Taking action [tag: Ginger] on Cascade Hall

Joella Curtis

November 11, 2016 5:03 AM

Taking action [tag: Ginger] by Joella Curtis

“Can I have a word?”

Joella approached Ginger when she spotted her entering Cascade Hall around dinner time. She had a lot of words in mind that she wanted to say to the younger girl but she knew she had to reel it in and not let herself get too hot-headed. If she wanted to get her point across, the Pecari captain needed to be diplomatic about it.

“‘The Secret what-you-call-it of Keepers’?” she questioned the Teppenpaw pointedly before expanding. “What were you even thinking?”

Probably not the best start, but the sixth year had a lot more to say yet and hopefully the rest would run more smoothly.

“Look, I get that you’re trying to be nice, Ginger, because that’s what you do and all,” Joella refused to allow herself to sound bitter as she said these words but she didn’t smile either because this was serious, “but don’t you think you’ve overstepped the line here? Maybe it seemed like harmless fun when it was just you and Liliana, but this has just gone too far.”

“If I didn’t know better I’d think you’re trying to go against team unity and inter-house competition,” Joella said. “Don’t you see that’s what these school games are all about? Come on, it’s not like we’re actual athletes or anything, so if we don’t have that then what are we even doing with these house teams and matches. And the cup - you know, some of us actually want to win that.”

“I would have expected better of you since you are assistant captain for your team,” Joella continued, still not allowing a moment for the younger girl to butt in before she said all she needed to. “Don’t you think you should be focusing your efforts on your own team, rather than your opponents?”

“Quite frankly, it’s an insult to the captains,” Joella added finally, and even if it was a more personal point it was still a very good one. As far as she could tell, all four of this year’s captains were more than capable at their jobs (and she was confident that she and Alistair at the very least could put Ginger’s Keeping skills to shame). “And what makes you think it’s better for all four Keepers to practise together? Personally I’d think you’re better off training with your Chasers.”

Joella shrugged, trying to take some of the sting out of her words. She hadn’t spoken harshly at all but she was serious about what she was saying. “I know that you didn’t mean any of this to be the case but I just don’t think you thought any of this through,” she said honestly. “I mean, if you really thought it was such a good idea then you wouldn’t be keeping it a secret, would you?”

8 Joella Curtis Taking action [tag: Ginger] 295 Joella Curtis 1 5

Ginger

November 11, 2016 9:24 AM

Spilling tears by Ginger

Ginger was surprised when Joella greeted her as she entered the Cascade Hall, but the smile she instinctively began died stillborn before it had fully formed as Joella barreled into her diatribe. Her first instinct was hurt and betrayal that apparently Luke had spilled the beans. Her second was stunned shock that Joella knew about Liliana. And finally she just started crying.

Not just a few tears or anything either. These were full on, shoulder shaking, have-to-sit-down-because-her-legs-gave-out wracking sobs. Fortunately, there was an empty chair close by so she could just pull that over instead of plopping down onto the floor, but she was shaking and felt crushed.

This wasn't what she had wanted. Maybe Luke was different, maybe he was really into competition, but she hadn't wanted to exclude anybody, and he could have opted out.

But Makenzie and Lena? One of them was a seventh year who had never tried out before. Makenzie was a pureblood who had picked up the sport for the first time last year and had looked totally out of her depth that first game. And Luke was an itty bitty first year, just like Ginger had been when she'd started and been completely overwhelmed by what Quidditch At Sonora had seemed to be. It it hadn't been for Liliana mentoring her, she would have surely dropped out and then she would have missed being a part of a wonderful team.

She'd just wanted to take away the scariness for the other people she could help.

But she couldn't articulate any of that because she was crying much too hard and breathing itself was difficult enough. She wasn't even sure why she was crying with such desolation over this -admittedly blunt and harsh - criticism of her attempt to be helpful. But she couldn't stop and trying to do so only make it worse. So she just cried and wished somebody would hug her. She hugged herself but that wasn't good enough.

1 Ginger Spilling tears 302 Ginger 0 5

Alistair Johnson ft. Joella Curtis

November 11, 2016 12:27 PM

Don't cry. by Alistair Johnson ft. Joella Curtis

Alistair was just heading into Cascade Hall for dinner, feeling fresh and positive after a good workout, when one particular scene caught his attention. Just the sight of Joella and Ginger talking alone would have piqued his curiosity given his personal interest in the two girls, but he quickly realised that Ginger was crying.

Ginger Pierce was quite possibly the happiest girl on the planet, but right now she looked so far from her usual cheery self and Alistair couldn’t help but stride over. Without thinking, which was not his style (but maybe it was now when it came to matters of the heart), Alistair put a caring arm around his ex-teammate’s shoulders. He crouched down so that he could be at a similar level and talk to her more easily. “Hey,” he said softly, his face a picture of concern as he gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

He wasn’t entirely sure what to say but all he knew was that he couldn’t stand to see Ginger upset and he was therefore going to try his very best to make her feel better. “It’s okay,” Alistair reassured her, despite not even knowing the reason for her tears. “What’s the matter?”

“Ginger, I’m sorry,” Joella finally managed to speak. She had not expected the fifth year to break down in tears before her, of all things, and it had left her feeling rather shocked. Had she been too harsh? She didn’t think so, but then the fact that Ginger was crying suggested otherwise. It seemed a rather extreme reaction, and she couldn’t help thinking Ginger was a bit old for this, but recently she had found herself overestimating people’s maturity a lot. Joella couldn’t help wondering if there was something wrong with her, and that maybe she was just tactless, self-centred and inconsiderate. None of those things sounded like her and Joella didn’t want to be down on herself. She thought she liked the person she’d become, but maybe other people didn’t.

“What did you say?” Alistair looked at Joella for the first time since he’d approached Ginger and there was an accusing look in his brown eyes.

Joella bit her lip hesitantly before shaking her head and walking away. She probably should have stayed to comfort Ginger herself but Alistair seemed to have that under control. Perhaps she’d talk to the Teppenpaw again tomorrow and hope for a less emotional response, or maybe it was better to just let things be for the moment.

“Here,” Alistair tore his eyes away from Joella’s retreating figure to offer Ginger a handkerchief, a frown of confusion lingering as his mind tried to guess at what was going on. “It’s clean,” he added with the ghost of a smile, because he really didn’t feel like this was a smiling situation.

8 Alistair Johnson ft. Joella Curtis Don't cry. 295 Alistair Johnson ft. Joella Curtis 0 5

Ginger

November 11, 2016 1:09 PM

Mood swings by Ginger

Ginger felt an arm that was not her own and leaned into it. She heard Joella's apology and nodded, knowing she'd have to explain herself eventually but glad of the reprieve when the Pecari walked away.

That left Alistair, which honestly kind of surprised her because Alistair wasn't exactly known for his warm hugs. This one was deeply appreciated though and after another little while of being held, and wiping her eyes and nose with his handkerchief, she finally started to calm down. While her breath continued to hitch and shudder every few words, the process of speech was no longer utterly impossible.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I don't know, know why I overreacted so badly. She, she was just asking questions." She repeated the words that her lingering involuntary sobs made difficult to understand. "Thank you. I really appreciate you being here for me," she gave him a hug back then pulled away a little bit.

She took a few more shaky breaths, blew her nose one more time, then offered back the hanky, forcing a smile back onto her face that felt more natural after every second it stayed there. "It's not clean anymore," she stated the obvious, hoping he would laugh at her feeble joke so she could laugh again, too.

"Really, I'm okay now."

1 Ginger Mood swings 302 Ginger 0 5

Alistair

November 11, 2016 2:40 PM

Let's keep this one. by Alistair

Alistair removed his arm from around her shoulders and put his hand briefly on Ginger’s hand that was holding out his handkerchief. “Keep it,” he said with a chuckle, glad to see a smile returned to her face.

“Ginger,” Alistair hesitated because he didn’t want to push his luck and neither did he want to force Ginger to recall her reasons for being unhappy when she’d finally cheered up a little, but at the same time he needed to know. “If you don’t mind, what was she asking you?”

Joella had made it clear that she no longer wanted anything to do with him but now that he had found her upsetting Ginger by “asking questions”, he couldn’t help but think it had to have something to do with him. Until the fifth year knew what it was, he’d be left with that guilty and confused feeling that in some indirect way, Ginger’s tears were his fault.

He tried to ignore the way Ginger’s hug made him feel. She was in a vulnerable state and he’d done what any good friend should do in comforting her. He was just a friend to her and given who he was he was lucky to have at least that, so he really needed to accept it and not allow moments like this to give him false hope.

“I’m sorry,” he looked down at the ground for a moment, feeling wrong for prying. “It’s probably not something you want to talk to me about.”

8 Alistair Let's keep this one. 306 Alistair 0 5

Ginger

November 16, 2016 12:09 PM

No promises by Ginger

Ginger didn't like lying. She had never been good at keeping secrets. Not telling people about what she was doing with Liliana had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done and if she hadn't also been trying to keep a lid on her crush on Jake at the same time, she probably wouldn't have managed it as well as she had, simply because when people pressed and asked what she wasn't telling them, it was the Jake thing she usually blurted out.

She no longer had that protection. Dating Jake was now a matter of public record. It wasn't a secret. She only had one secret and now Joella knew about that one. And given Joella's disapproval and Ginger's outburst, it wasn't one that had a very high likelihood of being kept much longer.

So she blew her nose into the handkerchief that was now hers and confessed. "You know how you mentioned I was the most experienced Keeper the other day? Well, I tried to offer some advice to the other ones - just, you know, basic stuff because they're all pretty new, and mostly just to let them get some support from each other so no one feels overwhelmed during games - and I guess Luke told Joella about it and she," Ginger bit her lip as it wavered and threatened to wobble. She fought to keep her breathing even (or at least as even as it currently was) and the tears stemmed. "Joella thinks the idea is disrespectful of the captains and I didn't mean it that way at all!"

Tears pooled in her eyes as she looked at Alistair, "Are you mad at me, too?"

1 Ginger No promises 302 Ginger 0 5

Alistair

December 12, 2016 12:02 PM

You've only got promises left to break. by Alistair

Alistair frowned as he listened to Ginger explain herself. Of all the things she could have come out with, he certainly hadn’t expected it to be about Quidditch. He tried not to feel disappointed but for some reason that was his immediate response. It may have been disappointment that there wasn’t a more trivial, personal reason for the unexpected clash between two of his most dear friends (or in one case, former friend). But the disappointment was greater than that and ran much deeper.

Why would Ginger of all people do this to him? The one person he had always made exceptions for, made time for, helped in the best way he knew how and fallen for so implausibly, had just let him down. He didn’t say anything for a moment, his brain stewing over this new information.

“Mad?” Alistair looked at her and for a moment it felt like he was asking her to tell him the answer to her own question. He shook his head. “No, I’m not mad.”

Ginger seemed so upset… how could he be mad at her? He took another pause, trying to understand what he wanted to say and the best way to phrase it.

“I just don’t understand,” his brown eyes searched her wet ones. “All the Keepers have their own captains - it’s our job to do all that. You don’t think we’re good enough?”

Alistair was a very good Quidditch-player and he knew it, but he wasn’t the only talent at Sonora and that was something he could admit. One thing that he believed was unique about him as a captain was the way in which his coaching skills had developed and the sheer dedication that he leant to it, to his team. For someone to suggest that he wasn’t doing enough did feel disrespectful.

But that wasn’t just it. This was Ginger Pierce, his former star pupil and the object of his affection. She’d been a Keeper under his coaching and, although that had been in the past and his captaining back then didn’t even compare to what it was now, did that mean she hadn’t been satisfied? He thought he’d done well with her.

“You could have told me,” he said, thinking that perhaps Ginger should have mentioned it to him if she thought that one of his players needed her help.

The fifth year shrugged and shook his head again, not quite knowing if it was really worth sharing his reaction to the information. “Why did you do this to me?” the last question was not spoken accusatively, more confused and his tone was soft, but given the wording there was a chance that Ginger would take it that way.

He knew logically that this was something she’d done to the other two captains as well, and that she hadn’t intended it to affect them, but for some reason it felt personal. Alistair liked Ginger. Even after the pain of seeing her kissing Jake Manger for the first time, he hadn’t thought she would ever actually stab him in the back.

But now that’s what it felt like and he just couldn’t help it. As much as he valued brains and logical thinking, sometimes the heart just got what it wanted. Alistair’s heart didn’t seem to like him very much.

8 Alistair You've only got promises left to break. 306 Alistair 0 5

Ginger Pierce

December 14, 2016 11:14 AM

This is not my best day ever by Ginger Pierce

He wasn't mad. He said he wasn't mad. He wasn't acting mad, either, which helped her believe him, but he wasn't telling her Joella was being utterly unreasonable like she'd been hoping he would, and also seemed to be acting like he thought she'd done something wrong. She still really didn't see that she had; Lena and Makenzie had both seemed to appreciate her offer so she had every intention on keeping the Not So Secret Cabal of Keepers going. She'd probably have to tell Clark and Liac what she was doing though, because it might almost be the behind-their-backs thing that the captains seemed to be taking the most umbrage about, but honestly she'd only done that out of habit due to Liliana's secret mentorship and because, well, the Common Knowledge Cabal of Keepers just didn't seem to have the same dramatic ring to it.

She sniffled again and wiped at her still wet eyes, and tried to explain. "It wasn't anything to do with you. When I was a new Keeper, the hardest hardest hardest thing I had to deal with wasn't anything you or Liac or anyone was teaching me how to handle. I am not a competitive person," she understated, "I hate competition and conflict more than anything else. I'd never played anything more competitive than a game of tag - and that often included toddlers so it wasn't exactly the height of cutthroat tag games, either. Sonora Quidditch is absolutely far and away the most competitive thing I ever did and I didn't know how to deal with it. Liliana reached out and was nice to me and that was the only thing - the only reason I didn't quit and start crying every time I even heard the word Quidditch.

"It's not anything you even could have done for me. It had to be a Pecari, or it wouldn't have felt genuine. I just had to know the other players on the other teams didn't hate me. That's what I'm doing for Lena and Makenzie. They're not competitive people either. I offered it to Luke, too, so he didn't feel left out, but I guess he's a more competitive person so he doesn't need it and tattled on me to Joella.

"I'm not trying to take your place as a coach or anything remotely like that. I just want to help people have fun with the game. Practices can be kind of overwhelming sometimes, especially if you have a great coach like you were. You just feel inadequate when someone is trying so hard to help you but Quidditch really isn't your thing and you just joined because you like being part of a team. The last thing I want to do is to take your team away from you. That is hands down the best part of Quidditch. With your captain, you feel like you need to keep trying, keep improving, so you can impress them. With me, you can vent and say you never signed up for this and Merlin if you have to see one more Quaffle this week you'll scream, and I'll show you a Quaffle and you can scream and then you can get that tension out and do even better at your next real practice with your captain. That's what I'm trying to offer. We only meet once a month, or as needed, so it's not like I'm taking up huge chunks of your keepers' time or anything. Honestly, if I thought anyone would get upset over it, it would be Liac, not you or Joella."

She took a deep breath, the first one she'd really taken since she started spilling her guts, and hoped Alistair would think the shaking of her hands was from emotional overload due to the crying jag rather than the baring of her soul. Because to be entirely truthful, there were still going to be days Ginger was going to be the one screaming at the sight of the Quaffle during those cabal meetings. Probably the next one, after today's confrontations.

1 Ginger Pierce This is not my best day ever 302 Ginger Pierce 0 5

Alistair Johnson

December 14, 2016 3:40 PM

Trust me, it's not mine either. by Alistair Johnson

The more Ginger talked, the more Alistair wondered how much he really knew this girl he’d been admiring all these years. It was news to him that Liliana Bannister had reached out to his former Keeper - had they trained together too? That seemed to be the implication, and perhaps the origin of the “Secret Cabal of Keepers” nonsense.

“Liac and I were your captains and as part of our job we try our best to give our teammates moral support,” Alistair spoke more logically and less selfishly now, because he was really very confused that Ginger could only accept help from a Pecari - why should house come into it, and what was it about Pecaris in particular that made them so special? “If you were having issues, you should have told us. Of course we can’t help where we don’t know there’s a problem.”

Admittedly Alistair had changed a lot since the days of Teppalus but he liked to think that even back then Ginger had considered him approachable. He was fairly certain that his current Keeper was not at risk of a mental breakdown every time she heard the word Quidditch, but since it sounded as though she was going along with this whole thing then perhaps it was best that he had a word with her. The Crotalus found it hard to imagine that Makenzie would be such a weak-minded person but he needed to be sure, because quite frankly it didn’t sound healthy.

He couldn’t believe his ears when the fifteen-year-old went so far as to say that a first year had “tattled” on her. “Incredible,” he muttered, shaking his head for the hundredth time but this time it was out of sheer disbelief before expanding. “You’re accusing an eleven-year-old kid of ‘tattling’ on you? What made you think that it’s okay to tell first years to keep secrets for you? Joella is not only his captain, but also his cousin, so of course he’s going to consult her about this. I feel ashamed for you that you think this is something that needed to be a secret so badly that you’d demand this of a first year. How is that going to help him, really?”

It was more just a random string of astonishment and rhetorical questions that he probably would rather not have answered. Alistair had in the past felt quite dismissive of kids and their immaturity, despite being one, but spending the summer working with them had opened his mind a whole lot more. He didn’t know this Luke kid enough to know what he thought of the whole thing, but it was completely understandable that he hadn’t kept Ginger’s secret. It was ridiculous that Ginger could be so childish to call it “tattling” as though he had done something wrong or intentionally spiteful.

“If this thing you’ve created is all that you say it is, why the big secrecy?” Alistair was done, he could feel it and it came out in an exasperated tone.

“You know what,” he concluded. “If this is really the way you feel then Quidditch clearly isn’t for you. Maybe you should go join the Spirit Club instead or something.”

It may have seemed harsh and it wasn’t intended to hurt Ginger but she had just sat before him and basically told him how much she hated the sport. It was just so confusing that after all he’d done to help her with Quidditch, this was how she repaid him? By telling him that there was nothing he could do to actually help her and that it had never been her thing all along?

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, and he truly meant it, in a number of ways, before straightening up and leaving the hall.

8 Alistair Johnson Trust me, it's not mine either. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5

Ginger

December 14, 2016 4:35 PM

Crying girlfriend alert (tag Jake) by Ginger

Luke was Joella's cousin? Well that explained some things much more clearly. She hadn't really expected Lena not to tell Clark, them dating and all, but if Luke was related to Joella that gave him way more reason to talk to her about it than just being a random new kid on her team.

Before she could say she hadn't known that, or explain that it was a secret club the same way an eight year old made a secret club with her teddy bears, not because they were hiding anything duplicitous but because it was fun to have harmless secrets, Alistair was basically telling her to stop playing Quidditch and walking away.

"See, that was exactly why I never told you!" she called after him and then immediately regretted it, as she collapsed back onto her seat, pulling out Alistair's hanky again to cry into. Why had she said that? As if she hadn't already damaged things between them, that surely made it even worse.

It wasn't untrue though. That was precisely why she had never told Alistair that she hadn't actually like the sport she had played with him back then, or why she had been having trouble with it in her first year. Alistair obviously loved it, so she hadn't wanted to be a wet blanket. Teppalus had needed her, so she had stepped up, and this was a small school. She didn't think she was alone in the people who joined Quidditch because they wanted to support their House but didn't necessarily enjoy the game itself. She especially thought the chances of that being true for people who joined after fifth year were particularly high, else they would have joined earlier.

Had the spirit club existed five years ago she very well might have joined that instead of Quidditch, but now she had made her peace with it, and had no intention of quitting. She might not like it as much as Alistair and Joella did, she didn't live breathe and eat Quidditch, but she liked it well enough now that she was more used to it and knew what to expect. She may not be the greatest choice for Quidditch Captain after Liac graduated, but it would be her responsibility and she'd take it seriously. She probably wouldn't push winning too hard, because, well, she didn't want her team to feel like they disappointed her when - er, if - they lost. For her the most important part was having fun and obviously Alistair and Joella did not get that so she was even more sure that the Common Knowledge Cabal of Keepers was an important support structure this school needed.

She was still upset that they were upset with her though, as her crying made obvious as it picked up again.

"I just wanted to be nice," she told the hanky that had been Alistair in leiu of being able to say so to its former owner.

1 Ginger Crying girlfriend alert (tag Jake) 302 Ginger 0 5