Getting out of the way on Labyrinth Gardens

Grail Markner

October 27, 2006 6:01 PM

Getting out of the way by Grail Markner

For the last four weeks or so, things weren't going too terribly. Of course, after the Quidditch game, Gray owed Libby about a week of extra bad teasings and to be healed in the arm she had broken. But those things were gone now, and actually it was the last three weeks she'd found particulary enjoyable. She'd finally answered the raging letter Alice had sent her about their mother's "secret" pregnancy and Alice's sudden burst of fear that she may not actually belong in their family comepletely. Grail had simply told her sisters she was overreacting, and that their mother would tell the others when the time was right. After that, Libby and Chali sort of quieted down (though Grail sometimes heard them in her sleep, whispering about their mother) and Alice didn't talk.

Grail had also started a book she had brought from home called A Wind in the Door, which belonged to Aurther. With the quiet in her head, Grail had finally had the time and patience to start it. And if her sisters got too loud, she'd simply turn her attention to the black prayer beads around her wrist (another thing of Aurther's). Thoughts of her late brother finally kicked in as starting to work. Gray had only just thought of them, and felt a little foolish for not doing so before. After all, it was her brother who taught her more than school ever could.

Gray also had a notebook open in which she wrote down all the interesting points in the book. Another thing Aurther had taught her to do. If a book should interest her so much, then you should learn about the topics they bring up. Gray had always listened when her brother told her about Quantum Physics. She had been very interested in that kind of thing, it it was mainly what the book was about. It, of course, had other science fictiony things like aliens, but they were explained greatly using actual Quantum Physics, rather than other science fiction which used absurd thigs that didn't make any sense.

This, for Grail, was pretty much calming. This was also unusual for her here. Her, simply sitting, reading a book, writing down things that interested her, humming a lulluby she'd learned in the Library after crying mixed with one she had known since she was small. No shaking of the hands or body, no tears, no voices. The no voices part really calmed her. Which was why when she heard someone talking she jumped, afraid her sisters had come back. Before she realized the voice sounded nothing like Alice or the twins. Gray twisted a bit to see who was coming her way.\n\n

0 Grail Markner Getting out of the way 0 Grail Markner 1 5

Ginger Silverstein

October 28, 2006 9:40 AM

You're not in my way. by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger was on her way to the Pecari common room to do her Transfiguration homework. She hoped that it wasn't too loud in the common room like it could be sometimes, she didn't like to do homework in her dormitory.

She was thinking about the letter she had recieved from her cousin Mendelson that morning. Her cousin was a first year at The Salem Institute. She had heard some interesting things about that place. Mendelson was in a house called "Terrigena" which, from the sounds of it was Salem's version of Aladren. She was a little jealous of him when it came to what happened at Salem this term. On Mendelson's first term they had a feild trip, and they had a ball. Ginger didn't see anything like that really happening at Sonora, but balls would make her nervous anyway. Balls usually were date related, and Ginger just couldn't bring herself to think about it.

Ginger had another lazy day, so she wore her black zelda beanie with a black zelda shirt and ripped jeans, and green hightop converses.

She saw Gray on the ground reading a book. Ginger really liked Gray, she seemed really nice, timid, and sweet. Ginger gave Gray a gently tap on the shoulder. "Hey" she said softly. "Mind if I sit with you?" Perhaps this would be an alright place to do homework, and if she just wound up talking to Gray, she wouldn't mind that either because Gray wouldn't be a bad friend. \n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein You're not in my way. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Gray

October 28, 2006 4:51 PM

I may be in someone's though by Gray

Gray was glad to see it was Ginger the voice had come from and not some other Pecari. Ginger seemed like a calmer, less annoying and cocky, one. As well as nice. And despite the fact that Ginger catching the snitch and winning the game for Pecari cost her a week of tears (from Libby), she still liked Ginger. Besides, how was Ginger to know that Grail had made a bet with herself?

Gray hugged her knee and smiled at the girl. "No, sit down. I was just reading," she stated, making a motion at the book. Gray also realized she still had that pen in her hand and the notebook opened to the scribbles about the book. "And summerizing my points..." she laughed. "I like reading about Quantum Physics and this book..."

"Shut u~p..." Chali sighed at Gray, before going back to Libby. Gray frowned a bit, but didn't really care too much about that little blurb from her head. Sometimes they'd tell her to stop talking whenever it seemed she was rambling too much. But they always went back to their own whisperings and left her alone after that. There was no real teasings. Still, Gray stopped talking, realizing she was indeed talking too much. She did that a lot when talking of things she enjoyed, it was a habit taken from her mother and Aurther. She needed to stop, it could get annoying after a while.

"Anyway," she continued, moving to make room for Ginger. "How've you been?" she asked, smiling again. "And what are you doing out here so far out in the Gardens?"\n\n

16 Gray I may be in someone's though 113 Gray 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

October 28, 2006 7:20 PM

Ah they'll get over it if you are. by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger was suprised and happy that Gray seemed happy to see her. She was afraid that Gray didn't like her anymore because she caught the snitch. She was glad that she had never seen the day of Pecari losing yet, because her head probably would have been on a pike. She didn't understand why a lot of people could get so hyped up about qudditch. She really did like playing it, but she played to have fun, not to win. Winning was fun, but it wasn't life. She was really greatful that Zack didn't seem angry that Aladren lost. She wouldn't have been angry if Pecari did, she'd be more scared of the twins. "Thanks," she said.

She sat down next to her and looked at the book that Gray was reading about quantam physics. It was truly an interesting concept, really complicated, but interesting. "Sweet," she said as she gazed over Gray's notebook. It did look rather complicated, but it was still interesting.

Ginger placed her bookbag on the ground, and got out a bag of chips, two cokes, and her transfiguration homework. "Here," she said as she passed over a coke, and put the bag inbetween them. "Help yourself," Ginger always carried an assortment of snacks and sodas in her bookbag just in case she got hungry or thirsty during the day, and she was too lazy to go to the Cascade Hall.

"I've been alright I guess," she said with a shrug. "Been bored since qudditch is over for the year." She took a chip out of the bag, and munched it down.

When Gray asked the question about why she was out so far in the gardens she didn't know how she was going to answer that. She doubted that Gray would tell anyone, but she didn't seem to like Pecaris all that much. Perhaps the whereabouts of the Pecari common room wasn't that big of a secret. Ginger didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the Aladren common room was somewhere in the library. "Well the common room is somwhere out here," she said putting a finger to her lips. "Just don't tell anyone alright?"

She was descrete about it though, she didn't tell her it was behind a bush or a certain bush. She just hoped that it was going to be alright, and that no one would yell at her or anything for telling someone that the common room was somwhere in the garden. "I don't want to get yelled at you know?"

Gray knew how harsh some of the Pecaris could be, so hopfully she understood.

\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein Ah they'll get over it if you are. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Gray

October 28, 2006 10:36 PM

You think? by Gray

Gray smiled, happy Ginger didn't move away from her after her burst out about Quantum Physics and A Wind in the Door. She didn't like when people thought she was a "loser" just because she enjoyed things like science and reading. She couldn't really help it. It was how Aurther had taught her. And here people should realize she liked some academics, being in Aladren.

"Thanks," she grinned taking the coke Ginger had given to her. Gray popped the tab of the pop and took a long drink, she had been very thirsy. She also hadn't had pop in a while. And seeing the chips, Grail felt her face grow brighter. "You are my hero," Gray laughed, making a grab for the chips. "I was getting hungry, but didn't really feel like leaving my book." The book had been very interesting, but the bigger reason was that she also didn't want to go into a crowd of people and have her sisters come out when she was most nervous and alone.

"Been bored since qudditch is over for the year."

Ah, after losing her bet to Libby, Grail didn't really want to think of Quidditch... That was much too painful. Gray had started to think Libby was right. Grail really couldn't play sports. Especially not with people just like Libby. She still wanted to play. She just... didn't want to suck... If that made sense.
"Yeah," she answered. "I've actually been feeling a bit better since Quidditch has been over..." Probably because her arm wasn't broken anymore. And her sisters had calmed down a bit since their merciless teasings after the game.

So, Pecari's common room was somewhere in the Gardens. Gray's face grew bitter. Of course the outgoing ones would be found in the outdoors. Of course they got a breath of freash air after coming out of their common rooms, whereas she got the smell of stale air and musty books. Not that books smelled bad, it was just you didn't want to breathe in stale everytime you walked out a door. It just wasn't comfortable. "I wouldn't tell," she muttered to Ginger. "I get it. They'd probably yell at you for even giving me that vague a statement." She tried to give Ginger a smile. After all, it wasn't her fault, or even the Pecaris in general, that Gray had to suffer though headaches from Libby.

"I mean, it's not like Aladren being somewhere in the Library is that big a surprise. Both go with the descriptions of the houses, I mean."\n\n

16 Gray You think? 113 Gray 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

October 28, 2006 11:28 PM

Yep by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger took a sip of coke herself after Gray took the coke that Ginger gave her. She opened her transfiguration book,quil, ink, and parchment, and started to write her essay. "I can multi-task," she said so Gray would know that she was paying attention to her. She wrote a couple lines, and then gazed back at her Transfiguration book. She looked up at Gray again and laughed when Gray called her a hero. "Yeah a lot of people say that for the same reason you did. I just can't live without my mini munchies everywhere you know? I'm too lazy to go to the Hall sometimes. And it's not like they serve pop or anything like that you know?" She felt like she was talking to much. She got back to her work. She didn't want to scare Gray.

She nodded when Gray told her that she felt better since quidditch was over. "Yeah, I hate the stress," she said with a frown. "I try to ignore it though, beacuse I play to have fun, since I don't have video games here." She shrugged. "I know I'm a loser," she hoped she wasn't scaring Gray, or making her feel awkward or even annoyed.

Ginger smiled at Gray when she said that she wouldn't tell, "thanks," she said after she took another chip, and a sip of her coke. "I had a feeling you wouldn't" she shook her head when Gray said " They'd probably yell at you for even giving me that vague a statement." She laughed a little. "Well as long as they don't do anything else I wouldn't care."

And when Gray said that it wasn't a big suprise that Aladren was in the library. "No not really," she said "I kind of found out on the first morning here. I went to the library at like 5:30 in the morning, and my friend Guenther was sleeping in there. It was odd" There she was talking too much again. "I'm not making you nervous am I?"
\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein Yep 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Gray

October 29, 2006 12:39 AM

I suppose I'm not in the way, then by Gray

"I can multi-task..."

Gray nodded and smiled, opening her book again. "So am I, don't worry," she replied. Gray just got to the part where the main characters and the cherubuim just made it to Teacher's home planet. Again, Grail wasn't big on aliens and other planets in books, but here they actually put some actual science (by which she meant actual quantum physics) in this book. She had just scribbled down size is irrelevent and took a drink of coke before she turned back to Ginger with a grin. "Yeah, I don't get why they don't have snacks in the Halls. I mean most of us here come from places where there are chips and coke," she laughed. Taking a chip from the bag and eating it, Gray realized she had another taste. "You have any candy in there?" she asked, making her grin bigger. "Preferably chocolate?"

"You aren't a loser," Gray giggled softly. She too played video games every once and a while. Though she didn't play them often. They were mainly Aurther's and sometimes Libby or Alice played too. Grail liked to play, but she lost the urge to play a lot after her partner left her. "Unless I'm really a loser as well..." she added.

"What else would they do?" Grail asked a bit nervously. What else would happen? She knew if she told off a supposedly "secret" location that had to do with Libby, Grail would never be able to stop crying for a week.

Guenther? Hm... Grail never met him. She may have seen Ginger's friend aound, but she didn't have many names to add to faces yet. "I don't know him..." she muttered before Ginger went onto another subject. Wha? Ginger wasn't making Grail nervous. In fact, Grail felt pretty calm around Ginger (she wouldn't if she started talking too much, knowing her sisters would return if she did). "No... you don't make me nervous," she said in a more puzzled tone. "Does it seem like it?" She didn't want to be giving off the wrong feelings to people. It might make people think her stranger than they probably already did, with her shaking and such.\n\n

16 Gray I suppose I'm not in the way, then 113 Gray 0 5

Gray

October 29, 2006 1:06 AM

Good, then I have this all figured out :) by Gray

"Obesity?" Grail laughed at the thought. "There's no obesity here! People walk around too much." She pause a second to write something down. "Or... the lack of tasty snacks actually are preventing such!" she gasped mocking-like. Gray laughed a second before Ginger showed her the ho-ho. Oo! Ho-ho! She hadn't eated those in a long time! She took another drink of the coke before making a grab for the ho-ho. "Thank you so much," she grinned. "This will do, totally!" She began to unwrap th plastic packaging.

"Ew, those give you acne!" Chali squealed again, noticing what her sister was about to put into her mouth. Grail grew angry at Chali, but tried not to show it on her face. What did Chali care? She was only eleven. And so was Grail. They weren't even technically hormonal yet.

Grail then couldn't help but laugh when Ginger mentioned she cried when her gaming systems broke down. "I have a Gameboy Advance, a Nintendo 64, and an X-Box. They all belonged to my brother, but when he died, my sister Libby claimed the X-Box and Alice stole the Gameboy. But I'm fine with my Nintendo and Paper Mario!" She laughed herself, a bit surprised she mentioned Aurther dead without her voice shaking. Once. This was very good.

"Ah," she answered the Pecari statment. "Yeah, I understand that kind of paranoia." She got paranoia whenever she did something stupid. Afraid Chali and Libby would actually talk to her friends and tell them things she didn't want them to know. Stupid paranoia, but one all the same.

"I may have seen him around," she muttered, knowing what Zack looked like. He seemed like a cute, sweet kid. A little insane from what she heard, but he couldn't be as bad as Grail felt she was. She could barely place the Guenther guy though. She hadn't remembered seeing Zack with anyone.

Now Grail was blushing. So Ginger had seen her cry in Defense. She had hoped no one had noticed that. It wasn't that the Professor scared her or anything, it was her insanity acting up. She wouldn't have cried it Chali and Libby left her alone. Grail really felt bad for Adam. "Oh, yeah..." she looked down shyly. "I didn't think anyone saw me." Something else got her as well. "Is Adam okay?" she asked, remembering Ginger and Adam seemed a little closer than the four in general. "I was a bit worried about him." And who was their other partner. "And that Echo guy..." she thought for a second. He wasn't completely annoying Pecari, but there was something about him she didn't like. "I didn't like him much..."\n\n

16 Gray Good, then I have this all figured out :) 113 Gray 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

October 29, 2006 1:16 AM

Exactly ^_^ by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger wrote a couple more lines on her essay then took another sip of her coke, and another chip. "Yeah I know!" She said when Gray complained about the fact that snacks weren't usually served. "I guess they're trying to prevent obesity or something," she shrugged. There weren't very many fat people at Sonora, but that was probably because there was a lot of walking required to get from one place to the other. When Gray asked if she had any candy, Ginger placed her quil in the ink bottle for a second, and started to rumange through her bag. "Well I'm not sure what I have, but I think I might have some.." She pulled out some ho hos. "I got some ho hos are those good enough?"

"I'm obsessed with video games," she confessed. "I cried when I found out my psp or my gameboy or my gameboy ds or my gameboy sp was not working, I was afraid that they were done for good. But I was lucky that they weren't. My mother would have killed me for sure." She hoped that she wasn't making Gray nervous. But she was reading about quantam phyics so she probably understood, she hoped."If you are a loser, which you're not to me might I add," she said so Gray wouldn't think that she was calling her a loser (which she wasn't). "Then at least you're not the only one!"

Ginger shrugged when Gray asked what else they would do, "well I'm not sure if they would do anything else, it's more of a paranoid personal fear of mine." She took a bite of a ho ho herself, and another drink of her coke.

"Guenther is like the really really tall Aladren second year," she said "He's really hard to miss. He usually hangs out with Zack, who's the seeker and probably the shortest guy in Aladren." She knew that Zack didn't like to have his shortness exploited but he was still taller than Ginger, so he didn't have too much to worry about yet.

When Gray asked her if it seemed like Ginger made her nervous she shook her head. "Just worried you know? It bothered me to see you and Adam cry in Defense Against the dark arts you know?"

\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein Exactly ^_^ 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

October 29, 2006 2:47 AM

You catch on quickly. by Ginger Silverstein

"Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking," she said with a laugh. Ginger shook her head when Gray said "Or... the lack of tasty snacks actually are preventing such!" She giggled, "Well I've actually been provided with such, and I haven't really got much bigger," she said with a giggle. "But I walk around a lot, even when I don't have to."

She took another sip of her coke and smiled when Gray took out the ho ho. She wrote a few more lines on her essay, and gazed at the book again.

"I have a ps2, a Super Nintendo, a N64, a Sega Genisis, a sega dreamcast, a game cube, an XBox and hopefully for my birthday, I'll get a 360, and I got the psp and the portable video game systems that I just mentioned. She laughed "My parents don't spoil me that much though, I have to do a lot of stuff around the house to get anything." She giggled again. "Aww I'm sorry that your brother died. Want mine? He's a jackass.."

"I haven't seen Guenther around in a while, I think he's been avoiding me. Ever since this year he's been acting different around me," she said with a bewildered look on her face.

"I was kind of scared," she said explaining what happened in Defense Against The Dark Arts. "When I get really nervous, my eyes wonder a lot, so I saw you crying a little bit. And I saw Adam cry.. At the begining of the year feast I saw him cry too.. and I saw him have a panic attack. It was hard to watch. I feel so sorry for him he's so fragile. It's like something is slowly destroying him or something." She said with the bewildered look still on her face. I haven't seen him since then.. I hope he's okay." She now had a really worried look on her face.\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein You catch on quickly. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Gray

October 30, 2006 7:43 AM

This has been said before. by Gray

Gray laughed at Ginger's comment about walking around a lot, before going back to her book a second and witing a few more lines down. Frowning as she overlooked her notebook, she noticed the notes she'd written took up three pages. Front and back. She was only halfway through with the book too. She took a sip of the coke and turned back to Ginger.

Grail found her eyes turning wide at how many gaming systems Ginger had. She gave a small giggle when Ginger added that she had to work to get it all. "I take it the work is worth the games?" she smiled, with another laugh as Ginger went onto Aurther. "Aww I'm sorry that your brother died. Want mine? He's a jackass.." Gray gave a shake of her head. "Naw. I'd rather go in for the less jackassed. My sisters are enough." This was true.

And onto the Guenther guy from her house. Avoiding Ginger? Wow, boys were very odd. "That's..." she didn't know what to comment on that. "That's... odd..." she found herself finishing with a frown.

Grail then listened with interest as Ginger talked about Adam. That poor guy, crying and panic attacks. Seeming so fragile. She didn't think he was insane like her, really, but still. "Poor Adam," she muttered. "How long has he been like this, do you know?" A pause. "And why he's been like this? Do you know that? Has he told you?" she added, taking another sip of coke.\n\n

16 Gray This has been said before. 113 Gray 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

November 02, 2006 12:31 AM

I can see why :) by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger smiled when Gray said "I take it the work is worth the games?" She didn't need to be told twice that it was. "Oh deffinatly," she said with another smile. "I'd do the work all again if I had to you know? Video games are like my ultimate addiction." Ginger laughed when Gray told her that her sisters were bad enough. "Ah my brother can be okay sometimes... like when he's not usurping my systems." She said with a frown. Sam really was a pain when he took over her video game systems. She didn't hate him though, she'd be able to go a long time without killing him.

She took another bite of her ho ho, and washed it down with another sip of coke. She then wrote a couple more sentences while she looked at her Transfiguration book. The essay was really easy to write, but it was just too much to explain. She was glad that it was at least easy. Ginger liked tidious easy homework a lot better than hard and tidious.

Ginger shrugged when Gray said that Guenther's behavior was odd. "I agree," she said "Part of me wants to confront him about it, but I would feel too weird and stupid. Because for all I know, there may not be anything wrong with him at all. I hate feeling like an idiot... I already did enough when I went to muggle school in Canada."

She wrote another sentence, and then decided that she would finish it in the morning. She closed her book and put her writing supplies away. "That was starting to hurt my eyes," she said before she got back on the subject about Adam.

"He was always shy and meek like that," she said honestly. "I met him in Transfiguration last year. He seemed a little uncomfortable, but he wasn't stuttering as bad as I was, but in the begining of the year.. oh man it was bad." She didn't really like to remember seeing poor little Adam panicing like he did. "I don't know why he's like that, but I'm sure he can't help it at all."
\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein I can see why :) 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Grail

November 04, 2006 3:51 PM

:D WOOOOOT by Grail

Grail couldn't help but laugh when Ginger mentioned video games being her ultimate addiction. She tried to imagine loving something that much that she wouldn't mind working for it. Grail didn't have anything like that yet. Well... maybe her colored contacts, but that didn't really count. Or the silence in her head right now... but that didn't either. Grail took a sip of coke and turned back to Ginger talking about her brother. Lucky. Grail cracked a laugh though. "Nice," she muttered, going back to her book for a second to write something in.

Hm... farandoloe. That Sporos was a jerk though. How did you work with someone like that. That would be to her like working with a miniature version of Chali and Alice. Yuck. Them apart was enough. Combined would be her own personal hell. Especially if they came in her head.

Back on this Guenther guy. Frowning, she looked up from her book. "If my friend was acting weird, I'd confront him," she mentioned. Then, thinking a second, Grail added: "Nicely though. Like polite and stuff. Not interrogation... like." Grail found herself nodding again when Ginger mentioned the her muggle school in Canada. "Same here. Except my sisters forced me into solitude in both Detroit and Traverse City." She paused and decided to add something again. "I used to live in Detroit with my whole family until I was nine, when my brother died. Detroit's a dangerous place, so my mom took us to Traverse City. Dad's still in Detroit though."

She frowned again (this was going to be bad for her face) when Ginger mentioned Adam again. So the poor kid couldn't help it. "That must be terrible." Grail shook her head. "I'd hate to have that happen to me. I wonder if something's wrong." Was he insane like her? Is that why they both had episodes? But she wouldn't really call hers an attack. Maybe Adam had someting different. "I can sort of relate to him." Sort of. She wasn't sure...\n\n

0 Grail :D WOOOOOT 0 Grail 0 5