Man with a plan. on Cascade Hall

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

11 Headmaster Brockert Opening Feast 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5

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.”

12 Jake Manger So many changes! 280 Jake Manger 0 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.”

12 Makenzie Newell Don't worry, I've arrived. 291 Makenzie Newell 0 5

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?”

12 Sammy Meeks Y'all know the drill, I'm in it for the food. 310 Sammy Meeks 0 5

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.

12 Dustin Newell Another year. 312 Dustin Newell 0 5

Wu Peizhi

April 15, 2016 5:23 AM

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 0 5

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 0 5

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?"

1 Jozua Sparks Wait, this is wrong, where's my blue? 348 Jozua Sparks 0 5

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

Georgia

April 17, 2016 1:07 AM

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?”

8 Joella Curtis What? Me? 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

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.

6 Librarian Amelle Nicchi Adults Conversing. 32 Librarian Amelle Nicchi 0 5

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?”

0 Killian Everett Food is good 354 Killian Everett 0 5

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?”

6 Gia Donovan Yes, you! 308 Gia Donovan 0 5

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.

6 Jax Donovan Regrettably here. 296 Jax Donovan 0 5

Jozua

April 17, 2016 9:41 PM

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."

1 Jozua That's all right; I can do without 348 Jozua 0 5

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.

9 Theresa Whittaker Time to make even more friends! 338 Theresa Whittaker 0 5

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.

9 Louis Valois Rather less regretful. 314 Louis Valois 0 5

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?”

40 Lily Spencer I'm just getting started. 357 Lily Spencer 0 5

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.

40 Jack Spencer I'm starving. 299 Jack Spencer 0 5

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.

9 Tess Whittaker It's an adventure! 338 Tess Whittaker 0 5

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.”

6 Farrah Welsh Yes, I am. 344 Farrah Welsh 0 5

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.

10 Barnaby Pye Feeling, surprisingly, rather similarly... 298 Barnaby Pye 0 5

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

10 Madeleine Dautin And I'm blue, in all sense of the word. 340 Madeleine Dautin 0 5

Juniper Brockert

April 19, 2016 5:36 AM

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.

11 Juniper Brockert Terrified 345 Juniper Brockert 0 5

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.

9 Finbar Scott More nervous, I'd say 347 Finbar Scott 0 5

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?”

9 Sébastien Évreux Time to make (appropriate) friends 350 Sébastien Évreux 0 5

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. 318 Laila Kennedy 0 5

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 0 5

Camden

April 19, 2016 12:20 PM

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.

0 Camden I am glad someone agrees with me! 0 Camden 0 5

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.

0 Cecilia Carey Do I qualify for an audition? 349 Cecilia Carey 0 5

Arianna V.

April 19, 2016 11:23 PM

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.”

0 Arianna V. Well, when do we turn back? 343 Arianna V. 0 5

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.

11 Kira Spaulding Oh joy. (Tag Caelia) 320 Kira Spaulding 0 5

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.

10 Caelia Lucan I was hoping you'd be more excited! 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Clark Dill

April 20, 2016 3:24 PM

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.

1 Clark Dill Yay, John! 277 Clark Dill 0 5

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.

10 Arne Reinhardt *grunts* 319 Arne Reinhardt 0 5

Jake

April 20, 2016 6:01 PM

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.”

12 Jake Weeee! I love rainbows! 280 Jake 0 5

Makenzie

April 20, 2016 6:21 PM

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.

12 Makenzie Why, thank you! 291 Makenzie 0 5

Sammy

April 20, 2016 6:43 PM

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.

12 Sammy I recommend food. 310 Sammy 0 5