Headmistress Sadi Powell
August 01, 2010 4:58 AM
Midsummer Fair Part 2 by Headmistress Sadi Powell
Hopefully the students had enjoyed their day learning from alumni. Now the evening had arrived, it brought with it the opportunity for everyone to relax together in a fun atmosphere. The headmistress herself was finding it difficult to relax just at that time, because even though the rides had been charmed several times over to be as safe as possible, that Wronski Feint still looked like a law suit waiting to happen. Why children would want to be mechanically hauled up a hundred feet in the air just to be dropped almost to the floor, then repeat this again was entirely beyond her. Admittedly, the calmer rides and the game booths did look like fun. Sadi’s job was to oversee the activities, taking over from other staff if they decided to wander round themselves. First, however, it was her place to announce the evening as open.Headmistress Powell stood a couple of rows up in the stands; the pitch remained exactly as it was, just with additions of the rides and booths that May and the prairie elves had put in place just a couple of hours ago. Nothing was operational just yet, but soon music would play cheerfully from the Griffin-go-Round and the smell of warm sugar would fill the air. For the time being, Staff and current prefects had helped to usher everyone to the edge of the pitch, where Sadi was waiting to make her announcement. A couple of minutes after six o’clock, she cast the Sonorus charms and began speaking.
“Welcome to the second part of our fair,” she began, raising her arms in an opening gesture and displaying a muted green robe – one of the few she owned that was not in shades of brown or gray. “I hope you have all enjoyed today, and that you will forgive me as I delay the opening of the fair by conducting my end of year announcements. Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone for their hard work this year, especially supporting staff, prefects, and Lutece and Talen.” Admittedly, until today the Head Boy and Girl had survived a fairly quiet year; it was entirely unpredictable whether next year’s student representatives would have more or less work to do. It was, however, possible to predict who they would be, as the votes had been verified that morning. “Which brings me on to the announcement of next year’s Head Boy and Head Girl,” Sadi said, and those who knew her well could already establish one name she was about to utter, as she was entirely unable to restrain a proud smile. “Next year’s Head Girl will be Jera Valson, and your Head Boy will be Thomas Fitzgerald. Congratulations.”
Another triumph for Aladren, though with the House being over-represented on the ballot it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It was perhaps a pity their House points didn’t reflect the hard work these students obviously conducted. “Finally,” Sadi continued, “I can reveal the winner of this year’s House Point Competition. In fourth place with 301 points is Teppenpaw.” This was a change from midterm, during which Teppenpaw had been firmly in the lead. “Third place, with 359 points, is Aladren.” The Headmistress paused to allow cheering to subside. “In second place with 381 points is Pecari, which means this year’s runaway winner with an astonishing 549 points is Crotalus.”
Again, Sadi paused to wait for the cheering to die down. Then, with nothing more to add, she finished her address. “It is my hope all of you enjoy a good summer, and I look forward to seeing many of you next term. Before then, let’s enjoy the end of this term. The fair is now open!”
Subthreads: Win a pygmy puff! by Medic Cleo Rocamboli with Dmitry Talsky
Fun at the griffin-go-round! by Natalie Simms
The Wronski Feint by Amelia Pierce with Brad Hayman, Nina Brockert
Get some glorious food at the Food Stand! by Professor John Fawcett and Groundskeeper May Gail with Zack Dill, Kirstenna Melcher, Quentin Melcher
Face Painting! by Professor Rowan Dakin with Charlotte Abbott, Autumn Collins
Broom Racing by Jackson Mackenna with Helena Layne
Cup&Ball Game--Win the Bubblehat of your dreams! by Professor Aaron McKindy with Demelza Eagle
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Headmistress Sadi Powell
Midsummer Fair Part 2
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Headmistress Sadi Powell
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Medic Cleo Rocamboli
August 01, 2010 5:23 AM
Win a pygmy puff! by Medic Cleo Rocamboli
Cleo Rocamboli was officially single. Both she and Teo had gotten their acts together, the papers had gone through, and now Cleo was a divorcee. The settlements had been pretty easy, since neither of them wanted to waste money on divorce lawyers. There were no children to worry about, Cleo couldn’t drive the car, and Teo was moving in with Stacey, so Cleo had an apartment and a bit of money. The thirty-nine-year-old didn’t plan on staying in the apartment for very long, though; her salary was good enough that she could buy her own place. Maybe somewhere out in the country…Cleo had never liked the crush of the city. She could rent it out during the year when she was at Sonora.Oh, and Cleo did love her job. It was wonderful to work with kids, and even though she didn’t know any of the returning students (not well, at least, although she vaguely recognized the girl giving the presentation on the Department of Magical International co-operation), Cleo was glad to see them still involved with their alma mater. The Medic was glad to see the Healer’s presentation earlier in the day. It was always interesting to see what they were teaching the Healer trainees nowadays.
Her task today, however, had noting to do with her job. Cleo was running one of the prize booths for the Midsummer Fair: a balloon-and-dart game. The darts looked like they would for a normal game of darts; each of the four vanes of the darts was one of the Sonora House colors, and the shafts were dark green. The darts were all enchanted so that the only things they could puncture were their targets. Cleo definitely didn’t want anyone to get hurt, no matter how easily she could repair the damage.
Instead of balloons, though, the medic was using large, multicolored magical bubbles. There was no sense in having to clean up the pieces of popped balloons—she was a Healer, she liked efficiency—and it’d be easy enough to conjure replacement bubbles after every game. The bubbles also floated around the target zone, rather than staying put, to make the game a little more challenging. Cleo had gotten the idea about bubbles from Aaron, who was giving away bubble hats at his ball-and-cup game.
The prizes for Cleo’s game were pygmy puffs; goldfishes were a more classic carnival prize, but pygmy puffs were a little more durable. They also came in a lot of fun colors and patterns! The Medic was thinking about getting a pet herself—not a pygmy puff, though. Cats were popular, but she’d decided she would prefer a kneazle crossbreed. They were supposed to be smarter, at least, and she was fairly certain they had a longer lifespan.
Cleo was not particularly outgoing, so she didn’t advertise her stall like normal (a relative term) carnival workers would. Instead, she waited for students to approach and try their hand at throwing the darts. The russet-haired woman really hoped the students would like the prizes she was offering; who wouldn’t want an adorable pygmy puff?
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Medic Cleo Rocamboli
Win a pygmy puff!
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Medic Cleo Rocamboli
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Natalie Simms
August 01, 2010 5:26 AM
Fun at the griffin-go-round! by Natalie Simms
It was almost the end of her first year working as the Librarian at Sonora Academy and Natalie couldn’t be happier. Everything was great…her personal and professional life were for once being incredibly normal and awesome. This made the red-head pretty happy. Though, the prospect of leaving her sanctuary was mildly depressing but not enough to dampen her excellent mood. The activities prepared for the students were super fun and Natalie was once again excited to be near the students. Merlin knew that her job isolated her from the students and the rest of the faculty and the fair was the perfect chance to have more human contact. Actually, Natalie was a very social person, a personality trait that collided with her love for books and isolation. After years of trying she couldn’t have her two sides live amicably, so, she was the isolated librarian for most of the time but today she would become the social 22 year-old that she actually was. Something about books made Natalie want to spend time perusing through them, immersing herself in their knowledge.Being the Librarian she had listened to the presentations that took place in the Library, Anne Wright and Zack Dill had talked about very interesting topics concerning spell development and astrophysics. The hazel-eyed young woman had been enraptured by the topics, so after they finished with their thing she went and looked for books regarding those topics to learn more about what they had been talking about. Natalie was always curious to learn more. She would continue to read until her thirst for knowledge was satiated.
The red-headed Librarian was really excited about everything that was happening at Sonora, she had picked her outfit days before the actual event, she couldn’t help it…this was too exciting. The 22 year-old chose a Muggle outfit to ensure practicability and comfortableness in every movement since she was going to be handling the griffin-go-round. In her opinion it was a good job for her, it would be awesome to make students have fun and enjoy themselves.
She left her room heading towards the Quidditch pitch practically bouncing out of excitement – her pony-tail bouncing with her every step she took- , she couldn’t explain what she felt right now, she just knew it was great to be feeling this way. It made her feel like a child again, not that she considered herself old. Quite the contrary, she was young.
Natalie entered the Quidditch Pitch and smiled at the sight before her, the pitch had been converted into a fair wonderland! Rides, booths and food stands were all over the place. It looked like it was going to be quite a fun night for everyone. The Librarian walked towards the griffin-go-round after helping the Headmistress and made sure everything was set for a fun filled evening
“Come! Come! Come have fun at the griffin-go-round!” Natalie began screaming, her face sporting a very big welcoming smile. She was sure tonight would be beyond great.
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Natalie Simms
Fun at the griffin-go-round!
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Natalie Simms
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Amelia Pierce
August 01, 2010 10:30 AM
The Wronski Feint by Amelia Pierce
Aside from meals and the initial announcements, Amelia had spent most of the day at the Pitch. First, she'd observed the broom engineering presentation by Geoff Spindler and Stephen Baxter, and after they were done, she'd begun helping out with the set up for the evening festivities.Her booth, the Wronski Feint ride, seemed to have taken a little more of the Headmistress's attention than most of the others, but Amelia had checked and triple checked its safety charms, and then she'd additionally promised never to take her eyes off it while it was running, so Sadi eventually wandered on, deeming it as safe as it was possible to get.
She sat on the director's chair she'd set up beside the ride and listened as the Headmistress made the announcements for the Head Girl and Boy. She was a little disappointed that Amelia Smythe (who had both an excellent first name and an excellent House) wasn't named Head Girl, but that minor setback was shortly overshadowed by the landslide win of her House. She clapped and even gave a small whoop as Crotalus was declared the House Point Champion.
After that, there was nothing to do but wait for the kids to line up. She did not feel a need to call out and advertise. The brooms and the large sign 'Wronski Feint!' were obvious enough that there wasn't any question as to what the ride did, and kids either wouldn't want to ride it at all or wouldn't need even a hint of convincing. At least, not from her. Their peers could handle the ones that wanted to give it a try but nerves and the large wall of warning signs about motion sickness and high speeds and the people with certain conditions who shouldn't ride this ride were making them doubt themselves.
She was also quite confident that there would be people who would see those very same signs and want to ride it all the more because of them. Merlin knew Amelia herself had already taken two of the first safety run tests before they were sure everything was running correctly. She wouldn't have to wait for long before she got her first victims - er, riders. Sonora had an entire House full of Pecaris, after all.
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Amelia Pierce
The Wronski Feint
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Amelia Pierce
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Professor John Fawcett and Groundskeeper May Gail
August 01, 2010 1:32 PM
Get some glorious food at the Food Stand! by Professor John Fawcett and Groundskeeper May Gail
If there was one thing May Gail loved, it was a good carnival. So one could imagine this raven haired woman’s excitement when she was told Sonora was going to have a fair! The rides had always been May’s favorite part when she was little. Of course, as a kid May was pretty out there, a risk taker, loving attention, living life…okay, not much had changed since then.Her very black hair was pulled into pigtails for the special day. All the rides look totally amazing. She was pretty sure she’d have to try out the Wronski Feint with a few of the kiddos later in the day, and she didn’t care if no one else wanted her to! She was such a kid at heart.
In some ways, John Fawcett considered himself to be the same, but he had been a very different kind of kid than his colleague Miss Gail. He had never understood the appeal of carnivals, which was enough to unsettle him no matter what the topic and why he had volunteered for the food station. His wife, Allison, ran a restaurant attached to the inn, and she had occasionally <s>forced</s> persuaded him to help her out during his retirement so he would be interact with other humans. The desire for nutrition-free food was something he could grasp.
Working with John, the food stand was set up pretty quickly, and May thought there was an awesome variety to the food stand. May had suggested they include Muggle snacks for the fair. They had gotten cotton candy that was a pink that rivaled the color of McKindy’s awesome bubble hat, as well as funnel cakes, hot dogs, pretzels, and more things that one would find at any normal Muggle fair. John had let her do as she liked, always willing to bow to superior knowledge of a field when he believed it to be genuine, but had insisted that they also have some fruit and basic sandwiches available.
Then they had decided to include some magical drinks as well. When it got closer to nighttime and the temperature cooled off, Butterbeer would be up for grabs. Until then, iced pumpkin juice, lemonade, and sodas with every kind of flavoring imaginable were available for the students to have. It was like the Bertie Botts variety of sodas! Well…flavors that people actually liked, anyway. Who wanted an earwax flavored soda?
May looked up at a student who asked for cherry lemonade and grinned, her expression not matching her dark eyeliner and lipstick at all. “Coming right up!” She gave John a thumbs up, which the Potions master, looking strange without his tie, pointer, and severe, dark business robes, responded to with a faint smile and short nod before he began preparing it. The food stand seemed to be a super success!
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Professor John Fawcett and Groundskeeper May Gail
Get some glorious food at the Food Stand!
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Professor John Fawcett and Groundskeeper May Gail
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Professor Rowan Dakin
August 01, 2010 7:09 PM
Face Painting! by Professor Rowan Dakin
Rowan whistled happily as she slowly put the final touches on her fair booth. She had loved the idea of face painting, air brushed and Henna tattoos as a child and knew the students would probably like the idea also. Thankfully she had worked at a muggle carnival for a whole summer doing exactly what she was setting up to do. Of course if she got too busy she might have to resort to a charm but she hoped she can do them all by hand, that was half the fun of doing them!The dark brown haired Care of Magical Creatures Professor put little signs up explaing the process of each of the three choices. Face painting seemed to be self explanatory but she figured she would put it up anyways. Face painting – the process of painting ones face. Designs range from full face designs (liger, clowns, superheroes, and billywigs.) to cheek designs, (stars, animals, brooms, names.) Painted on by hand. Lasts for one day. Rowan herself loved the face paintings more then the others due to the fact she could free style more with it.
The second sign explained what an Air brushed tattoo was. Using a spray gun, air sprays various inks onto the stencils the resulting design mirrors the look of a permanent tattoo, without any pain or discomfort. Lasts about a week. Behind the sign there was a book of stencils for the students to fill through and choose from.
The third and final sign read. A paste is applied to the skin in intricate designs, covered and a warming charm is applied to help set the dye into skin. Only comes in reddish brown color. Lasts for two weeks. Once again she had set out a book of designs
She smiled looking to make sure everything was ready. She smile happily as he first student came up and Rowan began to explain what everything was.
OCC: I gave you the stencils and designs for an idea what each was, feel free to have your students get whatever they can think of!
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Professor Rowan Dakin
Face Painting!
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Professor Rowan Dakin
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Jackson Mackenna
August 01, 2010 9:37 PM
Broom Racing by Jackson Mackenna
Jackson was excited about the fair; he had loved them as a child. He could remember spending half his summers at wizarding and muggle fairs alike. So once he had heard that Sonora would be having one this term he had become extremely excited until he had realized he was expected to help run the fair. Couldn’t they just have hired a group of carnies so the staff could enjoy the fair also? Yet not wanting to cause waves in his first term he hadn’t actually broached the subject with the senior staff. Heck he was still half scared that the Headmistress would come to her senses and fire him, so begrudgingly he had volunteered to help out.He was no good with food, and he didn’t trust himself to not hop on a ride if he were running it so he had offered to run the broom race. It was a simple enough route, straight forward, then a quick right turn, a fairly steep ‘hill’ into a long dark tunnel, then a quick left, a fairly steep dive, and finally back to the start. Of course some would say it was unsafe but Jackson himself had placed a charm on the track and would be alerted if any student was fell or pushed off their broom. Plus the walls and the ground around the track was thickly padded with muggle wrestling mats, and charmed to make if feel like the student had fallen on a cloud.
The race itself was done on the top of the time Guetta Racing Brooms, he had been able to procure though a close friend. Four students at a time would go. Each player would receive a button that read. I raced a GRB and lived to tell the tale! Sure it was a shameless plug but what did they expect they were free brooms! Winning the race got your name in the running to win one of the brooms at the end of the night. The students could play as many times as they wanted but once they won their name would not be entered again for the broom, to keep the raffle fair.
Finally it seemed like the other booths, games, and rides were open so Jackson allowed the first students to get on the brooms. He explained the rules, and warned them that he would know if they had cheated to win and with a ready, set, go, the first racers were off!
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Jackson Mackenna
Broom Racing
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Jackson Mackenna
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Zack Dill
August 01, 2010 10:16 PM
Enjoying the Fair by Zack Dill
The presenters from the earlier part of the fair had been invited to stick around for the evening festivities as well, which Zack was looking forward to. His final year at Sonora had been a fair year, too, so it felt almost like a continuation, an easy and obvious sequel. Lunch had been kind of hectic, as he spent it saying 'hi - yeah, I'm good - just finished my four year degrees at NYU, I'll be starting my masters' in the fall, how are you doing? - yeah, see you tonight' to people he recognized but couldn't always place and answering questions from kids who'd attended his morning sessions but hadn't felt comfortable voicing their questions in front of the rest of the small group.The evening was going to be when he could actually catch up with some of the other alumni again, and he was surprised by how much he wanted to. He'd fallen out of contact with just about everyone he'd known at Sonora over the last few years, and he felt what he knew was an irrational fondness for people he hadn't even neccessarily known very well in the first place. People like Mia, and Anne, and Rosalind, and Geoff L. suddenly felt like long lost best friends. Stephen was practically lost family despite the fact that they'd already begun drifting apart long before graduating. (Of course, given that Stephen was definitely an alien, Zack was a little more wary of him now than he had been, but he was still pretty sure Stephen was one of the good ones.)
Even people like Morgaine Carey and Catherine Raines, who had kind of made him nervous back when they were all students, seemed like they had a shared history with him now. It was kind of freaky, actually, and he surreptuously kept an eye out for Snitches who might be messing with his brain.
As he walked away from the food stand with a cherry lemonade and a sandwich, though, all he saw was one of his former classmates and he felt a warm smile grow on his face despite himself. "Hey," he greeted. "Pretty weird, being back here again, isn't it?"
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Zack Dill
Enjoying the Fair
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Zack Dill
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Charlotte Abbott
August 02, 2010 6:51 AM
Henna tattoos ftw! by Charlotte Abbott
Although the daytime had been sort of fun, Charlie hadn't recognised a lot of the older students, and she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life after school - she only had a vague idea what subjects she'd like to continue studying after her CATS. The evning activities were far more attractive to the fourth year. Charlie hoped to spend some time with Lita, and Dmitry, and a few of her other friends, riding the rides and having a good time.After the opening speech (to which Charlie paid very little attention, though she did cheer when Crotalus were named winners of the House Cup) she began to wander round the various stands, keeping half an eye out for someone she could spend time with, and then she saw Professor Dakin at a face-painting stand. That would be fun - to have abutterfly painted on her face like when she was six or seven and her parents had taken them all to a carnival. Tempted, Charlotte took a closer look, and discovered she could have henna designs done, instead. that would be much better!
Since Professor Dakin was free at that moment - in fact Charlie might have been her first customer - the brunette sat herself down in the free seat, and said with a smile, "could you do me an anklet design? Something pretty, with flowers, please?" Charlotte had decided to wear a long, orange summer dress with her hair in braided pigtails, so it was easy enough to slip off her sandal and raise her foot, resting it on the front of the chair. This would be such a good look for summer!
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Charlotte Abbott
Henna tattoos ftw!
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Charlotte Abbott
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Professor Aaron McKindy
August 02, 2010 11:41 AM
Cup&Ball Game--Win the Bubblehat of your dreams! by Professor Aaron McKindy
Admittedly, Aaron McKindy was not one for fairs. As a general rule, the tall, dark-haired Italian kept to himself around Sonora. He had been friends with Sadi long before she had taken over from Manfred to become Headmistress but aside from that (and the occasional interaction with the Heads of Houses of misbehaving students), Aaron didn’t have much to do with the Sonora faculty. They were nice enough people, he was sure, but the Pecari Head of House had, ironically, always been one to keep to himself around adults.‘Around adults’ was, in this case, the key term. Although many of the students he had taught were now technically adults, some of them with careers, Aaron did not feel the same sense of nervousness around them he typically did around his colleagues. In fact, he had the privilege of stopping by Mia Kerova’s discussion about her Charms Apprenticeship earlier that day and had been truly impressed with what she had done with her abilities after school had ended. He hoped to see her around the fair in order to congratulate her, and perhaps ask a few questions about her experiences. Although Aaron was unequivocally talented when it came to charms, he hadn’t had the opportunity to travel the world quite as Mia had.
Anyway, the Charms professor was going to have a fun time with this particular fair. When he was younger and much less settled, he had at least partially supported himself by learning Muggle sleight-of-hand and entertaining tourists as they walked around New York City. To be fair, that career option hadn’t been quite as lucrative as it needed to be, and Aaron had quickly progressed to the next idea on his list-of-ways-to-support-himself. For the record, ‘bartender’ had been almost as bad of an idea as busking.
“Try your luck, try your luck,” the man called out. He was wearing his usual hat made of pink bubbles—Transfigured and Charmed frogs, really—and his favourite crimson robes with a silver, moving dragon Charmed onto it. With a flick of his wand, pink bubbles (not of the Transfigured/Charmed frog variety) floated out to stick to passersby. The man grinned, grey-green eyes playing out over the crowd of his past and current students. His booth was simple: a table with a light green tablecloth and three wooden cups turned upside down with a carved wooden marble set in front of the middle cup. Behind him floated a collection of top hats similar to his, made out of bubbles of varying colours.
“Find the marble and win a tophat,” Aaron called, grinning at the kids going by. “Bubbles in your choice of colour—find it thrice and get your hat customised!” When he had volunteered to run the cup-and-ball game, Aaron had been unsure as to what prize to offer but it had only taken a moment before he had come up with the idea of offering bubble hats. After all, his own had always been a hit among the students. “Heyhey, willing to give it a try?” Aaron waited for an interested student to step up to his booth. It wouldn’t be long.
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Professor Aaron McKindy
Cup&Ball Game--Win the Bubblehat of your dreams!
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Professor Aaron McKindy
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Mia Kerova
August 02, 2010 1:37 PM
Otherwise, it would Un-Fair by Mia Kerova
It was funny, and terrifying in ways, how another’s life could mean so much more than your own. Mia could have shot out of there after her presentations that morning and early afternoon, but even more than wanting to see some old friendly faces again—and despite waves of shyness, she really missed most of those faces—Leland wanted to see the fair. He moaned to see the fair. Big, lumpy tears fell to see the fair. Clearly he had gotten a nice nap in earlier the way he went on. Apart from missing sleep he probably no longer needed, Mia couldn’t find any logical reason to deny him, especially when the tears started, and the guilt from his first year cropped up. Besides, she missed Sonora and the simplicity on hindsight, even though everything felt so important while she was a student there. She missed her friends, human, enchanted metal, and pastel. She missed the careful guidance of professors to keep her life in check for her.So despite staying mostly out of view all day, there they were, ditching the original plan, and Mia found herself unable to contain her smile. When was the last time she was on a Quidditch Pitch? Well, some of the charms she studied involved the game and its variations and other magical games. The question was when was the last time she was on the Quidditch Pitch of Sonora Academy before the very quick, spying jaunt earlier that day for Stephen’s and Geoff’s presentation? When was the last time she sat in the library before Zack’s and Anne’s impressive discussions, and Rosalind’s oddly calming one. How long ago had she sat in the beauty of Cascade Hall to drink a sorting potion or take her exams? Just setting foot on the grounds stirred up so many memories, and seeing the presentations brought back even more, and often she found herself reaching for her old penned up book bag.
And now the Pitch again, standing taller than she remembered from flying lessons and cheering for her team over the years, despite most rooms and attractions feeling smaller. Maybe because she wasn’t there as often. Mia roamed through the different colorful booths with Leland’s hand in just the tips of her fingers as he ran along. She looked around for games and rides fitting for him, and some friends in the crowd. She smiled when she noticed any positive sidelong glances, and gave thanks when people complimented her little boy, and each one came a little easier. It set her mind at ease that there were presentations about starting families. So Mia hadn’t given one—didn’t mean she couldn’t have one. And yet her face still burned a little. She beat back that strange shyness the way she had earlier.
Leland chomped away on a funnel cake that made up for not being able to ride the Wronski Feint, getting powdered sugar all over his shirt. All of his clothing was baby proofed for ease. The mess would tumble off casually in time. His hands were a different matter. When he finished his food, she kneeled beside him, holding him close so he wouldn’t wriggle away, and wiped up the mess with a tissue. Of course, she could only get one hand at a time, and the other one grabbed the ring hanging around her neck, getting sugar on the neck of her blouse too. She gave a defeated, but amused laugh, and wiped his other hand.
“You’re too much sometimes, Pup,” she said, pulling him a short way to the side to avoid tripping anyone and then wiped his cheeks too. Thankfully it was just before he buried his face in her neck because a stranger to him came within talking distance. Mia had already seen Zack Dill approaching and smiled as cheerfully as she expected to feel when she finally got a chance to chat up an old classmate. “Hey,” she said right back. “Oh lord, ‘weird’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. For the first time in years, I don’t think I know my way through the Labyrinth Gardens.” Her wince was one of slight chagrin. If a Pecari didn’t know his or her way through those hedges, there was a problem. “But how are you? I saw some of your discussion today. Kudos on the degrees.” She clapped around Leland’s still mostly curled body and then attempted to clean her shirt with the tissue since her wand pocket was out of reach.
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Mia Kerova
Otherwise, it would Un-Fair
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Mia Kerova
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Zack Dill
August 02, 2010 5:45 PM
That's a Fair assessment by Zack Dill
Zack winced in sympathy at Mia's comment about not knowing her way through the Labyrinth. While he wasn't sure exactly where the entrance to the Pecari commonroom was, he'd been given enough clues over his seven years at the school (especially once he became a Prefect and the Head Boy) to figure out it was somewhere in the Gardens.In truth, a similar unfamiliarity had struck him as he'd moved through the Library. He'd been able to find his Prefect Station easily enough (seven years of habit would have let him find that blindfolded), but if he had been asked where the literature classics were, he would have needed to guide the knowledge seeker personally so if his first guess was wrong, he could pretend they were just walking past that area and move onto his second and, if necessary, third guess until he got it right. But Aladrens - and especially Zack - didn't like to ever admit to not having perfect recall, so he didn't mention this to Mia.
Besides which, she had a small person on her hip, which was kind of distracting anyway. Zack was not the smallest person on the Pitch, or even the second smallest. He had a couple of inches on most of the first and second years. Maybe even a handful of the third years, if they were short and he was lucky. But he honestly couldn't remember ever being this close to someone who was this much smaller than him. It was disconcerting.
As she asked after him and congratulated his degrees, he made himself pay less attention to the tiny person and more to their conversation. "Thanks. I'm doing well. I've got an academic scholarship, and a part-time work-study job at the college library covers what that doesn't. I've also got a side business fixing computers so I can afford a New York City apartment off-campus." Where 'fixing computers' sometimes meant 'selling homework' but that wasn't the kind of image a former Head Boy really ought to be propagating, so he didn't mention that either. Besides, anything illegal enough to get him expelled for academic dishonesty wasn't something he was going to go casually chatting about.
"It's not a great apartment," actually 'a storage unit' might be a better and more accurate description, "but it's mine, and I can stay there all year, and I can walk to campus from it, so it's not bad."
He nodded at the Small One, "So where are you and, and," he waved vaguely at the little person, "Tiny there living these days? You were studying at," he tried to remember from the first bit of her lecture that he'd caught earlier in the day, "Princeton, right? Did you graduate this year, too?"
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Zack Dill
That's a Fair assessment
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Zack Dill
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Kirstenna Melcher
August 02, 2010 5:53 PM
Just like the vendors at home make! by Kirstenna Melcher
Kirstenna was super excited for the fair, and for someone who was usually excited about nearly anything (aside from Potions), that was saying something. Admittedly, the alumni events hadn't done that much for her, she hadn't recognized any of the people nor was anyone Kirstenna was related to attending and as a twelve year old, she was completely not ready to think about any careers yet.But the second part, the actual fair, was right up Kirstenna's alley. It wasn't exactly the circus but there were some similarities, mainly the food.
All year long, Kirstenna had been eating Sonora's fancy and somewhat nutritious food. Now she was getting a chance to have the corn dogs and cotton candy and funnel cakes that she had missed out on all that time. Kirstenna was looking forward to going home and eating all her favorite foods and seeing all her favorites animals and watching all her favorite acts again.
That was where she was going to start too, with the food. Kirstenna wanted to do it all but before anything else, she was going to get herself a corn dog and some nachos. Kirstenna probably should have gone on the Wronski Feint before hand, but she didn't really get motion sickness and the allure of junk food was just so overwhelming.
She got her snacks and scanned the crowd for her friends. Kirstenna wasn't paying a lot of attention to who was next to her and bumped into someone, losing a few of her nacho chips in the process. "Oh, sorry!" Kirstenna exclaimed. "I didn't get any cheese on you, did I?"
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Kirstenna Melcher
Just like the vendors at home make!
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Kirstenna Melcher
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Adelita Garcia
August 02, 2010 8:28 PM
Non-henna things ftl? by Adelita Garcia
Lita wasn’t exactly having a blast with the fair this year. She wasn’t interested in what any of the alumni had to say. That wasn’t to say she didn’t respect what they had to say or what they had chosen for their lives, but rather, it was more of the fact that Lita didn’t want to do any of those things. She wasn’t looking forward to being married to some Pureblood who expected her to be a good little Trophy Wife and bare a million children. She wasn’t going to go to college to become a Healer, a Potions Master, or an Auror. She had no desire for such a life as that. She planned on becoming a Contemporary Ballerina. She worked day in and day out to perfect her technique so that when she was finally able to audition for the performing arts school of her choice, she would be asked to join immediately on the spot.Okay, so she knew immediately on the spot was far-fetched, but she did want them to love her enough to not regret their decision.
But those were her reasons for not having been as inclined to ask questions to the alumni as some others. However, she was interested in the mini-carnival that was currently going on in the Quidditch Pitch. She had decided to wear a pair of jean shorts paired with a button-down short-sleeved blouse that had a floral design that seemed popular this year. The flowers were a pretty coral color, so Lita had found a matching cami to wear underneath it. On her feet were white flip flops. She opted for casual, it wasn’t like she had anyone to impress anyway.
Some of the rides looked fun – minus The Wronski Feint considering Lita was terrified of heights – but Lita wasn’t quite set on riding any of them. She didn’t want to ride the rides by herself either. What fun would that be? She could just find her sister and drag her around, but she had been around her sister too much this year as it was. If Lita constantly had Dulce by her side, Dulce would never make any friends of her own.
Speaking of friends, “Charlie!” Lita exclaimed as she drew nearer to the booth, looking around at what the booth had to offer. “Oh, face painting…” She looked at Charlie for a moment, before returning to the Professor, “When you’re done with her, can I have a mask? Something pretty?” Adelita settled herself down to wait it out. “So stranger, what are you getting?”
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Adelita Garcia
Non-henna things ftl?
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Adelita Garcia
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Helena Layne
August 02, 2010 9:32 PM
Just watching...for now. by Helena Layne
Fairs were of no real interest to her, but leaving as soon as she finished her presentations and covertly checked out her former classmates' performances was not something that Helena was prepared to do. It would be like admitting that she was scared to see certain other guests again, and that was simply not acceptable. She had a private resolution to never be openly afraid again.Part of her knew this was grandiose, fool-headed, and most likely undoable. This part was very much a Crotalus still. Even it acknowledged that she could never let being afraid of Anne dictate where she could and could not go at will, though, so that was all right. Especially since Anne and Geoff were, by careful observation of her surroundings and knowledge of their typical behaviors, being kept at least twenty feet away from her at all times.
Since Anne didn't believe in standing still, she got to see everything despite the need to keep that distance. A light breeze lifted her straightened, shoulder-length light brown hair where it framed her face, and she stopped sipping on something that tasted like artificial cherries long enough to close her green eyes and enjoy it for a moment.
After that moment, she had to pull one of her heels out of the grass. Dressing quasi-professionally for the sake of a show, and for keeping character, was all well and good, but she thought she should have put a little more thought into her choice of footwear. The leather heels were not exactly her cheapest pair of shoes, and it was going to take a good while with a steady wand to get them back into shape after this.
There was no telling how many hours she had spent on the Quidditch Pitch when she was a student here, mostly because her tenuous bonds with her teammates had been the only real connection to anyone other than her brother that she'd had until her last few years; Oliver, Josh, and Spindler were in some of her best memories of the place, but even two of them were associated with this place. She might have dug any number of shoes out of this exact point on the map before, but her sense of place was all scrambled by time and the dark and the bizarre carnival getup of the place. She clapped absently for the new Head People, disappointed to remember them both as Aladrens, and resumed moving.
By gradual drift, with an occasional glance toward the last known positions of her family to ensure that they had not gotten within range, she ended up watching a broom race. It wasn't much to watch, though; the riders were blurs. She finished off her drink and smiled nostalgically. It had only been a year since she'd last been on a broom, a long ride on that last morning, but it felt like it had been several lifetimes.
"You know," she remarked to someone who'd just come up beside her, "Fawcett must have spiked the punch, because I'm half-considering doing that." She nodded to the racers to illustrate what she meant.
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Helena Layne
Just watching...for now.
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Helena Layne
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Mia
August 02, 2010 10:43 PM
I try to be Fair. by Mia
Mia nodded, impressed once again, as Zack explained his current living situation. She couldn’t have expected less from her year’s Head Boy and Sonora’s friendly neighborhood brain. He sounded very on top of things, very certain about where he was heading, and Mia was happy for him. Her final destination was still far off and unclear, but the journey was incredible. And she could admit to being a little envious of living in the city. "That has to be exciting," she said in passing. When she lived in New Jersey, she was a mere bus ride or apparating trip from the bright lights and heavy hustle of New York, but it also wasn’t cheap. Even dinky studio apartments, when placed in the right borough, could leave your wallet model thin. It was fun to visit though.What struck a pleasant chord, and she made a mental note to tell Dino when she got home, was hearing the word “computer” without following it with an explanation. Most of her in-laws and almost in-laws were wizards and witches, and they had little concept of a lot of the luxuries she grew up with. It was something she noticed a lot at Sonora so it was the only time she really felt like she had the easy one-up on a lot of her magic-raised classmates, except when it came to charms. A particular Muggle Studies lesson involving video games sprouted to mind, making her inwardly smile. She insisted on living in a place where she could have creature comforts like electricity, and thankfully, Dino had agreed.
Feeling the beginnings of that tell-tale prickling in her feet, Mia stood, nearly tripping before managing to pry her necklace from Leland’s little hand and replacing it with his fruit punch cup and the transparent green loopy straw that played like a slide whistle when he sucked on it. She kept a hand on his head to keep him close and to tousle his mess of hair. Definitely his father’s hair.
“No, no. Not graduating for a while,” Mia said. “I just finished my sophomore year after my field study ended in early May, and I’ve got two more on my Grad map, so it’s good that I’ve got a nearly full ride on a scholarship.” It sounded better to leave it at that than to clarify how much financial aid was involved for the rest of the hefty tuition, but at least she was out of the house and doing something she loved as was prescribed. And how cool for plain Jane, no legacy status Mia to say, ‘I go to Princeton University on a scholarship’? Dino’s new job would be much more helpful in covering costs so she could keep saying that. “And I do scrapbooking and knitting for some pocket cash. I started a little later because of Tiny here.” She patted Leland's cheek.
Again she beat back that moment of clammy shyness. It couldn’t be helped. Prefect with a baby bump would surely have come with the same stares and whispers as seventeen-year-old with a baby bump, so she kept it to herself. When the feeling fled, she had room to wonder with a little grin if it made Zack feel good to call someone else “tiny” for a change. Not to be mean, of course. Facts were facts; he could appreciate that. Even in her ballet flats, Mia had a good three or four inches on him, but this was nothing worth noting. Just one more group of memories to recall.
“His name is Leland.” The boy’s big brown eyes peeked over his straw at the sound of his name. Definitely his mother’s eyes. “We’re living in Florida with my fiancé.” Habit made her lift her left hand where a diamond ring sat, charmed to ward off any thieves just as her promise ring was. Nothing garish, just three small gems in a row. She quickly dropped her arm. “Nice little house not too far from the beach. But during the semester, or rather during that first spring semester when I started my freshman year and I was actually taking classes on campus, we were in my mom’s old house up in Jersey. Apparating cross coast would give me a nasty headache, and I haven’t quite mastered the finesse of a portkey. While we were abroad, living arrangements were covered in each country so that was nice and convenient. Turned into a little vacation type of deal. We had already been planning one anyway.”
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Mia
I try to be Fair.
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Mia
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Quentin Melcher
August 03, 2010 1:14 AM
I question that some of these things are food. by Quentin Melcher
The Midsummer Fair was one of those odd things. First of all, it was not in the middle of the summer, it was the end of spring. Secondly, "Fair" was a term Quentin didn't think made sense. To be fair was to treat everyone the same and be reasonable. Quentin was not sure how this was similar to a carnival with rides and games and food that Kirstenna had seemed super excited about, though the items she mentioned seemed odd to Quentin.Still, he was hungry, as even an excedingly pedantic fifteen year old boy was still a fifteen year old boy and most of them liked to eat a lot. Quentin would always put the qualifier most as there were almost always exceptions. In fact, he'd even put the qualifier of almost on that last thought.
Quentin stepped up to the food stand and looked at the menu. A shocked look found its way to his face. Corn dogs! That was something that belonged in one of those circus acts that Kirstenna had mentioned with the bearded lady and little people. It actually sounded more like a transfiguration that went horribly wrong then something to eat.
Then there was cotton candy. A candy made from a material that one made clothing from! That sounded dreadful no matter how much they sweetened it up. Cotton was not something that was edible. Quentin might as well put sugar on a shirt and consume that.
And funnel cakes! If a chocolate cake was made from chocolate or was chocolate flavored, then a funnel cake was made from funnels or funnel flavored. That just seemed illogical, as shapes did not have tastes, unless it was made from a baking funnel and Quentin couldn't imagine those tasted good.
Of course there were hot dogs as well. He had long wondered about hot dogs, which were made from other animal bits, like rat and pigeon and raccoon from what he understood and thus hot dog was a misnomer. Still Quentin didn't really want to eat those either.
Nachos. Quentin didn't know exactly what those were but so far they didn't sound like something inedible. "Excuse me, what are nachos?"
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Quentin Melcher
I question that some of these things are food.
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Quentin Melcher
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Dmitry Talsky
August 03, 2010 9:24 PM
Hmm... by Dmitry Talsky
Dmitry was rather bored walking around the fair, he had been looking for Charlie for quite a while but now he was watching what was going on around him. He had walked around the whole fair a couple of times; he had even ridden a couple of the rides, though he would never admit that to anyone. He sighed as he ran a hand through his dark hair and paused in front of the balloon and dart game. The little pygmy puffs were adorable and he knew a certain girl who would love one.
He walked over and smiled at the Medic as he grabbed the darts. He threw the first dart and missed, quickly he threw the second and third ones both hitting the magical bubbles. When he looked over the various colors he rubbed his cheek wondering which one Dasha would love. He knew only one person in Sonora knew who Dasha was and that was Dorian. So he had no fear about anyone finding out about his other sibling.
Dasha Talsky was Dmitry’s full sister, unlike Dorian who was his half-brother. She was born when Dmitry was just two years old. Sadly their mother Galina had been far away from any Healers and had bled to death. Dasha had survived thankfully but something was always off about her. Her magic was always explosive, never under control. She received a letter for Drumstrang when she was eleven, but was expelled only after a half a year. Since then Father kept her at home, and Dmitry had felt the need to care her.
“I’ll take the purple one.” He said and smiled at it. He looked down and sighed, now he just had to get through the whole fair without any awkward questions about the purple puff in his hands.
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Dmitry Talsky
Hmm...
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Dmitry Talsky
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Brad Hayman
August 03, 2010 11:49 PM
<i>Finally</i> something exciting! by Brad Hayman
Brad could sum up today in one word: bo-ring! He’d had high hopes at the broom lecture he’d first attended, but that had let him down a whole lot, and so had the rest of the lectures he’d gone to. They were so useless; all they talked about was growing up and college and jobs, and since none of the professions involved superhero-dom, Brad couldn’t have cared less! He expected this carnival part of the fair to be just as lame, especially since the Headmistress was going on and on in her typical, yawn-worthy fashion. Come on, he thought, crossing his arms in frustration, My grandma is more exciting than you! And it was true!He was just barely paying attention to the Headmistress’ speech, so he caught the news of Crotalus’ ridiculous win. He wished Aladren would have won; it would’ve given him something to get psyched about amid the utter boringness of this horrible event.
Once the speech ended, the redhead was happy to flee the Headmistress in search of something remotely interesting. His green eyes scanned the Pitch rapidly, and they soon latched on to the sight of something...thrilling! “Ooh!” he exclaimed, jumping up in the air in sheer joy. Finally! he thought with a grin. It was time to get his heroicness on.
Brad just barely avoided running into someone as he sprinted to the ride. He stopped for a moment and turned around. His grin spread even wider as he took the student by the hand and pulled them in the direction of the incredible monster of a ride before them. “Come on, let’s go! This is gonna be awesome!” Once they reached their destination, Brad marveled at the wide variety of warning signs in front of the ride, but what really caught his eye were the big words, Wronski Feint!
He turned to the person he’d taken along. “Are you ready for this?” he asked with a glint in his eye.
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Brad Hayman
<i>Finally</i> something exciting!
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Brad Hayman
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Nina Brockert
August 05, 2010 10:44 PM
Indeed! by Nina Brockert
Nina really hadn't bothered with any of the alumni talks. She had no idea what she would ever want to do when she grew up. Even though, the second year had taken up broom racing as a hobby, Nina didn't think it was practical to make a career out of it. Granted, she was a Brockert and at the risk of sounding like Chelsea, it was doubtful that Nina would ever need to work.So perhaps broom racing actually might be what she did when she grew up but it wouldn't be it would not be her profession. Even back in the days before Kaylie had gotten hurt and Nina had hoped to play Quidditch, she never had expected to play professionally.
Tonight's activities, however, Nina was excited for. There was a broom racing activity but first she wanted to check the Wronski Feint. After all, the Pecari was prohibited from Quidditch, not Quidditch themed rides.
The only thing that made Nina feel a bit down was that she was alone. She often felt alone and left out and she hated it. If it wasn't for the fact that Starbuck hated Mel, Nina would be sure the rest of her year and housemates would be hanging out with each other having fun without her.
As for Autumn, the first year had told Nina to go have fun on her own because there was no way she was going to go on the same rides Nina was really interested in. She hadn't been mean about it, more like letting Nina do what she really wanted to do.
She got in line for the Wronski Feint and was let onto the ride with Brad Hayman. Nina recognized him from classes of course, but she had heard a bit about him from Autumn. Nina grinned back at the firstie and replied. "You bet!"
It really was too bad Autumn was scared of this ride.
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Nina Brockert
Indeed!
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Nina Brockert
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Brad
August 06, 2010 4:54 PM
Rolling and coasting by Brad
Since they were one of the first people in line, Brad and his new friend only had to wait a few seconds before they got to jump into one of the broom-shaped roller coaster cars. The Aladren laughed in excitement as he glided over to the light brown seat opposite the line and buckled himself in. His eyes glowed as he looked over at the girl and anxiously waited for her to do the same. “Hey, what’s your name?” he asked curiously. She looked familiar, but he’d never talked to her before. She seemed really cool since she was so excited to go on the ride.Brad turned around in his seat, watching as the rest of the students filed in to their respective cars. He couldn’t wait for the ride to start; it was going to be a blast!
Brad grinned from ear to ear when he heard the familiar clanking sound of a roller coaster at work and they began to move forward on the sky blue tracks. The coaster seemed to be an artificial version of flying, though Brad anticipated it being just as exciting as flying, if not even more so! As the car inched closer to the top of the hill, he turned to his friend again.
“You scared?” he asked, his eyes wide with pre-drop exhilaration. “I’m not! I’m not afraid of anything!” He smiled valiantly. This was another reason he loved roller coasters; they made him feel invincible, like a superhero! Though, since he had magical abilities and everything, he felt like a superhero all the time. Well, this made him feel even more heroic than usual! There was a chance that she’d be scared, in which case he’d be sure to protect the Damsel in Distress. He had a feeling she wouldn’t need to be rescued, though, and that would be okay.
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Brad
Rolling and coasting
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Brad
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Demelza Eagle
August 08, 2010 3:11 PM
*gasps* It's a dream come true! by Demelza Eagle
Being from hillybilly-town Delaware, Demelza was totally used to fairs and she absolutely loved them. She went to the State Fair every year to get some funnel cake (yummm...) and 15-flavor-slurpies. She even went to a Beach Boys concert there one time. So Sonora having a fair reminded her very much of home, and that made her excited to go. She even wrote to her cousin, telling him about it because he had gone to Sonora. Because Demelza's wasn't Blake's most favorite person, she was surprised that he showed up, but pleased, nonetheless.Since the Quidditch pitch was Demelza's third home, she found herself wandering around there, smiling at all the cool stands. All the different people overwhelmed her and made her extremely hyper (Not that that was unusual.) She found herself so full of excitement that she skipped to each stand. Someone was talking at their stand, so she curiously approached that one.
She was very surprised to see that it was her Head of House at that stand! The Pecari Second year had no idea that her Charms teacher went to Sonora when he was a kid! Maybe he had mentioned it once, but Demela probably wasn't paying attention or something, for she did have a very hard time doing that. She grinned as he announced the prize. She could win an orange bubble hat! That would be ridiculously cool. She knew, from the very first day that she came to Sonora, that Professor McKindy was a cool teacher mainly because of his bubble hat. She ran a hand through her long and layered Chocolate brown hair to get it out of her eyes, and then approached the table with the super-awesome prize.
"Sure, Professor!" She said, excitedly. Smiling, she asked, "So, I just have to find the marble?" That orange bubble hat will be mine!
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Demelza Eagle
*gasps* It's a dream come true!
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Demelza Eagle
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Nina
August 08, 2010 3:22 PM
That's how it works. by Nina
Nina sat down next to Brad. "I'm Nina Brockert. You're Brad right? I'm Autum's cousin" She hadn't ever spoken to him but she hadn't spoken to a lot of people. It wasn't because Nina was at all shy, it was just that some of the people in her own class weren't really her kind of people and aside from Autumn who was family, the only people Nina could maybe consider friends were Jude, because she'd gone to the ball with him and Starbuck.Honestly, Nina felt terrible for thinking it, but it was sort of convenient that there was this division among the Pecari second year girls with Starbuck hating Mel. Last year the other three girls had been on the Quidditch team and close and Nina had been the one left out and different and she hated that.
That must have been what Adam felt like all the time, Nina realized, feeling a new surge of sympathy for her older brother who really had been extremely shy and was only slightly less so now but more angry and bitter. Nina was glad that Adam at least had Talitha and was an RA at SUM now.
Then there was Kaylie who had been traumatized by her boyfriend dumping her and getting injured while at Sonora. Kaylie hadn't had much for friends either, aside from Autumn's older sister Lily, who had been the one to injure her in the first place. Nina's older sister had Ian now, who seemed to adore Kaylie but she'd never been as bouncy again as Nina remembered from childhood.
She didn't want her experiences at Sonora to change her for the worse like it had her older brother and sister.
Yet it had never really occurred to Nina to be friends with the people in the year beneath hers either, as she hadn't wanted to take friends from Autumn or even Kirstenna. However, Nina had wanted to talk to Brad specifically and make sure he was an okay guy, as Autumn seemed to like him and consider him a friend and the Pecari felt protective of her younger cousin.
"Not at all!" Nina assured Brad. "I love things like this." Her eyes held an excited glint. "Are you ready for this?" She asked.
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Nina
That's how it works.
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Nina
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Brad
August 08, 2010 9:53 PM
All play and no work makes the Wronski Feint great! by Brad
“Cool name!” Brad replied. “Yeah, that’s me, Brad Hayman! Autumn’s really nice. You’re nice too!” He gave her a friendly smile. Nina seemed more laidback than Autumn. Autumn was always so worried about doing everything right, it seemed, and Brad wished she would just take it easy. It wasn’t that she bothered him; he just thought she deserved a break! There was no use stressing so much, especially about silly things like crossword puzzles. Brad hated puzzles unless they led to the identification of some dastardly criminal.“Are you ready for this?” “You bet!” he exclaimed, giving Nina an excited thumbs-up. They passed over the top of the hill and gravity began to pull them down—many, many feet down! “Aaaah!” he shouted with his hands up, the wind rushing through his longish red hair. His stomach flip-flopped as they went up and down hill after hill, a grin lighting up his face all the while. He didn’t get to go to theme parks a whole lot because Ma and Pa were always worried about the family budget, what with having seven kids and all, and theme parks weren’t exactly cheap. They went to the county carnival every summer, though, and Brad loved going on the little roller coaster they had, “The Mini Screamer.” He was probably a little too old to ride it now, but it had been a childhood pastime of his.
This Wronski Feint sure beat that, though! It was a powerful ride, and Brad felt like it had him under its total and relentless control. He laughed and screamed and looked over at Nina every once in a while, hoping she was enjoying this wild ride just as much as he was.
Once the cars stopped roaring across the tracks and eased back into the station, Brad waved his hands around above his head in elation. “Best…ride…ever!” he proclaimed as he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the car. “So did you like it or what?” the redhead asked Nina curiously. “You were a little scared deep down inside, huh? Weren’t you?” He beamed at her in amusement.
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Brad
All play and no work makes the Wronski Feint great!
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Brad
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5
Autumn Collins
August 10, 2010 4:43 PM
Watching by Autumn Collins
On the night of the Midsummer Fair, Autumn found herself alone. She had told Nina to go and do what she wanted, which was not at all the same thing that the first year wanted to do as there was nothing short of the Imperius curse that was going to get Autumn on a broom or the Wronski Feint and Nina loved things like that.She was starting to wish she'd been a little less generous, because Autumn felt uncomfortable being on her own here. It would also have been more fun to hang around with someone, anyone at the fair. Unfortunately, Autumn had thus far been unable to find Brad or Jane or even one of her roommates and she was masssively uncomfortable just asking anyone she didn't know very well if she could hang out with them.
Autumn was also further disappointed by the fact that Lily had not come to give an alumni talk. She knew she would see her sister soon enough but if Lily had come today, she would have stayed at the fair and hung out with Autumn. Her older sister loved things like this, especially the food.
On the other hand, Nina hadn't believed for a second that Kaylie or Adam would come and hadn't even bothered to hope. Adam giving an alumni talk would have been as likely as Autumn going on the Wronski Feint.
She wandered over to the face painting, feeling a little lonely. Autumn didn't really want her face painted but she was interested in the techniques used by Professor Dakin. Autumn loved art and painting and drawing and in this case, people's faces were like a canvas.
What she really would have wanted to do was help out but she was afraid to ask. Besides, what if Professor Dakin said yes and people didn't like the work Autumn did on them? She would be so embarassed and hurt. The Crotalus was very sensitive about her work.
And maybe she shouldn't be watching Professor Dakin either, Autumn wouldn't like anyone except some of her family watching her paint.
She turned to walk away but before she could get too far, heard someone address her. Autumn turned back around to face the person who had spoken.
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Autumn Collins
Watching
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Autumn Collins
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Jane Carey
August 12, 2010 12:25 PM
Likewise by Jane Carey
It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. And Jane did not care about the terrible quality of the pun.She had been looking forward to the fair for ages, and now Morgaine was here. There was no way she could try any of the games when she had a family matriarch here and watching, which left her nothing to do but wander around, looking at things and sipping the strange fizzy drink that was being served at the concession stand. For all she knew, Morgaine could use Jane's behavior as a reason to take Edmond away again, and she couldn't risk that. Her parents would never forgive her.
The morning had been of little interest to her, since she knew what she was going to do for life and had therefore spent most of it drifting between Catherine Gardiner and Rosalind Rabindra. She didn't know what they thought of it, but the more she thought about it, the more Jane disliked the idea of spending all her life at home, attending parties and tending children. She wanted to keep learning. Jane knew she didn't know much about the world, having been sheltered even beyond the norm for her family, but she didn't believe that everything she would learn by the time she left Sonora was everything there was to know.
To distract herself from the things she couldn't do, she decided to watch people instead. Wandering wouldn't be so bad if she had company. As she turned past the face painting stand - it was a fascinating corruption of what she'd read about some ancient cultures - she saw what she thought was Autumn's hair from behind and called out. "Autumn?"
She had called it accurately, because Autumn turned. Jane hurried to catch up with her. "Good evening," she said. "Do you mind if I walk with you?"
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Jane Carey
Likewise
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Jane Carey
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Nina
August 12, 2010 8:34 PM
Agreed by Nina
Nina blinked when Brad said she was nice. They had just met and he was already saying that. Had Autumn talked about her or something? Still, the second year was glad. At least someone liked her and thought she was nice and liked her even if she didn't play Quidditch and he didn't even know her very well.Of course, Nina couldn't help wonder if Brad thought everyone was nice, even people like Chelsea. Then again, Nina liked to think that she really was and Brad meant it, even if it was mostly just his impression from class, Autumn, and the few minutes they'd been speaking. She was glad he thought Autumn was nice too.
As the ride started, Nina's excitement grew. She cheered as they went down the first hill. This was amazing . Nina loved the rush of adrenaline that she felt as they plummeted down the first hill. She hadn't really gone on many roller coasters before and she was just loving this.
The ride ended and Brad jumped out of the car. Nina followed suit. "It was awesome !" The Pecari replied. The first year seemed to have enjoyed the ride as much as Nina had. "Want to go again?" she inquired.
However, even as she asked, the second year felt just a tiny bit guilty. Here she was, with her cousin's friend, on a ride that Autumn wouldn't do. Nina really hoped the younger girl wouldn't mind too much, and that she'd found someone else to hang out with. The Pecari knew what it was like to feel left out.
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Nina
Agreed
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Nina
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5