Poor Pluto... You shall be missed. on Elective Hall

Professor McFarlan

September 23, 2007 3:46 PM

Astronomy - First Years by Professor McFarlan

Kathleen McFarlan grinned as she activated her beloved crystal. All the other classes were used to the miracle combination of magic and science that made its effects. First years were the only ones that would experience the awe of seeing it for the first time from now on. She hoped that even if they had older siblings who told them about it, the experience would be wonderful for them.

The classroom didn’t look like a class room at all. Instead of desks and chairs, were comfortable recliners so they could gaze at the heavens without strain on their neck. Instead of for walls and a ceiling, the entire room gave the illusion of stepping into outer space. Below them floated Earth, orbited by its single satellite. The planets, stars, asteroids and moons all were in their proper places.

Dressed in emerald green robes that complimented her auburn hair and matched her eyes, Professor McFarlan stood near the door and greeted her First Year students with a welcoming smile. She assured the timid that yes, gravity still worked and helped the extremely nervous to a comfy chair. When everybody settled down, she signaled for their attention.

“Welcome to your first Astronomy class. My name is Professor McFarlan. Please assume that the usual expectations of behavior are expected here. You’ve heard the rules a time or two already, so I don’t believe I need to go over those, do I now.

“All of this is a replica of our home. The sun, moons, planets and stars are our neighbors. We are all part of a giant balancing act. Everything out there effects us physically and magically. If you can grasp that and use what is taught here, you will find that you magic works far more effectively. For instance, when Haley’s Comet visits us, you find that the Point Me spell doesn’t work and magical compasses go haywire. A potion begun during the new moon has greater strength than if one started it during any other phase.

“We shall begin with the basics.” Professor McFarlan crossed to her desk and touched the crystal with her wand. The stars faded out and replaced by an ethereal, rosy golden glow that hid what was ordinarily a barren class room. She opened a small chest and what appeared to be nine multicolored marbles of assorted sizes floated out and zoomed into a line down the middle of the classroom. These were followed by several bb sized objects which found their assigned marble and settled down into orbit. Another flick of the professor’s wand and the marbles and bb’s grew and grew until it became apparent to all that they were replicas of the planets and their moons. Earth was the size of a quaffle and Jupiter was equivalent to an over sized beach ball that people bounced around at outdoor concerts. Saturn’s rings glowed in a rainbow of colors. All were floating close enough to the ground so that even the shortest student could touch them.

“I would like you to pick three planets. You may chose any three but Earth and yes, because of its magical properties, Pluto is still considered a planet. You may work alone, in pairs or in small groups whatever you are comfortable with. You may walk around the models and touch them, just be gentle with them. I would like a paper telling my the name origins of your planets, list their satellites, describe their atmospheres, topography, and any other interesting features. I also would like any myths, legends, or superstitions involving your chosen planets that you may know.

“If you need me, feel free to raise your hand or come over to my desk and I’ll be happy to help. You may begin now.”

OOC: The usual drill. Two paragraphs minimum with lots of imagination. The more details the better. Feel free to impress me.
\n

Subthreads:

Well, this was unexpected by Holly Greer with Liz Guthrie

Science with flare by Rilla White with Professor McFarlan, Cecily Smythe, Cecily

Poor Pluto... You shall be missed. by Renaye and Josh Warren with Lucie Dupree, Josh and Raye, Raye and Josh

And I thought starlabs were awesome. . . by Laurie Cider with Zane Cooper, Laurie

Just what my overactive imagination needed... by Gray Wright with Addie Laurent

How boring... by Chelsea Brockert

0 Professor McFarlan Astronomy - First Years 1467 Professor McFarlan 1 5

Holly Greer

September 24, 2007 11:18 AM

Well, this was unexpected by Holly Greer

Holly had thought she knew what to expect from a class called 'Astronomy'. It had, in fact, been the only subject she thought she had a previous background in. Only 'History of Magic' had instilled a similar sense of I-Know-What-This-Is-About as this class had, and that was because she figured history was history was history regardless of whether the dead guys in question were wizards or normal muggles.

Astronomy, on the other hand, was science and a unit her teacher had covered for two months last year. This class Holly was sure about. This class was going to easy. She could name the eight planets. She could identify the constellations. She knew the difference between a supernova and a black hole. This was going to be just like normal school.

She stopped dead in the doorway. Her mouth dropped open. This was nothing like normal school. History of Magic had not prepared her for this. Not even Care of Magical Creatures had prepared her for this. This was crazy. The room was in the middle of the solar system.

"There's air in there, right?" she asked, refusing to step through the portal disguised as a doorway until she knew that for certain. Even with that confirmation, though, Holly couldn't bring herself to step through. The teacher eventually had to escort her inside and into a chair.

It was just a room. A room with fantastic special effects and Holly knew all about special effects. Normally this would be done with a green screen and the outer space added in later. They weren't supposed to be able to see this in real time. It was impossible. It was magic. She looked wide-eyed around the room.

She clutched at the arms of her chair, suddenly feeling the very opposite of claustrophobic because the illusion was just that good. She had to work very hard at actually listening to the teacher talk because her attention kept drifting to the Earth below them.

She was able to focus enough to get the important parts of the assignment, though. It seemed easy enough. She stood and went to look for group members. Chelsea and/or Anabel would be preferable because while she knew the muggle information about most of the planets (there was no way she'd be able to remember the names of all of moons around the larger planets, but doing Mercury, Venus, Mars, or Pluto would be easy enough), she knew nothing about facts or myths from the magical world and the pureblood magicborns probably would.

1 Holly Greer Well, this was unexpected 123 Holly Greer 0 5

Rilla White

September 24, 2007 12:16 PM

Science with flare by Rilla White

Rilla was already worried about her grades. Her mother had made it clear that she expected excellent grades. She had briefly explained the grading system in magical schools but she still didn't get it. She knew A's B's and C's, she'd never done worse than a C. In muggle school you had to be a complete moron in Rilla's opinion to get less than a C, but maybe that was just the younger grades. She'd heard talk of high school and college which she assumed were harder.

Having received an owl from her mother this morning did nothing to calm her worries as she walked into Astronomy class. Rilla knew nothing about Science, and usually disliked it about as much as she disliked History. She did usually like the hands on stuff ok. Walking into the classroom she couldn't hide a grin. If this wasn't hands on she didn't know what was! There were arm chairs floating in the middle of the solar system!

Not really concerned about the lack of gravity, as Rilla was sure it was still illegal to kill students in a wizarding school, she nearly hopped to a seat. Rilla thought she might be able to enjoy a class where she got to sit in an arm chair. She promptly curled up in one. Then came the hard part. Apparently they were now suppose to write about three planets. Rilla knew nearly nothing about planets. Science and History had always been her lowest grades, she'd get the work done but not retain anything.

Sighing, sure this class was definitely not going to be a cakewalk, Rilla went up and poked a few planets. She could actually see and feel their surfaces. They were not like the plastic display models normal schools had. These were like having minitures of the real thing in the classroom. Only, Rilla suspected the planets atmospheres had to be altered a bit so that they didn't burn fingers.

Thankfully Rilla did not have to reach up to get to the planets, even though she was sure she was probably the shortest in the class. She looked around for someone to possibly work with. She'd need someone to help her. Being pretty observant she could get some of the basic stuff down. Other stuff she wasn't sure she'd be able to figure out.

Just incase she wandered over to the professors desk. "Do you have any books on planets? Or are we suppose to be able to see most the answers?"

0 Rilla White Science with flare 116 Rilla White 0 5

Renaye and Josh Warren

September 25, 2007 6:14 AM

Poor Pluto... You shall be missed. by Renaye and Josh Warren

Renaye and Josh headed up to the Astronomy room, actually walking together this time. Renaye and Josh hadn't been able to spend a lot of time together because of homework and junk. It was nice to actually catch up.

"So," Renaye said, "What do you think--" but she stopped. They had just reached the door of the Astronomy room that seemed to open up into put space. Literally. Outer space! Josh stood in the doorway, his mouth slightly open. Renaye grinned over at him, saying in an exciteded whisper,

"How. cool. is. this?!" She took him by the arm and dragged him inside, despite his worried protests that they might fall through the floor. They dropped into two reclinersm, Raye twisting around to get the full view. Josh looked around quizically, intrigued by the room. It wasn't like any other classroom they had been in, that was for sure! Renaye reclined her seat, saying under breath, "Cool..."

Professor McFarlan, as she introduced herself, told them that she would like them to pick three planets. Pick three, and write about them. Josh turned to Renaye and she grinned back.

"Pluto."
"Jupiter."
"Mercury."

Well that was easy. Renaye hopped off her recliner and Josh looked around in case anyone wanted to join. Raye spotted his look and said to the room at large,

"Anyone need partners?"

0 Renaye and Josh Warren Poor Pluto... You shall be missed. 0 Renaye and Josh Warren 0 5

Laurie Cider

September 25, 2007 4:39 PM

And I thought starlabs were awesome. . . by Laurie Cider

By the time Laurie had turned ten years old, she had been to the Kennedy Space Center at least twenty times, and even still, she was always impressed. The tour bus always drove them through the different giant warehouses where the shuttles were worked on, and she had over thirteen signed pictures from astronauts she had met there. The planetarium was by far the most incredible thing on the trip, though. The giant domed building turned so dark she could barely make out her hand, and then the ceiling overhead would light up so many stars her head would spin.

Those field trips were always a smashing success, but the moment Laurie stepped into her astronomy classroom, those experiences paled in comparison. It was like comparing a light bulb to the sun! If she hadn't been aware that the state of the room was due to some kind of amazing charm, she would have sworn she'd entered some kind of alternative universe where they could breath and walk in space. In a daze of awe, she stumbled into a free recliner, paying little attention to the body that occupied the one next to her.

The professor introduced herself, and Laurie pinched her arm so as to pay proper attention. Her disappointment was short lived when the stars vanished and a string of nine marbles replaced them. She quickly recognized them: the planets, and she was even more pleased to see that Pluto remained. She had thought it very unfair for people to have voted Pluto out of planethood. She leaned forward in her chair and tentatively gave one of Saturn's rings a slight push. Her finger burned from the coldness of it, and she grinned knowingly.

"Ice rings. . ." she breathed. Professor McFarlan finished giving out the class assignment, and Laurie set in enthusiastically. She grabbed a notebook from her napsack and a spare pencil. Taking full notice now of the person sharing the reclining couch with her, she offered a welcoming smile.

"Hey, want to work on this together? I was thinking Saturn definitely. Did you know that technically, because of its rings, Saturn's number of natural satellites is practically impossible to count?" Her loosened hair shrugged past her shoulders as she all but danced in place. "I bet Professor McFarlan only really cares about the major moons, though."

0 Laurie Cider And I thought starlabs were awesome. . . 0 Laurie Cider 0 5

Lucie Dupree

September 25, 2007 10:46 PM

Sings a sad tune by Lucie Dupree

Even growing up in the world of magic, the Astronomy room was nonetheless impressive, as Lucie stepped into it. Eagerly, she made her way into one of the comfortable chairs, having to hop up a little to get into it. Settling in, her bag next to her, she pulled out the parchment her parents’ had purchased for school and a pen borrowed from a roommate. In neat print, with necessary hearts over each i, she began taking notes on what the professor was saying.

Of course, it was hard to concentrate when she wanted to watch everything that was happening around her, but if she wanted the notes for later studies, she had to force herself. Though, the occasion ‘Ohs’ and ‘Ahs’ were worked in with everyone else’s. Her notes were as follows:

Astronomy

Sun, Moon, Stars create balancing act
Affects us physically and magically
Haley’s Comet means Point Me spell doesn’t work, Magical compasses don’t work
New Moon means stronger potions

--

Assignment: Paper on 3 planets: where the name came from, satellites, atmospheres, typography, and so on. Add in myths, legends, superstations.

Finished, Lucie was about to look for a group. After all, working with others was much more fun than working by oneself. Though, it seemed a group would find her, as a girl yelled out, ’Anyone need partners?’ Pushing up out of the chair, Lucie waved her hand, “I do!”

Making her way over, she flashed a brilliant grin to the other two students, her long blonde hair streaming behind, no longer in the ponytail it was in earlier that day. “Hi, I’m Lucie.” The last name not added, merely, because she never saw the point. Though, her parents were always telling her she should not only add her last name, but where they were from. Lucie would just grin and giggle. Silly parents.

0 Lucie Dupree *Sings a sad tune* 114 Lucie Dupree 0 5

Zane Cooper

September 26, 2007 6:14 PM

I like the Quidditch Pitch best, but this is a close second by Zane Cooper

This was madness, absolute madness. Zane had not played any Quidditch in a whole week now! It was driving him crazy, his hands were twitching, he was irritable. Everything about life seemed gloomy when you were stuck with your feet on the ground all the time. It took all his self-control not to grab the nearest broom, no matter whose it was, and just fly it. Indoors or outdoors, rain or shine, it didn't matter. Life on the ground was too dull, and class work was endless. On the ground, he was just some short, stocky firstie of little importance. In the air, he was actually good at something. It was the only thing that seemed to come easy to him, and the powers that be at Sonora had taken it away. Merlin, he needed to just get outside.

And it seemed that his prayers to Merlin were answered almost immediately. He looked around the room in true awe. The room was no stuffy classroom, like where most of his classes were held. He might as well have been in the sky. He might as well have been flying!

Making his way to a recliner, he sat down and knew that he was home – or at least as close to the sky he considered to be his home as he could ever be in class. Curious brown eyes darted around the room as the teacher spoke, catching nothing of her lecture. It didn't matter, because something very important had just happened. All the tension seemed to drain away, spilling out onto the floor. This was definitely a class he wouldn't mind attending. He'd work hard and even try for an E in this class if it meant extra years in the classroom that was so much like the sky.

“Hm?” he said as someone spoke to him, taking him out of his reverie. He seemed to be doing a lot of daydreaming as of late. Another side effect of a severe lack of Quidditch.

Zane blinked, cocking his head to the side as the girl spoke. Did this have to do with the lesson he had (up until now) been ignoring? Zane didn’t look forward to the prospect of doing work, but for this class, at least, he would try.

“Er, no,” he said with confusion, then clarified, “About Saturn, I mean. But yeah, I’ll work with you – I’m Zane. You’re in my house, right?”

0 Zane Cooper I like the Quidditch Pitch best, but this is a close second 0 Zane Cooper 0 5

Professor McFarlan

September 27, 2007 12:18 PM

I Never Do Things Half Way by Professor McFarlan

Professor McFarlan smiled up at the first year. She mentally kicked herself for not reminding the class that they could refer to their textbooks. It was a foolish mistake, especially with first years who were already nervous about such a strange, new environment.

“Of, course, Miss White,” the Astronomy Professor answered, double checking the name on her attendance list. She handed the young lady a reference book she had on her desk.

“You may borrow this. It has several fun facts about the planets and some amazing pictures. Between that and the first two chapters in your textbook, you should be able to find everything you need. Also think back to any stories or superstitions you’ve heard. Many cultures have their own myths that originate from ancient magical knowledge. For instance, there are stories that Venus is the planet of love and Mars is the bringer of war. Sometimes, people don’t realize how much knowledge they already carry right up here.” McFarlan tapped the side of her head and nodded encouragingly\n

0 Professor McFarlan I Never Do Things Half Way 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Rilla White

September 29, 2007 11:59 AM

Of course not. by Rilla White

Rilla was not sure what to expect out of this class or her professor. Most her professors seemed to her fairly intimidating and she figured it'd be a miracle if she wasn't in trouble with one of them by the second week. So of course she was surprised when the professor smiled at her and offered her a reference book.

"Thank you Professor." Rilla replied taking the reference book. Then she listened politely as her Professor gave her suggestions. "I should have thought to check the text book. Well, I will do my best. The last time I learned anything similar to this was when I was eight. I fear I do not remember a lot from when I was in muggle school." With that Rilla excused herself and went back to her seat. She'd give this her best shot, the Professor at least didn't hate her yet and that gave her some motivation to be a good student if nothing else did.

Looking through her new resources and at the notes she'd made through observation Rilla started compiling information on Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. Jupiter was the largest of the planets and so she thought it should be included. While Saturn, well it had nifty rings, and what other reasons did she need? Then Mercury, well it was the smallest planet that muggles actually argued existed. She knew she should have picked pluto, but she was sure many would because the controversy, also she liked the name Mercury better. She was an odd child, and she knew it. But what kind of a name was Pluto? Sounded like a dogs name to her, maybe that's what even a little television did to someone.

Rilla looked at what she had so far, it wasn't much.

Required information:
Name origin, satellites, atmosphere, topography (?), interesting features.

Optional: Myths, legends, superstitions

Jupiter:
Saturn:
Mercury:

Topography? What was topography anyways? Rilla consulted her text book for a definition and when she found it she added it to her notes.

Topography: The surface features of a place or region.

On her way to getting things done she looked around the class again for anyone worked alone. She wouldn't mind a partner. Partners often could help get work done quicker she had heard, not that she'd ever had much success in her muggle school.

0 Rilla White Of course not. 116 Rilla White 0 5

Renaye and Josh Warren

September 30, 2007 3:19 PM

plays violin by Renaye and Josh Warren

OOC: I am so sorry about the long delay! Mahem in RL...

Renaye and Josh looked around at the sound of someone responding to their partner recruit. Raye grinned at the girl and Josh gave a nod.

"All right," She said, "Come on over!"

The girl came over with a huge smile on her face. She had blonde hair, like Renaye. The girl introduced herself as Lucie. Josh offered a small smile and Renaye grinned back.

"Nice to meet you," she said, "I'm Renaye and this is my brother Josh. I hope you don't mind if we picked planets already?"

Josh pulled out a piece of paper. They would have to write down what they knew about the planets and stuff. Josh looked over at the 'planets' floating in the classroom.

"Raye," he said, writing down Pluto and Jupiter. "Let's do Mars rather than Mercury, okay?"

Renaye nodded and looked to Lucie. "Is that okay? We have Pluto, Jupiter, and Mars, then. Josh likes to know as much as he can about his home planet," she said, ruffling his black hair. He gave a small groan of protest and swatted her hand away. Lucie was going to think he was weird. And he hadn't even said anything. That was one of the reasons why he didn't say much. The less you say, the less likely you are going to be embarrassed.

"So," Renaye said, "You know anyone at Sonora? We have a cousin who goes here, but that's it."

0 Renaye and Josh Warren *plays violin* 0 Renaye and Josh Warren 0 5

Lucie

September 30, 2007 4:48 PM

We could so start a musical group :P by Lucie

OOC: It's no problem.

BIC:

“Good to meet you two, too,” she said with another grin over the word silliness. “I don’t mind at all.” She was about ask which ones when Josh filled in the blanks. Pluto, Mars, and Jupiter, but gave a small giggle over the way Renaye teased Josh. She teased her brother all the time. She tried to tease Danae, but she was just way too cranky.

Curling up near the twins, she continued the conversation, her imagination starting, “I think it would be fun to be from another planet, but living on Earth. You could totally be like an observer and study the strange habits of people.” Realizing, she hadn’t answered Renaye’s question, she abruptly switched topics, as she began counting on her fingers, “I have two sibs and three cousins. Chris and Nicoletta are fifth years. Talen is in the year above us. My brother, Devian, is a fourth year and my sister, Danae, is a third year.”

Glancing at her papers to recall the assignment, she didn’t know much about the technical stuff of the planets, but she did recall reading something about one of them, “The God of War is supposed to be associated with Mars. Hey, Josh, you aren’t the God of War, right?” She gave a grin to let him know that she was only joking and hoping he had a sense of humor.

0 Lucie We could so start a musical group :P 0 Lucie 0 5

Josh and Raye

October 01, 2007 6:23 AM

We'd be one sad song singing violin playing beast! by Josh and Raye

“I think it would be fun to be from another planet, but living on Earth. You could totally be like an observer and study the strange habits of people,” said Lucie. Renaye could see what she meant, but honestly, she would rather live on Earth. It's too awesome here to not live here.

"I could really go for the whole zero-gravity thing!" Raye said. "Imagine the Quidditch you could play!" Josh sat up a little straighter. Now this was going in a good direction! Josh loved talking about Quidditch. Everything else seemed so tedius to him. Why talk about the weather when you can talk about FLYING in that weather?

"Do you play?" Raye asked Lucie.

“I have two sibs and three cousins. Chris and Nicoletta are fifth years. Talen is in the year above us. My brother, Devian, is a fourth year and my sister, Danae, is a third year.”

Raye blinked her green eyes. "That's a lot. We have one cousin. She's a second year, Pecari. Her name's Irene."

Josh tapped his pen on the paper, trying to get them back on topic. He didn't want to fail this. Lucie, though, must have been thinking the same thing. She got back on topic.

“The God of War is supposed to be associated with Mars. Hey, Josh, you aren’t the God of War, right?”

Josh gave a small grin as Renaye laughed. "You never know," he said, writing down "God of War" for Mars.

"Some people think Jupiter use to be a star, but it just became a planet," Renaye said.

0 Josh and Raye We'd be one sad song singing violin playing beast! 0 Josh and Raye 0 5

Laurie

October 01, 2007 8:53 PM

My best would probably be the beach. by Laurie

OOC: Because of the thread that's been started in the Gardens, I'm assuming Laurie and Zane must have already met, so Laurie will just act as if, instead of an intro, that was a 'what's up' greeting, if that's cool.

IC:

Laurie could have smacked herself, if she were into self-punishment, which she was not, at least not the physical kind. She was more into the self-guilting, overly remonstrative sort of self-punishment. As it was, she felt quite silly to not have realized that she'd been sitting next to Zane the whole time. She decided to blame her lack of observation skills to the excitement of have a moving, floating replica of the solar system in front of her.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "I got caught up in my enthusiasm." She glanced down at her textbook, open on the floor below between her legs. "Um, the text says Saturn has some sixty moons, but only forty something are named, and in here I'm only seeing seven listed. Hope our teacher doesn't mind. . ."

The textbook chosen for their class was very much like any other textbook Laurie had ever had, if one ignored the mentionings of magical properties, occasional references to arithmancy, and naturally, the moving pictures. The corner photo of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, showed a smoky orange sphere whose surface was hidden by the cloud layers. A small note below the photo included some additional information.

"Hey, this is pretty cool: Apparently Titan has its own atmosphere." She looked up from the text, her hands working behind her to throw her sandy hair into a ponytail. "It even has huge lakes of liquid-" she skipped over the word, not recognizing it. "Huge lakes of liquid hydrocarbon on it." She squinted down at the words. "Whatever that is."

"Okay, so we've got Saturn basically," Laurie said, gesturing toward her notebook which included all the requested information plus the extras she had stumbled upon. "But we need two more. Next one's yours!"

0 Laurie My best would probably be the beach. 0 Laurie 0 5

Lucie

October 01, 2007 10:05 PM

Hopefully, no one would run away by Lucie

Lucie shook her no at being asked if she played. “I’ve never even been on a broom. My mom doesn’t think it’s proper…” Lucie made a face at this, “for a young witch. I can’t wait to learn though. It looks like absolute fun.”

Her parents really did have some boring ideas. She hated having to sit there and learn how to sip her tea in the right way. Really, how could one sip it the wrong way? She guessed Danae could, as she was usually being told she was doing something in the incorrect manner.

She gave a small laugh when Josh said one might never know, pleased that he had responded to her joking. She hadn’t been sure since he seemed to be much quieter than his sister. It was quite the opposite of her as well. She was always chattering about one thing or another, just because she could go on about anything, even if she didn’t know anything about it. In those cases, it was more questions.

On the thought of questions, what could she say about Pluto? What else had been in all the books she had read? All the independent tutoring? Oh, she knew! “Pluto’s supposed to break through illusions.” Pondering this for a moment, she reasoned, “Maybe it has an effect on certain magic, like disillusionment charms? Maybe they aren’t as strong?”

She grabbed her bag to pull out the textbook. She began flipping through the pages to see if she could confirm what she had just said. She didn’t find anything yet, but she found something more on Jupiter. Pointing excitedly, she stated, “It says here that Jupiter is supposed to expand psychic awareness and it good for divination.”

0 Lucie Hopefully, no one would run away 0 Lucie 0 5

Cecily Smythe

October 03, 2007 5:13 PM

Your partner awaits by Cecily Smythe

Cecily wasn’t especially interested in learning about astronomy. She liked looking at the stars, and picking out pictures at nighttime, but that was about as far as her interest went. There wasn’t life on any of the other planets, her Daddy had told her so, so she didn’t really understand why they had to study planets at school. On the other hand, though, studying space was likely to be far more interesting than studying dull things like history or transfiguration, so Cecily tried not to be set against the class before she’d given it a go.

Luckily, the appearance of the classroom did a lot to encourage Cecily’s liking of the subject. It was like being in space, and Cecily could just lie back and look at the stars. Well, she could if the professor hadn’t started talking to the class. It was okay though, because after a quick introduction the professor did some more fun stuff with the classroom, and made a model of the solar system appear in the classroom. Cecily was rapidly changing her mind – maybe she would like astronomy after all.

As the professor started giving instructions, Cecily took out some parchment and her very best self-inking quill that her parents had bought for her (amongst a whole horde of other expensive gifts) to take to Sonora, and made notes on the lesson aims. She wasn’t a particularly studios girl by nature, but the excitement of starting school hadn’t yet worn off, and so Cecily was still keen in her lessons. That would undoubtedly change with time.

Cecily didn’t know which three planets to pick for study, though. She opened up her own textbook and had a glance at one or two of the planets, trying to make an informed decision. She traced the feathery tip of her quill across her chin as she thought, but it did little to help her progress. Eventually Cecily settled on finding someone to work with, instead, and perhaps they could choose the planets for her. She looked up just as another girl walked by.

“You can work with me, if you like,” Cecily voiced her generous offer of a study partner.

0 Cecily Smythe Your partner awaits 122 Cecily Smythe 0 5

Raye and Josh

October 03, 2007 9:23 PM

We can only hope... by Raye and Josh

“I’ve never even been on a broom. My mom doesn’t think it’s proper…” Lucie made a face at this, “for a young witch. I can’t wait to learn though. It looks like absolute fun.”

Josh's bright blue eyes grew wide. What? That's so depressing... It seemed like there were a lot of people whose parents didn't think flying was "proper." How lame. Renaye seemed to be thinking along the same lines. She smiled at Lucie's desire to fly.

"It's great! Just wait till the lessons," she said, "It's going to be awesome, because after that, we can fly for real!"

“Pluto’s supposed to break through illusions.” Pondering this for a moment, she reasoned, “Maybe it has an effect on certain magic, like disillusionment charms? Maybe they aren’t as strong?”

Josh was impressed with her knowledge. He hadn't known that, and he was sure Renaye didn't. He wrote it down as Renaye offered her a "Good one!" Josh knew a bit about Astronomy. It wasn't his forte, but he knew some stuff. He knew Jupiter was use to be an old star, as Raye said earlier. He also knew that Mars was the closest planet to Earth, atmosphere wise, and distance wise. He really didn't know what effects it had on magic though.

“It says here that Jupiter is supposed to expand psychic awareness and it good for divination.”

Josh wrote this down too.

"You're on a roll!" Renaye saidm flipping through her own book. "It's a good thing we have you. We usually just figure it out and try our best for it, but nothing really extravagent."

Renaye decided she liked Lucie. She was exciting and nice and didn't seem to get boring. Ever. Raye liked exciting people. Maybe because she considered herself exciting. They were just similar.

0 Raye and Josh We can only hope... 0 Raye and Josh 0 5

Lucie

October 05, 2007 5:49 PM

Hopes for hope grins by Lucie

Judging by the fact that Renaye just said it was great, she knew how to fly, which Josh probably did too. She wondered if she would be any good. She hoped so, thinking of how much fun it would be to go flying with them some time. Then, thinking further, she asked, “Do you play Quidditch?”

Devian had played his first year here and then stopped without explanation. Well, there might have been one, but she hadn’t paid much attention to it, as she had been only eight and had been much more interested in hearing about other aspects of the school, such as what he was learning, other students, and so on. When she had originally come to Sonora, she had hoped to be in the same House as him, but she actually liked hers and thought it was the right fit now.

Lucie continued flipping through the book trying to find out more information, “Do either of you have the factual stuff about the planets? I think it’s in this chapter, but I haven’t found it yet.”

A few minutes later, she asked, “Have you met lots of people yet? I only met two girls at the feast, but we didn’t really talk.” She didn’t mention that the one had been sucking her thumb and uncommunicative, as she didn’t think it would have been very nice to do so.

0 Lucie Hopes for hope *grins* 0 Lucie 0 5

Gray Wright

October 05, 2007 10:33 PM

Just what my overactive imagination needed... by Gray Wright

Gray's first reaction to his first sight of the Astronomy classroom was to stop dead and stare, sure he had seen it wrong. His second was to take off his glasses and quickly polish them on his robes, just in case his abysmal vision was playing tricks on him again. When he put them back on and found he could make out the House crest on his robes, he decided that the recliner-furnished room full of stars was real, so he went in and took a seat. The glasses test was fail-proof.

Anna had told him, during one of the talkative spells she'd had near the end of summer, that he might find some aspects of Sonora "kinda weird". Gray couldn't argue with that, but this, at least, was a good kind of weird. Not one member of his family - with the possible exception of Uncle John, who everyone said had been brilliant as a younger man - was all that great with a wand, which would have made anything like this impossible even if anyone had the imagination to think of it. He had never really paid much attention to the night sky, but he thought he was going to like this class. It was easy to imagine people suspended in the dark places.

Gray listened to the speech, deciding he liked this teacher from the moment she said she wasn't going to go through the rules again. He liked knowing what was expected of him, but there was a point where it stopped being welcome and became anxiety-inducing. He started to doubt his ability to follow them. He blinked when the scene changed, shadowing his eyes against the glare of the new light on his recently-polished glasses. It only took him a moment to adjust well enough to put down his hand, however, and watch the small projectiles grow into a model of the solar system.

The assignment sounded pretty hard to him, but that could have had something to do with being a little unsure about which planet was which. He knew more from his own reading than he did from his relatives's well-meaning attempts to tutor him, and neither his reading nor his relatives were very present-world or science-based. The relatives didn't know much about such things, and Gray just liked stories. They didn't change and require relearning the way aspects of the real world could. He clambered out of his recliner to examine the models, wondering idly about how realistic they were and what Venus looked like under those clouds.

He paused next to the one with all the rings. It was one of the ones he wasn't sure what to call, but he thought it was one of the ones likely to prove interesting. There just had to be some kind of story behind a name that somebody had deemed fitting for the rings. He would look that up, he decided, as soon as he figured out which one it was. "Hey," he said to the nearest person, pushing his glasses a little further up his nose. His cousin had stressed the importance of making a good appearance early on, but she had never got around to telling him how to do that. "Is this Neptune?"

16 Gray Wright Just what my overactive imagination needed... 113 Gray Wright 0 5

Addie Laurent

October 06, 2007 1:51 AM

An endless amount of space? by Addie Laurent

When Addie entered the Astronomy room, her mouth opened slightly in shock. It wasn’t an ordinary room with ordinary desks. It was an endless array of space. While she was aware that magic could do some amazing things, nothing had prepared her for something like this. She had thought that the only way to see space would have been to obtain the muggle career of astronaut.

In place of desks were recliners. Not just gym mats or some such, but actual cozy looking recliners. Quickly, she looked around for a chair that not only wasn’t occupied, but wasn’t around anyone. She was already insecure by nature, always comparing herself to Hannah, and her roommates had just enforced that insecurity more. Finding one, she took her seat.

She pulled out her notebook and pen. She had made the decision that she wasn’t going to try making friends, especially after that fiasco, but would rather give her all to her studies. As such, she took careful notes about what Professor McFarlan stated, as well as what they were to be writing an essay on. She knew her sister would yell at her later for not trying, but she had tried and now she was an outcast in her dorm. So, yes, it was better not to.

When the professor said that they could begin working, Addie opted to look at the planets to help choose which ones would of the most interest. Of course, this posed the slight problem that everyone else had the same idea. She chose one that looked the least crowded. Making her way among the students, she found herself near to a boy with glasses.

She had managed to jot down a couple of notes when she head a voice speaking. Automatically looking up, she saw the same boy addressing her. Tucking back some of her dark brown curls in nervous habit, she answered, “Um, no, it’s not. This is Saturn. You can tell by the rings.”

0 Addie Laurent An endless amount of space? 0 Addie Laurent 0 5

Rilla White

October 07, 2007 10:42 PM

Awesome by Rilla White

Rilla was pleasantly surprised to see a girl offer to work with her. Anyone was better than no one she figured.

"I'd love to work with you." Rilla replied politely, taking a seat next to the girl.

"I'm Rilla White, first year Teppenpaw." She then held out a hand to the girl, balancing her papers and books on her lap.

"Our Professor lent me this reference book and showed me where I could gather materials in our text. I am not very good with Science of any sort." With that Rilla offered her an appologetic smile.

"I have already started somewhat. I was going to do Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. Is that alright with you or would you prefer another three?" Rilla showed the girl the work she'd done already which wasn't much but it was a start.

"If so, we should make some more notes about the planets using the models and then see what we can find in this reference and our text. Do you know any myths or anything about planets? I don't. Not really." Rilla tended to talk when nervous and first meeting people, she hoped she wasn't coming off bossy or talking the poor girl to death.

0 Rilla White Awesome 116 Rilla White 0 5

Zane

October 09, 2007 11:06 PM

I've never been a fan of sand by Zane

OOC: Yes, that's fine, and I apologize for the delay. Schoolwork has been fighting for total control over my life as of late.

BIC:

Zane grinned at Laurie knowingly. He knew exactly what it was to get caught up in enthusiasm, though the only occasions he ever gave into impulse usually concerned a flying broom. Otherwise he was a mostly quiet, almost serious, kind of kid. Mostly. But if they were going to keep Quidditch from him at Sonora, he could not be held liable for his actions. His parents thought that he ought to make this experience a positive one, but they just didn’t understand the way he craved to be up in the air.

His grinned widened as he thought of his dad. Mr. Cooper thought Zane should pursue other interests, which was really just silly. When one’s ambition was to become a professional Quidditch player, one had to take everything about the game quite seriously. And you had to control the urge to play any sports besides Quidditch, no matter what, because you didn’t want any injuries you might sustain playing other sports to ruin your potential Quidditch career. This also meant that you had to eat healthy, exercise, all that stuff that mothers usually found their children reluctant to do. Yes, Zane would even turn down Chocolate Frogs, if it meant a better chance of playing Quidditch one day, and never having to worry about that itch to be on a broom bothering him again, because he would get to fly everyday.

“It’s alright,” he nodded at Laurie, trying to keep up with her as she spewed out loads and loads of astronomy knowledge. At the beginning, he had his quill and parchment out, and he hurriedly jotted down a few key words. In the end he settled for just smiling and nodding at what he hoped were the appropriate moments.

”Yeah,” he repeated slowly, “Basically.” In truth he wondered how they could possibly be expected to know anything more about Saturn. Brown eyes looked from Laurie’s notes to his own sparse notes. He hadn’t caught even half of what she just said.

“Can I look at that later?” he asked, pointing to her notes, “I won’t copy it word for word or anything, just… to get anything I missed.” Now to think of a second planet to write about. The choice was obvious. Even if the only thing he knew about said choice was that it was on the small side as far as planets went, just like he was small for his age.

“Mercury,” he stated as he flipped through the pages of his textbook on his lap, “Let’s see, okay, here it is – Mercury, no atmosphere, no known satellites…” well this was certainly easy, “It’s the closest to the Sun, second smallest planet – if you’re including Pluto.”

The rest of the stuff in the book, facts about how fast it took Mercury to orbit the Sun, and the extreme temperatures of Mercury were of little interest to Zane. He didn’t plan on traveling to Mercury – what did it matter to him how cold or how hot it got, or if it was covered in craters?

“Hey, wasn’t Mercury a messenger?” Zane asked, looking up from the textbook, “But he used to be called Hermes, or something, I think. He was a messenger of the gods and the god of trade, too. His sandals had wings in them.”

Zane’s face reddened at the thought of remembering something academic, it was strange for him. His dad always liked to read books to Zane and his brothers, and Zane had immediately taken a liking to Mercury. Somehow, it reminded him of himself.

He smiled sheepishly, “My parents own a bookstore, back home. I guess something from one of their books must have rubbed off.”

0 Zane I've never been a fan of sand 0 Zane 0 5

Gray

October 09, 2007 11:14 PM

I was thinking of the pretty lights, but that works, too. by Gray

Gray felt his head, formerly normal-feeling, start to get hot and light when the dark-haired girl told him what the planet in question was actually called. Embarrassment and the belief he was about to be punished for something both involved a sick sort of dread - he pictured it as a large grey boulder trying to fight its way out of his stomach - setting in before he even found out what the problem was, but the head thing only happened when he was embarrassed. He squinted a little, as if having trouble making out his corrector, and straightened his glasses unnecessarily.

"Thanks," he said, forgetting to speak slowly to ensure she understood him. He hadn't gotten used to the necessity yet, and he was feeling uncharacteristically awkward in the wake of his stupid question. "I didn't start reading this class' book," he added, feeling obliged to explain the goof-up. He had heard - many, many times - that Aladrens were the smart ones of Sonora, and he didn't want to ruin the House image. It might not go over well for him. "The history one was too long to finish, but I didn't want to stop reading it."

He glanced at her notes, then back at the recliner all his things were either in or beside. 'Saturn' was neither long nor complicated to remember, though, so he thought he'd be okay. He thought Saturn was a Roman agriculture god and one of the more major ones, but couldn't remember what he was called in Greek. He should have known he'd need his mythology reader the minute he'd left it at home...

Ah, well. The only other ones he couldn't remember the myth for off the top of his head were Earth and Uranus, and they only had to write about three. He'd have plenty of time for brushing up on his archaic deities after class. It wouldn't take long, especially if the stories were worth five knuts. Gray had yet to find a story he couldn't read, but the more interesting ones did tend to go faster.

Gray hesitated for a moment, not sure what he was supposed to do next. Good manners were sort of like facts about the solar system - he had picked up bits and pieces from books and relatives, but not enough to grasp the finer points of what constituted polite behavior. He wished, for about the millionth time, that he was a little more like his dad and less like his mom. Grayson the Eighth wasn't sophisticated at all, but he was usually on first-name terms with people inside five minutes. Janine didn't share the trait. "D'you want to - you know - work together?" he asked, figuring it was probably politer to ask. "I'm Gray Wright, Aladren."

16 Gray I was thinking of the pretty lights, but that works, too. 113 Gray 0 5

Cecily

October 11, 2007 5:35 PM

I am grins by Cecily

The girl stopped and acquiesced to be Cecily’s partner, which Cecily was sure would suit both girls nicely. The other introduced herself as Rilla White; a Teppenpaw. Cecily returned with an introduction of her own, “Cecily Smythe, first year Crotalus,” and a soft handshake.

As Cecily had hoped, Rilla had already selected her planets for study: Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, and Cecily had no objections to these decisions whatsoever. Once Rilla had finished talking, Cecily answered her as best as she could.

“The planets you’ve chosen are fine,” she assured her partner. “I didn’t know which ones to pick and so I hoped you would have chosen already. I don’t know much about astronomy at all, actually, and it’s not because I’m not interested, because I think I might be, but just because I’ve never learned about space before, apart from some constellations that Daddy pointed out to me.” Cecily spoke all of this in her usual manner; rather rapidly, without seeming to pause for breath. “I think your plan about making notes is a good one,” she continued. “How about you start making notes from the models and I’ll look in the textbooks for any decent references?” Cecily suggested. She didn’t mean to be bossy in her delegation of tasks, but merely efficient. She certainly wouldn’t be offended if Rilla were to offer alternative solutions.

0 Cecily I am *grins* 0 Cecily 0 5

Addie

October 16, 2007 4:15 PM

Can you imagine them in the dorm? by Addie

“You’re welcome,” Addie replied automatically with a small, polite smile. When she was little, her mom had always insisted on them saying their ‘pleases,’ ‘thank yous,’ and such. For the most part, it was now ingrained, but every once in a while in excitement, they forgot and had to be reminded. More often, it was Hannah in her enthusiasm.

His explanation as to why he hadn’t known the planet was Saturn caused her to blink in surprise. He hadn’t read the book…yet? She hadn’t touched the book at all regardless of her newfound determination to do well. Then, when he claimed to have read the entire History of Magic book, her eyes got wider. It was a really thick book, only made worse by the fact that it was probably a condensed version in the attempt to make it easier to learn. Still though, it contained an incredible amount of information composed over time. She couldn’t imagine not being able to put it down.

It might have been her avoidance of the subject matter, though. History had never been her favorite subject. She had always preferred math, but they didn’t have that here. At least, she didn’t think they did. Maybe she would give the book a try since he had enjoyed it so well, so maybe it wasn’t as boring as the muggle books.

She tucked a stray piece of dark hair behind her ear, about to move on, when the boy spoke again. She was slightly stunned for she hadn’t expected anything more to be said. He wanted to work together? Her lips formed a brighter smile than the one from earlier. Things appeared to be going much better than they had in the dorms.

“Sure. I’m Addie Laurent,” she offered. So, his name was Gray. It was a really cool name. The Aladren part didn’t surprise her after what he had said before. He just had to be smart. This also meant that they might be able to get a good grade on the assignment. Unsure of what to do, she asked, “Do you want to continue looking at the planets or should we start the assignment?”

0 Addie Can you imagine them in the dorm? 0 Addie 0 5

Rilla White

October 17, 2007 11:31 AM

Of course you are... by Rilla White

Rilla was glad when the girl said her choices were fine. She'd already made a pretty good start, and starting all over would have been annoying. She noted the name, Cecily Smythe that was good to try to remember though Rilla was horrible with names. Rilla listened to Cecily politely as she explained that she knew little about Astronomy and how she'd come to know a little.

After this Cecily stated a game plan. It sounded good to Rilla. "Excellent idea, divide and conquer, always a good plan. I will wander over right now and see what I can find out from these models. I prefer hands on anyways, you enjoy those books, I'll be back in a few." With that Rilla went off to observe the planets. She picked Jupiter to study first. She consulted her notes and started adding to them.

Required information:
Name origin, satellites, atmosphere, topography (?), interesting features.

Optional: Myths, legends, superstitions

Jupiter: fifth planet from the sun, largest planet, gasy bands of atmosphere, appears to have lots of storms, a small bump near the equator, 63 (?) satellites or moons

Saturn: sixth planet from the sun, second largest, gas filled rings which seem to have dust and such in them, 60 (?) satellites or moons,

Mercury: closest to the sun, cratered surface, no satellites, smallest before pluto

Topography: The surface features of a place or region.

Rilla looked up from her notes. This was the best she could do without adding book resources. Grabbing her notes she went back to her partner.

"Here's what I have, lets see if we can add to it with your information and get this thing done." Rilla dropped her notes infront of her partner. They were a bit sloppy but her handwriting was decent enough that most people could read it. It was the quills that messed her up, she had learned to write with pencils and pens. She waited for her partner to have a chance to look at her work so they could blend it together into some kind of sense for their professor.

0 Rilla White Of course you are... 116 Rilla White 0 5

Liz Guthrie

October 19, 2007 4:27 PM

Always expect the unexpected by Liz Guthrie

Liz figured that Astronomy class was just going to be about looking at the stars and planets. She didn't think that it was going to be like this. When she entered the room the first thing she did was to check the floor with one toe to see if there was still a floor to walk on. After the professor had assured the class that the gravity was still working she went to take a seat in one of the chairs.She was sitting right next to some girl who refused to come in at first.

Now that she got over the initial shock Liz was starting to think that she might actually like this class. The "room" was so awsome. Most of her family is pureblood but even so, she had never seen anything like this before. Though, her pureblood grandma did have a room that snowed even in the summer so she shouldn't be too amazed, but she was.

Liz cought herself daydeaming just in time to hear the insructions. This shouldn't be too hard. She knew all kinds of things about mythology revolving around planets, though it was all muggle Romen. Her main problem was everything else. She never paid much attention when Uncle Joe was telling her about all that stuff about the names of the moons or any of those other things the professor talked about.

What Liz needed was a partner who knew their stuff. She looked around the room for a likely candidate. She didn't know anyone here so she just chose a random person, which happened to be the girl she was sitting next to.

Liz tapped the girl's sholder and asked, in the politest way she new how, "Hey, do you think I could join whatever group you're in?"

0 Liz Guthrie Always expect the unexpected 0 Liz Guthrie 0 5

Cecily

October 21, 2007 1:48 PM

I'm glad we're in agreement. by Cecily

Pleased that no offence had been taking to her orders, Cecily nodded as Rilla went to examine the model planets, and then she opened her own textbook to the Index page to find out other information. Taking up her quill, Cecily began to make notes from each page that made reference to one of her planets. A lot of the information was difficult to understand, though, so Cecily only wrote down the bits that seemed to fit Professor McFarlan’s directions. By the time she was rejoined by Rilla, Cecily had made the following notes in her neat, handwriting:

Jupiter – named after the Roman King of the Gods; does not have a solid surface because it is made of gas; weighs three more times than all the other planets combined; has a Great Red Spot – probably storms.

Saturn – named after the Roman God of agriculture; rings are made up of ice particles; 17 moons (satellites); gives out more heat into the atmosphere than it receives form the sun.

Mercury – named after the Roman God Mercurius, God of trade and commerce; each day is twice as long as a year (how weird is that?); surface is covered in craters, like our Moon; has no atmosphere.

Rilla put her own notes out for Cecily to see, and Cecily laid hers down, too. “I’m afraid I don’t know any myths or legends about the planets,” Cecily said, truthfully. “There wasn’t anything in the book on them, either, except the bit I’ve written about the Gods.” She hadn’t understood what topography was, either, but Rilla had written a short definition at the bottom of her notes, so Cecily needn’t bother asking. “Do you think we should ask for another book for the extra information or do you think we have enough here already?” she asked her partner.

0 Cecily I'm glad we're in agreement. 0 Cecily 0 5

Gray

October 22, 2007 10:33 PM

Now <i>that</i> would be awesome. by Gray

There was something naggingly familiar about the look the other first year was giving him, but it took a second for Gray to place it as a close cousin to the 'could-you-say-that-again' look most of the family had given him at some point. He wasn't fond of it, as adults who wore it had an annoying habit of making vague comments that made his mom get upset. Gray tried to think of what he might have said this time, but nothing came up. He'd thanked her and went on to explain why he hadn't known about -

Oh. That was it. She had already read all of her textbooks, or at least started them. He hadn't even finished one - the Potions book had gotten dull after a while, and he had just reached the twentieth century when the eve of his departure had forced him to pack the History book up with the others. Gray wasn't used to getting odd looks for not doing things, but there had never been anything saying it couldn't happen at some point. He still had time to catch up, though, so he decided to take it as a point taken and move on.

His companion must not have thought too badly of him after hearing he was behind, because she agreed to work with him and introduced herself. Addie. Gray was almost sure it was short for something, sort of like Annie or Janny or Tabby, but he liked the sound of it on its own. If all went well, he might ask her about it sometime. For the meantime, Gray smiled back and said, "Cool."

Maybe he wouldn't, as he'd heard his aunts gloomily saying he would, make a shambles of getting along with all of the other students. He half-shrugged when Addie asked what the next thing on the agenda should be. "I don't really care," he said honestly. "I know some stories behind the names of most of them, especially Jupiter and Mercury. Can't say as much for the technical stuff, though - the facts and all." He looked around at the models, not sure how accurate they were but assuming them to be fairly good miniatures of the real things. "I'm fine either way, so whatever you want to do."

16 Gray Now <i>that</i> would be awesome. 113 Gray 0 5

Holly Greer

October 23, 2007 9:36 AM

The unexpected isn't good for my stress by Holly Greer

Before Holly could get very far, certainly before she could find Anabel or Chelsea, the girl seated next to her tapped her on the shoulder and asked to join her group. Well, that had been easy. Holly was actually somewhat relieved that she didn't need to walk over the vertigo inspiring floor after all. "Sure, I hope you know about the myths, because my muggle astronomy unit only covered the scientific facts."

She realized they'd exchanged two whole sentences and neither had introduced herself yet, so Holly hurried to correct that, "Oh! I am Holly Thistle of the Hollywood Thistles." She gave a little curtsy. She knew she'd have to write 'Greer' on their paper later, but the longer she could avoid bringing up the hated boring name, the happier she'd be.

"Unless you have a reason otherwise, let's do Mercury, Venus, and Mars, since they don't have zillions of moons like the gas giants do. Does that sound all right to you?"

1 Holly Greer The unexpected isn't good for my stress 123 Holly Greer 0 5

Laurie

October 23, 2007 9:52 PM

How about the ocean? by Laurie

OOC: I'm so sorry about how long I was in replying. I totally did not see your reply until like an hour ago. Sorry!

IC:

"Sure," Laurie agreed, passing over her first page of notes to Zane willingly. She listened as he read aloud the points on Mercury, her eyes slowly scanning over to rest on the planet itself. The globe spun seemingly lazily, yet she knew from the text that a year in Mercury was only 88 Earth days. Just the year before, in her fifth grade class, they had read several vignettes from Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, which had led to her straying from her typical mystery books to those of the science fiction genre. Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke- she stuck only to their short stories, having started one of Heinlein's, Stranger in a Strange Land, and deciding that she wasn't quite ready for that. She remembered wondering if there might be life out there after all, strange beings with different bodies who spoke without vocal cords, or even more wonderful, beings with bodies just like hers, who lived in houses just like hers, and dreamt dreams just like hers. It made her think that astronomy was less a science and more a romance.

Her gaze fell back to her partner as he spoke about Hermes, the Greek messenger god. She smiled crookedly in response to the mentioning of his parents' bookstore, ignoring his flushed cheeks. "Yeah, a bookstore? Maybe they sell some of my dad's books. He writes cookbooks that incorporate wizarding methods and ingredients with Muggle classics."

She leaned forward conspiratorially. "He's constantly using us as his guinea pigs for new recipes. I can very honestly say that I am most definitely not missing his trial periods."

She grimaced in memory. After the twentieth or thirtieth recipe attempt, the meal would taste fantastically. But it was all those tries in between that would send her taste buds running for cover, and her brothers volunteering for every other possible chore available. She was always left with the tasting. Her father insisted she had the palate of the finest gourmand. She shook her head fondly, and then flipped through her textbook until her eyes fell on a picture that caught her attention. She ignored the final need of a planet for a moment longer, however, and instead asked:

"So, from Josh and Renaye, I got that your family's pretty famous in the Quidditch circles. Are your parents in the same business? But you know, with books?"

0 Laurie How about the ocean? 0 Laurie 0 5

Rilla White

October 24, 2007 12:15 AM

Denial is wonderful huh? by Rilla White

Rilla looked over the notes her partner had. "I don't think we've got time to ask for more materials. We should just put together what we have I guess. One thing, some of our information doesn't match up. I swore I found more moons for Saturn. Maybe we can relook that up?"

Rilla grabbed the reference book and started flipping through it.

"Also, should we combine our notes? Maybe put them in paragraph form? If we want to do that I think you should write. Your handwriting is better." With that Rilla grinned at Cecily, it was obvious Rilla's penmanship needed work.

"Hopefully we did alright. I wonder what planets the other groups picked. Maybe they found some interesting myths and legends. If we have time we could look again through the reference book to make sure there aren't any listed. I know there are some myths about the sun going into a cave during the night. Silly huh?" Rilla knew she was a bit chatty, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't often she got to talk to people her age, and so far school seemed very exciting to her.

0 Rilla White Denial is wonderful huh? 116 Rilla White 0 5

Addie

October 24, 2007 3:59 PM

It would be pretty cool. by Addie

Addie thought about it for a moment. She really wasn't a take charge kind of person. She usually let Hannah decide whatever they were going to do. It was a bit unsettling to be making such a decision, even if it wasn't a very important one. “Well, since we're around Saturn, I guess we should do that one. And you know about Jupiter and Mercury, so it would be logical to do those too.” Well, that seemed easy enough. “The technical stuff should be in the book and I know some stuff from my other school.”

Since she had decided the planets, perhaps, she should ask where he put his things? She didn't think it would be very nice to make him move. “Where were you sitting? I'll get my book so we can start.” She went and got her book, then thinking better of it, took everything. It would make leaving class easier once it was over. Not to mention, if she needed anything, it would be in reach.

Settling down in an empty desk near his, she opened her textbook. “I don't think I know any of the myths,” she admitted. She blushed. She hoped he wouldn't think she was dumb. He seemed nice and she was hoping they could be friends, but that wouldn't happen if he thought less of her, like her roommates did. Trying to recover and show that she had a brain cell, she said, “Um, Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun.”

0 Addie It would be pretty cool. 0 Addie 0 5

Gray

October 24, 2007 10:41 PM

Like camping out without all the bugs and rocks. by Gray

Though he was still having trouble remembering any concrete facts about Saturn, Gray nodded when Addie offered her idea for how to divide things up. "That sounds good," he agreed, relieved that a decision had been reached both smoothly and quickly. The whole interaction thing seemed nowhere near as hard as it had been made out to be.

Of course, he had to admit he should have considered who he was getting his information from. Anna had been the one who defined 'misanthropy' for him, which was why she had become the model for Missy Muller in his 'Phil and Missy' stories. His cousin had a sense of humor if one listened for it, and she could even be good company on her good days, but it was hard to think of a scenario she didn't regard just a little cynically at best.

"Over there," he said, waving towards his abandoned chair when asked where he had been before. His book was open in the seat, held that way by various items removed from his bag at random. His glasses case, brought along because he couldn't do close work with his glasses on, was among the improvised bookmarks, one cloth-covered corner protruding from beneath a piece of parchment. A few other pages, the format suggesting notes, were peering over the top of the still-open bag. He grinned a bit apologetically. "I guess organization's not my best area."

Deficient though he might have been in social graces, Gray suffered no such lack in powers of observation. He noticed when Addie blushed, though he wasn't too clear on why. Was she embarrassed that she didn't know the stories? He liked the stories, but he couldn't deny that knowing how many of the other planets fell between Saturn and the sun looked a lot more likely to be useful in this class than who Saturn was named after. "I think - I'm not, uh, completely sure - that Saturn's a Roman harvest god," he said, then admitted that, "It's been a while since I looked at much mythology, and my reader's mostly the Greek versions, anyway."

He wrote down what they had so far, twirling his quill. "He might have had something to do with the sky," he added. "A, I don't know, sky god or overlord or something like that. I don't think I'll put it down, though. Saturn's festival was in December - the Saturnalia." He wrote down the last said-aloud thought. "I'm gonna ask Mom to send my mythology book along soon," he continued as he wrote. "I didn't think it'd be useful, but it would. You can see it, if you want." Book borrowing was something he knew about. He and Anna borrowed each other's books all the time. That the book-owner seldom had knowledge or gave approval of it was beside the point.

Gray punctated his sentence and glanced up at his partner. Had he or had he not been told that he talked too much and that it got on people's nerves only a few days before this class? "Sorry if I talk too much," he apologized, figuring it was the correct thing to do after thinking out loud and maybe getting on Addie's nerves. He thought she might be a person he liked, so annoying her wouldn't be good. "Should we split it up and combine everything at the end?"

16 Gray Like camping out without all the bugs and rocks. 113 Gray 0 5

Liz Guthrie

October 25, 2007 7:26 PM

Well then chill out by Liz Guthrie

Liz was exited to be accepted as a partner. As a half-blood living in a muggle town the few friends she had were muggles so she didn't know anybody here at Sanora and she really wanted to make some friends. Preferably good ones who don't get her in trouble. For some reason, getting her in trouble was the hobby if most of the kids back at home. She guessed that was because everyone, who wasn't family, liked to call her "the wierdo." Not that she had many problems in that department. Trouble seemed to be her middle name, whether she liked it or not.

When the girl, whom she now knew was Holly Thistles, asked if she knew about the myths she could barely hold back her laughter. "Do I know about myths? Reading about myths, legends, and fairy tales is my hobbie. My name is Liz, by the way, Liz Guthrie of..." She tried to find the appropriate thing to say to match that fancy title that Holly used, "of the Guthrie family." Yeah, that sounded good. Simple, yet it got the job done.

She grabbed Holly's hand and shook it in greeting before saying "Mercury, Venus, and Mars right? No problem. So should we start with the scientific stuff or the myths first?" Her voice was steadily rising on it's own accord, as it tended to do, but she tried to keep it down for the sake of the other student's concentration. "When it comes to scientific stuff, I'm completely useless, I never paid much attention to all that, so I hope you know you're science."

0 Liz Guthrie Well then chill out 0 Liz Guthrie 0 5

Cecily

October 27, 2007 2:14 PM

Denial - is that a river? by Cecily

Rilla didn’t think they should look for more information before they has begun writing up something in neat, and Cecily was more than happy to comply with this plan. The discrepancy over the number of Saturn’s moons was altered as soon as Cecily had turned back to the Index, re-found the page, re-read the material and corrected her mistake. “My mistake,” Cecily said apologetically.

Upon Rilla’s suggestion, Cecily took out a new sheet of parchment and began to write up the notes they had.

Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in our solar system, was named after the Roman King of the Gods. This planet is made entirely of gas, and so doesn’t have a solid surface. Despite this, Jupiter weighs three times than all the other planets in our solar system put together. There is a Great Red Spot near the equator of Jupiter, which is assumed to be great storms, and is visible from Earth.

Although she was interested in what she was writing, as well as wanting to achieve a good grade, Cecily managed to listen to Rilla’s chatter while she wrote. She mentioned a myth about the sun going into a cave at night, and how silly that was.

“It is a bit silly,” Cecily agreed. “But then some people do have very strange ideas. A Muggleborn girl, Holly, told me that Muggles think all witches have black cats. Or all witch’s cats are black,” she said, now unsure about exactly what the conversation had entailed, “which obviously isn’t true.”

0 Cecily Denial - is that a river? 0 Cecily 0 5

Rilla White

October 27, 2007 2:37 PM

The Nile is a river. by Rilla White

Rilla looked over Cecily's shoulder as she wrote hopeing not to distract her too much by doing so.

"Should we add something about moons?" Rilla asked looking at what Cecily had for Jupiter.

"Your handwriting is very neat. Good thing I had a partner with decent handwriting." Rilla grinned a Cecily.

Rilla broke out into laughter when she heard about black cats. "Some muggles also think black cats are unlucky. Think of it, an unlucky cat. Poor creatures, picked on just for their color. I don't even have a cat, my mother doesn't think I am 'responsible enough to care for another living being'. Mothers." Rilla grumbled a bit.

She always kind of figured everyones mother was like hers. Sarcastic and overbearing, along with too strict and no nonsense. It never accured to Rilla that some people might have gentle caring mothers who enjoy spending time with their daughters.

"On to the other planets then?" Rilla grinned at her partner. She glanced at her watch. "Only a bit more time. Hope we're doing a decent enough job. Though the professor doesn't seem like the type that would throw the book at someone for having wrong answers. She seems nice, don't you think?"

0 Rilla White The Nile is a river. 116 Rilla White 0 5

Chelsea Brockert

October 27, 2007 5:23 PM

How boring... by Chelsea Brockert

By the time she got to Astronomy, Chelsea was in a foul mood. The class, much like History of Magic, did not interest her in the least. She wanted to get to a class where she could actually use magic, not do things that any muggle could do. Chelsea had no interest in learning useless things. She wanted to learn spells that would help her gain power.

Plus, she was still steaming mad over getting thrown out of History of Magic. It wasn't fair at all, the teacher was being totally unreasonable. The whole thing wasn't her fault, it was the older girl's. Chelsea hadn't even been yelling, the other girl had. Not to mention the first year was right and the older girl had been wrong. Most of the people in that discussion had been wrong, except her and Anabel. (Holly wasn't wrong either, she just didn't know any better.) Oh yes, Chelsea had not deserved to have to leave (never mind that she really hadn't wanted to be there in the first place)...and she was going to make that other girl pay for it. For now, Chelsea was most likely going to be known for being the firstie who had gotten kicked out of class. The older girl had possibly done damage to Chelsea's reputation...and nobody was going to get away with that. How could Astronomy possibly help her meet this goal?

She resisted the urge to groan as she heard the utterly pointless lesson. Chelsea knew little about the planets except the basics and a few legends, because it simply did not interest her. That meant a lot of looking up facts on stuff she did not care about. Chelsea scanned the classroom for a partner. Normally, she would have wanted to work with Anabel and/or Holly but now she would have preferred to work with someone who she could have do everything for the assignment.

11 Chelsea Brockert How boring... 108 Chelsea Brockert 0 5

Cecily

October 29, 2007 12:44 PM

Why are you on about rivers? by Cecily

Cecily did her best to work Rilla’s suggestions into the write up – after all, it was a group effort and just because Cecily was doing the final write-up, it didn’t mean that Rilla shouldn’t have a say in it. She couldn’t help but smile at the compliment to her handwriting, though – Cecily’s mother had taught her how to write neatly and beautifully, and it made Cecily proud that she had successfully followed her mother’s teaching. Rilla didn’t seem to have that sort of relationship with her mother, judging by the tone of voice she’d just used.

“My mother is quite wonderful,” Cecily replied, as matter-of-factly as she could manage, though there might have been an underlying hint of smugness. “She won’t let me have a kneazle, but that’s because they shed on the furniture, and nobody wants cat hair all over their clothes,” she said, mimicking almost exactly her mother’s prosody. “But I do have two rats and a crup and a puffskein and an owl and a pony and a squirrel monkey,” she said, now writing about Saturn’s vast number of moons.

It had turned out that Cecily was rather enjoying astronomy after all. She liked the professor, too. “Yes, Professor McFarlan seems very nice,” she said in response to Rilla’s question. “She also seems to know what she’s talking about, which I find helps a great deal.”

Cecily now moved on to writing about Mercury. She paused as she got to the bit about how the planet got its name. “What’s commerce mean?” she asked Rilla.

0 Cecily Why are you on about rivers? 0 Cecily 0 5

Rilla White

October 29, 2007 1:48 PM

You mentioned rivers... by Rilla White

Rilla continued to watch over Cecily's shoulder as she wrote. She was surprised to hear about Cecily's mother. Sounded like Cecily got nearly anything she wanted, which Rilla found nearly as odd as her own situation. Rilla got very few things she wanted, and if she dared asking for something that wasn't absolutely needed, like say a cauldron, her mother would launch into a lecture about how galleons didn't grow on trees or some sort.

The funny thing to Rilla was, muggle money DID grow on trees. It was paper, and everyone knew paper came from trees. Rilla had mentioned this once, during such a lecture, and had nearly been backhanded. The look she'd received was worse though.

"You have quite a few pets." Rilla was a bit impressed in spite of herself. It would be neat to have so many pets. She couldn't even talk her mother into an own. Which was of course a very practical kind of pet.

"So few of my past teachers have actually known what they're talking about... but I was in muggle schools before this. Unless you count being tutored by your mother and her accomplices as school." Rilla was always curious about other witches and wizards.

"What do your parents do for a living? Sorry to be nosey I am just curious. I know little about other people and their families. My mother is a powerful witch according to the elderly lady who comes to visit with my mother occasionally. I don't know what she does though. I've tried asking but she avoids the questions. Do witches have a CIA?" Rilla giggled at this. The idea of her mom in the CIA was hilarious to her.

"I only live with my mother. As far as I know I have no siblings... occasionally friends of my mothers come over to tutor me or chat with my mom. She's hired a few tutors too, but she didn't like any of them. One was too nice, another too inexperienced with 'children like her daughter' etc."

Looking back at the paper Cecily was working on she saw they were making progress. Then she heard Cecily's comment.

"Commerce, I think commerce is buying and selling. We could grab a dictionary and look it up if you like. Or we could ask the professor. What context was it in? Context helps sometimes..."

0 Rilla White You mentioned rivers... 116 Rilla White 0 5

Holly Greer

October 29, 2007 4:38 PM

Chilled by Holly Greer

Holly's eyes widened in surprise and alarm as her hand was taken and pumped up and down. Coming from a school where it was common knowledge that her father was a Los Angeles District Attorney and that she herself was attending weekly therapy sessions due to mental fragility (theoretically, those were supposed to be confidential, but the uber-wealthy rarely let little things like that get in their way), the other kids found it best not to risk a lawsuit by getting too close and possibly startling her into a breakdown.

Having her hand grabbed and shaken without invitation was easily the closest Holly had ever come to being physically accosted in her life (with the possible exception of that owl that stalked her this summer, though that hadn't actually touched her). When her hand was released, Holly stepped back and regarded 'Liz Guthrie of the Guthrie Family' with wary trepidation. She suspected this was not a member of the well-to-do caste, in either the magical or muggle worlds.

Fortunately, though, the common girl began talking about the assignment, and Holly thought she could put aside her distrust for the 'general public' in order to do the lesson. She sat back down in her chair, which was next to Liz's (that was probably short for Elizabeth - Holly knew a few Elizabeths and it made her feel better to refer to the girl as Elizabeth at least in her mind) and took out a sheet of looseleaf paper and a pen that wrote with pink ink.

On the first line, she wrote:
Holly Greer-Thistle
Liz Guthrie

She looked up at Elizabeth and checked, "Is that spelled right?" After just introducing herself as Holly Thistle, it had felt a little wrong to write a different name on the paper, so hopefully the teacher would be able to figure out that she should take only the first part of the hyphenation. She didn't imagine there were any other Greers or Thistles in the class, especially ones named Holly, so it couldn't be that difficult a deduction, right?

Once that confirmation was made, Holly answered the girl's question. "Let's start with Mercury and just write down everything we know about it, myth and scientific fact. If it gets too messy and disorganized we can re-write it later. Just say whatever comes to mind."

She skipped two lines and wrote on the fourth:

Mercury
Closest to the sun
The smallest planet (discounting Pluto because that's not a real planet anymore)
Minimal atmosphere so not much green-house effect
Second hottest planet
No moons

She looked over at Elizabeth. "That's all I've got without looking in the book. What about you?"

1 Holly Greer Chilled 123 Holly Greer 0 5

Cecily

October 29, 2007 5:13 PM

I'm sorry. Would you rather we talk about something else? by Cecily

Rilla was still chattering away, and Cecily found she rather liked the other girl. They could probably find a lot in common; they certainly had both found much to talk about so far. Rilla talked about her education before Sonora, and her parents, and Cecily replied in kind. “ I had lots of tutors, too,” she explained, pausing to check a spelling. “My mother taught us a little bit herself – us being me and my sister, Amelia – but a lot of it was tutors who came to our house. I had some lessons with my cousins a couple of times, too, but we don’t always get along very well so it didn’t happen often. My cousin Lucas is in Aladren in second year.”

After a short pause for breath, Cecily continued, “My father does something with politics and the government. I don’t know what,” she explained with a casual shrug, “but I think he’s fairly important. I don’t think my mother works. She visits the rest of the family a lot and she still tutors Amelia a bit, and she looks after the house with Enid – that’s our house elf – but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her go out to work.”

Then Rilla explained what commerce meant, and said they could look it up for a better definition. “No that’s fine,” Cecily replied, continuing with the work. “That makes sense, because it says trade and commerce.” She finished writing about Mercury and then held up the parchment and wafted it dry. “There,” she proclaimed. It’s all done. What do you think?”

OOC: I hope you forgive me for not having written the whole essay :)

0 Cecily I'm sorry. Would you rather we talk about something else? 0 Cecily 0 5

Rilla White

October 29, 2007 7:20 PM

Well, you're the one who complained by Rilla White

Rilla had listened to the other girl talk. Looking over her shoulder still and offering suggestions. Rilla hoped the girl didn't find her too talkative, she knew she talked quite a bit and could be overly curious. It offended some and so she hoped not to offend this girl who seemed eager to talk to her.

Rilla admired Cecily's finished product. "It looks good! Hopefully we will get good marks on it. My mother expects me to earn good grades here. She keeps expressing this point. I'll do my best I guess, but I am not always the most responsible student. So is your sister also a witch?"

With a sigh she added, "It's nice you got some lessons with your cousins. I haven't met any of mine, if I even have any. My mother doesn't seem to talk to her family, if she still has any." Remembering they were suppose to be finishing the assignment she glanced around the room to see if others had finished.

"Think we should sign our names and turn it in then?" Rilla grinned at her partner. This assignment had gone well enough. Maybe Astronomy would be a good class for her.

0 Rilla White Well, you're the one who complained 116 Rilla White 0 5

Rilla White

October 29, 2007 7:21 PM

OOC: by Rilla White

Oops, forgot to reply to your OOC. It is fine you didn't write out the whole thing, I doubt it's expected.

0 Rilla White OOC: 116 Rilla White 0 5

Liz Guthrie

October 30, 2007 5:36 PM

Very good by Liz Guthrie

Liz noted the suprised look on Holly's face and gave her an apologetic look. Liz tended to get very hyper when she's exited so she was always freaking people out with her random outbursts. She tried to stay calm, she really did, she just couldn't. She didn't have any mental condition that she knew of. It's like she was always sugar high for some reason.

When Holly asked if her name was spelled right she turned her mud brown eyes to the paper, "Yeah, congradulations, you're one of the few people who actually spelled my last name right."

She looked at the paper again and noticed that Holly's last name was different from what she was told but she didn't comment. Holly probably just told her the short version but she made a mental note to look up the name, 'Greer' was it? Her grandpa Jerry always did a background check on all of her friends in case they happened to be juvinial delinquents and, much to her embaresment, he got her into the habit of doing it too. She knew she probably wouldn't find anything like that but when you live in a family where most of the male population were aurors you tend to pick up some wierd habits.

Holly finished writing what she knew about Mercury and asked Liz what she knew. Liz looked at what Holly wrote. "Well, I do know that Mercury is the Romen messanger god. He's almost exactly like Hermes from that Hercules movie, only he's greek and Mercury's Romen." she looked at the paper again and added "And didn't the teacher say that Pluto was considered a planet in this class?"

0 Liz Guthrie Very good 0 Liz Guthrie 0 5

Cecily

November 02, 2007 12:40 PM

No I didn't by Cecily

“Yes, my sister is magical, too,” Cecily replied to Rilla’s question. “All my family are. Until Sonora I’d never really met any other sort of person. I did see some Muggles once, but I’ve never spoken to any,” she commented.

“How come you don’t know anything about your family?” she asked Rilla. It didn’t occur to Cecily that the other girl might not want to discuss such matters. “I’ve met all of my family. I have three cousins and lots of cousins once removed or something like that, but I call them my cousins, too. And I have a Great Grandpa, who is really old, and a second cousin Megan, who is three.” Cecily finished the brief synopsis at the same time as finishing the assignment.

“Think we should sign our names and turn it in then?” Rilla questioned.

“Yes, okay,” Cecily replied. She signed her name at the bottom, then passed it to Rilla with the explanation, “we should sign in alphabetical order.” Once both girls had added their signatures, Cecily suggested that Rilla take the mini-essay and submit it to Professor McFarlan. “They were your choice of planets, so you should hand it in,” she said. “I’ll wait here for you.”
\r\n\r\n

0 Cecily No I didn't 0 Cecily 0 5

Rilla White

November 06, 2007 12:04 AM

Yes you did. by Rilla White

Rilla wondered what she should tell Cecily when she asked why she didn't know about her family. She guessed the truth would become obvious sooner or later. "My mother is extremely secretive or upset with her family, and will not answer any of my questions. It is possible no one is living, I do not know. I've never met my father, so of course I can't ask him either. Someday maybe my mother will tell me. For now the only family I know is my mother and the muggle couple who helped raise me."

Rilla saw signing alphabetically perfectly reasonable and promptly signed her name after Cecily's.

"I guess I can bring it up." Cecily was a bit bossy but Rilla didn't really mind. Another professor and she might have argued but this one seemed fairly decent, even possibly nice. So, she'd do it without complaint.

Walking up to the front Rilla glanced around to see how the other students were doing. She didn't want to be the first to turn the assignment in, nor the last. Either way was bad. Either you were a goody goody or lazy.

"Here you are Professor. We have finished. I hope it is satisfactory." Rilla finished handing the paper over which was in Cecily's neat handwriting. When nervous Rilla came off overly formal and sometimes a bit cheeky. She hoped the use of satisfactory didn't sound cheeky, her mother would have said it did. She didn't want to cause trouble with her professors but she couldn't take the statement back now.

Putting on what she hoped was a polite and not sassy grin, Rilla looked briefly up at the professor and then quickly turned back around and headed back to her seat. Arriving back at her seat next to Cecily she gave her partner a now very cheeky grin. "What now?" Rilla asked not hiding the mischief from her voice.

0 Rilla White Yes you did. 116 Rilla White 0 5

Professor McFarlan

Astronomy - First Years by Professor McFarlan

Holly Greer

Well, this was unexpected by Holly Greer

Rilla White

Science with flare by Rilla White

Renaye and Josh Warren

Poor Pluto... You shall be missed. by Renaye and Josh Warren

Laurie Cider

And I thought starlabs were awesome. . . by Laurie Cider

Lucie Dupree

*Sings a sad tune* by Lucie Dupree

Zane Cooper

I like the Quidditch Pitch best, but this is a close second by Zane Cooper

Professor McFarlan

I Never Do Things Half Way by Professor McFarlan

Rilla White

Of course not. by Rilla White

Renaye and Josh Warren

*plays violin* by Renaye and Josh Warren

Lucie

We could so start a musical group :P by Lucie

Josh and Raye

We'd be one sad song singing violin playing beast! by Josh and Raye

Laurie

My best would probably be the beach. by Laurie

Lucie

Hopefully, no one would run away by Lucie

Cecily Smythe

Your partner awaits by Cecily Smythe

Raye and Josh

We can only hope... by Raye and Josh

Lucie

Hopes for hope *grins* by Lucie

Gray Wright

Just what my overactive imagination needed... by Gray Wright

Addie Laurent

An endless amount of space? by Addie Laurent

Rilla White

Awesome by Rilla White

Zane

I've never been a fan of sand by Zane

Gray

I was thinking of the pretty lights, but that works, too. by Gray

Cecily

I am *grins* by Cecily

Addie

Can you imagine them in the dorm? by Addie

Rilla White

Of course you are... by Rilla White

Liz Guthrie

Always expect the unexpected by Liz Guthrie

Cecily

I'm glad we're in agreement. by Cecily

Gray

Now <i>that</i> would be awesome. by Gray

Holly Greer

The unexpected isn't good for my stress by Holly Greer

Laurie

How about the ocean? by Laurie

Rilla White

Denial is wonderful huh? by Rilla White

Addie

It would be pretty cool. by Addie

Gray

Like camping out without all the bugs and rocks. by Gray

Liz Guthrie

Well then chill out by Liz Guthrie

Cecily

Denial - is that a river? by Cecily

Rilla White

The Nile is a river. by Rilla White

Chelsea Brockert

How boring... by Chelsea Brockert

Cecily

Why are you on about rivers? by Cecily

Rilla White

You mentioned rivers... by Rilla White

Holly Greer

Chilled by Holly Greer

Sings a sad tune by Lucie Dupree

plays violin by Renaye and Josh Warren

Hopes for hope grins by Lucie

I am grins by Cecily