Just for fun on Library

James Anthony

January 19, 2009 9:29 AM

Just for fun by James Anthony

The bespectacled first year found a table in the back of the library empty and smiled in great satisfaction. It was completely empty, meaning that James Anthony did not have to share his space with anyone else; he could spread his books out as he wished. This was especially exciting because he had finally had a talk with Professor Taylor over the Midterm (James and Lutece had both stayed at school to avoid the inevitable series of screaming phone calls, awkward pick-up/drop-off sessions, and general parent bashing that seemed to accompany their parents' divorce) and she had agreed to tutor him in elementary Algebra.

Unlike most of the people at Sonora, James had actually experienced a year of Muggle middle school before coming here. He had skipped the first grade, which had (and still did) pleased him greatly. His twin sister, Grace, not to much. Just as Grace was not pleased to see him go off to Sonora with Lutece, leaving her at home to deal with Mom and Liss all the time. James felt sorry for his sister, he really did, but obviously she just didn't have what it took to get into Sonora. Unfortunate, but not his fault.

James had always evinced an interested in the sciences, and he was not about to let something as silly as a magical education stop that. Professor Taylor herself had explained that she had been a magical engineer before becoming a teacher. To James, this made sense. There were all sorts of different types of engineers, after all, and he knew that when Liss took Chemistry at the high school her teacher had been a chemical engineer before he began teaching. Magical engineering just sounded like another variety of engineering itself. During his discussion with Professor Taylor she had also mentioned something called Arithmancy that he would eventually have to study if he was serious about going into the magical sciences.

He was, of course. Nobody who was not serious about science built a methanol cannon over the summer and put a dent in the garage door.

Having completed his introspection for the time being, James pulled a quill, some ink, paper, his algebra workbook, and his Charms and DADA textbooks out of his maroon backpack that he still insisted upon using even if nobody else in the school did. Spreading the materials out across the table, the Aladren got to work, occasionally pushing his slipping glasses up his nose with one ink-blotched finger. That is, until he noticed somebody standing in front of him.

"Yes?" the boy asked inquiringly.

0 James Anthony Just for fun 126 James Anthony 1 5

Charlotte Abbott

January 19, 2009 3:13 PM

Likewise by Charlotte Abbott

This wasn't the first time Charlotte had been intot the library. During her first few weeks she had explored the school quite thoroughly, including several places she thought she probably shouldn't have visited. Yet having returned from a relatively quiet midterm (if one ignored the loud and messy break up Julian and Allison had right near the end), Charlie was eager to get a better look at some of the places she'd neglected. She had mostly stayed out of the labyrinth for fear of getting lost, and had only scracthed the surface of the library's vast area. So with free time on her hands, Charlie began wondering around the library, reading spines of the books that stood out.

She'd been wandering for quite some time, amazing herself at how large this library really was, when she came upon another student. A boy, who wasn't in her House, but she'd seen him in classes. That meant he had to either be in first or second year, and he didn't look any older than second year, anyway. "Yes?" Charlie startled as she realised she was being addressed. She'd been looking at the student, not fully aware that she'd been staring.

"I'm sorry," she smiled easily; she'd never had any problems with strangers. "I didn't mean to distract you." Casting a glance over his work to see if she could pick up any homework hints, Charlie frowned. That wasn't school work. "I was looking for..." she paused as she read the spine on the nearest book. Carnivourous plants? She shuddered. "Ah, um, I wasn't looking for anything," she smiled, scuffing her toes in what she hoped was an endearing manner. I've just been exploring the library and there's hardly any students back this far."

The boy was probably going to tell her to go away, that he wanted to finsih his work, but Charlie maybe came at the right time and could offer some conversation in a work break.

0 Charlotte Abbott Likewise 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

James

January 20, 2009 9:39 AM

Bit of a family tradition, this by James

James finished making a note in the margin of his workbook on quadratic equations as the girl explained rather badly what she was doing. Yet the Aladren was never one to begrudge a fellow book-lover a wander or two of the library, and this girl would have to be a book-lover if she was here so soon after midterm just looking at books. James himself had read a few good ones over Midterm when not studying. He didn't know if Sonora had any sort of valedictorian placement, but he did know that if they did, he was going to be the one to get it, and that required hard work from the outset. As things stood, he had almost perfect grades in most of his classes, and he was planning on getting better as the school year wore on. Ambitious? Why yes, thank you.

"I could help you, if you'd like," James offered, pushing black-rimmed glasses up his nose to frame his blue-green eyes once again. His light brown hair was a bit mussed, but not badly. "I was just doing a bit of algebra," he motioned at his workbook, "and was going to do some DADA work a bit later. You know, study before next class. But I'm pretty familiar with the library."

All of this was said in the rather matter-of-fact manner that James tended to have when dealing with people. He came off as cold sometimes, but he didn't really mean to. When he had complained about this to his older sister over break, she'd rolled her eyes and called him socially inept, then gone back to mooning over that boy she was forever talking about. Oliver something. James had been rather surprised upon his arrival to Sonora when he'd found that Lutece didn't have very many friends at all. His sister had always appeared so social that it seemed as though it must be a bit of a mistake to find her without a posse of some sort.

"Oh, I'm James by the way," he stood and offered a hand. "First year Aladren."

0 James Bit of a family tradition, this 0 James 0 5

Charlotte

January 21, 2009 10:27 AM

We seem to be making better progress by Charlotte

"Algebra?" Charlie managed to wrinkle her nose and smile at the same time. "Does it help with transfiguration or something?" She couldn't even contemplate that a student was doing work not assigned to them. There was quite enough homework to do as it was, and Charlie was still trying to fit in dance practise with Lita.

"Well, if you're not too busy," Charlotte beamed at the offer of company. "I haven't looked down there yet," she pointed at the next aisle of shelves, "and there was a section that looked well too creepy for me to go in alone." She didn't have any other plans for the rest of the day, which might have been why she then found herself saying, "Maybe later I could work that DADA with you? It's my best class." Not quite true, but it wasn't like he was going to ask to see her grades for proof.

The studying boy then introduced himself as James. Charlie liked to have names to put with faces. "I'm Charlie - Charlotte," she said, grinning back. She took his extended hand and tried not to show that she found the gesture almost funny because it was so formal. "I'm in Crotalus," she added, pushing her dark hair back behind her ear. Most of it was in a ponytail down her back, but the shorter front parts always escaped. "Aladren's the clever House, right?" That was the general student consensus, anyway. "Explains why you're doing extra studying," she said brightly, linking her arm through James' and leading him towards the so far unexplored sections.

"Do you have a best class?" Charlotte asked out of interest. Then, just for amusement, she added, "Or are you just brilliant at everything?" The lesson she got highest grades in was actually charms, but that was just because she found the written work easy - all the answers were buried in the textbook. The class she enjoyed the most was transfiguration, but that was just because she liked the teacher.

0 Charlotte We seem to be making better progress 0 Charlotte 0 5