The graduating class of SA35 on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Dorian Montoir

September 29, 2020 7:57 AM

The graduating class of SA35 by Dorian Montoir

Dorian checked over the set up in MARS wondering yet again if this was a good idea. It possibly wasn’t. He was possibly about to make several mistakes and end his time here on something going horribly wrong. Except he didn’t really think so. He was pretty sure he was right about all the things he’d planned to say, and that they bore out the fact that this was a good idea - so long as people showed up. Surely they’d show up? He had sent brief, informal invites to everyone in seventh year, suggesting they got together to celebrate the end of exams, and who didn’t want to do that?

He was trying to think of it just as the end of exams. Nothing else.

He hoped the music room would be a suitable venue. He had toyed with the games room. Games were theoretically fun, and people liked them, but it wasn’t exactly his forte. Ditto a pool party. Because liking each other was one thing, but being comfortable seeing each other in swimwear was another. Plus he wasn’t sure how Gary or Parker would feel being around someone like him whilst not wearing much. So, music it was. The room was a strange echo of where he had spent his early days at the school, but now expanded with enough comfy seats for everyone in their year, along with a record player and a huge variety of music, both muggle and magical. Those spoke to some pretty big changes that had occurred throughout the years.

He had arranged for drinks and nibbles, and these were set out on the coffee table. It was pretty informal, as his concept of a party went, but that felt nice. He’d learnt to… maybe not exactly go with the flow, but he had never liked things too stiff and society anyway - a nice, relaxed evening sounded like the perfect way to unwind after their exams. Assuming people showed up. Which they began to. He smiled, and greeted them, inviting them to choose records, help themselves to nibbles, and to let him know if anything was missing. Once it felt like everyone was there and mingling, he tapped a glass to call their attention, feeling somewhat self-conscious as he did so, but - much as with throwing the party itself - like he would regret it more if he didn’t see this out with something to mark the occasion.

“Thank you all for coming. And thank you for the last seven years. I really think our yeargroup is special. I won’t claim that I know all of you very well,” he stated, with a slightly apologetic look towards Jasmine and Peyton, “But I like you all. And, unless I really missed some things, I think that’s fairly true between all of us,” that was the point he was most nervous about. It was entirely possible that he had been so caught up in his own little bubble of drama that he had missed other people’s. He had failed to notice his own roommate being in love with him, which did raise concerns about his observation skills, but he had to think that was because it had been well hidden, and because it was a bit of an unexpected situation. “I think that’s special.

“A couple of years ago, I thought I would be lucky if I got even accepted by about half the people I knew. I have had so much more than that,” he stated, his hand lingering slightly on the head boy badge on his chest. It wasn’t something he wanted to make a huge deal of, seeing as he’d beaten several of the people standing in the room to get it. But he knew some of them had voted for him anyway, and he found himself looking gratefully at Parker. “So, if you’re only hoping for things to be alright, I think you are aiming too low. I hope you all go out and get more than you think you deserve from life. I hope you all get the things your best friends would wish for you. And I hope I get to hear from you, and to find out what those things are,” he said, wondering how many of the people here would take him up on that.

“So, let’s spend this time together. And I think they can still give us detention, and I am still head boy until we get on the wagons, so don’t explode the place. But here’s to all of us,” he said, lifting a glass of sparkling apple juice to the graduating class of SA35. He let the party resume. They could mingle, they could talk. They could say good- good times had been had whilst they were together.

Subthreads:

Now we're off to new adventures... by Gary Harper with Jasmine Delachene

Let's sparkle while we can. by Tatiana Vorontsova

13 Dorian Montoir The graduating class of SA35 1401 1 5

Gary Harper

September 30, 2020 6:27 PM

Now we're off to new adventures... by Gary Harper

Gary had gotten Dorian's invitation and couldn't think up a good reason not to go to the after exam party. He really didn't try to think that hard of a good reason, so he wasn't really surprised when he didn't come up with one. As such, he made his way towards the MARS rooms. He was really going to need to figure out how these things worked, especially if these were a thing that wizards wanted in their buildings. He grinned to himself. Once he figure that out... oh he was going to make the awesomeist gaming room ever.

He returned Dorian's greeting as he entered the music room. Mingling wasn't really a highly ranked skill of his, so he found his way to the snack table and perused its contents for a bit selecting a few things as he went. Once he ran out of snack table, he hung by the wall, ate and generally acknowledged the others around him while doing is normal routine of not getting to involved. That lasted until Dorian gave his speech.

Dorian was right, he was aiming to low, he was doing it right now. He'd lamented the fact that he hadn't really gotten to know many of his classmates lately. The only ones he'd really done much with had been Parker and Jasmine. He'd patrolled with Dorian and Peyton some, he'd thoroughly embarrassed himself with Tatiana, and Vlad and Ruby hadn't really been on his radar at all. It was a bit to late to do much about that now, but he could at least talk to someone while he was here. He didn't want to make the same mistake once he got to MENTAL after all, so practice here would be good.

He pushed himself away from the wall and walked out into the room to consider his options. Who should he talk to? Abruptly the decision was taken away from him. "Hey," he responded to the person that had come up to him, "If this is an after-exam party, are we supposed to be discussing them, or avoiding that topic like the plague?"

2 Gary Harper Now we're off to new adventures... 1404 0 5

Jasmine Delachene

September 30, 2020 7:50 PM

A Whole New World! by Jasmine Delachene

Jasmine had been a little surprised to be invited to an end of exams party by Dorian. Sure, she'd been a part of his fair booth, and she'd swung in to help him with the banner for the concert a few years ago, but though their social circles bumped edges and overlapped slightly, she hadn't really thought Dorian was particularly aware of her existence when she wasn't existing right in front of him. Which was fair, really, because he didn't register particularly high in her awareness either, not because she had anything against him but because they had somehow just never really fully crossed into each other's sphere of influence.

But at the same time, it made sense. It was a graduation party and their class wasn't that big, so it would just be rude not to invite everyone in it. So she had penned back her RSVP to let him know to expect her, even though the invite had been informal and hadn't required one.

Jasmine arrived with Peyton to the party and they mingled together a bit until Dorian made his speech. Jasmine gave her friend a smile at the part about wanting what your best friend would want for you. "I want you to be over the moon happy with your life and Connor is amazing for you," she whispered, giving Peyton's hand a squeeze.

She didn't really expect Dorian actually meant her in his wish for them to keep in touch given that they weren't really in touch in the first place, but she decided to put him on her Christmas Card list, so he'd at least get those updates.

"Excuse me a minute," she told Peyton after Dorian encouraged them all to spend this time together. "I want to say good bye to Gary."

He was just pushing away from the wall as if he too had been driven to be sociable by Dorian's words as she reached him. She laughed and rolled her eyes at his words. "Definitely the plague option," she promised, helping him out with his party etiquette confusion.

She then took a deep breath and got it over with. "Good bye, Gary. I'm glad we were in school together. And it might not have worked out, but I'm glad we dated. You're a good person. I'll miss you."

1 Jasmine Delachene A Whole New World! 1397 0 5

Gary Harper

October 01, 2020 5:43 PM

A new fantastic point of view? by Gary Harper

Gary nodded and grinned at Jasmine's response to his question. The exams couldn't have gone to badly for her, they hadn't been all that difficult and she had done her fair share of studying. At least they'd had some study sessions throughout the year, and she must have done more beyond that. He hoped she did alright. "Plague style avoidance, not a problem." He gave her a playful wink, "So, how about them... what's the local sports thing, Quidditch team?"

It looked as though she was getting serious for a moment, and he nodded when she spoke. Official good-byes. That was the real point of this gathering, wasn't it? Any final words you'd like to say to these people that you've 'known' for seven years and may never see again? He gave Jasmine an actual smile instead of his traditional grin this time. "I will miss you as well. Thank-you for putting up with me, I'm sorry I kinda left you hanging this year. I hope you find your prince, and I hope he realizes what an amazing princess he has found when you do."

An idea popped into his head and his grin flashed back across his face. He fished around in his pockets briefly and pulled out his ever-present small notebook. Tearing out the first few pages, he stuffed them back into his pocket, he might need those later. Held the notebook in his hand, waved his wand over it while uttering 'Gemino', and now he had two. He gave Jasmine a wink, waved the wand again and the pair of notebooks turned into a familiar pair of epaulettes. Then he held them out to her with a smile. "Just in case he doesn't come with a set of his own."

2 Gary Harper A new fantastic point of view? 1404 0 5

Tatiana Vorontsova

October 01, 2020 6:01 PM

Let's sparkle while we can. by Tatiana Vorontsova

Tatiana had never been known for her restraint. When Dorian finished his speech, a tiny part of her mind noted that she was an adult now and there were all these people around, but what was the point of having a last revel as students if she started acting in a way that her classmates would consider atypical?

No point at all, she decided, even as she rushed forward and threw her arms around Dorian’s neck.

“Ty zamechatel'nyy,” she whispered in his ear - you’re wonderful. A wisp of her own perfume – bright orange and sweet jasmine mixed together into a near froth, but pinned down with peppercorns and slightly burnt, slightly smoky notes of spice, which stuck into a base of clean woods – drifted to her nose. Would she now think of this – of endings, of trying to hide fear and tears at a party – every time she put it on, now? It would be a shame to stop using her first proper scent after only two years, her grandmother had taken her to pick it out, one of the few things about the various coming-of-age rituals that she had enjoyed…

She smiled brightly, the mix of opals and emeralds and diamonds she had selected for the evening glittering. “But you make a mistake, Dorya,” she said. “How they give us detention, if tomorrow we all go? No time.” She tapped the side of her head playfully, as though she were very clever for having thought of this. “But no matter. Na tvoi zdorov'ye!” she toasted with her own sparkly juice.

OOC: On the off chance anyone else finds this interesting, I based the perfume on my impression of Penhaligon’s Empressa.

16 Tatiana Vorontsova Let's sparkle while we can. 1396 0 5