I'd like to thank all my supporters before I run away.... on Quidditch Pitch

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

December 21, 2012 7:33 PM

Midsummer Event: BONFIRE! by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

The examinations were finally over and the students must have been feeling a huge sense of relief in knowing that the end of the year has finally come. Kiva, due any day now with her second child (fifth total from adopting three others), but at least she had made it to the end of the term. For a while, she had been worried about it. She had started to get Braxton hicks contractions a couple of weeks ago and thought for sure she was going to go into labor again. Thankfully, she just had to relax more. It had been hard to do with all the end of the year events like the exams and bonfire looming, but she had little choice. And now she was here, standing in front of the student body. Man, she couldn’t wait to find a seat and get off her feet.

\r\n \r\nThe school went down to the Quidditch Pitch a couple of hours after dinner was served so that the sky was darkening with threats of a night coming. By this time in the evening, the kids were probably all ready to eat some fun snacks and eat some s’mores. Kiva had received a note requesting for some Vegan oriented marshmallows and other ingredients to allow for his friend to be able to join in. Because of that note, Kiva made sure the elves prepared vegetarian and vegan dishes a long with regular foods for the children to enjoy. They were all labeled appropriately as well. This went also with the s’more ingredients as well.

\r\n \r\nIn the center of the Pitch was the large bonfire where the school was currently assembled. Around the fire were tables of snacks that the children could roast along with roasting sticks. Most of the staff would stay in this area to ensure that none of the students harm themselves or each other with the fire. Kiva thought they were all old enough to handle things, but sometimes kids were, well, kids. The tents surrounded the entire perimeter of the Pitch and circled around the fire. Amongst various groupings of tents were smaller fires to keep the students warm when they decided to head to their resting places for the evening. There were staff who were to be monitoring these areas so that young teenagers didn’t get themselves into any trouble. Kiva had been a teenager once and although she had never done anything quite so scandalous, she knew a few who had.

\r\n \r\n“Alright, alright, settle down now.” Kiva called out using the Sonorus charm. She was sure that some of the students were rather excited for the camp out, but she was well aware of those who weren’t so happy about it. She would make sure that they were kept a close eye on so that they didn’t cause any sort of trouble or try to sneak back into the castle. There were only two people who were allowed in the castle and that was Valerie and one of her roommates. With Dylan’s approval, of course. If he felt she was okay to sleep outside, than she had to sleep outside. All the tents were charmed with warming charms so that none of them would grow cold during the night. They were also magical tents, so they were larger on the inside than they looked on the outside, but they were not luxury tents by any means.

\r\n \r\n“I’m sure all of you are very happy to have your exams completed and that you’ll be able to go home for the summer in a couple of days.” Kiva commented lightly. “So, the Staff and I wanted to give you all a fun farewell with your Midsummer Event instead of having you all working through it. Now, before I let you all have your fun, I do have to make a quick announcement.” There was always an announcement and the topic never changed, well, at least not completely. “As a reward, we have brought back yearbooks to all of you. We will be passing these books to you momentarily. Have fun and I hope you enjoy them.” Kiva was quite happy to have the books back. Hopefully, the school continues to make a budget for them. Now onto the next news. “If David Wilkes and Sara Raines could please make their way to me…” Kiva waited as she watched the two of them make their way through the crowd. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce to you your new Head Boy and Girl.” The voting had been neck and neck for the boys. She was quite surprised by it.

\r\n \r\nShe applauded with the rest of them and then sent the two back off with their friends. “Everyone, enjoy the rest of your evening.” She declared.

\r\n \r\nOOC: No burns or serious injuries with the fire. The staff are around and watching. The yearbook can be found here.

Subthreads:

Looking for Theresa. by Cepheus Princeton with Theresa Carey, Cepheus

This brings back memories. by Fae Sinclair with Arnold Carey, Fae

A Midsummer Night's...Daydream? by Clarissa Clark

This is not really what I had planned for by Eliza Bennett with Nic Sawyer, Eliza

Party time! by Mellie Goodwin with Laurie Stratford

... I'm very confused. by Aria Yale with Jay Carey, Aria

Another year ends by Preston Stratford with Sara Raines

I do not dislike this... by Effie Arbon with McKinley Andrews

...What is this? by Alicia Bauer with Thad Pierce

Sitting by the fire by Regina Parker with Josephine Owen, Derry Pierce, Josephine

I'd like to thank all my supporters before I run away.... by HB-Elect David Wilkes with Samantha Hamilton, Samantha

Toasting effigies by Michael Grosvenor with Jorge Garcia, Waverly Canterbury

Surprised by Hope Brockert

Disappointment is always around. by Brianna Japos with Sullivan Quincy, Brianna, Sully

Now we disappear by Jane Carey

Kind of a happy/sad (KIRSTENNA) by Arista Thornton

0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau Midsummer Event: BONFIRE! 0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau 1 5

Cepheus Princeton

December 22, 2012 4:51 PM

Looking for Theresa. by Cepheus Princeton

School being nearly over was always a treat in Cepheus's opinion. The last few years since Cepheus had attended Sonora, they had been expected to do more work than usual for the end of the year event. But this year, they, more specifically, he could relax. It wasn't fair that Rupert joined and didn't have to do anything for the event. He'd get his share next year, so Cepheus hoped. Perhaps something only Pecaris were expected to do?

Cepheus went to the bonfire with friends, feeling a bit peeved at the pitch still after the Crotali loss, and sat down near the giant bonfire, feeling the heat of the flames warm him. He was tempted to take off his shoes and warm his toes, but that wouldn't be very respectable. He was very glad he could relax at a bonfire before going home where he didn't know what to expect. And he wasn't expected to really keep a close eye on Rupert here since the staff members were supposed to do that. Thank Merlin. He was nearly flat on his back, held up only by his elbows when the headmistress began her speech. This year, however, was new. There were yearbooks. Cepheus sat up at that and, as they were being passed around, took one and flipped it open immediately. He grinned. "Not bad," he said to himself as he flipped through it. He was only a page or two in when he saw that Aladren had won the the Quidditch cup. Cepheus shut the book angrily. It was unfair.

It was time to socialise anyhow and Cepheus didn't want to eat any of the snacks yet, so he looked around to talk to someone when he noticed Theresa. Over the course of the year, Cepheus had noticed more and more some of the fleeting looks Theresa sent him, more than his normal female friends. He wasn't sure if she fancied him, but to play it safe, he hadn't said anything about it. Instead, if their eyes ever met in the classroom, he'd look away. He had been spending more time with her after the summer they had danced together and he wasn't sure how he felt. She certainly did have much of his attention as a pretty, respectable, pure-blooded witch who was fun to hang out with.

Cepheus got up and walked over to her. He sat down beside her and smiled. "Hey. Like the yearbook? I haven't flipped through it yet." He opened it up again, carefully making certain that he skipped the Quidditch page. He stopped at the third year page and looked at the photographs. He looked good in his and he grinned. "Not bad, eh?" he said, smiling at her. "They made us both look good." He continued turning the pages till he was at the awards and he smirked when he saw Rupert's name under 'Class Clown.' "I didn't know they had awards for these," he said, now on a search for his name. He smirked at 'Class Gentleman and Princess' and nudged Theresa. "Good job," he said with a little grin. "Looks like we're gentleman and princess." He continued to look down the list of awards, grinning at 'Most Well Behaved,' and he couldn't help but chuckle at 'Class Flirt.' But when he reached the bottom, his light eyes widened and his mouth felt dry. He was 'Best Couple' not with Megan Brownbriar, his betrothed, but with Theresa Carey, the witch sitting right next to him.

His face flushed and his heartbeat picked up. His parents were going to kill him if they saw this. And what must Theresa think? He swallowed, not wanting to see her reaction. "Brilliant, these are," he said with a weak laugh. "Fancy any chocolate or marshmallows?" He was already getting to his feet as he asked.

40 Cepheus Princeton Looking for Theresa. 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Fae Sinclair

December 22, 2012 8:11 PM

This brings back memories. by Fae Sinclair

Her CATS year hadn’t been so terrible, if Fae was allowed to think that. Okay, the examinations hadn’t necessarily been all the grand, but the rest of the year, once everything with Arnold had been worked out and her sister was married, had been pretty good. Her CATS… probably not so much. She had studied as well as she could, but Fae wasn’t terribly bright. She knew this flaw about herself and accepted it, but she made sure she at least made average grades. Charms was her best class, she had an O in that all year, so she felt her CATS for that would be less shameful than the rest. Her parents would be happy enough if she passed at least three with scores high enough to get her into advance lessons. Fae wasn’t so sure if Arnold’s parents would be privy to her scores and how they would feel about them. Ladies weren’t supposed to be smarter than their men, but I don’t think they would appreciate a complete idiot. Fae didn’t think Arnold would mind either way though, so that was something.

Now that the bonfire was here, Fae could officially relax. She had no sibling wedding to attend and she was fairly certain no wedding at all to attend this summer, so she could really do whatever she wanted. The only downside was that Shelby was now in England with Victor, so she wouldn’t have her sister to go shopping with. Maybe that was something she could do with Eleanor? She’d have to ask. She knew Sara was trying to a birthday party (or had been, it was hard to say for sure now), so Fae could look forward to that.

At the last bonfire, Fae had decided to burn the list of appropriate people her Great Grandfather gave to her and free herself from all of that drama. Unfortunately, burning it hadn’t changed her desire to please her family and led her to become betrothed to Arnold. Of course, now they were dating, so she wasn’t really disappointed in it and she still hoped he wasn’t either. So much had changed since the last bonfire, it was hard to wrap her head around it, but at least she was happy. Before she was shy and nervous. She didn’t know her place in the world. She really didn’t have much say for friends. But now she felt like she might have something going for her and she had a few close friends.

Fae stood close to the fire and looked around. She had talked with Arthur at the last fire, but she wasn’t sure if he’d come around this time. Actually, she wasn’t sure if Arnold would be around either. He had asked her what people did when dating and Fae felt this was the perfect opportunity. They could sit at a fire together and roast marshmallows. She couldn’t really eat them, but she might enjoy roasting them.

The speech began and Fae listened intently. They were getting a gift of a yearbook? Fae was intrigued. She took one as it was passed out but didn’t open it since the Headmistress was still talking. She clapped encouragingly as the Head Boy and Girl were announced for next term, happy that her best friend had been one of the winners. Fae was hoping to share a tent with her, so she could congratulate her then if she didn’t see her before that. Now that the speech was over and Fae wasn’t sure where to place herself, she took a seat and began to flip through the yearbook. Her picture could have been better, but it wasn’t awful, so that was something. She found her name listed under the baking club, which was nice, but it was the awards that had her intrigued.

She was listed next to Preston for Class Gentlemen and Princess. She found that amusing. Preston had no charms even if he did somehow grasp Sara’s attention. How he managed Gentlemen was beyond Fae’s understanding. She felt her face heat when she saw herself listed under Best Looking. She didn’t know who voted for her there, but she felt there were plenty of others who prettier than her, like her best friend, who was not listed. Fae hoped Sara wasn’t offended by that. Or that fact that she wasn’t listed under Best Couple either even though she and Preston were together for longer than anyone, including Fae and Arnold. “How embarrassing.” Fae said to herself as she looked over the pictures. If she were too pleased by the results… people might think she was egotistical and she didn’t want that.

6 Fae Sinclair This brings back memories. 194 Fae Sinclair 0 5

Arnold Carey

December 22, 2012 9:35 PM

It's best not to dwell on the past by Arnold Carey

It was probably something that could warrant his immediate expulsion from his House, but after the CATS, Arnold was half-convinced that he never wanted to look at another book that wasn’t entirely about Quidditch and nothing but Quidditch ever again. When he got the yearbook, then, he didn’t open it, but instead just put it under his arm and applauded for David and Sara before going off to look for someone he knew better than the group of people he had somehow ended up in the middle of as everyone entered the Quidditch Pitch. He didn’t mind meeting new people, it could be fun, but when he only had a few hours left at school, he thought he should spend them, if he could, with the friends he already had. He guessed he might see most of them over the summer, too, now that they were all older and attending the same parties, but it wasn’t the same as being at school, where they all lived together most of the year.

It had, he thought, been a pretty successful year overall. He’d gotten things settled with Fae, had won again, he was pretty sure he hadn’t even failed his CATS…That meant a good year, at least in his book. It could have been a million times worse. Even with everything with Arthur, it could have been worse. His brother could have gotten really hurt doing something stupid, or could have not stopped even after what happened at midterm, or…He didn’t even know, but he was sure it could have gotten worse than that, too.

He glanced toward the current Head Girl, who had that curiously blank, masklike smile she often used firmly in place at the moment, and then kept moving. Even now, he didn’t really know what had been between the two of them and he didn’t really want to. He thought it was one of those things which was better left completely forgotten by everyone who had been involved, or at least which they acted like they had completely forgotten, since actual forgetting wasn’t as easy as anyone, he thought, might have liked. It was really only since Quidditch that he’d started to really feel like he and Arthur were him and Arthur again, or at least something close to it.

Moving around a gaggle of third years after a brief greeting to one he recognized, Arnold saw Fae and went over to her just in time to hear her saying something was embarrassing. Glancing at her hands, he guessed she was talking about something in the yearbook and immediately felt self-conscious. There were a lot of things he could imagine going into a book, now that he thought about it, that could make her say that which hadn’t so much involved her….

“What’s embarrassing?” he asked, trying not to look too closely at the book, or too worried about what might be embarrassing. He wouldn't mind if she had done something embarrassing, or that she thought was, but he knew that thought might not go both ways; Mother and Grandmother, anyway, spoke about their husbands more like they were well-trained pets than people when Father and Grandfather weren't actually there, and since they were different in more ways than they were the same in his opinion, Arnold thought that might mean it was a universal woman thing. "Anything good in there in general? I haven't looked at mine yet."

0 Arnold Carey It's best not to dwell on the past 181 Arnold Carey 0 5

Fae

December 23, 2012 3:32 PM

What if it's a good memory? by Fae

Fae gave a sharp intake of breath when Arnold spoke to her. She hadn’t been paying attention to anyone around her and hadn’t realized that he had been close enough to hear her speak. She hadn’t meant to say anything out loud, but she must have if Arnold was asking about it. She pat the ground beside her to indicate for him to take a seat and then shifted the book so that he could see what she was looking at. “I made Class Princess and Best Looking. Does that make me conceited?” She asked him, looking concerned. “I never meant to imply anything about my attitude or physical appearance. I hope I don’t come off as being shallow or something.” Fae stated. She really never meant to suggest she felt herself better off or anything to others, but if she was voted as the class Princess or as Best Looking, did that mean that people thought of her like that?

“You were also voted as Best Looking and we were voted as Best Couple.” Fae commented. “But Preston and Sara weren’t voted for Best Couple and Russell and Hope were and I know they aren’t an item. Do you think Sara’s upset with me for getting that vote?” Fae asked him. She really didn’t want Sara to be upset over something like this. But Fae knew how important her relationship with Preston was. “I’m sure Preston is upset and he won’t bother to worry about Sara’s feelings. She is very concerned with her reputation, so if she thinks people feel ill will towards her or Preston and the yearbook suggests it, she might be very upset but then have to worry about Preston freaking out because he’s selfish like that and there isn’t anyone to look after her.” Fae let out a long breath. She said a lot in a short span of time and she wasn’t even sure if Arnold had followed along with her or even cared about her concern for her friend. “She just got Head Girl. I don’t want this or him to overshadow her is all.” She commented, giving Arnold an apologetic smile for her rant.

She was fairly certain everyone knew that Preston was not her favorite person, but she probably shouldn’t talk so openly in front of others. That certainly didn’t make her look proper or well mannered. That was something she would need to work on in the future.

Looking over it again, Fae saw that at least she and Sara made it for Best Friends, but Sara also made it for Worst Enemies with Eliza. That was a relationship that Fae knew that Sara tried hard to keep at bay. Some of the hostility must have rubbed off though enough for people to pick out. “You made Most Quidditch Obsessed. That seems pretty accurate.” Fae commented lightly. “And Arthur and Alice made the same two, Most Logical and Biggest Brain. They would make a fabulous couple.” Fabulously boring. But Fae didn’t want to add that part. She loved Alice, but the girl talked about things that were beyond Fae and Arthur had the habit of doing the same thing.

“Anyway, how did your CATS go?” Was that a subject they should talk about? Oh well, it was too late now.

0 Fae What if it's a good memory? 0 Fae 0 5

Arnold

December 23, 2012 9:56 PM

Maybe, as long as it's not too long by Arnold

Arnold sat down easily where Fae indicated, though he did catch himself before he could abandon anything like good posture the way he would have at home. The fact that he called her just by her first name now, without any honorifics, didn’t mean that Fae could be regarded as just another girl cousin, especially since he wasn’t even that casual around all of his girl cousins. He didn’t think much more about Theresa and Diana than he did Jay or Henry, but Lydia and Eileen, his aunts’ girls, only felt a little more like his cousins than Jane did. He thought he might be more comfortable with Fae than with Lydia especially, since Lydia was an adult by pretty much any definition of the term.

He looked at her copy of the yearbook, which she had open to a bunch of awards for…strange things. Arnold frowned as he skimmed some of them, wondering how, exactly, those were accomplishments. This, he thought, was why he stuck to Quidditch; it was always perfectly straightforward there who had won and who had lost and how and why that had happened.

Fae seemed worried about which awards she had gotten. “I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said finally, hoping he was saying things right. “You can’t help being pretty, and being a lady, that’s a good thing – isn’t it?” Their parents, he was sure, would agree with him about that. Maybe for some girls, being considered the most ladylike person in the year would have been bad – Arnold was beginning to grasp that politics could get a lot more complicated than they were even among the families, especially when they involved people who not only weren’t like people he knew, but who didn’t even want to be – but Fae wasn’t one he would have thought would mind that designation, anyway.

He blinked, startled, when Fae said that he had also made Best Looking, something that made him wonder if the people who’d decided who went where would be examples of what his mother had meant when she’d lectured him and Arthur about unauthorized drugs, but chose not to comment on it when she kept talking about couples. He’d only had time for his ears to go red after she said they’d made a list about that, though, when she began ranting about Preston and Sara.

If there were people who didn’t know Fae disliked Preston, Arnold wasn’t among them, but he was still surprised by how upset she seemed about it. “Don’t worry,” he said at last, because that seemed like the right thing to say. “If Preston gets out of hand, Arthur’ll drag him off and they’ll talk about taking over the world or something and then he’ll get over it.” Maybe that was a little exaggerated, but it was more or less what Arnold thought would happen. He chose not to think about whether or not Arthur just span things he knew Preston would like to hear or if Arthur really meant them. “I don’t see why Sara would be mad at you, though,” he added, remembering something else she had brought up in there. “It’s not like it was just you deciding who would get what, is it?”

He shrugged, putting on what he hoped was a charming grin, when Fae mentioned one of his other awards. “Everyone’s got to be good at something,” he said. His smile became amused when Arthur and Alice as a couple was mentioned. “Fabulous or terrifying,” he said, thinking, not for the first time, of what might be unleashed on the world if those two did get married and then had a kid. Though really, he thought he could see the two of them just getting together and spending all their evenings debating complicated magical theories and skipping the kids more easily. “I’d say terrifying,” he added.

CATS weren’t a subject Arnold had expected her to bring up, but he shrugged. “On balance? I think Arthur took enough subjects for his Os to distract them from my grades instead of making them just ask why I didn’t do as well,” he said. “Ah, they probably weren't that bad, I'll live with them, you know. How were yours?”

0 Arnold Maybe, as long as it's not too long 181 Arnold 0 5

Clarissa Clark

December 24, 2012 3:08 PM

A Midsummer Night's...Daydream? by Clarissa Clark

Clarissa headed out to the bonfire feeling a little nervous, as she usually felt, but glad to be going to the party. She was looking forward to seeing her classmates and toasting marshmallows. Clarissa wasn’t overly fond of marshmallows when they came in their normal state, but she found toasting them very satisfying – when it worked, of course. She looked forward to eating s’mores too – but didn’t know what they were. From the way the other kids talked about them it sounded like they included chocolate and perhaps more marshmallow. Everyone seemed pretty excited by the idea of them anyway.

Tonight the young Aladren was wearing a brown dress that matched her hair, and a green necklace that complemented one of her eyes, but not the other. In the past she would have been happy to wear just the one dull colour, preferred it even but she had found recently that her long term fear of being noticed was morphing and stretching into slightly different concerns. She didn’t wish to be noticed for appearing less styled and more boring than everyone else, and she didn’t want others to think that she was boring either. Clarissa knew that she would never wear really bright clothes or flashy accessories like Honey Baird, but she liked spotting her in classes because she looked interesting and confident.

There was also another reason that Clarissa wasn’t wearing more practical bonfire clothing tonight; she had changed size quite dramatically, especially over the last few months, which meant that her beloved jeans were no longer a viable option. Although the plentiful banquets prepared by the Sonora elves were delicious and difficult to resist, Clarissa loved wandering around the castle grounds and had skinny genes from her Dad, so she was still bony. Her body seemed to have stretched up several inches towards to sky without her having noticed, and all of her trousers were now too short.

Being an Aladren and naturally resourceful, Clarissa had of course been experimenting with several spells to make her jeans longer, with varying levels and types of success. One pair had extended sideway creating flared jeans, and refused to shrink back. Another had grown way too long. Clarissa thought that this was better, actually, and that if she couldn’t improve her spellwork then she could simply roll them up and sew them in the much slower, duller muggle way, and tried them on to see how bad it was. As she was pulling the last leg down to her ankle she suddenly felt giddy, as though a wave of energy had crashed through her unexpectedly, and when she looked down she realised that although the jeans now fit, it was because her legs were now long enough for them – freakishly long!

The final attempt made her trousers appear to be the correct length when off and on. But when she ran her little hand over the fabric at the bottom, it went straight through, as it was just a mirage. For a few moments this excited Clarissa, who was pleased with her charm, but then she began to worry. Her particular concern was that she might wear the trousers, and for some reason they might give up after a time and disappear completely! She thought it best not to try.

It had been fun to experiment though, and although denim mirages are not perhaps the most exciting, she had done magic successfully and on her own. She had piled her jeans up at the end of her bed, unsure whether to hand them over to her stepmother Tracey or wait until next year when she might try charming them again. It would be too hot to wear jeans in the Florida summer after all, and Clarissa didn’t feel like giving up. Clarissa felt that if she gave up it would mean that she couldn’t do it, and she had come so close. Although at first magic had been both foreign and alarming, it was difficult to think of life without it now.
Clarissa had wondered if there would be anything magical at the bonfire this evening. She thought that perhaps the information she had given Rupert about toasting marshmallows might have been inappropriate.

When the students and staff had gathered for the start of the bonfire, the headmistress gave one of her formal, quietly comforting speeches to mark the end of term, as well as announcing the new head girl and boy. Clarissa recognised both of them, but didn’t know much about either of them, and couldn’t imagine being so much older or so established at the school. She happily accepted a yearbook that was passed to her, and using light from the fire began to look through all the names and faces, noting who she recognised and putting a few more together. There were Wendy, Clara and Rupert of course as well as her room mates. A few more names and faces slid together in Clarissa’s mind as she looked, and she forgot her aim of wandering around the fire looking for familiar faces.

Suddenly though something jostled her left arm, and nearly dropping the book she was jolted back into her body at the bonfire.

0 Clarissa Clark A Midsummer Night's...Daydream? 1486 Clarissa Clark 0 5

Eliza Bennett

December 24, 2012 10:29 PM

This is not really what I had planned for by Eliza Bennett

Eliza smiled a lot as she and the rest of the school began assembling on the Quidditch Pitch for the Bonfire, waved to people and occasionally told someone hello, but anyone who looked closely at her eyes would have noticed that she was distracted, and when she didn’t watch herself she invariably looked again to see her arms had crossed themselves tensely across her stomach. She felt jittery all over, as though she had drunk at least two or three too many cups of coffee, and found it hard to stand still as she tried not to make a show of finally beginning, after weeks of putting on a good face, to lose her patience with waiting for the results of The Vote.

It was going to be close, she knew. She had been carefully gathering friends for years, Sara had just been blessed with powerful friends the way she had been blessed with nearly everything else possible, and Kate had credentials, as far as anyone could in this sort of thing, because of the family she had been born into; if the Teppenpaw girl had been a Crotalus, Eliza would have been seriously worried, thinking people might have checked off the square next to Kate’s name just from sheer force of habit, the idea of the name ‘Bauer,’ the House ‘Crotalus,’ and the position of ‘Head Something’ just going together in the mind of the school after two successive Heads like that. Head Boy was almost surely going to come down to the fifth year Aladrens and whether they preferred another pureblood or another Aladren as their representative, but Head Girl…Head Girl was different, at least this year. Every time she thought about Head Girl, her imagination came up with something else that could impact people’s decision-making, and it was starting to make her feel a little crazy.

Just a little longer, she told herself, smiling and wishing a feeling of mild nausea which had hit her in the past few minutes would go away. Keep calm and wait. There’s nothing to do about it now anyway.

She frowned at that thought, thinking it wasn’t quite as assuring as it was supposed to have been. It was only a very brief distraction, though. After that, she got straight back to worrying, focusing on the moment that felt like it would never come.

Her heart made a sickening jump toward escape from her chest when the headmistress finally called for quiet, and her hands abandoned all pretenses, twisting themselves into a knot in front of her as she tapped her foot impatiently through the half-processed opening remarks and then the distraction of the yearbooks being announced. When David Wilkes was asked to come up, she had just enough time to feel excited and sick and terrified and anticipatorily thrilled before Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau finished her sentence with “…and Sara Raines could please make their way to me….”

It took the words a moment to clear Eliza’s brain, but her hands reacted first, slowly sinking, still clasped together, from where they had been near her throat down to waist level. They then separated and fell back to her sides as she stood there, her smile still half frozen on as she felt like the whole school was turning to look at her at once, even though the tiny logical part of the back of her head which still worked properly was helpfully informing her that the center of attention right now was bound to be Sara. David Wilkes, after all, was not that impressive, and had been the one she suspected everyone had expected to win anyway. Ryan was too meek, too easily cowed, to have a chance of getting the regular students to look up to him, never mind the prefects.

Not, of course, that being more assertive seemed to have worked any better. Eliza bit her lip hard, trying not to sulk. That was not the way to maintain what reputation she did have. She had to seem calm under pressure, gracious in the face of disappointment. That was the way to do it. It could have gone either way, and if she blamed it all on Sara’s friends, then it was actually her own fault for not closing her eyes and hooking up with Arthur Carey.

She got her copy of the yearbook and flipped through it listlessly, stopping to stare for a moment when she saw that she’d been marked as ‘Most Likely to Become A Criminal’ when she could think of a few better candidates off the top of her head without any effort at all. A criminal, really? Where did that come from? A small muscle under her eye twitched, too, when she was placed opposite Sara as Worst Enemies. Honestly, it was like people didn’t know there was such a thing as friends who just happened not to really like each other at all.

Not feeling a bit better, she closed the yearbook once she decided it wasn’t going to redeem itself and went to look for some marshmallows to roast. Those would do nothing for her figure, but she thought that just this once, after all this, it would be acceptable, especially since hopefully people would mistake it for an expression of school spirit or something. They were supposed to eat a bunch of marshmallows and related other sweets tonight.

0 Eliza Bennett This is not really what I had planned for 174 Eliza Bennett 0 5

Theresa Carey

December 24, 2012 11:56 PM

Here I am by Theresa Carey

Theresa had been worried about her exams this year, not knowing how much harder third year tests might be than those given to the first and second years, but while she didn’t think she’d laid waste to them, she did think she had done enough damage for the exams to feel it and for the family not to chide her for anything and was completely comfortable with the idea of taking the very end of the year off for a change. There was nothing she had done so badly that she felt the need to make up for it in some way, and as for sleeping in tents, well, she had been the only girl keeping company with six boys until she was nearly eight, and by the time Diana became old enough to be anything but someone to look after, Theresa had been in school. There was nothing about outside that bothered her except what it could do to her clothes, and since those could be easily fixed almost all of the time, she wasn’t too worried about that, either.

She tried, then, to avoid stepping in any patches that might have been muddy or otherwise too soft as she crossed the unfamiliar lands of the Quiddich Pitch for the sake of her shoes, but sat down on an acceptable-looking patch of ground without worrying about it to wait for the new Head Boy and Girl to be announced. When they were, she clapped politely, if without any real enthusiasm since she didn’t know either of them personally and didn’t feel attached enough to Pecari for sharing a House with Sara to mean much to her, and then turned with more enthusiasm to the yearbooks which had also been mentioned, wondering what would be in them and if anyone had somehow caught a picture of Arthur doing something stupid and put it in for all posterity to see

The yearbook turned out not to have any candid shots in it, but it did have an award section. Theresa felt her focus sharpen as soon as she realized that, and was disappointed not to see her name anywhere at first not so much because she’d wanted any of those awards as because she’d just wanted awards, period. When she finally did get to herself, though, she giggled, delighted, at discovering she was the ‘Class Princess.’ That Henry had gotten ‘Class Gentleman’ for the first years gave her, when she saw it a second later, a moment’s pause as she wondered how accurate this thing really was, but she was still happy about her own votes and planned to make sure the whole family knew about them if her manners were ever questioned again.

She felt a moment of disappointment when she saw she wasn’t on Best Looking and that the next page was about Best Friends, signaling a shift into categories she couldn’t possibly belong to, but she kept flipping anyway, looking at the pictures, until she got to the Best Couples, dismissed Arnold and Fae as a matter of personal taste and blinked at Hope Brockert being indiscreet enough to have a public affair with Russell Layne before she got to the last entry and stopped dead, staring at the page. She didn’t have a problem with the idea of being a couple with Cepheus, not at all, but she had thought that was usually the sort of thing she would know about before she saw it in the yearbook….

She squeezed her eyes together hard and looked again, but no, the entry for a third year couple still mentioned her and Cepheus instead of – she didn’t even know – Thaddeus and Alicia, those two were a married couple just waiting to happen, or Evan and the tenth Muse the other nine had disowned for being too eccentric, or even Cepheus and his unfortunately-extant actual fiancée. Theresa just looked at it, trying to decide what to think until she looked up and immediately felt the blood rush into her face as she saw Cepheus himself walking over before she could make up her mind.

Embarrassed horror became regular horror when he said he hadn’t looked through it yet, but she smiled weakly anyway. “Oh, yes,” she said, and then she winced internally as she realized her voice was much too high. She made an effort to lower it. “They’re very nice.”

She nodded when he remarked that their pictures had turned out well, then laughed, still a little too shrilly, when he remarked on their being the Class Gentleman and Princess. “Of course we are,” she said. “Who else would they pick?” She guessed Thad and Alicia again might have done, or Gareth and Alex, maybe, but…She lost the train of her thought as he turned the page, getting ever closer to the one she really thought she ought to warn him about, if only she could work up the nerve to do it.

“Cepheus – “ she started just after he turned that last page, but the damage, she realized, was already done; he was , she noticed with something suspiciously positive-feeling, which wasn’t at all appropriate to the situation, reacting almost exactly the same way she had. Except, anyway, for the part about marshmallows.

“That sounds nice,” she said, getting up, too, because she couldn’t think of anything else to do and following him toward the snacks. Staying behind didn’t occur to her until several steps later. She bit her bottom lip, not sure what to say, twisting the ends of the sleeves of her robes in opposite hands before finally blurting out, “So, did anyone tell you that we were – er – “

Her nerve chose that moment to run out, and she pressed the heels of her hands into her forehead, looking down at the ground. “Argh,” she said instead of finishing her sentence, wishing she could just run away and they pretend this had never happened. Maybe it could – optimism always died hard – work out for the best somehow, but…Right now, flight still seemed like a very attractive option.

0 Theresa Carey Here I am 219 Theresa Carey 0 5

Mellie Goodwin

December 25, 2012 1:11 PM

Party time! by Mellie Goodwin

As soon as she stepped onto the Quidditch Pith, Mellie knew that she had made a mistake, but it was too late to do anything about it now. With that not altogether helpful thought in mind, then, she kept walking, hoping to make the best of it in her green t-shirt, knee-length denim shorts, and tennis shoes, all of which now felt like the stupidest items of clothing any girl in the history of Ever had ever put on for an event. As she went toward the big fire in the center of the Pitch, she wasn’t sure who to be more annoyed with, the world or herself, for the wave of self-consciousness, variants of which had become nearly as much of a staple of her life as washing her hair was, which had just swept over her.

The feeling continued on, unabated, as people moved all around her, but receded when the headmistress began to speak, making her want to cheer when she mentioned them all being glad their exams were over and that it was nearly summer break. Mellie guessed some people might have their reasons, somehow, to not see those as good things, but Mellie herself was really happy with them. As far as she was concerned, the only bad thing about those things was that they meant the next time she took big end-of-the-year exams, they would be her CATS, and that was still far enough away not to bother her much despite any efforts her professors and parents might have made toward impressing on her how short a year really was.

The next announcement, about the yearbooks, also excited her, and she clasped her hands together even though she didn’t really expect to be prominently featured in it. Then the Head Boy and Head Girl were announced and Mellie did clap and cheer, both out of a general sense of school spirit and for a Pecari Head Girl specifically, even though she had never really had anything to do with Sara Raines, who was much older and prettier and more…good at everything, she guessed, than Mellie would ever be, and who she therefore found hugely intimidating. She waited for her yearbook, then went to wandering, flipping through the book as best she could without bumping into everyone and his uncle at the same time, as she headed for the snack bar.

Once thee, she put the yearbook under her arm and joined the line for toastable treats, which the school looked to her like it had been very, very generous indeed in providing. “Happy Midsummer!” she said brightly to the first person whose eye she caught, smiling just as brightly, still excited by the festive atmosphere the yearbooks and the Heads’ announcement had inspired. “This is all really great, isn’t it?” she continued, gesturing around in an attempt to take in the whole Pitch and what had been set up on it for them to relax with before they went home for the summer.

16 Mellie Goodwin Party time! 206 Mellie Goodwin 0 5

Aria Yale

December 25, 2012 9:06 PM

... I'm very confused. by Aria Yale

Aria was quite pleased with the progress she had made during her second year at Sonora. It was strange to see how different things were for her this year than it was from last year. Last year she had been unhappy and hadn’t wanted to come back to Sonora. She had no friends and felt like a complete outsider. Sonora had not been the promise of a great adventure as she had thought it was when she had been eleven. But her second year had gone by so much better. She had made friends. She had enjoyed herself in classes. And, she had even gone to her first costume party! She really had loved her costume and she played on wearing it when she was home. Not all the time, of course, because that would be strange, but when the people came together for story time or to have an evening outside with everyone. She thought the little ones would enjoy it at the very least.

But now was a time for fun. Walking with the rest of the school, Aria felt like they were having a Solstice party with the bonfire. She wanted to learn of these treats that Liam had told her about, but first she needed to figure out where she was supposed to be staying. She didn’t know what a tent was, but she figured it was those cloth huts that circled the Pitch. If that was where she was supposed to be staying, who would she stay with? Brielle had her gang of friends already, so she was out. And she felt that Melanie and Lucille didn’t really like her because she was different. They were nice and all to her, but Aria was aware that her background was far different than theirs and she wasn’t ‘appropriate’ for them. She supposed she would just have to wait and see on that. There was no point in dwelling on it.

Aria stood with the rest of the school around the fire and listened as the very pregnant Headmistress gave her speech. She clapped when the new Head Boy and Girl were named (not having any idea on who they were) and then stared confusedly at the book that was handed to her. What was a yearbook? She had many books at home and even in her trunk at school, but none of them were called yearbooks. Did this help with the fire?

Opening the book, Aria discovered their pictures per year. This delighted her. She found the pictures of the newly named Head Boy and Girl and then found her own name. It was a nice picture. Continuing through the yearbook, Aria found her name on a couple of the school clubs, happy that she had joined and extended her small acquaintance group into a larger one, until she reached the awards. This section she did not understand. How did they know her brain was the biggest? Did that mean she had an extra-large head compared to others? And why was she dazed and confused? She understood most things, but sometimes she needed further explanation… like now. The other two that she found her picture in did not confuse her. Being creative was part of her community. They needed to find their own fun. And, she would consider Liam to be her best friend. Or, at least the person she felt the most comfortable with.

Closing the book, Aria wandered over to someone she knew. “I don’t understand. What is this book?” She asked them.

6 Aria Yale ... I'm very confused. 228 Aria Yale 0 5

Preston Stratford

December 25, 2012 11:44 PM

Another year ends by Preston Stratford

They had won the Quidditch cup once again. It hadn’t really been a surprise to the Aladren, they were the best team in school, and they worked hard during practices. They deserved it, of that Preston was sure. The redhead was feeling pretty smug about the Quidditch final, even when he had not played to his full potential and even got injured. It hadn’t been his best Quidditch performance, really. He wasn’t really proud of it, but had to live with the fact that he had become overwhelmed by school and quidditch and that not even counting his girlfriend. It hadn't been his best moment, but nothing major had happened. He had been hit, but not seriously injured. Still, he was a little embarassed by his subpar permofance. The Aladren wasn't used to doing badly in something he knew he was pretty good at.

Little by little Preston was learning to cope with things, but more often than not he tended to over react over small things. The fifteen year-old was easily stressed by the daily on goings of his very complicated life. Thankfully, CATS were now over and things were going to smooth over for next term. The redhead could now relax. He was sure he had done fairly well in every subject and that was cause to be overjoyed by his academically achievements. It was time to enjoy the last days of term with his girlfriend and with the promise of a great summer was around the corner nothing could really go wrong. The redhead was looking forward for a month in Greece in a new excavation site on the ocean floor. There was nothing better than spending his time with the men he had come to respect for their vast knowledge of the magical community -- okay being with Sara was just as fun and fullfilling.

The yearbook that was passed to him was left untouched by his side until the Headmistress finished with her small speech and it had a lot of meaning to him. He was sure Sara would get Head Girl and oddly enough he was okay with it. The Prefectship fiasco was long forgotten and buried, even when he still sort of resented Russell for winning by being him. Sara was nothing like Russell, since she actually deserved the badge. His girlfriend worked hard for the titles she had received. It was only honorable of the school to recognize her hard work. Preston was proud of her, he really was. His father had told him that behind a great man there was always a great woman, and Preston couldn't really disagree with him. His mother was perfect as well as Sara. He knew that being with her was the best for him, especially because she was so perfect that he needed to work harder to become someone worthy of her. It was good for him to be constantly challenged by her. He wouldn't be with Arthur forever.

When the announcement was made, Preston applauded and got up from his seat to congratulate her, “Congratulations,” he said with a genuine smile adorning his face. The redhead wrapped his arms around her for a hug. “I am really proud of you,” he kissed her cheek and offered her his arm. “Miss Head Girl would you like to take a seat?” he asked with a hint of humor. Preston wasn’t really known as a humorous human being.

0 Preston Stratford Another year ends 0 Preston Stratford 0 5

Cepheus

December 26, 2012 2:14 PM

I suppose we should talk or something. by Cepheus

When Cepheus had gotten up to go get snacks, he hadn't expected Theresa to follow him. Truthfully, he could barely eat anything out of shock rather than lack of appetite. But he didn't want to seem unbalanced in front of her, getting up for no blatant reason. Did that mean something? Was there really something between them that the students had picked up on? Cepheus didn't dare look at her as they made their way to the snacks, but he wondered if there was some way he was looking at Theresa differently. He tried to think of how he treated his female mates, but Theresa's voice startled him.

He looked over at her and noticed her fidgeting a bit. She didn't strike him as the sort of witch who would fidget for no reason, but he had an idea that it had to be about the yearbook page. Cepheus pretended not to notice as he turned back to picking up a chocolate bar and a couple of biscuits, but his flushed face gave his cool away. He tried to distract himself by paying extra attention to the snacks. He didn't see what one was supposed to do with marshmallows, really. It wasn't a popular treat with his family and he couldn't imagine why anyone would want to eat it whole anyhow.

But Cepheus was brought back to the current situation when Theresa lost a bit of her composure. She had cut herself off and Cepheus let the silence reign for a bit. He didn't know what he was supposed to say, but thinking about it again got him red in the face once more. If it had been anyone else, Alicia or one of his mates back home, he would have laughed it off easily. Was it because it was Theresa that it felt awkward?

Cepheus swallowed before shaking his head a little. "No," he replied. He paused for a moment before looking at her. "Did anyone tell you?" He hoped he wasn't completely misunderstanding the unspoken topic. It was difficult to keep calm when Cepheus could feel his heated face and burning ears. Would Theresa buy it if he blamed it all on the heat from the bonfire? "Chocolate?" he asked, offering her a bar of it.

Once she'd responded, he knew they couldn't beat around the bush much longer. Knowing that Theresa was feeling awkward about it too did comfort Cepheus at least a little. He sat a little ways away from the fire and looked over at Theresa, hoping she wouldn't run away. It was a topic that had to be addressed, but how?

"I can't imagine why they'd put us as a couple," he said, his red face getting redder as he verbally acknowledged it. "Although..." Merlin, he didn't know whether to ask it out-right our not. He'd never had a witch fancy him before except for Georgina, but she had been quite obvious about it and they'd only been kids then. This was different.

Then there was the whole ordeal with his betrothal. Certainly he wasn't completely bound until he was legally married, but his family would frown on any sort of romantic relations with another witch. He would have to deal with lectures and pressures to break off the relationship no matter who it was with. Perhaps if it was with someone more respectable than Brownbriar, his grandfather would consider breaking the betrothal and forming another one. But did Cepheus really want to risk dating any other pure-blood witch just so his grandfather could reconsider? Cepheus wasn't that terrible. The whole point was he didn't want to be forced into marriage in the first place.

Now that he had left his sentence hanging, Cepheus realised he hadn't planned to say anything else. He looked over at Theresa from the corner of his eyes, hoping she would say something, anything. He was at a loss for words and he wasn't sure what to think about all this. Come to think of it, Theresa had seemed just as surprised as he had; perhaps she didn't feel that way about him after all. Would that simplify things between them? Cepheus wasn't so sure, but he didn't know what else to say on the topic. All he knew was that they had to clear the air and Father had always said that part of being a strong wizard meant facing one's fears.

Cepheus suddenly chuckled to himself. "Maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it should be," he said to himself as he tried to keep some sort of normal eye-contact going with Theresa. Even if it wasn't a big deal, he knew his family would make it one. The moment Rupert showed the yearbook to his parents, as he expected his brother to do, he would never hear the end of it. Merlin, this was already looking like another unbearable summer.

0 Cepheus I suppose we should talk or something. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Laurie Stratford

December 26, 2012 7:12 PM

Yey! I am here to paaarty! by Laurie Stratford

Laurie’s secret life at Sonora was starting to take a toll on him. There was nothing more he wanted than to stop hiding from his family and live his life like he wanted to. The redhead had been playing with the idea of just doing what he wanted, but in reality he was afraid of what could happen if he did it. There were too many answered questions for him to take a leap of faith and just hope his family would accept his friends. Maybe someday he would just forget about propriety and just chill with everything good life had to offer. Someday.

But today he was happy beyond words. It was almost the end of term and it was almost time for Quidditch Camp! There wasn’t anything in the world that he loved more than the sport, okay maybe girls, but that was something new. The fourth-year old had been so caught up with his problems that he had completely missed girls growing up. And man…they were wow.

The redhead entered the Pitch quite happy to relax before heading home. His characteristic red hair was tousled and stuck in different directions. Laurie had decided that a brush wasn’t his best friend, especially right now. It was time to have fun and relax, not care about being well groomed. The Teppenpaw was wearing a pair of old jeans, a hoodie and some sneakers. He was all for comfort, especially since at home all he could wear was stuffy clothes. His family was all about appearances, and Laurie hated that with a passion. It was hard to find a time to have fun while at home. The only moment was when he was playing Quidditch in his backyard.

The Teppenpaw decided that today was all about mingling away instead of thinking of what he couldn’t have. He had sent Michael and Kitty an owl to catch up later in the night, but right now he had to find someone else to occupy his time. After the speech, of course. The redhead sat down and listened to the headmistress talk and dutifully applauded when the head students were announced. He didn’t really know any of them, but he was sure Preston would be happy about his girlfriend gaining the badge.

Laurie shrugged and forgot about his cousin in a millisecond when he turned around and saw the snacks table. He loved food! He swiftly got up from his seat and almost bounced towards the food. It was like the food was slowly and sensually calling his name to get his attention. There was really nothing he could do to keep the temptation at bay. Laurie had an ongoing affair with it.

The yearbook that had been handed out was securely under his arm as he approached the table and a girl. His green eyes took her in and he blushed when she talked to him. It was Mellie. “It is great,” he responded still blushing furiously. “Happy midsummer to you, too!” he said afterwards. He was now noticing that Mellie was indeed very pretty. He smiled at her and grabbed something off the table to have something to do with his hands. He was about to start fidgeting.

0 Laurie Stratford Yey! I am here to paaarty! 0 Laurie Stratford 0 5

Fae

December 26, 2012 7:33 PM

Is it worrisome if it was for too long? by Fae

Fae tried not to blush when Arnold mentioned that she was pretty. She was hoping that with the light dying from the day and the firelight playing tricks on the shadows of the evening that Arnold would not notice the rosy hue in her cheeks from his compliment. She didn’t get them very often so it was still a new thing for her and she never really knew how to handle it. Shelby had always been the pretty one and Fae was just a leftover. Her parents would say nice things to her, of course, but they were her parents. It was completely different when it came from someone outside of her family.

“Of course.” Fae answered. Being a lady was a good thing, but she felt the term ‘Princess’ made them out to be snobby and Fae really thought she wasn’t. She treated everyone the same. Or, at least, hoped that she did. “I just don’t want people to think that I think highly of myself, that’s all. That’s rude of me if I did.” Her mother always taught her to respect everyone, that was what made a difference between those who deserved their status and those who simply twisted theirs.

“It’s not so much Preston that I am worried about.” And that was true. He had his tantrums and whatever, but it was how he made Sara feel. “Sara is my best friend and she… is too kind to discuss when things upset her. Even with me. But I know her. She’ll want to be happy that she received the Head Girl title, but if Preston’s upset about something, she’ll tuck away her happiness out of worry for him and Preston is too self-centered to realize those things.” Fae wasn’t sure if she was making any sense. Sara hid things much better than Fae did. To the point where Fae felt she was inhuman. Honestly, if Fae hadn’t forced her to talk to her way back in the library, Fae might have still felt that. “Maybe saying mad at me wasn’t the right choice of words. Maybe, mad at the situation?” Fae asked. “If no one really knew me, or something, I would be okay with that. I don’t need to be in people’s attention. But it’s important to Sara.”

Fae gave him a smile. Arnold really was good at Quidditch even if she didn’t really like it. “Yes, you are quite good at getting smack around by bludgers.” She stated before adding, “And I suppose you’re pretty okay at catching the Snitch too.” She teased. She had figured a while ago that Arnold was likely to want to attempt professional Quidditch. The game was the only thing he ever really seemed to be interested in and there would have to come a time when she was just going to need to accept the fact that he was going to risk his life playing it because he thought it was fun. “At least you know what you’re good at.” Fae commented. She was still trying to figure that out.

She laughed when Arnold thought that Arthur and Alice would be a terrifying couple. “Maybe so, but you have to admit that they seem to work really well together.” She was not planning on playing matchmaker. If they really wanted it, they were both logical enough to figure it out. Alice was cute about it. She was slowly developing her knowledge of her crush with him, but Fae wasn’t sure how long that will go or last and Arthur was too complex for her to work out anyway. Fae wasn’t even sure if Arnold knew if he liked girls or not.

“I think mine went okay.” Fae answered truthfully. “I’m sure that I passed Charms without a problem and I think I did alright in Transfiguration.” Those were her classes that she was the most comfortable with. “And Care of Magical Creatures. My parents will be happy with me getting top grades in three to continue with my education.” Fae paused for a moment before adding, “I’m more worried about your parents though. Will they be checking my grades?” She really hoped that they weren’t, but she wasn’t sure if they had the rights to that now that she and Arnold were legally bound.

0 Fae Is it worrisome if it was for too long? 0 Fae 0 5

Theresa

December 27, 2012 12:01 PM

That's probably a good idea by Theresa

At least, Theresa thought, her face burning, she seemed to have gotten her point across. Now if he could only mistake the redness of her cheeks and forehead for a consequence of the heat of the fire, then things would be at least within the boundaries of the salvageable. She didn’t think she was going to be that lucky, though.

“No,” she said, truthfully enough. Arthur had spoken to her sharply once or twice about not being an idiot, which had made her speak back just as sharply since looking at her parents had taught her all she’d ever needed to know about that, on some level, long before she or Arthur had ever been old enough to know that members of the opposite sex were anything other than people who happened to wear different clothes, but that was not the same as saying he thought she and Cepheus were a couple. That was Arthur telling her that it was impossible that she and Cepheus ever would be a couple and that she should therefore stop glaring at the back of Megan Brownbriar’s head from time to time and focus on getting the attention of Laurie Stratford. “No one did,” she said, hoping to sound like she was making light of the situation. She suspected she just sounded like she was trying far too hard, but hoped for the best anyway.

“Thanks,” she said when he offered her the chocolate, taking it with a smile. She couldn’t think of many things that sounded better than eating chocolate right now. Uncle Adam’s way of using it at home when he had to get one of them or another over something had the stuff permanently ingrained in her mind as a treat you earned for getting through an unpleasant situation.

She got some marshmallows and crackers, too, and followed Cepheus back to the fire. The whole conversation was starting to feel more than a little surreal to her. A portion of reality came back to earth with an unpleasant jolt, though, when he said he couldn’t imagine why anyone would have bothered to think they might be a couple anyway, and her determined fake smile froze in place and then started to slide off until he got to ‘although….”

She waited for a moment, but he didn’t say anything, and she felt compelled to offer something.”We did dance together at a wedding,” she tried. “Maybe – people talked about that?” She thought it was weak at best, stupid at worst. Why did she always say something stupid in front of him? That was not the way to be impressive. Was she really just stupid? She’d always resisted that idea, but…. “Dance with your friend Alicia this summer and they’ll put you two in next year’s.”

Theresa tried, but didn’t completely succeed in concealing a note of bitterness in her voice as she mentioned that. She had come to school with big ideas, and so far, she thought Alicia Bauer had succeeded in starring in all of them instead. As far as she could tell, the Aladren girl was effortlessly brilliant, magically talented, well-dressed, and strikingly good-looking, and she’d pulled all the good matches of their year together into what Theresa thought of as ‘Alicia’s harem,’ even though she was not completely sure that the word exactly meant just ‘keeping all the good matches around for yourself.’ That was definitely enough of a part of it for Theresa to resent it, though, and them all doing the Concert together last year was something she, at least, thought had had a point.

She smiled not very convincingly when he speculated that he was making too much of things. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” she said, though it annoyed her. So she was that unimportant, then? It didn’t matter, then, because no one would take her seriously as a romantic threat anyway? Unfortunately, though, she knew that was possible; the only advantage being the oldest of six children born to a second son gave her in the marriage market was that she was very used to babies already. “Goodness knows no one would take it seriously, right?” she added in the same falsely cheerful tone. "My parents would think it was a bigger deal to give a bunch of kids this much chocolate; they'd think no one's going to sleep at all tonight."

0 Theresa That's probably a good idea 0 Theresa 0 5

Arnold

December 27, 2012 1:12 PM

Well, it could get in the way of making new good memories by Arnold

The idea that it was rude to think highly of yourself was an unfamiliar one for Arnold, and he took a moment to turn it over in his mind. In that case, most of his relatives were unspeakably impolite all the time, because even those not as far toward the extreme end as Grandfather, who used to tell them all that they were automatically better than everyone else just by virtue of being Careys, did seem to think they were doing very well for themselves most of the time. It was certainly rude to let other people know about it, even Grandfather would admit that, but as for the actual thinking….

Maybe, he decided after a moment, Fae was speaking in shorthand, skipping the part about it being rude to present herself that way. That made sense. He let it go.

“I really don’t think anyone would think that about you,” he said again, even thinking it was true. Fae was a little on the quiet side, but she was still one of the sweetest people he knew.

He sort of worried about her getting thrown into his family’s family life, honestly, because of that; they were all more…energetic, he guessed, among themselves when they weren’t in public, something the Fourth didn’t seem to like much but had tolerated for long enough that no one was likely to give it up now, and he knew they would most likely expect Fae just to fall in with the rest of them as soon as she was officially family, which he was afraid she might find completely overwhelming. It was too early, though, to worry too much about that; even if they got married as soon as they left school, which he had no idea if they would do or not because no one talked to him about that kind of thing, that was still a long way in the future in his opinion, and there might be a bunch of nice other in-laws she could be friends with if the rest of them were too much of too much, as Aunt Gigi called it, by then. His own immediate family was small, but he was the fifth of his grandparents’ fifteen living grandchildren and there were ten boys in that group.

Sara Raines had never struck Arnold as a person who really needed other people to worry about her, but then, he thought other people would say the same thing about Arthur while Arnold worried about him all the time these days, so he listened as Fae kept talking about the issue with the yearbooks. “Maybe they’ll see me in there and decide the whole thing was a joke?” he suggested, then shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t know, I just…I hope none of that happens?” This was all getting much more complicated than things Arnold felt comfortable dealing with were. The number of things lately which were like that and which he couldn’t avoid dealing with made him wonder if the whole world had decided to come after him for some reason.

He laughed when Fae claimed his biggest Quidditch skill was getting smacked around by the Bludgers, but that he was okay at getting the Snitch, too. “I’ll do,” he said. “I’d say it’s more what I like doing than what I’m good at, though. I mean, I depend on the Beaters as much as I do being able to fly, er, pretty well. If they get sloppy, I might not even figure out what hit me for a week.”

It occurred to him a moment later that he probably shouldn’t have said that to her, since he knew she didn’t like Quidditch much anyway. Preston was his primary Beater these days, and while he pretty nearly trusted Preston with his life when they were actually playing, he could imagine Fae not agreeing with him that he should, or even that he could. Plus, now she might spend all next year worrying about the outside possibility that he’d spend a week in a coma after a game, and he really didn’t want to worry her.

“Well, a few hours, anyway,” he modified, hoping this would be a little better than the original version.

“That’s true,” he agreed about Arthur and Alice. “She was the first person he ever met who did something better than he did, you know. He’s liked her ever since.”

The idea that his parents might see fit, or even have the ability, to look at Fae’s CATS results unless her parents just spontaneously decided to show them off to her future in-laws startled him. It made him wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair could somehow get hold of his, too. He had thought he actually did well, after all the long study sessions Arthur had subjected him to, on them, but that didn’t mean he really wanted other people’s parents seeing them, either. What if he’d been wrong? “I don’t think so,” he said uncertainly. “Why? Are your parents asking about mine?”

He really hoped the answer was ‘no.’ Arnold was used to always being third-best at his house, but there was a difference between that and being publicly held up beside Arthur and being found wanting. He knew perfectly well that Fae would have been in the way of more potential money and status with either of his brothers, but he didn’t know if the Sinclairs shared his awareness yet.

0 Arnold Well, it could get in the way of making new good memories 181 Arnold 0 5

Mellie

December 27, 2012 8:17 PM

Throws around the confetti. by Mellie

Mellie recognized Laurie Stratford, of course, both as Michael’s roommate and as someone else who was in her year, but she didn’t know him very well even after four years as classmates. She wasn’t sure why; it just seemed that she stayed in the same circle most of the time, socializing mostly with Jhonice and Michael, though she’d been careful to say hello to Brianna Japos when they crossed paths this semester after they had spoken at the Returning Feast in January. That, she thought, characterized most of her interactions at school: she was friendly to anyone she ran across, but didn’t really get to know anyone that well.

Well, she hadn’t until this point. There was no reason, really, why she shouldn’t. Her year all still had three full years left together, after all. So after Laurie agreed with her, she resolved to find something else to say.

“It’s the beginning of two whole months without homework,” she said, smiling too at the thought of that. “I’m so very looking forward to it. Do you have any fun plans for summer?”

In spite of his casual, normal attire, Mellie doubted, considering the kind of the family she thought the Stratfords were, that he would do much that she would ever be remotely allowed near, or which she would be able to do anything but make a complete idiot of herself at if she ever did get close to it, but she guessed it might be interesting to hear about. She did like reading the sections of the paper that dealt with people who weren’t like her and her family just because their worlds seemed so completely different from what she was used to. She picked up a bar of chocolate, then paused over the graham crackers, not sure if she wanted to make an actual s'more or not.

16 Mellie *Throws around the confetti.* 206 Mellie 0 5

Effie Arbon

December 28, 2012 2:31 PM

I do not dislike this... by Effie Arbon

The idea of the bonfire had grown on Effie. She liked the outdoors and had been rapidly coming to the conclusion that she might like new experiences. She had had relatively few of these and the prospect of many of those on offer at school caused her the concern that they might not be proper. However, Isabel had reassured her regarding the bonfire – they could keep to selected company, the tent would not really be so different from their own room – and she had found that she had grown excited as the event drew nearer.

A mere few minutes at the event certainly presented her with novel experiences. There were yearbooks, of which she had never heard. Her eyes swept the crowd, taking in those she regarded as her social equals. As they seemed to be accepting the books, she took one too, reading it with curiosity. It was a little like one of the Society Chronicles only it also included unimportant people. However, she had been described as well behaved, and thus she felt inclined to view the book favourably. It commended both Anthony Carey and Alan Raines on their intelligence and was also kindly inclined towards Isabel, assuming that 'Princess' was a compliment – given that it was juxtaposed with 'Gentleman' and given the company which Isabel's picture was keeping, she deemed it to be so. She felt the book poked fun at McKinley somewhat. Although Effie recognised the other girl to be somewhat irrational she did not think it quite fair to publicly dress her down for it. Generally pleased with the volume, however, she tucked it under her arm.

She slipped into the queue for snacks behind someone whose behaviour she felt comfortable using as a model. Whilst she waited, she pondered to herself whether this was a buffet. People had to help themselves, which was definitely in the style of buffet food but the general notion seemed to be that one then cooked the food over the fire. That did not seem buffet-like. However, she was not sure what else it might fall under. She had a sneaking suspicion that the etiquette book had not covered the eventually of having to cook food oneself over a naked flame. She observed the person in front, copying the way the mounted food onto sticks, although making a more modest selection. Her guide then proceeded to stick their snacks over the heat of the fire, as had been suggested. Effie held hers out a little tentatively, not wishing herself or the food to become scorched or, worse still, start a conflagration.

13 Effie Arbon I do not dislike this... 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Alicia Bauer

December 28, 2012 3:30 PM

...What is this? by Alicia Bauer

Alicia was still a little disappointed that the end of the year event this year offered her no chance to work with her friends in the weeks leading up to it, but after writing her big Transfiguration paper over six times and her Charms one another four, she had to admit that it might well have been bad for her health if it had. She could have done it, she was sure, but if it had been even half as much work as last year’s Concert, she thought she would have been hovering dangerously close to the brink of exhaustion tonight instead of feeling about as good as she ever did as she did her best to keep her shoes from sticking in the grass of the Pitch and waited with friends for the Headmistress to make her announcements so they could get on with the night’s socializing.

Her smile flickered when some of the first words out of the woman’s mouth reminded her of how soon she had to go home and endure two months where even if she could arrange some get-togethers with her friends, she would still have to spend long periods of time with only letters to remind her that she wouldn’t have to be there forever, but it was back in an instant, the lapse hopefully concealed by the unsteady light of the fire and the growing shadows of the evening. She raised her eyebrows, interested, when the yearbooks were mentioned, then applauded enthusiastically when the Head Boy and Girl were announced. Wilkes was a Mudblood who didn’t deserve the position of authority he already had and Sara Raines existed to make other girls feel bad about themselves, but he was an Aladren and Sara was dating one, so while the actual nuances were more subtle, as far as the public needed to be concerned, they were still her people.

She lost track of most of her closer people as everyone moved around for yearbooks, but she knew she would be able to find them again without too much trouble and so opened the book before setting out to see them, skimming pages until she found the third years and almost immediately winced as she looked over all their pictures. Her hair looked thin, Henny looked squirrely, Thad’s picture made her think of a rabbit who’d had a few too many swallows of bad tea, and Cepheus’ hair made it seem that he could have been on the wrong end of a backfiring Shocking Spell immediately before being photographed, but she took some comfort in thinking that Arabella Brockert clearly hadn’t brushed her hair beforehand and that Alexandra Devereux looked a little deranged. Ephanie and Theresa Carey’s pictures, she ignored entirely; it was much more pleasant for her that way.

She paused over the Quidditch pictures to beam at the Aladren team, which had won again, even though the pictures they’d used there made them all look like serial killers, then skimmed the club lists before being surprised to see an awards section. The first section made her smile; she looked even worse than she had in her first picture, but Thad’s picture was slightly better than his other one, and while she thought they were both very fun people, there was nothing wrong with being perceived as serious when the situation was serious. She only glanced over the unimportant sections that followed well enough to make sure no one she cared about was in them, then nodded tersely when she got to Class Gentleman and Princess; Cepheus was all right, if she did think Thad was usually a little more gentlemanly, and she supposed she had to give the other girls a few vaguely positive ones. Besides, ‘Princess’ was one of her mother’s nicknames for her, and she hated the implication of being too dim to look after herself. Theresa could have that one.

The next section, though, got a flat stare, which was quickly changed into a glare at the back of a red head which belonged either to the offending Thornton or to one of her relatives. Andri had gotten biggest brain? Henny, Alicia could have accepted, grudgingly, since it had been her idea to start a book club, but Andrina Thornton? What had she ever done to deserve that? Not written a five-foot paper six times over, Alicia was almost prepared to swear to that….Irritated, she flipped the page and scowled again when Arabella Brockert got ‘Most Logical.’ The girl wasn’t even an Aladren, and from what Alicia had seen, she couldn’t play the times to save her life.

She let Henny have Class Bookworm with good grace, didn’t care about most of the other sections, but was soon scowling again when she got to Best Friends and didn’t see herself and any of her friends on the page. What was wrong with these people? Then she turned to the Couples page and promptly nearly dropped the book.

Cepheus was dating Theresa Carey? Since when was he dating Theresa Carey? He hadn’t told her a thing, why hadn’t he told her, unless it was all a mistake….

She looked up, looking around for either of the guilty parties, and promptly found them sitting together. It took her a few seconds to remember to close her mouth. Her hands were shaking as she closed the book a second later, too.

An hour ago, Alicia had thought she was on top of the world, or at least the segment of it that currently lived at Sonora Academy. She had felt confident of her place, her relationships, her knowledge of everyone else's places and relationships, and of how the public mood was about all sorts of different things. Now, though, she wasn't sure that she knew anything, and she was afraid that that knowledge, when it sank in, was going to make her be sick, or at least go curl up in a small ball in her tent so she could pull on her hair until things settled down in her head again.

She realized someone was speaking to her. "What?" she asked, turning toward the voice, which had said not a word she had really heard.

16 Alicia Bauer ...What is this? 210 Alicia Bauer 0 5

Regina Parker

December 29, 2012 3:47 PM

Sitting by the fire by Regina Parker

Reggie had thought this year would have gone a bit differently for her. But, much to her dismay, she was exactly where she had been last year. Reggie didn’t know why this was her luck. She felt like she was a good person, fun to hang out with, never boring (or so she felt), pretty good in her classes, spontaneous, heck, she even put on a pretty decent costume party. So then, how come she was still single? She was sixteen now, never been kissed, never even held a boy’s hand. Derry not included as he was her best friend and she often held his hand to pull him places. Her friends back home had been dating people off and on for two years now. Were magical boys just slower? Or was she really rather ugly compared to the other girls in her class? Reggie didn’t think she was terrible looking. There were definitely better looking girls than her, but she still felt like she fared well against them. Maybe she was wrong? Or maybe she just wasn’t the right blood type. That definitely factored in with the boys here. Of course, of the two that she actually was interested in, neither of them were Pureblood for it to matter.

Wearing yoga pants, flip flops, a zip up hoodie, no makeup, and hair up in a messy bun, Reggie stood in the mix of the students waiting for things to happen. For a girl who was second guessing her looks, personality, and just about everything else about herself, Reggie really wasn’t dressed to the nines and looking for attention. She just wanted to be comfortable for the evening. She figured it was too late to have anything start for her anyway, so she didn’t see the point of making herself up. Besides, she’d have to sleep like that and she’d look like a complete alien in the morning in front of everyone. No, best to be clean and wake up looking like a human.

One of the boys that she had been crushing on, and for a while now, was going to be the Head Boy next term. Reggie clapped happily for David when he was called up and semi-happily for Sara. Not that Reggie had anything against Sara, she just didn’t know the other girl very well… or at all. She was just another Pureblood in the slew of Purebloods. She shouldn’t think negatively about them like that. Derry was her best friend and Hope was really nice. Plus she thought of Josephine as a good friend. They were all Purebloods. She was just moody because nothing was what she had hoped it would be.

She took a yearbook and then made her way to a less crowded area to sit. She loved camping when she was younger. Usually that was the vacation choice for her and her dad, but they didn’t really do it any more. For one, they had gone skiing with Derry and his mother over the holidays, so they wouldn’t take a vacation during the summer. For another, Reggie was spending time with her grandmother in Canada and her father was busy with work, so they wouldn’t really have time for it anyway. She would have a s’more later because they were so yummy and she really needed something to cheer her up.

Opening the book, Reggie started to flip through the pages. At least her pictures looked pretty good. Oh, at they even put a bit about her party in there. Awesome. When she reached the awards part of the book, she took her time with it. She agreed that she could be rather talkative, so that didn’t bother her and she as sure she could be creative, but she didn’t think she was really that much of a flirt. Or, if she had been, she wasn’t aware. But since Phoenix was there next to her, she assumed people saw them together at the party. The Best Couple part only confirmed her suspicions and she felt just as bad again seeing them together. What a jerk. He had her interested, he knew he did, and then he just stopped talking to her. Apparently bad boys were just that.

Closing the book, Reggie sat for a while looking at the fire and watching everyone else roast marshmallows or chitchat with friends. Well, her year might have been a loveless bore, but at least it was over, CATS were done, and she was free to do as she pleased.

6 Regina Parker Sitting by the fire 187 Regina Parker 0 5

HB-Elect David Wilkes

December 29, 2012 3:50 PM

I'd like to thank all my supporters before I run away.... by HB-Elect David Wilkes

It would not have been unfair to say that David Wilkes was not the best in the world at standing perfectly still anyway, but as he walked around the bonfire, checking it and the groups around it out from different angles, it would have been fair, he thought, to say that he was having a harder time with it tonight than usual. That itself, he thought, was pretty darn unfair. He had spent weeks, now, carefully convincing himself that he didn’t care one way or the other about the Head Boy thing and that his inclusion on the ballot had probably just been sheer force of habit making the staff include an Aladren on the list, but now that it was time for the results to be announced, he was all over nerves. He couldn’t help it; it was some kind of bone-deep DNA thing, unshakable, inescapable, and he could vacillate all he liked between blaming his mother and blaming the whole situation of House Aladren and specifically its Quidditch team for it, but it was there anyway. In the end, no matter how hard he tried to be egalitarian or above it all or whatever phrase he was using this week, he cared about winning competitions.

Still, though, he was proud of himself for thinking he’d kept that pretty much a secret, and prouder yet for being dead sure he had told absolutely no one, not even his sisters when he wrote home, that on that same deep, instinctual, inescapable level, he thought he was going to win. Not when he knew there was a very good chance he was really fooling himself most extravagantly. He had the political awareness of a lemming, but he did know about purebloods and Muggleborns, and that for some people, just him having parents who wouldn’t know a wand from a drumstick would make all the difference, even if he had actually been a good leader-type, which he emphatically believed he was not. He just thought he was a little more likely to be perceived as such by the student body than Ryan O’Malley. But if blood came into it….

Well, that did bother him, not least because his family had held one idea of what was elite and his teachers had held another and his teachers, who’d held that smart people in general were that category, had had more of an influence on him than his parents had and both views combined made him dislike people thinking less of him for anything other than the way he talked sometimes. Politics were not his thing, and he got along better with the people he had to deal with most often by not thinking about it, but that was going to annoy him, if it turned out that was why he lost, if he happened to lose.

He smiled reflexively at someone looking at him. “Hey, how’re you doing?” he asked briefly before moving on, then shook his head at himself, realizing that he had done so not because his childhood culture had drilled it into him that this was the thing to do when one happened to look at someone else, but because that was candidates did on election nights. Disgusting, that was what he was. Turning into a politician at the first glimmer of an opportunity. He didn’t know what would happen to him if he did win.

”Alright, alright, settle down now,” K-J, as he thought of her privately, said finally, and David made himself stand where he was, looking at her and waiting.

He applauded the part where they didn’t have to do any work for this one, then did the same for the yearbook, and then, when she announced the results, froze in place, his hands half together, not quite believing what he had just heard.

“Ah…” he said, or sounded, more accurately, to no one in particular.

He had actually won?

He blinked, the world sort of rushing back all at once, and began to walk, since he figured she and Sara wouldn’t want to wait on him too long, but he still didn’t quite believe it. He had actually won? Sure, he had thought he would, but there was a difference between thinking he would win and actually winning. What had happened to blood and politics and him being about the least dignified person on the face of the planet? That was…how did that happen, anyway? That was the whole reason (most of it, anyway; a desire to preserve a little modesty, and also not to be mocked for the rest of his natural life if he was wrong, had factored in, too, but he wasn’t thinking about that right now) he hadn’t told anyone about his feeling that he’d win, because he’d thought it was completely inaccurate.

Getting up there, he waved to the crowd, and briefly considered grabbing Sara’s hand and doing the double-bow thing before rethinking it after one good look at her. With Kate or Eliza, he might have been all right, but Sara Raines was dignity incarnate. Sara Raines would probably have him killed for that even if her boyfriend didn’t. He wasn’t even going to do that. He did, though, take a bow on his own before walking, still feeling kind of pleasantly stunned, back down among the commoners.

I’m going to be Head Boy, he thought, trying to get the idea properly into his head. I’m going to be Head Boy. I’m going to be Head Boy.

He grinned as the thought did, indeed, settle into his head like dust onto the blades of a ceiling fan in winter, but a moment later, the expression faded away in horror as it built up. I’m going to be Head Boy, he thought. “Oh, dang,” he said aloud, not really meaning to, as the full implications of that settled in and he began to wonder if it was not perhaps the time to begin to panic. There was always a perfect moment for it, and it was important to find that moment, not to just take any old one that happened to pass by....

16 HB-Elect David Wilkes I'd like to thank all my supporters before I run away.... 169 HB-Elect David Wilkes 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

December 29, 2012 4:27 PM

Toasting effigies by Michael Grosvenor

The Bonfire was supposed to be fun. The term was over and he had a fun summer planned. He stood some chance of being able to interact with his friends, thanks to the subtitle charm he'd been working on. He'd been really excited too when Laurie had arranged a secret meet up for them at the party, although he worried about the risks. He found his enjoyment at all these prospects being rapidly replaced by irritation though when he arrived and found Laurie talking to Mellie. She was one of his best friends and he would have liked to spend some time with her. Spending time with her and Laurie together would have been pretty cool but, whereas in any normal, sane world, he could have just gone over and joined in, he couldn't. Cos Laurie's stupid, psycho family hated him for coming from the wrong background. The unfairness of it all, and the unnecessary restrictions it put on his life irked him. It took Laurie away from him at events like this and now it was encroaching even further and taking Mellie away from him too.

The temptation to skewer Preston Stratford with a large stick and roast him over the fire was almost overwhelming. In his frustration, he nearly threw the yearbook into the fire, just to have some physical release of his frustration. But then an idea occurred to him. He flipped through. Luckily the fifth years had the sixth years on the back of their page, rather than being on the back of his own year group's. He ripped out the page with Preston Stratford's picture on, scrunching it up, hurled it at the bonfire.

“Screw you, you...” A series of adjectives followed, the only one of which that was appropriate for school was 'ginger.' He couldn't see Preston's smug, ugly face, due to the way in which he'd scrunched the paper up but he imagined it becoming melted and blackened in the flames. If only his real face would do the same, or at least enough to wipe the smirk off it. He felt a little better. And maybe he could catch up with Mellie after he'd spoken to Laurie. For now, he guessed, there were other people to hang out with. And free food. He hung back just long enough to scowl down the piece of paper until it had burnt out of all existence.

13 Michael Grosvenor Toasting effigies 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Thad Pierce

December 29, 2012 5:17 PM

It's a yearbook, I believe by Thad Pierce

Thad made it through all of his end of year essays and tests with relative ease. He'd overshot the required length of the Charms paper by half again, but with no real preparation needed for the bonfire, he'd had the time to do extra research and it just hadn't all fit into the length specified by Professor Olivers.

Honestly, he sort of wished this year of midsummer relaxation had come in two years' time, when he had CATS to deal with. On the plus side, the bonfire would roll around again in time for his RATS, which was an even better year to have no other obligations going on. Still, it was his first year of Intermediate Level finals, so he did appreciate the extra time to commit to revision and end-of-year projects to make sure they were of a far higher quality than what he could have achieved as a mere beginner last year. He had fifth years to compete with now and he had no intention of letting a two year age difference make his results any less respectable than theirs.

For the bonfire itself, all they had needed to do was decide with whom to share a tent. Evan was the obvious choice and Thad had wasted no time in confirming that with his roommate. Within a few days of the announcement at the Returning Feast, Cepheus had suggested the two Aladrens join in with him and Gareth as well, and that had that. Tent arrangements agreed and settled by early January. It hadn't even taken a whole five minutes between the two conversations. Once that was confirmed, all he had to do was show up. It was the least time-intensive midsummer event he could imagine.

So here he was. S'mores were something of a mystery to him, but they had been specifically mentioned by several people as playing a key role in the bonfire event, so he had done some research on the subject and felt he could now construct the treat without looking foolish. The instructions had sounded simple enough.

First, though, was the pre-event speech. The new Heads came as little surprise. David had been the only Aladren boy on the ballot so his appointment was only to be expected while Sara Raines was pretty much the ideal of what a young lady of breeding was supposed to be like so of course she won the Head Girl position. What was surprising was the yearbook. He had thought the school discontinued those a few years ago but was quite pleased to find out they had resumed the practice.

Obtaining his own copy, he paused briefly in the first year section to view the Anns' pictures (he frowned uncertainly, wondering if maybe the editor had gotten the girls' pictures mixed up, if he'd had to guess he would have thought the image over Annabelle's name was Annette, but decided it probably didn't really matter anyway), then skipped right to the third year section. He did not care for his own photograph, but then, he rarely did. His chin was too pointy and he'd been having a bad eyebrow day when the school pictures were taken and he hadn't finished smiling yet when the camera went off so he had a weird expression on his face. At least most of his friends looked better. Cepheus was largely overlooked, the Princeton Crotalus having been placed directly next to Thad's own image by alphabetical order and thus Thad's eye was drawn to his own shortcomings instead of being able to really pay his future tentmate any attention at all. Evan looked great in his - almost better than he did in real life, which Thad felt was the opposite effect photography had on his own features - and Alicia looked sophisticated and elegant. He found himself staring at Ephanie's picture just a few seconds too long before shaking his head and turning to the fifth years. Derry, curse him, remained the most photogenic of the four Pierces attending Sonora. A brief look at Amelia's staff photo brought him to the conclusion that Derry must have inherited that from his mother's side.

He skimmed over the Quidditch teams, pausing only long enough to be pleased that Aladren was listed first. That Pecari got second billing over Crotalus proved this was due to them being the best and not something as arbitrary as alphabetical by house name. He compared the picture of Ann Pierce back to the first year section and wondered if the editors had used the picture of 'Annabelle' because they knew something he didn't or if that one was just more readily available when they put together the Quidditch layout. Again, probably not important, though Aunt Bettina might read too much into it, in which case Belle was going to be in some serious trouble in a few days.

He skimmed through the clubs pages, making sure his own name was there for the two he belonged to, and wondered if he should join the horse club next year, just to make sure he had more exposure as a social and well-rounded individual going into Prefect determinations for his year. Unfortunately, he really did not care for horses so he decided ultimately that the attempt would be counter-productive when the genuine horse-lovers recognized him as a poser and threw him out of their club.

Then he came to the awards. He was a little startled to find his own face staring back at him from Most Serious (his chin was really pointy-looking in that one but at least his eyebrows weren't all weird and he had actually finished smiling so it was definitely better than the one use earlier in the yearbook) but Alicia was right next to him, so he decided it couldn't be all bad. He sighed and decided to pretend Derry wasn't there under class clown and quickly moved on, letting that award merge in his mind with the talkative one on the next page. That certainly could not be denied was Derry's due.

No Pierces under bashful, which was appropriate, and he jumped again at finding himself under Quidditch Obsessed. He was the only Pierce there so it wasn't that he was related to the Coach. Dang it. He was never going to live down that incident in Flying Lessons, was he?

No Pierces under Princess/Gentleman, which was again appropriate. He could admit that the Pierces were not that well thought of in the upper echelons of pureblood society, no matter how much some of the adults might wish it were otherwise.

"Yes!" he cried out in joyful triumph, quite without intending to, when the next heading was biggest brain and there he was. He had never felt prouder of anything in his life. This feeling only increased with his inclusion among those deemed Most Logical. His life had purpose and meaning and he was honored for his virtues within his own lifetime. It did not matter that this was a school yearbook. This is what recognition felt like. With any luck, he'd feel it again at the beginning of his fifth year and the end of his sixth when he found out whether or not he got prefect and Head Boy.

When the next heading was Most Creative, he immediately looked for and found Evan. Thad felt his roommate could have carried the category by himself and the others there were nothing but useless filler that detracted from Evan's own opportunity for recognition and life purpose.

He skipped quickly past the criminal one because he refused to acknowledge that the last two identical faces were familiar. Likewise, the next couple pages were equally uninteresting as they didn't have any Pierces on them either.

Bookworm of course only added to his earlier pride of recognition, and having Henny there beside him for that one was no surprise given she had founded the Book Club. This was another example where he thought maybe some people were getting too much credit and Henny really ought to be more prominently displayed under it. Still, he was glad he was there.

No Pierces under Best Looking. The family wasn't hard on the eyes, certainly, but he had already noted that they did not photograph as well as might be hoped. Anyway, he doubted anyone would call the family beautiful or handsome, though some girls could probably get away with calling Derry cute, in the way babies are. Merlin knew the maturity level was about the same. He didn't understand why Alicia or Ephanie weren't there, though.

Under best friends, Thad wasn't too surprised to find Derry and Reggie listed first. He rarely saw one without the other at school. He was disappointed he and Evan hadn't made the list and he felt a confusing mix of relief and anger that he and Alicia hadn't either. That mixture ratcheted up a notch two pages later when they were likewise left out of Best Couple. They weren't dating, never had, and never would, so he didn't even know why he looked for their names together there. He'd have to ask Cepheus later, though, when he'd started dating Theresa and congratulate him.

Having finished his first run through the book - he'd give it a greater study later when he was bored and alone this summer - he closed it and started looking around for someone's company to enjoy during this last opportunity to socialize before he returned to the isolation of the mountain. He spotted Alicia first and decided that since they were about to not see each other for a long time it was all right to spend some time with each other tonight. He'd see the guys at the tent later, so it wasn't urgent to get in last minute time with Evan, Cepheus, or Gareth. It might, though, be among the last times he'd see Alicia before summer overtook them. Thus decided, he approached and called out cheerfully, "Hello, Alicia."

She seemed not to hear. As he came up beside her, though, she did seem to sense his presence and turned toward him. He smiled and raised an eyebrow at her as she failed to respond to his greeting but merely requested him to repeat himself.

"I said, 'Hello, Alicia,'" he repeated dutifully, still smiling. "Though if I could have come up with something cleverer on the spot, I'd have pretended I was more creative than that." He tapped the yearbook. "I guess I'm too serious or something."

1 Thad Pierce It's a yearbook, I believe 213 Thad Pierce 0 5

Hope Brockert

December 29, 2012 5:38 PM

Surprised by Hope Brockert

CATS were behind her and Hope was excited for the bonfire. It was sure to be a blast, a way to de-stress after the tests. She knew she wasn't the smartest person in her year or her family but she thought she did all right and she thought she'd done her best on her CATS. At the very least Hope expected a good grade in Transfiguration. No Brockert ever seemed to get less than an E in it as far as she knew and she felt she'd done quite well in it, as well as Charms, COMC and Divinations. Hope had always been encouraged away from more masculine subjects such as Defense Against the Dark Arts.

She applauded for the Head Boy and Girl even though she had voted for neither, sticking with family and House loyalty instead. Her family-including those descended through a female line had not had a Head Student in ages and it seemed there were very few Teppenpaw Head Students as well. Hope thought this was a shame. Her housemates were supposed to be the kind helpful sorts which she thought were wonderful qualities for any Head Student to have. Still, those two things made her doubt she'd have a shot at the badge next term.

The fifth year didn't really care that much about the title though. In fact, she was more interested in Russell being Head Boy than herself being Head Girl. The truth was that Hope really didn't stand out as much as some. She kind of blended in. Not that she minded doing so. So long as she was seen as sweet and proper. At least she wasn't scandalous or misbehaving.

And apparently her yearbook awards reflected that. Most Bashful was a bit of a surprise. Hope was certain that award would go to Addison or perhaps, Alice Adair but she didn't really mind. She'd also won Well-Behaved and noted that her younger brother had gotten Most Creative. She didn't really think he'd mind that that was the only award he'd gotten though. Autumn would probably be a different story. She'd only gotten Most Bashful, which was true, the Crotalus girl had always been painfully shy, even more so than Adam was these days. Hope knew her cousin was going to feel bad about herself and the fifth year didn't want that. She didn't want anyone to feel bad about themselves of course, but Autumn was especially fragile.

Hope came to the Best Looking page and gasped. She was on there. She'd never had any complaints about her looks but the idea that she was beautiful had never really come to mind either. Even though she tried to look her best both for her family's image and because Russell was around. She couldn't help but feel good about this though.

Which brought her to the couples page and an even greater shock. She and Russell had made it? That was...well she couldn't even put it into words. She didn't even think Best Friends was likely-as there were a lot of people here who were close-but Best Couple ? People saw them that way? Of course, she knew people saw Ryan and Sophie that way too and they weren't on here. Nor were Preston Stratford and Sara Raines who actually were a couple.

And thought she knew Great-Grandfather would be most displeased if he saw this, which was unlikely, she still kind of hoped Russell would take it as a hint.

11 Hope Brockert Surprised 186 Hope Brockert 0 5

Laurie

December 29, 2012 9:38 PM

dons on party hat by Laurie

The blush that had adorned his face a few seconds ago was slowly fading into a full-blown grin. He didn’t really know a lot about Mellie, but he knew that she spent time with Michael. If she was Michael’s friend, then she was also his friend. If his buddy liked her, then he was sure there was nothing wrong with her. Plus, she was kind of cute. The redhead grinned and took a bite of what he had grabbed of the table, which turned out to be an apple. He shrugged and continued eating it because he wasn’t going to leave a bitten apple laying around. He could attack the more delectable snacks.

“I am going to Quidditch Camp for most of the holidays!” He answered quite enthusiastically after swallowing what was a surprise healthy snack. “I will probably be home for like two weeks, one after school and the other before we return.” His smile was wide and his green eyes were full of the happiness and excitement he had inside of him. There was nothing better for him than to escape the formality of his family and replace it with fun quidditch anecdotes.

“So, what are your plans for the two months without responsibility?” he asked really interested in her answer. He hardly had any friends in school and it was nice to be talking to someone so freely that wasn’t related to him. Even when no homework was a really pretty sweet deal, he was going to miss Sonora. It was the only place where he felt he belonged to and had people that actually cared for him. Michael and Kitty were his best friends, and he really loved them.

Laurie smiled at Mellie and took another bite of his apple while he listened to her summer plans. He had always been interested in people outside his usual circle back at home. They had so different lives that he couldn’t stay away from it. They had more fun and were more carefree than what he did.

0 Laurie *dons on party hat* 0 Laurie 0 5

Nic Sawyer

December 29, 2012 11:18 PM

Do you not feel the relief I felt at this time last year? by Nic Sawyer

There were only days left before Nic would be leaving Sonora forever. He was uncertain how to feel about this. He had liked the magic school well enough; it was certainly better than his elementary school. Sam had been a decent roommate, as far as roommates went. They had co-existed comfortably together. Eliza was perhaps even a proper friend. He would miss her next year, he thought.

She would be the only thing that remained holding him to the school then, though. Sam would be graduating with him, and Rachel had left already. He didn't dislike the teachers or the classes, and he thought he had pulled off decent RATS scores, but he could doubtless find equally qualified teachers and classes at college.

Sonora had been a good school but there was very little reason to stay. He had learned what they had to teach him and anyone important to him was either gone, leaving, or would be leaving in the next year. He was ready to move on.

The problem was that Nic didn't really care for change. He'd been comfortable here. He did not know if the next phase of his life would compare, if it would be better or worse, and since he liked his current circumstances he was reluctant to leave them. Of course, he didn't have a choice. Nic would not be returning come September regardless of his opinion on the matter. There wouldn't be a place for him here anymore. His room would be given to a bunch of first years.

The bonfire, however, was one last trial to get through. The thing he liked best about Sonora was that the people in it generally left him alone. The midsummer summer events were the exception. For those, he was required to leave the quiet of his common room and socialize. He hated socializing. Thank Merlin this would be the last one. He just hoped he didn't wind up in a tent with too many other people. Ideally, he'd share with Sam and nobody else would bother them, but he doubted he was going to be that lucky.

First though, there were the preliminaries to suffer through. The Headmistress announced the yearbooks (Rachel wouldn't be in it; why hadn't it come back last year?) and the Heads. Eliza had escaped the responsibility of Head Girl, but glancing over at her as Sara Raines went up to claim the badge instead made him think she wasn't as pleased about that as he had been in her place last year.

He wasn't much for cheering people - he wouldn't even know how to begin - but after collecting his yearbook (he hung back and let everyone else get one first, being in no hurry to get sentimental over his time here by looking at pictures of people he would likely never see again) - he headed over toward her anyway. He could, if nothing else, provide a distraction from her disappointment. And to keep it from getting maudlin and dwelling on the fact that they would never again sit next to each other in the Crotalus common room in quiet comfortable companionship, he glanced through the year book to find something else to focus on.

He found it on the first page it flipped open to. As he came even with Eliza, he demanded in genuine confusion and indignation, the yearbook still open to the offending page in his hand, and he jabbed a finger at it, "Who says I'm a flirt?"

His eyes opened wide and he looked up from the page toward the girl who very well might be his best and only friend in horror and alarm. "People don't think we like each other, do they?" His finger pointed back and forth between them.

1 Nic Sawyer Do you not feel the relief I felt at this time last year? 165 Nic Sawyer 0 5

Jorge Garcia

December 30, 2012 12:39 PM

You really must want to cause harm. by Jorge Garcia

So, another year had gone by and Jorge’s life had not changed for better or for worse. He still stayed in the background. Still watched the people around him. Still gossiped in his head about everyone. He hadn’t a lick of friends to call his own, which neither pleased or displeased him. He felt he handled Monster Mouth Jade pretty well. He even went to a costume party. All in all, he felt his year had been bland, but not terrible. The only thing that did bother him was that people didn’t care to notice him. He was a Pureblood by all standards. From a good family. He didn’t think he was all that bad looking, and he was smarter than he felt people gave him credit for. He had all Os in his classes. Other than Jade, the only person who had noticed him at least on a friend level was in a huff with him because he had pointed out the obvious. Oh well. Maybe next year will be different.

Jorge stood in the crowd of students around the bonfire and waited for the evening to play out. If nothing else, he could crowd watch. People in social situations were always the most fun to watch. They felt safe in the mix of a crowd as though no one will notice what they do. All truths came out in social situations if one was paying any attention to it. He was sure he would witness a fight or a hook up or any other social thing that happened at these things. It was something he could look forward to at any rate.

Jorge was surprised to find out that they had a yearbook. He remembered his Tia and Tios talking about it from when they were at Sonora and he was fairly certain they were still around the first year of Lita’s schooling, but he wasn’t certain. He took his yearbook and then ignored everything else the Headmistress said in favor of it and began flipping through the pages. His picture was alright, but he looked a little off. He’ll have to try better next year. He scanned through most of the pages but paused when he came to the last section. This was what he remembered his Tios and Tia talking about. They always got awesome awards.

Scrolling through, he found himself under most talkative. He wasn’t sure if he really fit there, although he had no problem talking and maybe out of the choices he had been best. It figured that Cepheus and Theresa managed to get Class Gentlemen and Princess, but Jorge thought there were better choices for Gentlemen. Gareth was probably a better fit since he was actually nice to everyone and didn’t walk around with a stick up his butt. Theresa, though, Jorge could agree with. She had always been polite to him and, as far as he knew, everyone else too. Jorge nearly dropped the book when he saw a Thornton under biggest brain. Really? That family was the least smartest family he had ever met. Who multiplied that much for no reason? Whoever put this together must have felt bad for them and put her there.

Coming up to his face again, Jorge laughed. Most Dazed and Confused? He agreed that Waverly should be there. She was, after all, best friends with another Thornton. And she was rather gullible, but Jorge knew what was going on most of the time. He figured, maybe because he wasn’t so social, they stuck him there? He laughed again, when he spotted Jade under ‘Most Likely to be a Criminal’. Yeah, he felt that was accurate.

He was sad to find that he wasn’t in the Best Looking category, but it seemed that for the boys, no one under Fourth year was, so he didn’t take offense to it. He wasn’t surprised to see Jade and Amira under worst enemies since they made their hostility pretty known in Pecari, but he was surprised to see two couples together. He thought Cepheus was betrothed to Meghan, so if he was but was dating Theresa, the girls were okay with that? Scandalous. And then there was Eris and none other than Michael. He knew it. After all that huffing she did, he had been right. He’ll wait for her apology.

He spotted Michael not far away staring in the fire. Walking over to him, Jorge cleared his throat, “Congratulations, man.” He said by way of greeting. “I told Eris that it was bound to happen and she oughtn’t to get mopey about it. You finally pulled the trigger and asked her out.” Jorge grinned at him. “So, that means I won’t get any more glares if I talk to her, right? Just friends and all that. I know she’s yours.” Jorge had missed the show of Michael destroying part of his yearbook and thus was unaware of Michael's unhappy demeanor.

6 Jorge Garcia You really must want to cause harm. 220 Jorge Garcia 0 5

Fae

December 30, 2012 9:51 PM

You make a very good point. by Fae

Fae let the subject of the awards she won drop because Arnold seemed to be trying to cheer her up about it. He didn’t know about the thing with Josephine back in their second year. Josephine had hated her and it was because of how Fae had presented herself. Fae hadn’t meant to come off as someone who thought herself better, but she must have because Josephine had hated her for it. She felt that they had worked out their differences though, but that didn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t feel the same way that Josephine had. It was nice that Arnold thought that way about her, so she didn’t want to make him think negatively by brushing off his comments.

She found that he was even cuter when he was trying to help her out. Fae knew that words were not something he was very good at, which he proved the night of the costume party when they went in circles for a bit before he finally said that he wanted to date her. She wasn’t sure he knew exactly what that meant, but at least he admitted to liking her… in his way. She gave a small laugh when he tried to turn it in towards him to keep her from worrying. “Sorry, I’ll stop. I know I have to work on worrying so much about things that are out of my control.” She stated, using her mother’s words. “Anyway, you are cute, so I don’t think that you being in there are a joke.”

Fae frowned at him when he joked about being hit due to awful beater work. “That’s not funny, Arnold.” She said, half serious. “That could actually happen. If you decide to do this professionally, I’m going to have to take calming potion daily.” That, she felt, could be taken in two ways. He could laugh it off as her exaggerating, or take her seriously and feel guilty. She wasn’t sure which she preferred more. “Your flying has become very…acrobatic. I think I would do unlady-like things if you ever put me on the back of your broom.” She meant that she would lose her lunch, but it was possible that she would curse at him as well.

“Oh, he likes her?” Fae asked, perking up. Alice was such a strange girl that Fae had a hard time seeing anyone with her, but Arthur was just as weird. And if weird liked strange, well, Fae thought maybe it was a match made in Heaven. “What a crazy thought.” She said more to herself than to Arnold.

Even though it was Fae would put the seed into his head about the CATS, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I am fairly certain my parents wouldn’t ask about yours. Shelby never mentioned them asking for Victor’s, so I can’t imagine them asking for yours.” She told him, hoping that it helped. “I just don’t know the rules about this and since CATS mean future, I don’t want them to think poorly of me if my grades aren’t what they are hoping for.” It was very important to her that his parents like her and that Arnold still thought well of her.

0 Fae You make a very good point. 0 Fae 0 5

Eliza

December 30, 2012 10:35 PM

Not really, no by Eliza

Eliza had just morosely popped a marshmallow into her mouth when she saw Nic approaching. After a second’s thought, she decided this warranted another marshmallow before he arrived. She wasn’t sure would have thought of it until later if she had been celebrating a win right now instead of suffering a disappointment, but she had thought more than once this year already anyway that she was going to miss having him around next year, and this had brought it straight to the front of her brain.

The first words out of his mouth, though, were a great distraction. She blinked, swallowed her marshmallow, and said, “Well, I never did.”

That, she thought, might be truer than anything she’d said this week. There were a lot of things she could imagine Nic doing, but she couldn’t picture him flirting at all. Not ever. Not with any competence, anyway. It was one of the things she liked about him, actually; while she thought he was about as likely to think of doing anything romantic with her as he was to think about walking on the moon, if it ever did happen, she was pretty sure she would be able to recognize any attempt at a pass clearly from ten feet off and work on damage control before it was really a problem. How did she get that and other people got ‘class flirt?’ Sure, seventh year was not the most male-dominated of years, but even so, Nic barely talked to anyone besides her, as far as she knew, and honestly he didn’t really talk that much to her half the time. His body language didn’t suggest flirt to her much more than his language-language did, either, so she really had no idea where that one had come from.

And then he drew another conclusion, causing her eyes to widen in horror mirroring his. “Merlin, I hope not!” she exclaimed. “Not that there’s anything wrong with either of us, but that’s just – weird.”

She held her yearbook between her hands, looking at its cover warily, now. She had not really thought about it before, but if it had that in it…. “Now I am kind of worried about looking at the rest of this thing,” she said. “I cannot even imagine what else the populace might have come up with about us.”

0 Eliza Not really, no 0 Eliza 0 5

Alicia

December 31, 2012 3:37 PM

Your deductive skills are excellent, Mr. Pierce. by Alicia

Alicia laughed when Thad commented on the Thing-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. It was, she had to admit, kind of disconcertingly a rare day that he couldn’t cheer her up, possibly without meaning to. “Well, in that case, I would have been too serious to come up with a good response anyway, then,” she said. “Personally, though, I think all these other people are just too frivolous.”

Behind her smile, which was equal parts teasing and affectionate, a number of small wheels had begun to turn busily, moving information pegs into better-shaped holes.

She knew what she knew, and she knew that Theresa Carey was not dating Cepheus. It was not possible. Alicia watched her friends even when she wasn’t directly interacting with them – how could she look after them if she didn’t know what was going on in their lives that they might not want to tell her about? – and while those two had been talking more this year, she would know about it if they were together, especially if they were together enough for it to make the yearbook, which involved more people than just those close to them. These were all facts, and she would believe in them until Cepheus himself either told her otherwise or she saw him and Theresa indulging in public behavior of questionable taste with her own eyes. That meant, then, that this thing was inaccurate in a very objective way about at least one thing, which raised the question of how it had come to be that way.

Small wheels turned faster as they moved onto familiar pathways, lines of envy and anger and sometimes outright hatred they had traveled so many times that they’d worn their own little grooves into, which they fitted into perfectly, almost to their tops, now.

“Sorry,” she apologized for her moment of inattention, for the not hearing him the first time. “I was just thinking, I’m going to have to get my family to up their donation to the school next year, because I think this one was rigged against me or something. Your awards are all right – “ her smile brightened, congratulatory and proud for him – “but the girls’ sections are all messed up for our year, and then we didn’t make any Bests pages, either.” She shook her head at the ridiculousness of people.

She took a deep breath then and let the Problems with the Thing go, at least for the moment. “Other than that, though, it’s a good night, isn’t it? You’re closer to knowing them than I am, how do you think our new Head Boy and Girl are going to do?” A good night for the House was at least a night with something good in it for Alicia, after all, and she assumed Thad would take it the same way. “I assume Miss Sara knows which House she’s never allowed to take points from?” she added, only half-teasingly, though she didn’t mind if he missed the serious half she felt in there.

16 Alicia Your deductive skills are excellent, Mr. Pierce. 210 Alicia 0 5

Arnold

December 31, 2012 8:28 PM

Even a stopped clock's right twice a day by Arnold

‘Cute’ was a word Arnold associated first with the kind of giggly things Theresa did with her girlfriends over the summer and then with what other people said about the terrifying wooly clothes Mother had used to keep him and Arthur from being easy to identify in the pictures people had taken when they were infants, and he decided the first choice was better right here. He spent a lot of time even now considering how to vanish without being rude when he thought too much about Fae and his mother in the same sentence, but if Mother ever started showing off pictures of him and his brother in matching hats with long ear flaps and bobbles on top….

“Er, thanks, I guess,” he said, doing his best not to mumble or develop an intense interest in some nearby blades of grass as his ears heated up at someone saying he had any claim to a spot on the Good Looking page anyway and doing, he was proud to think, at least an okay job.

He winced, though, at the image of one of their possible futures that she came up with. “Oh, don’t do that,” he said. “I’ve got Careys on one side of the family and Mother on the other, so I’m probably unkillable anyway, you know.” The family did not approve of Mother in many ways, but he knew even Grandmother grudgingly respected her physical strength and energy, which was greater than that of some of the actual Careys. Mother fit into the family a lot better, Arnold thought, that Aunt Emma, or even, as treacherous as it felt to say it, Father, really. “They wouldn’t allow me to be.”

The image of Fae on a broom at all was more amusing. “Yeah, I don’t think that would be a good idea, most of the time,” he agreed. If someone was trying to kill them and they were under an anti-Apparition jinx, that would be one thing, but that kind of thing didn’t happen anymore. Besides, he had never flown with someone and didn’t really know how it would work. He was confident enough of his abilities to think he’d keep the broom in the air anyway, but doubted that he would be able to maneuver as well as he did on his own. Acrobatic tricks in the air, as good at them as he thought he was getting, would be something he tried only as a last result to avoid flying curses or something, not something he threw in just because it was fun or probably even to confuse his opponents.

“More than he does most people,” Arnold admitted, figuring it was okay for Fae to know that. “I was really surprised, I would have guessed he’d hate it, but apparently he only takes it personally when someone outdoes him in Quidditch.”

And, he thought after a moment, physical things in general; Arthur and activities where he was supposed to be aggressive but only to a point just didn’t work well together. As long as it was Arnold he was working with, he was usually okay, but with other people, he seemed to forget it was just pretend after a while. Arnold tried not to let him partner other people in DADA fighting lessons too much, just to be on the safe side. He didn’t think Fae needed to hear about that, though.

“Well, that’s good,” he said when she said he probably didn’t have to worry about her parents seeing his CATS. That didn’t eliminate the possibility of Mother spontaneously deciding to show them off, but it was better than nothing. "They definitely haven't said anything to me about your CATS," he assured her again on that subject, "but even if they do, I don't think they'll think less of you for it." He wasn't sure that was completely true, but he did think they wouldn't mind in a rude way, so that would do. "The family's pretty practical. They know we can't all be Alices and Arthurs. Everybody's got a place, though." He reflected for a moment. "As long as they don't do something really stupid," he amended. "But the CATS wouldn't come into that."

0 Arnold Even a stopped clock's right twice a day 181 Arnold 0 5

Jay Carey

December 31, 2012 10:26 PM

Hoping to help with the confusion by Jay Carey

It had, Jay thought, been a good year. The whole family had gotten through exams without anyone needing to spend time in the hospital wing, which was as much as Mother had said they should dare to hope for in his second year, the year that had the twins taking CATS and Theresa joining the third year and Henry being…Henry. Jay was a little more optimistic than that – he thought, from what he had heard, just sitting quietly and letting the others talk more often than not, that it might be all right to hope that they’d all passed their exams, too – but he had to admit, even getting as much as they definitely had done had been an accomplishment. He’d wondered a few times if it would really happen.

Now, it was all over, and they were about to go back home. Back to Mother and Father, and his full complement of younger siblings, he vaguely wondered if Cecilia would even recognize the three of them who’d been here, and attempts at French lessons and spending a lot of time outdoors because the adults didn’t like having all nine of them underfoot any more than any sane person would. The French lessons aside, Jay expected to spend more of the next two months competing in footraces and Shuntbumps than he did for marks on anything, which he thought was the way it ought to be during the summer.

First, though, there was one last matter of school business to hear about. Jay applauded politely for the new Head Boy and Girl, sorry, as he knew they were all supposed to be, to see a Carey girl leaving but glad that at least an Aladren had gotten one of the spots, and then went with everyone else to get a yearbook, though he didn’t go quickly because he wasn’t going to get involved in a lot of pushing and shoving. He had never really seen one of these things, but he’d heard about the ones that Sonora used to have, so he was guessing it would be something interesting to look at, or at least something that would remind him, many years from now, who’d been at Sonora when, and since he didn’t have to pay for it, he didn’t see what the downside was.

When he finally got one, he flipped through it pretty slowly, though he did just skim the pages for years with only people he didn’t know very well in them, thinking he could look at them more closely later if he felt like it and that it wasn’t very likely to be important if he never did. He looked at his own curly hair and weird expression with only a small sigh when he did get to the second years’ section, then went on to the other parts, feeling the customary swell of pride over the Quidditch team even though he’d been anything but instrumental to its victory, nodding at the long club lists rather than really reading them, and then getting to the awards.

He was not too sure what ‘bashful’ meant and made a note to look it up in the dictionary later and was sure he had been labeled ‘Quidditch obsessed’ either by default or just by association, but was okay with the other things he was designated, and closed the book without any ill-feeling toward his fellow students. He was just about to go look for some food when Aria Yale walked over with hers, seeming, as he thought the school had a way of making her be a lot, kind of confused.

“Just a book of pictures of everyone here this year,” he said. “And, I guess, what everyone thinks about them. It’s so in fifty years, we can remember people thought we were smart or funny or…whatever else we got.” He hadn’t carefully marked what other people got, though he remembered feeling relief about a few of Henry’s in passing. “Which awards did you get?” he asked, deciding that was a pretty good way of making conversation. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he added, since it wasn’t polite to make people share if they didn’t want to and he knew it was possible Aria's...Aria-ness meant it was especially important to be careful with her, in case he said something completely wrong by accident.

0 Jay Carey Hoping to help with the confusion 0 Jay Carey 0 5

Samantha Hamilton

January 01, 2013 3:53 PM

Coward by Samantha Hamilton

When she took the time to think about it, Samantha considered that her time at Sonora had passed by in a blur. Suddenly, without really realizing how she'd gotten there, she was in her graduating year, and at the closing event of term. This was it; in a few short days' time she would no longer be a student at Sonora Academy. It cheered her, therefore, to have such an occasion to mark the end of this era of her life. She'd decided to interpret it as a celebration, and so had donned a striking blue dress and heeled shoes that perhaps weren't strictly sensible for a bonfire, but she doubted she would be at another social gathering for a long while.

It some ways, naturally, she wasn't concerned with the announcement that would inevitably occur at the end of the Headmistress' speech; the voting this year would not affect her. However, as David's had been one of the names on the ballott (while voting was not to be discussed, it was normal for the rest of the students to find out at least which students had been nomintaed, if only through classroom and corridor conversations), Samantha was interested to hear how he'd fair. When her own name had been an option, Samantha had lost out to Jane Carey, although the Aladren didn't really think of it as losing out. She's had plenty to contend with in her final year, and being Head Girl would not have made any real impact to her life, other than to reduce her free time over the past ten months. She had a sneaking suspicion that David would feel the same way about the extra work entailed in the role... but then it was always difficult to lose a competition of any sort.

It soon became apparent that losing wasn't something that her friend would have to worry about, as his name was called out along with Sara Raines'. Samantha applauded, amused as she contemplated yet another way in which Aladren had conquered Crotalus. She wondered quite how David was going to manage to keep the Aladren team in line, maintain his Head Boy duties, and achieve grades worthy of an Aladren in his RATS, but perhaps now wasn't the time to question him about it, as she'd just seen his expression slide from a grin to a grimace.

Taking a couple of quick steps to join him where he stood, in time to hear him say, 'Oh dang.' Samantha laughed and offered a consoling pat on his shoulder. "Should I be offering congratulations or condolences?" she asked cheerfully.

0 Samantha Hamilton Coward 159 Samantha Hamilton 0 5

Josephine Owen

January 01, 2013 4:22 PM

It's the done thing at these events by Josephine Owen

Josephine didn't think she had ever been so pleased to have a school year draw to a close as she was at the end of her fifth. Logically, she was certain is was due almost entirely to her exams taking such precedence within her mind. personally, however, she felt that was just the tip of the iceberg. Feeling lonely and fat for the first half of the year had taken its toll, and whle she'd found solace in Addison, the company hadn't made the feelings go away entirely. Admittedly, the Pecari was feeling much better about it all, and had even started to lose a little of her extra weight, thanks to her exercise, but she would be pleased to be home all the same. The bonfire itself was one of those events - as Reggie's party had been - than Josephine knew she would enjoy once she was there, but she was dreading attending. James had been in a foul mood ever since his name hadn't been one of the options for Head Boy, and the title would either be awarded to his roomate or to his best friend (if Ryan could be called such - she wasn't sure that boys had best friends the way girls did), so Josephine would avoid spending time with her brother that evening. She also liked to look her best just about all of the time, and at an event where others may add some extra sparkle, Josephine would hate to look as poor as she truly was. Therefore she'd spent a good hour before the bonfire trying on outfits and re-tying her hair until she was happy with purple flared pants under a black patterned short dress and a cream crocheted cardigan, and two chestnut-coloured pigtails. She had also added just a hint of black eyeliner to each eye, a look she was sporting more often these days.

Arriving at the bonfire, Josephine was pleased to note just how busy it was. She enjoyed large parties, and the opportunity they provided to blend into a crowd, and to have a greater possibility of finding someone agreeable with whom she could pass the time. James was definitely not on her list of comapnions, so when the Headmistress began speaking, Josephine ducked out of view and weaved her way to the edge of the crowd. She applauded politely for those who were elected, breifly paused to consider that it would be her own yeargroup next time, and then she continued to hide from James until the crowds dispersed, which meant she was not one of the first to collect her yearbook. The fifth year carried the volume under her arm, weighing up whether she should read it now to avoid potential humiliation at her presence, or lack thereof, on its pages, or bung it in her trunk never to be opened.

Seeing that Reggie was already reading it, Josephine thought she may as well ask her friend for input on the matter, and so she headed over; Reggie was just closing the book as Josephine sat down next to her. "How bad is it?" she asked, overtones of anxiety in her voice. It did occur to her the moment afterwards that, being a photographer, Reggie might enjoy items like yearbooks, but for someone not keen on her own reflection, and sensitive about the way in which she is perceived by others, like Josephine, they could be hellish. However she had already spoken, so she simply sat back and awaited Reggie's summary of the vile object.

0 Josephine Owen It's the done thing at these events 196 Josephine Owen 0 5

Brianna Japos

January 01, 2013 4:48 PM

Disappointment is always around. by Brianna Japos

Brianna wasn’t sure if she was glad that the year was over or not. It had been a rather stressful year in terms of her social life. After the debacle of the costume party and her complete panic attack, Brianna was not going to hang around the crowd of students at the bonfire. Her plan was to find a quiet spot and just wait it out. Since she had no pants in her wardrobe, she had to wear a flower dress than came to a couple of inches above her knees. She didn’t know why she was still wearing clothes to fit in the way Attoria had wanted her. She was never going to fit in. But skirts and dresses were easier to find rather than pants that were either too short or didn’t fit her small waist.

Deciding on the dress because she had no choice, Brianna pulled on a gray cardigan and sandles and pulled her hair back into a ponytail much like she did when she was working in potions. If she were going to be around a fire, she didn’t want a breeze to catch her hair on fire. Hoping that it wouldn’t get so cold that she would regret not owning pants, Brianna went with the rest of the school to the pitch.

Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Brianna listened with patience as the Headmistress began the usual speech and clapped politely when the Head Boy and Girl were named. She knew that she would never get those titles. It might have been a bad thing since she needed a scholarship for college, but Brianna didn’t think anyone would ever even consider her anyway. Besides, she’d make an awful mentor for anyone anyway.

Brianna took her book and made her way away from the larger bonfire and towards the smaller ones around the tents. She wasn’t sure if she was staying outside or not, she’d have to find Valerie later and see what the medic said about her health. If Valerie was fine to stay out in the tents, then they would share one. If she wasn’t, then she’d head back up to the school with her roommate and stay the night there. Brianna didn’t mind either way. Although she had never been camping, she didn’t see an issue with it. She liked the outdoors, so it might have been fun. But she was perfectly content sleeping in her bed too.

She sat at one of the seating logs surrounding smaller fire. The log had a cushioning charm on it for which she was grateful for. She watched some of the other students for a couple of minutes and they found their way to their friends or to the food table. Not seeing anything particularly exciting, Brianna turned her attention to the yearbook. She found her picture and frowned at it. She looked mean in the photo and her lips were so much larger than anyone around her. Fantastic.

Brianna glanced at some of the other pictures, Josh’s included (his actually looked really good), before continuing on. She didn’t much care for Quidditch and she wasn’t in any clubs, so those pages really meant nothing to her, but she still took the time to look them over and to see who was in what club. The awards part had her worried. But when she read through them quickly, she found that she was only listed as Most Bashful. She could handle that. Well, minus the photo as it made her lips looked ridiculously swollen, but she was certain that no matter what, her lips would always look like that. But being considered quiet or shy by her peers was probably an adequate reflection of her. She did not go out of her way to socialize or chat. She still found it strange that Mellie greeted her in the halls or that Michael still called them friends when she didn’t see why or how.

Knowing that she was only in one award, Brianna took her time and reviewed them for a second time. Linus was named most serious, class gentlemen, and a bunch of brainy things, which Brianna found rather fitting. Even if he sometimes came off as arrogant, Linus was always well-mannered around her and he definitely did well in their classes. She was sure he was a rivalry to the Aladren folk. She found Josh under the criminal award and frowned. Even the yearbook people thought he was a bad guy. But he was also listed as Best Looking, so she supposed that sort of made up for it.

When she reached the part about Best Couples, Brianna also dropped the book entirely. He had lied to her after all. It was listed clear as day that they were an item right here in the yearbook. Michael was dating Eris. Her suspicions had been correct and instead of just telling her so that she could get over it, he made her feel stupid and as though her thoughts and feelings were completely wrong. He called her a friend but lied to her? Why? What was the point? Now everyone knew and he couldn’t lie about it anymore. He probably just taught her that stupid spell by themselves in the library because he honestly hadn’t wanted to be seen with her.

And this was why she didn’t talk to people. They always just let her down.

Brianna put the book on the log beside her and wrapped her arms around her legs to warm herself up. She would just sit here and wait it out.

6 Brianna Japos Disappointment is always around. 203 Brianna Japos 0 5

Mellie

January 01, 2013 4:51 PM

Dances. by Mellie

Mellie felt almost guilty when she saw Laurie eating an apple, and grabbed one of those for herself, too, so the feeling would go away. She didn’t actually dislike apples, or even carrot sticks, but the pressure from adults to eat them because they were good for her had created in her a divided mind about them, so that sometimes she did eat them just for the sake of eating them, sometimes she refused to eat them any time she could get away with it, and sometimes she ate them but didn’t really want them, because they were good for her. That last was what she was doing now with the Granny Smith apple. She knew it was good for her.

Her eyes widened and she forgot about nutrition, though, as Laurie told her what he was doing for the summer. “Oh, that sounds so cool,” she said. She wouldn’t have liked the part about only being at home for two weeks of the summer after having already been away for months and months beforehand, but he didn’t seem worried about that and she wasn’t going to point something that might be unpleasant out to him. “Everyone will have to watch out for Teppenpaw next year,” she added encouragingly.

Technically, that wasn’t a very good thing for her, since she played on the Pecari team, but Mellie didn’t think too much about that. Quidditch to her was usually just a game, except maybe against Aladren, and she liked the Teppenpaws. Michael was both about her best friend and in there, and Laurie, his roommate, seemed like a good guy, too, so she didn’t hold it against them if they had good players on their team. She’d be even more pleased about it on days when they weren’t playing Pecari and when those good players weren’t Beaters on days when they did, but that was just because the Bludgers were her least-favorite part of Quidditch and she did like to win, even if she didn’t see it as essential to her mental well-being the way some people did.

She shrugged when he asked about her summer plans. “Probably not much,” she admitted. “Mom and Dad said something about maybe going camping, if they can both get time off, but who knows if that will happen.” Her mother was with MLES and her father was an Obliviator; they stayed busy. She had barely seen Dad over the midterm break because of a particularly bizarre incident involving animation charms and a Muggle apartment building. “I’ll spend a lot of time practicing Quidditch, but that’s just with my neighbors, not with a coach or anything. And then it’s fifth year….”

She made a face at that thought, not really liking it very much. She was not looking forward to taking the CATS. Mellie told herself firmly that the adults and sometimes older students were just exaggerating how bad they were, but that still didn’t make her think they’d be anything but very, very difficult and stressful to deal with.

16 Mellie *Dances.* 206 Mellie 0 5

David

January 01, 2013 6:24 PM

Yep. What's so bad about that? by David

David attempted to stick back on the smile which would be expected of a properly ambitious, proud, fanciab – potentially likable young man the moment after he won a major election when he saw Samantha, but when she patted his shoulder and asked the question she did, he figured that was a good indicator that he hadn’t succeeded. He gave it up, replacing it with the genuine smile of someone caught out and being good-natured about it.

“Why not both?” he suggested. “That way, you’re covered for every eventuality.”

He shook his head, starting to run his hands through his hair before he caught himself. Looking fidgety was bad enough in general, worse when it wasn’t just an appearance but really a pretty normal part of his life, but he found it worst when it was in front of someone he wanted, however much he would prefer to deny it, to impress, as the someone was both a pretty girl and a smart person and the one he thoroughly expected to kick himself occasionally for never asking out when he was in his nineties because he was the kind of person who just couldn’t help indulging in a little emotional masochism every now and then and was incapable of forgetting anything which could be used for that. “Yeah, didn’t actually see this coming,” he added. “I’m still processing it.”

He had believed he’d win, but there was believing and believing, and logical belief had indicated that he probably wouldn’t. He was fidgety, for goodness’ sake, and Muggleborn to boot, for those who cared about politics! Who’d pick him for Head Boy? He hadn’t felt quite this out of joint with his skin since he was a kid, when he had still done his best to be a good little geek and behave and think exactly as he thought his mother wanted him to. If he hadn’t gotten away to Sonora, he was willing to bet he’d already be on more antidepressants and nerve pills than Annabeth was, since his older sister’s actual personality fit in a lot better with the ideal they’d both tried to live up to than his really ever had and trying to walk the wire above the condition of being a Wilkes had still worn her down before she could get out of college.

“What about you?” he asked. “Should it be congratulations or condolences for finishing up here?”

He could see how it could be either way for her as well as for him, really. Sonora wasn’t something he thought he was ever going to wax too sentimental about as an institution, it was no home away from home for him or anything like that, but it was always there. It, along with the mandatory school years in general, represented to him at least a kind of stability that he would never be able to count on again after graduation next year. He could see not being particularly eager to fly away from it forever, especially since they were both Muggleborns and thus didn't really have a fixed position in society to just fall into if they wanted, the way they would have had a much better chance of doing as either wizard-borns or just as Muggles.

Admittedly, since he was a Wilkes, his fall-back position if he had been a Muggle at home would have been 'official town drunk-in-residence and petty con extraordinaire,' but that beside the point. At least when he thought of what the community kind of expected from him, it gave him something to oppose, like Anna had; now, he didn't have any expectations at all, and that liberty was welcome sometimes and just plain frightening at others. That was the point. He and Samantha and people like them, in theory, could do just about anything and not too many people would care, or even know, one way or the other unless they willed it, and that could be a good or a bad thing, depending.

16 David Yep. What's so bad about that? 169 David 0 5

Aria

January 01, 2013 7:10 PM

It might take a moment. by Aria

Aria liked Jay. He was nice to her and didn’t make her feel completely like an outsider. At least, not when she was around. Aria didn’t know how people were when she wasn’t near them. They could be mean or any number of things while she was gone. She thought there was a chance that after every conversation she had with a person, that they would in turn, talk nonsense behind her back about her. Especially the ones who did not know her. That wasn’t to say that she was easy to understand once you were able to get to know her, but she did try to explain herself and asked questions regarding the things that she did not understand. That was how her community raised her. Always have an open mind and be one with yourself and your surroundings. If you are unbalanced, then ask why. Sonora often unbalanced her because there was so much that she did not understand about the culture, so she was always asking about it. Just as she was now with the yearbook.

She could understand the picture part of the yearbook. Aria thought that in a few years when she was out of Sonora and wistful about the years past, she would enjoy picking up the book and flipping through the memories of it. But she did not understand the awards or how they were considered awards at all. “I was chosen for Most Creative, which I suppose I can agree with. I do make my own things and have an imagination.” Aria started. “And I was named Best Friends with Liam. I’ll have to ask him if he agrees with the term, but I do say he is probably the person I am most comfortable with. Does that mean best friends?” She asked Jay. She had met and spoken to Jay and Liam at the same time during their potion lesson at the beginning of term. They were both nice to her, but she had continued talking to Liam throughout the year and not so much with Jay. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t of, but just that they ran with different people.

“The rest of the awards that I received seem very insulting.” Aria stated in dismay. “I do not know what exactly ‘Dazed and Confused’ means, but I think it means unaware or not with any knowledge. I know I ask questions, but I am not without knowledge or unaware. And I don’t understand Biggest Brain, do I have an oversized head and that is why I was chosen for it?” She asked him. He was also named Biggest Brain so he should also be offended for the insult, right?

0 Aria It might take a moment. 0 Aria 0 5

Derry Pierce

January 01, 2013 7:27 PM

Joining the fire sitting thing by Derry Pierce

Fifth year was just about done. Derry wasn't quite sure what he had expected of his CATS year, but it really hadn't been as bad as people seemed to make it out to be, as far as he could tell. Sure, the final tests had been exhaustive and exhausting, but they were the CATS. He'd expected that going in.

Coming out, he wasn't really expecting fabulous scores in most of his subjects, but he'd done about as well as he'd hoped to do. He didn't think he'd failed anything, at any rate. Might have even gotten an E in Charms and Magical Creatures, if he did as well as he thought he did. Those were always his best two subjects and there hadn't been anything on the tests that he couldn't at least make a guess at. He wouldn't know for sure, though, until the owl came with his scores over the summer.

In the meantime, there was the bonfire.

Derry cheered enthusiastically (perhaps too enthusiastically) when the Headmistress remarked that exams were over, and again when the yearbooks were announced, and again when the new Heads were named. He hadn't voted for either of them, but he felt sure they would both do fine job at it. He lined up for his yearbook and started thumbing through it even as he wandered away from the distribution point.

He looked up from the pages to try to figure out where he was going precisely, and spotted Reggie looking through one of her own next to the fire. He walked over that way, alternating between turning pages as he skimmed through the book and watching where he was going. When he reached his best friend (it was right there in the yearbook, him and Reggie were Best Friends, which was awesome, because he'd always thought so, too), he realized Josephine had apparently had the same idea because she had shown up sometime during his slow-moving journey from where he'd collected his yearbook to the fire.

"Hey, Reggie, Josephine," he greeted them, smiling and in good spirits. He hesitated for a moment, uncertain which girl he should sit next to. Reggie was the obvious choice, as they had been close friends since the Opening Feast of their first year. On the other hand, Josephine was a relatively new addition to their group so he didn't want her to feel unwelcome or edged out. Plus, well, he had suggested to Reggie on their ski trip that he might like to spend some more time with the Pecari girl. With all the CATS stuff and with Josephine often being with Addison whenever he thought to go looking for her, it just hadn't worked out this term. Maybe next year, when they were between major tests, would be a better time to see if she was interested. But tonight would be a good time to see if she would be amicable.

Derry sat down next to Josephine.

"Congrats to both of you on Being Creative," he added, remembering suddenly that they had appeared together for that award.

1 Derry Pierce Joining the fire sitting thing 189 Derry Pierce 0 5

Reggie

January 01, 2013 8:34 PM

It's apparently the thing to do. by Reggie

Reggie looked up to find Josephine in front of her and watched as she took a seat. She had no issue with Josephine joining her, but she was surprised by it. This term, both Josephine and Addison had grown rather close. They seemed pretty inseparable. Why or how was beyond Reggie’s comprehension. She couldn’t even handle a small conversation with her roommate. The girl drove her nuts with all her issues. And since the girl had an eating disorder that made Reggie reach out to the Medic, Reggie had tried hard to not be around her to deal with the clean up. Josephine was a better person than her.

“It wasn’t bad.” She answered her. “Pictures came out nice. I probably could have smiled more, but oh well.” She said with a shrug. “Yours were nice though.” Reggie paused in thought at the arrival Derry. She smiled, genuinely happy to see him as Derry was usually always a good source for getting her out of sour mood, but the smile vanished pretty quickly when he sat down beside Josephine.

Great.

Reggie was not in the mood to watch Derry try to work a move on Josephine. She didn’t know if they already had a thing going and this was like their date night or something, but Reggie wanted no part of it. She was upset at being played by Phoenix and mad that other guys just weren’t interested. Heck, she was even fairly certain that Derry didn’t even realize she was a girl half the time. If Derry and Josephine came about on any other day, Reggie would most likely support such union when she was in a better mood and on better terms with romance, but tonight, she didn’t want it smacking her in the face.

She had to adjust her face after she realized she was giving the two of them a dirty look. It came on its own, but she was having trouble shaking it off. “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t take too much stock in the yearbook.” Reggie commented flatly. “Apparently I’m in a relationship with a guy who hasn’t spoken to me since before midterm and Josephine is most likely to become a criminal.” Reggie comment, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “I mean, out of everyone they could have picked, I would have gone for Addison, no offense, Josie, but that girl is so tightly wound that she’s bound to burst.”

Reggie stood up and wiped any grass from her butt. “Anyway, I’m going to go make a s’more.” She was just a third wheel with them anyway, so she might as well be alone than just feel alone with two other people right next to her. “I don’t want to ruin your night or whatever and I really need chocolate.”

6 Reggie It's apparently the thing to do. 187 Reggie 0 5

Sullivan Quincy

January 01, 2013 10:14 PM

Can I hide here with you? by Sullivan Quincy

The year was over. Well, essentially. Classes and tests were over anyway. Nothing left to do but the midsummer bonfire and wait for the wagons to take them home. It wasn't a bad year, he supposed in retrospect. A little weird, maybe, with Jhon being so reserved. She didn't stalk him nearly as much as she had previously, even with the engagement of his mother and a California Pierce getting announced, and it was starting to worry him a little.

But overall, it was a fairly mundane year, which was about as good as he dared expect from a year. CATS would be coming up next year, which was already starting to fill him with dread, but their shadow had not unduly influenced this past year. He was mostly used to intermediate level classes and his exams and everything had gone by reasonably smoothly. He wasn't going to get solid Os or anything, but he thought he'd get mostly Es anyway. An A at best in Transfiguration, no doubt, since that class had given him trouble from the start, but the rest were going all right. He couldn't complain.

He wasn't entirely looking forward to going home, either. The summer would include his mom's wedding, marking his official acceptance into the California Pierces when Simon formally adopted him and Karen. Then Jhon really would have reason to stalk him, he guessed. Plus, he hated wearing suits, and he could only imagine a full-out tuxedo was even worse, and he was going to be a junior groomsman.

He could procrastinate thinking about that for a little while longer though. He was moderately intrigued by the idea of a yearbook and collected one right after the new Heads were announced (he knew Sara was a Pecari Prefect, but that was a far as he knew either of them). Avoiding the main crowds, he grabbed a pair of graham crackers, a bar of chocolate (or two), a marshmallow, and a roasting stick and went to find a spot at one of the smaller fires. With fire and pointy sticks with burning sugar on the ends of them involved, it just seemed wise to get to a less populated area.

He recognized Brianna at one of the fires, sitting alone, and decided she probably wouldn't mind him joining her. They'd gotten on well enough in classes, and after that DADA lesson with the negative outlook analysis he'd thought a little better of both her and Michael.

"Hi," he greeted as he approached. "Mind if I share your fire?" he asked, trying to lift his s'mores supplies to indicate what he needed it for, but largely only managed to almost drop them all. He succeeded in not do so by sacrificing the yearbook and letting that crash to the ground instead. He grimaced in embarrassment, and he felt immediately guilty because some of the pages had probably creased, but at least he wasn't planning on eating it, which made it the most expendable of the items he'd been juggling for a short trip to the pitch ground.

1 Sullivan Quincy Can I hide here with you? 207 Sullivan Quincy 0 5

Sara Raines

January 01, 2013 11:40 PM

Every ending is a new beginning. by Sara Raines

Quietly, very quietly, and as unobtrusively as possible, since she had not wanted to risk offending her roommate who hadn’t even made the ballot, Sara had taken extra care with her dress and hair and jewelry and everything else about her person as she’d gotten ready for the Bonfire. She always took so much more care than Sophie ever thought of that she wasn’t sure if a difference would be noticed, but she was aware of it, because tonight wasn’t just another night when she needed to look her best; tonight was, or she thought was at least likely to be, special. They were going to announce which of her year had managed to become Head Boy and Girl, and if she won, she thought it would be the last thing she was ever recognized for just as Sara rather than as the future or present Mrs. Preston Stratford. Her best, then, wouldn’t do tonight; she had to be better than her best.

At last, though, there had been nothing else she could do, and it had been time to go down to the Pitch anyway. As she’d stepped onto the unfamiliar grass, Sara had made a face at her feet as one of her heels got stuck, then taken out her wand to try charming them not to do that, because the last thing she wanted to do was go up front with her heels sticking in the grass every few feet. Not only would it ruin the shoes, but it would just look so undignified.

She knew, of course, that there was a chance she had lost. Eliza was a possibility. That had been obvious since her party last Christmas. People thought enough of her to go to her house, despite some of her more questionable decisions. She could win it. Sara didn’t think she would, but she had to be prepared for the possibility that she had somehow not done enough.

When Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau – Sara thought she might have liked such an elaborate surname, but the male line of her family was not quite in danger of dying out, so she had no justification for trying to keep her own name after she was married, and besides, Raines-Stratford didn’t sound quite right and she knew there was no way anyone would ever agree to Stratford-Raines – began to speak, Sara stood in one place with a smile on her face, hoping it would conceal her nerves. When her name was announced, she didn’t feel surprised, but she didn’t feel triumphant, either; more than anything, she felt tired, as though she had finally finished a satisfying but very long task.

She smiled politely at David Wilkes when he arrived, wondering how that was going to go. It was hard to deny that their year lacked strong male leadership; James Owen came closer than anyone, and that wasn’t saying much. It might have been better if they’d just given the joint position of Head Girl to her and Eliza and left the boys out of it entirely. That, though, wouldn’t have been popular with too many people for obvious reasons, so things would have to go the way they went next year.

All too soon, the pleasant moment of recognition was over, and it was back to the crowd and Preston. “Thank you,” she said, a little breathlessly, as she was hugged. She smiled when he offered his arm. “I would,” she said. “And then we can look at these yearbooks. I'm sure you look handsome, but I hope they took a decent picture of me somewhere....”

0 Sara Raines Every ending is a new beginning. 179 Sara Raines 0 5

Josephine

January 02, 2013 3:19 PM

So I've heard by Josephine

Reggie's inital summary that the pictures were nice and the yearbook as a whole wasn't bad didn't do a great deal to persuade Josephine that the book was safe to read. Her friend's assessment of the Pecari's pictures being of a satisfactory standard just sounded like polite conversation, and before she could offer further comments, she was distracted by the arrival of another Teppenpaw.

"Hey, Derry," Josephine chimed, smiling as an additional greeting as Derry sat down beside her. She didn't initally understand his comment about them both being creative, though; it seemed an unusual sort of felicitation.It wasn't until Reggie countered with a scathing review of the yearbook and its contents that Josephine understood the link, and then she was too distracted by Reggie's sudden turn of countenance to focus too much on anything else. She had definitely just been smiling when Derry had arrived, but now she seemed deflated. Perhaps she really had been disappointed by the yearbook, and Josephine and Derry had both just dampened her mood by discussing it.

"Apparently I’m in a relationship with a guy who hasn’t spoken to me since before midterm and Josephine is most likely to become a criminal," Reggie said, her voice sarcastic. Josephine scrunched up her nose at the comment, liking this yearbook concept less and less. She didn't dwell on it, though, taken aback by Reggie's comments about poor Addi. Josephine didn't know what to make of it - she'd never heard Reggie speak like that about anyone before. Yes, the Teppenpaw girl could be sharp witted, but this sounded more like a real attack than a playful jest. Then, just as things couldn't get much weirder, Reggie stood to leave, and made some bizarre comment about ruining their night.

Reeling back, feeling as stunned as if she'd been slapped in the face, Josephine wondered if she'd done something wrong. "Reggie!" she called out, her voice pleading, questioning and reprimanding all at once. She couldn't understand what she'd done to make Reggie think she'd be ruining their night; both Josephine and Derry had come over to sit with her. It was madness! Bewildered and bordering on upset, Josephine remained seated on the ground, unsure of what to do, and, indeed, unsure of the past few minutes, and her whole relationship with Reggie.

0 Josephine So I've heard 0 Josephine 0 5

Samantha

January 02, 2013 3:45 PM

Cowards don't often get much celebration by Samantha

Samantha wasn't sure whether to believe David or not when he claimed not to have expected his new title. As Samantha understood it, the other potential candidate had been Ryan O'Malley, and she didn't think he had any blatantly obvious advatntages over David, and so she would have expected it to be a fairly close call. Then again, her fellow Aladren had never seemed to have a great deal of confidence in his abilities, resulting in frequent lacklustre attempts at classwork and originally rambling pre-Quidditch game pep talks. With this in mind, perhaps it was unsurprising that he hadn't antiticpated others recognising his potential in another leadership role. "You've got the whole summer to get used to the idea," she wisely advised.

"“What about you?” David turned the question back on Samantha. “Should it be congratulations or condolences for finishing up here?”

The seventh year hesitated and twitched her lips to the side just for a moment as she considered her reply. "Both," she finally mimicked his answer. "It definitely feels like it's time to move on," she mused aloud, briefly glancing around her at the throngs of younger students, and clarifying in her own mind that Sonroa had little else to teach her. "I only wish I had something to move on to." A probable (but not guaranteed) general dogsbody of an office assistant in her pseudo sister-in-law's workplace - a role that would inevitably involve producing copious cups of coffee - was certainly not sufficient to cause Samantha even a limited amount of excitement. Its only benefits were to raise her funds and get her out of the house so she and her mother didn't kill each other after the first couple of months of Samantha moving back home. Hopefully she'd be able to get some sort of scholarship to further reduce her time working until she could afford college, but before then there wasn't much intrigue on the horizon.

Samantha sighed only lightly, having long ago adjusted to the knowledge that college would have to wait. Perhaps that would turn out to be a blessing in disguise, too, as she didn't truthfully have much of an idea of the field of employment she'd most enjoy as a career. Experimental spellwork had its charms (no pun intended) but employment in that area was notoriously unpredictable, and Samantha held many interest in more reliable fields, too. The joy of deliberating over an important decision was one of the few luxuries she could afford. "I guess I'll just be filling time until something worthwhile comes along," she summarised, sounding resigned, but not dejected. "How about you? Do you have any plans for this time next year, or is that too far in the future to contemplate?" she grinned.

0 Samantha Cowards don't often get much celebration 0 Samantha 0 5

David

January 02, 2013 4:31 PM

No, but they live longer. by David

David brightened when Samantha pointed out that he had a whole summer to get used to the new job. “Good point,” he agreed with her, feeling relieved. Yes, the problem was still there, it hadn’t gone away, but it wasn’t an immediate problem. He had the whole summer to pretend that it wasn’t going to exist, and by then, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He didn’t really know what the deal was, anyway, and had never asked James much about being a prefect. Maybe it would turn out, at a distance of time, that he had blown a mountain into a molehill in his head already.

He felt sorry for her, though, when she said she didn’t have anything to move on to after school, as well as feeling generally awkward. Right now, he didn’t have a plan, but David took it as granted that by next year, he would. His mother had opened her first college savings account the day, according to family reports, she found out she was pregnant with his older sister, and they had all heard from the time they were little kids about how they were going to college. If he did not take the initiative to look at things himself, David thoroughly expected half-filled out papers to just appear before him next year, with strict instructions about being turned out of the house to starve if he didn’t finish the essays and sign everything and send it back so he could be in college in the fall after the one coming up. Being in another position was sort of hard to imagine.

“Beats nothing,” he said when she mentioned filling the time.

As for his own plans, he shrugged. “Probably a half-magical school,” he said. The Muggle world didn’t hold any particular appeal for him, but it was a matter of money. He had vague plans to let his parents, who seemed to want to view this whole magic thing as temporary as far as they could, pay for his education, whatever the scholarships he was pretty much betting on didn’t cover, and only then to make his final escape from the nurturing embrace of his close-knit, loving family. He’d keep up with Mom and Dad and the girls, of course, but he’d come to like the autonomy the wizarding world provided him with. He wasn’t a member of a family here, and so he could do pretty well what he liked. “No idea what I’d major in, but that would be another upside of being able to go either way, right?”

He grinned, deciding it was better to find the thought which occurred to him just then bleakly humorous instead of really alarming. After all, what could really be done about it? “The joys of being Muggleborn,” he added, since that just about summed everything up in his mind. It was, he guessed, what they made of it; he just had to hope being an Aladren really did automatically mean thinking in a way that led to making the best of things.

16 David No, but they live longer. 169 David 0 5

Jay

January 02, 2013 8:19 PM

That's okay, I've got time by Jay

Jay considered her definition of best friends. “I suppose so,” he said. He wasn’t an expert on friends, really, but that sounded about like it to him. That or a marriage, at least the way Mother would say it, but they were all far too young to think about that.

He had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing when Aria expressed dismay at what else she had gotten. “No, I don’t think that’s it,” he said. “I think it means that the people think you’re – we’re – “ he amended, since he had gotten that one for second year, too – “very smart, the smartest people in the year.” Jay could tell he was turning red as he said that, since it was one thing, he thought, to be happy about getting the award and another to define it out loud like that. He believed he was smart enough, but not necessarily any smarter than anyone else – definitely not one of the family’s especially brilliant members. Theresa was closer to that sort than he was, though more through effort and personality than sheer intelligence.

“It’s a good one, anyway,” he said. “If I’m right, that one was supposed to be a compliment. And maybe they didn’t mean anything with the dazed and confused one – I think they gave my cousin Arnold that one, too, and everyone seems to like him.”

Except, maybe, other teams’ Quidditch players, but that was a different thing. “Though neither of you seems very dazed to me,” he added thoughtfully. “I’m not sure about it. Maybe the word doesn’t mean what I think it does. I’m not sure what ‘bashful’ means, either, even though they say I’m supposed to be that, too.” He smiled at her good-naturedly. “I wouldn’t worry about any of them much,” he said. "They can't really help us or hurt us, can they?"

0 Jay That's okay, I've got time 0 Jay 0 5

Brianna

January 02, 2013 8:21 PM

If you don't mind being seen with me. by Brianna

Brianna was taken aback by the arrival of Sullivan. She had figured that everyone would stay around the larger bonfire and enjoy the party and only come to the smaller fires when it was closer to bedtime or if they wanted some private time. She certainly didn’t think anyone would want to come over and join her. Well, except for maybe Valerie or Joshua. But, Valerie’s sister was out here and Brianna was well aware of the tight bond the two girls shared. Honestly, if Melanie had been sorted into Crotalus, Brianna didn’t think she’d ever see her roommate.

Sully had been okay to work with. Not evil and friendly enough, but Brianna had the impression that she wasn’t someone that he would openly spend time with. She didn’t know who his friends were, so there was a possibility that he didn’t have any and so, did not want to spend the bonfire completely alone, but out of all the kids from the school, he chose her to spend it with? Was she someone he felt sorry for? Or just someone who was convenient? She wasn’t so pathetic as that, was she? Merlin, she hoped not.

“Oh, um, sure.” She replied, mainly because she felt if she said no, he’d end up dropping everything he had in his hands onto the ground instead of just his copy of the yearbook. To help him out, Brianna unwrapped herself and leaned down to pick up his book and held it out for him to take when he was ready. She didn’t remember what awards he had gotten and felt a little bad for that. She had been so concerned about herself and a handful of other people, she hadn’t taken into consideration anyone else. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be upset with anything he had received or expect her to know them off the top of her head.

She wasn’t exactly sure where he planned on sitting since the fire was circular and there were three other logs for him to choose from. From the look of the items in his arms, Brianna assumed he was making s’mores. She had never had a s’more personally, but she had read about them in books that she had read at her leisure. They sounded good, if not a little too sweet. She thought of maybe going to get some food herself, but she wasn’t really in the mood to get up or go to the tables where all the crowds seemed to be hanging out.

“So, not that I mind you sitting here with me or anything,” Brianna started, “But, how come you aren’t with everyone else at the big fire?”

0 Brianna If you don't mind being seen with me. 0 Brianna 0 5

Cepheus

January 02, 2013 9:49 PM

Treading Awkward Waters. by Cepheus

It was of little consolation that Theresa hadn't known about their 'award' either. Did this mean that the general school public knew something they didn't? Biting into his chocolate bar, he already felt better. He didn't exactly have a huge sweet tooth any more, but chocolate always lifted his spirits. His mother always had a stash for depressing days and had encouraged her sons to do the same.

When they went back to the fire, Theresa did try and finish where he had trailed off. Mentioning the dance at the wedding confused Cepheus. That was where their friendship had begun, certainly, but was it enough to decide that they were now in a relationship? He looked over at Thad and Alicia, wanting to escape this uncomfortable conversation, but they seemed preoccupied. Sometimes Cepheus felt as if they had something going on between them, but he didn't think too much of it. Either of his mates would have told him just as he would have told them if he was dating, well, anyone.

Cepheus did feel a bit guilty about not telling them about his betrothal. He hadn't wanted to share that information in general at first because he was in denial, but now so much time had passed that he didn't know how to share it with them. His English mates didn't even know about it, though it was going to circulate around soon in their respective social circles. His relatives at Hogwarts and Beauxbatons would spread it, he was sure.

Theresa wasn't convincing in her attempt to sweep the whole event under the rug. Perhaps that's what she wanted, but Cepheus didn't know if he wanted to comply. He cleared his throat and shrugged. "My parents will see you as a potential...you know," he said slowly, acting nonchalant about the ordeal but wondering what she was thinking. He knew his grandfather would be having a long talk with him about the importance of staying true to his betrothed which Cepheus would only half listen to out of fear.

Then his brain started forming an idea. If he did act interested in Theresa, his family would have a fit. But because she was from a well-established pure-blood family in America perhaps they'd have a chance. But a chance for what? He didn't fancy Theresa in that way...did he?

Cepheus suddenly felt unsure of himself. He glanced over at her self-consciously. He sighed and leant back. "Well, I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight." He bit into his temporarily forgotten chocolate bar and scratched his head. His hair had gotten nearly unbearably long and he thought he looked terrible in his yearbook photo. Theresa had looked good in hers, though, and the image of their photos together under 'Best Couple' went through his mind. He just couldn't make up his mind on how he was actually feeling about it.

OOC: Sorry for the horrendously long wait.

0 Cepheus Treading Awkward Waters. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Thad Pierce

January 02, 2013 9:54 PM

I work hard to hone them, Miss Bauer by Thad Pierce

Thad smiled as Alicia cleverly returned his poor attempt at a humorous witticism. He suspected there was a valid reason he got voted Most Serious. Though Alicia's assertion that others were too frivolous may have also played an equal part in the determination. "Maybe," he conceded, though this was hardly the first time he'd been accused of not knowing how to have fun. "Or perhaps some people just don't realize how fun it is to read." He could name three off the top of his head. "Getting that award might actually be a compliment to our intellectualism, determination, and ambition." After all, those were the drives he tended to be fulfilling whenever his cousins called him a boring stick-in-the-mud.

He wasn't convinced the size of her family's donation would have made much impact on the results of the yearbook awards - the Thorntons were even less pure than the Bauers and neither were they wealthy sponsors (or so he assumed; no family with that many children could stay wealthy for very long at any rate) and the red-haired sisters had been well represented - but he did feel that Alicia had been short changed in at least two categories. "I did think you were a far more appropriate choice in both Biggest Brain and Best Looking," he assured her. He wondered belatedly if maybe that was too forward a statement to make about a girl he was not and could not become betrothed to, but then dismissed it as irrational. He was simply making a statement of fact. Alicia was both smarter and prettier than any other girl in the school. As an Aladren, Thaddeus was perfectly entitled to make statements of fact.

When she asked about the Heads, he shrugged, a little uncertain about how to respond. "I do think we did as well as we could on Head Boy and Girl. I don't know her personally, but I have never heard a bad word about Miss Raines, so I am sure she will do an excellent job as Head Girl." That was the easy part. The harder one was the Head-elect that he did know personally. "Mr. Wilkes is an Aladren, and for that, I am glad he won Head Boy," he stated out of self-interest for his own ambitions further down the line, but felt compelled to qualify his support, "but I must admit confidentially that he is not a particularly inspiring leader on the Quidditch Pitch. I can only hope he is better qualified in more academic and administrative matters."

"As for Miss Raines' knowledge of which House not to take points from," he added, smiling slightly, "she is dating Preston. I suppose it depends on whether or not he's properly fulfilling his social duties as boyfriend."

1 Thad Pierce I work hard to hone them, Miss Bauer 213 Thad Pierce 0 5

Fae

January 02, 2013 10:00 PM

That's it is. by Fae

Fae grinned at him, amused that he didn’t know how to take her compliment. He had just called her pretty a moment ago, it was well within her right to give a compliment back. And, she really did think he was cute. Arthur was probably equally as good looking, but he didn’t quite have the same charms as Arnold did. She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but everyone who talked to him seemed to really just fall in love with him. Not literally, of course, but they just found him utterly adorable. That was how Shelby and her mother described him of the few moments they had been around him. “Is cute not the appropriate word?” Fae asked him, teasingly, “Would you prefer attractive?” Fae suggested, poking him lightly. “Or, how about handsome?”

Fae didn’t normally joke around. It was hard for her to relax enough around people to really have those moments, but she was comfortable with Arnold and she knew him enough to know that he’d at least humor her for a moment. Fae didn’t think Alice would know what humoring a person meant and Sara (as much as Fae loved her) was a little stuffy. Fae wasn’t sure if she knew how to joke. That was one reason why she didn’t understand how she and Preston got along as they did. They were both so stuffy.

“Your family has strange rules regarding your life.” Fae pouted. She knew, of course, that the likelihood of him dying while playing Quidditch was slim, she couldn’t even remember if anyone had died since they shunk the size of the bludgers, but watching him do crazy stunts and knowing that a bludger could really do heavy damage to him that could really limit the Medics ability to help him really did upset her. “You know, I do care about you. I know it’s just a game, but one wrong thing and it’s over.” Maybe that was too dramatic. “I’m doing my best to support you and your family members.”

Fae was honestly surprised that Arnold didn’t want to take her for a ride on his broom. Even a rather simple and boring ride in a straight line. “Really? So, you’re saying you wouldn’t want to take me on a romantic broom ride under the stars?” She was spending too much time writing letters to her sister. Shelby was putting odd thoughts into her head. Her sister had a storybook life and Fae was falling into it too easily.

“I’m glad he wasn’t upset with Alice’s intelligence.” Fae commented lightly. “She has a certain way about her. You either go with it or you don’t.” It was pretty simple for someone who was so complex, but Fae had no other way of saying it. Her friends were so complicated.

Fae wasn’t a complete idiot, so she wasn’t totally ashamed about her CATS, but she wasn’t smart like her siblings in the sense where she could breeze through anything. “I’m more concerned about their feelings on the classes I might not have done completely well in. Like Potions. That’s my worst subject. But if you believe that they either won’t ask or won’t care, than I trust your judgment.” Fae wasn’t really sure what her ‘place’ was other than to be a nice housewife and future mother of his children. If that was what his family wanted, than that is what she’ll be.

“Did you want to roast marshmallows? Or, whatever it is that people do when they camp.” Fae asked. “I wouldn’t be able to eat it, but roasting it might be fun.”

0 Fae That's it is. 0 Fae 0 5

Jane Carey

January 02, 2013 11:18 PM

Now we disappear by Jane Carey

The past few months had not gone by in a blur, but rather drifted past like dandelion seeds, and despite having been all but packed up for days, Jane had not really realized how close she was to her last day at Sonora until she got up and put together at breakfast that they were supposed to go out for the bonfire this evening. One moment, it seemed now, she had been at home, worrying about her father and what Edmond was prepared to do to save him; the next, she had finished her classes, finished her exams, and it was almost time to go.

As she took up a position near the edge of the crowd, where she could use her height to watch and her position, one more time, to help keep order for the school during the event, Jane still found it hard to accept. It seemed as though she must have time left in school – another two months, maybe. That seemed like about the right amount of time. That tomorrow, it would be over seemed as impossible as….

…Well, really, as impossible as what she was beginning to think the summer might be.

The first thing she had to do, as she’d known all along, was finish up her last few magical theory courses and some readings in nineteenth-century poetry, but it was what came after that and probably a few dates with Jethro and his family was something she would have wagered only a few months earlier was beyond the realm of what could really happen. Her father had been writing more often since January, sounding in better health and spirits, and recently, he had suggested that perhaps they should go to Egypt to see Edmond – a sort of, though he had not put it in these terms, last adventure for her before she was a married woman – for a week or so. Take a long trip, with strenuous travel and a long distance between them and his Healers, just as though he were a healthy person.

Part of her, of course, was afraid that he was dying and had decided to have one final hurrah. Another, though, as home to an even worse feeling, one she had promised herself she wouldn’t experience: hope.

Again and again, the question repeated itself in her mind, now: What if Edmond was right? What if – whatever he had done, she had read and researched, and she had her suspicions, but she still didn’t know exactly how the spell he had used had worked or what had made it up – had actually worked, and undone some of the curse damage? What if maybe Father was not going to die the way they had always thought he would after all? It raised other questions, because if some of her suspicions were right, then there had been definite ethical issues, and she knew for a fact that some of the things had been brought into the country illegally, it was barely a secret what Uncle Jasper did for a living and to contribute to the family, but if…if….

A breeze blew some of her hair forward, and she tucked it back, trying to put the thought away. She had been trying to learn to live entirely in the present for the past few years, and the present was as far from that as the past was. But she couldn’t help but wonder, both about what it might mean and how far she might be willing to let things go.

When the new Head Girl and Boy were announced, Jane applauded politely, smiling, even though she did not feel entirely happy about someone else entering the position she had held for the past year. It wasn’t up to her, though, and she took a yearbook without complaint about it, instead just noting that her pictures hadn’t turned out too badly and smiling over some of the awards. She was going to enjoy having this, she thought, in the future; she wished it could have included Edmond’s year, who’d been among her friends, but this was still a treasure. She was still smiling vaguely over it when she went to get some snacks, glad for the opportunity to indulge.

0 Jane Carey Now we disappear 160 Jane Carey 0 5

Theresa

January 03, 2013 12:07 AM

Sailing straight into the storm by Theresa

Theresa looked at him sharply when he started to say his family would see her as…something. The first thing that jumped to mind was ‘potential wife,’ but the second was ‘cheap girl,’ and she was too suspicious to be sure which she thought it was. She really, really wanted it to be the first, which she thought was at least a little more likely, but if it was the second….

She felt herself flush and decided that, crush or no crush, if he called her that, she’d slap his face right here in front of the entire student body unless the sentence involved an awful lot of ‘nots’ and preferably a heavy dose of blame for his parents for even introducing him to the phrase or anything like it. And even then, she would be tempted, and out of temper. But she really hoped that wasn’t it. She didn’t know, maybe they were very different in England, but by the standards here, she was sure she hadn’t done anything the least bit disgraceful. If she had, she was sure the family would have already written her a letter about it with an ominous promise about what she should expect when she got home to keep her company until they could lay hands on her again.

The thought of that was nearly enough to make her shudder; it always was. If that governess ever came back, Theresa was half-tempted to jump out the window at once. No, she would never be really bad, she thought, not until she was completely safe from having to worry about that happening again.

Clearly, he wasn’t going to let the matter go completely, so she didn’t feel she had to, either. “I don't know what they'll see me as, no,” she said irritably. “But if I'm right and it's not as unrespectable, is it really as bad as all that? I'm planning to sleep just fine tonight.”

She had no idea whether that was true, suspected it might not be, but really. He was acting like they had paired him with one of the Muggleborns or something. This really did a lot for her theory that he might like her, too, which she had been treasuring all year; she had known it was all impossible, of course, because of their circumstances, but it had been nice to think of, the idea that she might be likeable. She bit down on her lip, not sure if she wanted to shout at him or cry or both right now.

0 Theresa Sailing straight into the storm 0 Theresa 0 5

Waverly Canterbury

January 03, 2013 3:15 AM

Acting happily dazed and confused by Waverly Canterbury

It was finally the end of the year and Waverly was really sad to see it go. She had made new friends, joined new clubs, and had even been a part of the Quidditch team. Because she wasn’t naturally athletic, it was sometimes hard to motivate herself to train with the rest of her team, but Pecari had beat Crotalus and had earned second place. She was proud of herself and her teammates. She had also gotten really fit which made trying on clothes much more enjoyable. As she walked to the pitch, she wondered briefly if Brandon would notice that she had lost some weight before blushing all the way to the roots of her hair. It was completely ridiculous how much she thought about him.

For the bonfire, Waverly had put on a cheerfully colorful sundress with a white cardigan over her. Her brown hair was free to do as it pleased, but there wasn’t much of a breeze tonight which she was thankful for. Her hair had gotten kind of long; it was nearly mid-bicep now when it had been shoulder-length at the beginning of the year. Oh well. Hair grew. She had also grown remarkably over the school year. The sundress was at least several inches above her knees rather than at her knees like it had been only a few months ago. She fit well into some of her clothes, but she couldn’t fit into her jeans especially which made her sad. At least it made her feel more grown-up now. Maybe she could start wearing makeup soon like Eris when she was feeling especially grown-up. Maybe Brandon would notice.

She tugged on her unpierced earlobe as she sat down next to her friends. She hoped to get earrings this summer now that she was fourteen. She really wanted to go get it pierced with her friends from school, but they’d all be in different states. It made her a little sad that they were all leaving her, but at least she got to spend a lot of time with them before they all left. She was also curious as to what a magical tent was like, so it was a good time to end the year with overall.

The very pregnant headmistress began her speech and Waverly wondered when her baby was due. She loved babies and she kind of wanted the headmistress to carry the baby around with her at school once he or she was born, though that could undermine the headmistress’s authority. Waverly couldn’t listen to anyone seriously if there was a baby to coo at.

Trying to stifle her female tendencies, she clapped politely for the Head Boy and Girl. She didn’t really know either of them by anything but name, but she was glad for them. Hopes to be the Head Girl weighed on her mind for a moment, but she didn’t think too much about it. She still had a few years to go. Then she realized that they were going to receive yearbooks this year. Waverly’s face lit up in excitement. They had gotten yearbooks in elementary school before she had discovered her magic. These books looked so much nicer, though, at least from what she could see of them from where she sat. As soon as she got hers, she opened it up to peruse through every page.

Waverly was pleased with her picture. She wasn’t as photogenic as her younger sister and her nose looked a little big, but it was acceptable. On the Quidditch page, she beamed at her team, people she had gotten to know well enough during the season. They were right under Aladren, meaning that they were in the order of their rank that year. She took the time to look at their pictures carefully. The Aladren team had a lot of good-looking boys on it. Pecari was dominantly made up of pretty girls in contrast, except for Rupert of course, but he was a joy to be around.

When she got to the clubs page, she nearly squealed when she saw her club first on the list. She had gained so many members over the course of the two years the club had been running and she was really encouraged by it. But she knew that, because she had so many things on her plate, she had to quit at least one or else she’d be dead by the time C.A.T.S. came around.

Then she turned to the awards page and grew excited again. She naturally began looking for her name and picture as well as her friends’. She giggled at Jade being put as a class clown. She wondered what her roommate thought about that. Brielle was under there too and Waverly smiled. Brielle definitely was a clown, but in the best way possible. She found herself under most talkative and couldn’t help but agree. It wasn’t like she tried to talk a lot, she just, well, did. It was probably not something to be proud of, but she was happy people had noticed. Hopefully in a good way.

She was surprised to find her younger sister under most bashful, but she guessed that Wendy’s tendencies to lack social graces sometimes could be seen as bashful. She moved on until she saw her name again under most dazed and confused and was offended. She wasn’t dazed and confused! Sure she didn’t get most things about the magical world sometimes, but still! Waverly huffed, but she didn’t say anything. At least there was Jorge right there with her. Speaking of which, she hadn’t really talked to him much, being so busy with all of her things plus a social life which rarely took place in the Pecari common room. She decided to look for him after she was done.

She found herself and Brielle’s pictures under best friends and beamed. It seemed like people really did notice the relationships people had with others. It was clear that Waverly didn’t really pay all that much attention when she saw that Michael Grosvenor and Eris Ackart were put as best couple. Wait. So that was the boy? Waverly studied his picture closely, wondering if Michael and Eris were actually going out. She’d have to ask Eris about that when they got to the tent. Lucky they were tentmates tonight.

Waverly hadn’t noticed how many cute boys there were at Sonora until she really got to looking at their faces. With yearbooks, she could stare at them for as long as she liked without the fear of them really looking back. The guys who made it on the best looking list really were cute, but she couldn’t really compare them to her Brandon. Er, not her Brandon. She blushed to herself and then closed the book. She really wanted some s’mores so she went to make one.

When she had roasted the marshmallow and had successfully made a delicious looking s’more, she looked around for Jorge and saw him next to Eris’s maybe boyfriend. It would be a good time to get to know him and secretly see if he was really into Eris or not and catch up with her housemate.

She approached them, oblivious to the conversation the boys might’ve been having, and sat down next to Jorge. “Hey guys,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t get to talk to you much this year, Jorge,” she said, nudging her housemate gently. “We need to catch up!” She turned to Michael. “I don’t think we’ve officially met, but I’ve seen you in class. I’m Waverly. I’d shake your hand, but they’re kind of full at the moment.” She smiled and wondered how in the world she was going to eat her s’more like a lady in the presence of two boys.

19 Waverly Canterbury Acting happily dazed and confused 218 Waverly Canterbury 0 5

Cepheus

January 03, 2013 3:46 AM

Very brave of you. by Cepheus

It was clear that Theresa had taken that comment badly and Cepheus blinked at her, trying to see how one could have taken it badly. Girls were sensitive, he had to remember that. “I just meant,” he amended patiently, “that they’d…well…” He could feel his face growing red and he couldn’t look her in the eye. Were these signs of attraction or what? He broke off a piece of his chocolate. “I just meant as a potential girlfriend.” He cleared his throat and popped the pieces of chocolate into his mouth, his usually pale face as red as a tomato.

Theresa didn’t really understand what the implications of this meant for him, but Cepheus didn’t expect her to. It wasn’t like he had told her all about his betrothal and he wasn’t planning on it. If he couldn’t even tell his friends here, he didn’t really want to tell anyone. Merlin, this was going to boggle his brain all night. He hated thinking about his feelings and not knowing what he was supposed to feel. He knew how he was not supposed to feel, but he didn’t know if that was enough to make him not feel what he was not supposed to. Merlin, this was a mess. He was tempted to lie down right there on the dirty ground and close his eyes and wish it all away.

Cepheus wished he hadn’t pushed on with the subject and decided to try and drop it. He sat up again and fiddled with his chocolate bar. “How were classes for you this year?” he asked, still not really looking at her. The word ‘girlfriend’ seemed so loaded between them. It was all just rushing back now. He still couldn’t believe he had said that to her. Cepheus had a lot of thinking to do.

Did he see her as a potential girlfriend? That was the biggest question and he knew his parents would be dying to know. Cepheus popped more chocolate into his mouth to try and get it to calm him down, but it wasn’t working. He was just really confused right now. Maybe getting some time to think would be good. He was suddenly glad for the summer holiday.

0 Cepheus Very brave of you. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Alicia

January 03, 2013 9:59 AM

Practice makes perfect, they say. by Alicia

“Hm, too true,” Alicia agreed about other people not realizing it was fun to read, and laughed as he turned the ambiguous award around into a solid positive. “There, that’s it! That’s it exactly. That’s how I’m going to think of it, whether they meant it that way or not.”

She did try to seem like a cheerful, social creature, but the truth was, after all, that the traits Thad had just listed were all but one of the ones she valued most highly. Without them, after all, she would be grubbing around in the dust with the likes of Kate, and with no chance of ever doing any better, either. And as for the fourth one, well…loyalty could be inconvenient, but some of it was necessary to get anywhere, too, and as far as ideals went, it was the one she just couldn’t help but care for, so she had just tried to find the right people to be loyal to. She didn’t believe there were any defaults, because a group she was forced to belong to, was just placed into against or without even the consultation of her will, had no claim on her unless she chose to give it one.

Aladren House, she had finally decided, could have some of her partiality; the Bauer family was another matter. Though that was boiling it down far too far. She blamed, for instance, Arabella Brockert for her poor showing in the awards, since she was sure Arabella didn’t like her any more than she liked Arabella and the other girl was from a powerful family that just liked to rub other people’s noses in it, but where did that leave her with Evan? She didn’t love Evan for himself, but he was in her House and year, and her friend was his friend as well. She wouldn’t die for him, but she believed that she would normally go to a good bit of trouble on his behalf just for Thad’s sake, if it came to that. His family, though, made her resent it more than she thought she would have, and at what point did that become enough to change her mind about helping him?

She really hoped it never came to that.

Her expression had become momentarily pensive, but that was replaced with a brilliant smile when Thad agreed about Biggest Brain and then surprised her by saying she should have been under Best Looking, too. That wasn’t, honestly, a category she would have put either of them into – certainly they weren’t the worst-looking people on campus, and he was probably better-looking than her, but neither of them, she thought, was exactly drop-dead gorgeous – but she couldn’t say she didn’t find it pleasant to hear anyway. “Thank you,” she said, not wasting her time trying to hide that the remark had pleased her. “Can I have Most Logical, too, while we’re rewriting?” she asked.

His estimation of their new Head Boy and Girl matched her own and she was satisfied. “Let’s hope he does,” she said, amused, on the topic of Preston Stratford. “Especially if he wants to take Mr. Wilkes’ place eventually.” Letting his girlfriend get out of hand would not, Alicia thought, be something that would earn him many votes from other Aladrens; certainly, it would have lost him hers, if she had been in a position to have one next spring.

She shook her head. “And then it’ll be our turn before you know it,” she remarked, not doubting they’d be Head Boy and Girl in three years any more than she doubted the color of her eyes. “I suppose ruling this place will do until we've got time to worry about the rest of the world.”

16 Alicia Practice makes perfect, they say. 210 Alicia 0 5

Arnold

January 03, 2013 7:54 PM

Unless it shows a.m./p.m., anyway. Then it's just once by Arnold

“Whatever you like, I suppose,” Arnold said, laughing, as Fae suggested alternatives to ‘cute.’ “You’ve got to spend more time looking at me than I do.”

He thought that might sound a little peculiar, but that it was also true. He didn’t look at mirrors too much after he finished his morning routines, and there were times when he barely even did that. People who saw him a lot had a lot better of an idea of what he looked like than he did; he knew the smaller quirks of Arthur’s as well as he did the grain of his broom’s handle, and guessed he’d be able to say the same about Fae someday, but had only, when he tried to think about it, a vague picture of his own features, an idea of angles and uninspiring brown hair more than a solid image. He’d recognize himself, but didn’t see much to gain from doing so.

“Yes, I know,” he said dutifully when she brought up her concern for him, and how she was trying to be supportive. He had a feeling this was going to be one of the conversations they ended up repeating a lot; everyone had them, he thought, if they spent any amount of time together. Even he and Arthur did, and they both knew perfectly well which points they were never going to bring the other around on and which ones they couldn’t agree more about. “I appreciate it, really. I just wish you wouldn’t worry about it so much. If Bludgers were going to kill any of us, I think they probably would have before we ever came to school.”

The idea of a romantic broom ride under the stars was quite honestly one Arnold had never thought of before in his life. He really was going to have to do something – ask his older cousins, read a book, sneak looks at his mother’s magazines, something – to help him get the hang of this whole ‘romance’ idea. “Well, if you really wanted to,” he said. “But not with any…acrobatics. I don’t think I’m that good.”

To him, there wasn’t any shame in admitting that, or not much, anyway. He was only so good at even what he was good at; he thought this was true for most people. No one could be good at everything all the time, or at least, he really hoped no one was. For one thing, it would just ruin the party for everyone else, and for another, he wasn’t sure someone who was too good at everything all the time could be really okay in the head after a while.

“I guess you could say the same about Arthur,” he remarked after her analysis of Alice. “They’re both just how they are, but I don’t think he minds much, anyway.” He paused, then changed that. “Actually, I think he enjoys it.”

Potions. He thought about his family’s feelings on Potions. “Well, Father and Mother aren’t brilliant with Potions themselves, so they shouldn’t hold that against you,” he said reasonably. “I really do think they’re going to focus all their attention on me and Arthur, though. You know, since we’re not heirs, so we’re going to have to do something for a living someday. They’d take care of you whatever happened because they’d figure you couldn’t help it if I turned out not to be worth much, but I’m expected to be able to take care of myself.”

He and Arthur, after all, would’ve made a decent heir between them, but individually, they both had quirks the family wished away. Arnold didn't even know anymore which they'd take if they did suddenly only have to deal with one of them. It wasn't a relevant question, but he couldn't help but wonder sometimes. He thought about a lot of useless, pointless topics, now that he thought of it; it was just that he had the sense not to tell people about that which kept him, he was sure, from having a reputation for being weird instead of just a little thoughtless.

0 Arnold Unless it shows a.m./p.m., anyway. Then it's just once 181 Arnold 0 5

Theresa

January 03, 2013 8:13 PM

Thank you by Theresa

Theresa had thought he meant that, or at least something very like it, but she still felt herself turning red, too, when Cepheus actually said the word ‘girlfriend.’ She pushed her hair back behind her ears, taking the chance to rest her comparatively cool hands against her cheeks in a vain attempt to make herself stop blushing furiously enough for it to be obvious in spite of the dimming light of the evening.

“Well, even if you wouldn’t want that, you don’t have to act like they’d rather see you bitten by a werewolf,” she muttered. “I’m not that bad, honestly.”

She hoped he would get the hint that his way of reacting to the situation had offended her and that she would like an apology, or at least some kind of acknowledgment that she hadn’t turned into a crone without noticing in the past five minutes, without her having to spell it out any more clearly than that. He had been happy enough to talk to her before, so she didn’t see why he had to act like an idiot just because of…well, people apparently completely misreading his intentions right along with her, which she guessed could be really annoying, but it wasn’t her fault, either.

“They were fine,” she said, still a little stiffly, when he changed the subject to classes. “I’m no Aladren, of course, but I think I did well on all our exams. And you? How did you like them?”

She wanted badly to scream and throw something, but she couldn’t even think of doing that until she was at home, in her own room and preferably during a rare moment when none of her siblings were around, and she hoped to be calm by then. Surely things couldn’t be that bad. They could all seem better after she'd had some more chocolate and gotten a good night's sleep. So she just had to twist her fist up where it couldn't be seen behind her and weather out the bad temper for now and hope it passed.

0 Theresa Thank you 0 Theresa 0 5

Sully

January 03, 2013 11:25 PM

I really don't. by Sully

Sully was grateful when Brianna rescued his book because if she hadn't, he would have needed to somehow juggle the rest of the stuff he was carrying while kicking it along the ground to wherever he ended up sitting. That turned out to be the log directly to Brianna's right, in part because he felt it might be kind of rude to sit on the log farthest away, in part because it was closer than the one to her left, and in part because then she could hand him his yearbook more easily once he got settled.

Somehow, he managed not to drop anything while sitting down, and he even managed to come up with a clever recovery for his earlier clumsiness. If he had thought of it immediately, he might have even come across as witty, but he'd been far too slow to pull that off. Still, he saw little point in wasting the remark so he grinned a bit in self-deprecation and told Brianna, "Thanks. Obviously, it's my grace and coordination that makes me such a great Quidditch player." He could only hope she knew enough about Sonora Quidditch to get that he wasn't actually on a team.

He set his crackers and chocolate into his lap, skewered the marshmallow onto his roasting stick, braced it against his leg as he gratefully retrieved his yearbook from Brianna. "Thanks," he said again, slight red spots coloring his cheeks. He was truly grateful for both her assistance and the fact that she wasn't laughing at him. Karen certainly wouldn't have let him live this down so easily. He set the book down more carefully beside him then picked up his roasting stick and set his marshmallow out over the fire.

He was a bit surprised by her question, and had to consciously decide not to take offense to it (he was sure he would have if she hadn't prefaced the inquiry with the assurance that she didn't mind him being there), but he answered her truthfully. "Because fire, large crowds, and lots of pointy sticks are a hospital wing visit waiting to happen and I am unlucky enough that it would probably be me who gets accidentally stabbed and burned, so I got myself out of the line of fire." He realized belatedly that could be taken as a pun, and it wasn't even bad enough that he felt he had to disavow intending to make one. Maybe Brianna would even think he was funny.

He nudged a foot against the yearbook. "Did you get a chance to look at this yet? I was too busy trying to get my s'mores stuff. Is it any good?"

0 Sully I really don't. 0 Sully 0 5

Arista Thornton

January 04, 2013 1:06 PM

Kind of a happy/sad (KIRSTENNA) by Arista Thornton

Arista was happy, but also sad at the same time. The bonfire was basically the last real time she'd be able to A. get to spend time with Captain Kirstenna; and B. be a sixth year. When bonfire was over and the year ended, she'd be a 7th year.

Oh... Merlin's... Beard... she thought as the reality of it all hit her like a ton of bricks.

Ris walked up towards the Pitch and Kirstenna for what felt like the last time and she almost let tears fall from the corners of both eyes. Almost. I will not cry. she thought, stifling it altogether and forcing herself to think of something else, something funny. She forced herself to think about how Clara and Brielle had changed each other into different colors the year before. She couldn't help but chuckle at her little booger and smurf as she walked up to where Kirstenna was by the bonfire.

The sun was setting and the sky was taking a darker hue as she reached her friend. "Hey!" Arista said brightly as she walked up to Kirstenna. Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau spoke to them all and Arista picked up a yearbook before clapping for David and Sara.

Announcements having finished, Ris glanced at her unopened yearbook to Kirstenna then back to the book in her hand. "Yearbook... Like a Muggle High School..." she started. "Will you sign mine Cap?" she asked as she watched Kirstenna's face to see if she would. Arista hoped so, and she hoped that her friend would keep in touch once the year ended. She didn't want to lose pretty much the only real friend she had because they were a year apart...

0 Arista Thornton Kind of a happy/sad (KIRSTENNA) 0 Arista Thornton 0 5

McKinley Andrews

January 04, 2013 2:07 PM

I do... by McKinley Andrews

McKinley Andrews was far from thrilled at the prospect of having to sleep outside and sit/stand by a filthy fire. The only thing that made the first year not want to break the rules (other than the obvious) was that it looked like, from what she could tell anyway, that her roommates were actually sort of excited.

Kinley sighed as she overlooked her parka for a cute white sundress, a pair of MaryJanes and a sky blue sweater. The dirt won't hurt me... It won't. she repeated to herself quietly as she brushed her hair and carefully placed her hair clips at the sides of her head.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at how cute she thought she looked. The others started heading out the door and Kin followed behind them, not wanting to be left behind either.

The sky was darker than she liked it to be as the group of them got to the Pitch, but she followed her roommates towards the big fire anyway. She didn't have a choice in the matter. It was mandatory to attend. Rules were there and she must not break them.

The Headmistress spoke to them and she listened carefully as announcements were made, yearbooks handed out and new Head Boy and Girl given their badges. McKinley clapped gently for David and Sara. She didn't know either one, but that didn't mean that she shouldn't clap for them either.

Kin took a book, but hadn't opened it until she saw that Effie had opened hers, figuring if she was that it was safe. Part of the book was pictures of the kids, some was teams and clubs and then there were awards. Seeing as she was one of the best and cleanest people there, she figured she'd have some of those. She saw herself in the first one, Most Serious. Really? she thought as she kept looking. The next one she saw her name in was Most Dazed and Confused, and that made her feel just plain wrong. The fact that Carter's name was right there next to hers didn't help any either. Effie got most well behaved and that was good, especially since Effie was her roomate and that looked good on all of them. Carter got Class Flirt, which Kinley didn't understand (but still made a mental note to talk to him about who he was flirting with). Then there was the kicker. Her name was in the yearbook once more. This time under Worst Enemies. The picture next to hers was of DIRT. Her eyes widened and mouth dropped down so far she wasn't sure if they would touch the icky ground.

McKinley's face turned a shade of red worse than it ever had and she stared from the page in the book to Effie and Isabel before looking back to Effie once more. Effie had put her book under her arm, and Kin closed her mouth in a tight line and slipped into the queue behind her roommate. The Crotalus wasn't hungry, but she wasn't planning on being left behind, that was for sure.

McKinley didn't say anything, but she sure hoped someone else would.

0 McKinley Andrews I do... 0 McKinley Andrews 0 5

Laurie

January 04, 2013 6:14 PM

joins in the dancing by Laurie

“Camping?” he asked intrigued. “Like magical camping or muggle camping?” he asked lowering his voice at the last part since he didn’t want to get into any kind of trouble with anyone. However, his tone was curious enough to not be seen as rude when he mentioned the M word. He wasn’t sure about Mellie’s parentage, but if he recalled correctly –not necessarily 100% sure, though – she was half-blood. Laurie couldn’t remember where or how he had acquired that information, but it could be a figment of his imagination, really. The redhead wasn’t sure of anything, since he had a penchant for being a scatterbrained Teppenpaw more often than not.

He smiled at her before looking down at his apple and frowning, “Why are we eating an apple when we have tables and tables loaded with actual scrumptious food?” he asked Mellie with a laugh lingering in his throat trying to escape its confines.

It was getting harder and harder to ignore the fact that next year would be Hell Year due to the examinations that they had to present at the end to pass to advance classes. CATS and RATS were some aspects of Sonoran life that the redhead tried to ignore as best as he could. Studying wasn’t one of his strengths, and he was sure he was going to suffer like never before during them. Sports were more around his corner, and Laurie could talk about little details and obscure Quidditch rules for hours without rest.

Green-eyes scanned the table in front of him for something that had more calories in it and settled for a handful of marshmallows. The fluffly treat melted in his mouth and watched Mellie curiously through the corner of his green-eyes. He smiled, “I don’t want to think about exams just now. I will do it once the time comes, but not now.”

Laurie laughed, “It’s time to enjoy the start of summer!” Its wasn’t the time to stress about something that was months in the future. “Now we should just enjoy the food,” he grinned as he dramatically showed the table loaded with food.

0 Laurie *joins in the dancing* 0 Laurie 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

January 05, 2013 2:58 PM

Flirtatious, good looking and coupled up. by Michael Grosvenor

Michael was angry. Or had been. Some of it had burnt away with Preston's picture. But his anger tended to be at situations. Or at himself. He didn't tend to turn it on other people, especially people who didn't deserve it. Therefore, when he heard something behind him, he pushed any further feelings of snappishness out of his mind, and turned to see who wanted his attention. Jorge. He didn't know a lot about the guy. The only thing he thought he knew was that he'd done something to upset Eris at the Feast. That was only a hunch and not really enough to hold against the guy.

He'd chosen a relatively quiet bit of fire, owing to his need for privacy in which to burn Preston's face, as much as his natural inclination for quiet. Things hadn't really kicked off yet, but a gentle chatter was growing in the background. The fire next to him occasionally crackled and popped. The upshot was that, with concentration, he got most of what Jorge said. He didn't miss enough, he felt, to need the words repeated when the crackles and snaps overwhelmed them or when a laugh from a nearby group cut across their conversation. He was congratulated on something. Something to do with Eris and her being mopey. He didn't think Jorje specified what. Maybe whatever had happened at the feast? He didn't really get the next bit but then Jorje was saying about them not glaring at each other, and how it'd be nice if they could be friends, as Eris was his. He took that to mean Eris was his, Jorje's friend too. As they had a mutual friend, he thought it'd be good if they all got on. Michael had never really thought that they didn't – just that they didn't know each very well.

“Sure man, sounds good,” he smiled.

Waverly – another person he knew of more than knew – stumbled over to them, talked at Jorje, smiled and talked to him and gesticulated her arms full of food.

“Hey Waverly,” he smiled at her. “You want to get some of that too?” he asked Jorge, nodding at the snacks.

13 Michael Grosvenor Flirtatious, good looking and coupled up. 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

January 05, 2013 4:17 PM

OOC - correction by Michael Grosvenor

Sorry, I managed to get confused and make no sense. I mean, more than I meant to. Michael did hear Jorje correctly when he said 'Just friends - I know she's yours' but took this to be 'let's be friends - I know she, Eris, is yours [your friend]' rather than what I typed, which was silly.

13 Michael Grosvenor OOC - correction 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

Midsummer Event: BONFIRE! by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

Cepheus Princeton

Looking for Theresa. by Cepheus Princeton

Fae Sinclair

This brings back memories. by Fae Sinclair

Arnold Carey

It's best not to dwell on the past by Arnold Carey

Fae

What if it's a good memory? by Fae

Arnold

Maybe, as long as it's not too long by Arnold

Clarissa Clark

A Midsummer Night's...Daydream? by Clarissa Clark

Eliza Bennett

This is not really what I had planned for by Eliza Bennett

Theresa Carey

Here I am by Theresa Carey

Mellie Goodwin

Party time! by Mellie Goodwin

Aria Yale

... I'm very confused. by Aria Yale

Preston Stratford

Another year ends by Preston Stratford

Cepheus

I suppose we should talk or something. by Cepheus

Laurie Stratford

Yey! I am here to paaarty! by Laurie Stratford

Fae

Is it worrisome if it was for too long? by Fae

Theresa

That's probably a good idea by Theresa

Arnold

Well, it could get in the way of making new good memories by Arnold

Mellie

*Throws around the confetti.* by Mellie

Effie Arbon

I do not dislike this... by Effie Arbon

Alicia Bauer

...What is this? by Alicia Bauer

Regina Parker

Sitting by the fire by Regina Parker

HB-Elect David Wilkes

I'd like to thank all my supporters before I run away.... by HB-Elect David Wilkes

Michael Grosvenor

Toasting effigies by Michael Grosvenor

Thad Pierce

It's a yearbook, I believe by Thad Pierce

Hope Brockert

Surprised by Hope Brockert

Laurie

*dons on party hat* by Laurie

Nic Sawyer

Do you not feel the relief I felt at this time last year? by Nic Sawyer

Jorge Garcia

You really must want to cause harm. by Jorge Garcia

Fae

You make a very good point. by Fae

Eliza

Not really, no by Eliza

Alicia

Your deductive skills are excellent, Mr. Pierce. by Alicia

Arnold

Even a stopped clock's right twice a day by Arnold

Jay Carey

Hoping to help with the confusion by Jay Carey

Samantha Hamilton

Coward by Samantha Hamilton

Josephine Owen

It's the done thing at these events by Josephine Owen

Brianna Japos

Disappointment is always around. by Brianna Japos

Mellie

*Dances.* by Mellie

David

Yep. What's so bad about that? by David

Aria

It might take a moment. by Aria

Derry Pierce

Joining the fire sitting thing by Derry Pierce

Throws around the confetti. by Mellie

dons on party hat by Laurie

Dances. by Mellie