So then... on Cascade Hall

Darla Park

December 29, 2006 2:54 PM

So then... by Darla Park

Darla was sitting at one of the tables in the Cascade hall, eating angel hair pasta with olive oil on it and drinking an iced tea she brought to Sonora. The tanned asian looking girl also had a letter and a book near her, both off to the side as she ate. As if she wasn't to be bothered by them in a state of hunger.

Darla had already read the letter, it was one from her father telling her to do the math problems in the book he sent and to send it back when she was done. The book was that stupid math book he sent, assigning pages twelve through fourteen, numbers one through fifty-two to be due by next Sunday.

As if Darla didn't have enough magical homework to complete. Now she had to worry about Algebra (her father made her completely skip the end of regular math, positive she could do algebra) and magical schoolwork? Of course, this was her life. Darla had to be educated in both her cultures so she could be a well rounded and intelligent person.

Darla? Intelligent? Yeah, right.

No, she wasn't stupid. Rather she was... slower than what her father expected. Darla wasn't the intelligent daughter who would get into Yale just like he did, that was her little brother Asher. Who was very smart. But not her. Darla was more of an average student at best. No matter how hard she tried.

But Darla didn't want to disappoint her father, so she'd already started the Algebra. Getting up to number twelve before her head started hurting, and she started having doubts whether she did any of it right at all. Darla wished Professor K had let them keep their puffskeind, Darla needed to squeeze something to get her mind off math.

She was glad she stopped for a food break. Darla was hungry, and was extremely glad to use food to get her mind off the homework. She played her favorite game, guess the ingredients in the food. Darla had already pointed out four spices to herself, as well as a hint of pepper in the olive oil. And now she was on the verge of naming another spice (basil, probably) when she noticed someone near her, probably wanting to take the seat next to her.

Darla quickly moved the letter and the book over and looked up at the person. "This seat's open if you wanted it," Darla said with a friendly smile.\n\n

0 Darla Park So then... 0 Darla Park 1 5

Echo Elms

December 30, 2006 10:09 AM

Sweet Algebra! by Echo Elms

Echo was attracted to firstie's table by her books. He was really just going to look and see whether or not it was really muggle math, but since he had an invitation he swung around to the other side of the table and sat across from the girl.

"Hey, algebra," he said, "you must be a muggle. Muggleborn, I mean. Me too," He grinned into his bookbag and pulled out his Earth Science book to prove it. Sonora was a good craft school, but it didn't teach science, math, muggle history, or literature. He'd spend a good half of his summer trying to catch up, but it was too much information to pick up by his usual homeschool method of moving from one project to another. He was doing well in all the subjects he'd covered -- Earth Science, writing, dinosaurs -- but not so great in the ones they barely touched on, ie american history, world history, and math.

Not that he wasn't interested. Echo leaned over and recognized the math work. He'd touched on it at some point, but it was sort of a blur.

"I'm Echo Elms," he introduced imself. He almost hoped she had heard of him. He was that crazy awkward big haired kid who organized the month-long writing club called Novelling Fury last year. Of course, this year's firsties wouldn't have heard of it, and they wouldn't have heard of him. Not unless they knew him as that second year-- you know the one, the pecari with the massive hair who's always hanging around with the tall redhead with the big mouth. Yeah, him, the weird kid with the crooked nose.\n\n

21 Echo Elms Sweet Algebra! 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Darla

December 30, 2006 1:22 PM

You like math? by Darla

Darla smiled when the boy noticed her Algebra book. Hm, but why did people always assume she was Muggle born just because she had Muggle books? Half-bloods had Muggle blood in them too. And not all of them were so fascinated in their Wizard culture to deny their Muggle.

Then again, they probably didn't have an education obsessed father like Darla's.

"No, I'm not Muggleborn," she said. "My dad's a Muggle, mom's a witch. But Dad likes to give me extra homework so I can get into Yale," she laughed, picking up the Earth science book the boy showed her. Darla flipped through it lightly and smiled. This was the kind of book Asher would enjoy. "Do you have to do Muggle homework as well?" she asked. Most people found it strange that her father made her do Muggle work when she was in a Wizarding school. Darla found it normal, and would be happy to find someone else who did that too.

Someone else who looked at both of their cultures instead up just the more interesting one.

"I'm Darla Park," she said as an introduction. "First year in Teppenpaw. What's your house?" Maybe if this boy was in her house, he could help her with Algebra. Since she was so awful at it. \n\n

0 Darla You like math? 0 Darla 0 5

Echo Elms

January 02, 2007 6:39 PM

Who doesn't? by Echo Elms

Never had Echo ever heard of a half blood being so tied to muggleness that they actually learned about both sides. Well, not anyone he'd met anyway. Usually if you were half-blood you were either like Brett and didn't even know you had wizarding blood until your letter came by Owl Post a month before you shipped out -- rather like the muggleborns of the world -- or you were raised Wizarding and were ashamed of not being pure. It was refreshing to know there was another side to all that.

"Yale, huh," Echo grimaced, "yeah, mom and dad want me to go to college, too." He wasn't sure how he felt about that, like, if he could handle not giving away the beans about magic if he were around muggles for that long at a time.

"I was homeschooled before I came here," Echo explained his side of things, "So I still am, when I have time. Mostly on breaks when I'm home. This," he tapped his textbook, being careful that he didn't touch it anywhere near her hands, "is for fun. Well, sort of. I mean, like, earth science is crazy awesome, but I do have to remember it so we -- that's mom and me, I mean -- can finish it up next time I'm home. We didn't get into the different eras yet. Mom's amazing, she's studies earthquakes like it's her job. Er, it is her job."

Darla (Darla Park -- Brett was right about everyone introducing themselves with their last names around here, Echo had stopped noticing. Maybe he did it too?) narrowly avoided an avalanche of information about the Elm's earth science connection by moving the topic along to more Sonora-like topics.

"Um," Echo around the cieling, wondering why this particular bit of information was eluding him, "Oh! I'm Pecari, second year," he grinned a bit sheepishly making a well that was dumb of me to forget expression. "First year.. first year was crazy. What do you think so far?"\n\n

21 Echo Elms Who doesn't? 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Darla

January 03, 2007 12:26 PM

I really... don't by Darla

Darla cocked her head to the side in confusion. This was odd, she wasn't expecting another person here who had parents like hers. Homeschooled over the summer in Muggle education. Parents who wanted them to go to college. Darla liked that she found someone more like her.

"Is there a set college they want you to go to?" she asked. Darla had already said that her father wanted Yale for her. "Brown? Yale? Hardvard?" she laughed. "I know I sure wouldn't get into Hardvard." She was actually surprised her father thought she could get into Yale.

"I went to a public school," Darla muttered. "And my dad sends me work to do here, so I won't be behind when I go back there for summer school." Darla took a long look at the Earth Science book as Echo explained it as "crazy awesome." She laughed and shook her head. "I'm not big into Earth science, I like human sciences better, and chemistry since it's like cooking," she explained. "But your mother studies earthquakes? That's cool. My dad is a doctor," Darla recalled.

"First year.. first year was crazy. What do you think so far?"

Darla smiled. "I like it so far, it's fun." But crazy... "Crazy how?" she mused. "In a good way or a bad way. I don't want the rest of my time here to be bad," she frowned. "What about second year? How's that?"\n\n

0 Darla I really... don't 0 Darla 0 5

Echo Elms

January 04, 2007 5:16 PM

You should! by Echo Elms

So far, Darla seemed pretty cool. Some of these firsties were a little, well, nutsoid. Brett's roommate Jae was crazy off the wall and even Brett, who Echo knew was way cool back home, seemed a bit hyper this week. Not Darla. She was calm, curious, friendly, straightforward... kinda like Elly and Meredith but less giggly.

"I was thinking maybe CalTech," Echo shrugged, "but I don't know. My parents don't really care which school, as long as it has a good reputation for whatever program I go into. It doesn't have to be Ivy League or anything."

"I went to public school for a couple years. Hey, did you ever do accidental magic at school?" Echo asked, since that was his number one memory from public school. Man, she probably even knew what happened if she did. "I did. I didn't even know it was me till I got here!"

Yeah, okay. She didn't need details. Breaking a third grader's collarbone wasn't a story you told girls when you first met them, or ever sometimes. Even if you happened to have been in third grade yourself at the time. He probably shouldn't have told Elly over the summer. He'd talked too much in their emails. She didn't seem to hold it against him, though.

Darla said a magic word then. He heard it very clearly.

Chemistry.

"What kind of doc ... wait wait, go back. You said you like chemistry!" he grabbed on that like it was getting away. It was, she was talking about her dad being a doctor. Doctor, schmoctor, she said she liked chemistry! "Dude, chemistry is mad awesome. I can't wait to take it -- that's gonna be next, after the earth science. I did it for a couple weeks last year, but it was mad hard so mom thought we should wait another year or two to get into it." He was grinning now, this socializing stuff was easy this year. "You know chemistry?"

Was first year crazy in a good way or a bad way? It was a good question.

"Uh," he checked the ceiling for answers, "both? First year was crazy like whoa. I'm muggle," he almost never tacked that born onto the end of that even though people seemed to think it should be there, "so there was all this magic to get used to. And then like no one knows anyone, everyone's all homesick and scared of getting picked on and stuff. And then after awhile everyone relaxes and it's awesome. Second year's good so far. I got a friend from home who just started this year and that was like: whoa! surprise! It's crazy, we were like muggles together. So if you meet Brett Hodges, he was my best friend from public school, before the homeschooling thing."\n\n

21 Echo Elms You should! 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Darla

January 06, 2007 10:21 AM

Hah, that's pretty impossible for me by Darla

Darla nodded, CalTech. She hadn't really heard of that college. Really, her father just taught her about the Ivy Leagues, sine those were the ones he wanted her and Asher to get into. Darla was sure Asher could get into Yale, but wasn't so sure about herself. Still, she knew she would try.

Though it was hard when they asked for your school grade-type things, and she wouldn't have any except for the summer school points. Darla's father had said he'd tell the Yale administrators that she was homeschooled, but that was also hard to be proved.

"I don't think I have," Darla answered, searching her mind for a time when she might have. "My mom, she's the witch, told me to always control my emotions and so nothing bad would happen, and I pretty much followed that." But... there was that one time. It wasn't in school, but it was accidental magic.

"But I have out of school, at a friend's house," she mentioned. "We were trying to cook with her Easy-bake, and it wouldn't work. We both got really mad at it, and it started to shake and the light bulb blew." Darla had to laugh, remembering how scared the two were. "What happened to you? Blow any lightbulbs?"

"What kind of doc ... wait wait, go back. You said you like chemistry!"

Darla had to say, the way Echo said that made her jump and give a nervous giggle at how into Chemistry the older boy was. "I know a little Chemistry," she said with a blush. "It's not really that hard for me, but I guess I haven't really gotten into the super-advanced stuff. But I like it because it reminds me of cooking," she recalled. "I... like to cook a lot," Darla added, as if to confirm why she liked Chemistry.\n\n

0 Darla Hah, that's pretty impossible for me 0 Darla 0 5

Echo Elms

January 08, 2007 9:49 PM

Ah, you don't mean that. by Echo Elms

"Uh, well, not lightbulbs. It was sorta like," Echo scratched at the mass of brown curls that made his head look sorta big and looked away from Darla, "Okay so there was this kid beating me up and all of a sudden he just kinda flew backwards for no reason. There were a couple other things, too, but that was the main one."

He'd thought it was the kid's collar bone that bothered him about it most, but this time it was mostly hard to admit to getting beat up. By Brandon no less. I mean, like, sure, Brandon thinks I'm like Freak-kid, but he's not completely awful. If I'd sorta tried I coulda so avoided that. It was like waving a flag declaring his complete lack of social skills.

Formerly complete lack; now, it's just a regular old lack. Lighten up, it's not like you're Adam or Grail. Adam and Grail were kids he'd worked with in DADA last year and they actually started crying and shaking during the lab for no reason after their project exploded. It was enlightening. Before that, Echo had thought he had problems. True story.

"But I like it because it reminds me of cooking," Darla was said about chemistry, "I... like to cook a lot."

"Yeah, you'll really like potions," Echo told her again, this time expanding, "It's like some weirdo mix between chemistry, cooking, and magic. I don't know, I got it in my head one day that I wanted to know how to make soap. It's like, think about it, it's all like soap-like. It's not liquid but it's not really solid either, or maybe it is ... anyway, mom said I should learn some chemistry with it so I did and I liked it." It was sort of random that he'd gotten interested in soap-making (it was a one time deal, but it was cool) considering how little he'd used the stuff pre-Sonora.

But enough about him. "What do you cook?"\n\n

21 Echo Elms Ah, you don't mean that. 93 Echo Elms 0 5