Early morning contemplations on Cascade Hall

Sally Manger

July 03, 2013 1:40 AM

Early morning contemplations by Sally Manger

The roar of the Cascade Hall was always present, but Sally tended not to contribute terribly much. She was reserved, content to idle contemplations. Nowadays, however, she had more on her mind to consider. Her actions this summer had been generally considered bad, and despite her first grounding, she found herself almost proud. Carrie only received what she deserved, and it felt rather good to be the one to give it to her. There was also a bit of confusion floating around. How could this justice be… wrong?

The brunette was additionally a bit frightened. She had never lost control like that; evidently her emotional studies were complete, for now she felt and realized things, but those feelings were so dangerous. The cold child she had once been would never have sent her step-sister flying, but the teenage girl she had grown into had done it without a thought, without control.

This was unacceptable. The idea of not being in control of herself was one she had always fought. Sally had devoted herself to discovering the repressed emotions within her to break the control of the man who had demanded her apathy, an attempt to gain control, but now here she was. Who really had the power? Did anyone ever, really?

These things she considered over a light breakfast. The Aladren sat in self-imposed isolation, though she was not unwelcoming to company. If someone wished to join her, it would have been acceptable. Really, these thoughts she was encountering were not desirable, and a distraction could have been nice. Aside from Nora and her family members, she did not talk to very many people.

The silence was altered as someone sat down near her. “Good morning,” she greeted the new arrival politely. Her grey-brown eyes wandered the person’s face, searching innately for recognition. She had, in a roundabout way, learned most of the names of her peers, excluding the first years beyond her brother and Nora’s sister. She supposed she would learn their names in time. It was inevitable with the combination of a small school and an impeccable memory.

12 Sally Manger Early morning contemplations 198 Sally Manger 1 5

Maximilian J. McLachlan

July 04, 2013 8:11 PM

Am I disturbing? by Maximilian J. McLachlan

There was a lot on Josh's mind lately and he was starting to forget meals with the length of his To Do list. He had always planned on running away from his family, but with this being his last year at Sonora, he knew he had to begin making it into a reality. The past summer had solidified his desires and he knew he couldn't live like that anymore. It was one thing to be the hated orphan of the McLachlan clan, but it was quite another to be used for his uncle's gain. He, in no way shape or form, wanted to help his horrible relatives.

Josh hadn't slept very well last night and so he was awake and already at work by the time seven a.m. rolled around. His stomach, usually quiet in the mornings, grumbled, reminding him of the sparse dinner he had eaten the day before, and so he decided to go down to Cascade Hall for a quick breakfast before heading back to his common room.

He didn't think Brianna would sit with him as readily now that she had Linus around. Josh didn't know what their relationship was, exactly, but it couldn't just be friendship. He was more observant than others gave him credit for. But good for her. He was happy for her, really. It would be easier to detach himself from her if she was already detaching herself from him. Josh had never had more than one close friend at a time and, in total, the number had only come to two best friends in his lifetime. Friends didn't come easily to Josh and he didn't really want to make any new friends. Not now, anyway. However, Josh had always had bad luck with that when other people decided to become his friend. Like Cecilia, back when he had attended school in New Zealand, and like Brianna, whom he had unknowingly formed a friendship with after realizing they could relate to one another on a different level than anyone else.

Without thinking, Josh sat down at the Aladren table, so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice a fellow housemate. He looked up at the greeting and wished that he had sat in an isolated corner of the table. Now he would be expected to make conversation and he was terrible at that. Josh didn't know Sally Manger very well except that she was an Aladren and wasn't in his year. Her eyes seemed to study him and Josh felt a little uncomfortable in the scrutiny.

"Good morning," he replied, his Scottish-Australian accent a little heavy in his voice this morning from disuse. His gray eyes left hers to pour himself a cup of coffee. He was aware that his brown hair was sticking up a little from his frustrated fingers pawing through it as he had planned his future in the early hours of the morning. He had never liked being scrutinized. It always meant there were judgments being formed and disapproving, apprehensive, or hateful looks to follow. "Do you drink coffee?" he asked, indicating that he would pour it for her if she wanted. Three years since his first step on Sonora grounds and he was so much more civil than he had been then.

0 Maximilian J. McLachlan Am I disturbing? 0 Maximilian J. McLachlan 0 5

Sally

July 11, 2013 3:36 AM

Not particularly. by Sally

Josh McLachlan was not someone Sally knew intimately. Of course, she knew few people truly “intimately”, for that implied a sharing of some particular bond, such as revealed secrets or expressed emotions. She supposed the only people she knew terribly well were her own relatives and Nora. Despite peers of grouped intellect, Sally had never found a way to connect to others.

Surface-level relationships were much more her style. The Aladren reveled in her mental privacy and learned little more than names, faces, and perhaps ages of her peers. Josh, for example, she knew was a year her senior, and obviously she recognized his face. He returned her greeting, at which she nodded, before continuing customary manors. “Do you drink coffee?” he politely inquired of her.

“Yes, thank you,” she responded, presenting a cup. Caffeine was not a regularly indulged upon resource for Sally, but she chose today to drink a cup or two in the hope that the factors that expedited processes in the average mind might depress her own. It was occasionally a bit troublesome to feel her mind work so quickly, always considering, always wondering; to escape her own thoughts seemed an excellent reprieve, especially given her ponderings thus far had done nothing but instill a developing headache.

Of course, if her mind was silent, she might desire dialogue. Even with a racing mind, the brunette to some degree wished to engage in conversation, as if speaking with Josh mind drown out her inner talks until they faded away. “So…” Her voice was so uncertain, so unsure. How did one go about these things? And the so-called “normal” people did this daily! “How are you this morning?”

To force conversation, she supposed, was something she should have excelled in more, given her upbringing. Her father had so desperately wanted her to be flawless, but the porcelain doll he had tried to form was shattered to reveal the awkward, brainy young woman she had somehow become. Her mother told her emotions and imperfections were what made her human, but being a human was so perplexing. Nothing but average life could ever be so complex. In any event, she could only hope the uncertainties would fade with increasing maturity. Perhaps eventually, she could be—dare she even imagine—average. Today, however, was not that day.

0 Sally Not particularly. 0 Sally 0 5