Of chapters and chairs. on Library

Wu Peizhi

November 20, 2016 4:18 AM

Of chapters and chairs. by Wu Peizhi

The library was always quiet. Peaceful. Wu found herself more often among friends, either with Laila if she was free or with Abby in their dorm, but at the end of the day, her introverted tendencies were not going anywhere, and she needed some refuge from even friendly conversation. That was why she loved the library so much. She was not necessarily the biggest reader, but the quiet and calm atmosphere provided for readers was something she could appreciate.

Sometimes she would bring homework and study there. Other times, she would simply sit and enjoy the silence. Today, however, she had actually found a book of some interest. Titled Of Mice and Men, it was the product of a Muggle author named John Steinbeck. The Teppenpaw was only about halfway through, but so far, she found it very interesting. If nothing else, it was a glimpse into American culture and values, both for the novel’s time and how it applied today, in both the magical and the Muggle world.

The plot was beginning to grow more and more intense, so Wu returned her bookmark and closed the book, sitting on the table so she could think and process for a moment. It was something she had to do every few chapters when she read, just to review the content with herself and check her understanding. Given the extensiveness of the library and the school’s willingness to work with their international students, Peizhi imagined at least some books were available in the multi-lingual section that were translated into her native language. But when she read, she pressed herself to slug through the English, hoping to improve her skills. Conversation and comprehension were their own challenge; having the language barrier in the way was growing quite old.

Now that she was looking up, she happened to notice another student in the section. She couldn’t be sure, but they seemed to her to be looking for somewhere to sit. The library was seeing a bit more traffic today than others, so maybe the other student couldn’t find anywhere available. When they were close enough for her to speak quietly and be heard, she addressed them. “You can sit here, if you would like,” she suggested in a helpful tone.

12 Wu Peizhi Of chapters and chairs. 316 Wu Peizhi 1 5

Arne Reinhardt

November 24, 2016 4:58 PM

Whatever you say, chap-o by Arne Reinhardt

Arne was not really a fan of the library. He didn't like how quiet it was nor how orderly it all seemed. Librarian Nicchi had a whole crew of students bustling about keeping it together and besides, he'd always thought old books had a rather damp, dusty smell which he detested. He preferred to finish his homework quickly so that he could spend his time looking for Louis or Laila, the two students in his year he seemed to be on rather good terms with, or else looking for his cousins and Shino to annoy.

To sum it up, Arne wasn't a dumb kid. In fact, he was probably too smart for his own good. He hadn't been challenged in elementary school much and he'd always felt overlooked at home. The culmination of all this in conjunction with him being a rather energetic person who didn't like to sit staring at a paper he had finished ages ago while all the other students in his second-grade class took the full half hour to take their subtraction tests meant that he had turned into a rather rambunctious, sarcastic goof-off. He knew that was his reputation now, and he didn't really care to correct it. What did he care what others thought of him anyway? When he was grown-up they'd either see a failure or a has-been anyway, so there really wasn't much use in trying now.

For whatever reason, however, that day he had not been able to find either Louis or Laila, his cousins were at practice, and since Shino had quit the Crotalus team, he had felt some sort of resentment. She had left him with the megalomaniac Alistair who now played for the 'star' position of the team. Alistair wasn't a bad player and Arne did think the wizard had talent. However, Arne thought his captain's head was entirely too big for his britches and hated that he had lost a friendly prankster ally only to gain an even more insufferable captain-seeker. The only good thing Arne thought could come out of the switch was that Shino had a lackadaisical approach to things. Alistair was determined to show the world he was better than they were. Maybe they'd actually catch the Snitch for once. Nope, he was not bitter about her leaving. Not at all.

His wanderings had brought him to the stuffy library and sighing, he entered the room of doom and sauntered around the stacks, hoping to find someone who would be up for going down to the MARS room with him and just goofing off. He needed to have more friends... He scanned the tables, looking for someone who looked like they liked to have fun. Nevaeh had let him tease her alright in class the other day, so maybe she would be--he quickly averted his gaze when he found Wu Peizhi. The quiet Chinese witch was one of Laila's friends for reasons that escaped Arne. She was so...dull. The witch didn't appear to have an opinion on anything. He certainly didn't think she would like to goof off in the water room instead of study.

However, she called out to him and he kept in the sigh. He didn't want Laila to berate him later for making Wu feel bad. And besides, it wasn't like she wasn't a nice witch. He would have felt bad himself for making Wu feel bad. There wasn't really anything wrong with being quiet like Wu was, only if one was looking for a partner in crime, which Arne was. "Hey," he said, throwing himself down in the seat next to her and hooking an arm 'round the back of his chair. "'sup?" it was the greeting he'd given her all those years ago in Cascade Hall which had elicited a lot of confusion. Hopefully she knew what it meant not. If not, he'd have to add 'a little bit of an idiot' on to the list of things about Wu he didn't like. "Getting some extra studying in?"

He tilted his head awkwardly to try and read the title of her book. "What's it about then? Like biology or something?"

Hey, talking to a book nerd was better than nothing.

OOC: Sorry Arne's in in such a bad mood today...

10 Arne Reinhardt Whatever you say, chap-o 319 Arne Reinhardt 0 5