Bad news..... on Cascade Hall

Caedence Redoak

January 06, 2008 9:46 PM

Bad news..... by Caedence Redoak

Caedence flopped herself into the nearest empty seat. Her stomach growled, because she had skipped breakfast that day. She reached for a ham sandwich and a glass of milk. She figured that there was plenty of time between now and dinner to catch a few practice laps on the pitch. She had just finished her sandwich and was reaching for another when a dusty owl landed nearby.

Caedence glanced at the letter in its beak. She didn’t know anyone who would owl her. Except her mom, but she only ever sent letters at holidays. What could this be?

She ripped off a piece of ham from her sandwich to give to the owl after she accepted the letter. She broke the wax seal curious to know the contents. Unfurling the stiff parchment, she took a drink of milk as she began to read.

Caedence,

Its your mother again. She’s sick, this time the doctors think its terminal. I’ve decided to let your kind handle her. Maybe they know how to get rid of the evil magic in her to make her better. I don’t know. The hospital will send you regular reports on her condition, but it doesn’t look good. Good job, Caedence, she just might die.

The glass slipped from her numb hand. Not again! Her mom was fine! She had gotten cleared by the hospital! They said she was okay! This wasn’t fair! This wasn’t right!

She was vaguely aware of a voice next to her saying something. She looked down and saw that her pants and most of the bench was wet. What did it matter? She got up abruptly, muttering an apology.

She ran through the hall, looking at all the faces. She couldn’t find the one she wanted. She couldn’t find Elly. What was she going to do?

She felt a hand on her shoulder. With a jump, she rounded on the person, fist clenched around the parchment still in her hand. “What?!” she snapped, glaring fiercely.\n

0 Caedence Redoak Bad news..... 94 Caedence Redoak 1 5

Elly Eriksson

January 15, 2008 1:27 PM

The cookies are stale? by Elly Eriksson

It was a beautiful sunny day, one of many at Sonora, and Elly had been making the most of it outside. The broom that Josiah had given to her was amazing beyond words; it corner so tightly that it was all Elly could do to hold on. There was no way she was going to let another Seeker catch the Snitch – ever! Well, that was if she got in enough practise time. The last broom she’d used in a game was the only one she’d ever ridden. Unfortunately, it had taken a couple of bludger beatings and was no longer fit for game use. Having her own broom helped Elly a great deal, but she was still used to the old broom, and consequently wasn’t very steady yet. Hence her need to practise before the next game was called was as great as ever.

However, there was only so much flying a girl could do in one day. Having flown all morning, Elly flew back up from the pitch for a quick shower and change before going to the Hall for lunch. She arrived dressed in blue jeans and a blue t-shirt, her otherwise bare feet enclosed in a pair of orange plastic flip-flops. Her hair, a similar shade to her footwear, was in a damp ponytail on her back – she had learned a drying charm for hair that seemed to work reasonably well on any other girl but gave Elly a very lion-like mane.

Heading to the nearest food-laden table, Elly paused mid-way as Caedence passed by, looking so frantically around her that she wouldn’t have seen Elly even if she’d been standing in front of her. This wasn’t very Caedence-like behaviour, and she was obviously looking for something, so probably wouldn’t mind if Elly helped out. Elly took a couple of quick strides forward to catch up with her manic friend and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from going any farther.

“What?” Caedence snarled as she span round. Elly took an involuntary step back – she’d forgotten what it felt like to be on the receiving end of Caedence’s bad moods.

“Hey, it’s just me,” she said, raising her hands defensively. “You okay? You looking for someone?”

0 Elly Eriksson The cookies are stale? 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Caedence

January 17, 2008 12:56 PM

It's worse, they're ALL GONE!!! by Caedence

Caedence blinked. Here was the girl that she had been looking for. Did she pass Elly up without even seeing her? It was possible. She felt so dazed and numb, it wouldn’t surprise her. Her mind worked furiously at getting a coherent thought out of her mouth, but it was like forcing a dragon through a doggie door. Not gonna happen.

“Elly,” was the first thing she managed to say, “You, I was looking for you Elly.”

Then the rest flew out in a rush, “Elly! He wrote to me. He just sent me a letter. She’s sick again. Really sick. She’s back in the hospital, one ran by our kind. He thinks they can fix her. Elly, she might…it’s…” She choked, and couldn’t say anything more.

Her knees began to tremble, and it felt as if someone replaced her legs with jelly. Her already fair skin looked vampiric and every freckle could be seen. Collapsing into the nearest chair, she drew her braid over one shoulder and stroked it gently. She was grateful for the braid, because she knew that a pony tail wouldn’t comfort her as much.

She looked at the letter, still crumpled up in her tightly closed fist. “Umm…” she tried to smooth out the wrinkles with trembling hands, “Here,” She handed the letter to Elly. “That’s the letter he sent.” Caedence took a deep breath, eyes on her hands folded on her lap. “She…might… it might be terminal,” She couldn’t bring herself to admit that her mom might die. Not in those words.

“Elly,” She looked up at her friend’s face, “Elly, I don’t know for sure, but I think I’m…scared.”

She couldn’t believe it. She said it. She said she was scared. Fear was weak, admitting it was weaker still. She had to be strong. Now more than ever, for her mom. She wasn’t weak. She was strong. Strong enough even for this.

Or was she?\n

0 Caedence It's worse, they're ALL GONE!!! 94 Caedence 0 5

Elly

January 19, 2008 3:24 PM

Oh no! Now what do we do? by Elly

Luckily Caedence seemed to calm down a little when she realised it was Elly whom she found (the very person she had apparently been seeking), but only a very little. She spoke in a rush, which was not only difficult to understand, but it also gave Elly a feeling of uneasiness; Caedence wasn’t one to babble on like this.

Noticing her friend was in need of calming, Elly guided her to the nearest chair, and was grateful when Caedence sat without argument. Frowning down at her friend in confused distress, Elly chewed her lip as she wondered what had happened. Caedence had said something about someone being sick, or at least that’s what Elly thought she’d heard. The gibbering hadn’t made much sense, though, so Elly was relieved when Caedence handed her the letter that would explain everything.

Elly read the letter over twice, and she was no longer surprised by Caedence’s behaviour. It was obvious that her father would be upset, but to take his grief and anxieties out on his daughter like this was completely unacceptable. As angry as she was, though, Elly pushed those emotions aside, knowing that she had to focus on Caedence at the moment.

“Elly,” Caedence said, the defeated tone of her voice holding her friend’s attention fast, “Elly, I don’t know for sure, but I think I’m scared.”

Panicking, Elly looked quickly around the Hall. There were too many people around. “It’ll be okay,” she told Caedence, trying to believe herself. “Come with me.” Elly took a couple of glasses from the table and, with her free hand, helped Caedence to stand back up and guided her outside the Hall.

Once they were outside the main doors, Elly indicated that Caedence should sit on the floor, leaning up the wall. Withdrawing her wand, she filled the two glasses with water and passed one to Caedence. She then sat down next to her shaken friend, and passed the letter back to her. “It might be okay,” she said, soothingly. “She’s with Healers now, they might be able to help.” Although she was keeping a calm exterior for Caedence’s benefit, inside Elly’s stomach was twisting knots; she didn’t know how to deal with something like this.

0 Elly Oh no! Now what do we do? 0 Elly 0 5

Caedence

January 25, 2008 6:08 PM

We make brownies? by Caedence

Caedence allowed herself to be led away without protest. She didn’t really care, much, where she was, but she was sure that Elly was right to get her out of the public’s eye. She hadn’t been thinking at all. She looked so darn weak like that! But she couldn’t really help it at all. She just didn’t feel up to much. Her energy felt like it had left her.

Sliding gently to the floor, she took the offered glass and took a few sips. With a sigh, she held the cup in her hands the way you would hold a mug of hot chocolate to warm yourself. She stared into the water while she listened to Elly’s reassuring words.

“You…you’re right… maybe,” Caedence said slowly. “But… I was supposed to fix her. I couldn’t do it. He told me to. Fix her I mean. I can’t though. I went to McKindy. He said that I’m too young to learn healing spells. But I needed to learn them to help her. Maybe, our kind can though.”

Fix her! Her father’s words from last year screamed in her head and Caedence closed her eyes tight to block them out. Suddenly, she felt she couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to tell Elly about her father.

“Last year, when she first got sick, my father was really mad. At me. He broke my wand and threw it at me. And he slapped me. He hates magic, and he agrees with all the wack-o’s from the Salem trials. So he doesn’t like me being a witch at all,” She said, eyes still closed. After a breath, she snapped them open again, “Don’t you dare go feeling sorry for me Elly Eriksson, I know you! No hugs!” She growled. She let go of the water glass with one hand and held it up defensively.

Elly was right though. Her mom was with healers. Things could only get better right? She couldn’t die, not with wizards and witches watching over her. She wasn’t acting like herself. She had to stop it. Taking another sip from her water, she looked back at Elly and said, “Thanks, sorry I’m being stupid about all this. I shouldn’t have said anything at all.” She flashed her friend a rare smile. “Forget I even said anything.” She put her shaky hands around her water. What was wrong with her? She never, ever had told anyone about her father. No one! Maybe she was going soft or something? At least she could trust Elly to keep quiet.\n

0 Caedence We make brownies? 94 Caedence 0 5

Elly

January 28, 2008 3:51 AM

Excellent plan! by Elly

It was very odd, Elly mused, taking care of Caedence. Despite being taller, older, and perhaps more emotionally stable, somehow Elly had never considered herself to be the stronger of the two of them. To have Caedence panicked and distressed was a little unusual, to say the least. Luckily for Elly, once Caedence was sat in the corridor and out of the hustle and bustle of the main Hall, she seemed to deflate a little, and, as she listened to Caedence talk, Elly’s stomach muscles began to unclench. What Caedence was saying was still upsetting to hear, especially the bits about what a complete prat her father obviously was, but at least the sentences made coherent sense this time around. By the time Caedence demanded that Elly not hug her, Elly couldn’t help the very edge of her mouth twisting up into the tiniest smile; this Caedence was far easier to deal with.

“Forget I even said anything,” Caedence finished, and Elly smiled back at her.

“Forgotten,” she agreed, nodding. Then after a pause, she added, “Well, not forgotten, actually, because that would make me a pretty crappy friend, but I won’t ever mention it again if that helps,” she said, rising to her feet.

Despite the fact that Caedence seemed almost back to normal, Elly thought that any other person would want to be distracted from their news. She didn’t want to pester Caedence to spend time with her if her friend really did want to be alone, but Elly had an idea that might catch Caedence’s attention. Sure, she’d been playing Quidditch all morning, but a little more practice probably wouldn’t hurt.

“Fancy going down to the pitch? We could even let the bludgers loose, if you like.” She grinned.

0 Elly Excellent plan! 0 Elly 0 5