Here again on Aladren Commons

Anne Wright

June 11, 2006 9:43 PM

Aladren Quidditch Sign-Ups by Anne Wright

She had waited until Bella was out of the dorm to begin work on the most important paper she would write all year, partially because she liked to work alone and partially because she still wasn't sure she should even post a try-outs notice this year and didn't want to defend herself to her roommate. They had a team, after all, and that team was undefeated. There was no real reason to stir the waters, except for more alternates, and most people weren't going to want to be alternates. There was no real justification for holding tryouts except for fear that someone would quit. Since she neither wanted to explain that nor snap that she was the captain and could do what she wanted when it came to the team, she composed the notice by herself and with the dormitory door locked.

She almost flinched at the sight of people in the common room, but then reminded herself that she was being ridiculous. People were going to see that the notice was on the wall, so it didn't really matter if people saw her put it up. She crossed the common room every day, for Merlin's sake. Having a sheet of parchment covered in her own handwriting wasn't enough to make that more difficult than usual. She made it to the bulletin board faster than she should have done, but she hadn't run or anything stupid like that. She even forced herself to sit down and start reading a book on Charms Theory lying on one of the tables once she posted it, trying to ignore the sensation of being stared at.

QUIDDITCH LIST

If you have any interest in joining the Aladren House Quidditch Team, put your name and position on this sheet. Last year's people will need to sign up again so I can know if we need to re-fill any places. Practice times and any necessary tryout information will be made available at a later date.

Anne

Beneath this short message was a series of more-or-less straight lines. On the first one, she had written an example for them to follow.

Anne Wright, Captain/Chaser\n\n

Subthreads:

Here again by Zack Dill with Zoey Welsh

I wish I could...or maybe I don't by Bella Santoro

Of course I'll sign up by Ben Stafford

Two firsties looking to try! by Paul Tarwater and Grail Markner

All for you, Anita. Well, for you and for my pride. by Geoffrey Layne

Mexican Rules by Nikki Ramirez

16 Anne Wright Aladren Quidditch Sign-Ups 59 Anne Wright 1 5

Zack Dill

June 11, 2006 10:20 PM

Here again by Zack Dill

Zack spotted Anne walking across the common room and gave her a nod of greeting though she seemed a bit preoccupied and didn't appear to acknowledge him. Curious as to what she was focused on, he didn't immediately turn back to the book he was reading (the latest Star Wars book; not the best one ever written, but he was an Alderaanian, so the series held an important spot in his heart) and watched her cross over to the bulletin board where she posted something up.

There was really only one thing the Alderaanian Quidditch Captain would be putting up there (unless, of course, she was interested in competing with him for tutoring, not that anyone had so far had shown an interest, which was perhaps a drawback of being in the 'smart' House). Barring that, though the only obvious reason Anne would be posting something was if she was posting the Quidditch Team sign-up sheet.

Zack hesitated. Sure, he'd caught the snitch last year, but did that mean he'd be expected to do it again? He was rather the anti-thesis of the word 'athletic' and surely after winning last year, there'd be more interest from their House and maybe he wouldn't be needed now.

Except . . . he kinda liked being the Seeker. Quidditch had kind of grown on him, even if he did suspect the Snitch of being an alien with mind control powers. But that wasn't neccessarily a bad thing, really. He'd given it a lot of thought over the summer. Sure, the Snitch Aliens were subliminaly taking over almost every witch and wizard's thoughts, but it seemed mostly harmless. As far as Zack could tell, they appeared to have only one objective and that was to play hide and seek with the magical humans of the planet and have a lot of people watch it. That wasn't so bad, really. Friendly, almost, in a domineering sort of way.

And Zack was hardly one to turn down a chance to interact with aliens, especially the good (or mostly good) sort. Besides, being small was a positive quality in a Seeker, and how many sport positions did you see that in? Seekers and Horse Jockeys and not much else. Zack could only encourage that kind of thinking.

So he replaced his bookmark, put the novel down on common room coffee table, and made his way over to the sign-up sheet. He'd won last year, he could do it again. Best not let anyone think it was a fluke. Besides, now he knew what the Snitch really was. That would make finding the little guy that much easier.

Zack Dill, Seeker\n\n

1 Zack Dill Here again 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Zoey Welsh

June 12, 2006 12:39 AM

At it again by Zoey Welsh

The only thing that Zoey had committed herself to, besides studying, since coming to Sonora was Quidditch. She still missed playing basket ball and often spent much of her summers on the court with all her old teammates working on her jump-shot, but she had begun to form a soft spot for this Magical sport.

Zoey had watched Anne exit the girl's stairs and cross the commonroom from her spot in the corner of the room. It wasn't so much that she was waiting for the girl to show up, but more like she just happened to be at the right place at the right time. She stood up from her chair and crossed the room. She walked with as much confidence as she could muster at her height of 5'9, at least she wasn't trying to hide anymore, and made her way over to the board as Anne went and deposited herself in a chair. Zack beat Zoey to the board.

She grinned at Zack as she pulled a pen from her pocket and jotted down her name. She was still so uncertain of Anne. If Zoey read the girl's demeanor towards her the previous year, Zoey would say that Anne didn't like her much at all. If that were the case....then perhaps it wouldn't be wise to join a team where the Captain didn't trust her. Still, it was worth a shot.

Zoey Welsh, Chaser\n\n

6 Zoey Welsh At it again 39 Zoey Welsh 0 5

Bella Santoro

June 12, 2006 2:09 AM

I wish I could...or maybe I don't by Bella Santoro

Bella was still uncertain with how to view Anne. Their conversation down in the gardens had been a good one and Bella was able to learn more about her roommate...but there were times when Bella was awkward around her simply because she wasn't sure if Anne was judging her or not. She supposed it was something she was going to have to deal with.

She left the dorm with a polite wave to Anne and didn't look back. She wanted some alone time to write in her diary and worried that if she wrote it in with other people around, or Anne around, someone might have a peek at it and Bella would be embarrassed and have to go into hiding for the rest of her time here at Sonora. Not that there was anything too embarrassing in her notebook, she simply gossiped and gave out her opinions on others. And that was the bad part.

She returned to the common room sometime later only to discover that Anne had put up the notice on Quidditch. Bella stared at the parchment for quite some time. Her mind was playing a battle against itself as to whether or not she ought to signup. Quidditch had always been apart of her life. She absolutely loved it. But, lately, she felt as though she should spend her time doing something...different. She didn't know what.

What felt like a lifetime, Bella finally turned away from the board and made her way back towards her dorm. She would sign up only if she was absolutely needed or Anne pestured her to. Otherwise, Bella would keep her time as free as possible. Why she wanted to do so... still remained to be seen.\n\n

0 Bella Santoro I wish I could...or maybe I don't 0 Bella Santoro 0 5

Ben Stafford

June 12, 2006 2:18 PM

Of course I'll sign up by Ben Stafford

Ben's summer was spent, as was customary for the Stafford children, at their grandfather's home in London. 'Another year older, another year wiser' their aging grandfather had said when the twins and their older brother Patrick had arrived. Well, wiser he might not have been, but older for sure. Ben, then 13, stood tall at a solid 5'4", having had a taste of a growth spurt over the summer months.

In the common room, Ben noted the piece of parchment going up. He knew exactly what it was, and had frankly been waiting for it since he and Lexi had stepped off the wagons before the opening feast. Anne looked a little wary about posting it, adding edge of curiosity to Ben's gaze. Ben waited until he had the chance, and crossed the room to sign his name under the others already written.

Benjamin Stafford, 3rd Year, Chaser\n\n

0 Ben Stafford Of course I'll sign up 58 Ben Stafford 0 5

Paul Tarwater and Grail Markner

June 12, 2006 5:31 PM

Two firsties looking to try! by Paul Tarwater and Grail Markner

Paul noticed one girl posting a sign up on the wall. Because he was naturally a curious person and the fact that whatever it was might be fairly interesting (why else would the girl post it?), he walked over to it. For the first time since coming here (which wasn't that long ago, a few hours maybe), Paul grinned. But quickly got rid of the hint of happiness before someone saw it.

The sign was for Quidditch. Paul liked Qudditch very much. He wasn't a sports fanatic, he'd rather relax with a textbook, but he still liked the sport. He was raised to like it. His father was beater at his school, and that's what he trained Paul to be. He figured as long as he was here for a year, he should do something slightly fun.

He rummaged through the bag he was holding to find a quill. Finaly finding it, he wrote on the sheet:
Paul Tarwater, Beater
He had a broom. Why put it to waste?

A few minutes after, Grail got in from the feast. SHe also noticed the sign and walked over to it. Qudditch? What was a Quidditch? She read about it, she remembered. It was some kind of sport? She noticed people had written their names and different positins.

Also having a bag at her hip, Grail searched through it. She came out with a book on all things magic, The Muggle-born's Guide to All Things Magic in fact. She had purchased it with the lady who came to get her. Flipping through it she found Quidditch. SO it was a sport! On brooms? Well, why not try?

She browsed through all the positions and chose the one that seemed least social. Either Keeper or Beater seemed good. Keeper seemed the best, since she didn't have to fly as much though, and she was pretty good at blocking. She smiled, deciding she would try.

Picking out a ballpoint pen (she hadn't known how to use a quill) she wrote on an empty line:
Grail (GRAY!) Markner, Keeper (second choice, Beater)
It was good to try new things, right?\n\n

0 Paul Tarwater and Grail Markner Two firsties looking to try! 0 Paul Tarwater and Grail Markner 0 5

Geoffrey Layne

June 12, 2006 8:32 PM

All for you, Anita. Well, for you and for my pride. by Geoffrey Layne

The Aladren common room never really emptied out - the members of the House were not generally the sociable sort, and so often avoided the rest of the school - but it seemed unusually crowded today. If he'd had to put a wager on it, Geoff would have said at least sixty-something percent of the people normally in the library, in their dorms, or outside the Aladren domain entirely were present. The why and wherefore were beyond him, but their conversations were giving him a perfectly legitimate excuse to not concentrate on refreshing his memory of Transfiguration, which was just fine by him. Though he was past the stage of blaming his lack of talent on Marlowe, he still disliked admitting that he was only mediocre at the subject.

He tried to make eye contact with Anne when she came hurrying out of the dorms, and saw Dill attempt to greet her as well, but she either ignored or failed to notice either of them. He'd noticed that she'd been moodier than usual since they'd come back to school, but this focused demeanor, mixed with a little bit of embarrassment, was something he recognized much better than any of the new states of mind he'd observed her slip into. It was Anne's stubborn pose, the one she took when she was doing something she was dead set on doing but still worried about the repercussions of. Once she'd attached the paper in her hand to the notice board, she sat down and took up a book. He knew better than to interrupt her.

Snubbed or not, Dill was the first person to go over and write something on the sheet, followed closely by the redheaded Chaser - Welsh, he thought her name was. A pair that Geoff recognized dimly as firsties who'd been Sorted into Aladren followed. He waited, knowing that Anne was covertly watching all of this and needed more time to become engrossed in her book before he could safely approach the paper without her sweeping down on him. In that time, he saw his fellow Beater, Santoro, stare at the sheet for a while before heading up to her and Anne's dorm without signing it - there was little doubt left in his mind about what it was - saw a few people come in and out, and then, once Anne visibly relaxed in her chair, stood up, put his own book down on it to show that he wasn't relinquishing his claim over the piece of furniture, and dug out a quill.

He read Anne's message, caught between amusement at just how predictable his friend was and the urge to hit himself in the head from sheer frustration at her lack of diplomacy, and then scanned the list so far. Wright, Dill, Welsh, and Stafford were familiar. Tarwater and Markner were new. Both wanted his job. That was just not going to work. He'd referred to it as his job for a reason, and not because he was willing to hand it over to some firstie. He wrote as neatly as he could, then returned to his chair and A Practical Guide to Beginning to Intermediate Transfiguration.

Geoffrey Layne, Beater \n\n

16 Geoffrey Layne All for you, Anita. Well, for you and for my pride. 72 Geoffrey Layne 0 5

Nikki Ramirez

June 17, 2006 12:08 AM

Mexican Rules by Nikki Ramirez

Nikki wondered what the fuss was all about. She read the notice. Quidditch. Finally, something she recognized, she kept reading.

Typical, another thing Americans did a wierd way. Nikki's father had told her about Quidditch at his school, Youmens, in Mexico. He had been the Keeper for his house team. He bragged that he could have been a player for Mexico, but she wasn't sure she believed that.

In Mexico, at Youmens at least, the rules were more strict.

Rule number 1: No first years. Some of these names were definately first years.

Rule nuumber 2: No Muggle-borns under fourth-year. Nikki didn't really care about blood lines, but she was almost certain that this was another rule that was different.

Rule number 3: Must have own broom. Well, she would have to see what would be made of that. Maybe Americans weren't as absent-minded as Tio Carlos said they were.

Rule number 4: No female Beaters. There were girls signed up to be Beaters on this list.

Rule number 5: Must have made top marks in flight class. Well, she was in the house known for being intelligent and studious.

Her mother had been right, this was the land of freedom and equal opportunity. All the same, she decided she would wait until next year to put her name down.\n\n

0 Nikki Ramirez Mexican Rules 0 Nikki Ramirez 0 5