Ready for a re-match! on Pecari Commons

Rupert Princeton

January 05, 2015 3:51 PM

Quidditch Sign-Up Sheet. by Rupert Princeton

It was that time of year again, the time where Rupert stumbled into the common room after a long journey, stuffed with foods he'd missed during his summer. He wanted to write the Quidditch sign-up sheet as soon as possible, but the night after the feast was simply too soon. He greeted familiar faces as he dragged his feet through the common room before escaping to his dorm room and falling asleep without unpacking.

The next morning, Rupert woke early and unpacked his quills and bottles of ink to make the sign-up sheet. Pecari had been the only active team along with Aladren last year, but unfortunately Pecari had lost both matches. This year Rup was going to graduate. Whilst he did not have the coveted title of Head Boy, he was the captain and hoped to leave the school with his head held high. There would also be American Quidditch scouts looking for seventh years like him. If Rupert was indeed serious about the professional leagues as a Beater, he had to get his team into shape. A captain was nothing without his team.

There weren't any openings this year as no one had graduated yet. Next year, however, he and the Anns would be gone, three of the vital players on the team. It would be very good to have first years sign up as reserves to be trained by the more experienced players.

With all of those thoughts running through his head, Rupert drew up the sign-up sheet and, still in his clothes from yesterday, went down to the common room to pin it to the noticeboard. Satisfied that it would not be missed, Rupert went back to his room to take a shower before going down to breakfast and beginning his seventh and last year at Sonora.

Calling all Pecaris with a competitive spirit and an interest in Quidditch! Join the Pecari Quidditch team and help us win the Cup this year!
Sign your name, year and preferred position(s) below. Practises will be held twice weekly. Open try-outs will be held Saturday morning at 10 a.m. on the Quidditch pitch.
If you have any questions, please seek out Captain Rupert Princeton or Assistant Captain Adam Spencer. Go Pecari!

Below the short advert, Rupert started the sign-up with his own name as an example:

Rupert Princeton (Captain), 7th, Beater

Subthreads:

I've been looking forward to this all summer. by Liliana Bannister

Up and at it again. by Adam Spencer

Ready for a re-match! by Joella Curtis

And two more by Annabelle (and Annette) Pierce with Jamie Park

What's a Quidditch? Sounds competitive! by Izrael Tizze

40 Rupert Princeton Quidditch Sign-Up Sheet. 248 Rupert Princeton 1 5

Liliana Bannister

January 06, 2015 6:50 PM

I've been looking forward to this all summer. by Liliana Bannister

When Liliana saw the Quidditch sign-ups she immediately ran upstairs to get her new-self inking quill which had been a birthday present from her cousin, Allan who, in reality, knew little to nothing about her. Quidditch was something she had done her whole experience at Sonora—even the year the teachers went missing she had still found a way to play, going to the Pitch with Atlas and helping him to improve on his skills. It had paid off too, she had made the team again and he had made it off reserves and as the Beater. There would be new first years this year to be sure and Liliana wondered if any of them would be wanting to try-out. It would be nice to have more players, reserves or not, to laugh with—being a part of the team had made Liliana feel really welcome and she desperately wanted for the new first years to be able to experience that as well.

Liliana Bannister, 4th year, Keeper, she wrote.

The next year three positions (Seeker and one each of Chaser and Beater) would open up as Rupert and the twins were graduating, and Liliana wondered if she might be able to switch things up—she wasn’t nearly skilled enough to pull off being a fourth Chaser like some professional Keepers she followed did and besides, Aladren was an awfully good team so she figured she’d muck up any chance she’d get to try that out. However, the idea of maybe for once being in the fray of it all without making it difficult for her team made Liliana buzz with excitement and anticipation of the next year and she bounded back up the stairs to her room to put away her quill.

10 Liliana Bannister I've been looking forward to this all summer. 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Adam Spencer

January 08, 2015 2:56 PM

Up and at it again. by Adam Spencer

The new school year was one Adam looked forward to as a new wizard. He felt refreshed; this year he didn't have any difficult exams to worry about and he'd done relatively well on his CATS. Things were good. He'd given up on trying to win back Ginny's friendship completely. He realised it would be impossible to return to what they were, and he knew now that it couldn't be helped. He was sorry for it, he certainly was, but there was some bridge that he and Ginny just could not cross to understand each other completely. And he would simply have to live with that.

Adam didn't like having to accept this barrier between his former best friend, but he didn't know how to break it down. Instead, he focused his efforts on his studies and Quidditch. He had been growing more interested in working in Magical Law Enforcement. He didn't know what exactly he was capable of doing in that department, but working for the Ministry didn't seem like a bad job. It was certainly brought in a stable income unlike a business.

The morning after the welcoming feast, Adam saw the sign-up sheet on the noticeboard. He smiled at his cousin's handwriting, feeling a bit melancholy at the thought of Rupert leaving school. It would be odd with him gone. Though they were related and lived only about 42 km away from each other, Adam hadn't had the opportunity to get to know Rupert very well until Sonora. He would miss him especially if his cousin's plans to stay in America succeeded. Then an entire ocean would separate them.

Adam signed his name under Liliana's, looking forward to catching up with his team-mates again. He still didn't know Atlas very well, but he'd gotten a chance to talk with Joella since she was a fellow Chaser. He liked his team-mates, even the ones he didn't know all that well. They were always very supportive and he hoped to be supportive in return.

Adam Spencer (Assistant Captain), 6th year, Chaser

40 Adam Spencer Up and at it again. 257 Adam Spencer 0 5

Joella Curtis

January 08, 2015 3:11 PM

Ready for a re-match! by Joella Curtis

On making her way down to breakfast on the first morning back, Joella immediately noticed the sign-up sheet. She had in fact been looking out for it with a mild hope that it would already be up. Quidditch was still her first and foremost passion and she was keen to return to playing as a team again, something she had missed perhaps most greatly over the summer.

The Pecari second year was by no means surprised to see Rupert and Adam with their same titles. They made a good pair, she thought, and realized with some sadness that this was the last year she'd have the opportunity to play with Rupert and the Anns. This only sparked her determination to beat Aladren this year, surely it would be a great way send-off for three of Pecari's best players?

Joella was well aware that there may well be a number of new first years competing for a spot on the team this year. And that should be a good thing. If Joella had ever worried that she may not make the cut this time around, she now shook her head of such thoughts. She'd spent a great deal of her summer (and the time before that) practising and practising. Even Franki had been particularly impressed. Franki who had so kindly joined her on the farm for some time to work on tactics and strategy. Joella felt that she was returning with a new set of wings. Last year, she thought she had been good for someone of her age. Well, better than John Umland if nothing else. But this term she felt confident in her abilities, sure that she could be an asset to the Pecari team.

And so she grinned and scrawled:

Joella Curtis, 2nd, Chaser

She noted that Liliana was the first and only to have signed up so far but didn't doubt there would soon be more. If it turned out that they had no new interest, surely last year's team members were all still keen to play.

Joella stepped back and smiled again before turning and continuing her way down to Cascade Hall for breakfast, despite not having much of an appetite after the Opening Feast the previous evening.

8 Joella Curtis Ready for a re-match! 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Annabelle (and Annette) Pierce

January 08, 2015 9:45 PM

And two more by Annabelle (and Annette) Pierce

Annabelle stopped as her twin sister paused by the bulletin board. "Sign-up sheet is up!" Annette announced cheerfully. Annabelle frowned slightly but quickly suppressed the expression before turning back to face her sister and the sign-up sheet.

"Still want to play?" she asked, going for casual, trying to pretend like the answer was a given, like it would have been any of the last couple of years. This year, though, she was still kind of smarting from two losses against Clark Dill and not making Head Girl, and Quidditch just didn't seem as appealing as it used to.

"Of course!" Annette confirmed, already fishing through her bag trying to find a quill. Of course Annette still wanted to play. She hadn't been the reason the team lost twice last year or been hoping all summer that she might get to wear the most prestigious badge in the school.

But Annabelle didn't want her twin to miss out on what would probably be her last chance to play her favorite sport ever again, so she just nodded. "Me, too," she agreed.

Annette noticed the lack of enthusiasm this time and looked up sharply at her with a questioning frown of concern that didn't need words to express her worry.

Annabelle sighed. "No, really, it's fine. I just don't think Rupert's going to let me play Seeker again after fouling it up so badly last year."

Annette frowned at her. "You didn't foul anything up," she insisted, then returned to her search for a quill. "Dill just got lucky, is all. This year," she triumphantly brandished the quill she found, "it is your turn." And with that, Annette signed both of their names on the sheet, not giving Annabelle the option of opting out of the position she wanted but no longer felt entirely qualified to play.

Annette Pierce, 7th, Chaser
Annabelle Pierce, 7th, Seeker

1 Annabelle (and Annette) Pierce And two more 246 Annabelle (and Annette) Pierce 0 5

Jamie Park

January 09, 2015 5:09 AM

And another Seeker by Jamie Park

Jamie had missed out on being part of the Quidditch team last year. It had been his own fault (a galling sensation that he was ill-prepared to deal with, as nothing was ever his fault at home) as he had forgotten to sign up. He hadn’t been prepared to go begging for a space and explaining himself, so he’d sat out. This year though, he planned to be in on the action. He knew he shouldn’t have been pleased to see his house get repeatedly creamed but at least no one could accuse him of being a glory-hunter. He even had his excuses prepped if he was asked why he hadn’t signed up last year; with his first year being spent under the hodge podge tuition of prefects, his parents had insisted he focussed on his studies. Hopefully no one on the team knew him well enough to know that, even if his parents had said anything of the sort, it wouldn’t have been like him to listen.

He spotted the sign up sheet on his way out of the commons and was quick to add his name.

Jamie Park, 3rd year, Seeker.

There was no other position that interested him. Seekers were the team. They got the glory, the gold and the girls. Sure, some seventh year already played it but it wasn’t like she had played it long or, so far, at all well.

13 Jamie Park And another Seeker 284 Jamie Park 0 5

Izrael Tizze

January 09, 2015 2:42 PM

What's a Quidditch? Sounds competitive! by Izrael Tizze

Izzy approached the sign-up sheet, filled with curiosity. If there was a club starting, she wanted to be in on the ground floor of it. Why, he absolute best way in the world to meet new people was to join a club!

Izzy read the sheet twice fully, and understood very little of what any of it meant. She chewed on her lip and look around to her left and right to see if there was someone she could ask, but there wasn't, so she turned back to the sheet.

It was a team, for starters, so that meant it was some kind of competitive activity. That part she liked! Her eyes caught on the word "try-outs" next and she nodded to herself.

"Well, try-outs prob'ly means it's a sport'a some kind," Izzy said out loud to herself, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "but what in the dad-gummed worls is Quidditch?"

Izzy wrinkled her nose, thought about it, and decided she didn't much care what Quidditch was. It was a sport, it was outdoors, and it was competitive, and she'd have a whole year to learn how to play before she'd officially be on the team. She was in!

In a messy scrawl, she printed her name onto the sign-up sheet.

0 Izrael Tizze What's a Quidditch? Sounds competitive! 0 Izrael Tizze 0 5