what she had told Farrah when she had come over for a visit shortly after Farrah had gotten her acceptance letter. She had said that she had met so many different and wonderful people and had great experiences here despite being different. Farrah had to be optimistic with all of this herself if she wanted to fit in instead of being a sort of outcast like before. If her dad and Aunt had great things to say about the school and the people, it only meant that there were good things to look forward too.
Putting a smile on her face, she turned to the person sitting nearest to her, “Good evening.” She greeted, was that too formal? she wondered, but it was too late to change her wording now. “I’m Farrah Welsh. Um… I was wondering what you think would be best for me to try? Food, I mean. What food do you think I should try?” Farrah wanted to smack herself for that catastrophe. Maybe the person would just chalk it up to nerves since that’s exactly what it was and not hold it against her. She just really hoped they didn’t laugh at her and ruin any chance she might have of feeling comfortable in her own common house. Her dad said the houses were like mini families. She did not want to be the black sheep here.
6
Farrah Welsh
I'm turning blue!
344
Farrah Welsh
0
5
Aiden O'Neil
April 16, 2016 4:22 PM
It's a rainbow! by Aiden O'Neil
There was a confidence about Aiden as he walked around the school since exciting he hopped off the wagon. There was something different about him that maybe others couldn't pick out immediately upon seeing him, but there was a physical change in him. One that he wasn't shy to display either. His teeth. They were perfectly straight and beautiful. His parents had kept their promise to him and allowed him to have his teeth permanently fixed. It had been an excruciatingly painful experience for him, but the end result had been worth it. So now with all his extra baby fat gone and straight teeth, Aiden felt more confident in himself.His summer helped with that too.
Aiden and his parents had vacationed in France. They didn’t normally take lavish vacations, but his father had some time off and his mother wanted to get away before Aiden left Sonora. The last real vacation he had was a few years ago when his mother wanted to go somewhere really warm. They had gone to St. Vincent Island in the Caribbean. Aiden had ended up with a sunburn, but it had been so much fun. France was nothing like that.
They had stayed with friends of the O’Neils on their peaceful estate. They stayed in a guest house on the estate and it was basically it’s own mansion. The family they stayed with had a daughter who was a year older than Aiden. Her name was Lucette. She had nearly black hair with grey eyes and porcelain skin. She was beautiful. The entire time he was there, Lucette would pay attention to him, take him places, let him hang out with her and her friends. He knew it was nothing more than just a game to her, but he was thrilled with it.
She was alluring with an innocence that made the adults see her as sweet and kind, but what everyone else knew to be quite the opposite. She was, by all means, sweet and kind, but she was by no means innocent. By the end of his stay with her family, Aiden wasn’t sure if he could claim himself to be so innocent either. She had done things with him and taught him things during those three weeks in France that he thought for sure no proper Pureblood Witch would ever do. It was such an experience that would last with Aiden for his lifetime.
Of course, anything they had done was nothing remotely scandalous in terms of life altering futures, but it was enough to make an impact on Aiden. He knew that had he gone to France before he lost all the weight had had his teeth fixed, Lucette wouldn’t have paid him any attention. But he was so grateful for the attention he did receive. It was what he had been craving while at Sonora. All those people were around him and some of them were great people and great friends, but he was only ever Aiden to them and not anything more. Lucette treated him like something more and Aiden was smittened by that.
When they left France, Aiden was certain that he wasn’t likely to see Lucette ever again except for maybe her wedding day and that made him rather sad. They would not become pen pals or long distance friends. What they had was only meant for those three weeks and nothing more. Aiden had experienced several crushes with various girls at Sonora, but this had gone beyond that. It wasn’t a relationship, but it had been more than a crush. And now he was a little more lonely having felt that.
Aiden took a seat at the Teppenpaw table, grinning broadly to anyone who sat around him. He had intended to find his roommates, Savannah, and Lena before the feast to see how their summers had gone, but their schedules never met up, so now he had to wait until after the speech in order to find any of them for some fresh conversation. He watched with little interest as the sorting happened (now that he was a Fifth year, the excitement of it wore off). His disinterest continued into the speech because he was fifteen and paying attention was not his best trait. He was clapping along with everyone else at the announcements when he realized that his name had been one of the ones called. Surprise lit up his face. He had not expected to obtain a badge at all. He thought Liac or Savannah would have gotten it over him. Confusion entered him as he went up to collect the badge, but he accepted it with a hesitant smile before returning to where he was seated.
His mom had been Prefect back in her day, she would be so excited to hear that he had obtained a badge of his own. He was in the process of pinning it when the Ball was announced. Aiden sighed. He wasn’t sure if anyone would want to go with him as a date. And he wasn’t even sure if his female friends would want to go with him as just a friend. But he needed someone because he had to do the dance. He needed to worry about that some other time. Right now, he was too stuck on the fact that he was wearing a badge.
Jake Manger was talking to him, Aiden realized and a blush seeped into his cheeks out of guilt. Did Jake usually want to decorate the winners rooms or was it only because Duncan was Headboy? Aiden didn’t really know Duncan, so maybe he deserved the decorations? “Uh…” Aiden started. He wanted to find his friends to talk to them, but maybe his friends would be the ones helping with the decorating too? “Yeah, I can help with that.” Aiden commented. “I think Savannah might be able to help with Serena’s room. But I’d have to ask.” He added. He didn’t want to completely volunteer Savannah until he had her approval. “Congrats to him though, I’m sure he deserves it.”
6
Aiden O'Neil
It's a rainbow!
287
Aiden O'Neil
0
5
Gabriel Valenti
April 16, 2016 6:31 PM
Seeking ice cream by Gabriel Valenti
It was good to be back. Gabe was one of the first to head down to the Opening Feast (this was a feast, after all) and immediately took a seat at the Teppenpaw table. It didn’t really matter where, he had plenty of friends, and even the people he hadn’t gotten close to yet in his house were really cool. He was a second year now, so he knew how things worked. Piling food on his plate as he waited for the others to arrive, he took inventory of his day so far.There had been the morning, of course. Mom and Dad had invited Arianna’s family over to brunch. It was a generally accepted fact that the Valenti family did everything together; grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and all. When Mom and Dad had found out Gabe was a wizard-dude last year, and the rules of secrecy that came along with that new discovery, well, it had been hard. Discovering that his cousin, Ari, was magical too was making things easier, both for Gabe and his family. Gabe’s dad and Zio Anthony were brothers - they had been close growing up, and now they shared a secret about their children, too. But Zio Anthony was also a vice principal, and he had his own first day of school. So it had just been Zia Patrizia, Arianna, and Gabe’s family eating the delicious brunch that Dad had cooked for everyone that morning. Then Gabe and Arianna had put on their robes, took a bunch of pictures (in the backyard, where none of the normal neighbors could see), the works. And then of course, a flying wagon had arrived to take Gabe and Ari on their way. A new family tradition.
It was different, sitting on the flying wagon with somebody he actually knew really well. Well, it was cool for sure, it was good that there was someone else in the family he could talk to, who would understand this kind of stuff, understand him. But he wouldn’t have pegged Ari for a witch. She was just so… so organized and focused and composed. A perfectionist. Sometimes even kind of a snob. That was not exactly Gabe’s experience with magic.
And then the summer happened, and they had hung out together, what with non-magical classes then and preparing for magical classes now. Ari had helped him with homework, he had taught her how to fly, and well, she kind of grew on him. The kid really wasn’t so bad, so long as she wasn’t hanging out with all her girly friends from that prissy private school. Maybe getting away from all that would do her some good. In Gabe’s experience, people at Sonora were different. There wasn’t anybody at the school that he didn’t get along with.
The whole way there, Ari talked a mile a minute, asking and asking a thousand questions. Luckily, Gabe was armed with a tin full of pastries, made special from their grandparents’ bakery. Even though Nonna and Nonno didn’t understand why their children were shipping two of their grandchildren off to a mysterious, far-away boarding school, didn’t mean they weren’t going to send off their grandchildren without something to eat. In fact, they always sent off Gabe with pastries from the bakery. Another family tradition.
It had been kind of weird, dropping Arianna off at First Year Orientation, and bypassing it himself. The chubby boy had dropped everything - save his broom and a tin of homemade pastries from his Nonno and Nonna - with the prairie elves, and headed directly to Teppenpaw Common Room. Strange to think that this was a whole new world and a whole new school he had discovered just a year ago, and now he was walking around like he owned the place.
And not just walking. After dropping off the tin of baked goods and offering some to his roommates, he put on his baseball cap and dashed to the Pitch, broom in hand. Gabe kicked off almost as soon as he got there, and within twenty minutes of arriving at Sonora, he was back in the sky. Nothing was like it - the feeling of weightlessness, and yet total control. He grinned.
There was no better feeling in the world than returning to your home turf. Or, well, flying over your home turf. Summer had been great. He’d caught up with his family, gone to Mattie’s football practices, spent hours and hours helping Emma with his pitching. The only thing he could have gone without was non-magical tutoring.
Ever since Zio Anthony and Zia Patrizia had discovered that Arianna was a witch, they had become obsessed with maintaining her non-magical education, and Gabriel’s by association. Sixth grade social studies had not exactly been on the top of his to do list for this summer. But at least, unlike magical school, you couldn’t blow anything up. Unless, of course, they could have done volcanoes in their science lessons. Zio Tony had not been on board with the idea.
But more reliable than any clock, his stomach began to growl when it was time for the feast. So he’d dropped off his broom and his hat in his room, and ran straight down. Dark hair still windblown, his plate was already full with food when it was time for the sorting. The summer-tanned boy stood up slightly in his seat, trying to see over the crowd to watch the sorting of Arianna Valenti. He’d grown a bit over the summer, but was still on the shorter side for his age, and what Mom described as “husky”.
So, maybe it was too much to hope that Ari would be in his house, but he grinned widely when he saw his taller (but younger!) cousin turn the color of a blueberry. Aladren was way too nerdy for him, but there were a lot of cool people in the house. He waved and smiled to his cousin as she took her seat. Clark Dill had been on Gabe’s Challenge Team last year, and was an awesome flyer; Louis Valois seemed like a cool guy, and there had been that one time in Flying Class that Cassius Riker had pulled off a cool stunt. Plus, Gabe’s roommate, Joe, had a brother in Aladren. Joe was a good guy, even if Gabe didn’t understand his love of puzzles. His brother had to be alright, too. And rumor had it that Aladren had a crazy awesome Quidditch team, too.
Well, they would see about that.
Gabe listened to the announcements, but was mostly he was daydreaming about what delicious foods would be part of the Opening Feast this year.. After all that training this afternoon, a kid had to eat. It may have been Gabe’s second year at Sonora, but the first year that Quidditch was back. The upcoming tryouts were going to be his most important day in his wizarding career, right up there with finding out he was a wizard, and his very first day at Sonora. While he might have only found out about all this magic stuff just over a year ago, he’d been practicing flying nearly every day since then. Yeah, he was clumsy on the ground, and caused explosions in class on a weekly basis. He’d even won a yearbook award for the chaos he caused. The New Yorker didn’t mind it, really, he knew he was no nerd, and he wasn’t trying to be. He wasn’t studying multiple languages, like his big sister, Emma, or the top of his class, like Arianna had been at her old school (Zio Tony loved to brag). The air was different. He was fast and daring. Maybe even kind of graceful. Let the others have their books. The air was his.
Gabe ran his hands through his dark hair, trying to tame his curls a bit as things started to settle down and the usual announcements were made. He cheered for the announcement that two Teppenpaws were Head Girl and Boy this year. It didn’t matter that he didn’t really know them, a kid had to have house pride! And Joe’s brother was a prefect now - that was pretty cool! Gabe didn’t know if that was the kind of thing he would be interested in one day, student leadership. Maybe he should focus on not blowing stuff up so much first. And then once he accomplished that, maybe then they would finally let him meet a dragon. It didn’t have to be a super dangerous dragon, like a Hungarian Horntail. Maybe start with something calmer, like the Common Welsh Green, and then work their way up. Gabe paid plenty of attention to his Care of Magical Creatures classes.
Unfortunately for the second year, the final announcement was about pretty much the opposite of dragons. A ball! What would a twelve year-old kid like Gabe do at a ball? He’d gone to his cousin Alex’s bar mitzvah over the summer, of course. But that mostly involved goofing around with his family, an ice cream sundae bar, and of course they got to play games like freeze tag and Coke and Pepsi. As he polished off his first plate, he was pretty sure that a boarding school like Sonora wouldn’t have cool games like that at their party. It would probably be fancy and stuff, he would have to write home and ask Mom for his suit, assuming it still fit him by then. The possibility of having to shop for a new one did not excite Gabe. Ah well, at least the party was sure to have good food. Gabe certainly never starved here at Sonora. Yep, it was good to be back.
Announcements were finally over, and it was time for the school song. Gabe had never really gotten down the lyrics to that one, so he hummed along and was relieved when food finally appeared on the table. While everyone else was focused on main courses, he used the opportunity to assess the dessert situation. He noticed a platter with bowls of ice cream sundaes and grinned. While he wasn’t committed to ignoring the main dish options entirely, an ice cream sundae with whipped cream, hot fudge and a cherry on top could be a good starter dish. Sort of like an appetizer. One of the perks of boarding school was that since his parents weren’t here, he could pretty much eat whatever he wanted. A kid had to live a little.
He was just starting to dig into his ice cream sundae when one of his fellow Teppenpaws started speaking with him. It was Abby, who he recognized from his beginner classes, but who he had never really talked to before. Weird how even in a school this small, you tended to fall into your usual groups. Gabe thought all the friends he had made last year were great, of course. But there was always room for more new friends.
“Hey!” he grinned back, “Summer was really great, caught up with my family, lots of sports, and we even went camping! And flying practice, when I could,” he added, it was important people know that he was dedicated to his craft, “Also helping my cousin, Arianna, get ready for school. She’s over there,” he pointed to his polished-looking cousin, who currently appeared to be slightly blue and sitting at the Aladren table, “How about you? Get up to anything exciting?”
Dark eyes glanced a second time back at his younger cousin. He hoped she was making friends and having a good time. It was hard to tell with her sometimes, she could be so self-possessed, so hard to read. True, he’d gotten to know his cousin a lot better over the summer. He felt like she was more than a cousin, like a sister to him now. But sometimes, well, he had to wonder about what was really going on behind those brown eyes that looked so much like his own.
0
Gabriel Valenti
Seeking ice cream
330
Gabriel Valenti
0
5
Sorry, I don't have any by Georgia
Things were going ok. Not great. Not bad. Just kind of… ok. They had their orientation thingy, and she thought she remembered most of the important details, and there were some bits she was sure she was going to forget, but she had maps and lists and stuff, so that was ok. She’d met the French girl, and she had been ok. She hadn’t been rude or anything, although Georgia hadn’t really felt like they were totally on the same wavelength. So, that had been ok.Now they were in the school hall, ready for dinner (described as a ‘feast,’ and at this point dinner sounded good, and a feast sounded really impressive, if a little strange) but first they had to be lined up in front of everyone and sorted (which was kind of awkward and embarrassing). She took the sip of potion she had been offered and turned yellow. That was probably better than ok. She had read the descriptions of each house in the school brochure but she hadn't really thought any of them sounded like her. She did ok in school, and tried reasonably hard, but she certainly wasn't a high flier and outside of her designated homework would have rather spent her time watching movies. She wasn't really adventurous either. The other two houses had confused her, talking about respectability and diplomacy. Did people her age really use those kinds of words to describe themselves? She had been fairly sure she wasn't really as interesting as any of the house descriptions made people sound. They read a lot like the school brochures from her Dad's old school, the ones he had made her look at before they found out, and which talked about developing inquisitive and well-rounded citizens and sculpting future leaders. All in all, big school seemed to expect a lot more of you. If pushed, the best she might have been able to come up with was describing herself as nice. In big school brochure speak, she guessed 'believing in friendly co-operation' sounded most like being quite nice, so Teppenpaw made sense, in as much as it didn’t not make sense, the way all of the others did.
She took a seat at the table quickly, but was pleased when another new person sat next to her. The older students probably all had friends already, although from what they'd learnt this morning, she guessed she'd be working with them in some classes, so maybe she'd get to know some of them too. She noticed another yellow person – her room-mate, she supposed! - and waved to her to show she'd be welcome to come sit with them if she wanted.
The headmaster said a lot of stuff about people getting badges and there being a school dance (which, apparently here was referred to as a ball, which sounded a bit ridiculous to her), and then they were allowed to eat. Georgia's eyes widened as the plates around them magically filled up. She scanned them, looking for comfort and familiarity. There was mac n cheese but that had the vast potential to disappoint because it obviously wasn't going to taste just like her mom's – which, even though it came out of a packet, was still her mom’s because she always put bacon in everyone’s bowl, and tomatoes in her own and Georgia’s dad’s but not in Georgia’s cos she didn’t like them (they were fine in pizza sauce but the real kind were so slimy and gross) and drew a ketchup smiley face on top, and even the mac n cheese base tasted different when anyone else made it. She reached instead for pepperoni pizza, which it was pretty hard to mess up. As she did so, her neighbour asked her a question.
“Um... I guess?” she answered, “I mean, it was a bit hard to know what to expect. I'm not really sure any of it sounds a lot like me. Or like anyone really. How about you?” she asked.
13
Georgia
Sorry, I don't have any
346
Georgia
0
5
Raine Collindale
April 17, 2016 1:41 AM
Can I go home now? by Raine Collindale
As they’d got on the wagons in their first year, Raine had done her best to stifle her tears, afraid of being labelled a cry baby. This year, she had cried without caring. After a year of schooling, and a summer at home, she knew for sure that she didn’t want to go back, and wondered why she had cared last year what any of these people might think of her. True, it was easy to say that having made some friends, and that caused a little tug of conflict in her heart, because she really did like Nevaeh and Natalie, and she would be sad if she never saw them again, but it wasn’t enough to mean that leaving her family wasn’t incredibly painful. The summer had felt like she was playing catch up, trying to make up for a year of learning by herself, in the the things that she felt were valuable life skills - balance, hoop work, gymnastics. Without the guidance of her family, without being able to dedicate the majority of her time to practising, it was clear she was going to fall behind. But school couldn’t see that. No one here could appreciate there were different types of valuable knowledge to different people. Here she had to learn to write essays, to brew potions and cast spells that she would never have a practical use for, just to prove to someone that she could, and be ticked off in a neat little box on a neat little sheet. And so long as she achieved that, everyone was happy. Everyone promised she’d do well in life. But she didn’t want to “do well” - not the way they meant, anyway. She didn’t want to go to university. She didn’t want to get a nice job in a nice office and ride a nice broom from her nice house in the nice suburbs. She wanted to be part of her family’s circus, the way everyone had for generations, and this summer had made it perfectly clear that school was not just going to make her play a waiting game by taking up her time, it was going to destroy that option.She slouched into the hall, frowning, at the start of the Opening Feast. She wondered what would happen if she deliberately failed all her classes. Would they expel her? She heard schools did that. But that was often for bad behaviour. Sometimes they held people back - maybe they’d make her stay until she could prove that she could meet their inane and arbitrary requirements. Her frown deepened as she pictured perpetual school, where you weren’t allowed to leave until you’d jumped through all their hoops. Maybe her best bet was to set fire to something.
She took a seat next to Wu. Wu was a sort of comforting and familiar presence, although she wouldn’t really say they’d made friends. But Wu had been the first person she’d spoken to last year, she had comforted her when she’d been homesick, and they took the remedial English class together. That meant that she’d spent a lot of time around Wu but not really got to know her, and it wasn’t really a subject she felt comfortable bringing up as common ground. She and Kyte were almost the only - if not the only - students in the group who had English as a first language. They were there for different reasons than Wu or the Donovans - namely that, apparently, you couldn’t write like you talked. There were all these rules to doing it properly, which didn’t really make sense, and just seemed to be the way everyone else had decided it should work, and that you were wrong if you didn’t do it like that - a lot like everything else. Raine worried that Wu and the others must think she and Kyte were thick for needing to be taught how to write their own language. No one else seemed to see how unfair and stupid all these systems were. They believed like everyone else that it was just the way it should be done.
She watched the first years getting sorted, reacting equally to each. She didn’t understand why she should care more about one group of people just because the school decided to split them up along arbitrary lines and put labels on them. She listened to the speech. It was a ball this year. She didn’t care. Balls weren’t for people like her.
She surveyed the food, and helped herself to a slice of tasty looking chicken pie. Her family did a lot of its cooking over fires, and there were some foods you just couldn’t make very easily that way. Pie was on that list. People often served it at food stalls during festivals though, and she found herself transported back there as she ate. She could practically smell the tangy air and feel the heat of a summer sun.
“I wish…” she said quietly, squeezing her eyes shut for a second as she finished the wish in her head. I wish I could leave here, and go back to my family. Apparently she hadn’t spoken as quietly as she’d thought though, as Wu turned to ask her what she’d said.
“Oh. Um… I was just talking to myself. Sorry,” she admitted, blushing a little. “Uh, how are you?”
13
Raine Collindale
Can I go home now?
327
Raine Collindale
0
5
Kyte Collindale
April 17, 2016 5:09 AM
If I had my way, yes by Kyte Collindale
Summer had started out great. Kyte had been enjoying the crazy whirlwind that was their family, and doing all the things they did which he missed out on at Sonora, like cooking over fires, sleeping in tents or under the stars and moving every couple of days - Merlin, it felt good to be in different places again, but with all the most familiar people. To him, those two things were the meaning of life. He’d enjoyed catching up properly with all his cousins too. They’d exchanged letters over the year at Sonora in some cases, but it wasn’t the same as seeing someone in person, and there were some cousins who just fell into that category of people who you got on great with when you saw them but didn’t really keep up with in between. He’d inherited a whole new wardrobe too, as things got passed down the family, and now had a new range of t-shirts that proudly claimed he had been at some festival or other - that in some cases he’d never even heard of - plus a few others, his favourite of which, which he was wearing back to Sonora, was a cool one with yellow cartoon monsters drawn all over a photo of a city and big yellow bubble letters saying ‘monster attack.’ Things had been good. But as the summer had gone on, there had started to be a sour note. He’d practised all he felt he could during his first year at Sonora but it was obvious he wasn’t coming on as well expected with his trick riding having been away from the family. He’d managed to get good at jumping into position and flying standing up (albeit in a slightly wobbly sort of a way), but mastering the tricks without someone to guide him had been tough, and he hadn’t really managed it.His skills had come on amazingly over the summer, being free to practise all day with expert guidance, and when he was nailing tricks and joining in the last few shows of the season, it felt good - really good. But afterwards, when he had time to stop and think, he realised how much better he would be if he could do that kind of thing all the time. If he lived with his family, like he was supposed to, and worked on his flying all the time, he’d be amazing. Maybe, with school, he could still do enough to be ok. To be one of the warm up acts, and to scratch a living as part of the circus, but what if he had the potential to be the best, and school was taking that away from him? Raine had compounded this feeling one night, when he was lying awake worrying about the same thing, and she’d asked whether he thought they would be good enough. He always tried to put a brave face on, especially for Raine, who worried too much about everything, but he wasn’t a liar. And this, he didn’t know. He wasn’t sure, as the years went on, where exactly they’d fit in. Would they become more like townies the more time they spent at school? He couldn’t ever see himself being like that enough to fit into this world, or even particularly wanting to, but it felt like he was losing some of his old identity just by being here, by being denied the time with his family. It was like it was wearing away at him, at who he was supposed to be, but not building anything new in its place. At least, nothing he wanted anyway, and he felt in danger of falling through the gap that lay between those two worlds. He wondered whether this was what it was like to be Muggleborn. It had to be weird for them too, to go home and try to articulate all this crazy stuff to their families. To explain they’d won a sport their families had never heard of, or excelled in a subject that didn’t relate in any way to the world they knew… He knew how that felt, even though his family was magical.
Normally Kyte could brush things off easily - he wasn’t one to get drawn into big and complex feelings. Life was usually fun, and you just lived each moment enjoying the ones that were good and riding out the ones that were bad, knowing they’d be over soon. But, as he got off the wagon at Sonora, he had a heavy heart. He wasn’t sure he could break the upcoming term into anything smaller. It seemed like one long bad moment that was going to last until Christmas. And then there were the Christmas shows…. Normally one of the high points of the year, but what were they going to mean for him and Raine now? Sure, they’d always been bit parts, or in the back row, but they were meant to be moving forward. Were the going to get stuck there? Christmas certainly wasn’t the bright, shiny beacon of hope and light that it had felt like last year, where just the thought of seeing his family again and being in the ring had kept him going.
Instead of going to his room to unpack (boring, and he was used to living out of a suitcase anyway), he had headed straight for the gardens. Picking an area well away from the first years, he cast a spongify - one of the only useful things he had learnt last year, and a spell which he now excelled at across large targets - on a patch of ground. Climbing onto his broom, he practised a few jumps-to-standing, which was now more of a warm up, along with getting into a crouch for ducking through hoops and other obstacles, and hanging sloth style, then moving whilst in all these positions. This was about as far as he’d got over summer, and whilst it felt pretty simple when walking it through at Sonora, it looked pretty good when you were ducking obstacles at the last second and there were fire torches and music playing, and everyone was clapping along to the beat. He tried not to lose himself in the memories - he wanted more than that. He had to master the next steps, which were to be able to make different shapes, and to be able to jump and re-land. At least the gymnastics were things he and Raine could focus on together, as they would be useful for both of them, her main ambition being to be an aerialist - or maybe it was fairer to say, at least he had Raine to nag him, as all that balance and control stuff had never really excited him, and whilst he knew it would look cool once he could do it on a broom, he would probably be pretty ill-disciplined about practising the non-broom parts, like flexibility, without his sister’s influence. Kyte had always been one for the whizzes and bangs, not the subtle stuff - it was why his club catches and other juggling tricks were excellent but he remained frustratedly intrigued by anyone who could contact juggle (upon meeting them, he would take it up for all of five minutes before the lack of obvious and cool results made him quit again in favour of learning a quick but satisfying new pass).
Kyte was a little bruised and rather dusty when he showed up for the feast, but had a big smile on his face, having got a good practise session in. He knew it would be easier with his family’s help but he felt the renewed enthusiasm of making resolutions and throwing yourself hard into them. He hadn’t bothered to scrub up for the feast, not really seeing the significance, and preferring to use every scrap of time he could on his flying. He stowed his broom under the table, sitting down next to one of his room-mates. His brushed his brown fringe out of his eyes, where it stayed for all of two seconds before falling back (he’d had an obligatory tidy up cut over the summer but his hair remained floppy and longish, the longest parts nearly brushing his shoulders), and dusted a couple of dirt patches off his monster attack t-shirt and patchwork trousers, more for love of the clothes than any desire to look presentable.
He let the headmaster’s speech flow happily in one ear and then out the other. He just about listened, but it was more a case of screening it for anything that might really matter to him than actually paying proper attention. He didn’t know the prefects or head students and didn’t really see himself being selected for those roles in future, and he wasn’t really interested in participating in anything describing itself as a ball. The fire last year had been fun. He liked fires, and had enthusiastically tried to teach anyone who was willing a few of his favourite songs to sing around them (including some that he had picked up from his more exuberant uncles, which had made Professor Skies tut at him and tell him not to sing those ones). But this sounded less fun. Dancing was all well and good. If you wanted to dance, you could do that round a fire too. Barn dances could be fun as well. But anything that described itself as a ball sounded stuffy and more like it would serve the interests of the students who were into dressing up and dating. He wondered briefly whether balls usually had entertainment and whether he and Raine could volunteer to provide it, but that thought quickly left his head, because that was for some time that was pretty far away, and right now there was food.
If there were maybe two things Kyte had missed about Sonora, it was his friends and the food. He felt bad thinking it, because there was nothing wrong with his mom’s cooking in the slightest (and over the summer, he had been delighted to rediscover all his forgotten home cooked favourites, and to re-learn just how good a fish tasted when you’d caught it yourself just a few hours before) but the diversity and the amount of food at Sonora was dazzling, especially at the feast. He was on a mission to load his plate with variety - it was the spice of life, after all - equally tempted by curries, and roast chicken and some barbecue looking skewery things, However, his mission was cut short by Camden knocking over the gravy. Kyte drew his wand, siphoning up the liquid that was on the table and pouring it back into the gravy boat.
“I knock a lot of stuff over too, so my mom thought it’d be a good idea to teach me that one. But I don’t know whether it’d work on your sleeve,” he explained, with a kind smile before he realised his slip up. The trace and the concept of underage magic were never things his family had taken particularly seriously - there were enough of them in one place at any one time that there was no hope of anyone actually knowing who’d done the magic (though the ministry managed to hit them a surprising number of times in its “random” and “fair” spot checks, at which point the grown ups took charge of all the wands and the kids pretended to be clueless), and their way of teaching had always been to give out the knowledge that was useful as the need came up (a much more sensible way of doing things, in Kyte’s opinion). Kyte made messes, therefore he knew how to clean them. He thought of back-pedaling and saying he meant his mom had shown him the spell but he thought that might just draw more attention to what he’d said and also sound really unconvincing.
“So, did you have a good summer?” he hurried on, hoping a change of tack might help what he’d said go unnoticed. “And does it feel weird to be back?” he queried, his earlier thoughts about whether the Muggleborns had the same issues he did coming back into his mind. Kyte had never been one to censor many of his thoughts, or avoid blunt questions, and he was curious to know this, so therefore the logical thing to do seemed to be to just ask.
13
Kyte Collindale
If I had my way, yes
335
Kyte Collindale
0
5
Chuck Fintoc
April 17, 2016 9:39 AM
All about that feast. by Chuck Fintoc
Chuck was hardly returning to Sonora a changed man. He didn’t even feel much difference or significance in the fact that he was now a fourth year. Emmy would be back in his classes which would be strange but he was sure he’d readjust like he had when they were in Beginners together. There was still a degree of excitement about the new term, however, particularly as he had been starting to get to know some of his yearmates better and therefore looked forward to continuing with that.Of course, there was also that desire to get back home already and be amongst the cattle, the horses, the mountains and his family but having already done three years of his time at Sonora, the Pecari was settling into the routine so it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things, even if home life and school life were so different.
As always he was rather keen to get to the Opening Feast because the food. It was all just so good. Before he could get stuck in, however, there was sorting and formalities to wait for. He paid vague attention to the announcements, picking up that Joella Curtis was prefect for his house and being pleasantly surprised. Watching her walk up to collect her badge, Chuck noticed that there were a number of changes to the Tennessean's appearance and he hoped her lively personality hadn’t also received a makeover.
The announcement of the Midsummer ball didn’t provide Chuck with much to think about. Whether he asked anyone or not would simply depend on how his relationships with his classmates developed throughout the term so there was no point dwelling on it now.
It seemed like far too long before they were eventually allowed to commence the actual feast and Chuck helped himself generously to the glorious dishes and foods around him and then tucking right in.
“Can I pass you anything?” Chuck suddenly remembered his manners, swallowing the food that was in his mouth and turning to the person beside him. He thought everyone deserved to enjoy the feast as much as he did. “Personally I’d recommend the steak - it’s so good.”
8
Chuck Fintoc
All about that feast.
309
Chuck Fintoc
0
5
Alistair Johnson
April 17, 2016 9:47 AM
Man with a plan. by Alistair Johnson
Alistair had spent very little of his summer break in his home continent. His family had been invited to Tuscany by Denelle’s mother where they spent a number of weeks at her grand Italian home. Denelle was Alistair’s sister-in-law, married to his eldest brother Joshua and together they had a young daughter. It was nice to get to spend some time with his niece Penelope Miriam but she was little more than two years old so Ali found she could either get boring or annoying pretty easily. He did, however, not want to be a bad uncle so made an effort to pay her brief spells of attention.Alistair had been very impressed by the enormity of the Tavanas’ abode and thoroughly enjoyed his time there. It appeared that the portion of Italian Tavana families that had long ago migrated to America hadn’t maintained their wealth and importance as well as their relatives back in Italy, although it was unfair to say that they totally lacked success.
Following her divorce from Eduard Bedrosian many years ago, Denelle’s mother Angelica had left America and returned to her homeland where she had since resided with her parents in their Tuscan villa. The Italian Tavanas (not to be confused with the Iranian Tavanas who were completely different but also had connections with Alistair’s family through marriage) were known winemakers and therefore their home was surrounded by bountiful vineyards. Alistair’s holiday had been filled with wine tasting, something he had little knowledge of prior but he liked to think he was now pretty close to being an expert on the stuff. He liked the way that Angelica’s father looked to him proudly for his approval of the wines, just as though he were of equal importance to his older family members. It was partially for this reason that Ali found an unexpected affection growing for the humble elderly man.
After several weeks in Tuscany, the middle two of the Johnson brothers, Zachary and Jeremy, returned home to their own lives in America but Alistair stayed out in the European country for almost the remainder of his school break, travelling around Italy with his parents and staying in lavish places with loads of interesting things to see and people to meet.
Alistair had very much benefitted from his time in Italy, it seemed, as he returned to Sonora even taller than before despite his growth spurt seeming to have occurred throughout his third year. The sun had done him good and it showed in his features - his brown hair a lighter shade than usual and his skin more tanned than ever (although he naturally tanned easily). Being a great deal younger than the rest of his generation, Ali was used to being surrounded by adults but something about the family vacation had helped him to mature a great deal. That was not to say he’d had a personality do-over or anything of the sort. He was still just a fourteen year old boy, no matter how old and wise he liked to think he was.
Alistair was one of the fortunate students to have a respectively short journey to Sonora, since he lived in Arizona. After stepping off the wagon, he headed straight for his dormitory where he got changed into his swimming shorts and then went down to the MARS rooms where he found a nice long pool for him to do some swimming. This was really a new hobby that he had picked up during his time in Italy and one that had helped him to maintain his great physique.
Alistair Johnson did not know the meaning of light exercise so gave himself a pretty mean task involving many lengths and by the time he was finished up and had showered, dried and dressed afterward, he felt fully refreshed and ready to face the masses. Obviously he hadn’t been so long in the pool that it was already time for the Opening Feast so he spent the rest of his free time up in his room, starting to unpack his things and going over the training plan he had devised for his Quidditch team this term. Crotalus wasn’t going to know what hit them. After a year without matches and therefore unmotivated players, he had felt as though he was the only one bothered about the team practices. He was determined to dominate the inter-house competition this year, however, with the fittest and fiercest team. They were going to win.
The fourth year strode into the hall for the Opening Feast with his usual confident air and took his place at the Crotalus table, paying very close attention to the first year sorting with the knowledge that he needed those red faced kids. As the Head Students and prefects were announced, Alistair applauded politely along with everyone else. He was surprised that Joella had got such a position but even more so when she stood up and he saw her. She looked more attractive than ever and he instantly wondered was this her way of trying to make him regret breaking up with her? Alistair wasn’t interested - he was so over her…
At the mention of a ball his stomach almost did a little somersault but he was capable of maintaining perfect composure externally even if he didn’t necessarily feel so calm inside. Particularly after some deep conversation with Angelica’s father about things he would never ever talk about with anyone else, Alistair was confident about who he was going to ask to be his date to the Midsummer event and he hoped with all of his heart that she would save him the humiliation and say yes.
He served himself up some pesto spaghetti, opting to add in some grilled chicken and tomatoes and topping it with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. He avoided the temptation of the cheesy chimichangas nearby since, although he was young and active and had a fast metabolism, he was an athlete and therefore knew the importance of a good diet. He hoped his team were equally as careful - he could not afford to have them carrying about extra weight on the pitch (unless said weight was good solid muscle).
Taking a pause from his meal and allowing himself a moment to clear his mouth of its contents before saying anything, Alistair smiled at the student across the table from him. It was part of his mission this year to smarm up to as many Crotali as he could - he needed them on his side. “Good evening,” he greeted his neighbour courteously. “I trust you had a pleasant break?”
8
Alistair Johnson
Man with a plan.
306
Alistair Johnson
0
5
Arianna Valenti
April 17, 2016 1:04 PM
Are you sure about that? by Arianna Valenti
Arianna tucked a stray beachy wave of dark hair behind her ear, surveying the scene before her. Cascade Hall was lavish and beautiful, perhaps the most impressive room in all of Sonora. That they were in the middle of the desert, and yet the walls were covered in waterfalls only spoke to the excess the wizarding school seemed to enjoy. It was the sort of place that Arianna always felt that she belonged.She received her goblet calmly, not for the first time feeling glad that she had had Gabe to talk to all summer, to answer all her questions. Confidently, she raised the glass to her lips (with rose-tinted chapstick reapplied just moments before this important occasion) and drank in. Goblet in her left hand, she held out her right expectantly, temporarily admiring her summer-tanned skin while waiting for the potion to take effect.
Which house would be hers? Gabe was a Teppenpaw, and though she loved her cousin, she knew she was nothing like him. Aladren had potential to be interesting, but also to be nerdy. She couldn’t have that. Crotalus seemed important and respectable, but the welcome packet had also said they were rule-driven, which was boring. Arianna did not appreciate rules that did not favor her, and had a history of working around them. So Pecari? They didn’t seem to love rules, either. But it also appeared to be an impulsive house, a quality that Arianna knew she certainly did not have.
The dark blue of her skin contrasted nicely against the salmon-colored nails she had painted herself. So she was to be an Aladren, then. Clever, independent, stubborn. She smiled.
Looking around the room, she made eye-contact with her cousin, who waved and smiled proudly at her. Her own smile widened, and she nodded in recognition. She had a very strong feeling that Gabe would have been happy for her, no matter what house she would have been sorted into. Friendship with him was very simple, that way. It was very strange.
Now that she knew she was in Aladren, she hoped the color of her skin would go back to normal soon. The blue of her skin did not exactly match the forest green robes. With the thin gold headband atop her head, she thought she must look like a strange, alien princess. She took a seat amongst the other blue students, and paid careful attention to the announcements.
Brockert. That name was everywhere, particularly in the leadership of the school. She wondered if there were any in Aladren, or in her year. Would they be friends? She hadn’t put much thought into her roommates, what kind of girls would they be? At home, she shared a bunk with her little sister, Elisa. Her Elisa was a clever little angel, like a living doll Arianna could dress up as she pleased. Of course her new potential roommates could not live up to such a standard. But hopefully they wouldn’t be total nerds.
And then the final announcement drew all her attention completely. A ball? How exciting! She would need to buy a dress. Maybe now that she wouldn’t need to buy any winter clothes this year (a perk of going to school in the desert) she could ask her parents to buy her a very nice one. It would be her very first major social event in the wizarding world, after all. She’d wait until her first test scores were back, and send the results along with her letter. Her parents may be Muggle (one of the terms for non-magical she’d read about) but they were focused on academic success in any subject. Arianna might wonder about what her life as a witch in Sonora would look like, but she was confident she’d continue the academic success she’d always enjoyed.
She was less sure of who would take her to the ball. No way could she show up without a date. And not just anyone. He would have to be cute, smart, and important. Who she attended her first major school social event would solidify her status at the school. Worst case scenario, maybe Gabe could introduce her to one of his friends? But of course, his friends were probably all dorks. It would be better not to show up at all.
Her plotting was interrupted by the babbling of what looked to be a fellow first year next to her. First year, Aladren, girl - a future roommate. Dark eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to decipher it all. Wasn’t this supposed to be the clever house? That is what all the brochures had stated. Maybe the sorting potion had made a mistake, was that even possible?
“You’ve seen food before, haven’t you?” Arianna asked disparagingly, but since this was her future roommate for the next seven years, she was feeling generous and advised, “I would avoid that gnocchi al pomodoro,” the words of the language she spoke at home flowing neatly off her tongue as she nodded her head to the plate, “I doubt the elves here can do it right.” She distrusted any and all Italian food not prepared by Italian people. This was one of the many reasons she had never stepped into an Olive Garden.
“I’m Arianna Valenti,” she nodded, smiling at the girl, but her dark eyes gave away her skepticism. Hopefully any other roommates would work out better than this one.
0
Arianna Valenti
Are you sure about that?
343
Arianna Valenti
0
5
Joella Curtis
April 17, 2016 2:01 PM
What? Me? by Joella Curtis
Joella’s first day back had so far not gone at all as expected. For starters, she’d had a very pleasant conversation with the Aladren Assistant Captain when she’d arrived and he hadn’t even asked about the Pecari Quidditch team. Following that, she had met up with Liliana and they’d made their way to the Pitch together to set up their planned exercises for the time. That had given them some time to catch up with each other and Joella listened eyes-wide to the stories of the older girl’s summer, which rather topped the shirtless boys that featured in part of her own innocent break.The team exercises that Liliana had come up with and that she and Joella had kept in contact over the summer to plan seemed to go well and the Assistant Captain hoped it would pay off. Group cohesion was vital in team sports such as Quidditch. During this time was when the second surprising part of her day occurred as Jamie Park’s reaction to the situation was far from what she’d anticipated. It made her feel bad for the older boy and she was happy to give him a chance to redeem himself.
Having returned to her dormitory to shower and change into her school robes after the team activities, Joella made her way down to Cascade Hall in good time for the Opening Feast. After the first years had been sorted, the headmaster had some announcements to make and only then did she remember that her year’s prefects would be revealed. Before she had any time to think which of her roommates would be getting the position, her name was called out. She blinked, wondering if she had misheard, but fortunately her body was taking control and she was standing up and walking up to collect her badge. She was a prefect? Joella hadn’t really considered that as an option but as she received her badge, shocked as she was, she smiled at the other three students who had been picked from their houses. None of them she knew really well but since they’d shared classes for the past four years they were all familiar to her, John Umland in particular she knew from the Quidditch Pitch.
Returning to her seat at the Pecari table, the fifth year heard a wolf-whistle through the applause and when she turned to see who it was, she saw Emmy-Lou grinning at her and giving her a thumbs up. Joella grinned back and stuck her tongue out briefly at the younger girl before sitting down in a bit of a whirlwind. This was certainly something she hadn’t been prepared for and she was flattered that her professors had picked her.
The next news was of the Midsummer event being the ball, which she should really have seen coming since the events were supposed to be on a four year cycle. She was rather excited by this as it provided ample opportunity for her match-making ideas to come together. The only issue was that she was fairly sure their was a prefect dance, something she wouldn’t have minded at all if she wasn’t intent on having a boy-free year. Not that she had to pick a date she had romantic inclinations toward but just having to pick a boy was not what she had prepared herself for.
This was the fifth Opening Feast that Joella had attended at Sonora and by now she could easily sing the school song off by heart so she joined in merrilly, realising how great it was to be back with such a (mostly) wonderful bunch of people.
Joella began serving herself up an odd jumble of dishes once it was finally time to eat, pausing beforehand to pin her badge on her robes before she managed to lose it. She wanted a bit of everything! After serving herself some southern fried chicken and then a hefty helping of collard greens, she addressed a nearby student. “As much as I love the summer, it’s nice to be back, isn’t it? How was your summer?”
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Joella Curtis
What? Me?
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Joella Curtis
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Librarian Amelle Nicchi
April 17, 2016 2:55 PM
Adults Conversing. by Librarian Amelle Nicchi
Amelle was officially in her mid twenties. She would be thirty in no time, as her mother and father liked to point out to her. She needed to find a nice fellow, who was respectable, and settle down to start a family with. This was her parents dream scenario. Two Purebloods who decided love was the better option than family loyalties were. Amelle had grown up believing that she had freedom in her life because of her parents’ choices, but then almost immediately after she had graduated from primary school, her parents had fallen on her case about getting a higher education, doing better for herself, finding the ‘right’ sort of man. For the last seven years of her life, Amelle had been able to brush them off, but now that she was twenty-five, her parents were no longer listening to her requests.She had several marriage meetings over the summer. Her parents were proud of her accomplishment of obtaining her Bachelors in Counseling, but that was not enough. They wanted her to find a more suitable career than a simple Librarian, but her job was not as easy as her parents seemed to understand. She had tired of explaining it to them, so she allowed the meetings to happen, but none of them had made it beyond that. Whenever she wasn’t forced to do these things, she was in New Orleans, singing with her friend’s jazz band and seeing her old flame from the previous summer. Although they never spoke about their relationship, they were ‘unofficially’ an official couple. They were exclusive and she spent the majority of her nights with him. When she was heading back to Sonora, they had discussed how they would see one another, Fidel offered to visit Phoenix whenever she had the time so that they could see each other somewhat regularly. That felt more like a stable relationship than she could have hoped for.
Her summer ended and Amelle made her way back to the school a day before any of the students arrived. She needed to get the library in tip top shape before the tour the next day and because some Aladren students like to get a head start on the year, the library had to be accessible to them. With the help of the elves, Amelle had gotten it into shape within only a handful of hours which allowed for her to have a nice long sleep in.
Her curls were calm and bouncy, her robes were a lovely dark purple and pressed, her makeup and nails completed the look. She wore a lovely dress underneath her robes with a fine set of heels, but they weren’t noticeable due to the robe length. It was quite sad, really. She thought she looked rather amazing. Amelle smiled, remembering the last time she had worn this outfit and how appreciative Fidel had been about it. But now was not the time to think about him or their time together.
Amelle watched the sorting with curiosity, trying to figure out whom she would be seeing the most of and then to Headmaster Brockert as he announced the Prefects and Head students. They were all great candidates this year and all equally deserving of their badges. Amelle clapped along with the students (this was a rowdy response this year with the whistling and shouting), and sang the song along with everyone else. Finally, the food arrived. Due to her dietary restrictions, Amelle kept to the salad, fruits, and veggie platters and a glass of water. After a couple of bites, she was feeling rejuvenated and looked around at her peers. Their staff had grown in the last year or so and it was nice to see so many young faces. “Good evening.” Amelle greeted the person beside her. “How was your summer break?” It was a common question, but she thought it was the easiest one to break into.
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Librarian Amelle Nicchi
Adults Conversing.
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Killian Everett
April 17, 2016 4:23 PM
Food is good by Killian Everett
While Killian was still blindsided by his new non-electronic reality, he couldn’t help but feel gob smacked when he and the rest of the new students were ushered into the dining hall. A place with the apt name of Cascade Hall. Curiosity set his feet astray and Killian inched over to the wall while the other students lined up. It had to be some kind of illusion. But, when he stuck his hand in to find out, cold water spilled over his skin and soaked into the sleeve of his robe. With a small yip of surprise, Killian lept back and rubbed his hand against his side, spreading the dampness around.Before he could get in trouble, he scrambled forward and elbowed a place for himself in line. By the time he got situated, a woman was going down the line offering a cup to each student. As they drank, they turned a different color. Killian grinned and watched Farrah turn a stunning shade of blue. He waved at her and ignored the way his wet sleeve flapped against his damp skin. Hopefully, he’d turn blue. Then they could go sit at the same table. He’d been too caught up with the whole waterfall walls to pay much attention to what the adults had been saying, but a glance showed him the students of each color going to separate tables. The blues, yellows, reds, and browns each went their separate ways, and he didn’t think he’d be allowed to follow after her if he was a different shade.
When his turn finally came, he took the cup and wrinkled his nose a bit when he saw a smudge of what looked like light pink lipstick on the rim. How gross. Turning the cup a half turn, he drank out of the clean side. Killian splayed his fingers after handing the cup back and waited for his skin to change. Come on, be blue. Instead, it turned a deep brown, and even though he was disappointed he wouldn’t be with Farrah, he couldn’t help the grin that spread over his lips when he noticed the color was almost an exact match for his hair and eyes. If he took his clothes off, he’d be all of one color, like a boy made out of wood and magiced into life.
He trotted over to the table where a few other brown skinned children sat and found an open spot. The rest of the first years were sorted out, and the head guy talked some more. Killian wasn’t paying attention to the announcements, assuming they were the same old things that always accompanied the beginning of a school year. Instead, he looked up and down his table, taking in the faces of the people he’d been grouped with and realized he probably should have taken some time to read the info pamphlets they’d been given. But he’d been so focused on leveling up all his characters before summer ended that he’d never gotten around to it.
Then the whole hall broke out in song. Killian blinked in stunned amazement as people sang around him. It felt like he’d fallen into a Disney movie, and he hoped this wasn’t a thing that happened a lot. When the song ended, he was delivered yet another shock when the table was suddenly covered in food. He didn’t know if he liked how strange magic made everything.
“Can I pass you anything? Personally I’d recommend the steak – it’s so good.” A voice at his side snapped Killian out of his shocked stupor. Turning, he offered a smile that was a little wilted around the edges.
“Uh, sure. Steak sounds good. Maybe some mashed potatoes?” As he pulled back the still wet sleeve of his robe, he saw the dark skin again. “Hey, do you know what this is all about? Why’d we turn colors and have to sit at different tables?”
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Killian Everett
Food is good
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Gia Donovan
April 17, 2016 4:57 PM
Yes, you! by Gia Donovan
Gia had a lovely time catching up with her friends while Orientation had been happening. It was good to see everyone (except Peizhi, who had opted not to join everyone in Cascade for snacks and Gia will have to seek her out later to make sure she was alright and that her summer had gone on well enough) and relax before the evening. She was a little upset that Sammy had to cut her time with them short because of Quidditch (stupid Quidditch, it wasn’t even the start of the year yet and already it was getting in the way of everything! What Captain held a team meeting when she wasn’t even sure an entire team was present??? Wasn’t there tryouts and things, especially for all the new students who might like to join?). Gia didn’t tell Sammy any of her own feelings though because she knew how much her friend enjoyed playing and her team. Still, it made Gia sad to not have the entire afternoon with her best friend.It was funny how nervous Gia had been when she first arrived at Sonora. She thought something had changed between everyone. There really wasn’t any reason for it except for her own feelings that seemed to have changed. Or, not really changed, but something she had recently become aware of. Jax was not aware of these, though, because he seemed only aware of the fact that she had spent time with Tony, but at this point, she thought it best that he continue to think of only that. Her feelings were confusing and all over the place and since she was fairly certain she was the only one feeling them, it was best to not complicate things between everyone or make it weird.
Gia went back to the Pecari Common room to fix herself up before the feast and to get her school robes. She hated wearing them when she wasn’t in classes, so it was nice to see everyone before the feast where it was a sea of green robes. Now though, her dress was covered and hidden away from everyone. It made her a little sad because she felt older now, more sophisticated, and pretty in the dress, but no one would see it now. Instead, she just blended in with everyone else. She wondered though, if anyone noticed her during the day to make it all worth it.
She watched the sorting with some interest and then listened to the usual announcements. Gia clapped for Joella, who would make a great Prefect, and the rest of them. Next year would be their turn and it made Gia a little nervous. She thought Sammy would make Assistant Captain and both girls were involved in a lot of clubs and both of them were very friendly. Of course, there was Chuck too. He could very easily obtain that badge too. Ultimately, Gia would be happy for her friends, but she was a little hopeful that perhaps she would earn it too.
News of the ball entered into her and Gia blushed. There were a couple of people she thought of asking, but didn’t think she would have the guts to do so. Her blue eyes darted the tables to look around and see everyone else’s reactions. It was still very far away and anything could happen from now until then. She needed to not think about it. Besides, maybe someone would ask her and she wouldn’t have to worry about it at all.
Gia smiled at Joella when the older girl addressed her, “Summer was wonderful, thank you for asking.” Gia responded. “Congratulations on your, uh, new position?” Gia asked, suddenly realizing that she wasn’t even sure what being a Prefect actually meant. Was it an award? But they had responsibilities, so it was a position? “You look lovely, by the way. Summer treated you well, I take it?”
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Gia Donovan
Yes, you!
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Jax Donovan
April 17, 2016 6:05 PM
Regrettably here. by Jax Donovan
Jax didn’t think this year would be any different than any other year for him. He was only a fourth year, so he didn’t have to worry about CATS just yet and being that he had already begun his Intermediate lessons last year, he wasn’t nervous about his classes this term. This year was going to be a pretty boring and rather straight forward year for him. He was hoping that there wouldn’t be any drama that involved him or his sister (knowing Gia, she was likely going to get herself accidentally involved in something) because he really just didn’t want to have to worry about any of that. He just wanted to do his work, see as little of Barnaby as he could, and keep up with his boxing and workouts as his free time would allow him to do.He sat quietly at the Aladren table, a new place for him to be since he typically sat with his sister over at Pecari, and waited for this evening to get on. He didn’t really enjoy being at the Feast, being surrounded by everyone just made him nervous, but he knew that Gia would get on his case about not being more social. Jax didn’t see the point. If they didn’t keep up their appearances, people would want to know about them and they might pick up more on Jax not being around once a month. If they were smart enough, they might even figure out that the once a month was a certain time of month. He already had Barnaby on his case, Merlin knew if Jack was suspicious at all about him, Jax didn’t want to deal with anyone else knowing too.
The sorting ended and the speech began. Jax, out of habit, clapped politely for those who obtained badges. Next it would be his year that earned badges and he had no idea who would get it from his house. Barnaby didn’t deserve it as he was a tool. Jax didn’t want it because it meant that he was more in the limelight than now. Maybe Jack would get it? Other than Quidditch, he wasn’t sure if Jack was involved in anything else, but he was nice enough to be considered ‘helpful’ to younger students. Yes, Jack was the best option for their house for Prefect. Now, hopefully the staff saw that…
Jax sighed and hung his head when he heard the news of the Midsummer Event. It was going to be a school dance. Just great. He knew that his friends will likely want him to ask someone to go because girls liked dances and they liked to be asked. Jax did not want to dance and he didn’t want to have to embarrassingly ask a girl to go with him. Maybe a girl would like the idea of going with him, he wasn’t sure. He certainly noticed a few of them, it was hard not too. His icy gaze travelled around the hall, looking casually around at people. Balls meant couples. He didn’t ultimately care who ended up with who, but it was sometimes surprising (unless it was Barnaby and Gia, then Jax would have to kill Barnaby and that would not end well).
Letting the idea of the dance and couples drop from his mind at the sight of the food, Jax loaded his plate with roast beef and steamed vegetables. Coach said a balance diet was good for him, but protein was a must. Jax wanted to make sure he didn’t lose the muscle that he was starting to gain. When he went to reach for the bowl of bread, he knocked hands with another. “Go on.” He stated, dropping his hand in favor of his class. He said nothing more than that.
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Jax Donovan
Regrettably here.
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Jax Donovan
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That's all right; I can do without by Jozua
Jozua nodded as the other girl confirmed she hadn't been convinced Teppenpaw sounded like her either. Then he smiled a little when she continued that it didn't really sound like anybody. He guessed she meant the school literature for that part, which he kind of recalled sounded somewhat hoity toity, though he couldn't remember the exact wording for Teppenpaw as he'd dismissed that house when Mom said they were chatty.He shook his head when she turned his question back on him. "My mother was an Aladren," he explained. "I was hoping to follow her." Admittedly, he hadn't known he was hoping that until it didn't happen, but he figured it was true enough. "And I'm from the Town of Aladren," he continued, sharing the full depth of his disappointment, "so there was some expectation there, too."
He shrugged, trying to push past it and make the most of his unexpected placement. "Well, I guess Teppenpaw should be a good House, right? People here are supposed to be nice, right?" He realized belatedly that he'd skipped an important step and gave the girl a small seated bow, "I'm Jozua, by the way. Jozua Sparks."
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Jozua
That's all right; I can do without
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Theresa Whittaker
April 18, 2016 11:27 AM
Time to make even more friends! by Theresa Whittaker
The sight of the familiar and full Cascade Hall made Tess grin with excitement and anticipation. She was back at Sonora, and going into her second year – she sounded so old! She sat at the Pecari table and watched the new students hesitantly sip at the potion and then turn their different colours, which brought back fond memories of her first opening feast last year. Things felt rather different now, as she was comfortable here and had made friends.Tess had had a great summer. She’d actually spent very little time in America, as her family had decided to spend a month and a half returning to England to see all their friends and family that they had left behind in the move. For Tess, this had been brilliant. Due to spending most of the year at boarding school in Arizona, leaving almost as soon as they’d moved to America, she didn’t really have any friends in Massachusetts.
Almost as soon as they’d arrived in the small market town just outside of Oxford where they used to live, Tess had been knocking on the doors of her old friends. Lucy, Florie and Tilda were just the same as ever (although with lots of exciting stories of their time at the local secondary school), and the four girls had reconnected immediately.
She’d also taken the opportunity to spend lots of time swimming. Glad as she was to have the swimming pool in the MARS room at Sonora, there was something about being in the open air pool where she’d learnt to swim that was very special. She’d gone along to a few practices of her old swimming team, which had been great fun but made her realise that she really needed to keep practising whilst at school. She was determined that this year she’d spend a lot more time doing drills and distance swimming, not wanting to lose her abilities that had led to her winning a few regional championships when back in England.
Other highlights of the summer in England included time spent at the local stables. Tess was an outdoorsy and sporty kind of person, and horse riding had always been something she had enjoyed. Whilst never being the most talented, when younger she’d entered a few gymkhanas, and had spent summer days going on lovely long rides.
And of course one of the best things had been seeing all her extended family. Tess had always been quite close to her family, and had really missed seeing her two cousins, both slightly older. She’d also been so happy to see her paternal grandparents. They had lived just down the road from them in Oxfordshire, and Tess had found it strange to not pop over all the time. They had been such a huge part of her everyday life since she was young. Her grandmother had inspired her love of horses (having ridden lots as a child), and her grandpa had always been there for fun and games. Both Tess’s parents worked, so her grandparents had looked after the two Whittaker children after school each day. Her grandfather had taught her how to ride a bike, her grandmother had taken her for ice-cream after she won her first swimming competition, and both had been such a fundamental part of her childhood.
The summer had gone by in a whirlwind of laughter, barbecues and activity. Despite the British weather bringing more than its fair share of rain, Tess had spent most of her time outside and had somehow managed to get a slight tan, which was really the result of burnt skin. Her face was now quite freckled, and her fair hair was lighter than ever.
And now here she was, ready to start the new school year! Tess was excited to see all her classmates again. She wouldn’t say she was very close with any of them, but they all seemed such lovely people that she was hoping to rectify that. She was also looking forwards to getting to know the new students. Hopefully she’d get along with the girls in her houses, as she was the only Pecari girl in second year!
Tess clapped as the head students and prefects were announced. She didn’t really know any of them, but Aiden O’Neil had been in her challenge team. She remembered him as being very nice, and that he’d shown her how to perform an engorgement charm, so clapped extra hard for him. The idea of a ball seemed like a potentially fun idea, although would she need to find someone to go with? Tess supposed that it would be nice to go with someone, but resolved to think about that later. Maybe she would talk to some of the other girls in her year about it, and see what they thought. She sang along enthusiastically to the school song, and then helped herself to food – she was starving! Once she’d fully stocked up on all the delicious looking things around her, she turned to see who was sitting next to her. “Would you like me to pass you anything?” she asked with a friendly smile, suddenly aware that she hadn't yet thought to ask and not wanting to hog any dishes.
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Theresa Whittaker
Time to make even more friends!
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Theresa Whittaker
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Louis Valois
April 18, 2016 12:09 PM
Rather less regretful. by Louis Valois
Louis was most definitely glad to be back. The familiar corridors, gardens and halls felt like a second home to him now, after two years here, and he was excited to be going into third year. He was especially glad to be moving into the next class – Louis always liked a challenge, and was looking forward to working with older students.The young pureblood heir had rather different feelings about his home life. After his slightly rogue summer last year, he had learnt to balance duty and fun a little more. Being at home when his father wanted him (how he dreaded the boring dinners and meetings that he was forced to attend!) meant that a blind eye was turned to how he spent the rest of his time. Louis had therefore managed to spend time with his muggle friends whilst keeping his father happy. Needless to say, his mother had been pleased at the unexpected amount of peace in the Valois household that summer.
However, Louis still found being around his father awfully restricting. He was supposed to agree with everything he said and be the model son, but how could he when his father was so narrow-minded about things like the muggle world, and social status? Whilst Louis was still proud of his family name (to a certain extend – he was becoming slightly disenchanted with certain aspects that came with being one of the finest French families), his time at Sonora so far had made him realise that there were more important things. His father had been disappointed that Louis hadn't become close friends with some of the best pureblood names, but Louis was learning to judge people on how they acted rather than what family they came from.
Still, his father wouldn’t be around for a while. For the next term, Louis was free of his father, a fact he intended to enjoy. He sat there at the Aladren table, watching the new students being sorted (there was no way he’d ever been that small). Louis was smartly dressed, as ever – a certain amount of fashion sense came with being a Valois – and his hair was carefully arranged in a slightly messy fashion. Over the summer puberty had started to hit. He’d grown up a bit, looking a little more mature, and his voice had gone slightly deeper, although Louis had the good fortune to escape the ever changing voice pitch. All in all, Louis was rather good-looking, and he knew it.
A ball? Now that was an intriguing idea. He’d have to decide who he wanted to go with, although he already had an idea as to who he might ask. No doubt he’d talk it through with Emmy-Lou later. Louis half sang along to the school song, still not quite able to cope with how overly enthusiastic it was. Filling his plate, he was just reaching for the bread when he bumped hands with Jax Donovan. “Thank you,” he said when Jax let him take some first. Placing the bread on his plate, he took a sip of juice.
“How was your summer?” he asked, deciding to get to know the older boy a bit better. After all, they would have lessons together this year. “Ooh, by the way, I love your leather jacket,” he added, having seen it earlier when he’d found Emmy in the Hall.
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Louis Valois
Rather less regretful.
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Louis Valois
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Lily Spencer
April 18, 2016 1:50 PM
I'm just getting started. by Lily Spencer
The orientation by the groundskeeper had been pleasant and Lily’d loved seeing everything on the tour. More than once she’d wanted to break away from the group and spend a little more time exploring, but there would be time for that later. Lily was determined to enjoy every bit of her experience as a first year. She was only planning to attend boarding school once in her life and she knew the magic of the experience wouldn’t be quite the same next year. She was glad she’d already found an acquaintance in Jozua. Though he wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as she, Lily liked him. He was interesting and had the potential to be loads of fun. She expected him to be sorted into Aladren, but she hoped he wouldn’t ignore her once they were sorted into different houses.She worried a little about the witches she would be living with, however. The idea of sharing a room with others was very appealing, but she didn’t want boring room-mates. She’d used to sneak into her brothers’ rooms to stay the night often and play games with them until her mum caught her and restricted her to Charlotte’s room. Charlotte was fun, but not as fun as her brothers. Lily hoped that she and her room-mates could play games together and explore. What she wanted most of all out of this institution were playmates, friends she could rely on and trust.
Lily followed her peers to Cascade Hall where finally they would be sorted. Lily couldn’t wait, but there was a bit of trepidation in her step. What if she wasn’t sorted into Pecari? She took a deep breath and crossed her fingers, silently wishing and wishing and wishing as she walked into the dining hall.
The roar of noise, twice as loud as it had been outside, welcomed her and she eyed each of the house tables. She knew she wasn’t going to fit into Jack’s house - not to mention he’d explicitly told her to stay away from his entourage - or the well-behaved house of Crotalus. In all earnestness, Lily hoped to be sorted into the same house that Adam had been in: Pecari. As she waited her turn, too nervous to be awed by the splendour of the room, she crossed her fingers again and muttered her wish under her breath over and over again: ‘I wish I could be sorted into Pecari.’
When the potion came to her, she had a big gulp and waited for her skin colour to change with anticipation. At last her pale skin took on a brown hue and Lily’s face brightened. Wishes did come true! She couldn’t wait to write to Adam and tell him the wonderful news. She searched briefly for Jack’s face at the Aladren table, but, unable to find it in the crowd, turned to look at her new house with glee and rushed over to join her peers.
She only had a moment to exclaim, “This is brilliant!” to the other Pecaris she was sitting with before the Headmaster began his announcements. Lily didn’t know who any of the Head students or Prefects were, but she thought the ball at the end of the year sounded horrible. If Lily knew anything about balls, she knew she would be required to dress up and look pretty and dance with a wizard. She liked parties and dancing with wizards, but putting on dress robes was not, to her, a fair trade. Since Jozua was the only wizard she knew at the moment, she thought of asking him to climb trees with her instead, if he didn’t mind missing such a formal school event.
After singing the school song as enthusiastically as she felt, Lily turned to her new house-mates with a friendly smile. “I'm almost too excited to eat," she replied, "but is there any steak or chicken on your end? This is supposed to be the best house out of them all. Is it? Oh, my name’s Lily Spencer.” She stuck out her hand to shake as she’d practised with Adam and Charlotte all summer. “I’m from London. Where are you from?”
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Lily Spencer
I'm just getting started.
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Lily Spencer
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Jack Spencer
April 18, 2016 1:51 PM
I'm starving. by Jack Spencer
It was absolutely dreadful having Lily here with him, but Jack was determined not to let it get to him. He was going to his routine and make more friends so Lily could see how popular he was. It was rather embarrassing to say he didn’t have a best friend or a group, really. Adam had Ginny and Francesca; Charlotte had Emrys; Jack didn’t have any one person in particular. If he ended up being the only one of his siblings to end up friendless he would stay in America out of embarrassment.Despite it being his fourth year now, Jack still felt a bit queasy after the long ride and he stepped out, his lungs expanding to take in as much fresh air as possible. It felt nice to be on solid ground again and took a moment to let his body rest. Flying was nothing compared to riding in a wagon across the country, what with all the jostling and discomfort and lack of control. He gave Lily a brief lecture, one she didn’t respond well to - as typical of her - and saw her off to her first year orientation group. Jack was glad to have her off his hands, but he did hope she fit in. She was very outgoing and social, almost foolishly so. She would make friends easily.
Jack walked into Cascade Hall, famished and feeling much taller than last year. He sat down at the Aladren table and waited somewhat impatiently for the Headmaster to finish his speech and the sorting to take place. Jack imagined what house Lily would be in, but he didn’t hold his breath. All he knew was if the potion sorted her into his house, no one would be very happy.
As the sorting began, Jack watched, more focused than usual, and clapped with relief when Lily’s skin turned brown. He felt some sort of brotherly affection for her when she turned to his table, no doubt searching for him, but she quickly went to her table instead. There were moments when Lily wasn’t an annoying, bratty little witch. As few and far in between as they were, Jack appreciated those moments. Once the school song was sung and all the announcements taken care of, Jack turned to his meal, absolutely ravenous. He would worry about finding the appropriate date for the ball later; he had an entire year to think about who to ask.
Macaroni and cheese, platters of fried fish and green beans and grilled chicken - this was heavenly. Jack piled up his plate and snacked on dinner rolls as well as a side salad. It was very nice having enough food here to satiate his appetite. As he picked up the pitcher or pumpkin juice, he offered it to the person in front of him. “Would you like some?” he asked with a friendly smile. Though Lily might think him unsociable and quiet in comparison to her, Jack really wasn’t so unfriendly and not at all shy.
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Jack Spencer
I'm starving.
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Jack Spencer
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Tess Whittaker
April 18, 2016 2:37 PM
It's an adventure! by Tess Whittaker
“This is definitely the best house,” Tess replied, grinning at her new housemate and shaking her hand. “I’m Tess Whittaker. You’re from London? Oh that’s great, I’m British too! I’m from near Oxford - well, I was, my family moved to America last year, just before I started at Sonora.”Tess was excited to find another British person at Sonora. It wasn't that nationality meant much to her, but it would be nice to know someone who understood the British cultural references and who might also not know lots about America. And this girl seemed like she might be lots of fun. Tess looked at the dishes around her, locating some rather tasty looking chicken and passing it to Lily. “You can’t be too excited to eat,” she pointed out. “But I get what you mean, I remember being so excited last year! Are you muggleborn, or have you been around magic before?”
Tess paused her quick flow of speech to take a few bites of the food on her plate, enjoying being back at Sonora with all its wonderful food. A year at Sonora had made her aware of some of the magical prejudices in the wizarding world, but often she forgot that some were prejudiced against those born into the muggle world, and she merely saw the difference as something that made people more interesting.
“So what kind of things do you like doing? There’s so much to do here, there are clubs that I want to try out this year, and also there’s the MARS room, which has this amazing water room – well, amazing if you like swimming!”.
Tess stopped talking, aware that she’d said quite a lot and not wanting to scare the first year off with her enthusiasm for life at Sonora. Besides, she might like completely different thing to Tess, in which case babbling on about her favourite activities and places wouldn’t be particularly welcome. She gave her a slightly apologetic smile.
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Tess Whittaker
It's an adventure!
338
Tess Whittaker
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Farrah Welsh
April 18, 2016 8:44 PM
Yes, I am. by Farrah Welsh
Farrah’s smile faltered when the girl next to her first spoke. Her response was rude. It was antagonistic and unfriendly. The girl was blue like Farrah, so that made her a First year too and Farrah’s roommate. Farrah tried to stop herself from shutting down as disappointment raged through her when she came to the realization that she would have to spend the next seven years with a girl who responded to a stranger in such a way.Her hazel green eyes took in the appearance of her neighbor, keeping the smile on her face because her parents taught her to be polite no matter what. Just looking at this girl, Farrah knew that she was stuck with every girl she had gone to private school with her felt she was better than Farrah because Farrah was different. It wasn’t that Farrah didn’t come from money (she was attending the same private school after all) but rather, her parents just didn’t spoil her the way other parents with money seemed too. As the girl next to her seemed to have been spoiled by her relatives. It was clear her parents had never taught her proper manners. Who actually thought it was acceptable to treat people she never met before in such a manner? What if Farrah had been the Headmaster granddaughter or something? Wouldn’t this girl have put her foot in it if that were true?
Her response didn’t even make sense anyway. If she were trying to be disrespectful or make Farrah feel stupid, she could have at least said something more clever. Obviously Farrah had seen food before, hence why she was asking for recommendations of what to try. If she hadn’t ever seen food before, she would have asked what these items on the table were and what she was supposed to do with them. It wasn’t as though Farrah had asked a question that was completely ridiculous either. Yes, she stumbled over her words because she was nervous, but the question was still a fair one. They were at a feast of various types of food, asking for another opinion was relatively normal in Farrah’s experience.
“Thank you.” Farrah replied, wondering if she should just take a plate full of the Gnocci and start eating it in front of her to prove that her thoughts on Farrah meant very little. Her parents always told her to never be ashamed of being who she was (as in, a nerd). It was hard, very hard. People were cruel when they remembered her. She had her own group of friends, of course, so she wasn’t alone, but school was not fun when the older girls decided to pay attention to them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Farrah said politely, turning her attention away from her new roommate and instead selected what looked to be a lovely beef stew. As tempted as she was to choose the Gnocci, she wasn’t about to make a complete enemy out of her roommate. Farrah was brave, but not that brave. Besides, her mom said that sometimes people gave the wrong first impression so Farrah might have taken her comment to be rather negative while the girl, that was, Arianna, thought she was being rather funny. Farrah would need to keep an open mind if she wanted to make this school work. Besides, Killian had been fun. Even if Arianna ended up being a stuck up snob, Farrah only needed to be in the room with her an, perhaps, if it became too much, maybe she could befriend the girls in the year above her and room with them?
After taking a couple of bites of food and allowing the familiarity of it fill her, Farrah decided to try again. “Was your wagon ride very long?” Farrah asked. “I have heard that a few students have come from overseas. That is quite a trip to make for school every year.”
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Farrah Welsh
Yes, I am.
344
Farrah Welsh
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Barnaby Pye
April 19, 2016 4:39 AM
Feeling, surprisingly, rather similarly... by Barnaby Pye
Fourth year. He should have been happy. He should have been excited. Instead all he could do was wonder what the hell was wrong with him. Father had been curious about his son’s delicate state over the summer and called the family Healer to do a check-up. No one had said anything to Barnaby about the results of the tests, but Father had started strictly monitoring all of Barnaby’s meals and a house elf was required to be with him at all times. He hadn’t been allowed to see anyone except his tutor, he had taken special lessons from Father in the study, he had not been allowed to see Tarquin, he had not even been allowed to go to the library on his own which was something he’d been doing since he was seven!Barnaby fumed in his seat. He wasn’t feeling well at all. He had become so tired and fatigued over the summer that he didn’t even have it in him to antagonise either of the Donovan siblings though something about Gia’s brand new look pulled him towards the two, only for him to turn away with nothing to say other than offering them each a grim nod. If he didn’t know any better he’d say he was going through withdrawls, but no one had drugged him, so that couldn’t be possible. (In later years he would think back to this moment with cynical amusement, at how he, Barnaby Pye, had almost met his downfall from trusting too much.)
For now, however, he just had to make it through the never-ending Sorting and the Headmaster’s banal speech about a ball he really didn’t care about so that he might calm his nerves with some Oolong and a light soup as those were the only two things he thought he would be able to stomach that evening. Yet, once again; fate seemed to have different ideas and Barnaby found himself talking with that blind girl who seemed to appear everywhere he went, yet again. Part of him wondered if she was stalking him, blindness aside.
“It was alright,” he replied gruffly, reaching past her to serve himself some tea while he waited for the soup to be passed to him by his neighbour to the left. “How was yours?” Drastic differences in terms of attitude aside, he supposed Nevaeh wasn’t that horrible to talk to and every now and then he couldn’t help but grudgingly admit a contemptuous admiration for the positive way she could look at things despite being dealt such a crappy hand.
At long last the soup arrived in his hands and he carefully ladled the clear liquid into his bowl, the aroma of carrots, onions, potatoes, and other garden vegetables pleasing his tired senses. “Did you want any of this? It’s soup, vegetables with orzo.”
And then, almost before he could help himself, he added
“And Scout’s good too, I presume?” He scowled slightly, frustrated with himself for opening the conversation up being longer especially after the traditional "hoz was your summer?" exchange was over and he was no longer obligated to talk to the younger witch.
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Barnaby Pye
Feeling, surprisingly, rather similarly...
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Barnaby Pye
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Madeleine Dautin
April 19, 2016 4:50 AM
And I'm blue, in all sense of the word. by Madeleine Dautin
Blue.Madeleine blanched under her magically coloured skin and glanced towards the table where Bastien had gone only moments before, his skin quite nearly the furthest thing from blue. Was this some kind of sick joke? Perhaps if Bastien had joined her in Aladren it would have been okay—after all, Aladren was supposed to be the smart house and she certainly was proud of her brains, but instead they were separated and she was stuck…with Louis Valois. She felt as though she was going to cry. Which was, of course, completely ridiculous because Madeleine didn’t cry, crying was for weak and the lonely and the bourgeoise…well, alright, she supposed she did feel rather lonely but she was neither weak nor bourgeoise!
She blinked back the tears that threatened to spill forth and sat herself down at the table, suddenly feeling all the fight that she had in her leave in a gust of air. She and Bastien were supposed to be allies against the situation they had been forcibly stuck in against their will. And then the school had forced her to go and abandon him. At least she had abandoned him for Aladren and not Pecari, but it was still abandonment all the same and she was sure he would be furious with her.
Sitting at the table alone, unsure of herself, Madeleine lost all confidence that she’d had during the orientation when she’d been sure, so sure, that she and Bastien wouldn’t be separated. It wasn’t even that she liked him. Back home she never would have spared him a second glance, being much more interested in playing with Léo than the stuffy heir of the Évreux estate. But here it was different since he was a familiar face, a familiar tongue to communicate in. The brief walking tour of the school had been nice, she’d been able to rest her brain for a while and whisper with him and she had been looking forward to spending the Opening Feast in much the same manner. Now, however, she would have to exercise her brain--something she was not normally opposed to, but she was tired from all of the earlier English conversation with that one girl who, Madeleine had noted, had gone to Teppenpaw.
Her self-pitying thoughts were interrupted by an older student offering her a pitcher of some sort of beverage and Madeleine simply nodded her head, unable to discern that it was pumpkin juice since Maman didn’t allow the stuff in her house and since Madeleine herself didn’t particularly like it anyway. “Yes, thank you for asking,” she replied, her words a bit stiff and more formal than an eleven year old would normally speak. She wanted to wince upon hearing herself, but talking like Bastien was going to be the only thing to hold herself together. After all, she couldn’t cry. Not here.
She sipped tentatively at the cup, stomaching the awful flavour despite herself because she Could Not allow this school to defeat her anymore than it already had, and asked the older wizard to pass her some crudités, thinking that the tomato-cucumber salad was looking refreshing, especially with what looked to be a fresh vinaigrette and mozzarella on top. As she waited, she scanned the table and planned out the rest of her meal. After the vegetables she would take some roast chicken and asparagus, and then she would take a salade since she doubted there would be a cheese course and then she would hope for a halfway decent dessert, one that would be better than the over-frosted cupcakes from orientation.
It then occurred to her that the wizard had offered her the juice with a smile and was probably looking for someone to talk to and Madeleine, despite her deepest urges to melt into the background and just watch everyone, was not going to let the Dautin name go to shame and blatantly ignore someone who could very well be someone of importance from a family either she or Bastien were meant to be friendly with.
“Do you enjoy it here?” she asked, letting her voice take on the tone of someone full of wonder and slight worry, something appropriate for a young witch who found herself suddenly in a new country but not something that was overly homesick sounding; at least she hoped. “It’s so far away from home and so different too! But,” here she lowered her voice and let it sound slightly excited despite lying her face off. “It’s really beautiful, much more than I thought it would be!”
Glossary:
crudités - an appetizer course of raw vegetables, Madeleine probably would not have called it this to Jack but rather asked him to pass “that salad”
salade - French for lettuce, as crudités are for before the meal, the French take their “salade” which is simply plain lettuce with a bit of vinaigrette after their meals between the main course and the cheese course
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Madeleine Dautin
And I'm blue, in all sense of the word.
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Madeleine Dautin
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Juniper Brockert
April 19, 2016 5:36 AMJuniper Brockert
AlumnusHouse: Teppenpaw
Written by: Allegra Brockert
Age in Post: 11
Birthday: February 23
Terrified by Juniper Brockert
Juniper looked around the Cascade Hall feeling sick to her stomach. She hated being around so many people and she was terrified. Orientation had been awful-in fact, the wagon ride here had been awful, and those were mostly her relatives-but this was just...a million times worse. She wanted to run away and hide in the worst way possible but she couldn't, that would only draw more attention to her and cause her classmates to potentially laugh at her. Besides, Juniper knew if she did, she wouldn't know what house she was in.She knew what house that she would-if she had to be here-want to be in and when the goblet was passed her way, she took a drink and turned bright yellow. Teppenpaw. With her brother. That was the best possible outcome as Juniper knew that going home and being homeschooled was not an option. Yes, Duncan was only going to be here for this year and her cousin Tasha was only a year older than her, but Teppenpaws were nice and Aladrens...weren't always. If Juniper had to be here, she wanted to be around nice people as much as possible.
Of course, she wanted to minimize her time around others, since she found them quite frankly terrifying. Juniper didn't know why but for some reason she was super uncomfortable around people. Maybe because they lived in relative seclusion and she hadn't grown up around many people despite Mother now pushing her into more things to socialize her. Like a puppy or something.
She sat down at the Teppenpaw table. Being there was only a slight relief.After all, Juniper had seen another girl turn yellow as well which meant she had a roommate. She assumed that as she was in Teppenpaw that her roommate would be nice enough but what if for some reason they didn't get on. She was certain there would be lots of long, uncomfortable silences between them.
Head students and prefects were announced and Juniper barely noticed when Duncan's name was called for Head Boy as she was rather busy trying to concentrate on not shaking. Father would be so proud . He'd been Head Boy himself. Mother would be too, as Head Student was voted on and that meant Duncan was acting socially acceptable. Juniper thought she cared more that Duncan married Araceli Arbon though. She clapped for him and the others and tried not to think of the Headmaster's mention of the ball at the end of the year. If she could avoid that, she would. Being in class and sharing a room with others was bad enough, Juniper didn't think she could handle a ball.
She looked around for a meatless dish-she was a vegetarian-before settling on just having a salad. The first year wasn't very hungry at all, but she had to eat, that was what was normal, and it was important to be normal. Or at least appear so.
Someone spoke to her then and her stomach flip-flopped. What did she say? She hadn't even heard the person. "Excuse me, I missed what you said." A horrible thought struck her, what if the person hadn't even been talking to her? That would be so embarrassing! Or she might have accidentally just drawn herself into a conversation with multiple people at once!
Juniper wished more than anything right then that she could just go back home, she just wanted to be out riding her horse, not sitting here with total strangers. She was terrified that she'd make a terrible fool of herself and embarrass her entire family.
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Juniper Brockert
Terrified
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Juniper Brockert
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Finbar Scott
April 19, 2016 6:32 AM
More nervous, I'd say by Finbar Scott
Orientation and the tour of the school had given Finn time to relax, although he still found standing in front of the entire school a little scary. Now here he was, peering into a goblet that was about to decide what the next seven years of his life would be like.Finn let out a sigh of relief as he turned yellow. Teppenpaw. He could handle that – they sounded like a nice house, and he’d hopefully make some friends amongst his housemates. He sat down at the table and listened to the headmaster’s speech, a little concerned by the idea of the ball but hoping that he’d find a friend to go with. Finn wasn't really interested in girls romantically yet – the idea was a bit intimidating! He sang along quietly to the school song, wanting to join in but not confident enough to sing loudly. He then helped himself to food when it appeared – at least the food looked good!
After a few mouthfuls, Finn decided that he ought to start talking to people. Part of him didn’t particularly want to start a conversation, but he decided that it was better than sitting in silence. Besides, the girl next to him was yellow too, so she must be a first year. That seemed better than talking to an older student.
“So, are you excited to be at Sonora?” he asked, after a few moments of searching for something to say. Unluckily for Finn, the girl didn’t hear him, and he turned a little pink upon realising this. His first conversation with this new housemates was certainly not off to a good start.
“I, um, asked if you’re excited to be at Sonora,” he repeated, feeling rather embarrassed and now wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. He then realised he hadn't even introduced himself. “I’m Finn Scott, of the Maryland Scotts,” he added, hoping that he wouldn’t be thought too rude.
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Finbar Scott
More nervous, I'd say
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Finbar Scott
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Sébastien Évreux
April 19, 2016 7:23 AM
Time to make (appropriate) friends by Sébastien Évreux
The sight of all the other students sitting at tables in the hall was a little daunting. And, he had to admit to himself (although he would never tell anyone else), he was actually rather impressed by the waterfalls cascading down the walls. Waterfalls indoors? Whilst it was no doubt a rather common idea (they didn’t have waterfalls in any of the Évreux houses), it looked pretty amazing. Sébastien held his head high as he stood in a group with the other new students, wanting to seem confident in front of everyone. He’d found Madeleine again during the tour, which had been a relief. She seemed to be alright, and having her here too was slightly comforting. At least he wasn't alone. Together they could do this, cope with being at this strange American school in a foreign country.Actually no, scrap that. He couldn't cope. He couldn't. Send him straight to Beauxbatons now please, there was no way he was going to drink from the same goblet as everyone else, let alone risk drinking some unknown liquid. What if someone was trying to poison him? He didn’t want to be poisoned! The whole arrangement seemed highly suspicious. Still, his father would be extremely disappointed in him if he left now, and Bastien did not like to disappoint his father. It would also be rather a disgrace to the Évreux name if he fled at the first sight of a communal goblet, and he could hardly lose face in front of Madeleine. No, he would have to do this, and do it quickly – he wasn’t going to risk Madeleine drinking the suspicious potion first.
As he took a sip he closed his eyes briefly, forcing them open as he realised that there seemed to be no ill effects. His skin was a rather unbecoming shade of red, but he hoped (for the school’s sake) that the colour would soon wear off.
Sitting down at the Crotalus table, Bastien watched as the rest of the students turned their different colours. Madeleine turned blue, which was at least not bad – the ideal would have been Crotalus, with him, but Aladren was a perfectly respectable house, with members such as…. Louis Valois. Ah. Well wasn't that just wonderful? Sébastien scowled at the idea of Madeleine being is the same house as his unsuspecting enemy, until he remembered to look nice and approachable. Still, he’d be reminding her later to be on her guard. He wouldn’t let his only ally become friends with Louis Valois.
Pasting a lovely and friendly smile on his face, Bastien listened carefully to the Headmaster’s speech, remembering the names of the head students and the prefects. They could be useful to know. The fact that there was to be a ball was of little excitement to him, having been brought up regularly attending such things.
The food appeared, and Sébastien set about serving himself to the recognisable and edible food he could see. The unknown dishes he passed off as American and probably To Be Avoided. Helping himself to a bowl of vegetables, Sébastien turned to the person next to him. “Hello, my name is Sébastien Évreux, from France,” he introduced himself, in rather accented English. “Would you like some of these vegetables?”
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Sébastien Évreux
Time to make (appropriate) friends
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Sébastien Évreux
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Laila Kennedy
April 19, 2016 9:22 AM
Lady with a mission. by Laila Kennedy
Laila had been boy crazy for most of her life. For as far back as she could remember she and her friends would giggle over the cute boys in her class and she was not (too) ashamed to admit that one or two times she had chased Gregory Morton around the playground trying to kiss him even though at age seven most little boys still believe in cooties. She had played M.A.S.H. more times than she could remember and she had been more than excited when she and Scottie Tucker started “going” together. So when she returned to Sonora and realized that a lot of the boys here had grown-up she was not exactly surprised, though it did catch her slightly off guard.Thus, when the Headmaster announced that the Midsummer Event would be a ball, she was extremely excited. She had always wanted to go to a ball, the very idea a fairy-tale concept that she’d all but given up on by the time she was twelve, thinking that one would never happen, that the rumours of Sonora’s occasional Midsummer Balls were simply rumours but now she was actually to go to one! Dressing up and being pretty was what Laila loved aside from being right, and so she was really looking forward to going with her friends.
After her experience in the challenges group with Dustin and the other pureblood boys, Laila had felt kind of uneasy regarding her social standing at the school. It was funny because social standing was never something that Laila’d had to worry about. Back home she was easily popular, no one avoided her, no one contradicted her, she had it easy. But here there was that horrid fifth year (who unfortunately was also really attractive) who hated her for no reason, her roommate appeared to be afraid to talk to her (why, Laila didn’t know as she always tried her best to be polite with the other girl), and her best friend was probably the same age as her father if not older.
She cast a glance towards the staff table and wondered if her and Mr. Xavier’s gardening sessions were still on. Laila didn’t like to bother him with her troubles, but she did think she might ask him his opinion on if she should ask someone or if she should wait. She knew she was a pretty girl, but she also knew how society worked and as a Muggleborn she feared she would be last on someone’s list to be asked. At the same time, she felt rather disgruntled at the idea she might have to ask someone in order to get a date at all.
As Laila turned back to the Crotalus table to put some food on her plate, her gaze fell on a rather freckled boy at the Aladren table who did not stand out to her in any particular way--he was neither overly cute nor heart-stoppingly ugly, but for some reason her chest clenched tightly and her stomach did somersaults every time she saw him despite her convincing herself the previous year that he could never return her feelings since he was a part of That Crowd which preferred the quiet, ladylike pureblood-types. A part of the crowd that back home in Turner’s Point she was a part of. And for the first time Lails began to resent the privileges of being a part of the In Crowd.
Laila was stewing on this thought, serving herself some grilled asparagus with a side of orzo salad that was composed of tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, olive oil and, of course, lots of basil and oregano. Laila loved vegetables and summer pasta salads. She felt these things to be extremely feeling but also refreshing, quite healthy, and always bound to put her in a good mood. She was just about to take her first bite when an older Crotali asked her how her summer went. It was Alistair Johnson, one of the Teppalus Co-Captains and a rather good-looking boy himself though Laila had never really been a particular fan of his, finding him to be a little too “pretty-boy” for her tastes. Nevertheless, he was attractive and he was talking to her even if he normally saved those sorts of smiles for the more proper sorts like Kelsey Atwater and Caelia Lucan.
“My summer was quite pleasant, as you put it,” she returned with a smile, her teeth shining white against her summer-tanned skin. “And how was yours?” Her eyes fell on the grilled chicken on his plate and she thought to herself that it might make a good addition to her own meal. After all, a fully-balanced meal was very healthy and Mamma had always insisted that Laila eat healthily since she didn’t want her to turn out like one of those sticks like Uncle Peter and Auntie Michelle’s Alexann.
“Would you mind passing the chicken?” She asked after Alistair answered her question, casting one last glance towards the Aladren table before deciding to put Dustin Newell out of her head once and for all.
10
Laila Kennedy
Lady with a mission.
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Laila Kennedy
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Liliana Bannister
April 19, 2016 10:37 AM
I'm in it for the...actually, I don't know... by Liliana Bannister
Liliana was riding a high after the pre-term practise. She was a little bit disappointed that they’d had to conduct the practise in such a way--had the yearbook award not been given out to their team then she would have had them running flying drills and practising passing and dodging, but as it was their team had to be absolutely solid when going up against Aladren that year. She felt a little bit bad about basically blowing off Theodore’s request to see her before the Feast, but she’d simply reminded herself that he was the enemy and therefore she owed him nothing. It was more important to be with the team and help them come together.Speaking of which...she smiled and clapped loudly for her Assistant Captain as she went up to collect the Pecari prefect badge for that year. It seemed that Joella would be following Liliana’s footsteps in both Prefect and Quidditch Captian and Liliana couldn’t be prouder. It was her last year there so she wouldn’t be able to watch Ginger Pierce’s progress as closely, but she thought that perhaps after that semester she could confide in Joella and ask her friend to keep an eye on the younger Teppenpaw witch for her.
She was only slightly disappointed that Serena had gotten the Head Girl badge, but only because she knew what she wanted out of life and she knew that in order to achieve that she would have to work extra hard and would need all the help she could get to achieve that goal. The prestige of the badge itself didn’t really concern her, just what it could have gotten her, but she clapped for the Teppenpaw anyway because she was Duncan’s cousin and besides that she was a perfectly nice, respectable witch who probably wouldn’t bunk off her duties like Liliana herself and Theodore frequently did.
Speaking of which...as she clapped heartily for Duncan, awarding her friend with a large smile when he reached the top to collect his badge, Liliana quickly scanned the room to see how Theodore was doing. He had never said anything to her in particular about the badge if she remembered correctly, but she was sure he had been expecting it. After all his sister had been Prefect, Quidditch Captain, and Head Girl. Theodore had lost out on the Quidditch Captainship to Leonidas Bennet (whose company Liliana found she actually enjoyed during the challenges though now she was wondering if she had let her guard down too much since he and his team had apparently been planning to sabotage the Pecari team the whole time) and she wasn’t sure if he would take this latest loss to Duncan Brockert very well either. Theodore had always seemed rather proud to Liliana...
Perhaps she would write to him after dinner and see if he’d like to indulge in a little bit of late night rule breaking on their first night back. She would refrain from teasing him about how their indiscretions had influenced the badge, and she would let him be in charge this time. Yes, that sounded like a rather good way of comforting him. That settled, Liliana pushed any and all thought of her semi-friend, semi-rival from her mind and turned to move the platter of sausages that was in front of her (she wasn’t sure if they were pork or not but Liliana really didn’t want to take the chance) in order to take a platter of grilled chicken, an option that was not only healthier but also kosher. Her hand clinked against that of her fourth year Beater, Sammy Meeks and Liliana grinned.
A few years ago she would have found the younger witch to be uncouth and frustrating. She probably would have turned up her nose at her blood status and begrudgingly passed her the Quaffle during practises (well, niether of them were Chasers but it was the same sentiment). Now, however, after her six years at Sonora surrounded by people from varying backgrounds, Liliana’s mind had opened up and she welcomed the Muggleborn’s cheery attitude.
“It’s all yours,” she returned with a grin and put some chicken on her plate. “I don’t think I can eat those anyway, I was just moving them over!” She watched incredulously as Sammy piled meat after meat on her plate, Liliana’s mouth watering slightly at the smell of the bacon having always wanted to taste the forbidden crispy meat but never doing so because of the fear Grandmère would find out. “Yeah, I’m pretty excited. Last year and all!” She laughed. “But you really should make the most out of your fourth year, don’t be in too much of a hurry to grow-up because before you know it...”
Liliana trailed off and shook her head, some of her hair (still wet from the shower she’d taken after coming back from the Pitch) falling over her shoulder. She supposed she could have used a drying charm since she was in seventh year now but she’d never quite had the patience to learn the household and beauty charms that her mother had so perfected over the years. From time to time she had the urge to try one to see if it would make Atlas notice her as anything other than his best friend who was a girl, but she never arrived at it, too afraid at messing up and permanently altering her experience and usually resigning herself to use small amounts of make-up.
Tonight, however, she had felt too clean after her shower to apply much of the artificial colour and had opted for simple eyeliner and mascara and a clear chapstick since she was planning on eating a lot and didn’t feel like eating lipstick in addition to the food she wanted. “I trust Intermediates have been treating you well then?”
10
Liliana Bannister
I'm in it for the...actually, I don't know...
274
Liliana Bannister
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5
I am glad someone agrees with me! by Camden
The Pecari nodded to Kyte in thanks for cleaning up his mess - though he had to admit that it was kind of suspicious the way he had done it, especially since they were second years AND he had mentioned his mother teaching him that spell. Underage magic was supposed to be forbidden - and hastily used a napkin to try to clean his sleeve. Camden had not been so successful, but he just gave up. There wasn't much he could do at this point. It was a good thing his mother did not have to do his laundry at Sonora since she would have flipped over at his clumsiness. The truth was that Camden even missed that right now. Sonora was a maze of strangers to the brown-eyed boy. A maze that was starting to slowly close on him. To be honest, it was the first time something like this happened to him, and Camden was a bit scared.A feeble smile escaped his lips as he settled more carefully with a plate full of food - some fried chicken, mashed potatoes and some spaghetti - and looked at his roommate trying to come up with the best possible answer to his questions. Camden decided that going with the truth was the more reasonable option in this scenario.
“It's hard to be back,” he said looking at Kyte. “It's not easy balancing the two worlds,” he finished before shoving a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth filling his body with the warmth and taste from home. In a seconds, the warm embrace of the woods behind his house, his mother offering him mid afternoon snacks after being outside for hours soared through his veins providing him some kind of comfort. A bigger smile brightened the boy´s face, just to be erased a few seconds later as the reality came crashing down. He was really having a bad time at Sonora, probably because of his lack of friends. “Being magic is something people back home don't understand. I can't really talk about it with anyone,” he said before he silently started staring at the food in his plate. He looked up at Kyte for a few seconds, and tried to assess the other boy. Maybe they could be friends?
Camden tried to shrug the sadness away by changing the subject, “I had a very good summer. I spent most of it in at a Summer Camp,” he smiled. “Do you know what a summer camp is?” Kyte probably knew, but Camden wanted to ask before continuing. He didn't want to confuse his potential friend.
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Camden
I am glad someone agrees with me!
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Cecilia Carey
April 19, 2016 10:21 PM
Do I qualify for an audition? by Cecilia Carey
It might be a bit overwhelming at first, her brothers and sisters had warned, but Cecilia hadn’t paid much attention to their warnings. She might be the third daughter of a second son, but she was still a South Carolina Carey and South Carolina Careys did not get overwhelmed. Anything her brother Henry could do, Ceci knew she could do, and Henry had gotten through Sonora. He was even on speaking terms with two whole people he had known there, she thought. Two whole people who their oldest brother and one of their cousins were now courting, but still. Two whole people. For Henry, that was a lot, but since Cecilia thought – privately; their cousin Anthony did not like it at all when anyone said such things, and since Anthony was the family heir, Cecilia had to care what he did and did not like. Besides, it wasn’t really a proper thing to think about her own brother anyway – she was both a lot smarter and a lot less creepy than Henry, she expected to have that many friends inside an hour.Instead, she found orientation…a bit overwhelming.
So many people. So many accents. So many different kinds of shoes. The scale alone really hadn’t bothered her, it had been in some ways less chaotic than the large, informal family get-togethers her father and his brother and the two wives, ten children, one daughter-in-law and, very occasionally, two sisters and two potential daughters-in-law they had between them sometimes had to listen to one of her cousin Arnold’s Quidditch games on the wireless or had just because her father or Uncle Anthony had decided it was too nice a night to eat indoors, but she had not accounted for how she knew everyone at those get-togethers. Effie and Francesca were outsiders, of course, but they were at least familiar, not to mention people Anthony and Jay, who were adults and respected ones, trusted enough to bring around. None of those things could be said about the crowd at orientation. Cecilia had kept her composure and made small talk even though she had felt like a fish in a tree, but she was deeply relieved when it was time to go into the Cascade Hall for the Sorting. There weren’t any Careys in Aladren right now, but Jay had assured her there were still people who had known him and Anthony, one of them Francesca’s brother, and that they would look out for her after she was, inevitably, placed there.
It was with total confidence that Cecilia took a sip of the Sorting potion, as sure as her brother – and, for all intents and purposes, guardian – had been that she would turn blue. What else was she supposed to do, join Henry in Crotalus? Merlin knew she wasn’t a Pecari like Brandon and Diana and Theresa, and Teppenpaw was North Carolina’s House. Turning blue was really the only option.
She turned red.
Cecilia stared at the backs of her hands for a moment, then checked the palms just to be sure. Everything was red. She made a face and ran the pads of her thumbs over her other fingernails, wishing that they didn’t look reddish through the nails, too. It looked like there was blood all over her hands, and while her only personal experience with blood on any part of her hands involved broken nails, it really wasn’t the kind of association she wanted to start her career with….
She realized that everyone in Crotalus might well be looking at her and smoothed her features over hurriedly, replacing her confused frown with a smile, as she walked toward their table, hoping to look like that was what she had meant to do all along. She knew now that she didn’t know nearly as much about the world outside the family as she had imagined she did just a few hours ago, but she did know that looking unhappy to join them was not the way to ingratiate herself to her new Housemates and that she did not want their enmity. Sitting down, she adjusted her robes carefully around her and listened to the Headmaster’s speech.
It was a short speech, she noticed with mild surprise. She applauded politely for the Brockerts because they were North Carolina’s in-laws somehow and made sure to notice which of the new prefects left her table. Miss Curtis and Mr. Umland’s names were ones she knew from her older siblings, but since Umland was no longer someone Cecilia stood some small chance of having to interact with ever, she didn’t pay them much attention. She was far more interested in the ball, so pleased with the reminder that her first ball was going to happen this year whether Jay took her anywhere over the holidays or not that she completely stumbled through the first verse of the school song through sheer inattention.
When the food appeared, everyone seemed to begin talking as well as serving themselves. It’s like a barbecue, she reminded herself firmly. Not a tea party, and certainly not like anything at an Anthony’s house when he’s being an Anthony. There was, of course, a distinction, and Cecilia couldn’t imagine how anyone could not instantly tell the difference between Anthony and Uncle Anthony and Grandfather when they were being themselves and when they were being People Named Anthony. She smiled and was steeling herself to go for a dish when the boy beside her, another first year, took it.
His accent was heavy, but she thought she got the gist of it. “Yes, please,” she said. Her own accent was much lighter – Jay disapproved of sounding too southern, like he said their father and grandfather did all the time and everyone except husbands and wives did at family occasions, and had made her and their little brother Peter have an awful speaking tutor – but nevertheless present. “I’m Cecilia Carey, of the South Carolina Careys.” All goodness forbid that anyone think she was some of the kinds of Carey there were – Virginia would be just about tolerable, but Cecilia couldn’t imagine being proud to introduce herself if she had had the bad luck to be born in North Carolina or Georgia. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Find common ground, she remembered. “Did you expect to be Sorted into Crotalus?” she asked.
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Do I qualify for an audition?
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Well, when do we turn back? by Arianna V.
Arianna scanned the table before her, the bountiful spread of food reminded her of home. Well, not home specifically, her parents were awful cooks and they got takeout half the time, anyway. No, it was more like being at her Nonna’s, for family dinners on Sundays. All the aunts and uncles and cousins all cramped together in the Brooklyn apartment just walking distance from Arianna’s own. It was nothing like the fancy Sunday brunches at the chic cafes she longed to attend with her Hobart School friends. But something felt very wrong about the idea that she wouldn’t be attending any Sunday dinners in the near future. No homemade pastas, or pastries from her Nonnis’ bakery. Just poor attempts at imitation by strange creatures she hadn’t even known existed eight months prior.Eager to distract herself from such thoughts, and to continue to maintain her composure, she filled her plate with a grilled chicken cutlet, a baked sweet potato, and then spooned some steamed vegetables onto her plate. Not anything as delicious as her nonni could cook, but not anything that was going to make her need larger robes, either. She wasn’t about to let herself get fat on school food. That would be completely embarrassing.
Turning back to her future roommate, it seemed she had taken Arianna’s advice, and avoided the pasta pretender. So she wasn’t completely hopeless afterall. Maybe. Maybe Arianna would just get through this dinner, and then ignore her for the next seven years. There were sure to be more important and interesting people to spend her time with during her school career.
“You too,” she nodded politely before continuing to cut her chicken. In all her years at her high-pressure, exclusive private school, she had never met anyone who seemed so, well, docile. It was weird. Even her little sister sometimes showed signs of a temper. Dark eyes scanned the table briefly for any other possible Aladren first years, but instead she made eye contact with… Gabriel. Her older cousin grinned encouragingly and gave another small wave from his seat at Teppenpaw. She raised her eyebrows slightly. Was this how it was going to be the entire time she was at Sonora? Was he really going to watch over her all the time? What a dork. She needed to research a hex to get him to chill out. Nothing too serious. She was only a first year now, and he was one of her favorite cousins, after all.
“It wasn’t terrible,” she smiled smoothly - she had never been this far from home before - and continued, “We had family brunch, and then I flew here from New York with my cousin,” nonchalant, as if this kind of transportation were normal, “How about you?”
She hadn’t thought about kids coming here from other countries - how exotic! It would be so exciting to have a friend from somewhere so far away. Her nonni on her mother’s side were from Sardegna, but that didn’t count. Abby, Emily, Maddie and Olivia had all traveled outside of the country with their families. Before Sonora, the farthest she’d ever been from home was Disney World. How jealous would her old friends be if she came home with a friend from some interesting country? Not that any of them knew where she really was now. Who knew what sort of rumors were flying around The Hobart School, today also their first day of class. Well, if anyone tried to mess with her little sister when Arianna wasn’t around… Arianna wouldn’t allow it. She poured herself a glass of iced tea.
As she held her glass, she noticed her hands again, still blue, and was caught off guard, “When d’you think this wears off?” she asked, frustrated that she was not currently showing off her summer tan, “We look like the people from Avatar.”
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Arianna V.
Well, when do we turn back?
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Kira Spaulding
April 20, 2016 7:42 AM
Oh joy. (Tag Caelia) by Kira Spaulding
Kira was not really looking forward to this school year. She didn't mind going into Intermediate classes, given she'd already gone ahead during the second half of last and started doing some of the easier fourth year level spell work on her own. Of course, being in class with Kelsey was not something she was looking forward to, even if she was better than her cousin at magic. It was just that...there was so much pressure being in the same class with the fourth year. In every other way, Kira was inadequate and being next to Kelsey just made those inadequacies seem more obvious whereas on her own, they weren't quite so noticeable.Plus, Kelsey was rather bossy and was very likely to give Kira, well, advice , on anything she potentially did wrong in terms of behavior and could improve on. That was one of the reasons that the third year was apprehensive about the new term.
The other, bigger one was that well, Kira knew the event rotation schedule for Midsummer events. Her older brother and cousins had gone here, her aunt and uncle used to work here and her cousin's wife did now. She knew that meant the ball and she knew that meant dancing. Of course, Kira knew that with the school balls were less formal and intense than society ones, they had to be, but the fact was, she was a terrible dancer. Even more so than she was in most things, she was simply awful. The Crotalus had spent years and years struggling through the necessary ballroom dance lessons, stepping on poor Fabian's-who had the misfortune of taking lessons with her and being her partner for them-feet several times a lesson. Eventually, after her cousin went home every time with seriously bruised toes, she had been permitted to dance in stocking feet.
Of course, Kira had dropped out of any other kind of dance lessons the moment it was realized that she was dreadful at it, but ballroom dance unfortunately had to continue.
And then there was that other part of her. That part of her that was growing up-her fourteenth birthday was tomorrow-and was starting to be interested in boys. The part that knew she was getting closer to an age where she could be betrothed and she really wanted someone nice. Kira very much wanted a guy to like her even though she didn't have a specific one in mind. Most of the guys in her age group seemed rather intimidating and the only guy she'd spent any time with other than Fabian was Chuck Fintoc last year during the Challenges. Fortunately, he was nice.
She watched while the first years were Sorted and listened as prefects and Head Students were announced, applauding for her cousins who both had gotten Head Student-she heard a whoop of glee from the Pecari table at the mention of Serena's name, which she figured came from a fairly obvious source- as well as Aiden O'Neil whom she knew to be a friend of Savannah's and had met last year at the bonfire. He seemed like a really nice person and she thought he'd do great. Kira didn't know her own house's new prefect as well, but Makenzie's cousin Dustin was in her year. She had always been intimidated by him too.
Come to think of it, she was intimidated by most of her yearmates, minus Peizhi Wu who was as shy and quiet as Kira was and of course, Fabian.
And there it was, the mention of the ball she'd been dreading. Part of the Crotalus had rather hoped that there was some other thing going on this year, something that would ensure the ball got cancelled. It didn't have to be a bad thing, just....something that would prevent that. Yeah. Kira didn't know what kind of good thing could have prevented it, maybe a field trip or something, but she'd been hoping.
Maybe she could look on the bright side, odds were that next time, she wouldn't have to lead the dance because she was certain her chances of being made prefect or Head Student were next to nothing.
She sang along quietly and unenthusiastically with the school song, then looked over the table to see what she wanted to eat. The third year turned towards Caelia, whom she'd made sure to sit by given that the older Crotalus was the one person at Sonora that she knew liked her that wasn't a relative. "Can you pass the tuna salad please?" Kira asked, her face still full of signs of worry. She never had mastered that icy emotionless mask that Kelsey wore so well.
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Oh joy. (Tag Caelia)
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Caelia Lucan
April 20, 2016 3:14 PM
I was hoping you'd be more excited! by Caelia Lucan
Caelia was half-excited, half-nervous to see her friends again. She was excited because she hadn’t seen any of them for such a long time. But she was nervous because there was also a lot of stuff she wouldn’t be able to tell them about regarding her summer and she felt bad keeping secrets. Adding on to that, it ws the first time since starting Sonora that Emrys wouldn’t be by her side. So Caelia was feeling rather anxious as she boarded the wagons and it augmented even more as she descended them and headed to her dorm. Once there, she took out her brushes and headed to the MARS rooms to have some quiet time to herself. Some angry grunting and thwacks cme from the sports area but Caelia was too afraid to see who it was so she holed herself up and practised her still-lifes instead.She was slightly more relaxed now as she entered Cascade Hall but was still feeling a bit nervous as she found a seat next to her roommate’s cousin and one of her closest friends, Kira Spaulding. “Hey!” she said, her voice chipper and full of excitement. “How are you doing? We’ll be in classes together again this year, won’t that be great?”
Headmaster Brockert’s speech, however, pushed all nervous thoughts from Caelia’s head. The idea of the ball held onto her feelings of excitement from seeing Kira and didn’t let go to let her sulk in discomfort. No, now she could only think of one thing. She hoped Kira would be as excited about the ball as she was and that Kelsey, too, would be looking forward to it because those sorts of things were always what Caelia liked best and they were also always more exciting when there was someone to share it with. She could already imagine the three of them getting ready together, trying on each other’s gowns and doing each other’s hair.
Caelia had heard of these balls and indeed her family had been invited to a few, but it wasn’t the same as a school-wide ball. Now at fourteen, Celia Lucan had really grown into her beauty—she had always been a pretty girl but now her features were starting to mature. She was so excited about this ball, she knew she was going to be writing a letter that very night—something that she never would have thought about doing Before. But now everything was different. She smiled to herself, reaching her hand up to tuck one perfectly curled blonde lock behind her ear. She was just sad because it would be the only school ball she’d have while Kira would get to experience two and she said as much to her friend as she passed her the tuna salad.
“You’re so lucky, you know,” she said rather wistfully. “You’ll get to have two of these All I’ll have is more bonfires and festivals and concerts which are fun but not exactly the same thing as a ball, you know?” It was then that she took in the rather forlorn expression on the third year’s face and she tilted her head slightly, the blonde curls swaying as she did so. “What’s up?” she asked gingerly, pausing in putting some spinach salad of her own on her plate.
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I was hoping you'd be more excited!
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Clark Dill
April 20, 2016 3:24 PMClark Dill
AlumnusHouse: Aladren
Written by: Nathan
Age in Post: 16
Birthday: Who knows? But he celebrates it in November
Yay, John! by Clark Dill
Since arriving at Sonora earlier that afternoon, Clark had consumed a large plate of sandwiches and had a pleasant conversation with Joella. After the sandwiches were devoured and Joella had headed out to find friends or something, Clark had spent the rest of the time before the feast in the library, which he was thrilled to hear had been open for use during this time. The library would have been his first choice for killing time even if he hadn't been avoiding his own room in case Oliver was in there.He only barely remembered to stop reading the random history book he'd grabbed (well not entirely random; he wondered idly if it was it judging a book by its cover if one judged it based on spine size and title?) in time to make it back down to the Hall in time for the Feast. When he arrived, he spotted a seat near John Umland, and eager to catch up with his friend, claimed it.
The first years were sorted and the Heads were announced. He had some interest in it this year since he'd actually gotten to cast a ballot last year, and was pleased by the results. He hadn't voted for both of them, but the only reason he'd picked Theodore over Duncan was because Theodore went to more science meetings. Duncan was a perfectly well qualified candidate.
Prefects came next, and Aladren's newest one was no surprise given that there was only one left in the current fifth year. Still, Clark grinned and clapped loudly for John. "Congrats!" he cheered when the slightly younger boy returned with a clone of Clark's own prefect badge.
The Headmaster then finished off his statements with the reminder about the ball (midsummer events were nicely predictable that way, so Clark was already comfortable with his anxiety about that) and the introduction of the school song. Clark sang as best he could, but it was probably good Sonora didn't teach music or he'd tank his GPA. Once that was all done, Clark started filling his plate again - the sandwiches from earlier were little more than a distant memory - and turned to address John.
Well, first he pulled a small rectangular card out of his wallet and placed it down next to his friend's plate, grinning. The card was titled "Maryland Driver's License" and subtitled "Under 21" and it had Clark's name and address and a relatively not-horrible picture of his face (by all accounts in books and movies, he'd expected much worse). "That was my summer," he announced proudly.
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Clark Dill
Yay, John!
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Arne Reinhardt
April 20, 2016 3:54 PM
*grunts* by Arne Reinhardt
Arne’s summer had been a great lot of fun. He discovered that not all of the girls in Turner’s Point were as prissy and prude as Laila and her friends were, and he’d discovered that even Laila herself wasn’t as innocent as she always led people on to believe. He just couldn’t believe that it had been little Scottie Tucker who was the first boy Laila went with. He was an alright guy, and had even been Arne’s first guy friend back in elementary school, but he had always been a rather non-confrontational sort of boy and a little o n the vanilla side. Which, now that Arne reflected on it, was exactly the sort of guy he imagined pristine Laila Kennedy to end up with.But their relationship was neither here nor there as Arne had been pursuing his own summer fling in the form of Melanie Bitterman who was a lot warmer than her surname suggested. However, although Arne had learned how to appreciate girls that summer, that didn’t mean he was any more excited for a school-wide ball and he scoffed upon hearing it’s announcement. The witches at the school were likely to get really excited over it. Something he could hear in Caelia Lucan’s tone of voice as she squealed about something or another to Kira Spaulding who looked as though she might be sick.
Arne himself rolled his eyes and hunched over his plate, filling it with all sorts of yummy foods. He loved the Opening Feast because it allowed him the opportunity to eat as much as he liked of all his favourite dishes. The food could never match up to the amazing dishes his mom made at home, but they were served without a side of his father’s sarcasm and Matti pestering him to take her around. He also was able to eat in peace without Tobi worrying over him and the others and conspiring with their parents to pretend as though everything in the marriage was doing alright.
So yes, he was doing pretty well. He had good food (and a lot of it), fun summer memories, had managed to get under Laila’s skin within only a few moments of the school year starting (a new record for him) and things were going off to a great start. Except for the ball. A ball didn’t appeal to his senses at all. He supposed they’d all be made to dress-up and parade about like little monkeys. But all he wanted to do was bunk off and go back home where he could dick around behind the auto shop and get up to no good with the guys. Even Scottie Tucker was who was alright despite having announced his intention to join up with the football team without Arne. But despite that misgiving and his unfounded affection for Laila, Scottie was still Arne’s closest friend to that day. Although he did disapprove of Arne’s friendship with the Mills Brothers and Scottie’s uncomfortable closeness with the idiots on the team.
Turning to his neighbour, Arne offered an eye-roll. “That’s sure to be fun,” he muttered under his breath and added a heaping pile of mashed potatoes to his plate, joining fried chicken, a steak, and plenty of roasted green beans. He was a growing wizard, after all. “Would you like some?” he asked, holding out the bowl though he still had the spoon in his hand, indicating that he didn’t mind serving his neighbour at all.
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Arne Reinhardt
*grunts*
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Weeee! I love rainbows! by Jake
For a second, Jake felt a little guilty for asking Aiden to help out with the decoration thing. After all, the younger boy had also just had a major victory in his life: he was Prefect! That was huge! Admittedly, Jake had been the only option when he’d been given the badge the year before, but it was still a really cool accomplishment and a nice title to have. He deserved some recognition, too.The fifth year decided that maybe later, after Aiden had already moved along, that he’d do something nice in his room, too. Especially since he was being so kind and gracious as to agree to help out. Maybe this would be a good opportunity for the two boys to really get to know each other. It was a shame that they didn’t already, really, given how small the school was. And honestly, Jake didn’t have a lot of friends. Sure, he had Duncan and Ginger and Diana, and he liked to think the Teppalus Quidditch team members were all his friends, but sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if other people liked him as much as he liked them. He did his best to push those kind of sad thoughts out of his mind, resolved in the slight uncertainty since he could never really know. Jake liked to think the best of everyone, so it was only fair to think well of himself, too. If he knew anything, it was how important it was to be nice to yourself.
Jake was glad to hear that Aiden thought Savannah would help. She was another person he didn’t know very well--and idly he was jealous of the idea of yearmates within the House--although she was a Brockert, which generally boded well for her. Jake was pretty fond of all the ones he’d met so far. He wasn’t super fond of Carrie and Ryan’s mom (or Carrie for that matter, as much as he hated to admit it), but he liked to think that she was an outlier from a generally good group of people.
“He really does,” Jake beamed on the topic of Duncan deserving his new award. “He’s such a great guy. Just like I’m sure you deserve your badge, too. Congratulations! Being Prefect is a lot of fun. I bet you’ll love it.” The dark-haired boy tugged cheerily on his robe, highlighting his own shiny little prize from last year. “Man, I love seeing people get their badges. It’s so nice to see how hard work gets rewarded.”
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Jake
Weeee! I love rainbows!
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Why, thank you! by Makenzie
Makenzie was pleasantly surprised to find that the owner of the hand she had bumped was none other than Daniel Fintoc, the first year she had met on this day a year ago. He was a cute kid then, and another year had done little to alter that fact. She noticed his slight blush and did all she could to keep from giggling, not wanting to be rude or make him feel bad. Young boys did not like it when they appeared vulnerable or, perhaps worse, cute.As he handed her the plate, he offered his congratulations on hew new badge. “Oh, thank you,” she smiled warmly, though she was less than pleased with it beneath the layers of social convention. While she had always had anything and everything her way growing up, Makenzie was nothing if not considerate. Her breeding easily could have rendered her spoiled, but instead, she was quite kind. And she knew when she had enough. She did not need to be Prefect. It would not do anything to further her interests, since her appearance and disposition were essentially perfect. Araceli could have really used the social boost.
“My break was delightful, thank you for asking,” she replied to his inquiry. “There are always so many events and things to attend, but just enough time to be with family.” Makenzie always spent her time between Michigan and Ohio, a frequent visitor to her grandparents’ estates along Lake Erie, but also very dedicated to her hometown of Bath, Michigan. She certainly appreciated the comparatively mild summers, which felt more like Spring or Autumn in the Painted Desert. It was unfortunate that her ginger skin was not inclined to tan.
“And you?” she returned politely. “How was your summer?” Makenzie rested her head in her hand, leaning forward slightly and giving into the quote-unquote “faux paus” of letting her elbow sit on the table in favor of obviously attentive and interested body language. She could have this one, she calculated, and still be fine. More important was making Daniel feel important.
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Why, thank you!
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I recommend food. by Sammy
For a moment, Sammy’s brain shut down. Liliana… didn’t think she could have sausage? How could that be? What kind of life was that? But then the thought came to her: wasn’t Liliana Jewish? That would mean some meats were non-kosher or… something. Sammy didn’t really know a whole lot about the Hebrew faith, a Christian herself. It tended to surprise people when they found out, because after all, she had two moms, but her moms said that the people who persecute in God’s name weren’t really Christian at all, and that she could by all means believe in Him and support gay rights.Plus, Sammy found it honestly interesting to talk about religion. Part of that was why she liked Laila, because she was so open with her faith. Sammy wasn’t super sure how much Laila’s hometown people would like her moms, because Catholics were often the people who, uh, took things too far, but she did trust Laila herself to be accepting.
But anyway, Liliana was talking more now. It was so hard to believe the older Pecari was a seventh year! Sammy couldn’t imagine the Quidditch team without their esteemed Captain. Of course, she was sure Joella would be an equally outstanding leader, but it was going to be weird.
Liliana stopped just short of getting all nostalgic and sage-ly with advice before redirecting. “Yeah, last year was cool. I’m glad to be another year up, though, because I’ve got some friends who are third years now, so we can have class together again. So that’s cool.” Sammy offered her fearless leader a smile. “Are Advanced classes super hard? I’m kinda nervous about when I get that far. And, like, those tests next year… How are they?” Sammy was not the most academically-minded individual, so the prospect of difficult coursework was a bit intimidating. Plus, she hated tests, plain and simple. They sucked. Hard.
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I recommend food.
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Yellow is the new blue by Georgia
“Oh,” Georgia nodded, as the boy explained his mother was an Aladren. Technically, he might have just the same amount of magical blood as her, but even if he did, he still had a connection with this school. And it sounded like his mother had at least talked about it with him, in a vaguely positive way. She wasn’t really sure what made her assume that… maybe something about his tone, or maybe because it was just normal to assume most people weren’t all closed up about magic like her mom. And then he said about his town expecting it too…“Your whole town is magical? And…. like… related to the school somehow?” she asked. She had been on her guard about revealing her ignorance of the magical world to anybody, after what her mom had said but she couldn’t help her curiosity getting the better of her. Plus, as the boy observed, they were in the nice house. Georgia wasn’t sure anyone racist could be described as nice. Though, had she adhered more to the letter of the literature, she might have realised that someone could be diplomatic by being secretly racist but knowing when not to mention it.
“Right, nice house sounds good to me,” she agreed.
“I’m Georgia,” she returned, when he introduced himself as - she assumed - Joshua. “Georgia Kirkly,” she added, again wondering whether the inclusion of surname was something that indicated one of Those Sorts of families or was just part of the greater wordiness expected of them now that they were all adventures, diplomats and all the rest of it.
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Georgia
Yellow is the new blue
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Wanna run away and join the circus? by Kyte
“I know what you mean,” Kyte nodded, as Camden confirmed his theory about it being tough for the Muggleborns to get people back home to understand. “I mean, my famiy’s magical but they’re not like this,” he explained, gesturing vaguely at the hall with his fork. “We do things differently, and the more time I spend here, the less I know about that. Like the circus stuff… I don’t get nearly enough chances to practise, and it’s like… will I be able to do this, like, for real, later on?” He had been open throughout his first year about his family’s business - in fact, proud more than open, as Raine was the one who got edgy about what others might think about it - so the mention of the circus would be no news to Camden.“But I did hear that Muggle schools are even worse than this. Like, cos you don’t have any magic to practise, they just make you do the writing down parts all day,” Kyte grimaced, as if writing things down all day might possibly considered a fate worse than death. “So maybe you were lucky to get out of that, not that here’s much better,” he added, stabbing a potato particularly violently. The extra classes with Professor Skies were still a sore point for him. Why couldn’t you write like you talked? If textbooks were written like that, they’d be a damn sight easier to understand, and probably seem more friendly-like too. Showing how smart you were seemed to mean making sure other people didn’t understand, and where Kyte had grown up, that was considered taking airs and graces at best, and being a bit of a bully at worst - it wasn’t good manners to talk in a way that left other people out, if you could just say it plain and simple and include everyone.
“Sure do,” he nodded, when Camden asked about summer camps, “A few of my cousins have made a fair bit of money that way. And they give you bed and food usually too. Summer camps are pretty good living, so long as you can balance them out with the festivals you want to work, or the shows. Summer’s when almost all the good stuff goes on. What things did you do?”
13
Kyte
Wanna run away and join the circus?
335
Kyte
0
5
Not sure my mom would agree by Jozua
Jozua nodded when incredulity was expressed that he came from a magical town. Between the need to clarify her assumption and his good experience with Lily earlier, Jozua explained, "When they founded the school, they named the four Houses after existing magical towns at the time, probably as some kind of recruitment ploy, I'd guess, to get people to send their kids to an untried school. It must have worked. Sonora is still here, and it outlasted three of those four towns. Aladren is the only one left." He shrugged in commentary about the vagaries of time.After she introduced herself as Georgia Kirkly, he nodded politely. "Nice to meet you," he returned as he'd been taught, though he wasn't sure if he was supposed to call her Georgia or Miss Kirkly, so he left out her name entirely. At one of Those Events, he would have certainly gone for the more formal form, but this was just school, and he'd be living in close quarters to her for seven years, almost like family, so he wasn't sure if the formal rules applied or not. Best to avoid going either way until he had a better idea of what everyone else was doing.
He took a moment to begin filling his plate, opting for less messy options than the grease pie Georgia had gone for. The potatoes and roast beef looked excellent, in his opinion.
"Food looks good," he remarked aloud, mostly for something to say because it didn't look like Georgia was going to be as accommodating as Lily in carrying the conversation for him. Probably his own fault for being the one to initiate conversation. "Do you see any gravy?"
1
Jozua
Not sure my mom would agree
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Jozua
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5
Duncan Brockert
April 21, 2016 12:05 PMDuncan Brockert
AlumnusHouse: Teppenpaw
Written by: Allegra Brockert
Age in Post: 17
Birthday: February 10
Me? (Tag Araceli) by Duncan Brockert
As Duncan sat down at the Teppenpaw table and waited for the first years to come in, he couldn't shake his worries. His sister was among the new students and he knew she was utterly petrified. Juniper had barely spoken the entire ride here, sitting quietly by his side. And those were mostly just their relatives. Okay, yes, most of them were siblings and first cousins who knew each other better than they did her and he knew that was something Owen had found overwhelming but Duncan didn't think that was truly his sister's problem.Then she'd had to be at Orientation, where she didn't know anyone and even though Juniper really hadn't said anything to him, he knew full well that it was going to be dreadful for her. The seventh year had spent the entire time before the feast worrying about her and he knew that the feast itself was going to be even worse. He just hoped that Juniper would end up in Teppenpaw. Not even just so he could be there for her but because then she'd have a safe haven full of nice people to retire to when things got too tough to handle. If Juniper had to be exposed to something that terrified her, it was best to put her with people that had the potential to make things better rather than worse.
There were other things on Duncan's mind too. First of all, this was his last year at Sonora, so he wanted to spend as much time with his friends as possible, especially Araceli. Secondly, last year on his birthday, he'd found this mysterious story left on his bed about a girl who had this curse on her that made her seem ghost-like. He hadn't known where it had come from but it made him wonder if it meant there were ghosts at Sonora after all-he'd never quite given up on this being a possibility, every bit of logic screamed that there had to be given the history and importance of such a place-that they had left it-or rather gotten a student to leave it for them as ghosts couldn't really pick things up-and he just had to look. Just give it one last shot. Duncan never got a chance last year to do so what with the Challenges and all.
The first years filed in then, Juniper looking as pale as, well, a ghost. (Perfectly normal comparison even for someone not rather obsessed with them.) He held his breath as she took the goblet and sighed with relief as she was indeed sorted into Teppenpaw. Then Headmaster Brockert moved on to his next announcement and all of a sudden Duncan's name was being called for Head Boy! He got up to recieve his badge, a bit surprised, as he hadn't really expected it at all, certain that Theodore was going to recieve the honor instead. His father was going to be so thrilled.
And Serena was with him too. He was happy for her, knowing that she'd do great and truth be told, he never truly had gotten over his guilt for recieving prefect over her. However, Duncan did hope that Liliana was okay and taking this all right.
He stepped down with the rest of them, noting that Juniper was talking to one of the boys in her year, which of course, made his big brother instincts flare into gear just slightly. Still, he made a quick decision. Duncan was under no obligation to go back to his own table as he was the Head Boy for the whole school not just Teppenpaw. Instead he approached the Crotalus table where Araceli was seated. "Hello there." Duncan greeted the fifth year. "How was your summer?"
11
Duncan Brockert
Me? (Tag Araceli)
271
Duncan Brockert
0
5
This is your cup of tea. by Jax
Jax had every intention of simply eating this meal quietly without word to anyone else. He might have been successful at that had he not accidentally bumped hands with Louis Valois. Jax remembered him from the common room and from class with him two years ago (Jax had a memory like an elephant and was oddly observant of others) but he never really hung out with him or spoke to him. There was never any need for it. He couldn’t tell if Louis was the sort of person who would be offended by those who were not privileged or not but considering his family’s wealth and status, Jax was going to assume that he was that sort.He assumed that for most of the people met. He wasn’t even sure if Laila or Sammy would be all that accepting of Jax if they knew the truth and they were on good terms. Peizhi was too timid of a person to know how she truly felt about anything, but considering her background and the fact that she didn’t seem to be connected to anything, Jax highly doubted she would be okay spending time with him if she were aware of the monster that he was. Of course, Jax’s perception of people was slightly skewed and he honestly believed that if people knew the truth, they would try to kill him. When the truth finally did come out, Jax knew that his family would have to leave again.
Surprise registered on Jax’s face when Louis commented on his jacket that he had worn earlier that day. The down side to this school (well, one of the many downsides) was that they had to wear school robes. Thankfully, they did not have to wear them all the time, so Jax will have the ability to wear his father’s old robes. “Thanks. It was my dad’s old jacket.” Jax didn’t elaborate further. Some of the students knew his father had died many years ago, but he wasn’t sure how known that knowledge was. If anyone was clever enough, they could have researched and found several articles of the death of Kian Donovan that happened in Greece by a wild wolf. They could even find articles of how his two young children and young wife had gone missing shortly after his animal attack. But Jax didn’t think people were that clever and Barnaby only knew the truth because he had a weird fascination with Jax.
Jax thought about how to answer this question. How was his summer? By all accounts, his summer was quite bland. For him, it was great. He really enjoyed working with his coach and he felt that not only physically did his endless workouts and training show, but he was really beginning to pick it up and become even better at defending and protecting. In a couple of years, Jax will have even more muscle and more skills and then his mother and sister won’t have to be afraid anymore. Well, his mother won’t have to be afraid anymore. Jax didn’t think Gia was ever really afraid of much. If she was, she never showed it very much. But, either way, he could protect them.
“It was okay.” Jax answered after a moment’s pause. “We didn’t really do much. My Mitera was busy working for most of it and Gia spent the majority with her friends.” Jax explained. “I was with my Coach in the ring.” He shrugged. People might have thought that was strange, but Jax thought it was relatively normal. “And did you enjoy your summer?” Jax asked out of politeness.
6
Jax
This is your cup of tea.
296
Jax
0
5
Arianna Tate
April 22, 2016 9:20 AM
Arriving. by Arianna Tate
Arianna eyed the other first years with interest. She wondered who they were, who would be in what house and most importantly, who was worth being friends with. She didn't necessarily think worth was based solely on blood purity-though having a last name like Brockert or Carey certainly helped matters-as one of Mother's best friends, Aunt Holly, was a muggleborn. Of course, Arianna was still a bit cautious of the type as while Aunt Holly's parents had clearly done something right, most Muggle parents did not.Of course, her own sorting was also of great importance. She personally wanted to go in Aladren-her mother's house-or Crotalus, known as the most respectable house. Pecari would be dreadful, just like most Muggleborns weren't like Aunt Holly, most Pecaris weren't like her either. The fact that she'd ever been sorted there was deeply confusing to Arianna and her mother alike. Most Pecaris were more like her (actual biological) aunt Nina had been when she was young and Aunt Nina had been a general irritant to Mother back then. Just like her own brother Beau was to her now. Yeah, he'd probably be in Pecari. He sure wasn't Aladren material, as he didn't seem all that smart to her.
She waited impatiently for the goblet to come to her. Arianna was somewhere in the middle of the group and she wished she'd pushed her way to the front because everyone seemed to be taking their sweet time drinking from it. Finally it was her turn and she turned a brilliant shade of red. It wasn't the most attractive look, but Arianna had been warned about this. She knew it was something she had to go through and more importantly, that it would wear off. She was just pleased to be in Crotalus. Really, that was better than Aladren, because some Aladrens were nerdy and/or weird like Uncle Evan.
Arianna took a seat at the Crotalus table, noting with mixed feelings that she would have three roommates. She had never shared a room in her life and wasn't necessarily enthusiastic about it but on the other hand, if her roommates were decent, it could strengthen their bond. She just hoped she didn't get anyone rabidly obsessed with Quidditch or something. In her mother's many detailed stories about school, she had mentioned that while she and Aunt Holly had gotten lucky and been pretty much roommate free, Mother's other friends, Cecily and Anabel hadn't been so fortunate and had had to room with two of the most dreadful girls imaginable even though they'd had each other.
She paid attention as the prefects and Head Students were announced and applauded. Arianna didn't know precisely who Duncan Brockert was or how either of them was related to her but she knew Serena was marrying Prince Oscar of Livilia. She took a great deal of pride in being related to a future princess and queen and thought it was pretty spectactular that Serena had been awarded Head Girl as well.
Then the Midsummer event was announced. The ball, how thrilling! Arianna very much looked forward to dressing up in pretty clothing and dancing the night away. She wondered if there were any acceptable guys around to go with. Either way, she'd be certain to be the best dressed girl there.
Well, now to introduce herself. "Hello, I am Arianna Tate, of the Napa Valley Tates." She said to the person across from her. Although she herself lived in Jamaica, Father's family was from there, so that was how the Crotalus introduced herself. The Tates were a very prominent family in Napa Valley, who owned an incredibly successful winery and of course, her mother Chelsea had been a Brockert, therefore Arianna acted accordingly, as someone important.
11
Arianna Tate
Arriving.
353
Arianna Tate
0
5
Nathan Xavier
April 22, 2016 1:33 PM
I can do that. by Nathan Xavier
The tour had gone well. Nathan had brought the children through some of the larger clearings in the Gardens ('coincidentally' passing fairly close to the Pecari entrance, though, of course, he didn't mention it since the location was supposed to be a secret, but he did want those student to be able to find their way to and from the school) that might get used for clubs or classes - in fact, one of them had been the the Care of Magical Creatures classroom for some years before it was moved indoors, and some lessons still utilized it.After that, they headed over to the Pitch. He'd gone on a little bit about what Quidditch was since it was possible some people didn't know. He'd also answered some questions (no, you did not need your own broom to play; yes, first years were allowed to be first string team members; no, Quidditch was not played last year due to other school wide events, but they would resume this year; Aladren had won the last championship that had been played). He also mentioned that the Flying Lessons that all first years were required to take would take place there on the Pitch as well, and sometimes the space was utilized for club meetings and other events.
Then he led the way into the school building itself. They toured through the classroom corridors and visited the library. He showed them to the owlry and explained the procedure for sending an owl home. Then they'd walked past but not into the Hospital Wing (it was best, really, not to bother Medic Edda Eir, he'd found). They had toured each of the MARS rooms, twice, to show how they could change, and then walked down the Corridor of Plants to show the way to the Headmaster's office in case they ever needed to go there. Finally, after pointing out the main bathrooms off the Entrance Hall, and giving anyone who needed to use them an opportunity to do so, he'd brought the group into the Cascade Hall for their sorting and the Opening Feast.
He'd kept the group semi-organized so Professor Skies could distribute the potion efficiently, and then once the kids were all sorted and seated at their various tables, he had gone up to the Staff Table, half relieved that the Orientation was over for the year. As a Head of House, he still had one more job tonight, but the new first years had divided pretty evenly, and Teppenpaw had collected a very manageable number of new members for him to lead home after the Feast. That wouldn't be a problem for him.
He was actually a bit surprised he wasn't more relieved that the orientation was done with. Maybe he was finally getting comfortable interacting with the students. Being Head of Teppenpaw no doubt helped with that, as it gave him a reason to converse with a quarter of the school's population on a regular basis. His gardening assistant, Laila, was also a help since she helped him realize students outside of Teppenpaw were interested in learning from him. And, of course, anything was going to seem easy after addressing the whole school all at once during the final challenge last term.
On the other hand, all of that, particularly Laila's interest in Herbology, made him wonder if maybe he ought to do something teaching-related in a more official capacity. Perhaps he'd talk to the Headmaster after the next staff meeting, get his opinion on whether or not Sonora needed a staff sponsored ... well, he wasn't sure if he should call it a gardening club or an optional bonus Herbology class or just an opportunity to volunteer in his herbological gardens like Laila already did. He dis already offer to be an advisor to anyone interested in an independent study in Herbology, so he was imaging that this would just be a more ... organized and cooperative group ... thing, along those same lines.
He doubted he'd get a huge turn out, but he expected he'd probably get a few Aladrens, and anybody genuinely interested in pursuing further education with magical plants, which were the best kinds of students to work with. He'd been toying with the idea most of the summer (prompted largely by Laila reaching Intermediate classes, to be perfectly honest) of volunteering to become an actual elective class professor for the subject, but that frankly still kind of terrified him. Something a little less structured, something that wouldn't go on school transcripts was much less intimidating to start with at least, and he'd probably need to take some extra classes himself before he would be qualified to teach formally anyway. Though depending how the bonus-course-thing worked out, maybe that was something he could look into for the future. He might run that by Headmaster Brockert, too. See what the pay raise might be...
Clapping erupted around him and Nathan tried not to startle visibly. A quick look around and he saw two of his seventh years coming up to the front. Head Students, right. He joined into the applause and grinned and smiled approval at the two Teppenpaws in case they glanced his way. He always felt something like pride when it was one of his students who earned a Head Student title and this year they both came from his House. He wondered whether his smile might ever fall off after this.
Prefects came next and he applauded the selection of Aiden O'Neil. The fifth year was a solid, stable choice for the position. The teenager was really growing into his own lately. He thought the boy looked more confident in himself than he had even last spring; the summer must have been good for him. Nathan was glad for that. He was also pleased to see Aiden go sit down next to Jake. It was always good when the House prefects got along outside of their duties.
Headmaster Brockert went on to talk about this year's midsummer event. It would be the ball again, and Nathan figured he'd be chaperoning like pretty much all of the staff, but doubted he'd be called upon to do much more than that. Ball years were perhaps the easiest ones on the staff. Maybe he'd need to get some flowers for table centerpieces, but it was unlikely to require much more additional effort on his part than that. Nothing nearly as difficult as organizing one of the challenges anyway. He'd just need to get his dress robes cleaned and that would be that.
He sang the school song in a low voice that did not project because his singing was not significantly better than his jig-dancing. For better or for worse, all of his artistic talents were all in the horticulture family of skills. Even cooking, which he was semi-decent at, involved plants to some degree. Fortunately for him and those around him, Sonora had a fairly short school song, and then the food appeared. Food, he could get into. He'd watched the first years enjoy their snacks, but he hadn't taken any himself, so he was quite hungry by now.
He went for the ham, putting a slice of pineapple on top, and a serving of mixed vegetables to the side. A buttered roll completed his first course. He was sure he'd get more later, but he figured this was a good start, and he definitely wanted to save some room for the excellent dishes the elves served for dessert. Their apple pie was the best he'd ever eaten.
He had mostly polished off his allotment of vegetables, and was just starting to cut his ham into bite-sized pieces when Amelle, who was one of the staff members he had seated himself beside, asked after his summer.
"Good evening," he returned her greeting pleasantly. He'd grown to be something like friends with Isis a few Christmases back when they had bonded over being two of the few remaining adults at the school, and he'd become mildly afraid of Edda Eir when working with her to figure out the cause of what they now knew to be Satori troubles, but he'd remained largely neutral with the librarian over the years.
He wasn't the most social of people at the best of times and he supposed their schedules hadn't helped either. They just hadn't been in the same space often enough to grow close or distant, particularly since he sometimes missed lunch and/or dinner when he was arms deep in a landscaping project. That was one of the nice things about working as closely with the hordes of elves that Sonora employed as he did: they'd get him food whenever he needed it, even if it didn't meet the school's normal timetable for meals.
"My summer was good," he said, the response nearly automatic. Working in a school, it became something like a conditioned response, like saying 'fine' when someone asked 'how are you?' The question hit your ear and the answer slipped off your tongue without bothering to check with the brain in the interim to see whether the answer was true or not.
Realizing his response lacked anything like details, even if it was overall true this time around, he added, "I visited my nephews for a little while. Got a place in North Dakota this time." He wasn't sure if she knew about his lack of a permanent address or not; it often came up when he did talk about his summers, but he couldn't recall if he'd had this conversation with Amelle specifically or not. "I found a nice apartment there, better than the ones I can usually find for just a summer. Most of the time I can only find college apartments available for such short times, but this one was being sublet by a professor on sabbatical. Much nicer place and neighborhood. There was a good sized lake nearby, too, so that was a nice place to go and relax when I wanted to get outside."
He left out the boring details about coming back to Sonora to make sure the elves were keeping things well maintained in his absence, and the annoyances about getting overcharged for his cable bill and the runaround fixing that had entailed, especially since he didn't have a phone. Sometimes being half and half was nice in that you could pick and choose which parts of muggle and wizarding culture you wanted to indulge in, but sometimes it was just really frustrating when one or both assumed you were a part of the whole culture and therefore owned all the gadgets everyone else did. Televisions were entertaining, especially when he lived alone, but he had no use for a telephone. The only muggles he generally talked to were his family, and he could just aperate to them and talk in person if he needed to.
Additionally, Amelle probably didn't need to hear that a lakeside home had definitely risen up on his list of potential places to retire in the distant future when his savings account was big enough to consider buying a house he might actually be able to live in for more than two months out of the year. It just didn't seem worth the hassle or expense to get one before that.
Besides, he enjoyed the freedom to live in a different state every year, the opportunity to get to know the whole country before he settled down in just one part of it. North Dakota, he thought, would be a nice place for a summer home if he wanted to work an extra fifty years or so to be able to afford one of those (not likely), but from what he'd heard, it got miserable in the winter. He'd rather live somewhere that was green year round.
But he liked the idea of a lake after this summer. Lakes were wonderful. And Southern states had lakes, too. Warmer winters and lakes were not mutually exclusive.
He supposed it was only fair to give her a chance to talk about her own experiences, so he turned the question around on her. "How was your summer?"
1
Nathan Xavier
I can do that.
28
Nathan Xavier
0
5
But you're welcome to share the pot. by Louis
Nodding in response to the explanation of the jacket, Louis felt slightly like he was missing out. The idea of wearing clothing that belonged to somebody was foreign to Louis – all of his clothes were tailor-made for him – but obviously the jacket meant a lot to Jax. It must be nice, Louis mused, to have that sort of connection with somebody. He couldn't imagine wanting to wear any of his father’s stuffy clothing. Besides, anything his father wore would be far too big for him, and not his shape at all.Louis made a face at Jax's question. “Parts of my summer were fun,” he replied, with mixed feelings. “I spent quite a lot of time with my friends, hanging around Paris, but also I had to attend many boring meetings and events with mon père.” His disgust at having to attend all these functions was rather evident, as Louis had given up all pretence of enjoying most aspects of being the Valois heir.
Being around his father was hardly Louis’ ideal holiday, but sadly he’d had to appease the old man and pretend to be a model son. His grandmother had given him a strict talking-to about duty and keeping the peace, which had far more effect on Louis than any of his father’s rants. However, Jax's summer sounded much more interesting, even if somewhat incomprehensible.
“What sort of ring?” he asked, aware that the presence of a coach probably suggested some sort of sport but not being particularly au fait with any requiring a ring. He was also rather envious of Jax having a sister to spend time with. Until he came to Sonora, Louis had thought being an only child was the ideal situation. All the focus was on him and he had no annoying siblings to cope with. Now, however, he found himself quite lonely when spending time with his family, and often wished for a sibling to ally with him and to provide entertainment.
9
Louis
But you're welcome to share the pot.
314
Louis
0
5
It's not that bad. by Jack
It wasn’t ideal, talking to a first year, but Jack didn’t show it on his face. Making the best out of any situation was a must - not that he was desperate to make friends or anything. He poured her juice when she accepted and poured himself a glass. Pumpkin juice was his favourite beverage out of them all. If he could drink this entire pitcher he would. The witch asked him for something else and Jack passed it on cordially. He remembered his first year, spilling juice everywhere and getting angry at his fellow peer for knocking him. Not the brightest start to his social career.Friends had never been difficult for Jack to make back home, but going back and forth from Arizona to London made it difficult to keep them. He didn’t know how his mates did it, keeping friends at home and abroad. One group Jack missed in particular were lads he’d met at one of the small hidden Quidditch pitches in the city that Adam had discovered. They were around his age, the lot, and they all got on rather well. It only lasted a summer, however, and during the winter holiday they were nowhere to be found. Off at school or on holiday, no doubt, and Jack thought it would be strange to post a letter to them.
The witch picked up the conversation, which Jack was glad she did before he could say anything else. “I enjoy it. Academically it’s challenging and the professors here are professional and teach creative lessons. Socially students differ year-by-year, but overall they’re kind enough. I suppose it might be a bit more difficult for muggle-borns to transition and prejudice around here, but isn’t it that way in our society already?” Jack didn’t have a sound opinion on the subject of Muggles and muggle-borns, but he wasn’t bothered by them as he hoped they weren’t bothered by him.
“It’s far from home for me too,” said the English wizard. “You’re from France?” If she said far and with her intonations he assumed her first language was not English nor was her accent American or English. “It’s all right to feel homesick, if you do. I miss London when I’m here, but you get used to it. I’m in my fourth year now and Sonora’s begun to feel more like home. Aladren is a brilliant house, better than the others, in my opinion.” It was the sort of conversation Jack had never imagined having with his little sister, but he was glad he could impart some wisdom on someone who was willing to listen.
As the third and middle child, Jack hardly got a word in whenever his family was together. Adam and Charlotte were successful and had loads of interesting things going on in their lives and Lily could chatter on and on. If he ever got angry with her, his parents would scold him. He thought he had some right to dislike her at least a little.
He wished he knew at least a little French to practise with her, but though his mother was fluent, Jack was not. He hadn’t cared for the language, not till now when it could potentially be useful. “I’m Jack Spencer,” he said. “What’s your name?” Maybe chatting with a first year wasn't that terrible.
40
Jack
It's not that bad.
299
Jack
0
5
Aiden
April 22, 2016 2:57 PM
Yeah, they are fantastic. by Aiden
Aiden grinned. He always grinned. It was really nothing new about him smiling. What was new was the fact that Jake was congratulating him for obtaining the badge, but also because Aiden had a new found confidence that his smile wasn’t the most hideous thing on him anymore. He felt more on par with everyone else. He definitely didn’t think that he would be winning any ‘Best Looking’ awards, but he definitely didn’t feel like the chubby ugly kid that he used to feel like. Maybe others would notice it, maybe they wouldn’t. Only time would tell. “Thanks. My mom will be happy. She was prefect when she was a student here, so she’ll love it.” Aiden only hoped that his friends would feel the same. He really didn’t want Liac or Savannah upset over him getting the badge and they hadn’t. He didn’t think Tobi would care, but it was hard to tell sometimes.He never really gave the badge too much thought, mostly because he never expected to get it. He wondered how often other people expected them or wanted them. He wondered if it ever came between friendships or relationships in general. He would hope not, but he was positive that there were some people who worked their entire school life trying to earn these badges. It must be devastating to them when they aren’t given to them. Thankfully, Aiden would have been very supportive if anyone else in their house had gotten the badge over him. He wasn’t as invested in it as one might have thought, but he was really happy that the staff felt he was worthy enough to wear it.
Aiden gave Jake a glance as he came to realize something. Jake was only a Sixth year but Duncan was a Seventh year, which meant that Jake was bunking with the year above him. This was probably a well known fact to other Teppenpaws, but Aiden never really paid attention. However, if Jake roomed with Duncan because they were otherwise without roommates, what was he going to do now that Duncan would be graduating at the end of the year? Jake would just be alone again. Aiden wondered if Jake realized that yet or was already prepared for. “What are you going to do once Duncan graduates?” Aiden asked out of curiosity. “I mean, it’s a long way away, but it’ll probably be a little weird for you without him year, right?”
6
Aiden
Yeah, they are fantastic.
287
Aiden
0
5
Farrah
April 22, 2016 4:24 PM
It's all a guess here. by Farrah
“Oh really?” Farrah asked, her eyebrows raised when Arianna mentioned that she was from New York. “From the Big Apple or from somewhere else in the state?” She had to ask that question because her Aunt said that if you ever met someone from outside of New York City but you assumed they were from the City, they became agitated. She supposed she couldn’t really blame them. New York was a large state and it would be wrong to assume everyone lived in the same part of it. “My Aunt is an editor of Witches Weekly and the Daily Prophet, US edition and lives in the City.” Farrah had no idea what those magazines were, but her dad said that they were two of the most popular magazines and papers in the Magical world. “It always feels like a faraway land to me, but it’s really just a state over.” That probably sounded dumb, but The Big Apple was a big deal to anyone who wasn’t from there.“My ride was alright. Long and a bit uncomfortable, but it was different and exciting.” Farrah commented. “I few down from Vermont.” She added since she knew where Arianna was from. The distance between Arianna’s travels and her own was probably about the same, give or take, so Farrah assumed Arianna understood how stiff the ride was after a while. “You have a cousin who goes here as well? That must be nice. Is your cousin also a first year or is he or she older?” Farrah hoped her questions didn’t come off as prying. She was simply trying to make conversation despite not really thinking too fondly of her new roommate.
Avatar was one of those movies that Farrah thought she showed love because she found it quite beautiful to watch, but she just didn’t really care for it as much as she enjoyed other movies. But she didn’t really want to mention any of that to Arianna since she didn’t think the other girl would really care about her opinions. Farrah looked around the room to assess the color situation. “I think it looks to be fading with some of those who drank it early.” Farrah commented after she worked out her assessment. Farrah looked at her own hand. It was definitely still blue, but she thought it might have been a lighter shade than before.
She didn’t state that though, not seeing any reason to state the obvious. “I noticed that we’ll have at least one more roommate.” Farrah said, nodding her head down the table to another girl who was talking to an older boy. She had to figure out if it’ll end up being a crowd or company once they were in the room. But Farrah had a feeling that her luck ran out the moment she took the potion. Killian was the only good thing to happen to her so far and now he was sitting at the Pecari table. Farrah wished she had been more like her Father than her Aunt because at least Teppenpaws were said to be nice.
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It's all a guess here.
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Araceli Arbon
April 22, 2016 11:18 PM
You? by Araceli Arbon
Araceli hadn’t really done much before the Opening Feast. She had just drifted around sort of… being here. It felt familiar, in the sense that she knew and recognised it, but not with the cosy or comforting connotations of the word. Everyone else saw this as restoring things to how they should be, but she felt no sense of belonging here. Only a little bit, when she was with Makenzie, because she knew. It felt like starting again and doing it properly, whereas with everyone else she had to continue a lie.She desperately wanted to sit with her friend during the Opening Feast but as the students swarmed in, she found Makenzie already surrounded by the time she was able to take a seat. She was upset by that - surely Makenzie knew how hard this was going to be for her, could she not have saved her a seat? - which led to a little pang of doubt. Makenzie couldn’t exactly stop being her friend without implying she knew things she shouldn’t, or causing some kind of societal schism. Maybe she was just pretending, to keep up appearances. The hug Makenzie had exchanged with her when she’d been in disguise at the ball, the risk she’d taken in doing that which served no gain for her, seemed to argue against that, but it was harder to remember those details in the face of feeling like she was being thrown to the lions. She studiously avoided the worst lion of all, sitting well away from her other room-mate, and hoping that Makenzie would be far more present and ready to defend her when they finally had to meet. There weren’t that many other people whom she was nervous about seeing - except for Duncan, and he was in another house - so this would be just like her interactions during the afternoon. She would chit chat, greet the random people, who probably had little strong opinion of her anyway. The only difference was that there were more people around, but everyone would be absorbed in their own conversations. She wasn’t performing to an audience, she reminded herself again and again, the entire hall was not scrutinising her every action. For the most part, people were absorbed by the people they were with. She was getting to take things one little step at a time. She could cope with that.
She applauded enthusiastically as Duncan got his badge, reminding herself to congratulate him later, which would be a nice, easy, formulaic interaction. She was also pleased for Makenzie, who definitely deserved the prefect honour for Crotalus. Shino was a nasty little snake, so she was well out of the running, and Araceli would have hated to have it. It would have been Delphine that had earnt it, not her, and she could imagine how it would have felt, sitting on her heart, the weight of it amplified by the fact that it was a physical reminder that she had to live up to her sister’s version of her. She was supposed to just come back and be herself. Just her new, improved self. Delphine had been her, and now she took back over, and so she didn’t have a show to put on. She was sure that was what everyone else thought, but she knew better. She couldn’t just be Araceli. She had to be Araceli pretending to be Delphine pretending to be Araceli.
Still, her toughest audiences would be later. She wasn’t feeling calm per se, but as the new prefects and head students left the stage, she thought she felt about as good as could be expected, given the circumstances. And then Duncan started walking towards Crotalus. She frantically made ‘help me’ eyes across the table at Makenzie throughout the remainder of the brief announcements, but even if she saw, Araceli wasn’t exactly sure what she would be able to do about it. It would look odd for Makenzie to spring from her place and come and join them.
She mumbled her way through the school song, her stomach squirming at the thought of talking to Duncan throughout the feast, and at the idea of the ball. From what Delphine had said, Duncan would be expected to ask her. That was, if she didn’t do anything awful to put him off in the meantime. But the thought of a long, romantic evening with him was painful. He liked Delphine, not her. She was petrified he would be able to tell. And if he couldn’t, she felt sick with guilt just thinking about what they’d done to him. Whilst she’d been at CASMA - the Central Academy for Speech and Magical Arts, a school which combined treatment for speech disorders with the magical curriculum - she’d learnt some basics of wordless magic (some of the children had disorders that they would never recover from fully, and so it was a core part of the curriculum). She wondered whether, if she kept practising, she might one day be really able to make the ground just open up and swallow her in situations like this.
Hello there. How was your summer?
Alright. Surely that was an easy one. And it wasn’t like this was her first test of speaking to Duncan. She and Delphine had swapped over the summer to give her some practise.
“Fine, thank you,” she answered softly, hoping she didn’t sound as rehearsed as she felt. “All the usual,” she dismissed it, “Tell me about yours,” she invited with a smile. This was a tactic that her tutors hadn’t taught her but that she had learnt for herself. A way of deflecting back, and seeming like she was just returning the question, but in a format that invited a longer, more elaborate response from the other person. “Oh, and, um, congratulations. On getting head boy,” she added, blushing at almost forgetting to pay the compliment.
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Araceli Arbon
You?
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Chuck Fintoc
April 23, 2016 4:21 AM
And here it's even better than that. by Chuck Fintoc
“Here you go,” Chuck smiled kindly, passing over the steak and the bowl of mashed potatoes for the little brown-faced boy to help himself to. He moved a few other dishes out of the way to make room by taking them for himself and piling some bean casserole and cornbread onto his already full plate which he was fast demolishing.He was a little surprised by the questions the first year asked, fairly sure he’d actually heard the headmaster explain the sorting process. Chuck didn’t hesitate in responding, however, making the assumption that the new Pecari hadn’t been listening, which he didn’t blame him for given the numerous distractions around him.
“The colours represent the houses,” he told the boy. “Brown is Pecari’s house colour and whatever colour you turn when you drink from the goblet is the place that you’re sorted into. I’m not quite sure how that works exactly but it’s just very advanced magic, I guess. The different tables are for the different houses but, apart from feasts, it doesn’t really matter where you sit. The houses each have different common rooms, which you’ll be taken to later, and that’s also where the dorms are which is where we sleep. The houses are kind of like your school home. Each house is known for different traits as your sorted based on personality. This is Pecari, in case you didn’t catch that earlier. We’re known for being spontaneous and instinctive.”
He paused from the long-winded explanation, not used to doing so much talking all in one go. He could be chatty but he was more the back-and-forth kind who just wanted a laugh than a full-on rambler. “Does that all make sense?” Chuck frowned slightly, hoping he hadn’t just confused the first year further.
The fourth year took a mouthful of food and swallowed it before speaking again. “I’m Chuck Fintoc, by the way, of the Colorado Fintocs,” he introduced himself with a friendly smile. “Welcome to Sonora, and to Pecari.”
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Chuck Fintoc
And here it's even better than that.
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Abigail De La Garza
April 23, 2016 6:55 AM
Woah, I'm not there yet1 by Abigail De La Garza
Although they’d shared classes last year and were in the same house, Abby didn’t really know Gabriel Valenti all that well. He was certainly a familiar face around the school as, for the aforementioned reasons, they often ended up in the same place but somehow they’d never really talked. Abby knew she wouldn’t be in classes with him this year now that she was moving up to Intermediates, which sounded rather scary, but it was still worth getting to know him. Everyone was worth getting to know!Abby smiled as the younger boy gave a brief summary of his summer. It sounded like a nice jampacked family-filled fun holiday, but arguably a bit more interesting than her own. Not that she disliked her own summer as it was nice to see everyone again and maintain tradition but there were times when she just wished they could try something new - like camping, as Gabriel had done. She noted his mention of flying and wondered if he had been on the Quidditch team last year. Due to the challenges there had been no Quidditch matches, which she had always enjoyed watching even though she wasn’t tempted to take part herself, so Abby wasn’t really sure who of the now-second years were into their Quidditch. She was fairly sure the teams had still been put in the yearbook but she hadn’t paid that enough attention to remember faces.
“I imagine you’ll be trying out for the Quidditch team this year?” She took a guess, happy at the thought that interest could well be high enough for Teppenpaw to have their own team and not have to combine with Crotalus. She was sure Liac would be pleased by that.
She looked in the direction Gabriel pointed, smiling as she saw his cute little firstie cousin sitting smartly at the Aladren table. For all she knew the girl may not be so cute in person but she couldn’t imagine her not being, seeing as Gabriel was so nice and the two of them sounded as though they got along. “That’ll be fun having her in your classes, won’t it?” There was a part of Abby that wished she had cousins at Sonora but most of them went to school in Mexico when they reached the age of eleven. Two of her cousins had gone to Sonora but they were so much older that they’d been here way before her time. The closest relative that Abby currently had at the school was Alistair Johnson but he never gave her the time of day and sometimes she wondered if he even remembered that their mothers were cousins.
“Me?” Abby smiled, playing for time a little as she tried to think about the best parts of her summer that would make her sound like a vaguely interesting person. “I spent a lot of time in Mexico as I have a lot of family over there so we always have huge get-togethers. We played quite a bit of sports as well. It’s usually Quodpot, although my family like anything involving a broom really. That’s our thing since we run part of the Spanish broom company ‘Varela Escobas’.” She didn’t know if Gabriel would have heard of it, since the company had yet to get really big in the US. It was quite popular for general everyday brooms but if Gabriel was into his Quidditch he’d probably be more into his racing brooms, which Varela Escobas was still contemplating making.
“Besides that, my mom made me pick up my dancing again when I was at home and I got moaned at for not practising enough at school,” Abby added with a purposefully strained smile because she wasn’t half as interested in dancing as she pretended for her mother’s sake, although she didn’t actually mind going along with it that much. It wasn’t so much that Abby didn’t like dancing and she was good at it but she just lacked the grace and passion of her mother, much preferring to spend her time practising archery (not that she told Mamá this).
It was only whilst she was talking that Abby noticed how quickly her neighbour had moved onto dessert. She was rather surprised by this but a quick look around told her that she was not being slow, Gabriel was simply very eager. She half-suppressed a grin but didn’t pass a comment.
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Abigail De La Garza
Woah, I'm not there yet1
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But of course. by Sébastien
Sébastien passed the vegetables over to Cecilia, pleased that he’d found someone polite and proper to talk to. Furthermore, he was fairly sure he’d heard of the name Carey when doing his advance studying on American wizarding names (which had been his father’s idea – Bastien wouldn’t voluntarily put himself forward for extra work!).As such, he gave her a charming smile when she introduced herself. “No, it is my pleasure,” he replied. “Yes, I did quite expect Crotalus. It seems one of the more respectable houses,” he explained, sure that she would understand the importance of that. He’d discussed the houses with his younger sister before coming to Sonora, and both had decided that Crotalus sounded the best. It was, as Aurélie had pointed out, where you were likely to meet the most respectable people and make good connections.
“And you? Did you expect you would be sorted into here?” he asked, trying to think of more ways to continue this conversation. Maybe she could give him some information about America! Things seemed rather different here, and Bastien was keen to find out as much as he could so that he didn’t seem unprepared or awkward at any point.
“So what is it like, being in American wizarding society?” he asked. “This is actually the first time I have come to America.”
Bastien didn’t like admitting what could be seen as weaknesses, but was also aware that saying such things seemed friendly and could get people to open up to you. Besides, this witch seemed pleasant enough so far.
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Sébastien
But of course.
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John Umland
April 23, 2016 11:41 PMJohn Umland
AlumnusHouse: Aladren
Written by: Grayson Wright
Age in Post: 15
Birthday: September 23rd
Yay, Clark! by John Umland
The library had presented an almost irresistible temptation – when else could be almost have the entire place to himself without deliberately getting locked out of the dorms one night? – but John had gotten enough work done with the books he had over the summer that the charms of privacy and free reign to use his wand however he wished had, just barely, lured him away from the stacks. After he got most of his things more or less sorted out and ran through some practice sets, warming his wand up because it turned out Mr. Chenar had not lied when he’d warned John that it might be a tad temperamental after holidays all those years ago, he had opened up his notes and gotten to work.Normally, that would have ended with him hurrying into the Feast at the last moment, or maybe skipping it altogether and asking a laundry goblin for a sandwich sometime after midnight, but this year was special. He arrived early, and that was after changing robes (his first set had become creased while he worked and he strongly suspected they, like the rest of his room at the moment, smelled slightly of burnt tin. Dratted temperamental wand) and re-combing his straight dark hair even though it had not taken any particular damage. He was sure his sister’s best school friend could have found plenty to criticize about his appearance, but he doubted Julian herself could have, which was a good deal better than he usually did. He had thought it was unfortunate when Julian had gotten all interested in what she wore, but he hadn’t known the meaning of the word until she’d started nagging him about what he wore.
He didn’t think he was nervous about the Feast as such – there really wasn’t much of a reason to be – but he thought he was something…related to that. The best he could come up with was something like how it was when he was experimenting and had added a component to a potion or cast a spell and could only wait to see what happened next, only more than when he was really sure what was going to happen and less than when he thought something might explode. He smiled when Clark joined him at the table, though, hoping he wasn’t neat enough for his friend to notice he had paid attention to something so trivial.
There was no reason in the world for anything to go any way other than the one he expected, but John still breathed a sigh of relief through his nose as he went to collect his badge, nodding to Brockert and the other prefects. He liked Aiden well enough, but still hoped he did the majority of his prefecting with the other Aladrens. Fortunately, current evidence suggested Clark, at least, might not be opposed to that. John grinned as he returned to the table, a bit embarrassed and more than a bit pleased and a little cross with himself for all of the above. It wasn’t, after all, as though it was a surprise under the circumstances. “Thanks,” he said.
He dismissed the Ball as unimportant (he expected to find the pseudo-courtship behaviors of some of his fellow adolescents amusing and possibly very slightly interesting to observe, but he expected the event itself to be dead boring unless someone spiked the punch again) and sang the school song as well as he could. Afterward, he began serving himself from the dishes provided but paused when his friend took something out of his wallet and put it on the table.
”That was my summer,” announced Clark. John picked the thing up and examined it.
“Well done,” he said, impressed. John had never attempted to drive in his life, but his mother knew how and he had gathered that it was a lot like being a Chaser with a multi-ton broom. As he was a Beater in no small part because he had not been able to concentrate enough to make good decisions in the midst of the chaos that was Chasing on a regular broom and (perhaps even more relevantly) also didn’t really know if he was a person the organizations who issued such documents would recognize as someone who legally existed instead of mistaking for either a runaway American or a really incompetent spy, John thought this was one accomplishment Clark might remain the sole possessor of. Except…He resisted the temptation to delve into analyzing the benefits and drawbacks of having legal documents from the Other Side. If he didn't already and just hadn't noticed. He really did need to figure that out, now that he thought about it.... “Either Seeker’s reflexes paid off or you’re a great forger, but either way, well done,” he joked, handing it back. “Really – that’s awesome. Can you really drive things? Have you, I mean, or is it just for…legally existing out there purposes?” That was something that would have to be considered for certain university options, he suspected - everything on the other side involved so many computers these days that just Confunding the right people was a lot harder than it had been even back when his mother had last been a student.
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John Umland
Yay, Clark!
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Well, moms aren't always right by Georgia
“It’s a shame there’s only one left,” Georgia said, after Jozua explained the history of the school house names, “I wonder what happened to Teppenpaw,” she added sadly, hoping the town hadn’t met some terrible fate. “I’m from a town called Beavercreek in Ohio, which is about as exciting as it sounds,” she said, her tone implying that this was definitely ‘not very.’“Nice to meet you too. So… what’s an all magic town like?” she pushed. Not having been met with sneers for her surprise and interest so far, she waded in a little deeper. “And what happens there if someone marries a nor- a Muggle? Are they allowed in, or does that person have to leave?” she asked, a little knot of unpleasantness forming in her stomach at the thought of the former. How could anyone think that was wrong? It was like banning mixed race marriage, and that had been outlawed in…. Um…. well, it was a really long time ago. She hoped.
“Yeah, the pizza’s pretty tasty,” she smiled, as he complimented the food. She scanned around for gravy at his request, wondering why it wasn’t near the things it would go with. “Oh, here,” she smiled, locating it next to some salmon. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of that combination as she passed it to him
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Georgia
Well, moms aren't always right
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Ingrid Wolseithcrafte
April 24, 2016 4:09 AM
Guilty conscience by Ingrid Wolseithcrafte
How was this possible? They were only a few hours into the new term and things were going terribly already? And not just a bit terrible, but worse-than-she-ever-could-have-imagined terrible. Ingrid had been super excited when the captain (and her all time favourite person in the world) had scheduled a practise immediately. She couldn’t wait to get back into Quidditch with her team, especially after the hiatus last year, and was pleased to see that Liliana felt the same. Only, when she’d got there, it hadn’t been a regular practise. It had been about team building because Liliana was worried that the thing in the yearbook had upset Jamie Park. First off, Ingrid was indignant because who cared if Jamie Park was upset? He was an arrogant little prick who had no respect for the rest of them. If he was upset, perhaps that would be a good thing, and might make him think twice about how he was acting. The thought of essentially grovelling to him for an hour was painful. She didn’t buy into his big fake wounded puppy eyes either. He had totally made fun of Liliana’s exercises to her face, and the captain had still made them go through with it. Maybe that would make Liliana see that he was the problem, not them. Ingrid certainly hoped so because if not, she had a bigger problem. She was the one that had written that. It was from her yearbook survey. It had just been a joke, and a way to vent her frustration at Jamie’s arrogance, and something that a small part of her still felt he deserved, although that part was currently losing out to feelings of panic and despair. She didn’t think it would seriously get put in and had been almost gratified when she’d seen it - either someone else had thought it too, and she would be curious to know who (she’d even wondered at the time whether it was Liliana, and was now so very glad that she’d had no opportunity to ask) or the yearbook staff thought it was funny. She had thought it was funny. Only now her joke didn’t seem so big or so clever because Liliana was royally pissed about it. Liliana clearly hated whoever had written that with a fiery passion, and the only reason she wasn’t yet directing that at Ingrid was because she didn’t know it had been her.After the team building farce, she had returned to her dorm and punched her pillow a few times before bursting into tears, glad that she didn’t have a room-mate (she was sometimes envious of the best-friendy friendships that seemed to often sprout from sharing a room, but at others it was just damned convenient to have the place to herself).
She only half listened to the announcements. The ball was stupid and boys were stupid, but she was probably old enough to start needing a date in order to stop people from gossiping about her. Gossip was stupid too. She mumbled the school song half-heartedly, and even the plates of food didn’t cheer her as much as usual. In fact, she felt kind of sick. She scooped some pasta on to her plate, more because she knew she was supposed to eat something, and it was easy to pick at, than because she actually really wanted it, wondering what she was going to do...
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Ingrid Wolseithcrafte
Guilty conscience
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Juniper
April 24, 2016 10:55 AM
I'd consider that an improvement. by Juniper
Juniper took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. At the very least she hadn't totally embarrassed herself-yet. Still, she knew there was plenty of time left to make mistakes, a thought that horrified her. She wished once again that she didn't have to be here, that she could just go home and ride her horse, something that she was far more comfortable with. If Juniper could do nothing but that for the rest of her life, she'd die happy.Unfortunately, she was a Brockert. That meant she was a member of pureblood society whether she wanted to be or not. In fact, the first year didn't especially want to be a part of any society, unless it was just her and a bunch of horses. Of course, being a Brockert meant she was probably going to do well in Transfiguration too. Maybe she could become an animagus some day and just stay in animal form and never talk to people at all. Juniper rather liked this idea, but she didn't think her parents would. They might be okay with the animagus part-being an animagus was an achievement few ever made-but not the part where she remained that way always and never socialized with anyone human. Father might not be as pushy about it as Mother was, more accepting generally, but Juniper knew he wanted her to do what society people did too.
Idly, the Teppenpaw wondered if Duncan's accomplishments would make things easier on her or more difficult. She was happy for her brother but Father was so proud of him. What if he expected her to be prefect and Head Girl too? She quite frankly didn't want to be, she wanted to fade into the background as much as she possibly could.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do that right now. She was actually in a conversation with someone and she couldn't get away. Juniper felt a little trapped but to leave would be rude, and she couldn't be rude. Neither what society dictated nor what she thought was right would allow it. She had to do the best she could, though she was utterly terrified it wouldn't be good enough. Maybe if she was lucky, this boy was Muggleborn and wouldn't know the difference. Society people expected more.
However, Juniper was not lucky. Not this time. Maybe being sorted into Teppenpaw was the extent of her luck today. The boy introduced himself as Finn Scott, of the Maryland Scotts, a family name that sounded vaguely familiar. She had never memorized all the pureblood families but the way he introduced himself was the correct society introduction,which probably meant he was society. Plus, she'd heard of a Western Scott family.
And that meant she had to worry more about her behavior, that she was doing things right. At the very least, she had to introduce herself. She supposed she'd have to do that anyway. "I'm Juniper Brockert, of the Western Brockerts." In her case, there weren't Eastern Brockerts, but because the Brockert family didn't just live in one state, they lived all over the west, and it showed how all over influential her family was, they introduced themselves this way. That was the explanation she'd been given.
And how to answer his question? To say yes would be a blatant lie. To be honest might make him think poorly of her. She had to represent her family well so people would not have a bad impression of the Brockerts. If anything Juniper felt she should be hospitable, considering Finn was from the eastern side of the country. Like she had to welcome him here. Especially with her brother Head Boy, her somehow cousin Head Girl, and her other somehow cousin Headmaster. "Well...not really." Juniper admitted. She didn't have to tell him she was anxious to merely be in the room with so many others but she could give an explanation as it was probably obvious to all that she wasn't. "I just miss home a little, especially my horse.What about you?"
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Juniper
I'd consider that an improvement.
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Owen Brockert
April 24, 2016 12:26 PMOwen Brockert
AlumnusHouse: Teppenpaw
Written by: Allegra Brockert
Age in Post: 14
Birthday: March 14
Out of breath (Jemima) by Owen Brockert
Owen was not having a good day. It should have been one, he was back at school and back to seeing Jemima every single day. Not that he didn't see her at all over the summer but it just wasn't the same. Unfortunately, he was having a really difficult time breathing, having already used his inhaler a few times and spending the time while the first years were at Orientation lying down, coughing and wheezing.He didn't really feel any better now but he had to go to the Opening Feast, though he wasn't certain he would be able to eat anything. He just wanted to be with Jemima that badly, it was a tradition for her to hang out and decorate her dorm with her friends beforehand and then spend the meal with him. Owen didn't want to miss that.
The fourth year arrived in the Cascade Hall gasping for air. Even the walk down had been aggravating. He had no idea how he'd ever make it back to his room later, let own perform a jig. Merlin, did he ever hate that jig. He could do the steps fine, it was just that it always left him out of breath no matter what and today it was unlikely that he could handle it at all. Owen would have to go up with someone else, which was likely anyway if he was sitting with Jemima.
He stood near the doorway just inside and fished out his inhaler, not even embarrassed the way he normally would be. Using it usually make Owen feel like he was weak and wimpy. Not that he normally was all that macho and tough but having to use his inhaler just made others aware of his limitations-and it made him remember he had limitations. Something he rather disliked.
Right now though, he didn't really care. It was that bad. He quickly took a few puffs and sat down at the Teppenpaw table, across from Jemima. Owen was about to take her hand so they could hold hands until it was time to actually eat, but then he started to cough. Not only did he now need his hand to cover his mouth but he didn't want to gross his girlfriend out by offering her his now germ infested hand, even though what he had was not the least bit contagious. Still, he wiped it off on a napkin, just in case Jemima still wanted to hold hands with him anyway.
Owen sat miserably through the sorting and the announcements for Head Student and prefect, barely even noticing when Duncan and Serena's names were called.Then Uncle Mortimer mentioned the ball, they sang the school song-he skipped that part, he needed to save his breath for what was necessary-and food appeared. When Owen thought he'd be capable of speech, he said to Jemima. "I suppose we're going to the ball together?" He very much wanted to go with her, as they were a couple and all. Besides, even though they'd surely attend many events together throughout their life, this would be their only school ball. "I'll warn you that I'm not much of a dancer, but I'll do my best." It was just like with the jig, where he could do the steps adequately enough but got winded.
As he awaited Jemima's response, he began to cough again...
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Owen Brockert
Out of breath (Jemima)
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I’m not so sure by Killian
Killian smiled happily as he speared a juicy looking chunk of steak. Hopefully, it would be rare enough for his taste. He hated when steak was cooked too long and ended up dry and chewy. After that, he added a big scoop of mashed potatoes and had to half stand to reach a bowl of brown gravy. The potatoes were liberally doused, and two corn cobs joined the other food on his plate. Satisfied he had enough to get started, he turned his curious brown eyes to the older boy as he explained about the houses.The idea of a drink that turned people a different color didn’t bother the muggleborn much. After all, tanning spray did the same thing, and it was the sort of trick one might witness during a magic act on TV. Even the cascading walls weren’t that big a stretch from the sort of fountains Las Vegas boasted. Heck, he could even get behind the flying wagons. After all, flying was long associated with magic. Flying carpets, flying on broom sticks, turning into animals that could fly, flying vampires, the list was endless. That all fit neatly into the box of ‘magic’ in his mind.
But his stomach clenched a little when he found out the drink did more than just pick a color at random. Somehow it judged his personality. “It’s not,” he swallowed hard, hesitating over the words, “alive is it?” he squeaked. How else could it decide what kind of person he was? What if it was like some of the different liquids that appeared in Sci-fi movies, or worse, horror movies that could think and act on their own and had the nasty tendency to eat unsuspecting little boys? What if it was dying in his stomach right now?
Worse, what if it wasn’t? Maybe the sentient liquid didn’t want to just be a liquid any more. Maybe it wanted a body of its own. Maybe it wanted his body.
When the other boy introduced himself, Killian forced himself to stop freaking out. They all drank the magic juice, and apparently this was something that happened every year. That meant it was safe, right? Or it’s like The Faculty, and they’re using this as a way to steal all our bodies without us knowing, getting us to give in without a fight. Then we’ll go back home and turn our families, and that’s how the aliens will take over the world, via magic! Okay, maybe that was a little farfetched, then again, so was a magic school full of magic children who were taught magic.
Shaking his head to try and dislodge the crazy thoughts, Killian forced his lips to jerk up into a facsimile of a smile. “I’m Killian Everett . . . um, from Oklahoma?” He wasn’t sure why the other boy tacked a state on at the end of his introduction, but maybe it was some sort of magic thing. Farrah hadn’t done that when they’d met which made since seems she hadn’t known she was magical either. Perhaps it was a way to see if people lived close together so they could visit during the summer?
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Killian
I’m not so sure
354
Killian
0
5
Anytime is a great time for ice cream! by Gabe
Gabe grinned at the mention of the upcoming Quidditch tryouts. His love of the sport had been solidified as public knowledge by the yearbook last year, so he was not caught off guard by Abby asking."For sure, are you gonna?" he continued to dive into his ice cream sundae. As far as he was concerned, everyone should want to try out for the Quidditch team. Flying was amazing of course, but he loved the feeling of being on a team, of working towards a greater good. There had been the challenge teams last year, of course, but Gabe had spent most of the time feeling like a useless first year. Flying over the Quidditch Pitch, however, was really a place he could make a difference.
Checking back on the Aladren table, he smiled when he saw Ari talking to what looked to be a fellow first year. She was making friends! That had to be the case, of course, because Gabe would count just about everybody he had ever spoken to at Sonora as a friend. It wasn't just Teppenpaw, people at this school were all really good, fun people.
"Yeah!" Gabe exclaimed as he set his now empty ice cream bowl aside, "She is super good at school, you know, and our summer wasn't all fun, our parents made us study non-magical subjects, too," Gabe admitted, "Ari really helped me out with a lot of that stuff." It had been a good trade off, Ari helped him with summer homework, and Gabe had taught her about magic stuff and flying. Which had been a win-win for Gabe, because he loved an excuse to fly. There was a small flying pitch not so far from where he lived in Westchester, and he would take any excuse he could get to go.
Done with his ice cream appetizer, Gabe proceeded to fill his plate with chicken tenders and roasted sweet potatoes. He started on the chicken while Abby went on to tell him about her summer. Her family didn't seem so different from his, besides being from Mexico and all the flying. Not for the first time, Gabe felt a pang of jealousy towards people who got to share magic with their families. Imagine, getting to play Quidditch with Mattie and Ems!
He hadn't gotten to see Mattie nearly as much as he would have liked to this summer. His older brother was busy with football practice and preferred to hang out with his high school friends. Ems always made time for Gabe, making sure he was included in all the pickup baseball and soccer games with their old neighborhood friends. And even when they had spent time together this summer, Gabe was starting to feel kind of separated from his older siblings. He and Ems didn't play all the same sports and share all the same friends anymore, Mattie was just going by Matt now, and Gabe now knew more about magical worms than normal life science. And there was no way words could do justice to how it felt to fly.
"That sounds really awesome!" he exclaimed, a hint of envy escaping in his voice, although truly he was happy his housemate had had such a fun summer, "That is so cool that your whole family is into flying, we just play non-magical sports at home. And I have never played Quodpot before. What's it like? You need to fly with Natalie and me sometime and show us," he finally decided. Flying with his best friend was so much fun, how cool would it be to add more to their group? Speaking of Nat, he needed to find her soon, so they could discuss their practice schedule this semester. Practice was now more critical than ever, what with their tryouts coming up.
He nodded empathetically when she mentioned dancing. It seemed like the equivalent to Gabe’s summer tutoring that he and Ari had to do with Zia Patrizia. Maybe less bad, because at least you got to move around. Still not as cool as flying.
"Some of Emma's - my sister's - friends are into dance classes right now. She says it takes time from softball practice," he commiserated. Now, Gabe enjoyed a good party, but how anyone could prefer dancing to softball, he just couldn't understand.
0
Gabe
Anytime is a great time for ice cream!
330
Gabe
0
5
Hooray! by Cecilia
One of the more respectable Houses. Cecilia had never really thought of it that way. When she thought of Crotalus, after all, the first thing she thought of was her brother Henry, and Henry was….Well, Henry wasn’t improper exactly, but he wasn’t someone who was ever going to be held up as an example of what their brother Peter should aspire to be when he grew up. Arnold’s wife Fae and his brother Anthony’s girlfriend Effie had both been Crotali, though, and they were at least the kind of girls the family would approve of Peter marrying. Maybe Crotalus wasn’t so bad, apart from Henry.
“I expected I would be here or in Aladren,” she lied a little. “Most of my family has been in Aladren.” Three of her five older siblings were Pecaris, or a former Pecari in Theresa’s case, but her proper brother had been an Aladren, as had the three of her cousins who’d attended Sonora. Four was greater than three, so most of her family had been Aladrens.
What was it like to be part of American wizarding society? Cecilia was here to learn that, honestly – if she did well in her classes, Jay had promised she could go to parties this winter, and while she suspected he meant boring ones, she was still looking forward to it. All she had been to so far were small, intimate day parties her aunt Lorraine had with other women at her house sometimes. Once Cecilia had been asked to play piano for the group and still thought of it as one of the most important moments of her life so far. “Welcome to America, then,” she said, smiling. “I hope you like it here. I enjoy our society – there are so many people, and parties in so many places.” Cecilia thought going to other parts of the country must be like going to a different country. Arnold said that Fae liked being alone because she was from Connecticut, not because she was doing something wrong and trying to hide it, and everyone knew society was all different out west, and then there was Chicago, where Cecilia had a vague idea that all the politicians lived….”What’s it like where you’re from?” she asked.
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Cecilia
Hooray!
349
Cecilia
0
5
Don't follow. by Jozua
Jozua shook his head, not able to tell her what happened to the town of Teppenpaw. His knowledge started and ended at the fact that it once existed and but no longer did, and he wondered why he had never wondered what had happened to his own town's contemporaries before. It seemed like if you were the only one left of a group, you ought to know why the others no longer existed, for your own self-preservation if not for any other reason. He made a mental note to ask Mom later. In the unlikely event that she didn't know, she'd probably be curious enough herself to look it up for her own gratification and then she could let him know her discoveries.(It occurred to Jozua that this unwillingness to do his own research might be why his skin was currently yellow and not blue.)
He smiled a little as Georgia joked about her town of Beavercreek, Ohio, which, admittedly, sounded like the setting for one of those kids books that as only interesting because the kids in it had good imaginations.
"It's pretty neat," he answered, unsure exactly how to explain what all magic towns were like as he had never lived in one that wasn't. He'd visited enough other places though that he had a noticed a few superficial differences at least. "Mostly it just means people ride brooms like they ride bikes anywhere else, and people aren't afraid to carry around pygmy puffs or other magical pets out in the open. And our roads are smaller because we don't really use many vehicles other than brooms. Magic isn't hidden at all, it's just . . . there." He waved around at the waterfalls around them, "This is way bigger scale than anything we've got at home, though."
He shrugged uncertainly as she asked about muggles in the town. "Well, there aren't really any living there, I don't think, not that I've met or heard of anyway. It would be kind of hard for them, I'd guess. Some do visit. We've got muggleborns and stuff, so their moms and dads can come visit if they want to, but I haven't really heard of anyone marrying a muggle and having the muggle spouse move to Aladren." In truth, there was an underlying suggestion in the way he spoke of them that 'muggleborns and stuff' were people he did not have much more than cursory interactions with, though there was no indication he though poorly of such people. He just hadn't had much opportunity to get to know them very well. "Usually if that happens, the person moves out, but they're not banned or anything. They can come visit any family they've got still there. It's just . . . Aladren is all magical." He shrugged, struggling to explain the problem of having a non-magical person live there on a more permanent basis. "There's no muggle jobs, you know? And it's kind of assumed people have magic so, um, they'd have trouble getting around. Like, we have two-story plazas and the only way to get to the shops on the upper level is to fly or otherwise magic yourself there. There's no stairs. And muggles can't even use brooms, never mind wands. I guess the magic wife or husband could side-along them up there, but they couldn't just run out and do their errands by themselves, which would probably get super-frustrating really quick. So mixed marriages generally live elsewhere, usually in more muggle areas so the non-magic one can live independently. Does that make sense?"
He took a sip of his water, because that was a lot of talking for him, but it wasn't personal so he didn't feel like he was oversharing. He was just explaining facts, which was way easier to do.
"Thanks," he said as she found and passed him the gravy. He drizzled some generously over his potatoes and meat then asked curiously, "So is Beavertown - no, Beavercreek, I'm sorry - all muggle, or does it have hidden wizard areas?" Obviously, it wasn't all magical, or she wouldn't be so interested in his town, so there were only two other options.
1
Jozua
Don't follow.
348
Jozua
0
5
Alistair Johnson
April 25, 2016 5:04 PM
Ladies are not made for missions! by Alistair Johnson
Sonora was a small school and the houses even smaller so although Laila Kennedy had never been someone that Alistair made an effort to remember, he did know who she was. Not only did he know her name and face but he was well aware of her background too, always making it his business to know which students were the right kind and which weren’t. Therefore he knew it may be perceived rather unexpected of him to be making effort and smiling at such an inferior person but he had an ulterior motive. He only hoped that Kelsey or Caelia weren’t looking his way as he certainly didn’t want either of them to get the wrong idea. Even if his private plans for the year may perhaps be perceived as controversial when they eventually came to light, he wasn’t prepared to start tainting his spotless reputation just yet. Alistair obviously hoped he wouldn’t lose credit with his peers at all and that by now people respected him well enough to not judge him for the personal decisions he would have to make, but even with Alfredo Tavana’s wise words sitting in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but have his doubts.“I had an agreeable summer too, thank you,” Alistair didn’t drop the courteous act, no matter how much he disliked the situation which he was fully responsible for putting himself in. “I spent a lot of time in Italy, staying with my eldest brother’s in-laws in Tuscany and then travelling the rest of the country with my parents.” He felt it was important to share this information so as to treat her like he would treat those he actually liked, and then hopefully she would like him. Of course, Ali had no reason to believe she didn’t already like him - most girls did, didn’t they? - but since he had never really had any interaction with Laila and she probably didn’t value the same qualities that proper young ladies did, he needed to make special efforts to ensure that he appealed to her.
The fourth year passed his neighbour the chicken at her request, regarding her food choices carefully and being pleased with what he saw. She ate healthily, that was a start.
“I also managed to get in quite a lot of Quidditch practice,” he smiled again, using this as an opener for the real purpose of the conversation. “Are you at all interested in Quidditch?” Alistair asked the question casually, thinking that externally there was no reason as to why Laila would be suspicious of the ‘innocent’ inquiry, seeing as it was common knowledge that Ali loved his sport.
Internally the Crotalus Captain was desperate for her response to be positive. He had come to realise that he needed to lay aside some of his personal opinions if he wanted a chance to be successful. Alistair wanted Crotalus to have a Quidditch team, in fact he rather needed them to, confident as he was that Teppenpaw would easily be able to pull one together on their own this year. The fourth year had always liked to agree with the traditional views of pureblood society that girls shouldn’t play Quidditch but knew that he didn’t have many other options. Part of the reason that Crotalus struggled to find seven players seemed to be because most of the girls were brought up knowing that they should not play and Alistair certainly didn’t want to try and change such purity and compliance with what he believed was right. Therefore his best option was to go after the few girls in his house who lacked proper upbringing, namely muggleborns such as Laila Kennedy who didn’t have this ingrained prejudice and a reputation to uphold. Even if she wasn’t interested, couldn’t he tempt her or persuade her? Or perhaps Arne Reinhardt could - weren’t they friends?
8
Alistair Johnson
Ladies are not made for missions!
306
Alistair Johnson
0
5
Joella Curtis
April 25, 2016 5:48 PM
Well isn't this a wonderful day? by Joella Curtis
“Thank you,” Joella smiled in response to both Gia’s congratulations on her new position and the compliment on her appearance. She flicked her long hair over her shoulder, out of the way as she ate, her smooth movements simply making her seem even more confident than she had been the previous term. Although looking set to continue her meal, Joella didn’t actually get so far as even selecting an item of food off her plate with her fork - talking was just too appealing!“I have to admit I wasn’t really expecting it...” she said of her position, trailing off a little and fingering her new badge lightly, whilst trying not to beam too proudly. She wasn’t power hungry or anything of the sort and would certainly have been very happy for either of her roommates if they had been in her shoes but being chosen as prefect was certainly an achievement and her father had always taught her to have no shame in success. She couldn’t wait to tell him the news. It was just so nice to know that the professors recognised her as someone worthy of such responsibility.
“You look nice too,” she added, partly because returning a compliment was a polite thing to do but also because it was true - although she was aware that Gia always looked nice.
“My summer was great as well, thank you.” Joella rather liked the way that people seemed to be assuming she had a good summer, hoping it wasn’t just her new appearance alone that made them say this but also that they noticed how refreshed and super happy she was, likely displayed in her constant smiles and bright eyes.
“Your brother is at his own table today?” Joella raised her eyebrows a little to portray her surprise, so used to seeing the Donovan siblings together at mealtimes. She was fairly certain that Jax usually sat at the Pecari table even for feasts from previous encounters she had had with the pair, yet at the same time she’d always thought students had to sit with their house for the Opening Feast so was a little confused and hoped her remark therefore wasn’t an odd one.
The Pecari wondered if the fact that Gia’s brother was sitting at the Aladren table meant that he was starting to come out of his shell more. However, she had quickly developed the opinion that Jax was not actually a shy boy but simply reserved, which was of course a whole different thing altogether. Initially she had perceived his cold silence as either really unfriendly or bashful but then realised that almost anyone might seem that way when sat next to Gia Donovan, who was certainly one of the most chatty, friendly people that Joella had ever had the fortune of meeting. Instead, from a number of conversations with the siblings and, on at least one occasion she could recall, with Jax alone, the fifth year had deduced that the Aladren was just not a man of many words and preferred to keep his business as his business, which she supposed was fair enough. It had to be said that he was a dark and broody kind of character, but not one she would expect people to dislike for it.
Joella did have a more burning question that she wished to ask Gia but, although she was certainly more likely to open up than her aforementioned brother,the prefect thought her nosiness could wait a while longer. After all, whether rumours were true or false, Joella was aware she probably wasn’t close enough to the younger girl to get away with either snooping or meddling accordingly too much. Sonora was a small school, however, and Joella didn’t want to deny herself a rare bit of gossip so she didn’t altogether drop the question from her mind, just decided to hold onto it a little longer.
8
Joella Curtis
Well isn't this a wonderful day?
295
Joella Curtis
0
5
No thank you, you can have it all by Jax
Jax didn’t know why he had asked the question, he didn’t really care about his summer. Nobody ever really cared. They only ever asked out of obligation. Maybe friends were genuine in their questions, but not strangers. Not acquaintances. There was a chance that Jax was just being his usual cynical self as he thought about small talk, but he felt like there was some truth behind his words. The majority of his interactions with people was small talk during class and never really went beyond that. It led him to believe that the majority of people only used small talk as a tactic to prevent awkward silence. They neither cared nor were interested in what the other person was telling them.He wasn’t trying to be rude in his thoughts toward Louis. Jax had nothing against the other guy except maybe the possibility of Louis being one of those who judged him based on what little knowledge he had on Jax’s family. But as Louis was talking openly to him now, Jax didn’t think he had any preconceived ideas of the Donovans. Or, he just didn’t care. Either was fine with Jax. The less people cared about Jax and his sister, the better it was for everyone.
He was a little amused by Louis’s talk of his own summer. Meetings and events? What sort of importance was a thirteen year old kid where he had to attend meetings and events? This ball that was going to happen was about as important of an event that Jax will ever have to go to and he’ll probably just end up skipping it anyway (Gia and the girls were likely going to force him to go in some way, but even so, he might be able to skip out early if he couldn’t skip out entirely). He didn’t have nice dress robes and he wasn’t about to allow his mother to spend the money and buy them. Gia could look nice. The girls put on a show a couple of years ago and Gia sewed many of the outfits, she had talent. But Jax would not be a model for any of it. “Meetings and events?” Jax muttered. “Sounds important and dull. No wonder you don’t seem to have enjoyed that much.” Jax commented, smirking a little as he said it.
“A boxing ring.” Jax answered cooly. “I picked it up a couple of summers ago, but last year I got a coach. He’s taught me a lot about self-discipline and strength.” Jax doubted Louis really was all that interested in Jax’s workout regimen, but he asked and Jax didn’t see the harm in being upfront about it.
6
Jax
No thank you, you can have it all
296
Jax
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5
hmm sounds like a lot of work by Camden
Camden genuinely laughed for the first time in a few days. The boy had let the sadness take over his body like a deadly, silent illness, but hearing Kyte explain Muggle school to him was just plain hilarious. Kyte seemed genuinely concerned about the writing of everything, and Camden found it hilarious just how normal, simple things for him could cause such distress in magical folks. The boy let the laughter lighten him up for a minute or so before looking back at Kyte with gratitude reflected all over his face. The brown-haired boy felt better. Laughing had been like a big, warm hug from someone he loved. His mother was right, laughing was the cure for most of life's woes.“You know, writing it's the least of their concern,” he stated ominously. “What you have to watch out for is mathematics, algebra, calculus, geometry and trigonometry,” he finished solemnly. Camden knew all about those horrible, nefarious topics since his mother was a high school math teacher back at home. She always had helped Camden with the subjects he had trouble with - all of them -, and had made sure he passed them all. The boy, on the other hand, had never really taken interest in school because it was boring. No, Camden preferred the thrill of adventure! He was lucky to live in a place where adventures were a very common occurrence.
Camden smiled a little more brightly feeling at easy with Kyte even when he was stabbing a potato with a particular viciousness. The boy took a bite of his mashed potatoes before continuing with the conversation with his roommate. The next part of it was what Camden had wanted to get into. Summer camp had been amazing, and he wished they had something similar for him at Sonora. Maybe it wouldn't suck so much.
It didn't matter how nonchalantly Kyte mentioned about his particular living style, Camden was always caught of guard, which was probably visible by the small awkward shift from his body position. The boy had never met someone so interesting and peculiar. Kyte wasn't bad or anything, just very different from what Camden knew and was used to. It would a lie if he said he wasn't curious.
The boy swallowed his food, “Oh we did do many things!” he exclaimed a little more excited than was normal, but the smile had returned to his face. “The camp was in the woods, so we had activities like swimming in the lake, hiking, bonfires with s´mores, we also competed against a rival camp in the end of the summer marathon.” As Camden mentioned the various activities he had been part of the same sensation of being there took over his body. “I even won a couple of events,” he announced proudly.
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Camden
hmm sounds like a lot of work
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Camden
0
5
Joseph Umland
April 26, 2016 6:19 PMJoseph Umland
AlumnusHouse: Teppenpaw
Written by: Grayson Wright
Age in Post: 12
Birthday: November 13
Here's to another year. by Joseph Umland
Joe was not substantially taller than he had been as a first year, but he tried very hard to convince himself that the new first years looked tiny as they drank their potions and joined their tables, the Teppenpaw ones with his applause and the Aladren ones with his sympathy. He was still a Beginner, too, but he was a senior beginner, which had to count for something in the height-and-prestige department even if it didn’t involve physical realities. He knew his way around the building now, or had, and since he had still been able to navigate his neighborhood just fine after months away from it over the summer, he didn’t expect to have any trouble getting around Sonora again after a much shorter period of separation.He applauded as the prefect’s took their badges, too, even though one of them was probably an enemy (he didn’t know Joella personally, didn’t really have anything against her, but Aladren and Pecari had bad blood between their Quidditch teams and John’s enemies had a way of becoming Joe’s by default, so it was better to just skip all the intermediate steps and assume John had personally offended her at some point and that she’d become antagonistic the second she heard his last name if they ever met), one of them was someone he didn’t know (though he did think it was for the best that Araceli wasn’t the Crotalus prefect; he couldn’t imagine that being even more older than them would improve her manner with first years much), and the last one was his brother, who Joe didn’t really think had any business in a position of authority. He had expected John to agree with him on that, which was why it was a surprise to notice that John looked like he was trying very hard not to be pleased and failing pretty spectacularly at that as he returned to the Aladren table. He had thought John would be repulsed by the thought of all the mandatory interaction with people who weren’t either family or just like him that went with being a prefect. Maybe he hadn’t thought of it yet….
All in all, though, it was a good night to be a Teppenpaw. They had more than one socially competent prefect and had produced the Head Boy and Head Girl. He thought that ought to qualify as a good show in anyone’s book.
Joe wasn’t much of a singer – better than John, sure, but then, ‘minstrel’ was on the List of Jobs John Was Never Allowed To Attempt Ever, right there with ‘therapist’, ‘schoolteacher’, ‘politician’, ‘mortician’, and Joe didn’t even know how many other things there were that John just was not allowed to attempt, ever. Joe figured it was the universe’s way of balancing things out – but he gave the school song his best before the food appeared, at which point he promptly forgot all about it for another year. It had been interesting to see who had badges this year, tomorrow he expected there would be Quidditch sign-up sheets and things would get a lot more interesting around here when Teppenpaw joined in the battle for the Quidditch cup and Aladren very possibly left it (John had muttered about that when Mom had asked if they were looking forward to going back; he had caught himself before he said anything to her, but Joe knew his brother had been worried that they might have either more or less than exactly one new face on the Aladren Quidditch team, as he and Clark would no longer be able to basically blackmail the rest of the House into being nice to them if there was no team or if there were enough people willing to be on it for Bennett to fill their places if they walked. Sometimes, Joe was so glad he was in Teppenpaw. He was still a bit of a nerd, occupational hazard of growing up with Mom and John around, but at least the much cooler people in his House were actually cool and not inclined to beat him up in order to prove a social point), but right now, he was hungry.
Food tasted different in America, he thought. He couldn’t even put his finger on exactly what was different about it, but there was something about flavors which just didn’t quite mesh with what he expected when he ate a given dish. Breakfast was the one meal where he didn’t expect to feel off for a while. Potatoes, though, were one of those things that he thought were nearly the same wherever one went, only varying in the spices and toppings, so he added boiled ones to his plate (he’d cut them up and sprinkle shredded cheese on later) along with a helping of a salad, deceptively decent-looking at first glance, which he didn’t realize until too late had at least two things he didn’t like in it and a couple of pork chops.
“Eat, drink, and be merry,” he said cheerfully to one of his neighbors when he made eye contact for a moment. Another year had begun.
16
Joseph Umland
Here's to another year.
329
Joseph Umland
0
5
Laila
April 27, 2016 1:31 PM
This lady will not take orders from anyone! by Laila
Laila really didn’t know much about the Crotalus Quidditch Captain other than that he and the Reinhardts did not necessarily get along. Which, if it had just been Arne that he didn’t get along with wouldn’t have meant anything, but since it was Tobi, too who didn’t like him, Laila felt wary conversation with him. However, he was perfectly polite and rather agreeable in their conversation so far and thus Laila let down her guard and eased into the friendly way in which Alistair was speaking.“You’ve family in Italy?” she asked, curious to know if the older boy was part Italian like herself. If so that would be one more person to add to her and Gabe’s little Italian club. Even if both she and the second year Teppenpaw were both muggleborns and thus likely had more in common than with the pureblooded Captain. “My mother’s whole family is still there, actually. It’s really a lovely country... Have you traveled much in Europe?”
Laila herself had only been to Italy and Greece, the family having decided to take an extra two weeks of vacation one summer to cross the sea after their trip to visit her mother’s family one year, but she desperately wanted to see some of the other countries. Switzerland and Denmark were high on her list, but Laila also had desires to see Spain and France, two countries that some of her cousins had only nice things to say about. Her parents had promised her and Gabe a trip to Italy the next summer for Laila’s fourteenth birthday, and said that Laila could pick out a second country for them to visit afterwards.
“Thank you,” she replied after Alistair passed her the chicken and she added some of the meat to her plate, taking care to practise her European manners as she cut a small piece off to eat since she would need them the next summer. “This is pretty good, although nothing compares to the cuisine of Italy, really, does it?” Italian was far and away Laila’s favorite type of food, having grown-up with a mother who was both a fantastic and obsessive about her cooking.
Laila shrugged. She was interested in Quidditch the same way she was interested in sports back home—she would much rather be in the stands, cheering on her friends than on the field, thus she supported different teams alternatively depending on who was playing and always had internal conflict on who she wanted to win although House loyalty usually won out and she found herself always cheering for Teppalus. That aside, Laila really wished that Sonora had some sort of cheer team for her to join as she was envious that the next year her friends would all be trying out for the high school team, a dream that they’d all shared together since they were just starting school. How many years ago, Laila couldn’t remember anymore.
“I think it’s fun to watch,” she said diplomatically, privately preferring to watch soccer or baseball since those sports allowed her to actually better appreciate the form of the players than Quidditch which had the players many feet up in the air in billowing robes versus shorts or tight(er) uniforms. But the male physique was not the only reason Laila preferred her muggle sports to the wizarding one that plagued most of the students at Sonora. Sports had always been a big part of her life—the Kennedys were practically high school sporting royalty back in Turner’s Point, and watching every home game and traveling to see the closer away games were something that both she and almost every other resident of Turner’s Point were accustomed to.
True, Quidditch was better than nothing, but Laila kind of missed the environment of packing the whole town up in a parade of vehicles to spend the day picnicking and watching the high school team two towns over. She loved the crazed honking the car parade made as they traveled back after a victorious match and appreciated the somber method in which the town didn’t crucify the team when they lost. “Do you think Teppalus is shaping up this year, or will we be having our own team?”
10
Laila
This lady will not take orders from anyone!
318
Laila
0
5
Liliana
April 27, 2016 1:42 PM
A novel suggestion ;) by Liliana
Liliana smiled in response to her fourth year Beater’s worries. “Advanced classes are decent. You get to pick which ones you want to take and all so if there’s a class that’s particularly plaguing you, you can totally drop it.” Not that Liliana had dropped Transfiguration despite the pressure she felt to do so. She had wanted to conquer the horrible beast and besides, it was a requirement for her to take regarding her future career choice. “And the tests aren’t too difficult so long as you study for them.”Going into her advanced classes was really when Liliana began to shape up academically. She had never been a particularly bad student, but she had never been a good one either, finding that she lacked the ability to sit still and concentrate on the subject at hand for long periods of time. However, she had all but conquered her most detested subject and was happily moving up the ranks in terms of grades. This was likely due to the strict schedule she had adhered herself to so as not to fall behind in her classes or Quidditch training.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine on them though, you’re balancing your studies and Quidditch alright, yeah?” If there was one thing Liliana was concerned about, it was the way her Quidditch schedule would affect her players that year. She had made up a tight schedule that asked for morning conditioning three days a week and morning practises the other four days with additional afternoon training every third day and at least two Saturday mornings a month dedicated to strengthening the core so as to help her flyers be even sturdier when flying.
“You guys know you can let me know if I’ve got too much required of you and you need a day off for school work, maybe I ought to make one free pass a month for each player in case of a big test?” Liliana worried that if she was too lenient with practise times Jamie Park would take advantage of her, but she was trying really hard not to loose her temper at the sixth year despite how awful he had behaved after her nice gesture towards him. She didn’t buy his innocent act one bit, but remaining a diplomatic leader for her team was more important than getting into it with Jamie even if she detested the younger wizard more than anyone else at that school.
10
Liliana
A novel suggestion ;)
274
Liliana
0
5
Madeleine
April 27, 2016 2:27 PM
It's okay, it's nothing that Flora can't handle. by Madeleine
Madeleine had never really formed an established opinion on muggle-borns as French wizarding society was both more closed off and, simultaneously, more open-minded than that of their puritan counterparts in either the U.K. or the U.S., but she had always been vaguely curious about them having never met one herself. So, at a risk of appearing to be too plouc for words in front of her native-English speaking conversation partner, she simply nodded her head in agreement, hoping that his observation was not false. She was glad, on the other hand, to hear that the older student found the school to be enjoyable and that he liked the courses. His accent placed him as English and therefore Madeleine wasn’t sure how much she trusted his opinion, but his opinion was still probably better than those of any of his American contemporaries.She nodded again in response to his question about her home country, thinking rather privately that if this sort of communication kept up she would soon lose her head à la style de la Revolution. “I do miss it,” she elaborated, pulling just a little bit more on the ‘lost child’ card since apparently it appealed to the other wizard’s sensibilities. “I hope it’ll feel more like home soon, but I don’t think it ever will.” Although her tone was forlorn and could be taken to mean that she was worried to never feel at home there, she was of the sound opinion that nothing would ever match up to France.
But at least this sagely wizard seemed to think their house was the best house. It did make her feel a little better about being stuck with Louis and without Bastien who, from the looks of it, had all but forgotten about her as he talked with another red-coloured student. Madeleine tried to repress the rage that threatened to boil up inside her at the site and smiled at the older student instead. “That’s good at least, and one of the colours are blue, like Beauxbatons so maybe that’s one step further in the direction of home.”
It was kind of a silly remark, the sort that Madeleine often had to herself but would never actually say out-loud to anyone since she was well-aware how idiotic and simple it could make someone sound and she was definitely no bécasse. However, she was enjoying playing the roll of a wide-eyed, curious foreigner although she knew that once she was in class and among her new classmates she would have to step it up a little since there was no way she could let her classmates for the next seven years think poorly of the intellectual level of the French people. However here, on her first night in a new country, at a school she wasn’t supposed to be at, that she didn’t even want to be in, with an older student who seemed to be keen on giving advice Madeleine thought she could afford to sound young and naive. Just for one night.
She was grateful when the older boy offered her his name so she didn’t have to keep referring to him in her head as various ambiguous titles and smiled in return. “Madeleine Dautin,” she replied, resisting the urge to bob down in a slight curtsy the way she would have had she been meeting Jack in front of adults at one of the functions she was sometimes dragged to. She didn’t feel the need to tack on ‘of France’ as they had already established at an earlier point in their conversation that she was from another country just as they had establish Jack’s residency in England.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she continued, trying to go through the list of names she had been made to memorise of influential families who went to Sonora, wondering if Jack belonged to one that she and Bastien were meant to interact with. Pretending at the same time that she was at a gala, surveying the room for a new lead in some sort of case against stopping international crime now that she was more at ease.
The daring Flora Deschamps makes a risky move, talking with the dodgy Englishman in the open, she imagined. Flora knows the risks involved with such blatant conversation, but she knows it is a necessary move if she wants to know who really kidnapped Finland’s Minister of Magic. She is certain it is a conspiracy on the part of the Russians to upset the delicate trade relations between Finland and France and the very peace of her nation is at risk!
Glossary:
plouc - slightly offensive term for any French person not from Paris, meant to imply stupidity
bécasse - literally a woodcock, not literally a slightly offensive term for a simple woman, also a plouc
10
Madeleine
It's okay, it's nothing that Flora can't handle.
340
Madeleine
0
5
Kira
April 27, 2016 5:19 PM
Sorry to disappoint you. by Kira
"That should be nice" Kira replied. Overall, she was more impressed with the fourth years than the second years and supposed, generally speaking, that it would be better to be in classes with them. Especially Caelia, the only friend she seemed to have. Of course, with the second years, she never felt like her behavior was being scrutinized the way she did when Kelsey was present. Still, she didn't feel she had any more common ground with them than her own yearmates.Kira suppressed a sigh. Of course Caelia was excited about the ball. She was a perfect little lady like Kelsey was and she could probably have any guy she wanted to go with her, minus Owen who was obviously in love with Jemima. The older Crotalus had been in dance club when it was going on so obviously she was good at and enjoyed it.
Sometimes-in fact lots of times-Kira desperately wished she had someone who understood her. Knew what it was like to feel inadequate and socially awkward. She supposed in one way Caelia knew how inadequacy felt, because she wasn't all that smart so she probably felt that way with schoolwork but it wasn't exactly the same. Guys-minus possibly the ones who were intellectual snobs-didn't care as much about that as about being a perfect lady with ideal social skills. Who could dance.
Kelsey, of course, was capable of ideal manners, perfect social skills, and intellectual conversation. Oh and she got good grades even though she wasn't as magically talented as Kira. She never did anything the least bit frivolous, unless one put fashion in that category, which some might but really, it was an important thing for young ladies to know. So naturally, Kelsey was up on that too. She'd probably have no problem getting a date to the ball either.
Unfortunately, Caelia had noticed Kira's expression and was asking about it. How was the younger Crotalus supposed to explain this to her friend? That was one of the reasons Kira desperately wanted a friend who understood her, who knew how it was to feel this way, even though she didn't truly want anyone to feel bad about themselves. Sometimes, much as she liked her friend, she didn't always feel she could confide completely in Caelia. Mostly because she was Kelsey's friend too so Kira couldn't talk about how she felt with regards to her cousin.
She took a deep breath and kept her voice low so only Caelia could hear. "I-I'm worried about the ball." A blush crept across her face. "I doubt anyone will ask me, and even if they do, my dancing will scare them away." At the moment, though, Kira was slightly worried that simply telling Caelia would do just that. Had she just ruined the only friendship she even had by confessing to her trouble with dancing, admitting her inadequacies? People didn't like inferior people.
11
Kira
Sorry to disappoint you.
320
Kira
0
5
Ginger Pierce
April 29, 2016 10:54 AM
May the Ups Outnumber the Downs by Ginger Pierce
Ginger's summer had been a whirlwind of rehearsals, performances, campfires, laughter, food, costumes, and so many other things she could scarcely remember them all. It had been the good kind of busy, filled with friends and family and faires. She'd kept up a steady stream of owls to Jake, Jemima, and Lauren, as well as more isolated letters to Lilliana, Owen, her Teppenpaw teammates, and even one to Alistair when one of her sketches made her think of him and she'd sent the drawing off to him on impulse along with a rambling letter about her summer to date because it seemed weird just to send him a drawing of a fashionably dressed wizard with a vaguely Alistair-ish face. With all those correspondences, as well as the normal California Pierce postal load, the family's three owls were nearly as busy as she was and she was sure to shower them with treats upon their returns to show her appreciation.The owls were probably as glad as she was for her return to Sonora. She loved her family and her crazy summers, but she loved Sonora and her friends here, too, and coming back felt like returning home just as much as seeing her mom again after months at school. She'd given hugs to her roommates and they'd decorated their room and caught during orientation, as was now tradition. She'd contributed some rainbows to their walls this year, using some intermediate spells she'd learned last year to make them shimmer and shift around depending on where in the room you were standing. It was a really neat effect and she was pretty proud of it.
Now it was dinner time, when Jemima usually sat with Owen and she was hoping to catch up with Jake again, but when she got there, Jake had no open seats left around him. Feeling a bit disappointed and maybe just a bit irritable that he hadn't saved her a spot, she took another empty chair in a mild huff.
She realized after she sat down that she could have gone looking for Lauren and her roommate would have been able to cheer her up again, but she was already sitting and now the first years were coming in, and it just would have been a bigger hassle than it was worth. As it was, she was buoyed by the reminder that the ball was this year, and singing the school song always brought back glorious memories of her previous Feasts, so by the time the food popped out - such delicious variety, every year! - her spirits had been restored and she gave her neighbor a bright smile when he invited her to eat drink and be merry.
"For tomorrow we sit in chairs and listen to professors go on about syllabuses," she finished, her light tone and smile indicating she was joking rather than making a genuine gripe about the first day of classes. Her companion this year was Joe Umland, a second year. With some small degree of shock she realized she was as much older than him than Jake was older than her. For the first time, her certainty wavered and she worried that maybe Jake wouldn't want to take a relative child as his date to the ball this year.
Not that Ginger, now fourteen years old, felt she was a child anymore. She had a training bra on, for one thing, though she doubted she'd ever really bust out too much; she was just built too slim, like her mother, and Mom didn't have very big boobs either. Beyond the chest department, she was actually getting taller, finally. She'd grown significantly last year, and her wingspan had gained several inches that it hadn't had during her last Quidditch match, which would hopefully translate into better Keeping skills thanks to a better reach.
Beyond those physical changes, Ginger was dressing older (not that anyone could tell with the school robes on tonight) and she had ditched her pigtail braids in favor of an older french braid hairstyle. She also had lip gloss. Lip gloss flavored like strawberry. It was pretty and delicious.
So, really, she tried to reassure herself, she was grown up enough for Jake. Even if he was an advanced student now, which until just this moment when she realized he had moved up a level, had seemed distant and ancient to her.
To distract herself, she started filling her plate with any food that looked like it didn't have any meat in it.
Figuring that given she had started her friendship with Jake over Quidditch, it would be an appropriate topic to talk about with Joe (and Tobi would surely appreciate any recruitment she could manage), she asked, "Are you planning to join the Quidditch team this year?"
1
Ginger Pierce
May the Ups Outnumber the Downs
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Ginger Pierce
0
5
Congratulations all around! by Clark
Clark grinned as his friend returned the license along with a collection of questions. He wasn't the least bit offended by being asked if he was a forger, and wondered briefly if that was just because it was John asking or if being a wizard just made some legal short-cuts a necessity if you were going to live in any part of the muggle world. Clark was 98% sure his muggle birth certificate that he'd used to get his license really was forged, either by magical authorities or by Dad himself. It said Zack Dill was his biological father, after all. It just didn't seem all that farfetched that his drivers ID might exist solely for muggle camouflage at any rate."No, it's real," he confirmed. "Took driver's ed, passed my road test, totally legal except for maybe some of my documentation to prove I'm a legal citizen, and that's just because I didn't have some of those in muggle form."
He put the license back into his wallet and tucked that back away in his pant pocket for safe keeping, mentally disparaging the inconvenience and impracticality of wizards robes in the process. Once he got that put away, he continued, "And I got my own jeep, too. Granted, it's probably older than all of the beginners in the school, but it works, most of the time."He grinned, sure John would appreciate this part, "I've been learning how to tinker with engines. It's been fun."
Feeling he had monopolized the conversation long enough, he asked, "So, how was your summer? Any new discoveries?"
1
Clark
Congratulations all around!
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Clark
0
5
I'm afraid not. by Wu Peizhi
Wu felt herself smile a little, relaxed by the familiar face beside her. Raine Collindale was someone she had known since the younger girl’s very first day, and given that both girls were in the academic support group, Wu had met her on numerous occasion. That was not to say that she felt comfortable--because realistically, she never really did--but it was relieving, to say the least.She had mixed feelings on Raine. For one thing, her blood was indeterminate, which made Peizhi nervous. It was pretty obvious Raine and her brother Kyte were not society-type purebloods, so that was nice, but if they were still pure, there was a chance they would still have some sort of connections. She preferred to spend time with people who were not of her social class because that way, there was less pressure, an attitude that often made her feel trapped or deceitful since effectively, she was using her current peer group as practice for people who would in the eyes of her father be considered “better”.
But also, she found herself a bit jealous of the younger girl. Wu had gotten a little spoiled being the small, nervous one in her group, the one who needed looked after and perhaps even babied somewhat. Raine was younger than her and perhaps a little smaller, and she was just as nervous. Plus, Raine had been on Jax’s challenge team last year, which meant he had spent time with her and on her. That made her rather jealous.
Wu nodded slightly in recognition of Raine’s confession. Admittedly, she too sometimes spoke to herself, although usually it was a half-English utterance that hadn’t been fully translated, her brain combining its two tongues as separating them could be so overwhelming. Sometimes her mind tripped over itself, derailing the attempts to turn abstract thought into concrete words, let alone a singular language. More often than not, the end result was a slight headache and a flushed face, embarrassed and exhausted.
“I am well,” she answered the question addressed to her. “And you? Did you and your brother have a good break?” Wu had a bit of a soft spot for sibling pairs, as otherwise evidenced by Jax and Gia Donovan, her heart longing for her own brother. Their age difference was well beyond that of these pairs--Bohai was almost old enough to be her father--but the connection was strong, and she missed him greatly whenever she was sent away to Sonora. Her brother Huojin, who was closer to her age but still farther apart than these examples, had never been nearly as close to her, based not on a lack of affection but conflicting personalities. He was a babbler, but not in the way Sammy was where she was perfectly fine talking for both; Huojin wanted responses to match his speech. To that end, finding Serenity had been a godsend for him, the bubbly witch matching him in stride. The family was whole, but Peizhi wished only for Bohai and perhaps her mother.
“Are you excited for the year?” Wu added, trying to keep her mind on the girl before her and not on home. It would do no one any good to leave her heart in China; the rest of her was here, so against the aching she had to fight.
12
Wu Peizhi
I'm afraid not.
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Wu Peizhi
0
5
Agreed. by Jake
“Oh, that’s cool,” Jake remarked earnestly. Aiden’s mom had been a prefect too, and apparently even at Sonora. He didn’t know of his own mom had ever been a prefect--or if that was something they did at her school--but he did remember that she’d been Head Girl, which was part of what made Arnold getting Head Boy so cool (and Sally had at least made the ballot, which was cool.) Of course, their mom had gone to some Eurasian school that he couldn’t currently recall the name of, but the coolness, in his opinion, still remained. But he wasn’t going to bring that up, of course. This was Aiden’s moment, not his.Aiden glanced at him in a way that seemed to suggest a deep thought settling upon him, and Jake waited eagerly to have it shared with him. But when it was, the sixth year found himself liking it less than he thought he would. What would he do without Duncan next year? “I…. I hadn’t thought about that,” Jake admitted. “Yeah, that’s gonna be…. That’s gonna be weird, for sure.” He remembered when they’d started sharing a room a couple years ago, practically strangers except for a couple casual chats and some common relatives. Jake didn’t like to be alone, so when he realized neither of them had roommates, he’d managed to get permission to move into the older boy’s room. It was the start of a great friendship.
But it was going to end, or at least change, when Duncan graduated in just about nine months. Nine short months until he was gone. “I guess I don’t really know what I’ll do,” Jake reiterated, processing through the idea of his lonely seventh year. He was pretty sure all the other years of Teppenpaws had plural boys (or else no boys, as was the case with the third years), so nobody else really needed a roommate. He supposed he could maybe see if Aiden and his roommates wanted one more, but that might be kind of awkward to join a group that had at that point already spent five years together. “Maybe I’ll move into Mr. Xavier’s office,” he joked. “I can hang out with his cat.”
“Oh well,” he said with a shrug, forcing the thought away. That was a worry for another day: this was only the Opening Feast, so he had a whole year. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, I guess.” Resuming his grin, a feature so frequent to him that he wondered if he had looked funny when it had faded, he asked, “So how was your summer?”
12
Jake
Agreed.
280
Jake
0
5
Oh good, it's hard Adulting sometimes. by Amelle
Listening to Nathan talk about his summer, Amelle realized that she very little about the Groundskeeper. That wasn’t all that surprising, now that she thought about it. They didn’t really run in the same circles, so to speak. Nathan and Isis were friendly, Amelle knew. Not the same sort of friendly that Isis and Alfie were, or Amelle didn’t think so anyway. Of course, she was certain that there was quite a bit about Isis that her friend never shared with her. So a relationship of that particular nature with Nathan was entirely possible.“Oh, you don’t have a place of your own?” Amelle asked. She found it a bit odd that someone of Nathan’s age wouldn’t have his own property of some sort to go home too. She would hope that she’d have settled down by his age. Perhaps not necessarily with a family because she was well aware that some people just didn’t want that life, but at least with a home that she called her own. Then again, he might like to travel during the summers and a house would just be an issue. “Have you always been a nomad or have you just decided one day that you didn’t want a house and preferred the adventure of traveling?” She asked with interest.
Amelle had lived with her parents up until she started working for Sonora, so she had little to offer. During the summers between school years, she spent only a week or so with her parents before heading off to stay with friends. Thankfully she had her apparation license because it made going to school during the summer a heck of a lot easier when she was living in a different state. But she had graduated over the summer and would not have to worry about that any time soon. The last two summers she spent with her college friends in New Orleans where she discovered her passion for music among other things. She went home for the marriage meetings and for family dinners once a week, but that was about it. Occasionally, she went to evening prayer with her mother, but only when she felt guilty about it. Her mother was Muslim and much of Amelle’s childhood revolved around that. She spoke Arabic and could read it, she fasted during Ramadan, she did her daily prayers, she wore her hijab if she went to prayer with her mother, she never ate meat unless blessed correctly (aka, whenever her mother sent her some), etcetera. But she did not consider herself Muslim. Her father was Catholic and Amelle did not consider herself that either. It was strange; she did so much in relation to the Islamic religion despite not considering herself one. She knew she did it for her mother.
“It was lovely.” She replied with a smile. “I spent the majority of it in New Orleans with friends. Beautiful city, if you haven’t seen it already, you definitely should.” It wasn’t quite the same after Katrina, but the people of the city did an amazing job getting it back together again. It still needed work, but… they would get there eventually. “And I finally finished my degree, so I no longer have to take classes by owl any longer. Yay.” That really was a big relief for her. Being a Librarian was a seven in the morning to ten o’clock at night job, adding assignments to that was just asking for a mental breakdown, but she had made it work.
“Congratulations on managing to have both Head students from your house.” Amelle added. She knew that he didn’t really have anything to do with that and that it was entirely the students’ vote, but she thought he must have some pride in that.
6
Amelle
Oh good, it's hard Adulting sometimes.
32
Amelle
0
5
It is! I'm enjoying it. by Gia
Gia listened with interest as Joella explained that she hadn’t been expecting the badge. Gia thought that she was the obvious choice. She had nothing against Joella’s roommates, in fact, after the challenges last year, she quite liked Scarlett. But neither Scarlett nor Diana were as involved as Joella. Joella was just everywhere in Gia’s opinion. She was quite friendly and just had that sort of personality that was made to assist others. She had reached out to get to know Gia and Jax a couple of years ago, so Gia really didn’t think it was a difficult choice for the staff to make. “I think you earned it.” Gia added, not wanting to put down either Scarlett or Diana in case they were listening. Not that she would put them down, but she thought she might word it wrong and offend someone.She smiled at the compliment, looking down at her food feeling slightly embarrassed but unsure as to why. She purposely chose the dress because it was pretty and she put the eye make-up on to feel older, so someone complimenting her on the look was going to happen. So why feel embarrassed? Because Gia was confused, that’s why. And she was never very good at compliments from people outside of her mother and brother.
Gia shrugged at the question about her brother. “I think he as just tired of seeing me.” Gia joked. They had spent all day together so Gia couldn’t really blame him for wanting some time to himself. Normally, they would have spent the afternoon in their separate houses, but they had both been hungry and gone for the snacks. Gia was grateful for that because Sammy spent the remainder of her time with her Pecari team. Gia hadn’t been very happy about that. It was their first day back and already her friends were too busy. Gia knew how important the sport was to Sammy, so she didn’t say anything in protest, but if this was how the rest of the term was going to go, Gia was never going to be able to see her friend ever again except for class and to sleep at night and that just wasn’t fair! Not that Gia was about to announce that considering Joella was the Assistant Captain…
“Since it’s just the two of us most of the time at home, Jax gets cranky with me from time to time.” Gia gave Joella a smile to show that this was normal and not something she ever worried about. “He can only handle so much optimism. Anyway, are you excited to be back or was your summer too lovely that you didn’t wish to return?” It was mostly just a jest of a question but considering how refreshed Joella looked, summer had to have been wonderful for her.
6
Gia
It is! I'm enjoying it.
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Gia
0
5
Why not? by Raine
Wu smiled a little and Raine smiled back a little. She was glad when Wu didn’t question the fact she’d been talking to herself or make fun of her for it. Not that she could really imagine Wu doing those things, which perhaps meant she was thinking them and Raine just didn’t know… She stopped her thoughts there. Wu was a Teppenpaw too, and therefore meant to be, broadly speaking, nice. And she, Raine, was a Teppenpaw, and meant to try and think the best of others. Which, largely, she did, it was just hard not to worry about what they were thinking. Kyte was always able to shrug this off and said she shouldn’t worry about it too much. She thought Kyte took it too far the other way, where he blatantly missed what people were hinting at just cos they didn’t say it outright, but she thought he might have a point, sometimes, and this was one of them.Wu asked after her break, which was a sort of difficult question because whilst it had been so nice to be back amongst her family, she had had the harsh realisation of how far behind she risked falling in her circus training. But when people asked after your summer, they tended not to want to hear the bad stuff, and much as she liked Wu, she still felt the other girl was something of a stranger.
“It was lovely being back with my family,” she nodded, her tone rather wistful. The effect of this was compounded when Wu asked if she was glad to be back, and Raine bit her lip, not quite managing to meet the other girl’s eye. She’d always been taught not to lie, but also not to say anything if she didn’t have anything nice to say, which left her with very limited options when it came to Sonora. “I’d rather be at home,” she admitted. After all, Wu knew she’d been homesick last year. All she was admitting was that nothing had really changed. Perhaps it was meant to, and she was meant to have friends and be happy now. “How about you? How was your summer?” she asked.
13
Raine
Why not?
327
Raine
0
5
They're just not. by Georgia
Georgia listened curiously as Jozua explained about his town. She knew it was just one town and not the whole of the wizarding world but it made her feel a bit weird. She could understand there not being any Muggle jobs in a place like that, and picturing everyone riding brooms instead of bikes made sense, but the thing about the stairs bugged her. That was just weird, to the extent that she wondered whether Jozua was having her on. Sonora had stairs. It wasn’t like wizards couldn’t use stairs, and she wasn’t sure what the point of leaving them out was, except maybe some weird thing that was close to showing off, but which that wasn’t quite the word for…
“Um, yeah… I guess,” she replied, as he asked whether it made sense. There was a difference between making sense and her liking the idea of something (after all, everyone said maths made sense…), and she couldn’t articulate what exactly bothered her about it. She’d been told about the whole ‘magic is a secret’ thing, so it made sense that wizards needed special places to be wizardy in. But something about it still rubbed her the wrong way.
“Uh, I guess it’s mostly Muggle,” she said, when he asked about her town. “I mean, it’s not all Muggle, cos there’s at least me and my mom there, but I don’t know anything about any wizarding parts of town,” she stopped short of trying to explain how her mom wasn’t really into the whole magic thing because she didn’t know how to tell that to a bunch of magical people, and it felt kind of personal, especially as it could lead to the part about how Georgia and her dad hadn’t known, and about how her dad wasn’t really best pleased about it, and she didn’t want to talk to anyone about that. “We had to go out of town to do my shopping though,” she reflected.
13
Georgia
They're just not.
346
Georgia
0
5
We can be nervous together! by Finn
Finn let out a small sigh of relief as the girl answered without reference to his slight faux pas. Especially as she turned out to be a Brockert. He’d definitely heard of that name, and couldn't imagine his father or grandfather being too impressed if he’d managed to mess up this conversation.He was even more relieved at the way she answered his question. Upon hearing her surname, he’d been prepared for a conversation in which they interacted almost like proper society adults, an experience which Finn would not find particularly relaxing. But no, she was talking like a normal 11-year-old, and actually he could empathise with what she said.
“Yeah, it’s all rather different, isn't it?” he replied, his slightly serious face breaking into a friendly smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s going to be great fun here – well, at least I hope it is – but home does seems rather far away.” He bit his lip, not wanting to think too much about home. As much as Finn had spent the last few years longing for the adventure that Sonora was sure to bring, he was very close to his family (his parents, paternal grandparents and his cousins all lived very close to each other), and already found himself missing them. Still, he decided not to dwell on that too much, not wanting homesickness to get in the way of making new friends.
“So, you ride?” he asked, picking up on Juniper’s comment about her horse. Finn had learnt to ride at quite a young age. His grandmother had brought him up around horses, and his aunt’s love of horses meant she was heavily involved in the riding world. “My grandmother and my aunt both have horses, and there are lots of lovely places to ride around where we live.”
9
Finn
We can be nervous together!
347
Finn
0
5
Sorry if my question ruins it for you. by Joella
Joella smiled at Gia’s comment about her having earned the prefect badge. It was nice to know that her housemate agreed with the decision and she was appreciative of the younger girl’s kind words.Her face showed amusement as Gia talked about Jax probably being tired of her. Joella didn’t think that it would be very easy to get tired of someone like Gia Donovan but it made sense that Jax would, even if the fourth year did sound as though she were merely joking. They were brother and sister after all and therefore their relationship was therefore different to that of normal friends. The fifth year didn’t think Jax had liked her chattiness when they had conversed so perhaps he also found his own sister rather too much sometimes.
“Oh my summer definitely was amazing,” Joella wasn’t trying to brag about the fantastic time she’d had over the break but there was no point pretending that it hadn’t been an absolute blast. “But I am still really excited to be back too. This year's going to be difficult I’m sure, what with CATS and stuff, but I know it’s going to be super fun as well.” Every year she’d had at Sonora so far had been good but the changes Joella had gone through over the summer holiday seemed to already be getting her off to a great start. She felt older and that didn’t feel like a bad thing. In fact, it was rather exciting.
Joella had many plans for her school year but Quidditch was, as always, at the very top of her priorities. She was determined for Pecari to win the cup this year - it sucked that Liliana would be graduating at the end of the term but ending on a high note in Quidditch would be the kind of send off she deserved. Joella was glad that the matches were back on and she would be able to do more with her Assistant Captain role. As much as she wished Liliana could stay forever and tried not to think about her leaving, the fifth year was aware that she would take on the older girl’s responsibilities next year. She therefore wanted to make sure she fully utilised being Assistant Captain as a kind of training so that she would be ready to take charge the following term.
“I’m so glad it’s the ball this term,” the Pecari remarked, which was mostly true. “Are you hoping for anyone in particular to ask you?” Now was her window of opportunity to catch up on school gossip. “Perhaps a certain Barnaby Pye?” She gave Gia a knowing look, cocking an eyebrow but smiling to show she was largely just teasing - although technically she was prying. The yearbook had said the two fourth years were a couple but she wasn’t sure whether or not people had just made assumptions based on an obvious attraction between them or whether they were actually officially dating.
Joella thought it kind of within her right to put Gia on the spot like this and potentially embarrass the poor girl. This time last year it had been Joella making her previously secret relationship with Alistair public. She still didn’t know why she’d been nervous to come out about it but there was something about Jax’s borderline-smirk that had made her squirm when she did. In all fairness, Gia hadn’t grilled her on the subject but just been her usual lovely self and made polite conversation from it. But still, Jax wasn’t here so she’d have to settle for making Gia squirm. Joella doubted she had the ability to embarrass Jax Donovan anyway.
8
Joella
Sorry if my question ruins it for you.
295
Joella
0
5
Serena Brockert
May 02, 2016 3:31 PM
Shocked by Serena Brockert
Serena walked into the Cascade Hall for her last Opening Feast. Last year, she had skipped it, due to being ill but this year, that wasn't an issue. She hadn't felt too bad about missing it either given that she hadn't really had anyone to talk to what with Gemma having graduated. She still missed her friend, but obviously as the Teppenpaw alumna was Arabella's sister-in-law, Serena knew she would still see her. It didn't help much at school though.A year from now, she too would be gone. Probably married and officially a princess by then. Serena was looking forward to it. Not just the princess part, she really did love Oscar. He was amazing. It was like she was living a fairy tale every single second she was with him. Something she'd always hoped for deep down inside. Some, like Arabella, just accepted marriage to whomever was respectable enough, didn't expect true love. She knew she shouldn't have either but Serena had never quite given up on the idea-and now she had it.
And she couldn't imagine a more wonderful feeling. She just had to get through one more year of school, of Transfiguration classes where while not bad at the subject, she had to sit there feeling like she really should be much better. Serena had never gotten up the courage to tell anyone in her family-usually the people she felt the most comfortable with-about her lack of ability in the subject that most of them excelled at. Therefore, she'd had to continue with the subject that made her feel inadequate as if she'd dropped it, it would have lead to questions from her family and she'd have had to confess how she wasn't as good as she felt she should be in it. Serena had a feeling before too long Kira would be able to out-transfigure her, and Kira was four years younger than she was!
Oscar didn't care about any of that. He loved Serena for who she was inside, the real her. She'd even managed to confess it all to him. Not that she'd done something bad really and nobody-other than Oliver Ferguson way back in her second year-had ever said anything to her based on her being bad compared to her family and their reputation rather than actually being bad at the subject.
She sat at the Opening Feast and listened to Headmaster Brockert give his announcements, taking some interest in the new Teppenpaws and in the Sorting of Duncan's younger sister, Juniper whom she'd met on the wagon. The incoming first year hadn't said much though and seemed utterly terrified. Serena, never the most outgoing or confident person herself, felt really bad for her. Thankfully,she was in Teppenpaw. The seventh year really felt that was the best place for someone like that.
Then it was time for Head Student and prefect announcements. She obviously didn't expect to win it. She'd always felt people liked Liliana much more than her, that the other girl had it all. It wasn't to say that Serena didn't like her, she was a perfectly nice person but still, the Teppepaw had always been slightly jealous of the other girl's easy way with others, something that mattered a lot when it came to Head Student, not just because it was an asset to the job but because students voted on it. Liliana was just plain more popular than her.
"Would Duncan Brockert and Serena Brockert please come up and get your Head Student badges. In addition I'd like to call up John Umland, Aiden O'Neil, Makenzie Newell, and Joella Curtis to recieve their prefect badges. Congratulations."
Serena's mouth dropped open. She heard a whoop from the Pecari table, which was likely her from her brother, given that most Pecaris could not possibly have been happy that someone from their own house lost to her. She stood slowly and went up to recieve her award then went back to her own seat at the Teppenpaw table still in a state of shock.
11
Serena Brockert
Shocked
272
Serena Brockert
0
5
I mentioned mine was an Aladren, right? by Jozua
Jozua nodded, making the assumption that needing to go out of town to do school shopping meant there was not a significant wizarding presence in her town. He knew there were more towns like that in the US than there were ones like his own but it still kind of boggled his mind a little since he generally had no reason to go into such towns and it just seemed completely foreign. Like . . . the game shops there wouldn't have wizarding chess sets to prod at and tease, and that just seemed like a sad waste of a game shop.He settled down into eating but after a few bites, he realized it was probably his turn to talk again, but she hadn't asked him any questions so he didn't know what to say. This was one of the reasons he hated conversing with strangers. At least it was one on one. He could handle one on one most of the time. The nerves only really kicked in when there was a group to talk to. With single people who were not like Lily and willing to carry a part of his conversational load, there were just awkward silences sometimes. Like now.
He mentally cast about for a topic that might prove interesting to talk about, growing slightly more anxious as each second passed, making the silence more and more noticeable. Finally, he came up with a subject and blurted out in a rush, as if talking faster might make up for the delay in his side of the conversation, "So what House was your mom in then? Did she come here?"
If he and Georgia were any indication, he seemed to have landed in a yeargroup that did not live up to the stereotype of chatterboxes that his mom had described for Teppenpaw House. While he couldn't help but think that was a relief, it also made this part of the getting-to-know people process more difficult than he had expected it would be.
1
Jozua
I mentioned mine was an Aladren, right?
348
Jozua
0
5
Alistair Johnson
May 03, 2016 12:28 PM
I was rather hoping you would. by Alistair Johnson
Alistair shook his head. “My brother’s wife is Italian but we’re not,” he explained, “although I suppose they are kind of family now.” He was actually fairly certain that his brothers did have some Italian heritage from their mother’s side but he didn’t think it worth getting into now. “Oh so you know Italy well?” Alistair maintained his polite facade, although in reality he couldn’t care less where Laila’s mother was from since both her parents were muggles. He wasn’t interested in finding some common ground to talk about with Laila, unless that happened to be Quidditch of course.“‘I’ve travelled to many places actually,” Alistair said, liking to think himself a thoroughly cultured person because of it. “My father’s head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation so he knows many people in all sorts of different countries. We go on holidays to Europe a lot in particular and my father has family in Ireland.” There were many other European countries that he’d visited over the years and he had always found that part of the world very pleasant and intriguing. One especially good thing about Europe was that Quidditch was so much bigger over there than it was back home in the States, where unfortunately Quodpot was the dominant sport.
“Italian food is good,” he agreed truthfully. Alistair wasn’t really a fussy eater, unless trying to eat healthily counted as being so, but there was something about Italian cuisine that particularly appealed to him - possibly the vast amounts of pasta dishes. “Although I do think we’re quite lucky here in that we are provided with such a great range of dishes from all sorts of cultures and nations.” Sonora seemed to value good food and the feasts were certainly not insubstantial. If Laila looked around her own table a bit more instead of staring at students from other houses, she could probably find something to match her apparently high standards of food. After all, she was just a muggleborn so how high could her standards really be?
The Crotalus Captain groaned inwardly when Laila told him she liked spectating. It was a disappointing answer but at the same time he had known not to get his hopes up too high. Her next question was not much better. Alistair had grown tired of being asked that same question at the start of every year and having to admit the same despondent answer.
“Teppenpaw looks set to have their own team this year,” he told her with a slight bitterness in his voice that revealed how dispirited he felt by the whole situation. “For us, it doesn’t look so good.”
He forced one of his trademark charming smiles, only it looked somewhat strained and lacking hope. “I couldn’t tempt you to give it a go by any chance?”
The fifth year was very doubtful that he’d be able to bring Laila around. He wanted a full team badly enough that he would turn to a muggleborn girl for help but perhaps his ingrained prejudices were too strong to utilise his self-proclaimed persuasive skills. He still had Arne to fall back on if it failed, he supposed, but if Laila was determined not to play then there was no way of making her change her mind whoever he was.
8
Alistair Johnson
I was rather hoping you would.
306
Alistair Johnson
0
5
That's a little disappointing. by Chuck
Chuck laughed at Killian’s fearful question, his large frame shaking as he did so. Was the sorting potion alive? He didn’t mean to make the kid feel stupid or like he was being laughed at unkindly but the first year’s question was just that funny that Chuck couldn’t help himself. He’d never heard anything like it, not even from Sammy. This little boy’s nervousness was rather amusing, it had to be said, although Chuck doubted that was at all intended.“No it’s not alive,” Chuck shook his head, trying to stop the sides of his mouth from twitching upwards and regain composure in the hope of putting the boy at ease in case his laughter had made the younger Pecari feel small. “I don’t know how it works but I can assure you it’s not alive.”
“Pleasure to meet you Killian,” he beamed. There was a branch of the Fintocs in Oklahoma but they weren’t particularly closely related to Chuck and he didn’t really understand how they’d got there. He’d still been to the state with his father numerous times, for business reasons, and always enjoyed it.
“You aren’t used to magic, are you?” smiled the fourth year knowingly. Having been at Sonora for three years now, he had come to understand that muggleborns had grown up not even knowing that magic existed which seemed such a strange idea considering that they had magic in them. Now he found it pretty easy to figure out who came from a magical background and who didn’t, even if many purebloods were also astonished by what they found at Sonora. Killian, by the looks of it, didn’t. “You’ll get used it it in no time,” he added to his assumption in an attempt to reassure the eleven year old that he’d quickly settle in.
Sonora was a small school but very nice and welcoming, mostly, and Chuck would be very surprised if there was anyone who hadn’t found other students they got along with.
8
Chuck
That's a little disappointing.
0
Chuck
0
5
As long as it doesn’t try to eat me, we’ll be okay by Killian
Killian scowled when laughter met his question. He couldn’t help but feel irritated at the way the other boy shook with mirth, and worse, he could feel his cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment. It wasn’t that bad of a question!Once Chuck regained control of himself, he assured Killian that the potion wasn’t alive, although he couldn’t give a more valid reason for how a bit of liquid could judge his personality accurately enough to sort him into one of four houses. “But what if I was equally split between two houses? I mean, then what? Would I have turned half and half? If there’s no intelligence behind the position, how can it chose when a student isn’t one thing or the other? I could have mostly fit into one house but had one thing that was super strong for another house. What would it chose then?” He couldn’t help but pout, folding his arms in front of his narrow chest and glaring a bit up at the older boy.
But hunger kept him from staying mad long, and he huffed under his breath. He’d find out later why and how the potion changed people’s colors, and how it could judge people. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about it being alive or not. Either way, he didn’t feel particularly possessed, just hungry.
“No, I’m the only magic one,” he agreed, only to silently disagree about Chuck’s reassurance that he’d get used to all this in no time. That seemed highly unlikely, and he was still quite miffed about the lack of electricity and internet.
“Hey, so do you know why electricity doesn’t work with magic? I don’t get why we can’t just use magic instead of electricity. They’re both a type of power, right? So couldn’t we make magic laptops?” He gave Chuck the full force of his wide brown eyes, looking like a lost little fawn in the woods as if Chuck were the only thing standing between him and a magical internet.
0
Killian
As long as it doesn’t try to eat me, we’ll be okay
354
Killian
0
5
It didn't ruin it very much. by Gia
Gia had to admit that Joella had a better outlook about her fifth year and the work involved than Gia thought most people at this school had, herself included. Gia was so very nervous for her fifth year to come because her CATS would determine what classes she would be eligible to take for her Advance courses and basically all of her future career choices. It was quite terrifying to think about and she didn’t want to disappoint her mother by not doing well on them. Thankfully, she still had another year before she really had to worry about it.Gia was munching on her dinner when Joella brought up the ball. Gia wasn’t sure why Joella was excited for it. Gia heard through a rumor that Joella and Alistair were no longer an item, but there was a possibility that the rumor was unfounded. Of course, Joella could also being dating someone else now and that would explain her enthusiasm for the dance. Joella’s question and implication made Gia nervously look down at her plate of food and frown. Shaking her head, Gia answered her, “Not really” Looking away from her plate to the other people around the hall, she continued. “I can’t imagine Barnaby at a ball of any style or going to one willingly with another person who would want to go with him.”
As much as Gia internally told herself that she didn’t like him, that he was just a mean boy who happened to also be nice looking, she knew that it wasn’t true. Ever since the yearbook came out last year that teased them as a couple, Gia couldn’t help but think about what that would be like. Frustrating, sure, but also maybe nice? Barnaby hadn’t been outwardly mean to her and seemed to want to help her when they were doing the challenges, so her opinion of him might have been a little dramatic because of the Satori situation. But, was she really interested in him? Or was her feelings being cluttered over other people’s thoughts about them?
Her feelings for him, ones that she wouldn’t admit to, as partly why she was so confused about things. How could she like Barnaby (personality aside) but also like other people who were the exact opposite in every way to the Aladren? What was wrong with her? Why was she like this? What would people think of her? Who could she even talk to about all of this? “I’ll probably just go with friends, unless they all find dates. Then I’ll just go alone.” That sounded more pathetic than she meant it to be. Gia just didn’t think people were interested in her like that for her to expect a date and she didn’t want her friends to feel like they couldn’t go with someone just because she didn’t.
She was a little sad that this would be her only ball here. She felt that maybe in a couple of years she would have figured things out and have more confidence with herself to be bold about her life choices. But, that was not going to be the case this year. “What about you?” She asked, “Did you have anyone in mind about going with?” It seemed only fair that Gia was allowed to ask the question back to Joella.
While she listened to Joella answer, Gia’s eyes drifted around, pausing on people who interested her, some longer than others, but never long enough to become suspicious. “Do you think the ball will produce new couples for the school?” Gia asked. “Real ones, not the yearbook ones.” She added, thinking about how she and Barnaby had been labeled a couple, which she imagined happened because they had been on the same challenge team.
6
Gia
It didn't ruin it very much.
308
Gia
0
5
Caelia
May 05, 2016 11:01 AM
Not disappointed, just envious. by Caelia
Kira seemed very worried about something and Caelia smiled encouragingly, allowing her younger friend to take her time. She would never rush someone since she knew what it was like to be rushed when it came to things and Caelia would have hated to push that feeling onto anyone else. “A ball will be fun, Emrys told me it’s not really like a real society ball anyway so that’s not something you should worry about.” She looked around carefully to make sure no one was listening and then she lowered her voice. “I saw some pictures of him and his friends and what his Halfblood friend, Ava, was wearing and honestly, if they allowed her to wear that I don’t think there will be many standards.”Caelia thought all his brother’s friends were pretty, but there was just something off about Ava. She was kind of strange and wore strange things and didn’t seem to care what people thought about her at all which was admirable on one hand and also totally necessary on the other when one was as strange as Ava was, Caelia thought. “Besides, no one has paired off into couples just yet and so I’m sure many people will go in friend groups. Emrys says that was really popular at his two balls.”
Personally Caelia did want to go with a date but she knew it was going to be practically impossible to snag her dream wizard, so she’d have to settle for someone else. There were a couple good looking and charming guys in her age group, but none quite so spectacular as him. Nevertheless, she would be patient and wait to see if one of the guys in their year felt as though she would be a worthy ball date or not. It would be kind of embarrassing if she weren’t to get a date, she realized, the thought having not occurred to her before Kira planted it there, but she also tended to be less of a worry-wort than her friend so it was only fleeting until she began to talk to Kira of other things too.
“Don’t think about those sorts of things,” she reassured Kira. “Just think about how much fun it will be to pick out some nice dress robes and to dress up and get ready together. And we can practise dancing in the MARS room if you like, although we’ll have to find some wizards to practise with too, unless,” she added hastily, remembering how Kira was afraid her dancing would scare away the boys. “You’d like to practise privately and I can pretend to be the guy. Emrys and I danced enough when we were younger that I think I know most of that stuff.”
It was true that Caelia wasn’t about to be called the brightest mind of her generation—in the academic field at least, but she had been blessed with the ability to easily remember dance steps, to be able to recite proper manners perfectly, to never forget a face nor it’s name so that one day when she was host a luncheon she would never feel the embarrassment of mistaking one important guest for another. In the end, although she was envious of brains like her big brother’s or Alistair’s, she was much content to let the wizards do the thinking and stepping back to fulfil her role as a dutiful wife. She was quite good with magic (though the theory was difficult) and she was nearly perfect in societal manners, and that was all that mattered to her.
“Just let me know, okay? Could you pass that dressing set?” she asked, indicating the little glass bottles of olive oil and vinaigrette. This wasn’t the tastiest topping for a salad, but it was one of the more healthy options and Caelia wanted to maintain her slim figure so that she could buy a nice set of robes for the ball and still fit in them come Midsummer.
10
Caelia
Not disappointed, just envious.
307
Caelia
0
5
Just keep smiling by Jemima
Jemima’s summer had been pleasant. They had spent time at the lake, and she had spent time with her friends or writing them long letters. It had been fun, but nothing much out of the ordinary. Upon arriving back at Sonora, she had decorated her room with Ginger and Lauren, as had become traditional. She had thought Ginger’s idea of shimmering rainbows was wonderful, and it had evolved into a bit of a weather theme, with her adding some clouds. She wanted them to move and swirl through different shapes, which they did, but only on a limited cycle. She couldn’t quite make them mimic the behaviour of real clouds, but she supposed she could always change them every week or so, so that their patterns didn’t get boring.And now it was time for the feast, and for a catch up with Owen. Unfortunately, her boyfriend (it still felt a little bit funny but in a good way to think of Owen as such) didn’t seem in the best of health. Jemima hadn’t really known what asthma was before she’d met Owen, and at first the thought had alarmed her, as she had understood it as the possibility that he might just stop breathing at any given moment. However, after a few years of this not happening, she was somewhat reassured on the subject. It more meant that Owen had good days, where it wasn’t bothering him so much, and bad days where it was. She still felt bad for him when he had a bad day, and wished he wouldn’t, but she didn’t constantly fear that he was about to collapse every time his chest sounded a bit wheezy. She patted his shoulder sympathetically when he got caught by a coughing fit, but also tried to pay attention to the sortings and the announcements, because it would be rude not to.
She was excited for the ball. She was sure she and Owen would have gone anyway, but it was much better now that they were a couple. She wondered how he’d ask… Maybe he’d get her flowers or something. That was very traditional, which of course was very nice, but maybe he’d do something more Owen-y, like write it into a story…
I suppose we’re going to the ball together?
Jemima felt the happy balloon in her chest develop a puncture. That was how he was going to ask her to their first proper dance together? To just throw out that he supposed they were going together, and then explain how they wouldn’t get to do much dancing? She tried not to begrudge him the latter because she knew that wasn’t really Owen’s fault but all in all, he didn’t exactly sell the experience (a nice slow waltz surely wasn’t that much more taxing than walking, after all). She had assumed that now they were dating, it would mean things got more romantic, rather than less.
“Yes,” she agreed cheerfully. She didn’t want to start a fight, so she hid her disappointment behind a large smile, and started serving some cheddar cheese soup for them both.
“What else do you think looks good?” she asked, once his coughing had abated.
13
Jemima
Just keep smiling
304
Jemima
0
5
Nathan Xavier
May 12, 2016 10:50 AM
Midlife crises are a killer by Nathan Xavier
So she hadn't known about his nomadic existence. It was always easy to tell when someone was learning about it for the first time. You don't have a place of your own?. He supposed it was middle aged white guy version of Don't you want to get married? or Do you hope to have kids of your own someday? He supposed by now most people were assuming the answer to those questions was "Tried; Failed" and they didn't want to offend him by asking and so they needed something else to question about his non-standard lifestyle.He shrugged, honestly glad people had switched to inquiring after his lack of residence instead of his lack of a significant other. He was pretty happy with his nomadic ways and he didn't mind talking about it. The lack of a lifelong relationship was a much harder topic.
"I had a regular apartment when I worked at NYU, but Sonora provides room and board, so with living here most of the year, I decided to just sublet over the summer and save my money for a dream retirement home once I leave here. So I move around each year, testing out all the corners of the country, trying to find the best fit for when I do settle. It works for me, and Alice doesn't mind." He was pretty sure everyone knew his feline familiar by now, so he referenced the Persian-mix cat by name. "As long as I can visit my folks and my nephews a few times, the whole country is open to us and we get to find out what does and doesn't work for us at little to no financial risk."
When she asked about New Orleans, he shook his head regretfully, "I usually go for less urban areas, so I've been in the Deep South, but not in the city of New Orleans itself much. I do like the South though, so maybe we'll do Louisiana soon and take some day trips into the city."
"Congratulations!" he cheered, genuinely impressed when she said she had finished her degree. "What were you studying? I'm considering going back for teaching but haven't decided for sure yet. It must be difficult to keep up with the classes while working full time. I don't know, maybe I'm too old." He wasn't exactly fishing for encouragement, but he was curious to know what his colleagues thought of the idea. And any encouragement she might offer would certainly help propel him to bring the subject up with the Headmaster before self-doubt buried the idea in a shallow grave.
"Thanks," he said, not quite preening over his Head students, but definitely pleased by her acknowledgement of Teppenpaw's accomplishment.
OOC: Don't feel trapped by his internal commentary to provide encouragement if Amelle wouldn't. He can get it from his family behind the scenes if she thinks he's too ancient to withstand the rigors of adult education, and the timeline will remain intact.
1
Nathan Xavier
Midlife crises are a killer
28
Nathan Xavier
0
5
I'll try. by Owen
This was not a good day. Not at all. Well, he got to be with Jemima and that was always good but as far as his asthma went, it was terrible. Owen felt like he could barely get any air at all. As much as he wanted to be with his girlfriend, part of him-a large part of him-wanted to go back to bed. He probably should have gone to the medic, except that he'd have to walk there, which he wasn't sure he could-in fact, he wasn't sure he could walk back to Teppenpaw, let alone do the jig to get in-and she was here anyway. Plus, she wasn't very nice and he was kind of afraid to interrupt her meal."Good."Owen forced a smile through his pain when Jemima replied about the ball. "I feel so lucky to have you to go with. I'd never want to go with anyone else. I couldn't even imagine such a thing. I don't think I'd have as good a time." The idea of not being with Jemima was one of the scariest things ever. That she would stop liking him. He could barely tolerate such a thought though he wasn't that worried which was why he barely thought about things like that. Owen felt like they were meant for each other.
He continued. "That's why I wanted to make sure to mention it right away. Because I didn't want to wait and have you worry I wasn't going to or something and I didn't want to like, take it for granted that we were going to go together and not ask."
The last few words came out a bit...strained. Not in the sense of that he didn't mean them, but Owen had said too much. Nothing that would hurt Jemima's feelings-a thought unbearable to him-but in a literal too many words for the small amount of breath he had in him at the moment way. How awful it was to have to catch one's breath after merely speaking a little. It wasn't like it was a speech. It was, in fact, even been fewer words than Uncle Mortimer had said in his. The fourth year began to cough again.
He shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm, um, not all that hungry." Owen really hated to make this less pleasant and possibly disappointing for Jemima, as it was for him, but he really didn't feel very well. "But I've heard good things about tekko rolls, and I think I see some down there." He nodded in their general direction. "Though they might be some other kind of sushi."
0
Owen
I'll try.
0
Owen
0
5
Duncan
May 18, 2016 8:10 PM
Just realized the irony of that title... by Duncan
Duncan grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks yourself." It was hard not to be pleased about getting Head Student. It was an honor only two students received each year and who wouldn't be glad that their classmates thought well of them and thought they'd do well at the job? On some level, every human being wanted to belong and feel accepted by their peers. Knowing your classmates had voted you into a position of importance was definitely something that made one feel that they were wanted.Plus, his dad would be so proud. Not that Duncan had ever truly felt his father was disappointed in him. Mother, maybe a little. She seemed to have this...mold that she wanted him and Juniper to fit and they didn't really. Of course, he had gotten social butterfly in the yearbook, she'd liked that. It meant he wasn't maladjusted and weird. He'd made friends with living people. Of course, he preferred some of the other things he'd gotten such as Friendliest. Father, on the other hand, would be glad Duncan had gotten Head Boy because he himself had gotten it and no other Brockert had gotten it since. So, he was honored not just for himself and Father, but for his entire family.
He didn't feel even the slightest bit of guilt that he had with prefect. Maybe because he wasn't really friends with his competition like he was with Serena. Not that he had anything against them. Even Isaac since Tasha had worked with him in the Challenges and said he wasn't so bad. The Teppenpaw did hope that they wouldn't hold it against him though.
Duncan paused. "Well, I guess it was pretty ordinary. I mean, parties are parties and I saw you at those." As far as he was concerned, that was the best part of them. Otherwise, he was pretty indifferent though his sister had been completely miserable and he didn't like that. "We went to St. Berylla's for a bit, attended some of the events down there, including the ones held by the Livilian royals." St. Berylla's was an island where some of the important pureblood families vacationed and the Brockerts held quite a bit of property there. And of course, Serena was engaged to Prince Oscar Bartillion of the Livilian royal family so they were invited to all the royal balls.
"Of course, I saw my...ghostly relatives and caught up with them." Another of the best parts, Duncan was still closer to them than some of his living family members. They resided in his house and had his entire life. "Oh and my sister got her letter. She's here now, in Teppenpaw." And he was worried about her. Glad about the Teppenpaw part, of course, but still nervous about how she'd fare.
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Duncan
Just realized the irony of that title...
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Duncan
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Of me?*is deeply confused* by Kira
Kira felt slightly relieved. Maybe Caelia couldn't understand exactly how she felt about some things-and it wasn't as if she completely shared everything with her anyway, at least not about how she felt with regards to Kelsey-but at least she was being rather kind about it. Her friend seemed to lack the condescending nature of her cousin. Not that Kira felt Kelsey meant to be or even realized that she was condescending but it was still irritating and anyway, even if she wasn't like that, it was still awful to feel that you weren't as good as someone all the time, trying to measure up to someone who was seemingly perfect.How Kelsey's younger sister, Natalie put up with it, Kira wasn't sure and she would feel weird asking a ten year old for advice on something like this. If she knew herself, though, she'd have been more than happy to help her cousin out.
"You have a point." Kira replied, wanting to encourage Caelia in a positive way when she had said something that made sense to the third year. After all, she herself knew full well what it was like to lack positive reinforcement for things. People oohed and ahhed over Kelsey's mannerisms and what a perfect little lady she was, but they never said anything at all about Kira's and the things she was truly good at it, she wasn't allowed to demonstrate outside of school. Her parents could mention it to people, but that wasn't the same.
"I mean, it is less pressure, since they can't do the same thing when there are people who aren't society." She had to make sure to tell Caelia which thing she had a point about since she'd said more than one thing. Of course, though it was less pressure, that meant Kira didn't know what to expect and that created it's own problems. Instead of worrying about doing what she knew that she was supposed to do and not doing it as well as she should, she had to worry about not knowing what to do at all.
"Sure." She handed Caelia the oil and vinegar. "Thanks for the offer, I'll have to think about it. I mean, I've obviously had dance lessons, but I just...wasn't any good at them." Kira was slightly worried that if they were practicing together with Caelia doing the guys part, people might walk in on them and assume the wrong thing, as well as know that Kira's dancing was subpar. "What guys could we get to help? Other than my cousin Fabian? I mean, if it comes to that. He already knows I can't dance so it's not like he can criticize me for it."
There was another thing that worried her too. "What if you get a date and I don't?" That was what had happened to Amity. Effie had had a date and Isabel Raines had been gone. She'd ended up talking to Annabelle Pierce and it had all worked but what if there wasn't someone else for Kira to talk to? She wasn't all that comfortable with most of the people she knew and the ones that did seem nice had other friends. They had no need of her.
11
Kira
Of me?*is deeply confused*
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Kira
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Yay! by Joella
Joella couldn’t decide whether Gia was shy or disappointed as she answered the Barnaby question. “Oh I’m sure he would,” she reassured the fourth year, although she couldn’t actually say because she didn’t really know the boy. “I bet you’d love to see how he scrubs up, huh?” The Pecari grinned, quickly moving the conversation to a lighter tone because she didn’t want Gia to dwell on the possibility of not being asked to the ball by the person she clearly wanted to be.“Friends is always fun too,” Joella nodded. Once everyone got dancing, no doubt people would switch partners and stuff anyway. “But you can’t go alone!” The fifth year looked horrified by Gia’s suggestion. It was fine not having a date but she didn’t like the idea of such a friendly sociable person like Gia going by herself. “I’m sure you’ll get asked to be someone’s date,” Joella didn’t doubt the younger girl’s credibility for one moment, “and if not I’ll take you as mine.” The last part was evidently a joke but something she would actually be prepared to do to save a friend from being lonely. It was a good solution to her no-boy policy but she didn’t think that plan was going to last very long anyway. It was only the first day back and already there were a number of familiar male faces that stood out for her more than ever.
Joella almost blushed when Gia turned the question back on her, although she shouldn’t have been at all surprised. She was more surprised by the fact that she felt her cheeks grow warm at the question and tried not to think about why this might be. “I haven’t really given it much thought yet,” she admitted truthfully. “I’m trying to steer clear of boys for a bit, you see. I would say they’re more trouble than they’re worth but I’m not sure that’s true and I wouldn’t want to put you off.”
“But hey if you have any suggestions, send them my way,” Joella chuckled. “Although this year I’m more focused on ‘assisting’ others in their romantic endeavours. Hence why I’m so excited for the ball, to finalise my match-making!”
“Oh I hope so,” she said eagerly in reply to Gia’s comment about producing couples for the yearbook. “It would be so nice to see people finally get together-” she paused for a meaningful look at Gia “-instead of this ‘I like you, you like me but we going to pretend otherwise even thought the whole school realises it’ nonsense.” Obviously pretty much everything Joella ever said should be taken lightly but she did have a bluntness about her that meant she often just spoke her mind, only accompanied these jibes with innocent smiles so everyone thought her harmless.
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Joella
Yay!
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Yay... by Gia
Gia made a face at Joella’s comment. She did not care about how Barnaby Pye looked when he was cleaning himself. “Why would I want to see how he cleans himself?” She asked this being one of those times when she took a comment or phrase literally instead of understanding the fact that this term was used in various forms and thus had a different meaning in this conversation. She wasn’t sure why Joella was insistent that Barnaby would consider asking Gia to the ball. He was less sociable than Jax. Even if Barnaby did, by some strange miracle, ask her to go to the ball with him, she couldn’t imagine it actually being a fun night for her. She didn’t think he would dance with her and Jax would be so moody about her dating choice too.Gia was mostly hoping that she had her friends just ended up going in a group together, but she kenw that wasn’t likely. Sammy was very popular and Laila was quite pretty. They were definitely going to get dates. Plus, Peizhi was not one for group events, so Gia didn’t think she would go at all and that could also be true for Jax. Gia looked confusedly at Joella for a moment. Was it not okay to go to a dance alone? Didn’t people find it even stranger for two girls to go together? That just reminded Gia of her dilemma with her feelings and she frowned. If Joella was saying they could go together as dates (platonically, of course) did that mean it was acceptable behavior? Gia could probably talk to Jax about all of this as he’d at least give her his opinion but she was to scared to say anything out loud about it.
“Why are they trouble?” Gia asked out of curiosity. “You could always ask Jax to be your date.” Gia suggested. “He’ll never ask anyone himself, but he is too polite to say no to a girl if they asked him and he thought well of her.” Jax liked very few people and Joella happened to be one of the few. Well, he didn’t not like her.
“Who are you planning on helping romantically?” Gia couldn’t think of anyone directly to whom she thought ought to be romantically linked. But then, she also wasn’t sure who were strictly friends and who had the potential to be more than friends. “Anyone that I might know and may be able to help with?” Gia was observant, but that didn’t mean that she hadn’t missed certain social ques between other people.
She wasn’t sure how to take that look or comment from Joella. Was she talking about Barnaby again? Gia’s frown returned. Maybe Joella didn’t know him, but Gia knew enough. Barnaby only liked Barnaby. Everyone else was a means to an end. This was one of the reasons why Gia was upset with herself for liking him so much. She knew it would only be one-sided, the same as it would be with her other interest, but that was another issue entirely. “Sometimes people are wrong, though.” Gia replied, unsure how else to respond to Joella’s comment. “But I would love to help with those whom you feel would be happy together.” Gia added with her usual bright smile.
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Gia
Yay...
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Thankfully, I'm not there yet by Amelle
Amelle nodded along with Nathan’s explanation as to why he didn’t have a place of his own. It made perfect sense. He wasn’t married and didn’t have children, so there really wasn’t any need to have a home off Sonora grounds to house them. As Amelle thought about it, she could probably also be labeled as a Nomad. She lived at school for ten months of the year. The rest of the time, she was between her parents and her friends down in New Orleans. She didn’t have a place of her own. Immediately after she graduated with her Associates degree, she had gotten this job as the Librarian. She had went from a life in a college dorm to life as a Staff member living at a boarding school. It never occurred to her before now that it was a little strange that there was nothing really of her own when it came to a home.“You know, that’s actually a brilliant idea.” Amelle commented as she thought over what he was telling her. “See the world without the worry of responsibility of a house to care for.” If life didn’t go the way she was hoping it would or later on she decided that marriage and children weren’t really what she wanted, Amelle thought spending her summers traveling around and enjoying the world would really be a nice way to live. Maybe a little lonely if she were doing by herself, but definitely spontaneous and would leave a lot of memories.
“If you ever do decide to spend time in the city, send me an owl.” Amelle commented. “I’d be more than happy to take you around and show you the life.” She grinned at him, her enthusiasm showed her love for the city. That was partly due to her friends and the music that they had pulled her into, but it was also due to Fidel, who had showed her some of the night life that she had not been aware of before. She absolutely loved the city and knew that eventually, she would settle down there. It would be a long time, but it would happen.
“Thank you!” Amelle replied, pleased by his interest in her schooling. “My Bachelor’s is in Psychology and then my Masters and Certification is in Counseling.” Amelle told him. She really wasn’t sure why she had chosen that, but felt that working in the school had help to fuel that interest. “You definitely should look into it. I’m not going to lie and tell you that it was easy because it wasn’t. I took my lessons with letters during the school year, which made it much more difficult. But if you can find time to go to University in Phoenix, it’s definitely worth it.” Amelle advised. “Although, I’m not really sure what to do with myself now.” She added with a laugh.
Amelle was glad that she wasn’t a Head of House person which was not because she didn’t enjoy working with the students, but because the Library already took roughly sixteen hours of her day. Plus, she would be completely biased about the students.
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Amelle
Thankfully, I'm not there yet
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Amelle
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Caelia
June 07, 2016 12:20 PM
It's true. by Caelia
Kira was so nice. That was one of the first times someone had told Caelia she had a good point like that and Caelia enjoyed the feeling of being right. It was quite nice and whenever she felt like this she wondered what it would be like to be Emrys and always be able to feel this way. Not that she thought her darling brother was in the right, currently. He continued to maintain contact with his shameful friends from Sonora though he had moved to England where he was closer to his very beautiful, very proper girlfriend, Charlotte. Emrys had written to Caelia that he was having doubts about everything in his life—from his career path to his studies to his day to day life in England, but Caelia was certain her big brother would work it all out. He just had to because he was Emrys and things were always supposed to go right for him.As for what guys they could get to help them out, Caelia wasn’t sure. A certain face jumped to mind but she knew that could never be possible and so she’d just have to resign herself to one of the more reasonable, proper options. “Alistair rather owes me a favor,” she mused out loud, remembering how she had helped him with his Crotalus sign-ups the previous year. He was her tutor in academics now and though she was sure a gentlewizard like he would have already mastered the art of dancing, she was certain he would also be glad to show his gallentry to some proper witches. “And I think he’s too kind to laugh at poor dancing skills.”
But Alistair was also friends with Kelsey and Kira always seemed slightly hesitant when Kelsey was brought up. Caelia knew she loved her cousin, but she also felt there was some sort of unspoken rivalry between the two, there was a tension there that she was unsure how to address. “Although he’s the only wizard around our age who was in Dance Club when that was still around, but you know Andrew Carey is quite nice and Jack Spencer’s sister is dating my brother so perhaps I could ask him but…I don’t know, what do you think?”
Caelia wasn’t really sure which wizards would be interested in practising with them. On paper Alistair was really the only one who fit all the bubbles, but he was also friends with Kelsey and Caelia wasn’t sure how public Kira wanted their little lessons to be. Perhaps just the two of them and two wizards. But then if Kelsey found out, would she be mad? Caelia wasn’t sure and the thought of her best friend and roommate being mad at her caused her forehead to wrinkle slightly. She didn’t want that at all…
But her worries of Kelsey soon disappeared when Kira asked Caelia a question she had not been anticipating at all. A question to which she had no response. She was nice, but she wasn’t that nice. If a wizard asked her to the dance then she’d want to say yes and she’d want to go because it would be fun. She didn’t want to say yes to a wizard and then at the last minute tell him “no, actually, I can’t go with you because my friend didn’t get a date.” What was she supposed to say to Kira now though? She couldn’t exactly say that to the younger witch without it sounding absolutely horrible and in a way, Caelia supposed that it was kind of horrible…
“You’ll get a date,” she said, not even sure if she herself would get one. There were not enough wizards in the school for there to be a date for all the witches and there wasn’t anyone here that Caelia was actually interested in, so she didn’t really mind if she didn’t have one. But she supposed that for Kira it was a big deal. Maybe there was someone she was interested in? Caelia wouldn’t have known as she had never thought to find out but now that the thought occurred to her, she was curious.
“There isn’t, erm… There isn’t anyone that you have in mind already, is there?” she asked, genuinely curious and scheming already to see if she could please her shy friend with a set-up of sorts.
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Caelia
It's true.
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Caelia
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