Julius Astley
September 20, 2018 12:48 PM
Resurrecting The Aronos (tag Tarquin Fox-Reynolds) by Julius Astley
If there was one room that Julius liked in Sonora, besides his own dormitory, it was the library. Despite not particularly enjoying himself at the school and not really having any friends to speak of, he found the library a peaceful and relaxing places to be with its plushy armchairs and its many, many shelves of books. Nobody bothered him when he was in the library and the room provided him an escape from the reality he didn't particularly enjoy. He, of course, preferred the Astley Manor's library but, for a second prize, the Sonora library would do.Today, however, he wasn't in there for the purpose of finding more books to read. On his previous visit, he had discovered a piece of Sonoran history which had piqued his curiosity and sparked an idea in his brain. An old copy of a newspaper called The Aronos that didn't seem to be published anymore. He'd given it an idle flick through, only really skimming the articles but the cogs in his brain had been turning, his mind racing. The idea of publishing a newspaper or a magazine of some sort, detailing life within Sonora wasn't repulsive. Given that he had no other commitments besides his classes and homework, he had a fair bit of time on his hands and he had no other interest in the other clubs currently operating. He wondered if he could revive The Aronos.
He'd spent most of the night lying in bed, turning and mulling the idea over in his head, finding it more and more attractive with each minute that passed. There was only one drawback and that was that to publish a whole newspaper would likely be a lot of work if he was to do it all by himself which meant that he would likely need people to help write and take photographs and all the other things that involved publishing a paper. Trouble was, he didn't really know anybody having kept mostly to himself and, for a moment, he pondered how he would get people together. Then, the thought of the Quidditch sign up sheet came to mind. Maybe if he created one of those and stuck it up in the Library, that'd attract attention?
So, after classes had finished the next day, Julius made his way to library with a newly made sign up sheet. It was simple looking, only his neat handwriting detailing the purpose of the piece of paper but he thought it would do. He approached the librarian's desk.
"Excuse me, Sir?" He wasn't sure if the librarian was also a professor but, in case he was, he didn't want to address him as 'Mr Fox-Reynolds' either. 'Sir' seemed like a safe option. "Would it be okay if this was put up?"
He offered the man the sheet of paper so he could look it over. It read:
Team needed!
If you're interested in journalism and want to be a part of the revival of the school paper, please sign up below. Looking for a whole team of writers, photographers, etc... Please sign your name and position you're interested in. Speak to Julius Astley if you have any questions.
It was short, simple and to the point. He'd added the final part simply because the other sign up sheets he'd seen had it but he really hoped that nobody actually came to find him. He thought it was clear enough.
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Julius Astley
Resurrecting The Aronos (tag Tarquin Fox-Reynolds)
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Tarquin Fox-Reynolds
September 23, 2018 7:50 AM
Sounds interesting by Tarquin Fox-Reynolds
Tarquin took the sheet of paper the boy handed him, glancing it over. As he did so, a slight smile came onto his face. He really was nowhere near as grumpy or misanthropic as many of the students (and possibly some of the staff) believed. He was just quiet and kept to himself. But those who showed themselves keen users of the library, or otherwise interesting people, would find he was quick to warm to them. The idea of a school paper was rather appealing, suggesting as it did a keen interest in some form of writing, even if it was likely to be more news based than literary.“This sounds like an interesting project,” he smiled. “And no, no objections to you advertising here.” He did not immediately pass the piece of paper back, however. There were various school regulations around setting up of clubs and so on. As a faculty member, it was probably his duty to appraise…. (he glanced at the paper again) Julius Astley of these rules, even if he could see where that conversation was likely to lead…
“Certain clubs require some degree of staff supervision,” he informed the first year, “I think it’s more in the case of things that could be considered dangerous, such as duelling. But you might want to check with Professor Skies whether you need a faculty supervisor for this. I can ask on your behalf if you prefer,” he added. Although Julius was standing in front of him with every air of being quite self-assured, Tarquin still felt that the idea of approaching the Deputy Headmistress would be intimidating to some students, although the fact they had classes with her, and that she was Julius’ head of house, was probably enough to breed sufficient familiarity. “Though I see no harm in you looking for potential interest in the meantime,” he added, passing the sheet back.
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Tarquin Fox-Reynolds
Sounds interesting
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Julius Astley
September 24, 2018 8:40 PM
I'm hoping it will be. by Julius Astley
Julius felt his chest swell with pride as the librarian commented that he thought his idea was interesting. That was the entire aim of it, after all. He wanted his paper to be interesting and popular and if the simple idea of it already was and to somebody who was clearly a learned and intelligent man (Julius assumed this based on the fact that the man was a librarian and therefore had to have an interest in books and anyone who was interested in books had to have at least some degree of intelligence). He gave him a polite, small smile in return and nodded.He hadn't known about the rule of needing staff supervision for clubs though this wasn't really much of a surprise - it was prudent and sensible of the school to make sure that the students in their care weren't blowing themselves up outside of class hours. While he wasn't sure what sort of things would require a staff member to be present in his particular club, Julius felt that it would be advantageous to have one around anyway, just in case he needed something - like a pass for the restricted section. He was sure that he'd find some interesting books in there.
"Thank you," he said, taking back the sheet. "I would be grateful if you did ask Professor Skies if we need a staff member to supervise. If we do..." he hesitated momentarily, considering his next words. "Would you mind being the supervisor?"
It wasn't out of any particular desire that Julius asked this. It was simply the most obvious choice - why not have the librarian involved with the school paper?
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Julius Astley
I'm hoping it will be.
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Librarian Fox-Reynolds
September 28, 2018 8:17 AM
Interesting but not.... too interesting by Librarian Fox-Reynolds
“Let me find out what I’d be getting myself in for first,” he requested, when the predictable question of whether he would be the paper’s supervisor came up. “But it isn’t a no.”*
A few days later, Tarquin happened to see Julius in the library and beckoned him over. He had thought that, if they didn’t cross paths soon, he should owl him to arrange a meeting, but conveniently enough, here he was.
“I spoke with Professor Skies, and she’s in favour of you running the paper, with some supervision. Essentially, your faculty supervisor would check each issue before it’s printed, to make sure nothing in it would be deemed inappropriate,” he explained. He had briefly considered whether there was a subtle way to out Professor Wright as a previous writer and thus make him seem like the more qualified candidate for the role, but had concluded that there wasn’t and that it would be unkind to his colleague to do so. The latter more from the point of view of that being Grayson’s own business that he might not want the student body knowing, rather than because he thought that supervising the paper sounded like a particularly onerous task. Another reason he hadn’t tried to pass on the responsibility was because he’d found himself getting rather excited about the idea. Of course, he would have preferred a literary magazine, and (as his husband had reminded him) it was the students’ project and they would get to decide what sort of publication it was. But still, it broadly felt wholesome and nice. He hoped.
“Does that sound reasonable? And before I actually accept, how much of a difficult task do you plan on making the role of supervising you?” he asked. Hopefully, Julius would readily accept the conditions, because that would ease Tarquin’s mind a lot, as it would imply that the answer to the second question was ‘not very,’ and that Julius had not planned a near the knuckle assault on staff members, dramatic exposés about the lunch menu, vicious gossip about his fellow students, or anything else that would cause headaches.
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Librarian Fox-Reynolds
Interesting but not.... too interesting
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Julius Astley
September 29, 2018 4:47 PM
I solemnly swear that I am up to only good things. by Julius Astley
Julius didn't have any issue with anything the librarian had told him as he had no intentions of creating a nasty, seedy paper that was full of nothing but gossip. He wanted to make it interesting, with informative articles while also making sure that it wasn't boring. Perhaps some kind of survey or questionnaire was needed to find out what the student population would actually like to read about? He didn't, in this particular case, trust his own opinions on the matter seeing as his interests lay in history and politics. He'd seen his mother's magazines that she received weekly and they were full of travel articles and advice columns and they seemed to hold her interest. His sisters, he knew, always liked the funny little cartoons that were near the back and, while he had no interest in any kind of sport, there was always a section dedicated to it too. Perhaps he could ask to borrow them for ideas and examples?He was confused as to why the librarian was asking how difficult Julius was going to make the task of being the newspaper supervisor be... Why would he make it hard? That was counter-productive. With a slightly befuddled frown, he answered, "I have no issue with any of the conditions and... well, it should be easy to be the paper supervisor..."
He wondered if he looked untrustworthy and whether that had prompted the question. In an effort to look more convincing, he stood straighter, pulled his shoulders back and clasped his hands behind his back. He wanted to be able to do this and he was determined to make it happen.
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Julius Astley
I solemnly swear that I am up to only good things.
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