Room four, girls four! [Nat, Tess, and Raine] on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Nevaeh Reed

July 21, 2016 1:51 AM

Room four, girls four! [Nat, Tess, and Raine] by Nevaeh Reed

One of the only problems with Sonora that Nevaeh had found thus far was a relative difficulty to spend time with friends who weren’t in the same House. The Common Room was a great place to hang out with Barnaby, for example, but she couldn’t exactly bring Raine in there. And while there were plenty of places to hang out, they all seemed to meet a purpose, none of them the one she sought.

The Aladren decided that she wanted to have a girls’ day with her friends. Specifically, she thought it might be fun to do one another’s nails (obviously she could only really be on the receiving end of the nail painting, but Nevaeh did bring a dog to the party, so she felt like that made up for it). But where was a good place for that? The Cascade Hall was too noisy and crowded, not to mention angled at food, which wasn’t good to have nail polish around. There was nowhere to really set up in the Gardens or on the Pitch, although they did tempt a future girls’ day in the form of a picnic. The library was definitely not the place for four giggling girls, either, so where were they to go?

Eventually, Nevaeh settled on MARS, room four to be exact. Given the fact that these were twelve year olds, she wasn’t sure their form of nail-painting could really be labeled as “art”, but it was the closest thing she could imagine. As long as the portraits didn’t make them feel bad about it, she thought it would be okay.

The three friends she invited were Raine, Nat, and Tess. Raine was the only one that she felt like she knew well, but the other two had shared a tent with them at last year’s bonfire, and since then she’d taken some interest in getting to know them better. Plus, it was nice to feel like she was part of a group of some kind, as much as she liked hanging out with Barnaby. There was something comforting about a unit.

She got there a little earlier than she told them to come, and when she heard the door open for the first arrival, she was currently petting her service dog to pass the time. “Do you think it’s safe to put nail polish on a dog?” she asked with a grin, holding up one of Scout’s front legs. “I like the idea of his little claws being purple or something.”

12 Nevaeh Reed Room four, girls four! [Nat, Tess, and Raine] 325 Nevaeh Reed 1 5

Tess Whittaker

July 27, 2016 5:31 AM

So up for this! by Tess Whittaker

Tess bounced down the corridor after lunch, feeling slightly high on life and the letter from home she had just received. She was going to have another sibling! The unexpectedness of the announcement (both Tess and her brother, who was 10 years old, had long accepted the fact that they wouldn’t have another sibling) made it even more exciting, and part of Tess longed for nothing more than to be at home with her family. Objectively, she knew there was no point – the bump was barely showing, and it would definitely be a while before the baby was actually born – but she couldn’t help wishing she could see the grins on her parents’ faces and have been told the news face-to-face. However, there was no way Tess was going to let the slight feelings of regret and homesickness (well, not really homesickness, more like homelovingness, if that even made sense) dim her happiness, and she was already running through potential names - Sophia was definitely an option, she decided, making a mental note of the name - as she made her way to the MARS room to meet up with the other girls.

Nevaeh was already there, but it seemed like Tess was actually sort-of on time as Raine and Nat weren’t. Thoughts of baby names were immediately driven from her head at Nevaeh’s suggestion, which was nothing short of genius. “Their nails can’t be too different from humans’ nails,” Tess pointed out, bypassing greetings to get straight to the important matter at hand. “Besides, he’d look stunning, which really outweighs any potential problems.” Tess wasn’t actually that unconcerned about the health of animals, but she didn’t think there would be a problem with painting the dog’s nails.

Tess was very glad that Nevaeh had come up the idea of a girls’ day. Whilst she got to see the other girls in her year in class, she had no one to share a dorm with, which was very disappointing for Tess, who wanted some close girl friends. The four girls had had fun sharing a tent at the bonfire last year (or so Tess thought – she definitely had!), and even though they weren’t that close, Tess wanted to consider the other three her best friends. However, more bonding was probably needed before they reached that stage, hence her delight at today’s plans.

Sitting down by Nevaeh, Tess kicked off her shoes and started inspecting the colours of nail varnish. You couldn’t have a girls’ day whilst wearing shoes really, especially as nail painting usually involved toes. “Hey, guess what I just found out?” she said, too happy to keep the news to herself. Nevaeh couldn’t see the big grin on her face, but she could no doubt hear the joy in her voice.

9 Tess Whittaker So up for this! 338 Tess Whittaker 0 5

Raine

July 29, 2016 5:42 AM

Yay, party time! by Raine

Raine was very excited at the prospect of the girls’ day. She had heard about Gia Donovan’s karaoke party and it had made her feel weirdly lonely. Not that she expected Gia to invite her, because they weren’t really friends, but Raine just really wished that they were. She thought Gia was so cool, and she had liked working with Jax in the challenges last year but had clearly failed to consolidate that into an actual friendship. Nevaeh’s idea though made her feel happy, happy and part of something, which made up for not being part of something with Gia. Even though Raine was a very quiet person, she had never known what it was to have quiet time or alone time, and so she liked the constant people-ness of Sonora. She liked having Nat in her room, and being around others, especially when they were happy to be the talkers and let her listen.

She arrived at the MARS room just about when Nevaeh had said. She wasn’t sure how much punctuality mattered to her friends. It had been a very abstract concept in her own family but she had gained the impression that it wasn’t just something teachers insisted on but something most people expected. She still had a somewhat limited talent for it but she made a big effort with it when it was for her friends.

“Hiya there Nevaeh, Tess,” she smiled, speaking softly as she came in. She’d made a point the first few times she talked to Nevaeh of saying who she was but had since been assured that Nevaeh recognised her voice now, and she didn’t need to. She’d felt a bit embarrassed at doing the wrong thing but glad that Nevaeh had told her. “Hiya Scout,” she added, patting him gently on the head. She was always careful not to distract Scout when he was working but was friendly and polite to him when he was free to be talked with.

“What was your news, Tess?” she asked, having come in just as the other girl was asking Nevaeh to ‘guess what?’ She sat down by her three friends (counting Scout too), her long floral skirt pooling around her. It was paired with a faded grey t-shirt with red around the collar and sleeves, and ‘Cutie’ in red lettering across the chest. It was getting a little small for Raine, and the glitter that had adorned the word and first drawn her to the t-shirt was all but worn off, but she liked it. It made her feel good, and she had chosen her clothes with care for today, wanting to feel nice. She noticed Tess’s kicked off shoes and realised she didn’t have any to add to the pile. She often went around barefoot at home, and that was mostly outside, so she often forgot to put shoes on at Sonora, or thought about it but didn’t really see the point.

“These are pretty,” she added about the nail varnishes, forgetting that Nevaeh might not know what she’d meant by ‘these.’ Although she tried to be sensitive to Nevaeh’s needs she didn’t necessarily know what things she could do that were helpful or not helpful, and though she wanted to know, she felt awkward and didn’t quite know how to bring it up, especially after the name thing.

OOC - mentions of Nevaeh approved by her author

13 Raine Yay, party time! 327 Raine 0 5

Tess

August 11, 2016 3:58 PM

Talking of parties... by Tess

Tess looked up as Raine appeared, smiling at the other girl. “Hey Raine,” she greeted her. “You ok?” Tess hadn’t spent lots of time with the other girl, which was sad, especially as she seemed really nice and came from a circus background. You couldn’t be too boring if you were from the circus, Tess was sure, whether you thought so or not. “I love your skirt, by the way,” she added, not one to throw away random compliments so really meaning it.

“Oh yes,” she replied, Raine’s arrival having distracted her from her exciting news. “My mum’s having a baby!” she announced, sounding more than a little excited. The news was no doubt less exciting to the other girls than it was to Tess, as it wouldn’t actually affect them, but she simply had to tell them about it. There was absolutely no way she could keep such big news to herself.

She was just wondering if Nat was going to get there soon (she had an idea for the end of term that she wanted to share with everyone, and it would be better to share it when everyone was there), when the girl in question burst into the room an arrival which was, or so Tess thought, quite in keeping with what Nat seemed to be like generally. Which was, of course, a good thing – Tess had no problem with people being quiet, but equally no problem with them being lively and very extroverted (as Tess herself was).

“So now that we’re all here, I have a suggestion,” she said. “If none of us get dates to the ball, shall we all go together?” Tess wasn’t holding out much hope for a ball date, not that she was too fussed by that, and the idea of going with her friends seemed much better than going alone. Plus it would help solidify what Tess was hoping would be the start of a great friendship group. No doubt they’d all spend some time at the ball together whatever happened, but it would be nice to all arrive at the same time. It was just a shame they couldn’t go in each others’ dorms, as it would be great fun to get ready together, helping each other.

OOC: Nat's arrival approved by her author!

9 Tess Talking of parties... 338 Tess 0 5

Nat

August 11, 2016 6:20 PM

I thought you'd never ask! by Nat

Nat tore down the last corridor, her everyday boots squeaking all the while, until she was in front of the appointed MARS room and burst into it with her usual gusto. “Sorry I’m late, guys!” came the loud apology. Her face, brightened by the exercise, looked anything but apologetic despite having been quite sincere. Entering the room, she undid her scarf so it was no longer twined around her neck in endless repetitions and called out “What did I miss?”

Upon hearing Tess’ news, Nat beamed and practically shook Tess with an overly excited, bone-rattling hug. Oh, joyous day! A baby! After properly expressing her heartfelt congratulations and discussing how positively exciting it was and how wonderful it would be henceforth, girl’s day continued with its activities.

Raine was looking at the various nail polishes when Tess spoke again. “If none of us get dates to the ball, shall we all go together?”

Nat hadn’t thought about the ball at all. No one had asked her so she could immediately answer Tess’ suggestion in the affirmative (and really that would be more fun, wouldn’t it?) but she realized at this time she was woefully unprepared. She hadn’t told anyone at home that there was a ball, mostly because she’d spent all her time talking about Quidditch or her friends, and so no dress had been prepared. She couldn’t remember if she packed a dress at all. She was fairly certain there was at least a lacey skirt and knit top set but a dress? She simply couldn’t recall.

“We could get ready here!” The dress would sort itself out; there was no cause for real worry. Fun was what was most important, and getting ready together would be great fun! She loved Raine but Nevaeh and Tess were important friends too, and they, unlike Raine and she, were not in the same house. Nevaeh had two roommates to potentially get ready with but Tess didn’t. No, it made a lot of sense for them to all get ready here. If everyone agreed, that was.

7 Nat I thought you'd never ask! 331 Nat 0 5

Nevaeh

August 15, 2016 2:54 AM

I'm glad you did, though! by Nevaeh

Nevaeh couldn’t help but grin. Natalie, the last to arrive, hadn’t even been there for five minutes, but already, everything was amazing. Tess’s news was great--at least, Nevaeh assumed. Tess seemed pretty excited about it, at least, although Nevaeh herself was an only child, so she couldn’t really relate to the joy of getting a new sibling. (At least, she thought she was? She knew her biological father had died, but she didn’t know when or what he’d done in his lifetime, so he was the only option for a possible sibling since she knew for a fact that her biological mother had none and, obviously, that her adoptive parents had none.) Still, she offered a hearty, “Congrats!”

A moment later, the bold and wonderful Tess suggested they all go to the ball together if they didn’t have dates. When Nevaeh had first heard about the ball, she’d been hoping to orchestrate something where she’d go with Kyte and Raine could go with Barnaby or something, although as the year went on, Nevaeh found herself more and more wishing that Barnaby would ask her. But that didn’t seem like it was going to happen, so despite the minor disappointment, she was glad to go with her gal pals.

“That sounds like a great idea,” she bounced off Nat’s suggestion to get ready together in MARS. The Aladren didn’t know what her roommates were planning to do that evening, but maybe, she thought, she could ask them to join too. There was more time to figure that much out later, though, so she didn’t worry too much about it.

Nevaeh smiled in the direction in which she knew Raine was standing. “What do you think, Raine?” she asked.

12 Nevaeh I'm glad you did, though! 325 Nevaeh 0 5

Raine

August 19, 2016 5:06 AM

I think you asked a bit too soon by Raine

“Ooh, that’s exciting!” Raine grinned, as Tessa shared her news. She came from a big family, once you counted all of the cousins and so on, and - even if she couldn’t always keep track of how she was quite related to them - babies were always happy news.

Nat joined them and Raine smiled at her room-mate. She was excited to get on with the party, and had something else to share now that they were all here…. Although Tess did too and being a chatty sort of person got in there first. Which was ok, Raine didn’t mind waiting her turn. Except that Tess’s idea turned out to be the same as her own.

Raine had been skeptical about the ball. It had sounded fancy and off-putting, an impression not helped by everyone gossiping about who had asked who, and what they were all going to wear. It didn’t seem like the place for her. But amongst her own year, she’d gradually noticed a different atmosphere. Friends talking about going together, about just hanging out. It had started seeming not so bad after all… She had been reminded more of the atmosphere of the bonfire, which she had enjoyed, and had resolved to ask the same girls she’d shared a tent with to be her friend-dates. She had made a little card for each of them, black with silver stars on (because that reminded her of the camp out at the bonfire) - she had used the bumpy kind of stick on gem stars rather than just drawing them, so that Nevaeh could feel what they were, and had trimmed the invites with crinkly silver crepe paper to add to the feeliness. On each card, she had written a message that said ‘You’re a special friend to me because….. Let’s hang out at the ball together.’ Professor Skies had been teaching her about ‘your’ and you’re,’ and she’d taken care to get the right one. She had even, rather shyly, showed her drafts of the invites to the Professor after one of their tutoring sessions, asking her if she could check she had spelt all the words right because she wanted them to be perfect. She had been worried that Professor Skies would laugh at her, or not want to do it because it wasn’t schoolwork, but she had looked over the sentences, made a little mark or two, and told Raine it was ‘very sweet,’ which had made her feel warm inside and not so scared about giving them to her friends. Natalie’s said that she was special because she was caring and told good stories. Tess’s because she was always smiling and good at making new friends. Nevaeh’s because she was clever and didn’t let anything stop her.

The group chit-chatted about the ball and Raine swallowed a little ball of disappointment that had jammed up her throat. She had been so pleased with the invites and now they were useless. Nevaeh’s verbal nudge made her realise that she hadn’t actually responded yet.

“I-I was thinking the same thing,” she nodded, giving a big smile to the group, although the tone of her voice betrayed a little of her disappointment at having not got in there first.

13 Raine I think you asked a bit too soon 327 Raine 0 5