Coach Amelia Pierce
August 26, 2012 10:24 PM
Flying Lessons by Coach Amelia Pierce
Coach Amelia Pierce had given basically the same first lesson for the eight years she had been employed as Sonora's Quidditch Coach. There had been a few students - Clara, most recently - who had never fully (or partially) mastered broom riding but, for the most part, the class was considered one of the easier ones taught at the school. Second years who had gotten less than an O were permitted to take it again to improve their performance, but most didn't need to. In a handful of cases, some students who had earned Os took the course again anyway, just for the extra flying time. She had no age limit for how long a student could retake their flying lessons, but she had yet to have anyone older than third year join the first years. It was, after all, a beginner class.She saw little need to change the curriculum; flying basics were fairly,well, basic and there was not a lot of variation possible. She also saw no reason to subject students who already knew how to fly to the tedium of those basics. So today's class started very much the same as every first flying lesson had for the last eight years.
"Hello, and welcome to flying lessons. I am Coach Pierce. Flying lessons are required for all first year students, so everyone will be participating. If you already know how to fly, you do not have go through the basics with the beginners, but you do need to arrive promptly and spend the period on a broom. Every class will begin with a roll call, and then the experienced players may break off for pick-up games. We have Quidditch balls and various other equipment for your use." Muggleborn students would recognize several varieties of other sports balls. She had a few Quods in her shed that were available upon request outside of classtime, but the explosive nature of Quodpot was not conducive for the lessons going on with the less experienced fliers. "As long as you are not disruptive to the beginner class, you play whatever you like in the air."
"So, I will take the roll now, then we can split into those two groups. "Andrews, McKinley," she began. When she reached Pierce, Annabelle, she paused briefly to blink when both twins answered, then shook her head, skipped Pierce, Annette, and moved on, deciding the girls were going to draw enough attention without worrying how much the other students might wonder at their relation to the school's coach and Deputy Headmistress.
"We have brooms, here," she indicated the collection of brooms she had arranged before class began. "If you already know how to use one, go ahead and take one. If I have to interrupt my lesson for any reason, the responsible parties will serve detention and spend the rest of the month down here hovering. So nothing dangerous or disruptive. Otherwise, go have fun. Everyone else, line up."
Once the experience fliers had launched and moved away, she turned her attention to the remaining group. They were mostly female, and with the names she had listed off earlier, she was going to cater her speech more to the pureblood community than to the new muggleborns. She did not want - and more importantly, the Board of Governors did not want - a repeat of the Carrie O'Malley Debacle of the previous year. "I do not expect to make Quidditch players out of most of you. As I said, this is a required course. You need to complete it to graduate. With any luck, you will leave it knowing how to use a broom to transport yourself. If anyone does want Quidditch training, please let me know, and I will set you on a different training regimen." As she spoke, she handed out brooms, one to each student.
"We begin simply. Place the broom on the ground beside you. If you are right-handed, put it to your right. If you are left-handed, put it to your left. Hold your hand over the broom and command it, Up! Be firm and confident or it won't work. If any of you have dogs or elves, use the same tone of voice as you would use with them."
She held her hand out over her own broom and demonstrated, "Up!" The broom leapt easily into her hand. "It may take a few tries so do not get discouraged. Keep trying. Once you have your broom in the air, please try a low hover. Either put one leg over to straddle the broom, or sit side-saddle. Please let me know if you plan to side saddle your broom. I'll have to adjust the cushion charm."
"Please begin."
OOC: Welcome to Sonora and to Flying lessons. You earn house points for your character by attending classes such as this one. The better your posts are (in both quality and quantity), the more points you will earn. Please be wary of writing for other characters (god-modding) without permission. For example, if you toss another player a ball, it is up to them to decide if they caught it or not, though you can qualify that it was a good throw or entirely off-mark so they know how difficult it should be. That said, you do have my permission to have Amelia change your charm to side-saddle if you raise your hand and ask her for it. Now go forth and write long detailed creative posts and have fun with it!
Subthreads: It's a good job you're dead already... by Effie Arbon with Annabelle Pierce
Taking the initiative by Alan Raines, Teppenpaw with Anthony Carey VIII, Jay Carey, Rupert Princeton, Pecari, Alan
Ready Since the Day I was Born by Eponine Taylor with Coach Pierce
The first step towards greatness by Enion Whitebriar - Teppenpaw with Henry Carey, Crotalus, Annette Pierce, Enion
Being different. by Honey Baird with Alexandra D'Alesandro, Honey
Trying to fit in by Wendy Canterbury - Pecari with Anonymous, Clarissa Clark, Wendy
If this is soo easy why can't I do it? by Clara Abernathy, Pecari with Coach Pierce, Abigail Thornton, Crotalus
Too bad this can't be my favorite class by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw with McKinley Andrews
Another activity. Meh. by Amity Brockert, Aladren with Isabel Raines, Crotalus, Effie Arbon, Annabelle Pierce
1
Coach Amelia Pierce
Flying Lessons
20
Coach Amelia Pierce
1
5
Amity Brockert, Aladren
August 31, 2012 4:19 AM
Another activity. Meh. by Amity Brockert, Aladren
Amity did not support WAIL. She thought the idea that it turned girls into lesbians was ridiculous and illogical but she was still rather grateful for it. If it hadn't been for the organization, her mother would expect her to play Quidditch. Amity would have been expected to be Captain, the way that she was expected to be prefect and Head Girl. Worse, she would have had lessons in that too prior to Sonora and the Aladren wasn't sure she could have stood to have any more stuff. It was bad enough her mother still wanted her to learn Japanese, German and Greek in addition to all the other languages Amity had learned and was not fluent in or even as good as her mother wanted her to be.Actually, the first year wasn't as good as her mother wanted her to be at anything. It wasn't from a total inability in any activity, but more due to the fact that there wasn't enough time to focus on them all. Plus, by now, Amity really just plain didn't care . Nothing was anything she'd chosen for herself. She had long stopped caring about her mother's expectations.
Her sister, Chaslyn was different. The seven year old strove to make their mother happy, much harder than Amity had at that age. The Aladren was far less of people pleaser than the younger girl was. She worried a bit about Chaslyn at times, trying to be successful at the impossible at such a young age. That could lead to all sorts of issues as she got older.
Of course, Amity's attitude and progress regarding these extracurricular activities was often compared to her sister's unfavorably which was a tad embarrassing given that the Aladren was four years her sister's senior. Not enough for Amity to do anything about it though. Chaslyn wasn't perfect or the best around at these activities either and Mother would yell at her for it as well when she lost a gymnastics meet or a dance competition.
It just made Amity hate her mother all the more. She might not have been as protective of the seven year old as Arabella was of her siblings but Chaslyn was still her sister and while the Aladren would tune her mother out-she never one these things and was yelled at far more often- the younger girl would cry and Amity hated to see that.
There was another reason that she wasn't looking forward to this class. The first year's cousins had made a very...unique impression on Coach Pierce. Ryan had done terribly in flying lessons, and worse, there was Carrie. Who had tried to walk out of class, said some very rude things to the Coach and gotten hexed. Amity didn't have the same last name as them and it was unlikely that Coach Pierce was up on her genealogy of pureblood families but Uncle Seth did work here and so had Aunt Lila...il Ivy had been born. Besides, their instructor really did seem to have contempt for proper pureblood girls who didn't want to fly from what Amity understood.
She stood with the rest of her classmates and listened while Coach Pierce took roll, responding when her name was called and trying to put names to faces, though it weirded the Aladren out a little when both Pierce twins answered to 'Pierce, Annabelle.' It seemed like a very respectable group with a lot of prominent names. Probably for the best as Amity couldn't imagine what she would have in common with someone who wasn't a pureblood.
The Aladren waited while the experienced fliers went off to go play Quidditch, something that she wouldn't have gone to do even if she'd flown before and it wasn't considered shameful, because it just didn't interest her at all. Amity took a broom and placed her hand over it as instructed. "Up!" It went right into her hand. She was a rather assertive person, which was likely part of Ryan's problem with flying, as he was not, so it was easier for her to get her broom to rise.
Not that being assertive did her much good with her mother. All it did was get her in trouble for having a smart mouth. She'd once replied to this complaint that Mother should be proud that Amity had an aspect about her that was smart, but that hadn't gone over real well either.
The first year raised her hand and waited while the Coach put a side-saddle charm on her broom. She didn't want to give anyone a reason to think her improper. Irking her mother was one thing, shaming the entire Brockert family and disappointing her father was another. Amity mounted the broom and turned to the person next to her. "I am Amity Brockert of the Colorado Brockerts." She introduced herself.
11
Amity Brockert, Aladren
Another activity. Meh.
233
Amity Brockert, Aladren
0
5
Isabel Raines, Crotalus
August 31, 2012 11:02 PM
It's not just any activity, though by Isabel Raines, Crotalus
Isabel was nervous about flying lessons, but wasn’t sure if she was nervous about the possibility that she would fall flat on her face the moment she touched a broom or about the possibility that she wouldn’t. It was a complete secret, because they would both be in trouble if anyone ever found out anything about it, but Alan had dared her once to try to ride on his broom, and she had never been able to refuse a dare like that, so technically, she was coming into the class with some experience.Nice girls, as everyone knew, did not fly, at least not like that. They might glide around every now and then, because it was part of the cultural heritage, but even that wasn’t completely smiled on, so it was safer just to keep her feet on the ground. If anyone ever found out about that one childish indiscretion, Isabel was sure her reputation would be ruined, and if it ever came out, she was sure it was today.
When the coach mentioned riding the broom sidesaddle, then, Isabel started to sigh in relief before she caught herself, and even then she still smiled more brightly than she should have at all during lessons. This was something she hadn’t tried before, so of course she would be just as bad at it as all the other girls were. It wasn’t the same thing at all. She wasn’t going to be in disgrace before she even ate her second supper here. Luck, as it had so often – more often than not, really, but that had yet to make her take it completely for granted – been before, was on her side today.
She watched, surprised, as either Annabelle or Annette Pierce – they had both answered to ‘Annabelle’ during the teacher’s roll call, but she knew they had different names, they had introduced themselves to her by them when they met at Miss Sinclair’s party all those years ago – flew away with the group that didn’t need to learn, and then she put her hand up to have her broom changed along with a number of others. Once it was, she was trying to decide whether or not, once she got in the air, she should go join the respectable Pierce girl and Effie when another girl spoke to her and took the question out of her hands. Luck, again, or at least she thought so.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said with a smile. “I am Isabel Raines, of the Illinois Raines’.” She looked hard at her broom, then closed her eyes and, in the most commanding tone she could muster, said, “Up!”
She felt relief and disappointment at the same time when it only jumped up about two feet off the ground before falling back down. It was a very strange feeling. It took another try to get it to her hand so she could get on it, a wobbly seat she held almost as uneasily as it looked like she did. “I don’t like this,” she informed Miss Brockert, not at all just for show. It felt like she was going to fall backward at any second.
0
Isabel Raines, Crotalus
It's not just any activity, though
0
Isabel Raines, Crotalus
0
5
Amity
September 03, 2012 4:00 AM
True. This one is considered improper. by Amity
"Pleasure to meet you too, Miss Raines." Amity replied. It occurred to her, of course, that Isabel was a proper acquaintance to make, but then it was pretty hard to go wrong in this year. There were a few unfamiliar names though the name Canterbury was familiar because Arabella roomed with the girl's older sister and the Thorntons seemed to have one in every year but seventh according to her cousins.They'd also, to many's disgust, been invited to Uncle Seth and Aunt Lilac's wedding. Amity quite frankly wondered why they had even wanted to go in the first place, given how out of place they had been. Why would someone want to go where they really didn't belong? Another reason she was glad that most of her class was her own sort. It wasn't as if Amity wouldn't be polite to others-a lady was always polite outwardly, no matter what their true feelings-but she felt she'd have more in common with her own social class.
"You'll forgive me for not curtseying. It's rather difficult to do so sitting on a broom." Amity stated. It seemed so far that curtseying and bowing didn't seem to work in most settings at Sonora. One tended to be sitting when they met others. The Aladren hadn't done so with Anthony either at the feast, and in normal situations she would have. However, Amity would have felt rather silly either getting up from the table or off the broom to do so.
Besides, she didn't think Coach Pierce would understand her doing the latter in favor of practicing good manners. There was likely a reason that she had been disowned and it wasn't hard to figure out that that reason likely had to do with Quidditch, not to mention rumors of the Coach being a lesbian, given that she wasn't married at her age. Granted, there were other pureblood women who married late, such as Aunt Lilac, who wasn't the most proper example either according to Mother, because she had actually worked .
Which quite frankly, Amity could not for the life of her understand why any woman would want to do. Or any man either but that was different, they worked to keep the family fortune up, even when they were well off enough not to have to. Women, on the other hand, did not and it made Amity rather glad to be female. Work would take up way too much of the free time that she wanted so desperately.
Though the Aladren was a bit surprised when Isabel expressed her distaste for flying out loud, she wasn't all that much so by the sentiment. Respectable pureblood girls did not fly. It was almost universally considered distasteful for them to do so though she personally wasn't all that upset by having to sit on a broom thus far. "Don't worry," Amity said by way of comforting Isabel. "It's unlikely that you'll ever have to do this again."
11
Amity
True. This one is considered improper.
233
Amity
0
5
Isabel
September 04, 2012 1:22 PM
And it requires good balance by Isabel
“Of course,” Isabel said when Amity explained her failure to curtsy. She was almost relieved by that, since it freed her of the obligation to try. It would, she thought, have been easy enough to hold her skirt out on either side and bow slightly, but she was afraid she’d fall off her sideways perch if she did. Landing flat on her face on the ground would not be very ladylike, would be improper enough to probably cancel out any advantages she got by trying to curtsy on a broom, so it was just better not to even deal too much with the idea of going through some of the formalities on a broom.She smiled when Amity assured her she wouldn’t have to do this again. “Not after this year, anyway,” she said. “Though I suppose I’ll stop feeling like I’m going to fall off just about then, don’t you think?” She looked off toward her cousin, who was apparently organizing – or trying to – a game with a group of other boys. “Boys are luckier,” she said. “It looks much easier to stay on, the way they do it.”
Or at least much easier to steer. She could feel she was starting to get her balance, but how she could do more than go in two directions, much less make any turns that became necessary, was something she had yet to figure out from her sidesaddle position. She hoped that just being in the air really was enough to let her make her pass for the day, because she was afraid to try to move much further, as she was, because she might crash straight into someone and hurt them and then be known forever as the person who did that on their very first day of school.
Last night and today were, after all, the most important days of her life, at least according to her sister. Listening to Catherine talk, it seemed that everything about her year had been decided on that first morning, and then that had laid the groundwork for everything that happened to all of them afterward, from Catherine making a good marriage to Gwen Carey getting disowned and running off with a Muggleborn, and maybe even Anne Wright becoming a social climber, though that part seemed more loosely attached to the rest of it. The only thing her sister didn’t – very – regularly address when she reminisced about school was how Nicoletta and Jordanna had left proper society; Isabel had asked her once how that happened, but Catherine had seemed not to hear the question.
She straightened fully and smiled at Miss Brockert. “I see you’re in Aladren House,” she said. “How do you like it there?” Isabel had never really considered that she might go anywhere other than Crotalus, but she’d gotten drawn into the Houses talk with Alan often enough that she was curious about what they were like, now that they were all permanently off the table as options for her.
0
Isabel
And it requires good balance
0
Isabel
0
5
Amity
September 05, 2012 1:06 PM
Allegedly, balance is important. by Amity
Amity laughed. Not a rude sound, but the way a lady should when something struck her as amusing. Yes, she'd even had lessons on the proper way to do that . Her mother would not have her make any mistakes and sound any less than ideal. They might not be as high up on the family totem pole as others but Jillian Brockert was going to make her daughters be a credit to their family name one way or another. Probably because, well, they weren't as high up on the family totem pole."It does tend to go that way." She agreed. Not that Amity ever got to that point really because things for her just didn't stop. Ever. If she got comfortable with a skill her mother didn't tell her that was enough and she could rest. Instead, she had to refine the skill further or learn a new one. Relaxation was something Amity only dreamed of.
Her gaze went to where the boys were. "I suppose so." And there were cushioning charms to prevent the issue boys might have with the way they sat. "I mean, it's not like it's something we'll ever have to worry about. It seems to be one of my family's fundamental beliefs that not only do girls not fly, but nobody really needs to for transportation purposes what with floo powder and portkeys and eventually Apparation when we get old enough. Some of those methods cause discomfort too, but they're all a lot quicker."
Quite honestly, Amity didn't understand why nobody ever had come up with a comfortable, practical form of transportation. Flooing wasn't too dreadful but it did make one awfully dirty. Mother made them wear coverings over their nice clothing when they used it. Maybe nobody had devised a way because Apparation was the fastest possible way for a witch or wizard to travel.
"I'm not really sure yet. I mean, I don't know my roommates very well yet." Bianca, at least, was someone she felt it would be acceptable for her to associate with. Clarissa, on the other hand, seemed not to be from the right sort of family, Amity had never heard of the Clarks before. She doubted she and Clarissa had much in common. "I met Anthony Carey at the feast though and he seems pleasant enough.I think it's just the four of us."
The Aladren paused, remembering the conversation with Anthony. She'd gotten permission to use his first name after she'd given hers. That was really what she preferred, though Isabel's last name provided fewer painful associations than her housemate's had. "You may call me Amity if you wish." She added. They were social equals after all.
"How is Crotalus?" The first year asked, returning the question. "From my understanding, it's mostly pureblood, but the hardest to pin down for what sort of personality goes there. There's a wide range." Aladrens were smart, Teppenpaws were nice and Pecaris were...improper. What were Crotali? Her cousins were very very very different people and both in the house. Isabel didn't seem to necessarily be like either.
11
Amity
Allegedly, balance is important.
233
Amity
0
5
Effie Arbon
September 06, 2012 3:04 PM
OOC by Effie Arbon
I have tied mine and Miss Pierce's thread into this one, with the suggestion that we continue things up here where you are. Apologies for the inconvenience but, to put it bluntly, she creeps the heck out of me, and I don't want to be alone with her.
13
Effie Arbon
OOC
238
Effie Arbon
0
5
Isabel
September 07, 2012 1:24 PM
Welcoming Miss Arbon and Miss Pierce by Isabel
Her family’s fundamental beliefs about transportation were things Isabel had never really thought about. Her parents’ social circle was mostly in the area – Illinois, according to her lessons, hosted one of the largest magical populations in the country, both pureblood and otherwise, so her parents often used the carriage, as they didn’t have to travel far to go to events, but she had also seen them Apparate for casual visits, and there was the bus, though they didn’t use that, she’d just been taught about it so she could get home if she ever somehow got separated from her guardians in town or something like that, and of course there was the Floo…Isabel supposed she had heard her mother and her father complain about how messy that was, but still. Transportation just seemed to be a thing that the Raines family, as far as she knew, did not feel as strongly about as Miss Brockert seemed to think her family did. Isabel wasn’t sure if that was good or not.“They are much quicker,” she agreed, since that point was impossible to argue with. “And there’s much less of a risk of being Seen.”
Being Seen was something she knew her family did have strong beliefs about. It wasn’t very likely, but nor was it impossible, especially when they went into town or if a Muggle went mad and somehow wandered through the repelling charms around someone’s home, and it was one of the very worst things that could happen. Living in a city, there was always an uneasy line between them and the Muggles, always a chance that they could somehow be Seen, and if they were, then something horrible would happen. Maria Teresa had told her stories about what happened to magical children the Muggles found when she was little, and some of them had upset her enough that Mamma had had to tell her nurse to stop it, so that now Isabel didn’t remember what the stories had been, but she knew they had been awful.
The first thing Isabel thought of when she heard the name ‘Carey’ was of the one person she thought her sister might dislike more than she did her best friend’s husband, but she recognized the name that Miss Brockert mentioned, too, from the names she’d been told might be good to associate with before she came to school. She smiled when Miss Brockert said she might use her given name. “And you may call me Isabel,” she said.
So far, Isabel thought she was doing well at school. She bit her lower lip, though, from habit when she was asked about Crotalus. “I think we’re mostly nice people,” she said, though she wasn’t in fact sure of this at all. “I don’t think Miss Thornton is…like us, though,” she added in an undertone, then flushed and went on. “And I think we only have one boy, too, the other Mr. Carey, but I haven’t met him – “
Just then, she heard her name and turned to see Effie and – one of the Pierce twins, she remembered them, but hadn’t met them long enough to learn to tell them apart, which was embarrassing. They’d both said they were Annabelle during the roll call, but this one was behaving properly, so maybe she was the real Annabelle. The other one just flying might not have been so bad, but now she was playing tag with boys, and that was only okay in private, not in public like this. Of course, it would have been easier for her, now that Effie was proposing they all get together, if it was Annette, since their names didn’t end with the same sound, but….
“Of course,” she said happily, smiling at them both. “Shall we meet in the middle?” If Effie had managed to fly a little way, then she could, too, and it would be diplomatic that way, she thought. If she was right about what that word meant, anyway.
She felt inadequate again as Effie succeeded in curtsying to Amity on a broom, but smiled at Annabelle-or-Annette and tried to ignore it. “Hello,” she said, making a much smaller and wobblier mock-up of a curtsy than Effie had. “I think we’ve met before – I’m Isabel Raines?” Of course she knew that she was Isabel Raines, that was something she felt very sure about, and realized as soon as she said it that she’d said it all wrong, but she didn’t know if she was remembered or not. That had been her very first party, so she remembered the first people she had talked to at it even if she didn’t remember everything they had all said then, but for all she knew that was so normal for them, and had been such a long time ago, that they didn’t remember her at all, so it would be presumptuous for her to not show some introductory formalities. She thought.
0
Isabel
Welcoming Miss Arbon and Miss Pierce
0
Isabel
0
5
Amity
September 13, 2012 8:43 PM
Greetings by Amity
Amity nodded in understanding. "She isn't." Okay, so that might have been a little blunt but she knew a bit about the Thorntons. "In addition to not being...our sort, the family is a little odd. Her two oldest sisters were always pestering my aunt when she worked here and acting like she was their aunt instead." Amity sort of resented this. They were not part of her family and they never would be. "Furthermore, they're more clannish than any pureblood family I've ever heard of. They were all on the wagon to Sonora with me, but I spent it talking to my cousins Hope and Evan about Sonora."She realized how that might have sounded hypocritical. "I mean, there really wasn't anyone else on there besides them and us." Amity added. Plus, she had no intention to keeping just to her cousins here at school either. There were so many people here that she felt she could make friends with if roll call was anything to go by. People she felt she could connect with. She didn't need to stick with Arabella or Ryan-or Hope or Evan either.
Of course, that might have been why the Thorntons stuck together, she supposed, fewer of their kind but it still seemed a bit odd to Amity. There was nothing wrong with not being as social and she would do the best she could to make those people, which her roommate Bianca seemed to be, feel included, but sticking with just family was a little strange. The Aladren hoped to Merlin that they didn't see her as family. This one might not have been like her sisters-Ryan, after all, was not like Carrie-but if she was Isabel needed to know what sort of girl she might be rooming with. Just because Amity wasn't a Crotalus didn't mean she couldn't err on the side of caution and Miss Thornton the Sixth was not someone that she was going to seek out.
"I have a roommate who isn't like us as well." The first year went on, nodding in the girl's direction. "Miss Clark. I don't know anything about her family though." Which was, of course, why Amity knew she was at the very least not part of their social class. The Thorntons were only an exception because of the fact that they had so many children and the whole thing with her aunt. The Aladren would be cordial to her roommate but she didn't think they'd have too much in common and it was natural to be drawn to those you had things in common with.
She heard Isabel's name called and looked over along with the other girl. It had come from another one of the Crotalus girls who was with Annabelle Pierce-well, Amity didn't know if it was really Annabelle or if it was the other one. They'd both answered to that name during roll call and it wasn't as if the Aladren knew the other's name-or in fact, if they had different names. That would have been most unfortunate for them. Amity was sure that, while her name wasn't especially common, there were other Amitys in the world. Still, none of them were related to her, let alone her identical twin.
The first year actually did have identical twin cousins too, Scarlett and Savannah, but Uncle Russell and Aunt Melinda had at least given them different names and most of the time treated them like individuals, primarily so they wouldn't get mixed up though now that the twins were old enough to know themselves who was who, Amity's aunt and uncle were more okay with them dressing alike, which they did sometimes but not all the time. As babies though, Aunt Melinda had color coded them.
Maybe these two were different after all though, Amity could see the other Annabelle Pierce playing with two of the boys, one of whom she recognized as Anthony's cousin. That certainly wouldn't make a good impression on anyone and she felt a bit bad for this one because it would reflect poorly on her too. Nobody would be able to tell which was which and if they indeed did share a first name, that would only lead to more confusion. Neither this girl's parents nor her sister had done her any favors.
"And I am Amity Brockert of the Colorado Brockerts." She introduced herself, a bit surprised by the curtsey the other girl-Miss Arbon, she thought-gave them. It was a perfectly proper thing to do but how had she ever managed it? Surely she wasn't accustomed to being on one enough that she would have learned the right way to curtsey on a broom, that wouldn't be at all proper. Ladies didn't fly. However, Amity attempted the curtsey as well, though not much more smoothly than Isabel had.
11
Amity
Greetings
233
Amity
0
5
Annabelle Pierce
September 15, 2012 12:20 PM
Hello, Ladies by Annabelle Pierce
Annabelle wasn't sure that Effie was entirely buying the excuse she had made for Annette's behavior, but at least she wasn't insisting that Annabelle give her first name. Remaining anonymous was proving a bit more awkward that they had thought it would be, especially when Effie drew in two more girls who had been hovering nearby into their group. Annabelle wasn't entirely sure having a 'riding group' would really help since she knew quite well that her inability to get her broom up was not because she was subconsciously reluctant to fly. More likely, it would just embarrass her in front of more people when her broom continued to defy her.Still, there was no polite way to decline after Effie called for their attention and started hovering her broom nearer to them. With a sigh, Annabelle picked up her broom and carried it over. She did have the advantage of being the only one of them with her feet planted firmly on the ground so she was able to execute the most graceful of the curtsies when those were exchanged between them. That was the only positive she could find in being grounded as she was.
Annabelle recognized Isabel from the party a few years ago at the Sinclair's home and, of course, she knew of the Colorado Brockerts. "I recall," she assured Miss Raines, smiling in fond remembrance of her first formal party, curtsying properly toward her. She then directed another to Miss Brockert, "And it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Brockert. I am Miss Pierce of the New Hampshire Pierces."
Her gaze shifted momentarily toward where Annette was apparently playing broom tag now with two boys, then pointedly turned away again. "At the moment, I believe I am the only one of those left," she said, trying to sound like she was trying not to sound bitter.
She held her hand over her wand hand over her broom one more time and ordered, "Up!" but again the broom did little more than shift in place, entirely uncooperative. She sighed in irritation, allowing that much of her frustration to show, but no more. "This isn't working," she admitted, not quite willing to repeat the assertion that the broom was defective since Miss Arbon had suggested the problem was with Annabelle herself and a subconscious refusal to fly wasn't an entirely bad thing to have in this company.
1
Annabelle Pierce
Hello, Ladies
246
Annabelle Pierce
0
5
Effie Arbon
September 21, 2012 4:35 PM
How strange - flying class is good for one's social life! by Effie Arbon
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” Effie smiled, as Isabel's suggestion that they meet in the middle. It really wasn't far between the two groups but it seemed nicely diplomatic, and that sort of thing was important. It seemed a good agreement to Effie more from the point of view of no one having to be the one to go to the other, as some people might feel it implied certain things about their relative statuses. It might seem a little off, for example, if she called Isabel and expected her to come. As Isabel had agreed to them joining each other, it would not have been too improper for Effie to go to them. As the other two wobbled closer though, followed by struggling to keep their balance through the pseudo-curtsey, it became clear to her that it had been a practical consideration, or perhaps political in another way. She was a little surprised, wondering whether these girls had never flown before. Perhaps taking things to that extreme was fashionable these days. In which case, she ought to not appear so competent. The possibility occurred to her that their worry about what others would think was what was causing this behaviour. That, perhaps, they were all competent underneath but putting on a show of struggling in order to appear more ladylike. It was the sort of stalemate encountered when each person insists that the other must go first, for example when proceeding through a doorway or choosing their cake at tea, with nobody wishing to make a bold and decisive move for fear that it will count against them. If that was the case then Miss Pierce was outdoing them all.“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Effie smiled at Amity Brockert. She noted with interest that Miss Pierce and Isabel seemed to have met before. She wondered what social occasion had fostered this. A wedding perhaps. Or perhaps they had already been introduced to society and were attending parties. She wracked her brains, trying to recall announcements. The twins should have stood out, had they been mentioned, although twins – being highly genetic – were less of oddity in the magical world. Besides which, she had more pressing things to concentrate on, such as remaining airborne and dignified. If they were already attending parties though, she could not help but feel a slight stab of jealousy, along with a worry that she was already behind her peer group in terms of making connections.
“I'm quite at a loss what else to suggest,” Effie sighed hopelessly, as Miss Pierce failed again to perform the first part of the lesson. Either she was genuinely utterly unwilling to fly or was going to extremes to prove herself ladylike, which were a little overdone and unnecessary given that the rest of them were already in the air. Or the broom was defective, as Miss Pierce had suggested. Effie supposed it was not improbable that the school had faulty, out-of-date equipment, or that one of the more common students had been last to handle the delicate piece of equipment and had broken it. Rather than put forward this option, at the risk of appearing an expert on broom mechanics, she appealed to the other members of the group, hoping her lack of ideas might make up for her apparent ease in the air. “Can either of you think of anything?” she asked, shifting her position slightly on the broom as though a little uncomfortable, and deliberately causing it to tremble ever so slightly.
13
Effie Arbon
How strange - flying class is good for one's social life!
238
Effie Arbon
0
5