[Outside the Hall] Panicking... on Cascade Hall

Adam Brockert

June 14, 2006 6:55 PM

[Outside the Hall] Panicking... by Adam Brockert

Adam was starting to breath heavily. He didn't know where Kaylie had gone. He couldn't be left alone at the feast and in no way did he want to go to his own house, despite that it would be less crowded.

Even after a year, Adam had not adjusted to Sonora and Crotalus very well. His housemates scared him. His classmates scared him. Some of the teachers scared him. Though he knew it was worse to be home without Kaylie, it did not make school any better. He didn't fit in or have any friends. Not that Adam expected to. Who would like him? Unlike most guys at Sonora, Adam didn't hate girls. And he didn't like Quidditch much. He only watched Kaylie play on her team. He found it to be a horribly violent and scary sport and was no less afraid of getting on a broom than last year. In fact, that was the only good thing about being a second year. Adam was no longer required to take flying lessons. There was also the fact that the other houses viewed his as snobby. He wasn't snobby at all and was quite frankly greatly intimidated by people who were, which made him fear his own housemates.

He walked in to the hall. So many people. Adam's breath quickened even more. He couldn't see Kaylie anywhere.

He started to feel dizzy. It was like the Care of Magical Creatures lesson all over again. Adam had to get out of here, before they noticed and laughed at him. He felt like he was going to cry and he didn't want to people to see that either.

Adam rushed back to the area outside the hall, gasping for air. He thought he was going to throw up or pass out or something. Shaking, he leaned back against a wall and sat, tears starting to streak down his face.\n\n

11 Adam Brockert [Outside the Hall] Panicking... 78 Adam Brockert 1 5

Leonardo Idoya

June 14, 2006 8:44 PM

Man, can I empathize. by Leonardo Idoya

Leonardo hesitated about ten feet away from the table where so many new Crotali were sitting, the red fading simultaneously from their skin. There were several older students there as well, all catching up and greeting one another enthusiastically. He chewed his lip for a moment, and then resolvedly backed away from the table. He wasn't in the mood to socialize; it was all too new, too raw, and he just couldn't deal with all the noise and faces. And on top of everything else, he'd seen his twin disappear in the direction of what must have been the Teppenpaw common room not five minutes before, as he fielded bizarre questions from a delusional talking plant.

Well, he thought slowly, I could always just go up to Crotalus and start unpacking... and maybe check out a few of the textbooks before classes start. Who knows, maybe my roommates will already be up there.

It wasn't that Leo didn't like people. Really, it wasn't. Sure he wasn't as outgoing as his brother, but then again, Gil wasn't as artistic as Leo, was he? No, he liked people--in small doses. One or two people, even a few more--that, Leo stood a good chance of dealing with. But here there were what felt like thousands of adolescent bodies, pressing in on every side as they struggled to make their way towards friends through the crush. And he didn't know any of them. Feeling a flush rise into his sun-browned cheeks, the Latino boy squeezed past a few older boys and towards the door he'd come in through.

He'd only just passed through the door when he stopped again. Over the din of voices and laughter emanating from the Cascade Hall, he had thought he'd heard something else, just for a moment. He waited. There it was again! Like... gasping. He turned deliberately, scanning the area with the sharp, mismatched eyes he had inherited from his grandmother.

It didn't take him long to spot the boy, sitting by the wall, shaking and pale and looking as if he'd like nothing better than to vomit. Frowning, Leo walked over slowly, unsure as to whether or not he should even be doing this. Of course he'd be rebuffed--after all, Gil was the one everyone loved. But he'd just make sure the boy was okay, and then leave him in peace.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, standing before the boy. He didn't crouch down like his father would have; that always annoyed Leo. It made him feel condescended to. And Leo, whatever else he was, was not condescending, not like them.\n\n

0 Leonardo Idoya Man, can I empathize. 0 Leonardo Idoya 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

June 14, 2006 9:21 PM

Me too... by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger was really starting to hate the sensation she got when she took a portkeye. She had to take two portkeyes every year to get to the wagon stop since she lived in canada. The wagon ride always made her feel a bit more at ease. She read another issue of X men on the way to school.

Ginger was suprised that she had made it through her first year here. She honestly didn't think she was going to make it through when she first got here exactly a year ago. She was happy that she would be seeing her friends. Ginger remembered that she had made a few aquantences the following year as well, and was hoping to possibly make friends out of them. Even though she wasn't last year, she was sort of happy to be away from home. She was sure that she would have chucked her little brother Sam out the window if she had to spend another day with him.

Ginger had only beaten 4 out of the seven new games that she had recieved. Sam had been comandeering her playstation all Summer so he could beat his three games. It infuriated her, but she realized that she had to get over it.

She stayed outside in the labyrinth for a while to avoid big crowds. Big crowds still made Ginger a little nervous. She figured that she wouldn't have the stuttering problem that she did last year.

She walked into the hallway, and saw Adam against a wall. Adam looked terrified like he did the day Ginger first saw him. Ginger always saw him around in the hallways looking like someone killed a puppy in front of his own eyes. Ginger thought she could be scared of people. She remembered when she was in Care of Magical Creatures with him last year, and he started to freak out. Ginger wondered what could be wrong about him now. For some reason she felt worried when she was around him.

She walked up to him gently, not acknowledging the first year, she was a bit too worried. "Hey Adam," she said giving him a faint smile. "What's wrong?"\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein Me too... 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Adam B.

June 17, 2006 6:02 PM

Scared and confused... by Adam B.

Adam gasped for air. Why did she have to go and leave him? Why wasn't she looking for him? He was scared, and he was dizzy. He thought he was going to throw up any second.

That's when he felt the people around him. Heard two seperate voices. The first one Adam didn't recognize. The second sounded familiar and called him by his name. Neither sounded cruel. They were asking if he was all right. Of course he wasn't. He was alone, Kaylie was somewhere else. He thought he was going to die. He wanted the ground to just swallow him up. He wanted to disappear.

Adam looked up to see an unfamilar boy and a somewhat familiar girl, Ginger, he thought her name was. He remembered her from Transfiguration. She'd been nice to him.She hadn't made fun of him.

He squeezed his eyes shut. Adam was shaking violently now. He couldn't stop. "Too many people....Lost Kaylie..." Adam managed to squeak out. \n\n

11 Adam B. Scared and confused... 78 Adam B. 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

June 19, 2006 10:47 PM

Awww poor thing.. by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger was very taken aback about Adam's response. She felt her heart beat faster when she saw him shake like that. She remembered someone shaking like that before. Ginger quickly searched her memory to see where she had seen something like that before. She searched her mind, and it finally hit her.

Ginger was ten years old, and her cousin Mendelson was nine. He had just found out that his father had to go to the hospital because he had passed out at work. Mendelson had a panic attack right on the spot. He was shaking like that, and he wound up looking like his heart was about to pop out of his chest. The site frightened Ginger a great deal when she saw it. In the end everything turned out okay, it turned out that Mendelson's dad his diabeties. It wasn't the worst thing that could have happened though.

Ginger deperatly looked for a place she could take Adam to calm down. A place that didn't have very many people. She saw an empty corridor that was pretty well lit. She gently grabbed Adam's arm, and heaved him up. She turned to the firstie, "I'm going to take him to that corridor to get him away from these people. The sooner I can get him to calm down, the sooner we can find this Kaylie person." She looked over the first year, and smiled sweetly. "Do you think you could go in the Hall and get him some water? Maybe if he had something to drink he would calm down a bit."

She put an arm around Adam to steady him, and walked him inside the deserted corridor. "Hey...calm down alright," she said sweetly. "That first year should be here with some water, and we'll try to find Kaylie for you okay?" She sat him down, and smiled. "Just try to calm down alright? I sent that firstie to get you some water." She hoped that he didn't start to struggle for breath, it would make her panic even more. \n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein Awww poor thing.. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Leo Idoya

June 20, 2006 10:37 AM

Firstie with a mission! by Leo Idoya

OOC: Am I correct in assuming that the tables here work as they do in Salem? When you sit down, they offer you what you want?

When the girl came up to them, Leo could have kissed her hands with relief. He really wasn't suited to consoling people, or calming them down, or--really--being around them. That was Gil's forte. But the girl was calm and collected, and took charge of the situation. "Hey, Adam," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Too many people... lost Kaylie..." the boy--Adam--gasped. He was shaking even worse now, and Leo began to back away, eyes widening.

But then the girl had turned to him, and though she spoke politely, Leo could see that she was pretty upset herself. She did a good job at hiding it, though. He nodded after she gave him directions to bring a glass of water, and peeled off back towards the Cascade Hall.

It was still relatively full, but Leo's unwieldy height was offset by an almost unhealthy thinness; he slipped through the crowds of students and teachers with little trouble, and threw himself into the first seat he saw, hoping it would work. Water water water water, he thought.

With a small pop of displaced air, a glass of water appeared--as well as a handful of small, mild sweets. Butterscotch, it looked. They were what Leo always sucked on when he was upset; the sweetness calmed his roiling stomach down. The table must've caught onto his mood. In any event, though, Roland grabbed the water and stuffed the sweets into the pockets of his robes, and hurried back through the crowds as quickly as he could without spilling the water.\n\n

0 Leo Idoya Firstie with a mission! 0 Leo Idoya 0 5

Adam B.

June 26, 2006 10:55 PM

I'm such a freak... by Adam B.

Adam felt himself being lifted off the ground and guided to another corridor. He felt dizzy. The whole room was spinning. He had to get away, tears were dripping down his face. He didn't know why Ginger hadn't abandoned him yet. Kaylie had left him. His sister, who he thought would never leave him no matter what. The boy had left though. He was probably going to tell everyone what a baby Adam was. He was probably disgusted to be around such a freak and Adam didn't blame him. Even Kaylie didn't want him now.

He fell back against a wall in the empty corridor and took a deep breath. At least the people were gone. Except Ginger. Adam didn't know why she was still there or why she was being so nice to him. He wasn't worth it.

And then the boy was there with a glass of water. Adam eyed him and it. He was rather hot and thirsty and rose his arm up, stretching it in the general direction of the water. He really hoped the boy hadn't told everyone what a loser he was, not that he wasn't sure they didn't know that already. "Thank you." Adam whispered weakly. He leaned his head back against the wall and shut his eyes.

\n\n

11 Adam B. I'm such a freak... 78 Adam B. 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

June 27, 2006 5:20 PM

Aww no you're not. by Ginger Silverstein

OOC: Leo, is it okay if I say that you successfully made it to the corridor?

Ginger continued to look at Adam with worried eyes. She really didn't want someone else she knew have a panic attack. She didn't know Adam very well, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't a people person. She also knew that he was easily scared. Ginger wasn't really scared of people persay, she just felt nervous around large groups of people. But Ginger knew that being nervous was nothing compared to what Adam was going through. She wondered who Kaylie was. She was apparently someone very close to him. So close to him that he was so upset that he was seperated from her.

Ginger had no idea who she was, and she wasn't a Pecari, otherwise she probably would have known her, or at least heard her name before. She knew that Stephen was very active with his friends. She knew who most of his friends were thanks to him, and quidditch. She knew Mia from a brief little meeting she had with her. She remembered that her and Mia talked about video games.

Ginger didn't know what else she could possibly do. She didn't want to scare him even more, so she kept enough distance so he could breath. She smiled at Leo when she saw him appear. "Thanks," she said to him.

She gently took the water out of Leo's hand, and gently set it into Adam's hand. "You poor thing," she said with a frown. "You must be burning up. Drink up before you get dehydrated. It'll calm you down. Then we'll find Kaylie for you okay?" She gave Adam a reassuring smile.

\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein Aww no you're not. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Leo Idoya

June 29, 2006 2:57 PM

Making a timely retreat. by Leo Idoya

The older girl relieved him of the glass of water and handed it to Adam; she appeared to have been talking the whole time, meaningless platitudes. But Leo worked with animals and small children often back at his grandfather's ranch; he understood that it was all in the tone. And even though he still sensed a great deal of tension and anxiety in her stance, she was doing brilliantly at keeping it out of her voice.

When she paused after assuring Adam that they would find Kaylie--whoever she was--Leo took advantage of the moment and dug the sweets out of his pocket. He passed the handful to Adam. "Here. Suck on them; it'll help," he said.

Suddenly uncomfortable with the situation, he looked between Adam and his friend, aware that he was butting in and no longer needed. "If you'll excuse me," he murmured politely, backing away. Crotalus was calling.\n\n

0 Leo Idoya Making a timely retreat. 0 Leo Idoya 0 5

Adam B.

July 09, 2006 3:25 PM

I don't think he likes me... by Adam B.

Adam took a drink of the water. It was nice and cool. He felt so very hot and out of breath. Tears welled up in his eyes. He was such a loser. This was the second time this had happened. What was wrong with him? Was he sick? Perhaps Adam needed to see a doctor. Needed to go to the infirmary.

"Here. Suck on them; it'll help," and with that the boy left.

He was so embarassed. The boy must not have liked Adam very much at all. Adam wasn't surprised. He was nothing but a freak. A big baby. And he was sick too. Adam placed one of the candies in his mouth. He wanted to thank the other boy but he was gone. Even if he didn't like Adam, he had still helped him.

Adam was surprised to see that Ginger had not left. Why would she want to be around him at all? Nobody else did.
Even Kaylie had left him. "Do you think I'm a baby too?" Adam asked her. He was so out of breath and warm. He took another drink of the cool cool water. "I think I'm sick." Adam told her, coughing a bit.\n\n

11 Adam B. I don't think he likes me... 78 Adam B. 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

July 09, 2006 4:11 PM

I don't really think that's the case. by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger felt nervous when the other boy left. Now she probably had to find this Kaylie person herself. Ginger didn't want to go in there right now, and she really didn't want to leave Adam alone. She was afraid that something would happen, or he would have another panic attack. She was pleased to see that Adam's panic attack wasn't as scary as Mendelson's. However, it didn't make it easy to watch him cry, or shake like that. It made her feel really bad for him. She didn't know what to do now. She felt as if her nerves would give out on her at any second. She had to stay calm. She was going to make everything alright, and possibly have enough time to get something to eat.

She curiously looked down at Adam. He looked like he was slightly calming down. She was going to help him out of this, even though Leo was going to just leave it up to her. Really nice of him. She sighed, and looked down at him again.

She shook her head when he asked her if he thought she was a baby. "No of course not," she said as she leaned down toward him. "It's not that uncommon for people to be afraid of people." Ginger was afraid of people sometimes.

She frowned at him when he said that he thought he was sick. She felt his forhead, "hope you don't mind," she said. She had a feeling that Adam didn't like people touching him. His head wasn't very warm, it was kind of cold from the sweat on his forehead. "You don't have a fevor," she said brightly. "Do you want me to take you to the infirmy? Or would you rather have me find Kaylie? Or both?" She gave him another reasurring smile. "You're going to be fine, I promise."\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein I don't really think that's the case. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Adam B.

July 14, 2006 11:51 PM

It usually is though.. by Adam B.

"Really?" Adam asked. All his sisters were outgoing. Maybe not Hope so much but she was only two. Kaylie and Nina were especially outgoing. Only Adam seemed to be afraid of people. "I don't know of anyone else besides me who's scared of them." He realized what he'd just said. Adam had admitted his fear. Now Ginger would probably think he was a loser too. Except she told him it wasn't uncommon to be afraid of people. But maybe she was just being nice and now she wanted to escape too, like the boy had.

He coughed again as she felt his forhead. "Well, maybe I should go to the infirmary." This was the second time this had happened to Adam and it scared him a bit. Besides, just because he didn't have a fever didn't mean he wasn't ill. He'd actually spent the whole week before returning to Sonora throwing up. His mother had been very concerned but had found, just as Ginger had, that he didn't have a fever. Not only did he throw up, but the fear of coming to Sonora had kept Adam up nights and he hadn't gotten much sleep lately. He was probably a breeding ground for viruses and bacteria. "Besides, you don't really know what my sister looks like. I'd have to go in there " he gestured to the hall "and help you. And I really don't want to go in there. They can owl Kaylie from the infirmary."
\n\n

11 Adam B. It usually is though.. 78 Adam B. 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

July 15, 2006 4:35 PM

It won't happen with me. by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger nodded when Adam asked if fear of people wasn't uncommon. Ginger decided to take a seat next to him, he seemed to really be calming down now. Perhaps he wouldn't mind if she sat next to him until they could figure out what they were going to do. So he admitted that he was afraid of people, but Ginger didn't really need to have his words confirm this. She decided it would be okay if she admitted it to. "Well, ugh," she started to say, and decided to just get it out. "I'm afriad of people too, but for some reason I can cope with it rather well." She shrugged, it was probably because she had managed to make herself some friends. Maybe if Adam had someone to be around when he was around people he would feel a little better about it. "It helps me to be around someone I'm friends with you know?" She wanted to say "I'd like to be your friend," but maybe she could tell him that the next time she saw him.

Ginger nodded "alright I'll take you to the infirmiry," there was probably no way she was going to converse with Zack and Guenther during the feast today. Perhaps if she made another friend out of it, it wouldn't be so bad. Plus Adam was so fragile, not helping him would be as bad as killing a kitten with one's bare hands.

"Oh so she's your sister," that was a wonderful thing to know. "Yeah, I don't want to go in there either," she said. She pulled him up, and gently took him by the hand. "Alright let's go," she said gently pulling him along.

\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein It won't happen with me. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5