A word between Cousins on Quidditch Pitch

Headmaster Regal

May 20, 2011 7:57 PM

Bonfire! by Headmaster Regal

It was the end of his first term as Headmaster of Sonora Academy, and he had loved every single day of it. Yes, it was a lot of work, but he liked the working atmosphere the Staff members brought. They made his job a whole lot easier. Of course, there had been some ups and downs along the way, but that was normal in life. David was happy about taking this job, his wife had been even happier, the increase in his paycheck had enabled her to do some things she wanted for a long time, like change the kitchen and stuff like that.

In his time at Sonora, his hair had grayed considerably, he didn’t mind, that was part of life. Getting older, but with age came knowledge and experience. Things he wanted to pass down to the younger generations, the main reason he had pursued a career in education. There was really nothing better than to mold the future generations of the wizarding world.

The Quidditch Pitch had been transformed, once again. Half of it was filled with wizarding tents. They would give the students from different houses the chance to sleep together. Of course, they were charmed to prevent any coed after-hours activities. Each tent had four comfortable cots and a bathroom, to be shared by the occupants. On the other side of the Pitch was a big mound of wood that would house the massive bonfire, a few yards from it a stage had been constructed for the musical entertainment of the night: the Nowhere Men. He had been told that that particular group had ties to the school. A few yards to the right, there was a long table laded with every kind of food and beverages imaginable. David was happy about everything. It was now time to start with the fun!

David stepped into the stage and addressed the congregated students, “Good evening!” his voice sounded throughout the pitch, thanks to a sonorous charm. The sun was setting, giving a rather breathtaking scene. “Welcome to the end of term bonfire,” David smiled. “Before we start with the fun, I want to announce that Daniel Nash and Charlotte Abbot will continue with their duties as Head students for the next term.” David applauded them, they had done a rather good job, and he was happy to keep them in their positions.

“Now, the main activity is to have a kind of cleansing ritual. Each of you will burn something of your past, as a way of getting rid of what burdens you.” The Headmaster patted his robe pocket, where he was keeping what he was going to burn.

Headmaster Regal stepped down from the stage and ignited the mound of wood. He stayed there watching the fire do its jobs. The fire would be controlled by magic, to prevent any kind of accident. Once the flames were dancing, he took out the picture of Scotland and threw it into the fire. He smiled, he had to let go of the past, since his future and present were in the United States. “Now, we can begin!” He took a step back and watched everyone do their thing. After the cleansing ritual, they would be able to enjoy the amenities. He could hear the group starting to play. This was an excellent way to end his first term as Headmaster.

Subthreads:

Goodbye, rebellion. by Dana Smythe with Valentina Bentancourt, Dana

And even when your hope is gone, move along. by Sophie Jamison with Nic Sawyer

Leave the past to the past. by Declan Chatterjee with Professor Aaron McKindy, Sadi Powell, Declan

A fresh new start by Daniel Nash with Adelita Garcia, Adelita, Lita

Mighty Red Flower! by Ayita Bly with Josephine Owen, Ayita

Onto the Advanced Years! by Jose Hernandez with Marissa Stephenson, Andrew Duell, Jose

A word between Cousins by Amelia and Maria Pierce with DiAnna Diaz, The Pierce Matriarchs

Procrastination might make a good new middle name by Edmond Carey

And so another year ends by Sara Raines with Preston Stratford, Sara

For every ending a new beginning by Jane Carey with Jethro Smythe, Jane

...This is going to be a long night. by Fae Sinclair with Arthur Carey, Fae

Yay! FIRE!! by Regina Parker with Luka Anastanov

Unfair by Tawny Brockert

Out with the old, in with the new. by Professor Lilac Crosby with Seth Brockert

WHY must you make me think? by Demelza Eagle with Samantha Hamilton

Let's just call this effigy by James Anthony with Charlotte Abbott

The end? by Ryan O'Malley with Derry Four, James Owen

Trying to find meaning by Alice Adair

0 Headmaster Regal Bonfire! 0 Headmaster Regal 1 5

Dana Smythe

May 20, 2011 10:34 PM

Goodbye, rebellion. by Dana Smythe

So another year had passed without incidence or consequence. Dana had almost died of boredom after midterm and had, with Alison's assistance, cut her hair and dyed it bright pink. What had changed? nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Pecari was still convinced that nobody had even noticed the difference. It was like she blended into the background. Ah well, maybe that was her place in all of this. She'd sort of accepted her destiny a while ago, so maybe now she just had to come to terms with the truth that her destiny involved her never being one of those sorts of people who stood out from the crowd. As she listened to the Headmaster's speech, the dye had almost entirely faded from her hair, and before she headed home from the summer she would arrange her hair into a style more suitable for her parents' viewing, and they would never know what had happened. He brief rebellion would be as if it never occured - in fact it sort of felt like that already.

The bonfire was ignited, The Nowhere Men began playing, and everything descended into music and shadows. Dana disappeared into the crowd. She slowly pulled out a small tub from the pocket of her robes - her sensible, expensive but understated cream-colored robes with delicate pale blue embroidery - and made her way to the edge of the magically-controlled bonfire. The tub was what was left of the pink hair dye. It was intended for re-application once the initial color started to fade, but dana needed the color gone so she could go back to being a well behaved Smythe. She gave the pink contents a mournful look before flinging the tub into the flames to be engulfed. Then she withdrew from the fire, allowing others to burn their own hopes and dreams. She sighed. Now what? Maybe she could get some food, but she wasn't hungry. She wasn't in the mood for dancing. She didn't really have friends she could hang out with. Maybe she would just find a tent and call it a night.

0 Dana Smythe Goodbye, rebellion. 142 Dana Smythe 0 5

Sophie Jamison

May 21, 2011 11:18 AM

And even when your hope is gone, move along. by Sophie Jamison

Sophie liked fire.

…Actually that sounded a lot more freaky than she was. The second year enjoyed the look of it, the way the flames danced. She liked the warmth it generated, the somehow calm feeling she experienced as the heat comforted her. She wasn’t a pyromaniac or anything; on the contrary, she understood the damage even the smallest flame could cause when it engulfed its surroundings. However, the flicker and the heat enticed her, and she always felt memories flood into her mind around a fire.

The blonde remembered days before her father was so busy. His cases had been harder to come by before he was more widely-known, it hadn’t been too much work to tend to the orphanage, et cetera. Summer nights were filled with bonfires and roasting marshmallows until they seemed inedible. Jacob Jamison always enjoyed the burnt ones. This was the summer when she was around eight, the second best summer she in her immediately tangible memory, second only to the one last year, when Ryan came over. She hadn’t had enough with her mother to consider those years in the running.

Sometimes Sophie loved her mother. Sometimes she hated her. All the time, the Pecari felt betrayed by her. The wounds from her mother’s suicide weren’t so fresh, but it seemed they had never scabbed over properly. She felt like her mother had done it because she didn’t love her enough to stay and raise her. Sure, she had been grief-stricken over Saxen, but so had Sophie, and so had Jacob. As a family, they were supposed to get through it together.

That was why the small thirteen year old chose to burn her mother’s favorite necklace.

She had to move on. That was all there was to it. Constantly terrorizing herself over her mother was going to drive her insane. This storm she weathered inside and mostly alone; she had told Ryan everything, even taken him to her brother and mother’s graves, but she didn’t like to mention them thereafter. Actually, she had somewhat mentioned her mother to a girl, Hope Brockert, in class, but the statement “I have a dead mother” had not been intended for deeper trust, just to try to show her there could be worse things.

In these tents on the Quidditch Pitch, she was sharing with Hope. She didn’t honestly know the younger girl that well, but she liked her. Plus, she was distantly related to Ryan, so that automatically made her awesome. (Though sometimes it seemed like half of the school was related to Ryan in some way or another.)

It felt kind of like a joke now. Whenever in the tent there was a slightly awkward silence or Sophie thought Hope was about to be sad, she casually stated, “So, I have a dead mother” and laughed. Laughed! It was sort of a sadistic joke or sounded just plain cruel to any outsiders, but it was sort of an inside joke.

When the time for the bonfire came, Sophie headed out of her tent, a purse on her shoulder. Towards the large stage-type-thing she went, ready to hear what the Headmaster had to say. When he got down and started the fire, her sky blue eyes lit up. She didn’t see what he threw in, but that was fine. Others seeing it wasn’t the point.

The blonde stepped up to the fire, at about the same distance as the Headmaster had, and pulled out from her bag her mother’s necklace. It was a silver chain that had never rusted, still glorious with its small hoops linking the thinner slivers together. Strung along was the pendant, a Snitch-sized turtle made entirely of sapphire, except for the eyes, which were small diamonds. It had been expensive, but now was the time for it to go.

Sophie wound her arm back, then threw the necklace into the fire. As she watched it hide underneath the flames, she again dug into her small purse and removed from it a bag of marshmallows. The Pecari pulled her wand out of her pocket, stuck a marshmallow on the tip, and held it out towards the fire for a nice roasting. To a neighboring student, she grinned, “Want one?”

12 Sophie Jamison And even when your hope is gone, move along. 34 Sophie Jamison 0 5

Valentina Bentancourt

May 22, 2011 6:02 PM

Goodbye, mediocrity. by Valentina Bentancourt

Valentina thought this had been a good year. For the most part, she had studied, danced and made some new friends. It had been a good year. The MARS room had helped her loads with her dancing, she was sure Madame was going to be impressed by her progress. The painting of the ballerina in the dance room had said so. The twelve-year old was happy another year had almost passed. The Teppenpaw couldn’t wait to grow-up and become a lady, like her mother, and be able to do what she loved to do: dance. The Spaniard was sure Madame Abramova was going to give her a spot in her summer production. It was going to be great!

The Spaniard didn’t have a formed opinion on the new Headmaster, nor did she have one of the former Headmistress. She had been a first-year under Headmistress Powell, and she was a second-year under Headmaster Regal. Only time could tell, really. The blue-eyed was excited about the summer; she had received a letter from her mother informing her that they would be travelling with the Davidses. It was going to be great, she loved travelling. Plus, she was going to go to places she hadn’t before. Her family only left Boston to go to Madrid. It was going to be the first time she travelled around the United States.

She thought that the Bonfire activity was going to be awesome, since it was going to be her first bonfire. Her mother was pretty strict when it came to fire. She had conveniently forgotten to mention it in her last owl home, she was sure her mother would have prohibited her attendance, and she really wanted to go and have fun. Valentina had given a lot of thought to what she wanted to burn, and came to the conclusion that burning her old ballet pointe shoes. Her mother had given her new ones, and that meant that her time as a second-string dancer was going to be over. She was going to be the Prima Ballerina that was her goal.

She entered the Pitch and curiously wandered through the tents; she left her things inside of one and walked towards where the bonfire was. She listened dutifully to Headmaster Regal’s speech and applauded when it was required. Valentina waited for her turn, and when it came, she threw her ballet slippers into the flames. She smiled, feeling that luck was going to change for her. An older with fading pink dye on her hair caught her attention, she had never seen her before, but that was normal, since she was a second-year.

She walked up to her and smiled, “Hello! I like your hair.” Valentina looked at her in awe. Her hair was really awesome.

0 Valentina Bentancourt Goodbye, mediocrity. 171 Valentina Bentancourt 0 5

Declan Chatterjee

May 22, 2011 6:17 PM

Leave the past to the past. by Declan Chatterjee

Well, here it was; the end of Deck's first school year back at Sonora Academy. It had come about a lot faster than he'd expected it to, to be totally honest, but he was looking forward to the summer with an eagerness he hadn't felt since he was a schoolboy himself, practically bouncing on his way home on the Hogwarts Express. Not that he hadn't loved his time at Sonora; he wouldn't be coming back next year if that were the case. But it would be such a relief to be back with his family again, the way they were meant to be--or as close as the Chatterjees had managed. Him, his mum, his stepdad, and his little girl--perfect.

Almost perfect, anyway. He was hoping that he'd be able to convince Aaron to come stay in Phoenix with the whole Chatterjee clan for at least a little while; or maybe Deck and Ollie could go visit him and Jessie. Though the idea of Ollie and Jessie together was, to be frank, mildly terrifying; Jessie hardly sounded like the best role model for an already rebellious little girl. Still, the idea brought a grin to Deck's face as he watched the students mingling excitedly.

The sound of the headmaster's voice caught Deck's attention; he turned to listen to the man's little welcoming speech and instinctively ducked his free hand into the pocket of the traditional, vividly indigo sherwani that he wore in lieu of western wizarding robes. His fingers closed around the rather battered Muggle photograph there, of Deck kissing the cheek of a man with a messy crop of red hair, who was grinning cheesily at the photographer. He'd thought about throwing the bracelet he wore to remember Michael into the fire, but he didn't have the heart to do that; baby steps, he could almost hear his sister's voice saying.

As a few of those closest to the bonfire started following the headmaster's example, Deck headed in that direction; along the way, he spotted a familiar figure in the crowd, and detoured to surreptitiously hook his arm in the taller man's. "There you are," the Irishman said, grinning. "Thought maybe you'd skipped the festivities entirely."

It wouldn't have been totally out of character, from what Deck could tell--then again, there wasn't much that seemed out of the realm of possibility at the moment. Aaron hadn't exactly been behaving normally lately, after all; he seemed jumpy--well, jumpier than usual, Deck should say--and sometimes this slightly guilty look would cross his face, like a boy who's been caught getting into the biscuits right before supper. Maybe it was all in Deck's head though; after all, as much as he adored the Charms professor, it wasn't like Aaron was the most... well... sane of men, in terms of behavior at least, at the best of times.

"What d'you say we slough off our old skins in favor of the new, eat until we burst, then go back to your rooms and just lay around like lazy cats?" he suggested, his gray-green eyes sparkling.

0 Declan Chatterjee Leave the past to the past. 11 Declan Chatterjee 0 5

Daniel Nash

May 22, 2011 7:12 PM

A fresh new start by Daniel Nash

When Daniel had heard that there would be a ritual burning of something he needed to leave behind. His first thought was to burn something of Nate's but he wasn't quite done with Nate. He had ten more episodes to make yet before Nate could be permanently retired. Maybe at the end of the summer, he'd do a private ceremony to see Nate off forever, but it was not time for that yet.

Today, he had decided instead on a tie. It wasn't his favorite tie. He didn't even particularly like this tie. But it was a tie, and he was using it to symbolize his too-formal attitude that had caused his problem back in that Charms lesson. He was trying to loosen up a little bit. He was even wearing jeans tonight.

Not those hideous ones with the holes, obviously, but a nice black pair. They hugged his legs and rear somewhat more tightly than was strictly comfortable, but he thought he looked pretty good in them. His deep blue shirt, too, was somewhat more casual that was his norm, with only three buttons up near its collar. The top one was undone, too. Even his brown hair wasn't quite as meticulously styled as it generally was for classes; he'd allowed it to fall more naturally tonight.

The Headmaster's speech came before the ritual though, and Daniel let out a breath of released apprehension when the man confirmed that he would, in fact, be returning as Head Boy next year. That there had been no voting period leading up to the Bonfire had suggested that this would be the case, but Daniel was still relieved to hear the words. He managed to keep his reaction to a pleased smile this year though, and did not verbally cheer his success.

There was still a little bit of an extra bounce in his step as he made his way up to the fire to drop in the tie. "Good-bye excess formality," he said as the fabric began to burn. Then he headed out into the crowd of other students and smiled and nodded at one of his schoolmates as their eyes met. "Happy bonfire," he said, not quite certain if there was a more appropriate greeting for the night, but he decided the impromptu holiday cheer was more in line with his new resolve.

1 Daniel Nash A fresh new start 130 Daniel Nash 0 5

Ayita Bly

May 22, 2011 9:31 PM

Mighty Red Flower! by Ayita Bly

The Red Flower was not a toy. It was nothing something to be played with, only summoned when absolutely necessary. Therefore, Ayita assumed this ceremony--a bonfire, it was called--of cleansing was of the utmost importance. Something must be offered to the Red Flower to… to… well, Ayita did not know why, but it was clearly mandatory in order for a pleasant future for Sonora.

She went through all of her things for something to burn but found nothing she could possibly offer the Red Fire. The child did not have many possessions, and what she had she needed, either for school or for sentimental reasons in regards to her home. That, or it was seriously illegal and blasphemous to discard them, like her purple eye makeup. If she threw that away, there was no way she would be allowed to return home again.

Ayita very much wanted to go home. While she was beginning to enjoy the Outside, she felt an ache in her heart only to be satisfied by returning. She missed her father and longed for her Kindom’s people. At home, she was somebody important, but at Sonora… she did not even have friends.

Perhaps her culture frightened away prospective friends. She could not recall a long-lasting conversation with anyone, not even her roommates. Her roommates probably thought she was a freak for her culture. Ayita felt almost invisible here, whereas back home she could not journey in the Kingdom without being hounded.

It was much calmer here, but she certainly missed the commotion. Actually, saying Sonora was calm would have been the understatement of the century; it was bustling with activity. Observing this activity had taught her many things about the Outside world, like their measurements of the Cycle--years, months, weeks, days, and all of that good stuff.

As much as she had learned, she was still true to her culture, never letting her hair down in the presence of Outsiders. As culture dictated, as she had nothing to physically offer into the fire, when it was her turn, she stepped up with the only thing she could give.

Ayita began to dance what would hardly look like dance to an Outsider but was most comparable to the modern dance style if any. Every motion was symbolic, this one meaning “praise,” or that one meaning “Godlike”. She moved so vigorously that she broke into a sweat. When she stopped, she fell to her knees before the Red Flower. “Please accept my offering!”

From that position, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned her head over her shoulder to face the source of the tap. Her grey eyes falling upon that source, she began to rise, sitting up on her knees instead of being somewhat face-first into the grass. “May I help you?”

0 Ayita Bly Mighty Red Flower! 0 Ayita Bly 0 5

Jose Hernandez

May 22, 2011 10:14 PM

Onto the Advanced Years! by Jose Hernandez

As a fifth year who just took his CATS - an event that had proven exhausting and far more nerve-wracking than anything academic should ever be for a California Pierce - Jose's most prominent thought as he tried to decide what to burn at the bonfire was that the CATS were finally over. He was very happy to put that test behind him. Consequently, what he'd ended up bringing along was one of the practice tests he'd taken in preparation for the exam.

He had nothing against this prep test in particular - he'd scored reasonably well on it - but he had no need to keep it, and he couldn't think of anything that would symbolize the standardized test better. Honestly, he had picked the one he did best on in hopes that it would prove to be the one nearest his actual CATS scores.

Once his uncles had been introduced as the band (Jose cheered them loudly) and the test had gone up in flames and he made sure the Nowhere Men had seen him waving at them, he turned his attention back to the other students on the Pitch. "Pretty cool, huh? I wonder if there'll be s'mores later?"

1 Jose Hernandez Onto the Advanced Years! 149 Jose Hernandez 0 5

Dana

May 22, 2011 11:05 PM

Goodbye, diplomacy by Dana

One of the younger students - twerps, Lucas had called them when he was in his older years - told Dana that she liked her hair. Looking down, Dana didn't smile. "Thanks," she said, wearily. She could just about see the irony of someone complimenting her hair just after she'd gotten rid of the last of the dye, but as she'd had no intentions of re-dying it anyway it didn't really matter. She also noticed that she hadn't gained any attention from her own yeargroup, but had perhaps inspired one of the younger kids to maybe do the same one day, when her own life got as boring as Dana's had. Well, that could maybe be a small comfort.

"It was brighter, but I had to let it wash out for the summer," she told the smaller girl. If her parents knew she'd colored her hair they wouldn't freak out too badly, but if she showed up like that with no warning there would definitely be issues. They would probably be a little uncomfrotable that she'd cut her own hair (or that Alison had cut it for her, anyway) but she would be able to style it in such away that it would still look proper, and it would grow out nicely by the time she graduated next summer, anyway. She was too well behaved to have done something truly damaging, and anyway, that would be life self mutilation: Dana wanted to have the life that her parents had mapped out for her, with the husband and the kids and the nice home. It just wasn't quite as exciting as she'd hoped.

"So what did you burn, then?" Dana asked the younger girl. She didn't really have an interest in her personally, but she was curious to discover what all the other students at Sonora had decided was no longer a part of their life.

0 Dana Goodbye, diplomacy 0 Dana 0 5

Professor Aaron McKindy

May 22, 2011 11:56 PM

Or make the past the future? by Professor Aaron McKindy

Worn-in jeans with a wand tucked in the back pocket, the same blue-and-white trainers that he’d been wearing his first day at Sonora, and a t-shirt of Deck’s that he had ended up wearing simply because it had been more conveniently located than one of his own, Aaron was clearly about as dressed up as he ever was for the Sonora bonfire. He’d thought about things he wanted to burn as a part of the cleansing exercise this was being billed as; his lack of resolve was not actually a tenable thing so that was out of the question. Deck’s t-shirt wasn’t his and he wanted to keep it anyway. Garen’s—well, Aaron might have burned his wand if he could, after the disastrous owl post of the past weekend that had left him pacing the Gardens for hours, but that would only result in him buying a new wand, and he rather liked the one he had now.

So the black-haired man had burned nothing, in the end. He was there because Sadi had promised to visit and he needed her advice on…everything. The older woman was really Aaron’s closest friend, when it came down to it. Only friend, if you were being particularly honest. He rubbed one eyebrow as he watched people dispose of a plethora of former belongings in the fire; the Charms professor felt as though he should have come up with something to burn.

Aaron was just standing there, grey-green eyes scanning the crowd for Sadi, when he felt a rush of panic as someone hooked his arm in theirs completely unexpectedly. The panic died down a bit when the man realized that it was just Deck. Just Deck. Against his better judgment, a grin quirked the side of Aaron’s mouth as he turned to realize that Declan was wearing an indigo sherwani. Personally, Aaron thought that Deck looked much better in the sherwani than robes; although admittedly, ‘in sherwani’ wasn’t exactly how Aaron preferred Declan either. He had never been one for formal wear after all, as was clearly exhibited by his own t-shirt and jeans.

“Thought about it,” Aaron admitted, looking around somewhat cagily. He was going to explain everything to Sadi, he just wanted the explanation to happen before she saw Deck. They’d sort of—well they hadn’t been friends, but they had gotten along, the three of them. Things had been complicated then, and Sadi had always given him good advice, but he really didn’t want to throw her into the situation without any warning. Aaron continued to look around.

He was vaguely distracted by Sadi’s promised appearance, but more distracted by the not-fight that he and Garen had not-had just before he had left home most recently. Aaron had the distinct and somewhat overwhelming feeling that after that particular incident, it wasn’t going to be home for much longer; in a particularly absent-minded moment, Aaron had actually forgotten his wand on Deck’s dresser and Deck had, subsequently, owled it to him. And Garen had, subsequently, opened the post. And confronted Aaron about it. And Aaron had--

Umpteenth mental recap of the moment Aaron was fairly certain would end his marriage interrupted by Declan suggesting something about leaving the past behind (something Aaron had never had particular skill at) and then go hang around Deck’s quarters. About to come up with a good reason not to do that, Aaron was momentarily frozen in both space and time by the appearance of Sadi Powell just in front of them.

She gave him a Look.

He dropped Deck’s arm immediately.

Merlin, Circe, and Agrippa.

0 Professor Aaron McKindy Or make the past the future? 0 Professor Aaron McKindy 0 5

Sadi Powell

May 23, 2011 12:29 AM

Bringing the past to the present by Sadi Powell

Sadi had received an invitation from Headmaster David Regal to be present at the midsummer activty this year. It wasn't an open event to guests more generally, but Sadi was pleased to have been asked. She'd replied that she would be coming, and she was pleased to have the opportunity to return to Sonora and catch up with some of her past colleagues. Along with responding to David's invitation, Sadi had also let Aaron McKindy know she would be making an appearance, as she wasn't sure the Headmaster would circulate the news. She'd always gotten along with Aaron, who reminded her a great deal of her since-deceased nephew, and whose daughter frequently made valiant efforts to corrupt Jera; the two of them were set on going to college abroad together at the end of the summer.

Feeling reasonably well that afternoon, Sadi had finalized her decision to attend and had dressed in crimson robes that she had very possibly worn during her teaching days. As the time for the bonfire approached, she took a dose of her medication and traveled by Floo to Sonora, as had been previously arranged. It was wonderful to be back, if briefly, to walk the school corridors, stand out in the Quidditch pitch, and see all the student again - just one year older and thriving under their new headship. It made her feel pleasantly nostalgic, and she was looking forward to the evening more with every passing second. No longer a part of the school, Sadi waited out of the way while students arrived and David initiated the festivites. She hadn't realized Simon would be here, too; it would be wonderful to learn how his life as a performer was treating him. Before then, however, Sadi had promised to meet Aaron, and she knew he didn't fair especially well in large crowds such as this, so she set about looking for him.

Staff members weren't especially diffciult to spot amongst the throngs of students, and Sadi found Aaron easily, with his arm linked into that of Declan Chatterjee. She would admit to having been surprised, considering the last time she'd seen Aaron and Deck together the pair of them couldn't manage a sane or civil word to each other, and on last count Aaron was married and had foster children to care for. She wasn't usually judgmental of her friends, but Sadi couldn't resist the look of reproach she sent Aaron. Arguably she could have been jumping to conclusions indicated by their proximity, but the undeniably guilty manner in which Aaron dropped Declan's arm upon her arrival was sufficient to arose Sadi's concerns.

"Good evening," she greeted them both. She looked between them a moment, and had the distinct impression that she'd walked in on one naughty schoolboy, and one schoolboy who'd be involved unwittingly. Aaron McKindy, what trouble have you been causing this time? She wanted to believe that these two professors were just friends, and that all between them was truthful and amicable. She wanted to believe it, but she just couldn't see it. This didn't mean good things, it really didn't. No wonder Aaron hadn't sounded entirely enthusiastic about her visiting. She leant in to him and said, loud enough for Declan to hear but not for the ears of the students who might pass, "I do sincerely hope you've made it quite clear to Declan that you're married these days." She wasn't in the habit of meddling - Merlin knew she'd let much less pass by un-meddled in the past - but Aaron was a good friend, and Sadi had gotten along fairly well with Declan. If this fact hadn't yet made it out of Aaron's mouth - and Sadi knew him well enough to realize that what came out of his mouth sometimes was beyond his control - it desperately needed to be divulged sooner rather than later.

0 Sadi Powell Bringing the past to the present 3 Sadi Powell 0 5

Josephine Owen

May 23, 2011 12:36 AM

You're really, really odd by Josephine Owen

One whole year over with. It had been fun, but that meant there was only one year left until Jade arrived at Sonora, so Josephine knew she really had to make the most of next year. Sonora had been really good for her. She'd made friends with her roomate Demetra, and... well, she tolerated her other roomate, Ayita. That girl was all different kinds of unusual. Josephine talked to her sometimes, but seriously it was like they didn't even speak the same language. How she even coped in classes was beyond Josephine's comprehension. Herself, she liked her classes for the most part. She found potions frustrating and she didn't like cutting up some of the ingredients, but generally she was managing perfectly well in all subjects. She'd always been smart, and she was creative with her magic, so executing spells came fairly easily to her. She was sometimes surprised that she hadn't been placed in Aladren along with her brother.

The bonfire was definitely very exciting. It was magically safe - which had always been the thing most lacking from the bonfires Josephine had experienced in the past - and there was music and food. definitely very cool. Plus they had to bring something to burn as part of a cleansing, or moving on, or something. That was something Josephine hadn't done before, and she was always keen to try new things. Having given the matter quite a bit of thought, she eventually brought with her the dress of a doll she owned. She wasn't going to burn the doll on the bonfire because the Owens had never been wasteful, and the doll was in good enough condition to be passed along to another owner, yet. However, Josephine wanted to symbloize that she was too old to play with dolls now. The idea of growing up terrified her, but she'd successfully completed the term away from her parents, and it hadn't been as awful as she'd been expecting. So she could grow up, bit by bit, and as she was going to be in second year after the summer, she really was too old to still be playing with dolls.

Approaching the fire, Josephine took out the tattered blue sundress, about one eighth her size, and threw it into the lower licks of the flames (it was fabric and so wouldn't fly very far if she threw it, and she was only short so couldn't get it very high to begin with). She watched as flames engulfed her symbol, and then turned back, to see... oh, her weird roomate, doing some freaky sort of dance. Josephine watched with interest - she tried to be accepting of her roomates' differences, but Ayita was somehow hard to accept. Josephine went over to her as she finished the dance, upon which Ayita asked if she could help her.

"You're really, really odd," Josephine said, but she offered a hand out to help Ayita up. "Why were you dancing?" She always made an effort to understand her, even if this often ended in failure.

0 Josephine Owen You're really, really odd 196 Josephine Owen 0 5

Declan Chatterjee

May 23, 2011 12:51 AM

...I'm the present here, aren't I? by Declan Chatterjee

Deck had to admit that he rather liked the way Aaron looked in his clothes, and didn't mind at all when the Irish-Italian man borrowed them; it didn't hurt that the slightly older man was also slightly taller, so they seemed to cling juuust right to his body. It made it very difficult to focus sometimes, to be totally honest. He was used to Aaron jumping when surprised, and was familiar enough with his reactions by now to know that he tended to at least glance before hexing, so he was prepared to meet Aaron's look with a grin.

He raised an eyebrow as the older man looked around them, almost as if he expected another threat to appear out of nowhere. Then again... "You know, you've nothing to be afraid of besides the possibility of dungbombs or similar practical jokes," he reminded Aaron. "Unless--oh, Merlin, is your 'thing to be gotten rid of' a commitment to--you know--the Family?" He raised both eyebrows in an expression that was obviously meant to be comically over-serious.

Before either of them had a chance to say more, though, Sadi had appeared in front of them, almost as abruptly as if she'd Apparated in--though to be honest, Deck didn't notice her until after Aaron abruptly dropped his arm. He was halfway through an indignant "Oi!" when he glanced over at what Aaron was shamefacedly looking at--or rather, who.

His face grew perplexed as he tried to place her, though it only took a second or two for almost a decade's worth of cobwebs to be swept away. "Sadi!" he exclaimed, expression brightening, after she'd uttered her greeting; before he could ask what she was up to, visiting the Sonora bonfire, though, she'd started speaking again. Ohh, and what a speech it was.

Married.

Aaron was married?

Befuddlement turned Deck's features into a caricature, before he let out a laugh. "Right, good one, Sadi... opening with a joke?" he said, before looking over and up at Aaron, his eyebrows beginning to knot together. "It is a joke, right, Aaron...?" he asked.

Oh, please Merlin let this be a joke. Please.

Please.

0 Declan Chatterjee ...I'm the present here, aren't I? 11 Declan Chatterjee 0 5

Aaron

May 23, 2011 8:46 AM

I’m starting to think I may be the past by Aaron

Admittedly, Aaron knew that what he was doing was wrong. It hadn’t started off intentionally, but it had started off, and then it had kept going. Part of it had been curiosity: what if Deck hadn’t gone? Part of it had been loneliness, sick of being at a school where his only two friends, Niobe and Sadi, were long gone. And part of it—an increasing part, throughout the year—had been a somewhat protective fondness for Declan. Logically that made no sense; something about having care of a handful of kids on top of an actual husband whom he was not being entirely faithful. Then again, after Garen had figured that out, Aaron wasn’t entirely sure he had that anymore anyway.

Somewhat characteristically, Aaron McKindy really had a minimal idea of what was going on. On the upside, none of the Pecaris had begun making trouble (yet), so there was at least one thing he just didn’t have to deal with.

When Sadi leaned in and pointed out the one thing that Aaron had been honestly praying she wouldn’t say, he simultaneously flushed a deep crimson and took a careful step away from Deck, hand sliding into his pocket to cast a silent Shield Charm. Declan had much more of a temper than either Garen or Sadi, and despite the fact that neither Garen nor Sadi had managed to hex him for being an idiot (again, yet) that didn’t mean Deck wouldn’t try. Aaron was pretty sure the other man was a pacifist, but he was also not entirely positive how far Declan’s control of his temper went.

“Well,” he managed quietly, grey-green eyes not meeting Sadi’s or Declan’s. “Uhm. I’m not sure, actually. After my—post,” not the word he was going to say, but the other one’s veracity was debatable at this point, “was opened by uhm,” another scramble for a word that he wanted to say but really couldn’t, not now, “not-me. I mean, I got my wand back but G—but,” no, he couldn’t actually come up with a word that meant Garen but wasn’t the name, or the possibly now untrue phrase ‘my husband’. “He,” Aaron finally settled on, “wasn’t happy with the package.”

At a guess, the taller man would presume Declan had included some sort of somewhat incriminating note, but he wasn’t really sure. Mostly that particular incidence had ended with him Apparating to Canada and making potentially worse decisions in Montreal for the remainder of the weekend before returning to school. Something neither Garen nor Declan would have approved of a week ago but now--

Aaron almost managed an apology. But he couldn’t quite open his mouth again. Instead, he ran an anxious hand through his hair and turned to Sadi. “I was going to tell you,” the Charms professor said, somewhat accusingly. This was kind of the reason he’d wanted her advice, after all.

0 Aaron I’m starting to think I may be the past 0 Aaron 0 5

Amelia and Maria Pierce

May 23, 2011 10:15 AM

A word between Cousins by Amelia and Maria Pierce

As a rule, Pierce branches had very little to do with one another.

The New Hampshire branch liked to pretend there weren't any other Pierce branches. Enough so, Amelia had concluded, that Derwent the Fourth either didn't know she was related to him, or they had terrified him with enough Boston Pierce stories that he didn't even say hi to her in the halls. She found it a bit sad, especially given how much he reminded her of her own Derry, but she wasn't going to rock the boat. She already had two disownments on her conscience, she didn't need a third.

And so, after a year in the same school, the California and New Hampshire Pierce representatives had barely acknowledged that the other existed at all. In truth, Druscella had not agreed to send the youngest four New Hampshirites to the same school that Amelia worked for until she had promised that she would not approach the children first. Derry Four was not the prize. Thaddeus Two was. So Amelia would be keeping that promise at least until her brother was here.

She had heard, also, from her Derry and Belinda, that they had hardly even seen, nevermind interacted with Neil Tellerman when they had all been at Salem together. Bel swore up and down that Neil and Melinda had had even less to do with one another. So even when all three branches were sharing a school, the only interaction between them had been two biological and identical twins fighting - one try to get the other's attention and the other telling the first to just go away.

Sonora had proven no different. Amelia coached, Jose captained, and Derry Four beat, and she was fairly sure the most communication that existed between the three of them was when Jose came to schedule time for the Pecari team to have use of the Pitch. Derry might not even know Jose was a Pierce.

Even when the Nowhere Men were hired for the Bonfire, she'd had very little to do with it. She may have raised the fact that they'd played at the last bonfire, but anyone who had looked into the Midsummer history could have offered that information. She'd also mentioned that management of the group had passed from Regina Pierce to Maria Pierce, but the Headmaster handled the rest of the arrangements from there.

So she had no reason to think that this bonfire activity would be different from any other time two or more Pierce branches occupied the same space. Sure there were more California Pierces than normal about - in addition to the four band members, there seemed to be a few others helping to set up, run sound and lighting, and do whatever else needed to be done to put on a concert - but most of them seemed to be congregated around the stage and she kept her distance from that.

She had nothing she felt she needed to burn, so she spent most of the ritual making sure her Crotali didn't throw in anything that would explode or injure someone. (Amelia was particularly relieved that Eliza Bennett had not opted to seal an end of her dorm troubles by throwing Renee Errant into the fire. She was only slightly less pleased that Charlie Abbott had not put her Quidditch loss behind her by disposing of Nic Sawyer.)

Once her students were done burning things, she moved away from the fire as well and soon found herself face-to-face with a dark-haired young woman holding a toddler. New Hampshire Pierces all looked alike. Amy could pass for Bel and Derry's older sister as easily as she could their cousin. Still, the Californians had mixed blood. They had reproduced more since Derwent the Original.

She had expected Maria Pierce to look less . . . Piercey.

They wouldn't pass as sisters. There was that. But they could easily be cousins. First cousins. Not the third cousins twice removed that she knew they actually were. Two people who had the same man as a great-grandfather and a great-great-great-grandfather, Amelia was quite sure, should not naturally look as like one another as she and Maria did.

Amelia frowned at her, tilted her head, and asked, "Direct male line descent?" She'd long suspected Derwent had done something to make his heirs recognizable. But she thought the California tribe would have predated that.

Maria shook her head and seemed to understand exactly what she meant. "Regina's maternal line. Regina's doing, not Derwent's."

Amelia nodded, satisfied. Then she inclined her head formally, opted to skip the proper curtsy given the circumstances and her lack of formal wear (she was just wearing a business-casual red robe), and offered, "Amelia Pierce, Matriarch of the Boston Pierces. Pleasure to meet you."

Maria did likewise (she was just wearing jeans and a Nowhere Men t-shirt but even if she'd had a dress or skirt, the kid in her arms would have made curtsying impossible anyway) and returned, "Maria Pierce, Acting Matriarch of the California Pierces. Pleasure to meet you as well."

Then they both seemed to realize the absurdity of such formality here, and they both laughed. Maria shifted the child to her other side and added much more naturally, "And this is my daughter, Ginger." The little girl had hair every bit as dark as her mother's.

Amelia nodded and smiled at the child. "Pleasure to meet you as well." Looking back up at the girl's mother, Amelia asked, "Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Even when Druscella flooed her, there was usually something that had to be discussed.

To her surprise, Maria shook her head. "Nah. Just wanted to say hi."

Amelia blinked. "Hi," she said, too floored by that simple idea that she couldn't think of anything more eloquent.

Maria crooked a smile at her as though she knew exactly what she'd just done. "Hi."

0 Amelia and Maria Pierce A word between Cousins 0 Amelia and Maria Pierce 0 5

Sadi

May 23, 2011 8:36 PM

History often repeats itself by Sadi

Great Merlin Alive, he actually hadn't thought to mention it. The reaction her words produced in Aaron and the disbelieving words uttered by Declan were sufficient to fill in a couple of gaps that Sadi had genuinely hoped would have remained open. unless she was very much mistaken, Aaron McKindy had not been entirely faithful to his recently-acquired husband during the term since Declan had resumed his post, and had neglected to mention the scenario in its entirety to his companion. Why, Aaron, why? She did feel a sort of pity for him - she had been around when Declan had left to see the damage it had caused, and while she had also seen Aaron together with Garen, she could at least understand how the charms professor had become distracted. However, what she couldn't understand was him not having revealed this information. She almost felt sorry for having said what she did to cause the obvious discomfort in both of them. But then she'd half believed that what she said wouldn't be new information - the other half of her wasn't in the least bit surprised.

The way Aaron tried to explain that his marriage might be currently on the rocks was not easy to follow, but Sadi got the basic gist. "I was going to tell you," Aaron told her, and the tone of accusation in his voice could be forgiven.

"I don't think I'm the one you needed to tell," she said to him calmly before glancing at Declan. She felt like the facilitator in a debate - one which she, admittedly, might have started. perhaps she should have spoken to Aaron alone before mentioning his husband in front of Declan. That may have been more appropriate, in hindsight. Though then again, if aaron hadn't said anything thus far, there was perhaps little chance he ever would have. Sadi almost felt like she should apologize to Declan, but there was something deep-rooted in her that though it was his fault for leaving in the first place. It seemed a chirlish point to mention.

0 Sadi History often repeats itself 0 Sadi 0 5

DiAnna Diaz

May 23, 2011 11:51 PM

Lurking by DiAnna Diaz

The end of the first year was drawing to a close, and DiAnna would have merely been pleased that the Headmaster invited her to stay on again next year. More than that, however, she seemed to have picked up the position of Divinations professor. It had been terrifying at first - DiAnna had never intended to teach, and if it hadn't been Divinations then she wouldn't have felt qualified. However, it just so happened to be the subject of her major, so she was happy to fill in until a permanent professor could be found. She was glad to have her library monitors and assistants around for the busier periods.

The bonfire marked the end of DiAnna's first year, as well as the Headmaster's, first years, groundskeepers and, well, she knew she wasn't alone, anyway. Nevertheless it was a great occasion, and so the usually shy-of-crowds librarian had made it out to the festivites. She was wearing a long black dress for the occasion, with her high-heeled black boots, her black hair left loose, and her black eye make-up liberally applied... in short she looked pretty much the same as always. However, the idea of the bonfire was to burn something that symbolzed the past, and moving on. Or something. As a Divinations major and pseudo-professor, DiAnna was all about the future. She didn't hold much of a grudge against the past, and couldn't really think of anything she wanted to ritualistically rid herself of. She wasn't entirely convinced she needed to set an example, so she lingered near the back of the crowd as Headmaster Regal made his announcements, and avoided the bonfire entirely.

As the music started - not really to her taste, but then she hardly expected her own taste in music to be played to the younger students - DiAnna wondered what to do with herself. She was near the food table, so she picked up a grilled cheese sandwich and meandered round out of the crowds while she waited for it to cool. She hadn't really bonded with any of her fellow professors, and talking to students during the festivity might feel a little unusual. So DiAnna simply watched others as she walked, nibbling her snack, until she saw Amelia Pierce. DiAnna had talked to her in a social capacity more than she'd talked to anyone else of the faculty - admittedly DiAnna had been a student at Sapienti at the time, but she'd liked Amelia just the same - and thought maybe they could have a conversation.

Unfortunately, Amelia already seemed to be engaged in conversation with someone, a someone who sort of resembled the Quidditch Coach in some ways but DiAnna couldn't really place how they looked alike. She didn't want to interupt their conversation though, so she sort of lingered far enough away so she couldn't be accused of eavesdropping, but close enough that she might be able to head over if the other woman left. She glanced up every so often from her sandwich to see what was going on.

0 DiAnna Diaz Lurking 0 DiAnna Diaz 0 5

Ayita

May 24, 2011 12:08 PM

So I've been told. by Ayita

It was Josephine, her roommate, who popped up behind her. That was much more acceptable than a random stranger. Ayita did not know Josephine entirely well, but after sharing a bedroom for the entire school year with nothing bad happening, she felt she could trust the other girl, at least a little. She was much less intimidated by her than many of the other students.

“You’re really, really odd.” This was a term Ayita had heard used to describe her many times before, so it had begun to frustrate her that she did not know what it meant. Perhaps if her roommate was using it, it was intended to be a compliment. “Thank you,” she answered, her words as crisp and forced to perfection as usual.

The grey-eyed Pecari accepted the hand offered to her to help her up, having completed her bowing before the Red Flower directly before Josephine had come over. On her feet, Josephine asked why she had been dancing. Ayita was very shocked that it was apparently not a practiced tradition of the Outsiders to do such as well.

The surprise clearly written on her face, she responded slowly, “I did not have anything to offer the Red Fire”--she gestured to the fire to ensure clarity on what the Red Flower was--“so I offered it a dance. It is not done here? Were we not supposed to provide offerings to the Red Flower?”

Slightly embarrassed, she rubbed the back of her neck and was mortified at what she felt there: her hair. Part of her hair was falling out of her bun! That was unacceptable! Ayita did her best to keep her dignity while trying to subtly repair her escaping bun, but the repair work was not going so well. “Josephine,” she hated to ask but had to, “could you please help me…fix my bun?”

0 Ayita So I've been told. 0 Ayita 0 5

Josephine

May 24, 2011 1:14 PM

Repeatedly by Josephine

Ayita seemed as surprised that Josephine hadn't been dancing, as Josephine had been by Ayita performing the activity. This was often the case when they dealt with things differently. Josephine didn't know much about where Ayita had come from, or who she was, but her interpretation of reality seemed to differ frequently from Josephine's own understandings of the world. Luckily, for Josephine's sanity, most other people seemed to agree with her interpretation, not with Ayita's. Like now, for example, her roomate seemed to think she was supposed to be providing an offering to the fire, and so had danced.

"I think some people do dance as offerings," Josephine began her reply hesitantly. She was fairly ignorant when it came to other cultures, but she thought there were many tribes world wide who might dance as an offering to something, and maybe that dancing was done round a fire. "But I didn't understand what we were doing as offerings." She wasn't going to out-right say Ayita was wrong, because that not only seemed mean, but if everything was really open to interpretation then it was entirely up to Ayita how she did that. There certainly hadn't been anything said about offerings not being allowed. "I understood we were getting rid of something from our past, like something we wanted to put behind us, or move on from. Like," she used her own example to better explain, "I think I'm getting too old to play with dolls. So I threw in one of my doll's old dresses, to symbolise that I'm not going to play with dolls any more. Does... does that make sense?"

Talking to Ayita was hard work, but the other girl was usually okay. So when she asked Jospehine to help her with her hair, the other Pecari didn't hesitate. "Oh, yes, of course," she said, and stood behind Ayita. Having long hair herself, Josephine had become fairly adept at a multitude of hairstyles. Her younger sister Jade didn't let her practise with her much, but it was sufficient so that josephine knew she could fix Ayita's bun. After a few moments of pulling, teasing and tucking, it looked good as new. "There you go," Jospehine said with a smile.

0 Josephine Repeatedly 0 Josephine 0 5

Edmond Carey

May 24, 2011 2:33 PM

Procrastination might make a good new middle name by Edmond Carey

Edmond didn’t like fire. It was slithering and unpredictable, dangerous, always only barely contained in its hearths. Something he had been warned about when he was small, and he had never been good at changing his understanding of the world. He got by in mathematics with a patient tutor and some time, but still had a lingering thought that there should only be one right way to do a problem, as he’d been taught there was when he was six years old and just being introduced to the world of words and numbers.

That had been about fires in fireplaces. A bonfire, being larger and out in the open, seemed that much more frightening. One that people were throwing things in was enough to unsettle him. He had heard stories of those who fell into magical fires being permanently scarred no matter what was done to them, or killed outright before a Healer could be found when the Healer happened to just be in a different room of the house. And while none of the things put in, individually, were dangerous, or weren’t supposed to be, Edmond didn’t know what might happen if things that had been in a magic-rich environment even if they weren’t magical themselves began to combine and then a person fell in.

His true problem with the bonfire, though, was that there was nothing he owned that he wanted to be rid of, nothing but one set of robes that tied him to anything but memories he wanted to have. He hadn’t been raised with the concept of moving on. Careys, Robert would say, didn’t move on, they just moved along. Family history, the collective memory, was taken very seriously; he doubted there was anyone in the school not called Carey, or at least the grandchild or something of one, who could recite their ancestors’ names as far back as he could. Maybe no one at all, since he knew not only his biological family’s lines by heart, but also those of his adopted one. He even knew both of his mothers’ families. Even Jane got a little vague on Julia’s family past great-great-grandparents, and it was also her family. He wasn’t sure he even could get at what the vague language associated with this ritual suggested.

Edmond supposed he could have just burned that one set of robes, the ones he’d had on that day, but it felt a little under par, so he’d wrapped them around a manuscript he’d worked out for the occasion. One that included all those family trees and, in a blur of different traditions and religions because he had deemed actually believing in one a risky business after reading about how many wars had broken out over the subject, a selection of prayers for the dead.

For a moment, he felt almost peaceful, despite still being able to remember all the details of what he’d disposed of.

Then he remembered the other thing he’d made up his mind to deal with tonight and began to feel ill.

Still, it was a situation where, no matter what happened, something he wanted would happen. Some would definitely not be the consolation prizes he’d pick himself, but they would do. He supposed he should thank Alasdair for that: even if his friend never spoke to him again, there would be an upside, because people who had nothing to do with him weren’t likely to come to the attention of people who wished to drive him untidily mad. It didn’t seem likely to happen again, but…it had happened, and that meant it could happen again.

That was a comforting thought. It occurred to him that he was developing a somewhat dark sense of humor.

Still, it was better than nothing. With that thought in mind, he started to go look for Cassie…

Then noticed, well, the entire school was here. This was perhaps not the best time after all. There was a certain elegance to the idea, but the execution…it wouldn’t work very well. The summer as a nice time to pretend that nothing ever happened if it went wrong was a good idea, but all the crowds and noise here – dear Merlin, he’d be better off giving her the letter he’d composed on the subject of more-than-strictly-friendly feelings possessed by him toward her, in case he got started and then lost the ability to speak in coherent sentences, than shouting over people here, and he knew he wrote more or less in the style of the author of a certain kind of old history book: very informative, but dryer than the Sahara in a drought.

But then, he’d noticed he had a tendency to put things off, and then, as often as not, they didn’t get done. He had, over the years, gotten very good at putting things off until there was a better time, which conveniently never arrived within an appropriate time frame for the things to be done. So there was that to consider…

Oh, drat, he thought, and wondered what Robert would say if he proposed finishing his education at home.

0 Edmond Carey Procrastination might make a good new middle name 143 Edmond Carey 0 5

Ayita

May 24, 2011 3:00 PM

Well, not any more. by Ayita

Josephine’s words shocked her. This… wasn’t a worship ceremony? They were not displaying homage for the Red Flower? Was nothing here the same as her Kingdom’s culture? Why was it so different? Why did this Outside culture have to be wrong all of the time?

Her eyes widened as she realized something: maybe her culture was wrong.

Was it possible? Could it be? Ayita’s sheltered life provided by her father, the King, was always about the Outsiders being wrong and evil. She had not yet met one who seemed entirely evil, not any more so than anyone in the Kingdom, and… it didn’t seem wrong anymore. She felt like she was starting to understand this Outside world better than her home.

She stood there, all of these thoughts going through her mind, as Josephine fixed her bun. She hardly noticed the tugging that accompanied hair work. “There you go.” Ayita still stood, numb and frozen by this realization. Her whole Kingdom was wrong.

She wasn’t going back to that incorrectness.

That was it. The Pecari would not return. After she did not return, her father could just assume she had been killed or something; he would not come looking for her, she was certain. Under his brave face, he was afraid of the Outside. Then he would just father a new child who could grow up to be the Kind or Queen.

“Do you know what?” Ayita said slowly. “I do not think I need this bun, after all.” With a single tug, she pulled out the hair tie that was holding the bun. Then she pulled off the fur vest from home she was wearing over more normal clothes, and finally she removed from her pocket the purple eye makeup she used to make her triangle, the symbol of her royalty.

Without a further thought, she threw all three of those objects into the flames and smiled as they burned, then turned to Josephine, still grinning. Maybe she would regret later, but for now, she felt free, like she could be a kid for the first time. She was technically homeless if she wasn’t going to return to her Kingdom, so that gave her an idea. “Can I come live with you in the summer?”

0 Ayita Well, not any more. 0 Ayita 0 5

The Pierce Matriarchs

May 24, 2011 5:19 PM

We pick DiAnna for our team. by The Pierce Matriarchs

For a long moment, they just stood there. Amelia had hated the pureblood parties from eons ago, but she remembered being better at talking than this. Granted, finding something inane to discuss with a person who was smiling politely was a bit different that finding something genuinely interesting to say to a fellow matriarch who was smirking, but she felt doing so should be within her skill set.

As Amelia cast about trying to think of a topic - Maria seemed perfectly happy to just stand there, playing with her kid and letting Amelia take the initiative on the conversation - her eye fell on DiAnna. The young librarian had graduated with Bel from Sapienti, and though Amelia hadn't spoken with her much, she did seem to remember that their chats did go better than this one with Maria was going (or not going, as the case may be).

So she waved the girl over. Maria was older than DiAnna, but younger than Amelia, so she hoped that would help bridge any generational gap that might exist.

"DiAnna, hi," she greeted the younger woman, marveling again that Maria would approach for no better reason than to say exactly that. Unless saying hi was her way of opening negotiations for a closer relationship between the Boston and California Pierces. That could not be discounted, though she hadn't thought a California Pierce would play it that subtly.

Amelia didn't know if she wanted to get any closer to the California clan than she already was. Boston was liberal, but not that liberal. And any ties she still had with the New Hampshire lot would be solidly and permanently severed if she tried to ally up with California.

Definitely best to bring in DiAnna as a buffer.

"DiAnna, this is my distant cousin, Maria Pierce of the California Pierces. Maria, this is Sonora's librarian, DiAnna Diaz."

Maria smiled pleasantly and nodded, seemingly perfectly delighted to have a third party join them. "Pleasure to meet you, DiAnna." She jabbed a thumb over her should toward the stage. "I'm here with the band. You have any requests? We do everything from medieval folk to modern pop - both magical and muggle."

0 The Pierce Matriarchs We pick DiAnna for our team. 0 The Pierce Matriarchs 0 5

Adelita Garcia

May 24, 2011 7:18 PM

In need of a fresh start. by Adelita Garcia

Since Adelita had admitted her feeling to Juri, life had altered its course completely. When she had finally had the courage to tell Juri that she had feelings for him, Juri had admitted his own feelings to her. Both the good and the bad. He had told her that he was in love with her but that he couldn’t be with her because he wasn’t good enough. She didn’t understand why he thought that. He just kept telling her that he’d hurt her if they were together. That he was the bad guy.

In the end, she had given him the choice. Either they could be together or just be friends. Juri had chosen to remain friends.

Adelita thought that it wouldn’t hurt because she had given him the option and Charlie and Daniel had seemed to still be able to be friends, but that wasn’t the case for Lita. She felt like her heart had torn in half and it wasn’t until that point that she realized how much she had invested in her ‘relationship’ with Juri. Knowing that he had feelings for her but somehow she wasn’t enough for him to actually want was tormenting her. When she had left Juri, instead of going to dinner, Lita had rushed off to her dorm room and cried hysterically into her pillow.

And cried much for the next week. Sometimes she still cried, though over the last couple of months the pain had faded. Lita was sure Charlie was grateful for that. However, Lita still couldn’t find enough courage to be around Juri for more than a few minutes, making classes together agony. As a way for her to get over him, Lita submerged herself into her dancing. For the first time in a long time, Lita was glad that her instructor was making them learn new dance techniques. As frustrating as it was, Lita was spending all of her free time trying to learn hip hop. She wasn’t doing something right and it was driving her crazy, which was the exact distraction that she needed to get her through the rest of the year.

Of course, there was the annual Midsummer Festival that Lita was forced to attend. At least this was only the bonfire and not the ball. If she had to go to the ball dateless (again) and then have to watch Juri there with his date, Lita would quit school entirely. Although she was not a fan of having to sleep outside, she would deal with it. It was only for one night.

Her only issue was trying to figure out what she wanted to burn. She liked all of her things and the things she wanted to burn weren’t physical. So, instead of actually getting into the line to have anything burned, she stood off to the side to watch everyone else. Some people had papers, others' pictures, but Daniel had a tie. The corners of Lita’s mouth turned downward. Daniel made his way to her after they caught one another’s eye. “Yes, I guess.” She said to his greeting. She couldn’t imagine this being a happy time for Daniel. He didn’t seem the sort to get into the camping spirit. “What was wrong with your tie that you had to burn it?” Adelita asked, although realizing a second later that he might not want to answer the question because it could be too personal.

6 Adelita Garcia In need of a fresh start. 136 Adelita Garcia 0 5

Daniel Nash

May 24, 2011 8:27 PM

You've come to the right place then by Daniel Nash

Lita (he was intentionally not thinking of her as Adelita tonight because he was Being Casual) did not seem too thrilled by the whole bonfire thing. In truth, Daniel wasn't much looking forward to the camping bit, but he'd deal with it. This part with the band and the fire, though, wasn't bad. Different, true, but Daniel was working on different. He was handling different much better than he used to.

Still, he toned down his smile, not wanting to seem too happy when ~~Adel~~ when Lita seemed a bit down. He didn't let it go away entirely, though, because it would do to make her more depressed than she already was. Tonight was supposed to be fun, or so the theory went.

"Oh," he said with an off-hand shrug when she asked about the tie. A safe subject, more or less. He doubted it was at all related to why she was less than cheery, and he had a good story worked out for it that did not even hint at mental illness. "The tie was perfectly serviceable," he explained, "but I'm trying to loosen up a little." He grinned at her a little more widely. "Charlie told me to learn how to have some fun. So I burned a tie to symbolize giving up excessive amounts of formality."

He glanced back at the fire and tried to remember if he'd seen what she had burned. He drew a blank. "Did you go up yet?"

1 Daniel Nash You've come to the right place then 130 Daniel Nash 0 5

Nic Sawyer

May 25, 2011 11:52 AM

Move along just to make it through by Nic Sawyer

Nic had not known what to burn. There wasn't really anything he needed to move beyond except maybe the Quidditch final. But he didn't really have anything for that. His broom belonged to the school and he wouldn't be stupid enough to burn something that expensive even if it didn't. His Quidditch robes might also be school property (he wasn't sure if Mom and Dad had paid for those or not) but again, it wasn't something he could burn without some people (like, say, Charlie) taking it entirely wrong.

So he decided he wasn't going to burn a thing, he was going to burn a scrap of paper that had four words on it: Aladren scored four goals.

He dropped it in the fire and watched it crumple and burn. It did feel oddly cleansing. He wasn't entirely sure why, though. It had still happened. He could still remember quite clearly how much that last bludger had hurt. He'd been with Medic Rock for two hours making sure his collar bone had been fixed right.

It was, he was sure, entirely in his head that his shoulder hurt whenever it was about to rain now.

But, somehow, inexplicably, thinking back on that day now only left him feeling that he had plenty of room for improvement instead of like a horrible failure and a useless Keeper. Maybe there really was something to this ceremony. And maybe, if Charlie really needed a Keeper next year, he might even consider coming back to the team after that humiliating defeat.

But only if absolutely necessary. Please Dear God and Merlin, let there be a firstie Keeper coming to Crotalus next year.

As he moved out of the immediate proximity of the fire to let other students in for their ritual burnings, he looked around to see if he could spot Rachel, but he saw Sophie first. He allowed himself a small smile and decided Sophie was definitely cool enough to hang out with tonight. Especially since she seemed to have marshmallows.

He moved back in toward where she was at the fire. "Sure," he agreed casually, as though toasting marshmallows was no big deal. Being too excited about it would not be cool. But as he settled in beside Sophie and stuck a marshmallow on a stick of his own and held out over the fire, he was smiling.

1 Nic Sawyer Move along just to make it through 165 Nic Sawyer 0 5

Marissa Stephenson

May 25, 2011 2:00 PM

What fun we shall have! by Marissa Stephenson

Marissa hadn’t felt too much guilt about Aladren’s victory in the Quidditch final. There had been some moments of nausea when she thought she saw another member of the team anywhere near her, sure they were going to start yelling at her about her worthlessness, and a few more where she felt sure she should have seen that Bludger coming, but she had been focusing most of her energy on CATS, and when she did think of the game, she told herself, firmly, that she had done the best she could, especially considering that she’d been unable to breathe and very concerned about the possibility of a ruptured spleen.

Still, though. The Quidditch Pitch was not a place where she would have voluntarily chosen to spend the night just now, and now that the CATS were over, she didn’t particularly want to be around the entire student body, either. Unfortunately, though, she got the impression that this wasn’t entirely voluntary, especially for the prefects, so she turned up with a smile anyway.

A trick she had mastered very early in life was dodging, so she kind of walked in the general vicinity of the fire for a minute, then retreated. No one could be sure she had put something in, but then, neither could they be sure that she hadn’t. It was stupid, she knew, but she didn’t want to stand out as not playing along, and the only thing she could think of to throw in was her wand, which was a bad idea. For one thing, it had cost a good bit, and for another, it would probably explode, and for a third, she might, in fact, need it again someday. She couldn’t do advanced spells, but that didn’t meant she couldn’t do some spells, or that they didn’t make life easier.

Blending with the crowd, she considered going to find Andrew. She’d heard, later, that he had somehow destroyed half of his exam area – one version went that it had been during Care of Magical Creatures, another during Defense – during CATS, which meant she could hang out with him without being paranoidly sure that he was looking down at her, mentally laughing about how stupid and untalented she was. Birds of a feather flocking together and all that. Finding herself near Jose when he spoke up about s’mores wasn’t too bad, though, so she smiled a bit more naturally than the fixed expression she’d been wearing around for the benefit of the adults.

“Maybe once they see what color the fire is after everyone’s done,” she said, then remembered that she was a witch. “But I guess we could always make our own,” she added. “Heating charms, start a fire like we do in Potions…” Then she realized that wasn’t quite traditional. “It’s not the same, but it’s still chocolate, right?”

16 Marissa Stephenson What fun we shall have! 147 Marissa Stephenson 0 5

Andrew Duell

May 25, 2011 5:38 PM

To the Future! by Andrew Duell

Andrew wandered about the pitch fairly aimlessly. He really wasn't quite sure what to do. There were students and staff all everywhere, but he felt an odd sort of detachment from them all and he wasn't sure why. He had taken his mother's advise this year and been more social, he did have friends milling about in the crowd but he wasn't drawn to them at the moment. He was perfectly content to be alone. Well, as alone as you could be in this crowd. The headmaster stepped up and gave his speech. The fire was lighted and the festivities began.

He watched as the others line up to deposit their sacrifices into the inferno, and eventually took his place as well. It had taken him a long time to figure out what to burn. He had his goals ahead of him that drove him forward, but he couldn't think of what was holding him back? It has come to him then, that which he had been working on fixing this year already, his tendency towards isolation. It was a revelation, like finally seeing something that was so all encompassing that you never noticed it. He had been working on it this year solely to make his mother happy, but now he could see what it was really worth. He couldn't accomplish his goals alone, and he certainly couldn't accomplish anything without understanding the people it would affect. He would do it right from here on out, not for his mother, but for himself. There was only one problem. What in the blazes do you burn for that? Maybe something from last term, his year of utter isolation? Yes, that blasted CoMC essay that he had spent weeks and weeks locked away in the library working on. Also, it would make him feel better from the minor fiasco that was his CATS.

As he approached the fire, he pulled the ridiculously long document out. Even with all his work, he had still only done average on it. Such a waste. The flames danced before him and he heaved the manuscript into their depths. Watching burn was remarkable soothing. He stood and watched the fire for another moment before turning back towards the crowd. Now to find some people to hang out with. He scanned the crowd as he walked and soon spotted Jose and Marissa. Excellent. He made his way over to them. He'd heard Marissa had run into a little problem during her CATS as well, he may have someone to commiserate with. They were already talking about something, and he hated to interrupt, but he had to otherwise what was the point of his burning?

He smiled as he approached them, "Hi guys! I'm not interrupting am I?" That was something of an odd statement, ha had already admitted to himself that he was. Oh well, social pleasantries. What can you do about them?

2 Andrew Duell To the Future! 145 Andrew Duell 0 5

Adelita

May 25, 2011 6:18 PM

And what happens now? by Adelita

Daniel seemed very happy. It almost made Lita a little bit jealous about it. It was weird to think at the beginning of this year, Adelita had such high hopes for everything. Seriously. She had really believed that everything would come together this year. That this would be the year that everything good would happen.

And then everything bad happened.

Lita took a mental deep breath. She was not going to let herself get down so low again. She was faltering only because her mind wasn’t busy and focused on some other task at the moment. She really needed to snap out of it. Lita used to be the sort of girl who could never understand why a girl would let a boy get her down and now here she was allowing exactly that to just happen. She was more frustrated with herself than anything and she needed to remind herself that things will get better.

With that in mind, Lita forced a brighter smile on her face while Daniel explained about his tie. And then nearly burst out laughing when he admitted that he needed to loosen up. She managed to turn it into a cough on put her hand to her face to try to block out her amusement. She was still so amazed that Charlie and Daniel’s friendship hadn’t been affected by feelings or lack there of. Maybe Lita really did need to learn some things from her friend. …Maybe.

“Charlie’s right, Daniel.” Lita had the urge to call him Danny, but decided he probably wouldn’t like that. “It’s definitely a good step in the right direction. Burning the tie, I mean.” Lita said, her brown eyes shifting from Daniel to the fire and then back again. He had something physical to burn to free himself of things. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you have fun. Real fun.” She didn’t know how that comment would be taken, but it was the truth as far as she knew it.

She shook her head when he asked her if she’d taken her turn. “I don’t have anything physical to burn.” Adelita admitted with a shrug. “The only thing I want to burn is this entire year, but that’s not possible, so I’ll just watch everyone else purge themselves and just wait until the day I can finally go home.” She knew that she was pouting, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do, but once she started talking, the rest just tumbled out.

Adelita paused and took a deep breath, trying to relax. “Sorry, I’m just anxious for summer.”

0 Adelita And what happens now? 0 Adelita 0 5

Sara Raines

May 25, 2011 8:31 PM

And so another year ends by Sara Raines

Sara was glad to have her final exams over and was pleased by the thought of going home, but for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why they had to sleep outside for a night before they could do that. Sleeping outside was…It just wasn’t something that she wanted to do. The whole thing just seemed slightly illicit.

Plus, she knew her roommate was going to abandon her at the first possible moment, and then she would end up having to work up the nerve to ask Eliza and Jordan if she could share with them and knowing all the while that she was a third shoe, but not being able to do any better. She was trying very hard to see the possible good side, but since this was the kind of unnatural, one-night event that wasn’t referenced afterward, she was still more inclined than not to kick the headmaster in the rear.

Genteelly, of course.

She could think of nothing in particular to burn, but didn’t want to be left out, so she folded a plain sheet of parchment and threw it into the fire before retreating, looking for a place to sit down. There would be social occasions when she had to stand up for hours on end, but this didn’t have the feel of a party, so she saw no reason to put herself to unnecessary discomfort if she could help it.

She spotted the buffet first, though, and headed that way, the band starting up with songs she didn’t know. At some point, she would have to sneak a bite of something – an advantage of it being dim out, she supposed, was that she could sneak more easily – but for now, she was just after a drink. She felt thirsty, as though being in close proximity to the fire had somehow parched her throat.

Another hand reached for the cup she was after at the same time hers did, and Sara stepped back automatically, even raising her hand away from the table. “Please, do go ahead,” she said, an equally instinctive smile appearing on her face.

0 Sara Raines And so another year ends 179 Sara Raines 0 5

Sophie

May 26, 2011 3:12 PM

Oh, the wisdom of All American Rejects.. by Sophie

At the beginning of the term, Sophie had begun to notice boys. So far, she had noticed Neal and Jose. Now she was noticing Nic. The slightly older boy was tall--exceedingly, especially compared to her trademark vertically challenged-ness--and, well, just awesome. She liked him a lot.

Therefore, she was very, very happy when it was he to whom she offered marshmallows. Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes. Nic accepted the marshmallow, her hand brushing his so lightly he probably didn’t even feel it. But she felt it. Instantly her blue eyes peeled away, embarrassed and over-exaggerating, like this meant something. She knew it didn’t.

“Um, so…” the blonde trailed, trying to figure out what to say. She wasn’t good at this having a crush thing, not in said crush’s presence. Sophie’s skills didn’t range into that field. Give her ingredients and instructions, she’d have a potion in two minutes flat. Hand her a broom and Quaffle and blink, she’d be at the hoops on the other side of the pitch. Stick her with a boy, for all she knew, she might as well have been told to speak Latin backwards.

The Pecari popped a marshmallow in her mouth to avoid having to make awkward conversation that she didn’t know how to begin. However, chewing and swallowing the heavenly fluff only took up a short amount of time. Glancing into the fire, her eyes caught the remains of her mother’s necklace. As she looked back (up) at Nic, she figured out what to talk about. “What did you throw into the fire?” asked the thirteen year old. “I burned my mum’s necklace.”

12 Sophie Oh, the wisdom of All American Rejects.. 34 Sophie 0 5

Valentina

May 26, 2011 10:53 PM

Goodbye, normal hair by Valentina

The second-year listened to the older girl talk about her hair. It was a rather awesome color of hair, pink was one of her favorite colors, along with purple and green. A lot of her clothes were pink. How awesome would it be if the older girl had been wearing something pink? Valentina now wanted to dye her hair pink, it was not going to happen. If she went home with a different hair color, her mother would flip. However, there was something she could totally do. She smiled brightly at the girl. Her idea could wait for a few minutes, since the older girl had asked her something. Plus, she needed to introduce herself, it was getting rather annoying referring to her as ´Older Girl´.

The Spaniard curtsied, “I am Valentina Bentacourt.” She wasn’t sure if the girl would recognize her last name, she probably wouldn’t: One, because it was Spanish, and two, because the Bentancourt’s weren’t high-profile, not in Spain and not in the USA. “Pleased to meet you.”

After her small introduction, the second-year beamed and answered her question, “I burned my old ballet pointe-shoes. I got new ones and plan on becoming a Prima Ballerina,” she said proudly. That was all she wanted and she was going to work hard on that goal. She had all the tools, she needed to use them to her advantage.

Now it was time to ask the older girl for a favor. Valentina looked up at her and smiled, “Would you mind changing my hair-color for the night?” her blue eyes were full of hope. She hoped she would say yes. Valentina wasn’t particularly gifted in the charms department. Plus, if her memory was up to par, she hadn’t seen that charm with Prof. McKindy. The second-year was refraining from jumping up and down with the anticipatory excitement of what the older girl would be able to do. She wanted to grow-up and know everything the upperclassmen did. Time wasn’t really on her side, she was a little second-year. “Please.”

0 Valentina Goodbye, normal hair 0 Valentina 0 5

Jane Carey

May 26, 2011 11:43 PM

For every ending a new beginning by Jane Carey

It was the end of the year.

Jane couldn’t quite believe it. It felt like it had been years and years since September, not just a few months. How long it had been since January, she didn’t know, though her hair was starting to get longer again and she had heard that CATS had taken place without a need for her to attempt to impersonate her brother with Polyjuice lest the family be shamed by a public breakdown. Those things pointed at a few months, as did the calendar; more personally, sometimes it felt like a minute, and sometimes like even more of a lifetime ago than September.

It was better, though. She didn’t lose control of her emotions as much anymore, and she wasn’t dreading going home so much that she felt physically sick, the way she had right before Easter. She wasn’t looking forward to it, she didn’t want to spend two months largely in the company of Father and Edmond, but she could do it, now, instead of spending all her time locked in her room. She was sure she could.

She had to. She was the lady of the family now. It had been excusable to be so upset about Mother that she stopped functioning in January, but now it was June. She had been fourteen for more than a month. She couldn’t keep moping.

Because of that, she hadn’t had a hard time picking what to ritually burn, just figuring out how to package it so no one would know. She couldn’t, after all, be publicly seen throwing away some of her mourning things. After running through a few different scenarios in her head, and accounting for all the ways things could go wrong, she had finally cut a square out of one of her black skirts, replicated it with magic, and then repaired the skirt before slipping the copy inside a folded piece of parchment, so it wouldn’t be visible.

To her relief, her plan went off without a hitch, and she retreated from the fire to people watch and, she assumed, be watched by people. Jane thought she was up for it. She had almost given into an impulse to wear her favorite pink dress, but had decided that was going a little too far and worn dark green, darker than the school robes, instead, and thought she looked pretty enough. Though, it was always hard to be sure. Mother had always said Jane was no good at knowing what looked right.

0 Jane Carey For every ending a new beginning 160 Jane Carey 0 5

Jose

May 27, 2011 3:52 PM

And beyond! by Jose

Jose hadn't thought of it himself, but now that Marissa mentioned it, he did wonder about how safe it would be to eat anything toasted over a fire used to burn who-knew-what kinds of mementos. He'd just put in a roll of parchment but he thought he'd seen at least one person throw in some kind of jewelry. Merlin only knew what kind of toxins burning that would release.

"Good point," he told Marissa as Andrew joined them. "Hey Andrew," he added, turning to greet the Teppenpaw cheerfully. "Nah, we were just discussing whether or not it was safe to toast s'mores on the bonfire with everyone burning all sorts of random things in it."

"I just burned a CATS prep exam - thank Merlin those are over with," though he didn't think any of the fifth years had particularly enjoyed the exams, he thought Andrew and Marissa might be especially glad to have them behind them given rumor had it that Andrew's knarl had been every bit as troublesome as Jose's had been and Marissa . . . well, Marissa wasn't great at spell work at the best of times. "But I thought I saw at least one piece of metal go in there."

0 Jose And beyond! 0 Jose 0 5

Daniel

May 27, 2011 5:01 PM

Have you considered ice cream? by Daniel

Daniel nodded in agreement that Charlie was right. She often was, especially when it was about something more important than schoolwork. He wasn't quite sure, though, how to react when Lita casually remarked that she'd never seen him have fun. Surely that couldn't be true. He had fun. He . . . played Quidditch for the leadership points and accolades. He . . . read textbooks so he didn't fall too far behind James. He . . . took bike rides in the MARS room, this year, for mental health reasons.

Adelita might be on to something. Even with his Me-Time this year, he still didn't have much fun.

He wondered what normal people did for fun besides pulling their sister's hair or kicking her from across a covered wagon (oddly, the rides back and forth between California and Arizona were the times when he missed Holly the most this year - arriving in one place or the other without bruised shins was just wrong). Unfortunately, his first and only idea - video games - was not feasible at Sonora.

He frowned a little bit as he thought harder about the subject, but nothing more came to him. Holly rode her horse, but that served a similar function to his bike rides (except she became far more attached to the horse than he ever had to a bike). She sat out by the pool. She played dolls with Molly.

Not things Daniel could or would do here.

He supposed he could pick up petty theft again, only steal from James instead of Holly. He'd probably react just as nicely as she did, but the teachers probably wouldn't understand that it was a entertaining pastime instead of a misdemeanor, and as Head Boy he was supposed to set a good example. So that was out.

By then, Adelita was answering his question and apparently her year must have been at least equally as bad as his own, except probably without the going mad part. He wasn't quite sure how going home would solve anything though. Whatever the problem was would probably either follow her there or be waiting right back her next year.

He knew well enough how people reacted to pessimism after they'd expressed an irrationally optimistic idea though, so he didn't say anything. If she wanted to think summer would change anything, he'd let her figure out on her own that she was wrong so she wouldn't blame him when it went bad.

Instead he just nodded as though he agreed, and asked, "So do you have anything fun planned? Outside of indulging my Inner Little Brother and annoying Holly to death, I'm a bit lacking in the fun ideas department."

1 Daniel Have you considered ice cream? 130 Daniel 0 5

Fae Sinclair

May 27, 2011 6:13 PM

...This is going to be a long night. by Fae Sinclair

Fae couldn’t believe that her first year at Sonora was coming to an end. It seemed to have gone by so quickly! She could still remember how terrified she had been when she first stepped off the wagons and how worried she was about meeting new people. She was still rather worried about it. About people anyway. She didn’t think she had done too terribly this year with making acquaintances, but she still needed to work on actually making friends. Acquaintances were one thing but she couldn’t rely on them like she could a friend. And thus far, she didn’t think she could call anyone really a friend, even if she really wanted to.

This left Fae in a pickle. Because she hadn’t made any close real female friends, she didn’t know what that would mean when it came to getting a tent and sleeping for the night. She didn’t want to go up to one of the professors to help her look for a free bed (that was just embarrassing), but she also didn’t want to go around asking random people if she could share a tent with her. This was completely unfair, she would have preferred it if the Headmaster had assigned them all to a tent. That way, she wouldn’t have to feel like a complete idiot as she did right now.

Fae stood in line waiting to burn her past. She watched to see what other people burned and wondered what sort of significance that item held for them. In Fae’s hand was a slip of parchment. On the parchment was a list of what her Great Grandfather expected from her while attending Sonora. Such things like ‘proper young lady’ and ‘find a suitable betrothal’. Fae had no love for her Great Grandfather and he had never once looked in her direction until he decided she was old enough for him to rule her life.

Well, she was not going to let him! He could have Jaiden and he could have Shelby, but Fae wanted to do this on her own. She wanted to prove to her parents that she was good enough and she didn’t need lists or letters reminding her of what she needed to do. Taking a breath, Fae looked down at the letter in her hand and then back up at the fire. With only slight hesitation, Fae threw the parchment into the fire and watched it burn away with a little bit of giddiness as she watched it go.

She felt… free. At least, just a little bit. She still have to be perfect, but not by her Great Grandfather’s orders. She would do it all on her own. She’d show them.

Feeling better and somewhat accomplished, Fae stepped away from the fire and towards the refreshment table. From here she could listen to the music and watch others to see who paired off for the tents. Maybe she’d find a group of three and then just ask them.

Or maybe she’d be the loser crying in the corner of the field because she was alone. Great. Wonderful way of ending the year, feeling self-pity. That would make her family proud.

6 Fae Sinclair ...This is going to be a long night. 194 Fae Sinclair 0 5

Regina Parker

May 27, 2011 7:04 PM

Yay! FIRE!! by Regina Parker

Reggie had felt that this year had been a superb. Really phenomenal. She had made so many friends and such amazing lessons! She couldn’t believe that the year was already over and she would have to say goodbye to everyone for the summer. Although, she couldn’t be too upset because it also meant going home to see her family and her friends. Her father already wrote her a letter saying that they would be going to Yosemite over the summer for some camping! And her mother had written her saying she had requested leave so that she could see her and hear all about her school year.

It. Was. Amazing!

She thought that it was cool that their Headmaster was letting them burn thing, but Reggie didn’t have anything that she particularly wanted to burn. Maybe if she were an older student and had some nasty tests, but at the moment, life was glorious. Well… maybe not right at this moment.

Reggie was terrified of the dark and even with the bonfire flames rising into the air, she couldn’t help but feel anxious at the impending darkness that was soon to surround them. That fire wasn’t likely to last the whole night and Reggie wouldn’t have curtains around her cot to keep out the light of her nightlight. She didn’t think Maddie and Jessie would appreciate her keeping them up all night because she was afraid of the dark.

She clutched the crystal in her pocket, watching everyone around the fire and uncertain about how she was going to deal with the sleeping part of the night. This was going to be extremely difficult and she wasn’t likely to get much sleep, especially if she couldn’t use her crystal for light. Reggie started to chew her lower lip out of nervous habit when she wasn’t sure what she was going to do.

And then she realized that none of that matter at the moment. Her friends were awesome and they wouldn’t get mad at her for having a phobia of the dark. By now, they were bound to have noticed, right? It seemed silly to think that they hadn’t. And, Reggie had to remind herself that as long as they were there with her, she wasn’t alone, so nothing bad could possibly happen. It would be okay.

Shaking out her anxiety, Reggie put a smile on her face and looked around for her friends to see what they wanted to do for the bonfire. Spotting one of them, Reggie made her way over and gave a happy laugh of hello, “Isn’t this so cool? Who knew we’d be able to burn things while at school just for fun! My dad will have a total cow over this!” She said excitedly. “What do you want to do tonight? Dance? Pig out? Dance around the fire?”

6 Regina Parker Yay! FIRE!! 187 Regina Parker 0 5

Marissa

May 27, 2011 7:25 PM

I think we're gonna need a bigger time machine for that. by Marissa

Marissa smiled at Andrew as he joined them right after Jose agreed that she might have a point about the hazards of the fire, then winced and nodded her agreement with the sentiment that the over-ness of CATS was to be praised. She’d been much happier with herself, as a person, before them, but at least she could sleep through the night now. The stupid exams had been giving her nightmares for a while before. The mention of metal going in, though, warranted just a wince.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not safe in at least two ways,” she commented, glancing warily at the fire. They probably had some kind of force field up to keep things from coming back out, though, so she refrained from stepping further away for now.

She shook her hair back where it had started to slip forward over her eyes. Maybe she should just chop the lot off this summer. Short hair would, she was sure, look ridiculously stupid, but it would be more convenient. So much less upkeep, so much less getting in her face. “So, you guys got any wild and crazy summer plans?” she asked. Changing the subject, she knew, but she definitely didn’t want it getting into bonfire offerings or, worse, the CATS. Surely she had to be the only person in the world, or at least in Sonora, pathetic enough that most of her summer would be spent obsessing about when her scores would arrive.

16 Marissa I think we're gonna need a bigger time machine for that. 147 Marissa 0 5

Tawny Brockert

May 28, 2011 1:46 PM

Unfair by Tawny Brockert

Tawny stared at the bonfire, watching other people burn things in order to put parts of the past behind them. She herself was not going to burn anything, as the fifth year hadn't been able to burn any of the stuff she really wanted to burn anyway. Like Pippa and the Twerps. Oh, how Tawny had the desire to throw one of them into the fire!

Or at least things that belonged to them. Unfortunately for her, Pippa's stuff was either in Teppenpaw or at home. Nor had she had the opportunity to sneak into the room of her other enemies and steal something that belonged to them.

Other than that, there was nothing of her own she wanted to burn. Nothing Tawny wanted to put behind her. There were plenty of things that she could let go of in theory but she knew very well that it just wasn't that simple. She'd remain angry at her sister and the Twerps, no matter what. This whole thing was just a pointless gesture. The only way to deal with things was to get rid of the actual cause of her misery.

And Tawny couldn't. Not here. Despite the overwhelming desire to find the nearest Twerp and push them into the flames, she knew it was highly unlikely that she would get away with such a thing. Which was not fair. Why could the Twerps always do exactly what they pleased and not Tawny? They all walked around like they owned the place.

But then, nothing in her life was fair. It was unfair that Tawny was nearly sixteen and not betrothed while Pippa had been and so was Alessa. It was unfair that she would have to be betrothed in the first place instead of being with someone who chose her . It was unfair that Jose was all buddy-buddy with the Twerps and that she wasn't prefect.

Tawny sighed. She just had to get Head Girl next term. But, thanks to the Twerp Brigade being among those voting, she had serious doubts. Another reason she wanted to hurl them into the flames, another reason she couldn't.

11 Tawny Brockert Unfair 148 Tawny Brockert 0 5

Preston Stratford

May 28, 2011 5:12 PM

And another begins..in a few months by Preston Stratford

Preston’s first year at Sonora Academy was coming to a close. The redhead was still forming an opinion of the school. He had liked the experience, but he also had liked being home-schooled, where he had no competition for the first place. At school, he had all of his roommates as a potential threat to his goal of becoming a Head Boy in the future, especially Arthur. There was something about his roommate that made Preston be wary of him. It was direct competition that was it. Preston was competitive, but he had never had a direct adversary. It had always been his cousin.

This had given him a lot to think about, along with other things. Next year, his cousin would start to attend the school. Preston had loved being the only Stratford in the school, now he was just going to be the other one. Lawrence tended to get more attention than him. He would need to work extra hard to have his own shine, it wasn’t something new, but he didn’t like sharing the limelight. Something he did back home. It was a bittersweet end for the Aladren, he was going to deal with it, like he always did.

The redhead didn’t have friends per se, so he had no idea with whom he would share the tent. He really didn’t think that particular issue was very important, he would manage. Plus, he sort of like Russell, and that had to count for something. He would tend to that when the time came, now he was going to attend the bonfire and try to have a good time. Whatever that was.

Preston had given the burning-thing a whole lot of thought. At first, he had no idea of what he wanted to burn, it was so hard. He didn’t have anything that burden him, or something along those lines. After a lot of consideration, he decided to burn something that signified his pseudo-childhood, and that was a stuffed dragon. When he had come to Sonora, he had hidden it in his trunk. He didn’t want his roommates finding out about that, but Preston had taken him with him. It was serving as a link to home, but now, he had realized that he was almost 12. He needed to grow-up, and burning his stuff dragon would help with that transition.

He listened to the Headmaster talk and politely applauded when it was necessary. Once everyone started burning their things, Preston sneaked in - not before making sure no one was looking - and threw it into the flames. He felt older as he watched it burn away. Preston smiled at the feeling. After that, the Aladren went to the refreshment table to get something to drink. He hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings. When his hand bumped into someone, he looked up and saw Miss Sara Raines.

“Miss Raines, please take it,” he said formally. He offered her the cup she had been trying to grab. “Excuse me for being so distracted.” Preston had been thinking about what he had just done. The feeling still lingering.

0 Preston Stratford And another begins..in a few months 0 Preston Stratford 0 5

Professor Lilac Crosby

May 28, 2011 11:42 PM

Out with the old, in with the new. by Professor Lilac Crosby

This year at Sonora had been eventful, to say the least. Seth showed up. Seth asked her to be his girlfriend. She had toned herself down for classes. At the beginning of the term, she had been an eccentric who was alone; now she had a boyfriend but had sacrificed her individuality for the sake of her students.

If being a normal-looking, normal-acting professor was what helped her students focus, so be it. The whole point of teaching was to help them, so whatever it took to get her lessons across to them was well worth it. Lilac wanted each and every one of her students to feel comfortable with her and educated by her class. It was all about them… wasn’t it?

That was what she was going to get rid of, what she was going to burn: that failure of a professor that so many students apparently resented. To symbolize such, the brunette professor brought her slippers. Not just any slippers, but the orange animal-print slippers she had been known to wear to class until recently. She had possessed the slippers for a long time--she distinctly remembered wearing them in her dormitory in school from at least fifth year and on--but they would not define her anymore. She could be more demure.

She hoped Seth didn’t mind the change. The groundskeeper still seemed to care about her as much as ever, but she was slightly afraid underneath he was upset with her. The twenty-seven year-old Transfigurations professor really liked Seth, and between them was one place that didn’t need to change for anyone.

With the slippers in the long pocket usually reserved for her wand on the inside of a beige blazer, Lilac met up with the rest of the school for the fire. Accompanying the blazer was a matching pencil skirt, black flats, and a black blouse. Her hair was straight, but not pulled up, left to frame her face.

She arrived early enough to seem like she planned it and watched as the other Sonora residents piled in. as a good staff member was supposed to, she listened to David’s speech before beginning a search for her boyfriend, assuming that minor displays of affection amongst staff members would be acceptable, drawing this conclusion from Aaron and Declan.

Without having to look too hard, Lilac found him facing away from her. Good, she thought mischievously before shuffling up behind him and placing her hands over his eyes. Dropping her chin on his shoulder, she whispered, “Guess who.” A smile tugged at her lips, and she let it have its way. If the feel of her hands and her voice had not given her away, the giggle she unwillingly emitted might have done the trick.

0 Professor Lilac Crosby Out with the old, in with the new. 0 Professor Lilac Crosby 0 5

Jethro Smythe

May 29, 2011 8:05 AM

Embracing this new beginning by Jethro Smythe

The examinations were over, which was a relief to Jethro because the rest of his yearmates had started to act more or less normal again. He wasn't the keenest observer of people but even Jethro had noticed the increased levels of tension and greater frequency of repetetive behaviours that were not usually present. It felt much calmer in the corridors now that fifth years weren't muttering calss revisions under their breath each and every second of the day. now they just had to wait for thier results to arrive, and Jethro only wished to pass one class. He thought he had probably accomplished that much. Now all he had to concern himself with was making sure he collected together the rest of his belongings before returning home again for the summer. This summer would no doubt to be the same as any other, with the exception of receiving exam results. Nobody expected Jethro to do well, however, so the only was the results would make much of an impact on his life would be if he did in fact do well, and thus surprise everyone. or if he failed everything and had to leave school, but Jethro would really rather not think about that, because he quite liked attending Sonora. He didn't always get along with all his fellow classmates and all his classes, not to mention his professors, but it beat staying at home with nobody else around.

The bonfire was one of those times when it seemed like the opposite: everyone was here, even people who didn't even go to the school, like the people on stage making music. Jethro thought one of them looked a lot like the previous groundskeeper but that did make sense, so Jethro dismissed the thought. He instead watched the bonfire - it was fun to watch, with all the flames dancing around without pattern or predictability. Gradually students started throwing things in. Dana had helped Jethro to choose something, which was good, becuase he honestly didn't entirely understand what was going on. He thought the students were burning something they didn't want any more, but Dana said there was more to it that than. After some deliberation, they decided that he should burn his potions textbook, because there was genuinely no way he had passed that class, and therefore he wouldn't need it again (Dana had at first suggested burning his notes rather than the whole textbook, but apparently Jethro's scribblings during the past couple of years barely counted as notes in her opinion). Joining the other students, Jethro waited his turn and then threw the textbook into the fire. he watched it catch light and burn and then, satisfied, turned from the bonfire.

Now what to do? He could eat, and probably would eat soon. In fact, he started to make his way over to the food table, but on the way he got distracted - as so frequently happeened to the fifth year - because he saw Jane Carey standing not far away. She was one of his favorite people to talk to, so Jethro deviated from his path to go stand near her, instead. She was wearing green, and so, coincidentally, was he. "Hello, Miss Carey," Jethro greeted her. Then he remembered she'd said he could call her Jane, but it was too late to redo the greeting. Hopefully she wouldn't mind. To draw her attention from it (and because his had already begun to stray), Jethro pointed between their similarly colored robes, and said, "We match."

0 Jethro Smythe Embracing this new beginning 146 Jethro Smythe 0 5

DiAnna

May 29, 2011 8:36 AM

There's a first time for everything by DiAnna

Perhaps she had been too obvious in her staring, because it wasn't long at all before Amelia gestured DiAnna over. Pleased for an excuse to join the conversation (although regretting that she still held a half-consumed grilled cheese) the librarian crossed the short distance to her colleague and the woman who looked like she might be related. Amelia introduced them to each other, and DiAnna greeted the other woman with a, "Nice to meet you, too."

Maria explained that she'd come with the band, which was helpful, because DiAnna had already begun to wonder about her role in the bonfire's preceedings. She still didn't grasp the full concept of which pureblood families' branches did or did not talk to one another. Largely it didn't concern her, but the more time she spent around the sort of wicthes and wizards whom it did concern, the more DiAnna gleaned from snippets of conversations, muttered comments, and occasional emotive outbursts. For example, she had concluded that while Amelia and a first year student of the same surname were related, they did not acknowledge one another thus. She also knew, from meeting Amelia at Sapienti, that Sonora's Quidditch coach was from the Boston branch. It was all very confusing, and DiAnna honestly didn't see the point or purpose of any of it, but she wasn't one to agrue with generations of heritage. As a Muggleborn witch with a Muggle half-sister and a veritable cornucopia of ethnicities within her immediate ancestry, who had suffered plenty of identity crises in her life so far, she could appreciate that people might want to cling to their heritage.

"Ah, I'm not sure they'd be willing to play any of my choices," she declined Maria's offer to make a song request. DiAnna's preference for heavy drum beat, wailing vocals and depressing lyrics were unlikely to be appreciate by many others - she drew this belief from repeated previous experience. Even if the band actually had heard of any of DiAnna's favorite songs, and then assuming they knew how to perform it, the chances were the content would be considered unsuitable for the student audience, anyway. DiAnna was fine with that; she didn't mind other music, she just wasn't very familiar with the genres Maria had mentioned.

0 DiAnna There's a first time for everything 0 DiAnna 0 5

Andrew

May 29, 2011 9:00 PM

I've got.... I mean, yes. Yes we would... yeah... by Andrew

Andrew smiled back at Marissa, excellent they didn't tell him to get lost. Maybe this social thing might actually work out. "Yeah..." he looked back at the fire, "that's probably a good idea. Although I wonder if they could enchant it to keep fumes and such in. I know they were also keeping an eye on what people were tossing in there. If somebody would have tried anything unsafe, I guess they'd keep it from happening." He shrugged a bit as he spoke. "I just burned my stupid Creatures essay from last year." He glanced over towards the food tables. His stomach was starting to quietly complain. "Speaking of food though..." he started shifting in that direction, hoping the others would catch on and follow him as he talked.

"Crazy summer plans?" He wished, "Unfortunately, not really. I've got to do some research on where to go after this place." He waved his hand around at the school in general. "I know we've got two more years, but I heard a nasty rumor that the future keeps coming regardless if we want it to or not." He sighed, "Other than that, I'll be bouncing back and forth between Mom and Dad as usual." He also had research to do his projects, but that was another topic all together.

2 Andrew I've got.... I mean, yes. Yes we would... yeah... 145 Andrew 0 5

Sara

May 29, 2011 9:20 PM

And yet, they'll feel like an instant. by Sara

Sara smiled when Mr. Stratford offered her the disputed cup. "Thank you, Mr. Stratford," she said, taking the cup. It was always a little awkward at moments like this, but she thought it was proper to accept. The number of little bits of this and that which had amalgamated into the etiquette over the years were far too numerous for Sara, at least, to ever remember them all, so she often felt as though she were walking a dangerous edge by going toward what felt right, but she thought this was right. "That's very gracious of you." Her smile deepened for a second as she added, "We always seem to meet at refreshment tables, don't we?"

She took a sip of the drink she'd won. The tastes were a little stronger than she liked, but after the initial second of surprise, she decided it would do. She just hoped her reference to their meeting over midterm would do as well. Should she extend permission to call her at least Miss Sara already, or wait until he either called her Miss Raines again or used his first name? Yes, definitely too many bits of this and that, and it didn't help that she was convinced the niceties changed slightly every so often and between regions. Alan and Isabel seemed to learn things a little differently than she had, and Catherine had some mannerisms none of them did, though the lack of a resolution to the debate about whether Catherine actually had a personality and personal interests behind her manners made it hard to use her as evidence.

"Have you been well?" she asked. "I can hardly believe it's already summer again."

0 Sara And yet, they'll feel like an instant. 0 Sara 0 5

Lita

May 29, 2011 9:52 PM

Ooo, ice cream does make me smile by Lita

She wasn’t sure if her idea of fun was the same for Daniel. For one thing, she had no idea what he considered fun to be. Maybe it was playing Quidditch, Lita knew that there were some people who found a thrill in the competition or just saw it as a hobby and enjoyed the sport of it. Lita suspected that Daniel did it for the fame and title that it provided him. Maybe he thought school work was fun? Over the last few years, Lita wouldn’t think twice about a person actually thriving on learning, but even then, she wasn’t so sure that Daniel actually had fun doing it. Again, she thought it was the title that came with the grades. His reaction to his Head Boy win last year had been obvious about how he felt with titles. Maybe it was the titles that he had fun with?

Either way, Lita was positive that her fun was not his fun.

“Mostly the same old stuff that I do every summer.” Lita said with a small shrug. “I’ll be able to dance with my class, so that’ll be fun for me. We had to learn hip hop this year and I have no idea how to work some of those moves, so it’ll be very intense first month home, but totally worth it once the recital is all done.” As she spoke of this, her forced smile became softer and more genuine. As much stress as dance did to her, Lita absolutely loved it. It was time consuming and did a number on her body, but she lived to perform.

“After the recital is done, we’ll head out to Spain to visit Grand-Mama’s family and then Charlie is coming with us to see Grand-Papa’s family down in Mexico for a couple of weeks. She’s really excited about going, so hopefully the family doesn’t scare her away too much with their …energy.” She didn’t really have a proper word to describe her extended family. She only knew that there were many of them, they were loud, and they enjoyed their parties.

“As for the specifics of the fun things planned, it’ll probably be a lot of swimming - I miss swimming in the ocean when I’m here – lots of dancing, the family will probably have a fiesta while we’re visiting, help Great Grand-Mama in the kitchen – she makes amazing meals – and, I don’t know, probably hike the trails with Dad.” Lita listed everything she could think of that her family did when they were all together for the summer. “Oh, probably see Tio Jake play in a game too.” She added as an after thought. “Oooo, I forgot, Tia Sofia might take us to another runway show this summer too, so that will be fun. Maybe I can take Charlie to that too…” The last comment had been more to herself.

“You live in the Los Angeles area, right?” Lita asked, she didn’t know specifically where, but she knew vaguely it was in that direction. “Isn’t there lots to do there?”

0 Lita Ooo, ice cream does make me smile 0 Lita 0 5

Jane

May 30, 2011 12:37 AM

That seems very healthy of you by Jane

Jane smiled when she saw Jethro Smythe, and though she was surprised by his use of ‘Miss Carey’ when she had thought they were on first name terms after his reaction to ‘Mr. Smythe’ before midterm, her expression only reflected it for a second. Maybe it was just a matter of this being much more public than that. “Hello,” she replied.

She looked between their robes as he pointed out the matching colors. “We do,” she agreed. “I like green.” Which was fortunate, since coming to Sonora involved wearing it almost every day. It was also fortunate, in her mind, that it was a fairly dark green that they all wore all the time. Most of her other clothes were pastels, but she didn’t like light greens as much. Nor any kind of purples, really, though she had several sets of robes in that color, because she had never put in an order of her own with a seamstress in her life. Mother had always dictated the cuts and colors of everything Edmond and Jane, and most likely Father, wore. She supposed she’d have to try to figure out how to manage that this summer.

Somehow, the thought of picking out her own dresses was the most frightening one she’d had yet. The idea of a world of necklines and skirt and sleeve lengths and decorations and shoes opening before her was absolutely terrifying. She realized this was most likely not normal.

That wasn’t a topic for conversation, though, and she couldn’t see what else to do, really, with her outfit nearly matching Jethro’s, since it wasn’t like it had been intentional on either of their parts as far as she knew. Perhaps cosmic chance had dictated it, but it hadn’t told her about it in advance. “You look very nice tonight,” she complimented him. “Are you glad to be going home soon?”

0 Jane That seems very healthy of you 0 Jane 0 5

Demelza Eagle

May 30, 2011 10:01 AM

WHY must you make me think? by Demelza Eagle

Demelza loved fire. Ever since she earned that she could stick her hand in one and not be burned into a piece of toast, she realized it was yet another thing that was told to be cautioned when it wasn't really that dangerous. Her mom, being a former Magical Animal hunter, had taught her not to be prejudgemental of any animal. Her little sister, who was often prejudgemented because of her disabilities, taught her to not be prejudgemental of humans. Mel had taken both of these lessons and made it so that she was not prejudg mental of anything. This was why she loved fire so much. It wasn't so dangerous. It had its perks--it cooked food and brought warmth and light. How could she be afraid of something so plentiful?

Since it was going to be hot around the fire, and because it was nearing summer and hot in desert, Mel wore navy mini shorts and a loose and thin back and white stripped tee shirt with one shoulder hanging around her mid bicep. Her straight, medium length chocolate brown hair was pulled to hang over one shoulder, and she overall thought she looked kind of pretty. Not that the fourth year really ever cared about her appearance. That wasn’t what was rally important in life. She had been working out every day, working on building her arm strength and accuracy when whacking bludgers. She didn't want to be an egomaniac, but she was quite positive that she was probably the best beater in the school. No one practiced as hard as her. Quiddich was her whole life, and she planned on going pro after she left Sonora. This summer she was going to Australia to their nation Quidditch team's summer camp to learn from professionals (besides her brother who was already on Australia's national team. He was the one who got her a spot in the camp.)

Demelza wasn't sure what to burn. Almost two years ago she fell off her broom in Africa (yeah, she's been just about everywhere) and suffered from amnesia. The effects were less prominent nowadays, but she still didn't remember much from before her tragic fall. Of course, she had given up on her dream to be a famous musician since she decided her new life goal was to go pro... yes, that was the answer. It pained her so much to do, and her parents would probably kill her, but it had to be done. She would have to burn her guitar. Music was no longer a great part of her life, no matter how much it saddened her. She was giving it up. Paul would be upset...but this wasn't about him. This was about her.

Demelza showed up to the bonfire with her guitar strapped around her shoulder. She sat right next to it. She wanted to badly to put it in... but she couldn't do it. This guitar was the reason much of her memory came back after her amnesia. She was told to continue practicing it by doctors, who said that she remembered to play it was a good sign her memory would improve. She had played this guitar for everyone at the talent show last year. She sat up in her tree in the gardens outside of her dorm all the time, just chilling and all. So... she took off the yellow strap from her left handed guitar and threw that into the fire. It could mean many things; she wasn't going to be strapped into doing something she didn't want to do. Yes, that was what it meant. She wasn't going to have anyone tell her what to do. She was growing up. She was going to turn 16 in August!

She signed, and then sat back down. She put her guitar off to the side. Maybe she would burn it later. She just didn't really want to. "Do you think I should burn this?" She asked the person next to her, pointing at her guitar. She needed a second opinion.

0 Demelza Eagle WHY must you make me think? 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Daniel

May 30, 2011 12:33 PM

I'm partial as well by Daniel

As Lita described her plans for the summer and clarified which of those plans were 'fun' Daniel decided he probably didn't really have a lot in common with Lita besides her friendship with Charlie. Dancing, in his experience, which admittedly was not significant, but Mom had made him take a few lessons in tap and jazz when he was little, and then some ballroom lessons before her last two weddings, was not fun. He'd be more likely to use the phrase 'exercise in futility'. Fashion runways were boring, and swimming was okay for cooling off but fairly dull unless Molly was in the pool, too.

When she asked about the things to do in LA, he just sighed and shook his head. "I can't do anything too public or the paparazzi shows up. I could probably get away with a theme park or something since my show isn't a kid's show, but the tourists might recognize me anyway - especially if I go with Mom or Dad - so I'd have to go with friends, and . . . well, Charlie doesn't live in California. And studio tours are pointless since I practically live at a studio all summer anyway."

"Not that I'll have much free time anyway. We'll be filming the last episodes of Street Beat this summer." Daniel glanced over toward the bonfire. "I would have burned something of Nate's today, but that's not quite over yet." A brief expression of sadness crossed his face. "I think it'll be like finishing here at Sonora. I did that for seven years, too. It'll be an accomplishment to finish and be done, but I'm going to miss it, I think. One last summer of child acting, then I grow up and move on."

He looked back to Lita. "You think you'll do dancing professionally when you finish here?"

1 Daniel I'm partial as well 130 Daniel 0 5

James Anthony

May 30, 2011 1:49 PM

Let's just call this effigy by James Anthony

Colours sharpened and a strange buzzing echoed in James’s ears. The name pervaded his brain, echoing off the inside of his skull—figuratively, obviously, because James Anthony did not actually believe that any name, even one quite so obnoxious, could actually bounce in his skull—and seeping into the grey matter beneath. Daniel had gotten Head Boy yet again. There had been no re-vote, no chance for James to win back his own. No opportunity for him to claim the title back from the usurper. He had been Prefect! Daniel hadn’t, James had. It had been all him. The crackling of the bonfire was no distraction; James had only attended because he was expecting his name to be called out as next year’s Head Boy just before the actual event occurred.

Now the light-brown-haired boy stood in a polo shirt and brand-new Guess jeans with his wand in a snazzy side-holster Lutece had acquired for him, completely humiliated. He refused to let this stand.

And so it was that, about twenty minutes later, James had returned to the bonfire with his offerings in hand. Admittedly, the brown-haired boy realized, they were not quite in the spirit of progression that had been decreed by the Headmaster in quite the manner that the man who embodied most of Sonora’s authority had determined, but it was clear that the man was bordering on complete incompetence. Headmistress Powell had obviously possessed a more accurate grasp upon the decision-making process necessitated. Daniel hardly held the authority that was needed for the position of Head Boy, and on a purely democratic level it would have only been just to allow James another chance at the title. After all, each group of Head Students had only retained their title for one year in previous years; the failures of the year above them should hardly have been used to punish him.

As the blue shirt that Daniel had worn so frequently in the past several years was consumed by the bonfire’s flames, James’s blue-green eyes watched it without a hint of remorse. If the Headmaster refused to call a re-vote, he would have to force the student body to do so!

0 James Anthony Let's just call this effigy 126 James Anthony 0 5

Charlotte Abbott

May 30, 2011 2:22 PM

Call it what you like by Charlotte Abbott

Sixth year was drawing to a close, and Charlotte didn't really have emotional feelings about it either way. She hadn't had extrernal exams to worry about this year, she didn't need to wait until after the summer to find out that she would be Head Girl again next year, too - she genuinely didn't mind either way, because although she very much liked the honour of the position, she had held it for a year and would happily have seen someone else have the opportunity, not to mention the extra work it sometimes involved - and while she was looking forward to the summer, returning at the end of it would mean Charlie was in her final year at Sonora. After that she didn't have a clue what she was going to do with her life. At least she could relax during the summer. She'd arranged to stay with Lita's family for a good portion of it, about which she was exceedingly excited. before the summer, however, came the end of term, and the bonfire.

Joining the rest of the school on the Quidditch pitch, Charlie was impressed by the sheer size of the bonfire, and was fairly curious to know what it was other people had decided to burn. Herself, Charlie had with her a black mini skirt, screwed up to it was identifiable no further than a piece of fabric. To anyone else it was probably just a mildly inappropriate garment, whereas Charlie associated it with a particular memory: that time she'd made out with Andrei. She didn't regret it, exactly, but it had made her feel like a person she didn't really want to be. She knew she had a reputation for dating lots of boys, and that was fine by her, so long as that's all she was doing. She'd date a guy, get to know him, maybe have some harmless fun, and then, inevitably, decide he wasn't right for her and move on. Except that's not what had happened with Andrei. They'd just both been bored, and their kissing had been a direct result of that. There had been no getting to know each other or having fun, and Charlie didn't want to be that sort of girl.

While she listened to the headmaster's speech, and then to the band for a little, and then she watched others throwing in their items, Charlie held onto the skirt, bunched up in her fist. She actually rather liked the skirt, and was putting off burning it. She'd already made the decision, though, so it was only a matter of time before she realised that most people had already done their bonfire cleansing. Prepared to mourn her skirt, but not the person she'd been in it, Charlie approached the flames. With her Chaser's strength, she flung the skirt out over the flames and was relieved when it landed centrally, no doubt burning to ashes within minutes. With an air of satisfaction, Charlie turned from the fire, and in doing so, saw out of the corner of her eye James throwing something into the bonfire that didn't look exactly as if it belonged to him. Biting back a smile, Charlie sidled over to him.

"I don't think you're supposed to burn other people's belongings," she commented, with a slight smirk. She didn't think for a second that Daniel had given his permission for james to burn what might actually have been one of his favorite shirts. Of course, James and Daniel had never really seen eye to eye, a fact that Charlotte could understand on the one hand, but on the other, they could just as easily have gotten along just fine, in her opinion. She got along with both of them particularly well, which only very occasionally caused her conflicts of interest. She wondered what exactly it was about Daniel that James wanted to put behind him, and decided not to point out they still had another year to share a room.

0 Charlotte Abbott Call it what you like 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Preston

May 30, 2011 4:08 PM

I have to agree with that by Preston

Preston smiled when Miss Raines took the cup. The redhead had taken etiquette lessons prior attending school. Five years of them, actually. It was polite to be a gentleman with the Ladies, there was no excuse to be rude, especially when the Lady was someone as polite as Miss Raines. The Aladren was still making-up his mind about her. On one hand, she was the epitome of what a lady should be, and on the other, she was able to hold good conversation. Sara Raines was a mixture of something exciting and uncommon. At least, from what he knew about girls, which wasn’t a whole lot. “So it seems,” he answered to her statement on their random meetings.

The Aladren grabbed another cup and took a sip. It was something he wasn’t used to drink, the flavor lingered on his tongue. He decided that whatever it was, he liked it. He needed to find out what it was. He returned his attention to the girl that was with him. Never ignore a girl, that was something his father always said. Apparently, they could have quite a nasty temper. Somehow, he couldn’t see Miss Raines being like that. She was too polite to be.

Preston smiled at her, “I know, time passed too quickly.” He wasn’t that excited for the start of next term, because that meant that Lawrence would start attending the school. Preston liked his cousin, but he hated that he always stole everyone’s attention. As far as it went, both of them were as different as they came. Preston was serious with a knack for learning, whereas Lawrence was more up-beat and sociable. Two traits the redhead sort of wished he had, but wasn’t that worried he didn’t. He was going to go to the top on his own means, without the help of a different personality, he was sure he had the intelligence and smarts to do so.

“I have been doing splendidly,” he answered her query with a smile. “How about you, Miss Raines? Do you have plans for the summer?” He asked her in return. Preston was excited about his summer, since he was going to spend it in Italy with some relatives. His father had promised him a side-trip to Greece to explore some magical ruins. It was going to be awesome! He could hardly wait.

0 Preston I have to agree with that 0 Preston 0 5

Jose

May 30, 2011 8:08 PM

looks for time machine by Jose

Jose accepted Andrew's guess that there were spells to keep in fumes and stuff, because that made sense and he wanted to believe they were not all about to die from 'at least two reasons why that was unsafe' according to Marissa. He nodded, understanding Andrew's choice to burn a CoMC essay (it had been an option he'd considered as well) and wondered if the other fifth year was also planning to drop the class.

Distracted by Marissa's question about their summers and Andrew's decision to go get food, he did not notice that Marissa deftly avoided mentioning whatever she had burned. Following Andrew toward the buffet, his thoughts turned toward crackers and hoped there would be hummus to dip them into.

After Andrew explained his own plans for researching colleges, though, Jose just shook his head. "No research needed here. I'm just going to follow California Pierce tradition and go into show business." Then he remembered his thoughts during the CATS and added, "Though if I get an O in Potions, maybe I'll see if Maria'll let me go to college so I can start a vegan potion selling business possibly. That would be cool, I think. I hear Sapienti has a good potions program. And the Pierces value diversity, so they won't be too upset if I try something a little different."

Just then he happened to look around the pitch and his eye landed on Maria talking to Coach Pierce of all people. "My Pierces anyway," he added in correction.

0 Jose *looks for time machine* 0 Jose 0 5

Arthur Carey

May 30, 2011 11:24 PM

We'll just have to grin and bear it by Arthur Carey

To say that Arthur had experienced a certain lack of enthusiasm about the bonfire in the time leading up to it was to observe that the ocean had a certain salty quality, but now that it was here, he was prepared to admit that it wasn’t so bad. His reluctance to approach anything that could be classified as a tent – something his brother was very excited about – was as strong as ever, but there was something entrancing about the fire, and the ritual itself appealed to his sense of the dramatic.

Not that he burned anything where other people could see him, of course. He wasn’t stupid, and was so aware that his sense of the dramatic was a weakness at least half the time, and that other people would be watching. They could read anything into what they saw. He wasn’t going to put forth the effort to analyze too many people, since there were too many and it was too dark to see reliably anyway, but if he could think of doing it, someone else could go through with doing it. So he’d disposed of his ties to Grandfather in private earlier, deciding that was as good a use of his ability to conjure controlled fires as anything was.

It wasn’t something he’d liked doing. Arthur had always wanted his grandfather’s approval, in some ways more than he wanted his father’s, since it was harder to obtain. The family story went that Grandfather had, while always being difficult for a South Carolina Carey, only become…well …Grandfather after Aunt Lindy died when she was only a little girl, but whatever the cause, Grandfather was harder to get a smile and a nod from than the Fourth himself. But Grandfather, when he had thought only the other adults could hear, had been perfectly clear: he thought Arthur was some unnatural freak who was a discredit to them, who they were going to have scramble to find something to do with. And Grandmother agreed.

So that was that. His grandparents were dead to him. He would continue to acknowledge them because he had to, because he was twelve and couldn’t do anything about it, but he was finished with all the odd moments he’d had since Christmas where he watched other people and wondered, for a few gut-wrenching moments, if Grandfather was right. It was straight forward from here.

After watching others make their offerings for a while, he decided to go see what was at the food table, and, in the absence of anyone else he knew to some extent nearby and alone, altered his path slightly when he saw Fae Sinclair.

He had still not worked out how on earth she and Arnold seemed to get along, but they did. Though as far as he could tell, Arnold seemed to get along with almost everyone. For a moment, Arthur remembered feeling inadequate after his grandfather’s tirade, but then reminded himself that he wasn’t bothering with Grandfather’s opinion anymore, that Grandfather had always favored Arnold just to spite Father anyway. He reminded himself to smile as he approached her.

“Good evening, Miss Fae,” he said, throwing in a slight bow that was more casual than what he normally would have offered, more like Arnold. Not as casual, because there was a difference between him and his brother and he just wasn’t as comfortable with some things as Arnold was, but casual for Arthur. “It’s a nice evening, isn’t it?”

0 Arthur Carey We'll just have to grin and bear it 182 Arthur Carey 0 5

Luka Anastanov

May 31, 2011 11:57 AM

Stealing some of your enthusiasm by Luka Anastanov

After almost a year, Luka was exactly how he had expected to be. Friendless. A stranger among people he had seen over a year.

He had not thought this would affect him in any way, but somehow, as he saw the others playfully chatting with their friends, he wished he were somewhere else. He had never been sociable, Luka had to concede that. But he couldn’t comprehend this lonely feeling. How does one feel lonely when he has been lonely all his life?

Not particularly looking anywhere, he stood a little away from the crowd. The Headmaster called them to burn things they thought burdened them. Luka smirked on his own. He would have liked to burn so many things, the fire wouldn’t have been able to engulf all of it. He stared blankly at the fire as the flames licked out. For the first time since he had come to Sonora, Luka felt desperate to know someone. He had thought it would be easy to pass out of school without any incident. But now he felt he could not survive seven years without making human contact.

Luka had none of the qualities that made one friendly. He was serious, his face had a grown-up look about it, he did not know how to make small talk.

He had been lost in his own thoughts, when he heard someone say, “Isn’t this so cool? Who knew we’d be able to burn things while at school just for fun! My dad will have a total cow over this! What do you want to do tonight? Dance? Pig out? Dance around the fire?”

Luka recognized the girl. “Reggie! Hello, nice to see you again. I’m Luka… from potions,” he said.

“I will burn… a letter,” he said, without thinking. He breathed a sigh as his hand curled around the letter in his pocket. Throwing out the wretched letter into the fire, he realized the Headmaster’s cure was indeed effective. As the parchment curled to ashes, he felt a relief wash over him.

Turning to Reggie, he said, “I will do what you are going to do tonight.” It was a little frightening to want to associate himself with others.

0 Luka Anastanov Stealing some of your enthusiasm 0 Luka Anastanov 0 5

Ryan O'Malley

May 31, 2011 12:49 PM

The end? by Ryan O'Malley

Shaking slightly and grateful for the darkness so nobody could see him doing so, Ryan threw the letter his father had sent him into the fire. It had been about a week since he'd receieved both letters but his uncle had taken the Howler. Ryan wasn't entirely sure why, but Uncle Seth had wanted the Crotalus to turn it over.

So, he burned the letter from his father instead. Ryan sincerely hoped that the Howler was the last time his mother would ever hurt him, that things would be different from now on. After all, it wasn't likely that Ryan would see her again. He was going to now be living with his dad or his grandparents or at Sonora. Things were changing and he wanted to put it behind him.

Not that Ryan would necessarily be successful at it. The second year could still hear the Howler echoing in his mind. It's all your fault...

And he blamed himself. He really did. She was right about that and he deserved that Howler.

Ryan turned away from the fire and his eyes settled on the food but the Crotalus wasn't the least bit hungry. His stomach had been bothering him ever since. It had been bad enough that Ryan had ended up going to the Hospital Wing, despite that he didn't want the Medic to think that he was weak and berate him for it. It still wasn't feeling too great.

Then he gazed around for Sophie, but didn't see her in the crowd, even though he spotted his uncle with Professor Crosby. Ryan quickly turned away from that . He was happy for Uncle Seth, but it was still kind of weird and he certainly didn't want to watch their public displays of affection.

Ryan sat down, sighing. He watched the fire burn away all the items that symbolized stuff people wanted to put behind them, wondering if it was really even possible. So lost in thought was he, that he didn't even notice someone sit down beside him.

11 Ryan O'Malley The end? 176 Ryan O'Malley 0 5

Derry Four

May 31, 2011 1:33 PM

There are neither beginnings nor endings by Derry Four

Derry though being given a professor-sanctioned right to burn something was pretty cool. The only problem was they seemed to think he needed to move on from something, but he didn't know what. They wanted him to have a reason to burn something and he couldn't quite figure out why 'because watching it light up is fun' wasn't good enough.

So he decided to do it backwards from everyone else. First, he'd decide what would be the most fun to see smolder and glow red. Then, he'd decide why it was meaningful in a cleansing sort of way.

What he'd eventually decided on was a deck of Exploding Snap cards. He was curious to see if every card would start Exploding when it realized it was about to burn up anyway. That would be awesome, he thought. Like fireworks, almost.

Plus, the deck would be pretty easy to replace and held no particular sentimental value, making it 100% perfect on all counts.

The reason he concocted for burning this particular deck of cards was that his first year at Sonora needed to go out with a bang.

He thought that was very clever. He was very proud of himself for coming up with it.

Waiting until most of the other students had made their offerings to the fire, Derry held back and waved to his other Teppenpaw friends, and Demetra, and his classmates, and some of his Quidditch opponents, and, well, pretty much everyone he saw. Once he was done saying hi to people, the bonfire was going nicely and most people had moved a little bit away from it except the folks toasting marshmallows.

This, he decided, was as good a time as any.

Then he saw Ryan - who he didn't know too well, but he was a second year, so he'd been in most of Derry's classes this year - looking kind of sad. Derry thought his exploding cards might cheer the other boy up a little. So he moved up to the fire, threw the deck in, and then hurried back to sit down next to Ryan to make sure he'd know to watch the fire in a few seconds.

"Hey, Ryan," he greeted, being friendly to start with, but time was running short, so he nudged the other boy and pointed at the fire, and said, "Look!" just as his burning deck in the middle of the flames began to explode very nicely indeed. It wasn't quite as pretty as fireworks, but the cards certainly sounded like them, and there were nice whooshes of bigger flames blowing higher into the air than the standard bonfire had created before.

Definitely way cool. He'd picked good.

1 Derry Four There are neither beginnings nor endings 189 Derry Four 0 5

Dana

May 31, 2011 5:21 PM

Goodbye, indifference by Dana

Oh, they hadn't made an introduction yet. dana sort of forgot about doing things like that at school. All the people she usually talked to, in her own year and the couple of years below, she already knew, so formal introductions hadn't happened for a good long while. this girl, though, Valentina, apparently wasn't going to let the informality of the bonfire deter her from displaying her good manners. Dana herself didn't curtsey in response - but she was older so had earned that right - but she did incline her head in a bob that could perhaps be counted as a pseudo-curtsey if so desired. "Dana Smythe," she dutifully returned her own information. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Valentina."

The younger girl then told her she'd burned her shoes, but she still wanted to be a ballerina. Dana thought she might have missed the idea behind the progression indicated by the burning - students were supposed to select something they wanted in their past, not something they wanted in their future - but she didn't want to discourage Valentina, so she didn't say anything. She didn't really understand the sort of person who wanted to be professional dancers, anyway. Madness lay that way, as far as Dana was concerned. there was a girl in her own year - Adelita - who wanted to do some sort of professional dancing. Dana certainly didn't have that sort of dedication to anything, let alone something that could hurt from time to time. She respected people with a passion, but she just didn't get it. "Well, good luck with that," Dana offerred, sounding as sincere as she could manage.

Next thing, Valentina was asking her out of the blue to color change her hair for the evening. Dana blinked a couple of times in surprise, not initially certain she'd heard the other girl correctly. Change your hair color?" she repeated, a small smile twitching at the corner of her lips. yes, she'd definitely had an influence on this younger student. She wondered, though, whether it was the good influence she was supposed to be having - the sort her parents would imagine her having on her classmates. She didn't think so. Though, it couldn't hurt. Just a little charm, and Dana was fairly good at spellwork. "Okay," she said, the small smile now making its way across her lips and softening her expression. She took her wand from her robe pocket. "What color would you like?"

0 Dana Goodbye, indifference 0 Dana 0 5

James Owen

May 31, 2011 5:43 PM

That's just nonsense by James Owen

James was trying his best to remain calm and not start telling anyone who was unfortunate to cross his path about how miserable summer was going to make him. At Sonora he had a rigid, predictable routine. He had his allotted bathroom time (and the other boys stuck to it for the most part, partly because James got up so early and partly because he wouldn't let it go if they used the bathroom at his time), his classes were all scheduled, his meal times were regular and food was always available, and there was a library full of books at his disposal. At home his family didn't understand his routine, didn't appreciate his need to be alone, couldn't always afford full meals, could never guarantee their exact timing, and books were prescious and vauled objects. Plus there was Jade at home.

In short, James would much rather stay at school than have to endure almost two months back home. As if to mock him, Sonora had thrown a celebration of sorts: a bonfire. James had luckily had sufficient notice to plan for the event, and had even come to terms with the camping aspect of the festivities, but he did not understand why there was a huge mass of flaming danger in the midst of several of the stupidest adolescents he'd ever encountered. On top of that, the students were actually and genuinely being encouarged to burn their belongings in this fire. james refused. He had never done things just because other people were doing them, and he certainly did not want to part from any of the prescious few items in his possession. It was madness.

In fact, James held very little pleasure at all in attneding the bonfire. He was not a 'people person' as Josephine put it, and could tolerate the company of just a handful of people. his sister did happen to be one of them, but he was soon to spend the whole summer with her, so had no need to talk to her this evening. James knew to avoid Niffler Girl, who was his least favorite of all his classmates, most of whom he did not know by name. He believed Eliza Bennett was more intelligent than most but quite boring, and a girl, and the only pther person's name he'd managed to remember was Ryan, a boy who was quiet but so far had done nothing to make James think he was a complete idiot. So when James saw Ryan, he made his way over.

Another boy got their first - one of the unknown in their classes, though possibly in another yeargroup; James wasn't sure. Undeterred, the Aladren joined them both, and looked over to where the unknown boy was pointing. "What are we looking at?" he questioned, assuming it was something more specific than the bonfire itself, which was about all James could determine was being indicated.

0 James Owen That's just nonsense 168 James Owen 0 5

Lita

May 31, 2011 6:54 PM

Ice cream it is then. by Lita

Adelita didn’t know if Daniel was being serious about his whole thing. Over the last couple of years, Daniel had made it somewhat known of his status in fame in the muggle world because of the ‘show’ he was in. Lita had seen it once a couple of summers ago. She didn’t understand any of it. She understood the drama behind it, but nothing beyond that. Muggle terminology was still beyond her. Dulce tried to translate it sometimes, but at this point, Lita didn’t really care.

So he was in some popular show, so what? Why did that have to control his life? Why did he let these things rule over him? It’s because of all this other things that Daniel couldn’t just figure out who the heck he was. Always acting. Always pretending. And thinking that was normal and that it was okay to live like that! It wasn’t a way to live. How could someone actually really know him if he refused to show his true self? How could Charlie want to be with him if he was being fake to her?

She didn’t understand guys. None of them. They didn’t make sense at all.

“I don’t understand.” Lita said, shaking her head as though to clear it and squeezing her eyes shut as though she were fighting off a headache. “I get that your famous, but why are you letting that stop you from living your life how you want to? Why sneak around?” She asked him. “My Tio is in the International Quidditch League for Portugal and is constantly swarmed by fans and reporters and my Tia is a high fashion model who is on numerous magazine covers, is starting her own fashion line, and dating the lead guitarist of Hex, but they still go on vacations, go to parks, go to the beach, etc because they want to have a life.” Lita took a deep breath.

“Anyway, I’m just saying, if you want to do something, than do it. If people want to take your picture for being a human being, than so be it. Just make sure you give them a good shot.” Adelita shrugged and looked away for a moment. She doubted Daniel would even listen to her. He probably felt like she was a few pegs below him on the totem pole anyway. How he and Charlie manage to be friends when they were the exact opposite in every way was beyond her understanding.

“I plan on becoming a Ballerina.” She told him. Or, a contemporary ballerina. “My mother was one before she became, well, a mother. So, once Street Beat is over, do you plan on continuing with acting or are you going to go in another direction?” She asked him. He acts on screen and off screen, so it was only natural to assume that was where he was going to end up.

0 Lita Ice cream it is then. 0 Lita 0 5

Marissa

May 31, 2011 7:04 PM

Watches Andrew warily. by Marissa

Colleges weren’t quite the same thing as CATS scores, but Marissa still felt her spirits flag at the reference. She was going to have to do that, too….

For a second, she considered involving her parents, but her mind rebelled. No. No way. Her parents were not going to know that she wasn’t going to Harvard until the last minute possible, like after she stole relevant documents to fill out paperwork herself and just needed them to call in the credit card number to whatever institution, and the options were more limited because of the magic thing, she was able to beg her way into. Maybe that meant her new self was going to be a dishonest person, but she’d never noticed that trying to be a good one did her that much good anyway.

“My family likes variety, too,” Marissa said. “We try to keep an even balance of teachers, medical professionals....” She realized she had been about to add 'and criminals,' which was true but also involved admitting some of her cousins existed. While the statement even as she'd made it couldn't pass for totally sincere, there were still some things, some steps of rebellion, she wasn't yet ready for. “That sounds like a good plan, though, Jose.”

She looked over the section of the refreshment table they were near, wondering if there was anything she wanted, as well as what she was actually likely to do with her summer. She was already scheduled to take the World and European History exams, she knew, and she’d have choir rehearsals at church every Tuesday until September. She’d most likely go on a few dates with Coop unless he’d finally picked up an actual girlfriend, maybe a few with some other guys, though without it really meaning anything on either side. Just a way of filling an evening, proving to her friends that she wasn’t totally lame and to her parents that she wasn’t weird. Most of the summer would be spent prepping for more exams, obsessing over her scores, and spending time with her girls. Just like normal, except for the score obsession.

“I need to look back at colleges, too,” she said. “And finalize which extra independent studies I’m going to pick up in the fall.” Since, no matter how nice her professors were, most of them were going to throw her out of her classes in the fall, and while Sonora would technically allow it, she was not going to graduate with credits in nothing but Divination and Potions. “Though I am keeping Potions, I’m sure about that, so I guess I’ll see you there,” she added to Jose.

16 Marissa *Watches Andrew warily.* 147 Marissa 0 5

Reggie

May 31, 2011 8:17 PM

I have plenty for you to steal. by Reggie

Reggie was smiling to her friend, enjoying the bonfire as much as she could despite her anxiety when she heard someone call out her name. Her hazel eyes turned and looked around for the source of the voice and discovered that it had been from Luka. She giggled when he reminded her of where he was from. “Hello Luka and I remember. You were a very helpful partner.” That was true enough. The potion had exploded and the end result looked very much like it was supposed to, so it was all in all a very good first try. If Luka had been a worse partner, they would not have done so well. Or, Reggie would have had to do the whole thing completely on her own and that wouldn’t have been fun at all. No, it was much better that Luka was a decent partner.

She wasn’t sure if he was talking to her when he said he would burn a letter or if he was merely talking to himself to psyche himself up to do the actual burning. Although, his announcement made her wonder what was so relevant about the letter. It was none of her business, of course, but him announcing it made her curious, so it was really his own fault. But, Reggie did not know Luka at all, so she would not ask him about it like she would have with Maddie.

“I didn’t burn anything.” Reggie told him in case he was interested. “Maybe if we get to do this in a couple of years, I’ll have something to burn, but right now, not so much.” Reggie commented, still smiling happily despite the growing darkness. She watched his letter burn in the hot flames of the fire, still wondering what was on it. Reggie met his eye when he returned his attention to her and tilted her head at the comment. “Are you asking to hang out with me or are you telling me that you will be my shadow this evening?” She joked with him. She still didn’t know what she wanted to do. She wasn’t quite hungry yet to go digging into the refreshments table, but she didn’t really know if she was comfortable enough to just start dancing with Luka either. Even if the music was fun…

“Are you sad that term is over with?” Reggie asked him, deciding on making small talk for the time being until her friends joined or until she felt comfortable enough to pull him into the dance.

6 Reggie I have plenty for you to steal. 187 Reggie 0 5

Nic

May 31, 2011 10:14 PM

Just don't reject the wisdom by Nic

For the first few seconds they didn't say much. Nic was okay with that. He didn't need a lot of conversation, but then Sophie said Um, so which meant she expected conversation, and that made it instantly awkward. He started trying to think of conversation starters, but they were all dumb.

Sophie found one first, though honestly it was one he had discarded as too personal. His offering wasn't anything less than obvious for the school's worst Keeper, but he thought other folks may have taken it more to hard and tried to get past something more private. Sophie preceding comment that she'd burned her mom's necklace only confirmed this assumption for him, and he felt glad he hadn't asked her. That was the kind of thing that should be volunteered not asked after, and there was no way he was going to anywhere near the question of why she decided to burn that.

Talking Quidditch was much much much safer ground. "Nothing too special. Just a piece of paper that I wrote the final score of the Quidditch final on." He grimaced slightly. "If the new batch of first years next year has even one would-be Crotalus Keeper in it, I think I'm off the team. Which I'm fine with really. I never wanted to play in the first place. Charlie just needed someone to sit in front of the goals."

Though Crotalus had not played Pecari in any of the games he'd been in, he was reasonably sure she was on her own House team. "You planning to play for Pecari again next year?"

1 Nic Just don't reject the wisdom 165 Nic 0 5

Andrew

May 31, 2011 10:18 PM

...but they eventually make perfect sense by Andrew

Andrew perused the food table. As normal, there was pretty much anything there that he could possible want. He picked up a plate and dropped a few things on it as he went. He listened to Jose and Marissa chat as he did so. "Sounds like you've got an interesting family Marissa. I already know Jose does." He tossed Jose a grin, he'd heard plenty of tales of the California Pierce's from both Jose and his mother. They seemed to be some sort of celebrity family or something to her. Frankly, Andrew thought it was a little creepy. "My Dad works in LA for an engineering firm, Mom runs a little magical curio and trinket shop in Barstow. I guess they kinda cover some of the extremes of the spectrum, but not much in between." Something Jose said triggered a connection in Andrew's head a this point. "If you wind up making vegan potions, talk to my mother. She'll probably buy some to sell at her shop. Heck, she may buy some 'experimental' ones you're working on."

He picked a few things off of his plate to munch on a moment to get his mind back on track. "My Aunt and Uncle live up in Aladren, I'm actually not even sure what they do for a living." He paused and thought about it for a moment. "I'm going to have to ask them the next time I see them." Along those lines, another thought struck him, "Oh yeah, did I tell you guys?" He hadn't told many people yet, but he forgot who he had actually told,"Their daughter, my cousin, Jhonice is coming here next term. Anyone have any advise on dealing with younger relatives at the school?"

Andrew munched on his food again and continued the 'conversation'. Someday he may learn how they're actually supposed to work, but for now he'd make do with the techniques he'd picked up so far. "Where all are you looking at colleges Marissa? I've been trying to figure out what to do. I talked to Professor Crosby a bit and she lent me a book on options. Did you know that Caltech had a magical branch? I may have to check that out. Hopefully it doesn't require Creatures, I'm not doing that class again next term."

2 Andrew ...but they eventually make perfect sense 145 Andrew 0 5

Luka

June 01, 2011 10:35 AM

quickly breaks off a big chunk by Luka

“Hello Luka and I remember. You were a very helpful partner.”

Luka quirked his eyebrow, despite his somber mood. If he remembered correctly, he had done little throughout the class. “By helpful if you mean did not move a muscle, then yes, probably.”

True, the potion had not been a disaster, per se, but it had been entirely Reggie’s credit and if it were possible, Luka would have asked the professor to give his share of marks to her.

As the last remnants of his letter were reduced to nothing, Luka felt his momentary relief ebb away with it. The letter may have been burned, but its contents were still deeply etched in his mind.

…Luka, we are sorry to inform you that your father passed away last night. Your brother, Dmitri, insisted that we do not inform you, but we think you should know that now that your father has passed away, we have one less supplier. We request you to leave your other pre-occupations and take your father’s place at the soonest. Your brother Krasimir has replaced your father, but we cannot accept such incompetents…

His illiterate brothers hadn’t been able to write to him; the letter had come from the Mayor’s office. The Mayor was losing sleep over one less hunter to supply meat to his town, while Luka did not have a single person left in the world who cared for him. Even though he had read the letter over ten times, he was surprised that he had not shed a single tear since he first received it. His father had been in his deathbed for months; this was inevitable. But what stung him was that Dmitri had not bothered to let him know. Luka couldn’t be sure what was worse; a pointless education in Sonora or going back to serve the Mayor, spending days in the forest, scraping a few Knuts after a week. Not to mention, he would have to live with Dmitri Nadeja.

Luka turned his attention to Reggie as she said, “Maybe if we get to do this in a couple of years, I’ll have something to burn, but right now, not so much.”

“You’re lucky,” murmured Luka.

When she said if he wanted to hang out or be her shadow, Luka smirked, “Come on, you are not that interesting that I would shadow you. I’d like to hang out, if you don’t mind.”

“No, I’m not really sad,” said Luka, answering Reggie’s question, although he had a mixed feeling. “New things to learn, right?” he said, although he did not know if he’d return. “What about you?”

0 Luka *quickly breaks off a big chunk* 0 Luka 0 5

Fae

June 01, 2011 7:19 PM

sigh I wish there was an option to sleep inside by Fae

Fae had expected to be alone for the entire evening. That was how most of her school year had gone. When she ate meals, she ate with Alice. She didn’t know if it was because they were friends, roommates, or just out of habit, but Alice always seemed willing to sit with her, so that was enough for Fae. Sometimes, someone else would sit with them, but Fae figured it was because they had no other option. She didn’t question it though because it was nice to feel like someone wanted to be around her.

Still, other than occasionally finding herself a partner in lessons and spending the rest of the time trying to not feel stupid around Alice, Fae was usually alone. She didn’t do this on purpose or anything, but Fae just hadn’t been able to make true friends. She didn’t know what she was doing wrong. She was smiling politely. Speaking when being spoken too. She didn’t think she was acting too slow or idiotic around others. She was always prim, proper, and well mannered. As far as she could tell, she was doing everything exactly as her parents had taught her to do, but it wasn’t getting her the results she had been promised.

The slight lonely feeling that she had with her as she wandered through her days here only to find herself growing even more lonely. She really needed to snap out of it. She needed to be bold and insert herself around people. She needed to actually figure out how to ensure that Alice actually was a friend, a weird one, but a friend none-the-less. Maybe if she could sit there and say ‘yes, I have friends’, Fae wouldn’t feel like such a failure. But, she couldn’t and because of this fact, she was going home feeling like she was a disappointment to her family.

In her moment of gloom, Fae noticed Arthur making his way towards her. Her blue eyes looked around him for a moment, searching for Arnold, but didn’t spot him. She didn’t know what this meant. Fae liked Arthur well enough, but he was very smart and she felt incredibly dumb next to him. Arnold was more carefree, so Fae didn’t feel like if she slipped up, he would judge her for it. Arthur… Fae wasn’t so sure about.

Still, she smiled at him as he greeted her. Giving him a small curtsy, Fae commented, “Hello Arthur. It is a very nice evening.” Fae actually didn’t enjoy being outside at night. The night scared her. She could do it just fine at her own home because she knew every inch of it. But here, at this school, Fae did not take it upon herself to explore. The idea of an animal attacking her or even a person kept her from leaving the walls of the school unless she had no other choice. Like tonight.

“I am not quite so sure about the sleeping outside bit though.” Fae admitted, looking off in the direction of the tents. “But, otherwise, this was a nice idea. Cleansing oneself from something unpleasant.” Fae returned her attention to the boy in front of her. She really didn’t know much about Arthur other than him being smart. “Did you have a good first year, Arthur?”

0 Fae *sigh* I wish there was an option to sleep inside 0 Fae 0 5

Alice Adair

June 01, 2011 8:33 PM

Trying to find meaning by Alice Adair

Sleeping outside was not the exciting adventure to Alice as it was for some, but it wasn’t as dreadful for her either as it was for others. Honestly, it wasn’t the sleeping outside part that bothered her much. They would be in tents with cots so it wasn’t really a big deal, but the entire mingling with others worried her slightly. She wasn’t like other people who seemed to be incredibly social (not that she wanted to be,) however, it made finding people to share a tent with a little more difficult. She supposed she could share with Fae if she asked. They got along well enough in their room, but she didn’t really want to bother her roommate. Or she could share with one of her sisters. Though, Jordan would probably want to share with her friends. She supposed she would just have to wait and see where she ended up. She highly doubted that there would be a tent void of anyone, but her.

Until then, she shuffled around with the other students awaiting the announcements. She clapped politely when Headmaster Regal stated that the Head students would remain as such. She didn’t really know them so it didn’t really matter to her if they changed or not. While Charlotte Abbott was in the same House as her, she had never felt the need to go to the older girl and even if she had, she probably wouldn’t have had anyhow. Charlotte was the kind of person that seemed to attract lots of attention. To Alice, this made Charlotte seem unapproachable. She would have been uncomfortable approaching the girl if she were surrounded. She didn’t want others to know that she had any sort of problem. That would have set her apart from average and she didn’t want to be anything other than that.

So, like an average student Alice gathered around the fire where they were supposed to be cleansing themselves by burning some object. While she understood the concept, she didn’t see the point. While the person got rid of the offending object, they were not actually free of the memory. And what happened if even after burning the object, the person couldn’t get over that? What if they couldn’t let go? Or what if they didn’t know what they needed to let go of so there was nothing to burn? Or what if they were too young to have had anything happen that needed cleansed? Then, there was really nothing for them to do until they could enjoy the other activities. She felt a little dumb, because she fell into the middle category. She always felt like there was something she needed to let go of, but she never knew what and it made her sigh a little on the inside.

Alice stood mostly still by the fire, the only movement was the toe of her blue chuck digging into the dirt and watched other people burning objects. She wondered what they were burning and why. She supposed she really should find something to burn so she didn’t stand out too much. She already knew that she was weird enough as it was. Not that she really cared, but she sort of did. She gave a large sigh. Maybe she just needed to accept the fact that she was never going to be like everyone else. Maybe she just needed to stop trying. Maybe tomorrow. She looked around for a twig, something she could pretend like she was burning. She wanted to be like everyone else for another day.

0 Alice Adair Trying to find meaning 191 Alice Adair 0 5

Jose Hernandez

June 01, 2011 9:42 PM

I'll take you're word for it. by Jose Hernandez

Jose nodded as Marissa offered her opinion that his plan to go into a vegan potion making business was a good one. Even more impressive was Andrew's offer to maybe have his mom's shop be one of his retail outlets. That would be really cool and he'd definitely have to put some more thought into it. Maybe try to come up with a business plan with Maria.

He wasn't planning any independent studies, though - vegan potions was enough extra work on its own - so he was spared that summer research anyway. He was glad to hear Marissa was continuing with Potions, too. It was always good to have friends in classes, and he was reasonably certain that Jethro, his usual partner, was dropping that one.

When Andrew asked about how to deal with younger relatives, Jose could only shake his head. "I am the little cousin. Mostly Saul made sure I knew how to get to classes and had everything I needed, forced me onto the Quidditch team, and gave me Captainy-things advice, but we only overlapped one year. Which I guess is only one year less than you'll have with your cousin."

1 Jose Hernandez I'll take you're word for it. 149 Jose Hernandez 0 5

Sara

June 02, 2011 12:37 AM

And we have established before that we like to agree by Sara

Mr. Stratford was doing splendidly. Sara supposed that meant he hadn't been one of the poor souls who straggled into the hospital wing after Aladren went anywhere near the Quidditch Pitch this year, though she was thinking he was a Beater. They usually didn't have to worry as much, she thought, as others did about injuries. Though that was only uninformed speculation. Her father had a stake in the Chicago Chimeras, which her brother seemed to like, but Sara didn't know much about Quidditch. She only kept up with who the players here at school were for occasions when she might need to make small talk, or show interest. People liked to tell other people things....

"Not much, Mr. Stratford," she admitted when asked about her summer plans. "Most of the trip I was supposed to take fell through, though Father's promised me Italy next summer to make up for it. This year, though, I'll either be at home in Illinois or in Madrid with Aunt Margaret."

She spoke of the two places in the same tone, as though there was not much difference between them. To her, there wasn't. Not much at all. She was slightly more attached to her parents and home, that was only natural and proper, but she'd been spending summers with Margaret since she was seven years old - younger than Alan was now, and he'd been a baby when she started. She could remember there being no Alan much better than there being no Margaret. In summer, at least, that was practically her second home.

"Still, it's very nice there, and all the most interesting people come, from everywhere." It was not uncommon for the children of visiting diplomats to get taken under Margaret's wing, and of course their parents were in and out, so it was always a few someone interestings all the time. "What about you, Mr. Stratford? Do you have any plans?"

0 Sara And we have established before that we like to agree 0 Sara 0 5

Marissa

June 02, 2011 9:17 AM

Likewise. by Marissa

At the beginning of the year, one of the reasons Marissa had panicked about her elevation to prefect was because she was the only girl to make it and possibly the only Muggleborn, though she hadn’t known about Andrew. Now, she guessed that sense of pressure had been justified, because it sounded like he was a half-blood.

Though she had a sense of responsibility in general, because of the badge, to be a Good Role Model for other girls because she was the only female prefect in the year, it was, as much as she disliked thinking it, the other thing that was in some ways more of a concern. Crotalus girls regularly climbed the ladder. Muggleborns in Crotalus, though, were rarer; though she’d never really found herself directly confronted with comments or worse, the House had a reputation for being the pureblooded place, and she’d been warned against it barely a day after being Sorted into it. It made her feel not so much like she had something to prove for herself as for, well, all of them.

She wasn’t much of a witch, but she knew that there were plenty of Muggleborns who were as powerful as anyone else, or even more than the average pureblood or half-blood. She would have to deal with a certain amount of pity and possibly more negative emotions as long as she stayed on this side of the divide, but there was no reason why those whose worst problem was not quite knowing how to hold themselves in robes or to introduce themselves a certain way should be held back.

“And I’m Muggleborn,” she said once Jose had finished explaining he was the younger cousin in his case. “I was in the same school as my sister for a while before I came here, but it wasn’t like here – it was a day school, and years didn’t mix. We only really saw each other at home.”

She had not known that Caltech had a magical branch, though she didn’t think something with ‘tech’ in the name was too likely to affect her. That would have been a stretch even in her old life. “I think I’ll be dropping that one, too, though I’m not sure yet,” she said of Care of Magical Creatures. She wasn’t really sure of anything yet. She might need the credit. “I’m really still looking all over the place, at everything. You know…can’t make decisions until you know what RATS you can take, right? But Coach Pierce did have some ideas when I talked to her.” She found a cupcake. Red velvet. The last one she'd had, at a party at home, had tasted a bit like ammonia or something, but she'd had one on another occasion that she'd enjoyed. Did she want to risk it? “Do you, like, have something you want to do in mind, Andrew?”

16 Marissa Likewise. 147 Marissa 0 5

Andrew

June 02, 2011 9:18 PM

Yeah, temporal mechanics can be tricky... by Andrew

Hearing Marissa talk about school before Sonora took him back a few years, "Yeah, I went to muggle school as well util I came here. It was very different, even discounting all the magical stuff here. I went to a school in LA, it was huge and I barely knew anyone. I think I like it better here." Yeah, there is no way they would have lit a giant bonfire at the end of the term back at his old school.

Something in mind? Yeah, he did, but... frankly as she asked the question his mind didn't immediately turn towards his Grand Scheme. Instead it wandered off to strange other thoughts. Thoughts that involved him and Marissa and what a future might hold along those lines. "Ummm...." he managed to stammer out before shoving something else in his mouth from his plate. Okay, what was the question again? Right, future stuff. Okay, let's see. He swallowed the food and was out of thinking time. "I'm not really sure either, CATS and RATS will determine it I guess, but I'd like to work somewhere in the magical-technical field. Something that fuses together magic and muggle technology." The term Magical Engineer really appealed to him for some reason. "I guess we know what Jose wants to do," Andrew tossed a smile at his friend before turning back to Marissa, "but what do you want to do. All testing and stuff aside, what do you want to do?"

2 Andrew Yeah, temporal mechanics can be tricky... 145 Andrew 0 5

Declan

June 02, 2011 10:49 PM

I'd rather avoid the repetition this time. by Declan

Declan really wasn't entirely sure what was happening. It felt like he'd stepped into one of those old episodes of the Twilight Zone that his dad liked to watch while sick--like reality had been flipped on its head, or like he was dreaming and any minute now a gigantic army ant wearing a tiara and galoshes was going to come out and start doing a tarantella. But alas, no such ant seemed to be forthcoming--

This was real. And it most certainly was not a joke, unless he'd suddenly lost all sense of humor and/or Sadi and Aaron had suddenly become VERY mean.

"A husband." He said it flatly, gray-green eyes fixed on Aaron's face and devoid of anything but anger. "You have a husband and you didn't think to mention that before we--oh sweet Merlin!" He leveled a fierce glare at Aaron, which only increased when he caught wind of the accusatory note in the Charms professor's voice. "...Are you really going to make this out like this is my fault, McKindy? Really? You--you--" His face worked for a moment before he exhaled, closing his eyes. Right, not committing murder in front of the children. Murder was bad.

He opened his eyes and looked at Sadi. "I'm sorry. It's really quite lovely to see you again, Sadi. Thank you for letting me know that I've wasted my time on the kind of--" he cut himself off, shaking his head and pressing his lips together. "Sorry. I just... Merlinssake, McKindy, really?!" he hissed, turning his eyes back on Aaron.

Well... at least he'd managed to hold his temper for a few seconds, right?

0 Declan I'd rather avoid the repetition this time. 0 Declan 0 5

Preston

June 02, 2011 10:55 PM

Yes, I know. I couldn't help it! by Preston

Preston frowned at the announcement that Miss Raines’ summer trip had been cancelled. That was just horrible, not bad luck, because he really didn’t believe in it, but horrible because of the circumstances involved. “I am sorry to hear that, Miss Raines.” He offered her a somewhat sympathetic smile, or one he hoped could pass as one. The Aladren wasn’t one to be overly emotional. Plus, he wasn’t sure he was good at stuff like this. “Italy next summer sounds like a nice retribution for this year,” he asserted. “But Madrid is always a fun city to be in, especially with the way you described your stays.” The redhead was interested to hear more about her stays with her Aunt Margaret. He had asked his father for information about Sara’s family, and he had been ecstatic to supply it to him. He liked the idea of Preston being friendly with a Raines. The future second-year could see the perks of being linked to her family, but he was eleven, and he didn’t see Sara that way…yet. Who knew what could happen in the future.

He smiled when Sara asked him about his summer plans, “I am going to Italy to stay with some relatives for the majority of the time, then Father is taking me to Greece to explore some magical ruins.” He couldn’t suppress the smile that grew wider on his face. He was really excited about that. “Father said in his last letter that he already had the most experienced guide for the trip,” he said proudly. His father had said it was a gift for finishing his first year at Sonora, but that he would get another one until he graduated. Preston could live with that, Greece was going to be awesome. If he remembered correctly, Victor hadn’t had such a splendid gift, just some boring Quidditch broom. His father had given a broomstick to him, just because. The Aladren was sure his father had acted that way, because Preston wasn’t the Heir. So, his father didn’t have so high expectation of him than he had for his older brother.

“Do you want to find somewhere we can sit down?” he asked her gallantly. Preston offered his arm to Miss Raines. He smiled, since for some reason, he liked spending time with her. Every minute with her meant that he could know more about her. He was still wanted to see the why and how and when of her personality. It was very interesting.

0 Preston Yes, I know. I couldn't help it! 0 Preston 0 5

Jethro

June 03, 2011 9:13 AM

I'm generally a healthy person by Jethro

"I like green, too," Jethro commented. He liked many colors - yellow and red were both delightfully bright, and he owned lots of blue because his sister said it was right for just about every occasion - but there were just so many different greens, from pale, milky greens, to vibrant lime greens, and then the dark, almmost austere-looking green they were both wearing now, that it was hard not to be impressed by its versatility. It was perhaps due to the green that Jane told Jethro he looked very nice that evening. As unaccustomed to praise as he was, the fifth year found himself being unexpectedly pleased by her remark. It was about the most cheerful he'd been since he was successful in producing his penguin patronus. He smiled.

"You look very nice, too," Jethro replied. Admittedly the compliment wasn't especially inventive, but he had sepcifically left off the 'tonight' that Jane had mentioned herself; yes, she did look very nice tonight, but then Jethro had started to notice that Jane always looked nice. Considering how pleased her compliment had made him feel, he considered that perhaps he should make such comments to her more often. She might like it that other people noticed she looked nice. Even Cynthia liked being told she looked nice, and Jethro had learned that his sister wasn't quite like other girls most of the time.

"Are you glad to be going home soon?" Jane asked. Jethro thought about her question a little before he answered.

"I'm glad in some respects," he replied. "I am always pleased to see my family, and I enjoy taking a break from classes," Jethro admitted. "Though there aren't many people to talk to at home, and I miss that about school. Also I think I might be expected to go to a couple of parties this summer, and I don't like the sound of that." He was just about aware that these statements were contradictory in terms of company, but he had already explained his answer to some extent, and didn't want to bore Jane with the details. He was about to return the question to her - had opened his mouth to do so, in fact - when he remembered that Jane's mother had died, and so asking her if she was looking forward to going home might not be especially sensitive of him. Instead, he closed his mouth before starting again, and said, "How are you feeling about summer?" instead. He managed to suspend pride at his evasion of stupidity sufficiently to listen to her answer.

0 Jethro I'm generally a healthy person 0 Jethro 0 5

Arthur

June 03, 2011 1:39 PM

We have that in common by Arthur

His year. Well, that was an interesting enough topic, at least to him, though most of his thoughts about it he wasn’t going to talk about to another person, or even write down too much of. He preferred to keep the personal, well, personal. Because it was the subject up for discussion, though, Arthur thought about his year.

He’d made good grades, and represented himself well enough in Quidditch despite, objectively, when not caught up in the group hysteria, not caring that much for it. He had also made the acquaintance, if not friendship yet, of some proper people. These things would please his parents and the authority figures here. He had gotten to see new people, which had been interesting, and could be useful in the future. That was very good for him. And yet….

Well, he still felt as remote from them all - a category that somehow, despite them spending more time together now than ever before between the room and the Quidditch team, often even included Arnold, his twin, for Merlin's sake - sometimes as though he were on another planet, and in the best of times wasn’t particularly happy except in short flashes.

That was normal for him, though, enough so that he was convinced that he didn't quite understand what other people meant by 'happy', and he very much doubted that Miss Sinclair cared anyway.

“It’s been…interesting,” he said. “I feel I learned a lot. I won’t be sorry to come back next year.” Well, maybe a little, because he would still have to share a room with a number of other people, which irked him, but he tried to look on the bright side. He was sure he knew more spells for defending and booby-trapping a trunk than anyone else in first year, if not a year or two more, because of his roommates. “As long as sleeping outside doesn’t become a regular thing, anyway,” he added. “Arnold is excited, but I…” He shrugged. “What about you?” he asked. “Did you enjoy first year, Miss Fae?”

0 Arthur We have that in common 0 Arthur 0 5

Reggie

June 03, 2011 9:25 PM

Just don't break me too! by Reggie

She laughed at his reply, “No, I mean helpful because you cut and crushed everything beautifully so it made the potion that much more perfect.”

Reggie didn’t know how to take his response of her being lucky that she didn’t have to burn anything. They were eleven (or twelve, depending on when their birthdays fell), it seemed a little odd that they would have heavy burdens in which they would have to unload them into a fire to free themselves of it. At least, Reggie didn’t think any of them would. Maddie seemed really carefree as did Derry and Ben, but maybe she was wrong? Maybe they were secretly holding onto something so heavy that they couldn’t talk to her about it? She hoped not! How sad a friendship that would be. “I suppose I am.” She answered carefully.

She was aware that her life was pretty easy to live, but it was far from perfect. Her parents were divorced and she hardly saw her mother. Sometimes, if she let herself think about it, she was sad. Sad because her parents never really had a shot together. They were just too different. Sad because neither of them were trying to have lives with someone else. But, more so than any other sadness, Reggie missed her mother. Sometimes so much that she ached inside. She never admitted it though. Not to anyone. Her father used to ask her how she felt, but she would always just smile and say that she understood. She did, of course, her mother’s job was very important. She had to catch the bad guys. But, it didn’t make her absence any less noticeable.

Reggie feigned outrage when Luka said she wasn’t that interesting. “Blasphemy! I’m totally the most amazing person you know! You just can’t stay away. My powers of awesomeness are just too much for you to say goodbye too.” She declared, grinning despite trying to look completely serious. “But, yeah, we can hang out tonight.” She added, she really didn’t mind.

“I’m a little bit sad.” She admitted. “I mean, I’m sure next year will be just as exciting, I think and this summer is going to be a blast for me, but it also means that I won’t see everyone for a couple of months.” Reggie exaggerated her frown, “And that is very very sad.”

Reggie started swaying to the music while they stood and talked. It was completely on accident. She couldn’t help herself. “Do you have any fun summer plans, Luka?”

6 Reggie Just don't break me too! 187 Reggie 0 5

Fae

June 03, 2011 10:33 PM

At least I share something with someone by Fae

Fae wasn’t sure if she had asked the right thing because Arthur didn’t say anything immediately after she had asked it. She was getting the same feeling she sometimes received when she was talking to Alice. Like she had said something stupid and Alice couldn’t figure out why she had asked it at all. It was those moments that Fae wished she could crawl into a hole and be forgotten entirely.

This was all far more difficult than she realized. When she had been younger, Jaiden and Shelby had made socializing seem fun and easy. They never seemed to mess up. They were carefree and popular. Fae was none of those things. Instead, she was just a mess. She did everything wrong. She would never be the daughter her parents expected her to be. Why did she have to be the one to go to Sonora? Why couldn’t it have been Shelby or Jaiden? Why her? She was rubbish!

Fae had to focus again because Arthur was answering her. He was vague on the whole thing, but she at least got the whole understanding of it. She had to smile when Arthur commented on Arnold’s whole feelings on the subject of camping. Somehow, that did not surprise Fae. But then, most boys seemed to enjoy nature for reasons Fae would never understand. Nature terrified her almost as much as people did.

“A bit.” She answered as honestly as she could. “Mine was…” Fae had to think about how she answered this. She could be honest and say that it was horrible. She hadn’t made any friends. She hadn’t really made any connections like she was supposed to. She was rubbish at her lessons. Her roommate thought she was dense (and rightly so). She hated the first half of Transfiguration. This year had been atrocious. A complete failure.

But, she couldn’t just come out and say that to someone like Arthur. He was a Carey and Great Grandfather said Careys were important. Not that Fae was going to follow along with what her Great Grandfather said. No. She was going to do this on her own. But, of course, she had to figure out how to do everything first before she can prove herself on her own.

“Not what I expected.” Fae finally answered. “Going to school was my first time away from home. I’m not sure what I thought it would be like. Easier, maybe.” Fae gave a small shrug with her slender shoulders. “But, now that I know what to expect, perhaps next year will go more smoothly.” Fae gave a hopeful smile to Arthur. She was always told to smile because it made her look pretty. “What are we supposed to do at these things?” Fae asked. She had already burned her item, but she wasn’t really sure where that left her now.

0 Fae At least I share something with someone 0 Fae 0 5

Arthur

June 04, 2011 12:17 AM

I think we all do, somewhere down the line by Arthur

When his companion also needed a moment to find a term to describe her year, Arthur couldn’t help but wonder if her reasons were anything like his. He had already recognized that there was something, on some level, similar between him and Miss Fae’s roommate Miss Alice, and he thought it had only been a narrow thing that put Arnold and him both into Aladren instead of, respectively, Pecari and Crotalus, he certainly felt he hit several of the high points of that House description as well, so the thought didn’t seem too outlandish to him at first. Perhaps he had some affinity for the Crotali.

But then his good sense kicked in, and he realized that was ridiculous. Fae Sinclair was a pretty, graceful, very proper sort of girl. Arthur had been born into society, but the past year had taught him that he didn’t really belong to it. He could learn to pass, and he would, but it would be an act. Fae – goodness gracious, she’d gotten Arnold to like her, and Arnold was the one who could barely get through formal dinners without getting frowned at by every adult at the table. She was In, and he was Fringe. Whatever was making her think, it wasn’t what had made him think.

“Yes,” Arthur said, smiling in return. He was sure he’d gotten much better at that over the past year, among other things. At home, everyone knew him, and he knew he didn’t emote very well, so he wasn’t expected to smile too much, but Sonorans only knew that normal people smiled a lot. It wasn’t even too awkward, now; by the end of next year, he thought he might not even have to think about it as he did it. “I’m sure it will be for all of us.”

Who knew, maybe it would be. This year had been a long, complicated mess of trying to get used to being around people who hadn’t known him since infancy, and whose every move he couldn’t predict more easily than he could his own. After the summer, they would all feel a little nostalgic about this year, and so maybe get along better. Besides, he did know many of the people better, if only by observation, than he had, so that shouldn’t be as bad….

“I really don’t know,” Arthur admitted when asked about what they were supposed to do. “It seems like a party, only outdoors, so that’s eating and talking and walking around, but…” He shrugged again, with a smile. Arnold smiled at people when he wished to admit something and seem charming instead of whatever he really was, so perhaps it would work for Arthur as well. “I’ve heard I’m not very good with people,” he said, “so I might be missing the point.” He looked at her curiously. “Is there anything you want to do?” he asked.

0 Arthur I think we all do, somewhere down the line 0 Arthur 0 5

Seth Brockert

June 04, 2011 1:55 PM

Just the way you are.... by Seth Brockert

Seth had his usual happy expression on his face as he looked at the fire but inside he was still glowering. It wasn't because the item he'd thrown in, some picture of an ex girlfriend he didn't know he even still had. He'd honestly been over her for ages, he was just saying goodbye to bachelorhood. He loved Lilac and only wanted her now.

The reason for Seth's repressed glower was the usual one. His sister Pearl. The groundskeeper hadn't liked her when they were kids and he somehow liked her even less now for how she treated Ryan. Seth wanted nothing more than to throw her into the bonfire.

Impractical as that was. She wasn't here, it was a bad example to the students, she'd cast the flame freeze charm and somehow take it out on Ryan later. But Seth had never been the most practical person.

He was brought out of these somewhat homicidal thoughts by a pair of hands slipping over his eyes and a chin on his shoulder. Suddenly, Seth's grin became more genuine and he turned to face his girlfriend. "Hey, beautiful." He greeted the Transfiguration professor, giving her a kiss.

Lilac had seemed different lately, still gorgeous, still a sweet person but she had been dressing so much differently. Seth didn't dislike the new her, but the old one had been so wonderful just the way she was. He'd loved her old style of dress, the wild hair and slippers. The slippers were just adorable. They just...fit her.

11 Seth Brockert Just the way you are.... 377 Seth Brockert 0 5

Jane

June 04, 2011 2:08 PM

I try my best to be by Jane

Jane smiled, pleased by the return compliment even though it was…Well, not expected, exactly, ‘thank you’ would have done just as well, but certainly not a statement that came as a surprise. “Thank you,” she said.

It wasn’t part of who she was, and it was silly to even think about, but sometimes in the past year, she had found herself half-wondering what it might be like to be noticed as a girl instead of just for being a good student who was Edmond’s sister and a Carey. She didn’t know much about how that kind of thing worked, only what she’d been able to glean from the novels she read when she thought her parents didn’t know, but the girls in the stories always seemed to think it was nice. To be happy, even. And somehow it all worked out for them, so that their fathers relented and they got to keep their lovely homes and fortunes and see their dear families who meant more to them than any of it, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Mother was – had been, she reminded herself, had been – against that sort of thing, though. She had always very sternly told Edmond and Jane that it was in their own best interests that their parents, herself and Father, found them suitable spouses, rather than letting their emotions run away with them and eloping with the first pretty face that would give them the time of day and then ending up poor and disowned and desperately unhappy once it turned out their inappropriate companions weren’t as charming as they’d seemed during the ‘courtship.’ Edmond seemed to have managed to slip around the rule somehow, since Mother had seemed to indicate that she’d approve of Cassie if Edmond could ever get around to making his interests that way publicly known, but everyone knew boys could get away with much more than girls. If Jane had ever so much as mentioned a boy not on Mother’s lists….

Well, it didn’t matter now. For one thing, Mother was gone, so it was only Father’s opinion that counted, and for another thing, Jethro was on the list, so it was perfectly acceptable to talk with him.

Jethro was glad to see his family, somewhat sorry of less company because of being at home, and not looking forward to parties. Jane nodded her understanding. People were at parties, it was true, but there was a difference between a party and being at school. They were free here in a way they couldn’t be there. It was all right to observe the niceties and scripts at Sonora if you wanted, but it wasn’t required, at least not all the time. People could talk about more of what they wanted, and do what they wanted. She smiled again, hoping it would deter any tearing up, when she was asked about her own feelings about going home.

“I’ll be happy to see my father again,” she said. “I worry about him being at home alone all the time now – since we lost Mother.” She bit her lip, then went on. “I don’t think we’ll attend many parties because of that, but we do have to go to the family reunion at the end of July. We only have them once every five years, so I suppose I won’t even recognize most of the other girls.”

Really, she thought the entire thing was impractical. She knew her memories from last time were most likely a little distorted because she’d been nine then, but she remembered it mostly as too many people packed into too much space, milling around uncertain of what to do or where to do it. Maybe it had worked, once, when the family had been much smaller – they all knew the story, of how it had originally been brothers and first cousins and sons who founded the branches, all from Virginia except James of North Carolina, none with more than a descendant or two – but there were enough Careys now that they couldn’t have easily lived in one state all the time if they’d wanted to. Not unless they undertook a mass invasion of Texas, anyway, and the family didn’t seem to think much of the western half of the country. There was some sort of – Jane didn’t know what to call it – underlying Careyness to most of the family (she thought she was one of the few family members who just didn’t have it), but all in all, they didn’t really know each other, and each had their own area of influence, so….

But no one was going to listen to the opinion of a fourteen-year-old girl, especially about the oldest and most cherished family traditions.

“Do you have a very large family, Jethro?” she asked.

0 Jane I try my best to be 0 Jane 0 5

Jethro

June 04, 2011 6:00 PM

You can't do better than your best by Jethro

When Jane talked about her mother, Jethro felt sad for her. It would be very upsetting for him if he could never speak to his mother again. He knew that he was a disappointment to most people, but his mother at least loved him, he was fairly certain of that. She always commented on how nicely his looks had developed, even though he wasn't as smart as his sister. jethro didn't really think that was a fair comparison because Cynthia always boasted about being exceptionally smart, but as long as not everybody hated him then he found he could get along just fine. Jane didn't seem to hate him, either, and that made Jethro like her all the more. It wasn't fair that her mother had died. She even still had to go to the family reunion, but at least theirs was only every five years - Jethro's whole family got together all the time.

"I don't know whether it is very large," he said, not knowing the scale by which a family counted as being large, "but there are plenty of us. Cynthia and I don't have any first cousins," he said, elaborating as far as he could with his limited understanding of various relationships, "but there are lots of other Smythes, and then there are the Havelocks, and Ivy's family -" he thought maybe Jane probably wouldn't known about how the families all fit in with each other, but it didn't really matter -"that we see all the time. I think all our parents still get on very well from when they were growing up together," he repeated some comment he'd heard Cynthia use in the past. "We don't see my mother's family very much because they don't like me and Cynthia and they're not as important as the Smythe side, or so everybody says." He looked perplexed by this statement, because he had never understood about the comparitive importance of a family. Cynthia often commented about Cecily and Amelia being 'higher up' in the family, even though they were younger than her, and how awful it would be if Lucas became heir, and Jethro genuinely didn't understand any of it.

"I recognize all my family," he said, hoping that might clarify whether or not the family was large. "I like most of them. I think some of them even like me. I think all of them would like you," he accidentally said outloud. Then it took him just a second for this knowledge to cement itself, and he was suddenly horrified that he might have said something incredibly stupid. His eyebrows creased in a frown as he tried to work out just what he'd said and what he could do to make it right. "I mean, if they ever met you," he said, aware that he'd failed dismally at setting things right. Now he just had to hope that Jane wouldn't hate him for being stupid, because that would make it even worse.

0 Jethro You can't do better than your best 0 Jethro 0 5

Fae

June 04, 2011 9:01 PM

That is probably true. by Fae

Ever since her family’s party over the holidays, Fae had realized how little she knew of Arnold’s twin. Technically, she didn’t know much about Arnold either, but she at least felt a little bit comfortable around him. If nothing else, Fae could ask Arnold to kill a bug for her and not feel ridiculous for having asked because he had promised to protect her from the outside world. She might end up using him for more than he bargained for, but she was quite okay with that if it meant she didn’t have to deal with bugs, animals, or darkness. His twin was an enigma to Fae.

Arthur, at the party, had seemed interested in Renee. Fae did not know if that meant that he liked her as a human being, or was intrigued because the girl was a complete nutcase. Either way, Fae wasn’t sure what either answer would say about Arthur. She sort of wanted to know what his thoughts were on the girl. Arthur seemed like he was an intelligent person. At least, he looked like he knew what he was doing in lessons. He could possibly explain Renee’s behavior to her and then maybe the girl wouldn’t see too horrible to her any longer.

No, that wouldn’t work. Great Grandfather did not like the fact that the Errants were there in the first place and her parents were whispering about possible scandals. No, no matter what Arthur thought of the girl (Carey or not), it was better to stay away from her as often as possible.

Fae relaxed when Arthur smiled and agreed that next year was going to be smoother. Okay, so she hadn’t said the wrong thing after all. That was definitely a good thing and he was smiling so that meant that what she said didn’t sound completely stupid either.

Her parents had hosted parties outside, but none of that involved a large fire or tents to be slept in. It also did not include a band like this one. Although, Fae was enjoying the music instead of the usual orchestra that her parents often hired. That was old people music. Jaiden called it background noise. He said they used the orchestra so that if there were any awkward silence no one would be able to tell because of the music playing. This music was more fun. It was upbeat and had lyrics.

Arthur was smiling again at her, which was a good sign, right? He didn’t know what to do either at this sort of thing, so that made her feel better. She still didn’t know what to do now, but at least she was in the same boat. “I’m not very good with people either.” Fae admitted, smiling as though they had just shared a secret. “Well…” Fae looked around for a moment to see what it was they could really do. “We could dance, I suppose.” Fae suggested, looking at Arthur. “Although, I’ve never dance to this sort of music, so I haven’t the slightest clue on what to do. My mother only taught me how to ballroom dance.”

0 Fae That is probably true. 0 Fae 0 5

Josephine

June 05, 2011 7:10 AM

That's a big step by Josephine

Ayita's voice was more thoughtful that usual when she next spoke, and Josephine noticed that before the other girl pulled out her hair from its ties, making superfluous all the work Josephine had just completed. She tried not to feel offended that her efforts had been in vain, and found it surprisingly easy, because she'd never seen Ayita let her hair down in public; it was enough to distract her. Then she took off the weird clothing she usually wore, and Josephine was too shocked to really make any sort of verbal reaction. That was until Ayita made to throw her belongings into the fire, and Josephine hurriedly shouted, "Don't!" But it was too late - the things were in the fire, and Ayita was watching them burn with satisfaction.

Josephine was stupified. For the term that she'd known Ayita, she had always been so particular about keeing up her... traditions, or whatever they were. Now she'd just flung them all in the fire. It was so sudden, so unexpected, that all the first year could do was gape at her yearmate. She didn't think she could actually be more surprised, but then Ayita turned to her and said, "Can i come live with you in the summer?"

"W-what?" Jospehine spluttered, her brain struggling to catch up. "Can you - you hardly know me!" For some reason that seemed like it mattered most just at that moment, but there was much more to it that that. For a start, Ayita's parents would probably want her home. Being at school kept children away for a long time; it wasn't right that Ayita didn't want to go home at all. then there was the fact that while Josephine had nothing against Ayita, she didn't really know her all that well, either. They lived together well enough in the dormitory with Demetra, but in her own house with her own family, Josephine might not be able to stand her. Then there was the ever-present fact that her family was horrendously poor - there was no way they'd be able to feed another mouth. It was an absolutely crazy idea.

Though at the same time, Josephine couldn't deny she felt flattered that Ayita would want to stay with her. "Are you feeling alright?" she said, walking away from the fire a little bit and pulling Ayita's arm lightly so she would come with her. "You just - I thought all that stuff meant a lot to you?"

0 Josephine That's a big step 0 Josephine 0 5

Samantha Hamilton

June 05, 2011 7:30 AM

It's a hard life by Samantha Hamilton

Bonfires were always good fun. Samantha's family had made bonfires almost every year in fall, with all the tree suttings and dried leaves in their yard. She and her brothers had toasted marshmellows and cooked potatoes wrapped up in foil on the flames. It was fun, but had no real meaning beyond that. This bonfire at Sonora held definite meaning. The idea was to burn something you wanted to put behind you, or something like that. Samantha'd had lots of ideas (which indicated there was a lot in her life she wanted to put behind her, and she thought that in itself was an indication she may need to visit a shrink at some point in her life, but she decided to ignore that for now). At first she thought about burning something Muggle, to embrace her identity as a witch, but actually she was still fond of her Muggle heritage, and didn't think it was approrpiate to put that behind her. So next she thought about her step-dad, who she hadn't really liked that much anyway, and who was now her not-step-dad anyway. Her mother's last letter had indicated that she and Dave, Samantha's younger brother, were now living with Rob, her older brother, and his girlfriend. It didn't sound like a happy household, and Samantha wondered how she would fit into it when she got home; there were only three bedrooms in that house. Anyway, she would have been happy to do that, but she discovered she had nothing of her step-dad's with her to burn. She'd known her mom was leaving him at midterm, so she'd been careful not to pack anything that she might assosciate with him.

Finally, Samantha had made a choice. Her mind kept returning to her Rob's high school t-shirt that she'd borrowed several years ago and never returned. It was getting closer to actually fitting her, rather than being enormous (as it had been when she'd first appropriated it). The third year still loved it - it reminded her of hom, and of her family, and it was comfortable in its familiarity. Though, it was scruffy. And boyish. And was that really who Samantha wanted to be? She'd never put much stock in her appearance, preferring to be comfortable. That was before she'd met Rachel Bauer, who'd shown her that she could look nice and be comfortable, with a little help from magic. Samantha hadn't taken full advantage of this knowledge yet, but she had worn her heeled boots to a class a couple of times, and occasionally she'd worn a sirt under her robes instead of her usual tattered jeans and tracksuits. Tonight, because it was a school occasion, she'd worn flat shoes because of the mud on the pitch, but she was wearing a dress - one of her step-sister Gemma's cast offs, that was white with blue horizontal stripes, and little red starfish - and had put in her hoops earrings. She thought she looked nice this way, and the more often she thought that when she looked in the mirror, the more often Samantha wanted to dress like that. The t-shirt had to go. If she held onto it she'd only be tempted to wear it, and she had grown out of being in her brother's shadow. She was Samantha at Sonora, not Sam (though only because Sam Bauer had claimed the shortened name first), and Samantha was a girl's name. Girls didn't wear their brother's old high school t-shirts.

Feeling apprehensive of her new self but pleased all the same, samantha threw the garment into the flames, and felt a sense of liberating trepidation that she had to survive without it from now on. She knew she had it in her. So, satisfied, Samantha turned from the flames, and joined a few people sitting on the ground. One of them - Demelza, who samantha had worked with in class a couple of times - said, "Do you think I should burn this?"

Samantha looked. It was a guitar - something a great deal more substantial than an old t-shirt. "Why would you want to burn that?" she enquired.

0 Samantha Hamilton It's a hard life 159 Samantha Hamilton 0 5

Sara

June 05, 2011 10:56 AM

It's quite all right by Sara

Preston seemed suitably aware of what a disappointment it was to have most of her plans fall through, though she was a little surprised that he immediately looked for the bright side. It fit into her mental picture of him, but she wouldn't have expected it to if she'd thought about it. Which she hadn't. It was, she thought, a fairly telling thing about someone, but just not something she was in the habit of thinking of often. She might have to try to change that.

"I do enjoy myself there," she said honestly. "Though I do miss my parents. That's going to be one of the nice things next summer, they're coming, too." And bringing Alan at least, but, as virtually everyone said, no one could have everything - or, in the Raines version, at least not all at once and dropped into their laps, and this wasn't exactly something she could work her way up to. "Since Father speaks better Italian than anyone in the family."

She listened with interest to Preston's summer plans. "How lovely!" she said when he said he was going to Greece. "I remember how interested you said you were in it. You have to have lunch or supper with me sometime after we get back to school and tell me all about it."

Maybe that was a little too forward of her, but she wanted to go to Greece someday, too, and travel stories were usually a notch above standard small talk. When he offered her his arm, she accepted, the gesture easy and almost natural after all the practice she'd had to do in her etiquette lessons.

"Lead the way," she said, smiling back at him.

0 Sara It's quite all right 0 Sara 0 5

Jane

June 05, 2011 1:23 PM

But every day is a chance to be better by Jane

Jane wasn’t sure what to do with someone baldly saying that part of his family disliked him and his sister. There had always been tension between Mother and Morgaine, but if they had met in public, or been asked their opinions of each other by a non-Carey, Jane was sure they would have been each other’s dear cousins.

Of course, they only knew each other through their shared family. It might not be quite as bad to have a problem with maternal relatives, since Jethro’s mother had in a way stopped being a whatever when she became a Smythe, just as Mother had started out as a Newman but ended up as a Carey. Jane would, now that their only child was dead and they considered her to be their only child’s only child, get everything Grandmother and Grandfather Newman had, which was a small school she or her husband would most likely need to hire someone to run for her and perhaps their house, but she didn’t know them very well. Mother had been higher in the Newman family than Father was in the Carey one, but the Careys still outranked the Newmans, and her parents hadn’t been fond of in-state travel, never mind out of state. She didn’t know her Grandmother and Grandfather Carey very well, either.

Really, she didn’t know anyone in the family well other than Edmond. That was just as well, though. She didn’t think, even after everything, that she would be able to completely cut off her father and brother, even if it was just dropping by the house on Father’s Day and sending gifts to Edmond’s children on appropriate occasions, but overall, it wouldn’t be hard to simply drop out of the family without fuss, or anyone really noticing at all.

“Oh, that’s nice of you to say,” Jane said when Jethro, after asserting that some of his family might actually like him – it bothered her, really, hearing him feel that way about it, she liked him and didn’t like anyone to feel bad anyway, but she could barely figure out how to handle her feelings about her own family most days, never mind how to help someone else sort through how theirs felt about them, especially when it just seemed to be accepted as a fact by the someone else in question – said that he thought his family would like her if they met. “I remember that Mother and Father thought very well of you and your family when they met in your first year, but I wasn’t in school yet then, so I wasn’t there.” She’d been with Uncle Jasper and Aunt Helen and her grandparents, who had seemed to find her strange but had not been unpleasant. It had, after all, only been for a few hours.

0 Jane But every day is a chance to be better 0 Jane 0 5

Arthur

June 05, 2011 2:33 PM

I like to think so by Arthur

“Well, then,” Arthur said, as cheerily as he knew how to despite being surprised by Fae’s assertion that she wasn’t very good with people, either. He decided this was most likely an example of someone being self-deprecating to help the self-esteem of the person they were interacting with. It wasn’t his cup of strategic tea, but it had its uses, and it did work well enough. The sense of having exchanged confidences also, even though he thought it was false, made things feel a little easier between them, at least to him. “I suppose that works out well, then.”

It didn’t work out perfectly, though. They still had the problem of being two socially awkward upper class purebloods required to attend some kind of celebration aimed toward a social group they didn’t belong to or know much about and consequently not having a clue what they should do to blend in, but in that problem, at least, Arthur had never felt entirely alone. One of the things everyone had seemed to agree about when different members of his family were giving him advice about Sonora was that things were different at school because of all the different people coming from different places, and while they hadn’t mentioned feeling a bit like a fish tossed into the desert outside the school grounds, he thought Father had at least implied that this would happen and shouldn’t be worried too much about. The rest of the family, he was pretty sure, leaned toward the perspective where he, and by extension all the others of their sort, should just ignore everyone else’s existence and carry on as though they were at home and only among people of their own kind.

That didn’t seem to Arthur like a very practical way to handle things. Other people were there; they weren’t going away because he closed his eyes and wished very hard that they would. He might not, and most likely would not, ever interact with any of them again after he left school, but for the next six years, he had to coexist with them. Therefore, it would be helpful if he was familiar enough with their customs to at least marginally blend in, as he was with those of his own culture.

And then Fae suggested they dance.

“That’s all I know, too,” Arthur said. He wouldn’t be surprised if he and Theresa could dance together while they were both sleepwalking, or if he couldn’t just as easily be replaced in that sentence by Arnold or Jay, and maybe even Henry. Arthur was the only one of them who’d managed to be consistently taller than her, but since Diana was the next oldest girl and had only started ballet lessons, as the girls did in preparation for learning formal dances when they were a little older, last year, everyone older than Brandon had learned with Theresa. It was just Terry’s good luck that she enjoyed dancing.

He listened to the music for a moment, hearing words, but they meant nothing. He thought they were supposed to be English, but the way they were being arranged, along with some of the words themselves, did not convey much of a coherent message to him. The references were not lining up with those he knew. “Perhaps you’re meant to dance very fast?” he suggested.

0 Arthur I like to think so 0 Arthur 0 5