Prof. Isis Carter
October 14, 2016 2:00 AM
Disarm and alarm [Years III-V] by Prof. Isis Carter
“Hello, everyone,” greeted the professor standing at the front of the classroom, but it was not their usual professor. On the contrary, today, Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught by their favorite on-call substitute, Professor Isis Carter. “As you have probably gathered, Professor Pye couldn’t join us today. He’s caught a rather nasty something or another. But don’t worry, he’s shared with me his lesson plan, so we’ll be doing exactly what he wanted to do with you: starting your series on dueling.” He’d been quite a disaster at breakfast when he’d hunted her down, honestly, and she was quick to take the plans from him and send him back to bed.“As the fourth and fifth years can attest, dueling is something you will visit throughout the year,” Isis explained, “but for you third years just now joining the Intermediate level, you will have to begin by learning Expelliarmus, the disarming spell. Now, I won’t occupy your time too much, but quickly first, watch me demonstrate the proper wand movement.” Isis produced her wand from her pocket and, without accompanying incantation, showed the correct movement, a distinct swirl. “Using this will make your opponent release whatever they are holding. In this case, you are hoping to free them of their wand.”
Isis glanced between students. “Now, pair up and do your best. Third years, stick to this disarming spell and the full body-bind curse Petrificus Totalus. Fourth and fifth years, you are free to utilize what you have learned, but don’t do anything that will take more than a counter-curse for me to fix. Please stand up and move up to the front of the classroom so that I can move the desks and free up the space for you.” When her instructions were followed, she waved her wand, and all of the desks quickly moved to either side of the classroom. “Okay, let’s get to dueling!” She knew Alfie was sad to miss their first dueling day of the year, but it was imperative for his health. Isis had seen him looking pretty sorry previously, but today he seemed exceptionally beaten down. He could sleep while she, reluctantly, watched his students blast one another.
OOC: All mentions of Professor Pye were approved previously with his author. Please stay realistic with your characters’ spell knowledge, using only curses or charms that would be appropriate to their age level, and appropriate to the situation. Nothing truly harmful will be tolerated. Aside from that, just be certain to follow all OOC site rules, and have a great time!
Subthreads: Do I have to? by Gia Donovan (Pecari) with Jack Spencer, Aladren
Looking for a partner by Aislinn Nicolls, Aladren with Barnaby Pye
Any takers? by Sutton Nicolls with Fabian Brockert, Pecari
And possibly charm? by Gabriel Valenti, Teppenpaw with Joseph Umland, Teppenpaw
I'm closer to alarmed (Chuck) by Owen Brockert, Teppenpaw with Chuck Fintoc, Pecari
Ram, bam, thank you, ma'am [Kira] by Sammy Meeks, Pecari with Kira Spaulding, Crotalus
All of the challenges (tag Tess) by Ben the Hippo Pierce, Pecari with Tess Whittaker, Pecari
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Prof. Isis Carter
Disarm and alarm [Years III-V]
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Prof. Isis Carter
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Gia Donovan (Pecari)
October 16, 2016 7:07 PM
Do I have to? by Gia Donovan (Pecari)
Gia sat quietly in her seat taking notes of the lesson. She hated this part of learning. Dueling seemed so barbaric and when was she ever going to get into a duel outside of school? She lived in the Muggle world, she had more of a chance getting sucker punched than hexed. Not that this school really cared much for the non-magical world. This was the first year that Muggles Studies was being taught for her and she was excited to see how things were viewed. Gia understood that this was a Magical school, so they certainly weren’t going to teach people how to fight without magic, but she felt like knowing how to physically protect herself was something she also needed to learn. Of course, she probably could just ask her brother how to do that.Jax, it seemed, had finally reached that point where he felt like he was big enough. She had only had to do a minimum of alterations on his clothing and their mother hadn’t needed to spend a whole lot of money on him as she had last year. Gia wasn’t sure why her brother felt the need to work out so much, but from the gossip she had heard over the summer from the neighborhood kids, his workouts had landed him in a few fights due to his… relationship, with Shelly. Gia never talked about it with him, but she didn’t like the other girl and even less when she heard that her brother was getting into trouble helping her.
Gia hated these types of assignments. She understood the necessity of them in some ways but she still didn’t have to like them. Gia hated have to throw hexes at other people, especially friends, and she wasn’t very good with thinking on her feet, so she typically ended up getting tossed around or acting like an idiot when a next made contact with her. This lesson was one of nightmares for her. But there was little that she could do about it because Defense Against the Dark Arts was a lesson that she would be taking until she graduated.
She stood and looked around for a partner, being sure to only catch the eyes of the fourth and fifth years. She had nothing against the third years but she couldn’t really do anything against them since they didn’t know as many hexes and she just wasn’t comfortable using her wand against them. She finally spotted someone who seemed to be willing to work with her, so she smiled and made her way over. As she walked, she tried to think of different hexes and jinxes that she could use that wouldn’t do any real harm to them and she hoped they would do the same for her.
“Hi.” She said, greeting them cheerfully even though she wasn’t all that cheered about the assignment. “Are you ready to practice some dueling spells and deflections?” She asked. She would never understand why people did this sort of thing for fun. Why would purposefully trying to hurt another person be entertaining?
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Gia Donovan (Pecari)
Do I have to?
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Gia Donovan (Pecari)
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Jack Spencer, Aladren
October 19, 2016 2:00 PM
Whenever you're ready. by Jack Spencer, Aladren
Duelling was entertaining to say the least, but Jack had never tried it with anyone before. When his older siblings were in school, Jack had been too young. Now, he wasn't allowed to use magic at home and he highly doubted his siblings would be willing to exchange hexes and jinxes with him no matter how harmless they were. It was exciting, this new lesson, but a bit nerve-racking as well. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of anyone's wand. Though he seemed brave for playing a sport like Quidditch, in reality Jack much rather preferred playing it safe rather than being sorry later.However, this was their class assignment for the day and Jack had to participate and receive an O. He looked around for a wizard he would be comfortable duelling. It looked like Barnaby had already found himself a partner, and a witch at that. It was strange, what was happening in their dorm room, and Jack didn't really understand Jax or why the wizard had moved out. But he really could care less. Jax's brooding presence wasn't particularly missed.
Jack was still looking around when his fellow Prefect approached him. Surprised, for a moment he contemplated whether or not he should reject her. It wasn't fair, duelling a witch, and Jack thought it only proper to be a gentleman and let her win - if this was a real duel. It wasn't going to be as fun, duelling with less interesting spells so he wouldn't hurt her, but it wasn't right to reject her either. "As ready as I can be," he replied. Though he'd never really talked to Gia except about Prefect duties, he'd heard about her and saw her in class often.
"Why don't you go ahead first?" he said politely, readying himself to deflect whatever spell she cast. "Do your worst, it'll be good practise in defending myself." He grinned, trying to keep the mood light to make her feel a bit more comfortable. It couldn't be easy trying to 'hurt' a classmate. However, Jack was quite confident in his reflexes and spell-casting and didn't think she would get one past him.
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Jack Spencer, Aladren
Whenever you're ready.
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Jack Spencer, Aladren
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Gia
October 20, 2016 7:43 PM
Are <i>you</i> ready? by Gia
Gia smiled at Jack, relieved that he was willing to be her partner, although she supposed if he didn’t, she could just ask one of her friends or her brother instead. Jax was always willing to work with her over someone else, even with dueling. He always tried to get her to learn because he worried about something happening to her, but Gia always refused. She didn’t want to point her wand at someone else without reason. Today was a reason, but she had no ill will towards Jack so she did not want to cause him any harm. That wasn’t to say that she wasn’t capable of it. Gia was diligent on learning her magic. Although she was a Pecari, she had the mind of an Aladren. She studied relentlessly and practiced well into the night to ensure that her spell work was perfect. She just wasn’t good at thinking of various spells while trying to dodge them at the same time.Jack Spencer was one of those people that Gia always intended on getting to know but since they didn’t run in the same circle of friends, she just never had the chance. Jax always spoke nicely about his former roommate and after leaving the room due to Barnaby, Jax had felt guilty for leaving Jack behind to have to deal with Pye on his own. They weren’t friends that much she knew as Jax never spent any time in the dorm room except to sleep. He didn’t want to give Barnaby any further ammunition if he could help it. Of course, because Barnaby had tried to worm his way between them and their friends and nearly destroy everything that they had worked so hard to achieve by attempting to blackmail and expose them, Jax just couldn’t take it anymore and he had to leave. Thinking about it now, Gia really needed to thank John Umland for being so kind and letting Jax stay with him.
Gia took her place across from Jack and curtsied to be polite. She thought that’s what they did in formal duels, but she couldn’t say for certain. Really, who found pleasure in such things? Throwing curses at one another with the intent to harm just to be told they were winners? Gia looked thoughtfully at Jack when he told her to throw the worst she could think of at him. But, she thought she would start out easy and then work her way up to something more dangerous. This way, in case he wasn’t any good, he won’t be injured by her. And with that, Gia threw the hive jinx his way with a quick swish of her wand. Direct, precise, perfect.
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Gia
Are <i>you</i> ready?
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Gia
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Jack
October 21, 2016 4:24 PM
Hit me with your best shot. by Jack
To match Gia's curtsy, Jack quickly bowed. He didn't have any experience with duelling traditions, but it seemed only proper. Continuing this pure-blood facade of prestige and good upbringing required faux formality in most situations even if they didn't completely understand why. Maybe it just looked nice and respectful to the audience watching. Jack didn't take his eyes off of her as he bowed before straightening himself. If he'd learnt anything over the years, he knew keeping one's eyes on one's opponent was essential. It applied in any competitive activity, particularly in Quidditch.Jack readied himself again and waited for her to send one at him. He tried to keep his grip on his wand loose and natural, but his heart was beating quickly. He didn't know what to expect from Gia or what sort of witch she was. What if she sent a really awful hex or tried to play dirty? Was she that sort of witch who seemed proper and nice on the outside but was vindictive and fierce inside? Jack didn't know much about his opponent, but right at this moment he wished he did just to anticipate what sort of spell she would cast. He liked knowing what he was going to face.
Her spell was spot-on, but Jack deflected it with a quick flick of his wrist. The spell shot up to the ceiling and made a crash against the stone, but luckily didn't break anything. "Your wand work is brilliant," commented Jack, impressed, as he sent a singing jinx back at her directed at her middle. The adrenaline of sending spells at each other was getting his blood pumping. It seemed as though Gia was going to be a competent partner and he was very glad for it. "Do you duel at all in your free time?" he asked. Someone ought to start a duelling club at Sonora after this class.
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Jack
Hit me with your best shot.
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Jack
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Gia
October 25, 2016 7:12 PM
This is my Fight Song by Gia
Gia watched as Jack easily fended off her spell and she gave him a small smirk. It was eerily similar to the smirk that her brother gave to people when he was slightly impressed but didn’t want to show it. “Thank you.” She said in response to his compliment. Gia was rather confident in her spells once she had practiced them long enough. Her first time actually attempting the spells were never quite as good, but she was a devoted student and eventually she got the end result.She flicked her wand and sent a deflective spell into his, causing both spells to ricochet off one another and sail towards the ground. Gia returned his gift with a gift of her own in the form of the Tarantella spell. “I do not believe in dueling.” Gia answered him with a slight shrug of her shoulders. This was one of her least favorite lessons that Professor Pye gave. She loved learning defense and discussing dark creatures and the like. She spent plenty of time pouring over books regarding the nature of the Dark Arts and why creatures were associated with it due to her brother’s curse.
“I am strict with learning my spells properly.” She explained. “So that if and when I have to duel or take an exam, I can do so with confidence.” She explained, waiting for Jack to send her another one. “Do you duel?” She asked for conversation.
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Gia
This is my Fight Song
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Gia
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Jack
October 27, 2016 5:44 PM
We Got the Beat. by Jack
Jack grinned as he deflected her next spell. He shot back a Jelly Legs jinx, faster this time, with a little twirl to it. He didn't quite understand how one could not believe in duelling, but he didn't comment on it. It was typical of a witch to say something like that, he surmised. After all, witches weren't raised to pick fights or protect their loved ones. Duelling didn't support that, obviously, but it did train one to be ready whenever trouble did come.Jack would never admit that discussing dark creatures made him nervous, but he'd never want to face one if he could help it even in the classroom. The thought of going up against a dementor for the sake of learning the Patronus Charm in the advanced courses was enough to make him ponder whether or not he should drop the class next year.
"I can see that," he said, still grinning. Finding a competent partner pleased him. "No, I don't duel," he replied. "Not regularly, anyway, but I'd join a Duelling Club if there was one." He was involved in so many activities already Jack wasn't sure if he could squeeze in another, but he'd decided not to join Book Club this year so he could spend more time in Science Club and commit to his Prefect duties. "I do practise on my own though. The MARS room is particularly helpful." He liked to go to the sports room sporadically and use the dummies there for spellwork. It might not be allowed, but no one had stopped him yet.
"How do you usually go about learning your spells properly outside of the classroom? You're involved in loads of different clubs as well, aren't you?" he asked, always interested in the study habits of others. If there was a better way to cram knowledge into his brain Jack always had a listening ear. "We've got our CATS at the end of this year; nervous at all about it?" Jack didn't want to think he'd fail, but he had been extra diligent in his studies so far this year.
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Jack
We Got the Beat.
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Jack
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Gia
October 29, 2016 8:27 PM
I Won't Back Down by Gia
Jack had sent his jinx much faster than the last time and caught Gia off guard. She had been expecting a moment of readjustment as they had the last round. Gia hadn’t enough reaction time due to her surprise, so she could only throw up a shield charm to protect her rather than a deflection spell. Her shield was one of her stronger spells due to her brother’s influence. Once they had learned how to do it, he had made her that she could do it without a second thought and that it had so much strength behind it that it would take a powerful spell to break through it. Gia had thought her brother was being ridiculous, but she had still learned and days like today made her happy for the lessons.His spell bounced off her shield easily and Gia immediately sent another one his way. She didn’t even really think about which one it was only that she wanted to keep herself on her toes and him as well. She listened to him explain how he enjoyed dueling and practiced on his own. She wasn’t exactly sure how he could duel a dummy. She had practiced throwing spells at one plenty of times both in and out of the classroom, but could the dummies throw spells back in a dueling fashion? Well, if it worked for him she would not argue logistics with him. “Do you think there would be enough interest in such a club?” She asked curiously. She knew dueling was a popular sport, but she wasn’t aware of many students being interested in it. Of course, she could be quite wrong with this. Maybe there were quite a few students who enjoyed such things?
“I am a member of a couple, but not too many.” Gia admitted. She was now helping to run a club, which took up a lot of her free time since she was sewing outfits for people, but she did most of her homework during lunch and dinner, so she could use any extra time for practicing and then her evening sewing. It was working out pretty well for her so far. “I usually work on my spells after dinner with my brother. If it’s small spells, we’ll practice on each other or objects either in MARS or outside. If they are more complex, we’ll use the dummies in the MARS sports room to practice on.” Gia explained, not losing her focus on the task at hand. She shook her head at his question though, “Not yet. I am trying to think of them as just regular exams we take every year.”
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Gia
I Won't Back Down
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Gia
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Jack
November 05, 2016 2:53 PM
Beat It. by Jack
Gia continued to impress him, particularly when she managed to respond quicker than last time. Jack deflected it once again, thrilled, and responded in kind with another singing jinx. “I’m sure many of the athletes would be interested,” replied Jack about the duelling club. “It’s a great, active way to practise spellwork.” The wizards would no doubt be interested, but the witches who played Quidditch were bound to be interested as well. His sister would certainly not pass up a chance to join, to be sure. His friend Ruby would’ve liked it as well, if she’d attended Sonora. “I hope someone starts one,” he continued. “I don’t have the time, really.“It must be nice having a sibling your age you can practise with.” Jack wondered what that would be like, having a twin. Having a sibling even a year or two older or younger would have been loads of fun. Lily was too much of a pest and Adam and Charlotte had each other. Jack would’ve liked a companion like that, particularly a brother with whom he could relate. “Have you and Jax always been close?” he asked. He was curious to know if sibling rivalry happened even among twins.
“I think CATS are over-emphasized anyhow,” said Jack casually. “They seem like practise exams for the more important ones at the end. Not to say that I don't take them seriously, of course. They do matter if one decides to attend university afterwards, which I plan to do. Do you have any plans for university?"
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Jack
Beat It.
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Jack
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Gia
November 06, 2016 6:36 PM
Fight for your Right by Gia
This time Gia was prepared for his hex to be sent back quickly and thus was prepared with a deflective spell that hit his and sent it sailing away from them. Within the same twirl of the wand that was at the tail end of the deflective spell, she shot a body binding spell his way. She was hoping that with no break between her spells, he would be caught off guard and knocking him down. She didn’t want to hurt him, of course, but she really didn’t like dueling and she wanted it to end sooner rather than later. Of course, she could sacrifice herself to his spell, but than that would end in her possibly getting a bad grade. It was out of the question.Gia’s brows furrowed slightly when Jack mentioned Jax and her being the same age. Didn’t he know that they weren’t? He shared a room with her brother for nearly four full years, hadn’t that come up at all? Of course, her brother wasn’t one to actually talk about his personal life with people, so she supposed she ought not be surprised if Jack never knew that they weren’t twins. “We aren’t the same age.” Gia amended. “Jax was born almost a full year before me. It was just after September first and I was just before September first, so we ended up in the same year.” Gia explained.
“But, yes, we have always been close. When our father died, Jax took over the role, so he’s basically kept me safe and helps me when I need it.” Gia said. They didn’t normally talk about their father’s murder, it was something they only discussed amongst one another, but sometimes it was necessarily when explaining their dynamic. She knew that her family life was an odd one and they specifically didn’t talk about how they were in hiding and that their lives would have been very different had their father not been killed, but no one needed to know any of that anyway. What point was there to live in the ‘what ifs’ of life?
“You think so?” Gia asked him, surprised to hear an Aladren think so little of the CATS exams. From what Gia had gathered, how one did on those exams would determine what advance courses they would be permitted to take, essentially determining their future careers. If she wanted to be an Auror (which she did not), then she needed to pass the Defense CATs exams in order to get into Defense to further her chances of getting into that program. “I haven’t really thought about it, if I’m being honest.” Gia admitted. “Have you thought about it?”
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Gia
Fight for your Right
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Gia
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Jack
November 07, 2016 2:53 PM
Everybody Wants to Rule the World. by Jack
Gia's spell almost caught him off-guard. Jack only had time to dodge it and it crashed into something behind him. His body heat had erupted at that surprise, but he was thrilled with the adrenaline now pumping through his body. He sent a disarming spell at her and couldn't stop smiling.Jack was embarrassed that he didn't know anything about Gia and Jax, but he didn't spend much time in his dorm room except to sleep. Most of his days were spent on the pitch, in class, eating or in his extracurriculer activities. "Sorry," said Jack. "That is an interesting situation though." It wasn't as though Jack would have ever cared to ask even if Jax still lived in their room.
"Sorry to hear about your father," added Jack regretfully. He couldn't imagine what life would be like without his dad. Adam would play the father's role well, but nothing would be the same especially with his emotional mum. His dad was the only one who could stand her emotional outbursts.
"I want to be a Transfiguration professor," he said. "I've always wanted to be a professor and Transfiguration is the most interesting to me. For quite a while it was a toss-up between professor or professional Quidditch player. My cousin's in the professional leagues though, and it's not the sort of lifestyle I'd like." Rupert was much more adventurous than Jack and from rumours he'd heard his cousin's life sounded too wild and unstable for Jack's personality.
"What sorts of things are you interested in?"
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Jack
Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
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Jack
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Gia
November 08, 2016 9:52 PM
Fighting my way back by Gia
Gia winced as Jack fell back and crashed into a desk behind him as he attempted to dodge her spell. This is why she hated dueling. Someone was going to get hurt and it would be her fault. Gia couldn’t stand people getting hurt, whether it was at her hand or not (but it was much worse when it was at her hand! Even if she was doing it only because the lesson required her to do it). But despite the possible injury, Jack was smiling and it only confused Gia.Having been momentarily worried for Jack, Gia had not prepared herself for a return spell, so once again the shield charm was quickly thrown up to protect her as his spell crashed into it and disappeared. Gia threw the babbling curse his way and re-steadied herself to be prepared for his next move. She hoped that Professor Pye was paying attention to them because, all things considered, she thought they were holding up pretty well. They didn’t have to run around and deal with other people throwing spells at them too, but they were keeping themselves going and she thought that was an accomplishment. She didn’t know if she would get points off for using her shield charm instead of deflecting, but she was protecting herself first and then worrying about the lesson. She thought that was somewhat the point of dueling.
She wasn’t sure why her situation with her brother was interesting. They were simply trying to survive. Their mother had been forced from her home, her country, shortly after losing the love of her life and had to raise two children on her own. Gia loved her mother and thought she was one of the strongest women she had ever known and would ever know, but she didn’t think their lifestyle was interesting. It was just how things came to be for them.
“Thank you.” Gia replied. She had been four (only just) when he had died so she really didn’t remember him and she was certain that Jax really only remembered the night that he had died, but she never really asked him about it. “It was a long time ago.” She added in case he thought this was a recent development in their lives. Her grief for her father usually settled in the back of her mind, she never really liked to think about it because when she did, it would flare up and the pain of the grief that she remembered after all this time overwhelmed her and sometimes consumed her. It usually only happened whenever she found her mother clutching a photo of her father and sobbing into an empty glass of wine.
She was surprised by how certain he was with what he wanted to do with himself. Gia had honestly not thought about it. She wasn’t really sure why she never had before, but she was always just more concerned about what was going on now rather than what would happen in the far future. Of course, now it wasn’t so far away anymore. “You’ve always known you wanted to be a Professor?” Gia asked, a bit surprised. Her mind was a bit fickle about things that she could hardly say she wanted one thing more than another.
“Oh, er…” Gia hesitated. What was she interested in? “I enjoy sewing and creating garments as well as embroidery.” She replied, knowing that those probably would not interest Jack. “I also enjoy singing. But I know that is not a career that I would do well in.”
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Gia
Fighting my way back
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Gia
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