Back at school on Pecari Commons

Nina Brockert

November 08, 2010 12:44 PM

Back at school by Nina Brockert

Midterm had passed as usual for Nina. This year was one of the unfortunate ones where they spent the holidays with their mom's family. Nina never liked that as much, preferring to spend the holidays with the Brockert side. Grandpa Frank and Grandma Penelope lived on a magical creature ranch and Nina got to ride flying horses. (Bludgers were the reason she wasn't allowed to play Quidditch, not flying.)

Besides, her mother's side was stuffy, snobby and judgemental. Most of the conversation was about her cousin Fallon's upcoming wedding, which was dull to Nina and a great source of consternation to Chelsea. The Pecari would have enjoyed that immensely but Fallon was actually worse than her hated older sister. Nina almost felt sorry for Chelsea, the way Fallon lorded it over her. And that made her hate Fallon more, how dare she make Nina feel bad for Chelsea .

Nina also hated how Marshall couldn't go with them-her mom's family was kind of rude to him when they'd met- but at least this year her older cousin got to go spend Yule with his girlfriend Harmony and her family. Nina liked Harmony even though she was sick a lot. Actually, the Pecari felt sorry for the older girl. She was so sweet and so good to Marshall, which he needed so it was a shame she didn't feel well.

Plus, Nina was worried Harmony would, well, die and who only knew what that would do to Marshall? The third year thought her cousin seemed sort of emotionally fragile as it was and would be devastated if he lost the woman he loved.

Now, however, she was back at school, away from her family beyond Chelsea and Autumn and distant cousins that she barely knew. Nina wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it. The Pecari could never shake the feeling that she didn't quite belong but things were better now, she had Starbuck and Jude at least and Delilah was so nice. Plus, she'd got a card from Jose Hernandez even though she barely knew him, which was awesome! Maybe Nina was starting to belong after all.

The third year entered the Commons, a big smile on her face. She spotted someone sitting on one of the sofas and plopped down next to them "Hey! How was your midterm?" Nina asked cheerfully. There was no reason why she couldn't try and make some more friends.

11 Nina Brockert Back at school 156 Nina Brockert 1 5

Demelza Eagle

November 09, 2010 9:02 PM

It's so cool (I can rhyme!) by Demelza Eagle

Demelza was so excited for everyone to come back from winter break! She missed her roommates who had left. Even when just one of them was gone it felt oddly... empty. She had gotten to accustom to sharing the room with all Nina, Delilah, and Starbuck. And even though there was always a slight feeling of distance (well, her forgetting who they even were for the first few months probably didn't turn them on), she still enjoyed rooming with them. She put a welcome-back gift/belated Christmas present on their beds for when they came back, which was a rose she picked from the Labyrinth Gardens. Each one was orange with specks of yellow around the bottom, and it was just so bright and pretty! When she found them they brightened her day, so she picked them and littered them on each of her roommate's bed, humming to herself. She was so excited for everyone to come back!

After she brightened her dorm, she scooped up her Christmas present from her mom and dad in her arms. "Hi Maxwell," she whispered, petting her fluffy, pink, small, spherical pygmy puff. Maxwell stuck out his long, thin tongue and licked her hand. Giggling, Demelza cradled Maxwell into her arms, still marveling at the fact that he was her Christmas present. She sort of had been trying to hide him, but he kept running away! The Pecari didn't know if he was allowed like owls and cats, but she certainly hope so. Maxwell was an amazing pet and companion!

She plopped herself down on one of the couches, playing with Maxwell as she thought about home. Who were her siblings again? There were too many to remember! When she did go home, she would be sure to try and remember all their names, Then maybe everything would be normal. And by normal, she meant the new normal, because nothing could ever go back to the old normal that Demelza would never remember. Her green eyes scanned the common room, looking around at the new comers who just came back from break and wondering if any of them were her friends. Then, one of her roommates (where'd she come from??) came and sat down next to her.

"Hey! How was your midterm?" Nina asked, and Demelza grinned excitedly at her as she gave her a hug. "Nina!" She exclaimed, letting go of her. It was rather ironic that she gave Nina a hug when she was wearing her "free hugs" shirt. Demelza loved hugs, though. They made her happy like rainbows and Quidditch! "Hey! My midterm was great! I stayed at Sonora, and my parents sent me Maxwell here for Christmas!" She said a mile a minute and then motioned to Maxwell. "It's he so cute?" She asked, and then continued talking. "So how was your midterm? Do you celebrate Christmas? Did you get your family presents? I did 'cause we always exchange presents. It's just like or thing, but I don't think all families do it, especially if they are big, but my family is big! So, yeah, how was your midterm?" The brunette said this all extremely fast, sounding sort of like a sports caster who drank way too much coffee for breakfast, except Demelza didn't drink any coffee! She bounced slightly in her seat and grinned broadly at Nina, her happy mood showing from her speech and body language. Everyone was back and she was so excited!

0 Demelza Eagle It's so cool (I can rhyme!) 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Delilah Kerrigan

November 10, 2010 7:50 PM

Am I being a fool? by Delilah Kerrigan

Midterm had been a mixed bag of good and bad. Her little brother, Maxwell, was growing up so quickly! He was already twice the size he was when he was born. Plus, he was sitting up on his own, reaching for objects, and making odd little noises. And the hair! He already had a full head of hair. It was dark, darker than hers or Cassie’s. He was absolutely adorable. Even Veronica couldn’t stay away at their grandmother’s for too long without seeing their baby brother, which brought up the question of what she was going to do when they moved.

That was the downer of the whole holiday. Her father had been offered a promotion that involved moving to New York. Of course, he could have just apparated there every day, but he thought that moving would be a good opportunity for all of them. Marla would have a wider market for her art, Juri would be able to take lessons during the summer at some prestigious schools, and so on for each of them. To be honest, she hadn’t been thrilled about the idea. She still wasn’t, but what could she say? If no one else cared, why should she?

Even Veronica, her twin, hadn’t cared. Their father had given her a choice. She could go with them. They would get a bigger place and she could have her own room or she could stay with their grandmother. She had chosen to stay. Apparently, she was learning more about being a proper lady than she could ever learn if she left. It tore at her heart to hear her sister say that. How was she supposed to go to a new place without Veronica? They had been together since before birth and now they were forever to be apart?

As she walked into her dorm room, her gaze drifted over to where Demelza was sitting with Nina on the bed. Her heart gave a heavy sigh. She had already lost one best friend and now she was going to lose another. She had hoped that Demelza would get better. She had hoped that she would remember that they had been close, but that hope was gone now. This person was someone new, someone that she was kind of friends with, but she didn’t think they would ever be as close as they were. Yet, she had to try, right? Otherwise, she would have absolutely no one. She could have tried to hang out with Juri and his friends, but that probably would have been weird. They were all fifth years. She was just a third year. They’d have no clue what she was talking about and would probably wish she would just go away.

No, her brows frowned in concentration. She had to try and be friends with this new Demelza. Plus, she could get to know her other roommates more too. Or at least, know Nina more. She and Starbuck were teammates so they had that whole common interest thing going on. Almost shyly, which was so odd, she made her way over to the other two. “He’s cute,” she said, pointing at the pygmy puff in the other girl’s arms. They didn’t have any pets at home. Sometimes, she wished they did. It would be nice to have something so stable. Maybe she could ask for a hamster or something before they moved. Then, maybe she wouldn’t be so lonely.

0 Delilah Kerrigan Am I being a fool? 158 Delilah Kerrigan 0 5

Nina

November 13, 2010 1:24 PM

No, now let's play pool. by Nina

Nina grinned as Mel hugged her. It was a surprise but not entirely unpleasant. Maybe they could be friends after all. Mel's amnesia might have caused distance between her and the other girls but for Nina, that distance had been there since the beginning. She was the odd one out and she hated that though now Starbuck was her best friend. Still, to Nina, it seemed like a fresh start.

"Mine was okay, I guess. I got to go home and see the siblings I actually like." Nina responded. It was somehow refreshing to see that Mel was still pretty exhuberant after losing her memory. Besides, somehow the other girl now seemed nicer and more friendly, instead of being sort of a pain like before. Nina hoped that she never went back to being so insensitive. She liked this Mel better. "We spent Christmas with my mom's family which wasn't that much fun." There was nobody near Nina's age on that side, but there wasn't on the other side either, at least not that was closely related. Still, they were just more fun.

"I usually don't get presents for my siblings but the two oldest get presents for us all." Of course, she couldn't see Chelsea doing that next year. The Aladren was the most selfish person Nina had ever met.

Then Delilah walked over to them. "Hi Delilah." Nina greeted her. "Isn't he? I've always kind of wanted a pet." When her brother Evan was younger, she'd used to pretend he was a dog or something and that he was her pet. Being kind of a weird kid, Evan had been more than happy to oblige.

She turned to Delilah. "We were just discussing midterm. How was yours?" Nina asked. She was genuinely curious. Delilah had always seemed so nice and Nina wished they could be closer...and maybe with this fresh start, they could. Maybe Starbuck and Mel would even bury the hatchet and all four girls could be close friends.

11 Nina No, now let's play pool. 156 Nina 0 5