Florence Newell
November 13, 2019 4:28 PM
Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping... by Florence Newell
Florence hunched. Florence Newell never hunched - disgraced family or not, she still had a vaguely proper upbringing, and lessons in posture had not been lost on her - but there she was, sitting in the library, poured over a table, hunching. Sprawled out before her were pamphlets and booklets and leaflets, all advertising how their university was definitely different and definitely better than the other dozens with identical smiling and diverse faces across the covers.Remembering herself, the Aladren straightened. Her back gave a protesting waiver, and she stretched far back the opposite way to stretch out the pain. This was all such utter foolishness. Did it really matter in which town and which institution she went to learn? They all purported to have the best in every department, and the best food, and the best environment, and the best… well, everything. So who cared?
Florence cared, that’s who. She had decided that she wanted to learn - what, she didn’t know yet, but she couldn’t let her education endeavours conclude with her secondary education. No, Florence was an intellectual; she needed higher learning. She was intending to go in undecided as to her major and see what stuck, but she just had to pick a place first.
Forcing her back to cooperate in an equilibrium, Flo sighed and took a glance around, as she had not done in a while. Her obsessive staring was certainly not getting her anywhere, anyway. But to her surprise, her bright eyes locked on another set looking at her. “Oh, sorry, did you want to sit at this table?” she asked, beginning to sweep up her ocean of collegiate smiles.
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Florence Newell
Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping...
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Salali Bly
November 13, 2019 4:28 PM
Slipping where? by Salali Bly
Salali did not know what was coming. She knew deep in her heart (and in her schedule planner) that her time here at Sonora was winding down pretty soon, but she genuinely had no idea what came next. What was the next step for her? Where was she going?Well, for right now, and in a literal sense, she was going to the library. The brunette was not particularly bookish, but she did find that sometimes when you needed answers, the library was the only place that had them. She preferred the method of sitting deep within the Labyrinth Gardens - a spiral she knew by now like the back of her own hand - and asking the wind to whisper its secrets, but the wind didn’t know what she was doing either anymore, so she figured it was time to read a book.
And what good fortune, because sitting in the library when she arrived was none other than Florence Newell. Salali did not know the other seventh year particularly well - she didn’t know anyone particularly well, honestly - but Florence was smart. She had to have answers. So with a question on her lip, she approached.
Florence asked if she wanted to sit there, and Salali smiled, “Yes, please!” and took a seat beside the Aladren. She was ready to ask her many questions when the materials being shuffled across the table caught her attention. “What are those?” she asked instead.
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Salali Bly
Slipping where?
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Florence Newell
November 13, 2019 4:29 PM
Into the future, of course by Florence Newell
It was not unusual to hear Salali Bly ask a question. Far from it, in fact: Salali always had a lot of questions, like she never knew… well, anything, really. But that was okay. Florence liked questions almost as much as she liked answers, so she had never really minded the Pecari. It was obvious that she was different from Florence, which was the reason she had so many questions to begin with, and being different was okay by Flo.“They’re college brochures,” she answered patiently. “Are you going to college? Because I’m still trying to pick which one I want to go to.” Being the topic of conversation and not just a messy nuisance now, Florence returned her papers to the table so that Salali could get a better, more thorough look at them. “I like this one in Michigan because it’s closer to home,” she commented, “but this one looks like a cozy little place. I don’t know, I’m torn.”
Florence let her eyes return to the brochures, and, remembering her own plight, repressed another sigh. Why was college season so difficult? If she had a dream career or a dream school, this would all be so simple. But Flo did not have any dreams, at least not nearly so specific. She just wanted to know things. Maybe everything someday. But definitely a lot of things.
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Florence Newell
Into the future, of course
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Salali Bly
November 13, 2019 4:29 PM
What a twist! by Salali Bly
College!Yes, Salali had heard that word before. College! That was what came next. And it looked fun, too, judging by all the smiles everyone wore in these many colorful pictures that Florence had. What places they were! And there were a lot of them, if Florence’s heaps were to be trusted. So many options! Too many, Salali realized all at once. How was anyone to ever decide? She needed to know more.
Even Florence, renowned knower of things, admitted to not knowing which of them she would choose. “That sounds difficult,” Salali expressed sympathetically. “But you should follow your heart. It will help your brain. Sometimes, it knows more.”
With a smile, Salali picked up the nearest brochure. “I think I want to go to college, too,” she announced, turning back to Florence. “May I come too please?” She knew it probably wasn’t Florence’s decision - she was mostly looking to see if the other girl thought that was a good course of action. After all, what was the other option if not college? Some people had jobs, which Salali saw and thought was probably fun if you found one you liked, but she had little to no idea how to even get one of those. Were they assigned? Did you just show up and say you worked somewhere? Who even knew?
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Salali Bly
What a twist!
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Florence Newell
November 24, 2019 11:00 AM
It seemed pretty obvious to me by Florence Newell
In their six and a half years of schooling, Salali Bly had never been known for being especially… well, linear in her thoughts. And while her statements were emotionally heavy-handed and definitely not on the same sort of logical spectrum as the on in which Florence tended to exist, Salali actually made some sense. The only trouble was, how was the Aladren meant to follow her heart? If her brain didn’t know the answer, then her heart definitely didn’t have it either. Maybe other people were different, but Flo was an academic - her heart followed her brain, not the other way around.But it was the next words her Pecari classmate uttered that really had her concerned. “What?” Florence said, dumbfounded. “Of course you can come. I mean, if you pick some schools, apply to them, get accepted, select one of those, go through the financial set up…. Wait, you’ve applied by now, right?” That thought came suddenly. “Oh my gosh, Salali, please tell me you’ve at least applied to some by now.” It was awfully late in the year to just be starting the process, but if that was the case, then Florence had no course of action but to assist Salali in any way possible.
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Florence Newell
It seemed pretty obvious to me
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Salali Bly
November 24, 2019 11:09 AM
Interesting. Go on. by Salali Bly
Salali was delighted to hear that Florence Newell thought she could come to college - that was a very big compliment, given how smart everybody knew the other girl to be. She was an Aladren, after all; that House was just full of brains. Not like Salali, who had never fancied herself particularly gifted in intellect. She was all heart, and that heart was full of questions, but her brain did not have the answers. Florence’s brain was different. She knew things.But there were a lot of steps, it seemed, and Salali had thus far taken none. How could she have when she did not know any of them until such a smart person as Florence outlined them for her? “I have not,” she replied. “But I would like to.” She paused, considering all of the things presented to her. It had been a whirlwind of an afternoon so far. “Can you help me please?” She hated to take up too much of Florence’s time with such a trivial issue as her own future (not trivial, she realized, but for Florence - a girl who she was not particularly close to and had no reason to be invested in her - it may have been). Salali just needed someone who knew anything about this matter to lend her a hand.
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Salali Bly
Interesting. Go on.
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Florence Newell
November 24, 2019 11:23 AM
...That's pretty much all by Florence Newell
Much to Florence’s chagrin, Salali gave the exact worst answer: “I have not.” The first thought that ran through Flo’s mind was another, oh my gosh, and was immediately followed by, here we go, I guess.Flo shoved the stacks of brochures over to Salali’s side of the table. “So these are the schools I currently have information on. We can get more from the guidance counselor if none of these ones sound good to you. Most schools are going to want to know about you - what activities you did here, how your grades were, that sort of thing. And you’ll most likely need to have some letters of recommendation from adults. That’s basically just a professor talking about how you’re a good person and why those schools want to have you. Your Head of House is a good choice to ask for that, plus maybe another professor who you think would have the best things to say. And you’re probably going to need to write an essay. I can help you edit that later,” Florence volunteered.
She paused, trying to gauge the look on Salali’s face. “Does that all make sense?” she checked, somewhat hoping she wouldn’t have to break it down any further. It was all so common sense to her, she wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it all.
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Florence Newell
...That's pretty much all
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Salali Bly
November 24, 2019 11:35 AM
...Oh by Salali Bly
In an instant, Salali was overwhelmed. But she tried not to let it show and did her best to listen. She listened hard, very attentive to Florence’s speech. This was all very useful information. There was honestly a lot more to it than she had expected. With Sonora, they found her. The letter and the magical ambassador had found her - which was impressive, given how quite literally underground her family was - and then pretty much everything had just taken care of itself. She had sort of expected the next thing to be like that, too. But it wasn’t. Growing up was hard, apparently.Florence asked if she understood, but Salali did not quite know how to reply. She understood it all - in theory. In practice, though, it just all seemed like so much. “...Yes?” she answered, although she sounded quite unsure of her own answer. “It is a lot,” she confessed. “I think I understand, but it is… it is a lot.” She tried her best not to look particularly pitiable, but Salali felt so pathetic right now. How stupid of her to just assume things would work. She should have thought sooner to investigate her upcoming After. But she hadn't, and now here she was, relying on a girl who had no reason to be invested in the outcome. Great.
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Salali Bly
...Oh
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Florence Newell
November 24, 2019 11:42 AM
Sorry if that's anti-climatic. by Florence Newell
Florence’s mouth twinged downard in a slight frown. “Yeah, I know,” she said. She honestly felt bad for Salali - somehow, she hadn’t known any of this. Maybe it wasn’t that surprising. A lot of the girls at Sonora were pureblood society types, and most of them didn’t exactly do higher education. So maybe because of that, Salali had never learned about the post-secondary education options available to her. Had things been different, Florence might not have been seeking to continue her education either, but she just knew who she was and that required education. Her family would deal; not like they had a lot to lose anymore, and a daughter learning was the least of their worries.“Look, I don’t honestly know how much more help I can be,” she sighed, feeling pretty bad. “I’m just… not trained for this, you know? But you should talk to the guidance counselor. Helping students with college stuff… well, it’s part of his job. I’ll help you anywhere I can - like I said, I can definitely proofread your admission essays if you want me to - but yeah, I’d try him for more information.” Florence offered a friendly smile. “And you can keep those brochures. Okay?”
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Florence Newell
Sorry if that's anti-climatic.
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Salali Bly
November 24, 2019 11:47 AM
Nonsense. I don't even know the meaning of that word! by Salali Bly
Unfortunately, Florence Newell did not think she could be any more help. That was a bit disheartening, but Salali understood. She wasn’t any more ready to explain this to her than she was to actually do any of it. But the Pecari definitely appreciated all the information she had gotten thus far. And Florence had such lovely eyes, decorated with such genuine human kindness, that Salali could hardly be upset with her.So she scooped up the papers Florence so kindly offered to her and stood up. “I will do that,” she said, with a hint of a smile. “Right now. I will go see the guidance counselor exactly right now. Thank you very much.” And maybe it was just in her head, but she could have sworn that Florence smiled back at her. That made her own smile grow, sweeping the corners of her mouth up into her cheeks. Did this make them friends now? Salali certainly hoped so. She was the type to consider just about everyone a friend, but she was not actually in practice very close to anyone. Maybe she was just too odd. She got along well enough with Natalie, her roommate, but they again lived quite different lives from different backgrounds and with different futures. That was okay, but it wasn’t a best friend or anything. And neither was this, but maybe it was something.
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Salali Bly
Nonsense. I don't even know the meaning of that word!
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