Jennifer Zucchero
December 14, 2006 4:40 PM
Quidditch practice [tag: Crotalus team] by Jennifer Zucchero
It was now a couple months into the school year, and Jennifer had finally managed to convince herself that she didn’t care that Jake hated her. At least, she assumed he did. After all, the two of them hadn’t spoken since their fight in muggle studies, and it was fairly obvious that wasn’t going to change for a good while. (Yes, she could go up and talk to him, but just look at what had happened the last time she’d done that. It was far better to just ignore him.)She also hadn’t spoken to Lizzie since then. It wasn’t that Jennifer was angry with her, really, well, for the most part. It was just that Jennifer didn’t want to have to deal with any of it anymore. So she wasn’t. It was that simple.
And there was so much to concentrate on, it really was easy. Schoolwork had kicked up a notch, with it being fifth year, and by taking as many courses as possible (with the exception of divination, which was just a bit too sketchy a subject for her to handle), there hardly seemed enough time in the day for all the things that needed to be done. And, with the quidditch season starting, it was only going to get worse. She didn’t have time for boys, on the off-chance that Jake had at one point liked her back. It was best this way.
On the day of the first quidditch practice, Jennifer had headed down to the pitch a good half-hour before the time her announcement had said. Over the past three years, she’d discovered that it was a good time to think, and it gave her a chance to practice and be able to concentrate solely on the snitch, without worrying that someone was going to kill someone else.
By the time she felt that she’d gotten in a pretty solid practice, most of the team had arrived, so she flew down, dismounted, and put up the snitch, giving the few stragglers time to make it there. When at last the final person arrived, Jennifer joined the huddle that had started to form, clearing her throat until everyone quieted down, then starting to speak.
“It’s great to see you guys back again. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Jennifer Zucchero, although I will answer to almost all variations of that. For those of you returning, I know we’ve had some pretty crummy luck for the past two years, well, alright, I’ve had some pretty crummy luck for the past two years. You all have been amazing,” she grinned at them, then continued.
“However, this year is going to be different, if only because, in case some of you are oblivious and haven’t noticed the presence of smaller people here, we actually have alternates this year, Dolan, Lutece, and Oliver. And please, play nice with the firsties, particularly you two, Lily and Gwen. Yes, I know you’re beaters, and that violence is in your nature, but I will hurt you, understand?” She was being serious, at least a little, but it was also for the purpose of providing amusement to at least most of the team, since she was so much shorter than either of her beaters, and would have difficulty doing anything to them.
“Anyway, today’s just going to be a standard ‘let’s see what you remember’ day, per usual. Chrissy, Helena, and Geoffrey, go take Oliver down to the other end and run some passing, catching, and shooting drills. Lily and Gwen, you’ve got Dolan, I’m going to let out one bludger initially, both if things go well, and I just want you three to go and hit them at the chasers. Try to keep them away from the other end, alright?”
Letting the seven go off, the chasers with the official game quaffle and the one released bludger, she turned to her two keepers. “Lutece, today’s going to be more of what we were working on, a lot of the basics. If you start to feel confident, then we can have the chasers come try shooting, but for now it’s just going to be me and Earl. He’s probably going to be a bigger help than I am, since he actually plays the position, but I’m going to hang around to make sure none of the beaters decide to risk my wrath by hitting a bludger at him. Wouldn’t want you to get wounded in the crossfire.”
She cracked a smile, although she wasn’t joking. There were times when she wasn’t sure what to do with the animosity between certain members of her team, but now wasn’t the time to deal with it. She motioned for Lutece to mount her broom and fly up, and then turned to Earl once everyone else had gone up.
“I need to ask a favor of you, Earl,” she said, any joking from earlier vanishing. “Out of the three alternates, it’s most important that we get her trained well. Now, this is nothing against you, you’re a great keeper. It’s just…” she sighed, then started again. “If you couldn’t tell by the game last year, the medic obviously isn’t going to be very fair about letting wounded players come back. That’s why I was so ecstatic about getting as many alternates as we did, but we still don’t have another seeker. So, in case something happens, you’re going to have to take over that position in a game. I’m fairly certain you mentioned it being your favorite, so I don’t know how much of a hardship that would be.” She reached down to get another quaffle, called up her broom, and mounted, asking a quick “Ready to go?” before taking off to join Lutece.
\n\n
Subthreads: Keepers, I suppose by Lutece Anthony
Hey...that means me! [tag:Lutece] by Earl Valentine with Lutece, Earl
Observing. by Leo and Gil Idoya
Newbie chaser by Oliver Abbott with Helena Layne, Chrissy Mathers
Beaters! (Tag Gwen and Dolan) by Lily Collins with Dolan, Gwen
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Jennifer Zucchero
Quidditch practice [tag: Crotalus team]
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Jennifer Zucchero
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Lily Collins
January 06, 2007 11:41 PM
Beaters! (Tag Gwen and Dolan) by Lily Collins
Lily was totally psyched for Quidditch this year, although nobody would know from looking at her. She maintained a cool front as she usually did, unless she was really really angry. This year, not only did she hoped for Crotalus to get their first win but Lily wanted her first injury to another team's player. She simply couldn't let Lexi and Gwen have all the fun.As Jennifer's talk finished up, Lily eyed Dolan. She had no desire to make things hard on him, there was simply no reason to as he had never done anything to annoy her. It was just Earl she had a problem with and people on some of the other teams.
"Okay," She addressed her fellow beaters. "I was thinking, for stratgy, it's as simple as this. We try to take out as many people on the other team while protecting players on our own." No matter how dirty it makes us feel, Lily mentally added, giving an instinctive but unnoticeable shudder. After last years game, she'd felt the need to shower for reasons other than smelling nasty. This year, she hoped another team's beater would eliminate Earl, while she and Gwen were otherwise occupied and the firstie could take over. "This worked wonderful for Teppenpaw last year." She looked at the fourth year. "Do you have any other ideas before practicing this by whacking the bludger at the Chasers?" \n\n
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Lily Collins
Beaters! (Tag Gwen and Dolan)
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Lily Collins
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Dolan
January 09, 2007 5:25 AM
Yay for Beaters! by Dolan
Dolan's attention was caught by an older girl, who, by the way she addressed him, was one of the team's beater, and, by default, his senior in both school and sport. She spoke to the beaters with an air of a veteran, and he paid attention. He was inexperienced, he knew that full well, and he knew his place on the team was to learn and help and take orders. For now, at least, until he could improve for the team.His shoulders tightened and his hands flexed. He nodded thoughtfully as the girl finished talking. Normally, he wasn't a violent person... but in the air over a quidditch field, anything was possible. In the air, he was quite capable of viewing the other players less as people, and more as pieces to deal with. Then again, that idea wasn't far off from his world view.
He looked up at the air where others were already practicing, eager to join the fray.\n\n
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Dolan
Yay for Beaters!
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Dolan
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Gwen
January 12, 2007 10:24 PM
We are pretty awesome... by Gwen
Gwen started the Quidditch practice off smiling normally and paying attention to Jennifer, but had began looking preoccupied well before they were given their assignments. Why would Jenny think she was going to hurt the firsties? None of them had surnames she felt like reacting badly to, and it wasn't their fault they were too gullible to see through Jordanna. The only person she really wanted to hurt was Nicoletta, and Nicoletta wasn't here; her Earl-issues were almost an afterthought. Maybe Jenny was talking about Earl, trying to be subtle about telling Gwen and Lily they couldn't hurt him. Hurting him was more Lily's thing than hers, but Earl and Jenny might not realize that, and it wasn't like she wouldn't take the opportunity if it presented itself...She was still mulling it over when they split up and she wound up, one way or another, with Lily and a little boy logic suggested was Dolan. Gwen honestly didn't think she was violent enough to make Jenny think it necessary to warn her, even with Cate's amusing little nickname for her in circulation. It could be a way of telling Lily not to hurt the first years without being rude about it; it had been phrased as a joke, after all. Or maybe people really did think of her that way, between her father and her issues and Morgaine, and there was nothing to be done about it. She broke her reverie when Lily started talking.
She found herself smiling slightly at the fifth year's plan. "Sounds like a plan to me," she said, tucking a strand of pale hair that had fallen free of her ponytail behind one ear. "The simplest plan holds together best at the time of engagement." She'd heard that, somewhere, or maybe she'd read it. There was also a possibility she'd just made it up. She gave the first year a different smile, one that was less amused and more proper. "I'm Gwen," she said. "She's Lily. You're going to look down and pay attention now." She turned back to her positionmate. "Are we actually going to let the Bludgers reach them, or are we going to swoop in at the last second and save them?"
She didn't vocalize her reason for asking, though she personally thought it was a very good one. If she killed the pureblooded House prefect or a Spindler, her father would, understandably, be furious. If she killed Helena Layne, Helena Layne's brother and Gwen's own cousin would most likely make her wish Alasdair had gotten hold of her. Good reasons to want to leave the Chasers alive, but not ones she was going to tell to Lily. She thought the fifth year sort of liked her, but she doubted Lily would find her reasoning respectable. \n\n
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Gwen
We are pretty awesome...
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Gwen
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