Deputy Head Amelia Pierce
April 25, 2012 10:15 PM
Intermediate DADA Lesson (3rd-5th) by Deputy Head Amelia Pierce
Erika Levy had gone on maternity leave at the end of last year and she and her wife now had two little ones. Amelia wasn't entirely sure if it was Erika herself who was ill, or one of the babies, but she'd called in and said she couldn't teach any of her classes today. Amelia hoped it wasn't anything serious and they would all be well again soon. Alternatively, perhaps Erika just needed a day to sleep off exhaustion, which would be entirely understandable, from what Amelia understood of caring for two infants at once.In any case, Amelia had been asked to fill in. She had some small expertise in Defending Against the Dark Arts, not nearly as much as Professor Levy, of course, but she was qualified to teach. Since becoming Deputy Head, she'd been taking summer classes to get certified, because it hadn't felt quite right to be second in command at a school without a license to teach anything other than flying lessons. So far, she had received her DADA certification because that had been her minor in college and so she'd had a head start there. Potions would be next, and she thought she might stop there. Two core subjects was respectable, and those were the two she knew best.
She stood at the front of the room as the intermediate level students arrived. She had contemplated writing her name on the board, but by now all of the third through fifth years ought to know who she was. There was, of course, the issue of whether or not they should call her 'Professor' in this context or not, but she would cover that in the first part of her lecture.
"Good morning," she greeted, closing the classroom door as the last student slipped in exactly on time. "As you may have figured out by now, Professor Levy couldn't make it in, so I will be covering her classes for today. You may continue to call me Coach Pierce or Deputy Headmistress Pierce." Either of which she would remember to answer to; she was less certain she would do so if they started calling her Professor all of a sudden.
"Today, we will be covering counter-jinxes. Almost every jinx has a specific spell to reverse or undo the damage the jinx has done. Counter-jinxes should not be confused with anti-jinxes, which are used to interrupt a jinx before it takes effect. It's impractical to learn every specific counter-jinx to every jinx you may run up against, so we're going to learn a universal one today. Universal counter-jinxes are not quite as effective as the one tailored to the jinx, and they do not reverse all jinxes, so most aurors will know a pretty hefty number of the actual counter-jinxes as well. As intermediate level DADA students, however, today's universal should be able to get you through anything you might run across prior to RATS level courses."
"To cast this spell, give a sharp snap with your wand, like this," Amelia demonstrated a quick sideways jerk, "and use the incantation Abrogario. Since we don't want parents suing us for casting horrible hexes on our students, on each of your desks is a wooden block labelled 'Do not touch'." She assumed that this had been obeyed since she hadn't heard any surprised shouting. "If you do touch that block, a jinx will trigger. I promise, it does nothing worse than turn your hand red. Any Crotalus can tell you that this is completely non-fatal. However, most people don't like walking around red-handed, so pair up and try to cure your partner of their affliction using the universal counter-jinx."
"If you experience any problems or have any questions related to the assignment, raise your hand and I will assist you."
OOC: You guys all know the drill by now. Long, detailed, creative posts and have fun!
Subthreads: You Caught Me Red-Handed. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan, Aladren with Regina Parker, Teppenpaw, Josh McLachlan
Re: Intermediate DADA Lesson (3rd-5th) by Ryan O'Malley, Crotalus with Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren
This will do. by Nora Dobson, Aladren with Arthur Carey, Aladren
You caught me! by Eliza Bennett, Crotalus with Jhonice Trevear, Pecari, Eliza
I'd rather be red-handed than wearing a red badge by Paul Bennett, Crotalus with Amira Thornton, Pecari, Paul
Relieved by Valerie Lennox, Crotalus
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Deputy Head Amelia Pierce
Intermediate DADA Lesson (3rd-5th)
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Deputy Head Amelia Pierce
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Maximilian Joshua McLachlan, Aladren
April 26, 2012 10:02 AM
You Caught Me Red-Handed. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan, Aladren
Sonora was becoming more familiar to him as the weeks droned on. The days were too long for Josh's taste, but he was glad for the homework and classes that took up most of his time. He hadn't taken to eating much lately except for some food at dinner. He tried to avoid social occasions if at all possible, opting instead to do homework and extra credit, if there was any. The library had become his home. Though he was a fourth-year transfer, he certainly did adhere to his house's stereotypes.Josh arrived at DADA class five minutes early. He didn't like this class as much as the others only because, being a McLachlan, he'd been exposed to dark magic most of his life. The McLachlans were notorious for their dark magic and being sneaky enough to get away with it. His uncle in Australia was, at the moment, under government watch. Uncle Inigo, the one who had taken care of him since he was eight, would eventually get off "the list" because of his "good behavior." It sort of made Josh feel sick, but that was family life.
He had unpacked his textbook, quill, ink pot, and wand, assuming that they would be doing some real work today. After all, if he needed to write any real notes, he would just write it in his book. But now he had to wait idly for class to start. His sharp grey eyes examined the room as he always did when he came early. It was a relief when the professor came in. Apparently she was the Quidditch coach, the Deputy Headmistress, and not the professor. All the better, he supposed.
The wooden block that had warned people from touching it was apparently jinxed, and Josh was glad he had followed the rules. His face darkened when he learned that they would have to touch it eventually and inflict pain on themselves just to learn this jinx. Pain Josh could take, but he would really rather not. He kept his eyes on his desk when the prof--coach told them to work with partners. He could do this on his own. Besides, the whole reason he had transferred was so he would be able to make a new start here. One without friends. He'd seen what had happened back at The New Zealand Academy of Magic when his uncle had found out he'd befriended "the wrong kind."
If the person sitting next to him desperately wanted a partner, he would acquiesce. He wouldn't go searching for a partner on his own. The inherently lonely boy stared at the block, his features sharp and unfriendly. His pale hand was resting on the desk and, on a sudden impulse to do the classwork effectively, he lifted his hand and touched the block with his fingers, bracing himself for the pain.
To his surprise, his hand only turned red as promised. It was almost a blood-red, and Josh had a sudden flashback to his past. 'I couldn't do anything,' he thought to himself firmly, leaning back in his chair to get a hold of his rampant thoughts again. He cast a glance at his desk companion, wondering if they would approach him first or if he'd perform the counter-jinx himself.
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Maximilian Joshua McLachlan, Aladren
You Caught Me Red-Handed.
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Maximilian Joshua McLachlan, Aladren
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5
Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
April 26, 2012 6:20 PM
There seems to be something going around. by Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
Reggie, upon walking into the DADA classroom, was surprised to find the Coach there instead of Professor Levy. Of course, knowing that last year the Professor had left on maternity leave only suggested to Reggie that she was probably home with a sick baby. Or, working with students, sick herself. It happened, unfortunately. But Reggie wished her or the baby a speedy recovery.Taking a seat, Reggie found herself seated next to The Transfer. It seemed that everyone had dubbed him that. Reggie, however, had heard his name in Charms when roll had been called. He was new and, therefore, intriguing. It helped that he was also cute, but Reggie really hadn’t admitted that to anyone. Lately, she noticed there were a lot of cute boys in their school, some of which she refused to admit to being such things if only because that would complicate things. Probably. Either way, this guy was new and cute and Reggie didn’t think there was any harm in the possibility of talking and working with him.
She pulled out her parchment notes for this class and her self-inking quill (there were times when she really missed notebooks and pens) and waited for the class to being, not that it took very long. Reggie was okay with DADA. Her mother was an Auror, so she was sort of supposed to be somewhat good at this and she felt she was once she got the spells down. But she wasn’t very good with reactions and Reggie was terrified of the bad things that lurked in the dark (she still kept her crystal with her at all times), so she knew she would never do anyone any good when things came down to it. No, she had inherited all of her father’s skills with potions and none of her mother’s skills in Defense.
The lesson, thankfully, sounded easy enough and Reggie wrote it down on her parchment as Coach Pierce explained what the lesson was, what the spell was, and how to perform it. Reggie didn’t think she could fudge this up, but it might take a couple of tries to rid the hand of the red. Before she could even take her wand out though, Reggie noticed that the New Guy, Josh, had already touched the box and was waiting for her to remove the red from his hand. She didn’t know what to make of him already. Either he was really eager to start the lesson, or he didn’t care for small talk. If the latter was true, he would regret her sitting next to him.
“Abrogario.” Reggie said, having now dug out her wand and tried a sharp snap of her wand as the Coach had done. It faded a bit, making it look a bit pink. Still, she thought it was pretty good. Reggie smiled at the Transfer. “Not perfect, but nothing ever really is.” She commented by way of breaking any weird ice that was bound to be there. “I’m Regina Parker, but everyone calls me Reggie. I never got a chance to welcome you to Sonora. I hope the Aladren fellas aren’t too weird for you.” She said, only semi joking about the Aladrens. She lifted her wand again and finished the spell, allowing his hand to be free of red once more. “Only two tries, Mom would be proud. Your turn.” She chimed, touching the box and turning her own hand red.
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Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
There seems to be something going around.
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Regina Parker, Teppenpaw
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Josh McLachlan
April 26, 2012 8:14 PM
It's the Contagion. by Josh McLachlan
Josh had to blink twice when he made eye contact with the girl. She had eyes just like her. Dark hair, dark eyes. But her voice wasn't the same, obviously, and Josh looked down at his now-pink hand. Dark thoughts filled his head briefly as he watched Reggie make the red disappear completely. They were expelled when he lifted his eyes to meet hers again. "Joshua McLachlan," he introduced himself somewhat forcefully, his accent heavily Scottish and tinged with Australian. He was surprised that he was so affected just by a gaze. He knew why, but he didn't want to say it. It would bring more unwanted thoughts of her and he didn't want that right now in public.He was surprised by Reggie's friendly greeting as well. He had expected his peers to be wary of him like his roommates were because he was disturbing their social structure. Apparently that wasn't true with all students.
Reggie was very forward, outgoing. She would make it easier for him not to speak and just do whatever she said. He was a good listener. He didn't try to continue the conversation, but focused on the task at hand. He was excellent in spells and well-versed in anti-jinxes and the like. It had been especially necessary when he had lived briefly in England with the relatives that were more infamous than his uncle for dark arts. Very necessary, actually. The reason why he disliked DADA, or liked it less than his other classes, was mainly because it brought bad memories. As well as Josh could compartmentalize his mind, he was still working on perfecting the trait. As of now, the memories he tried to suppress seemed to come back to the surface just to be suppressed again in Defense.
Josh readied his wand, allowed his mind to clear in order to focus completely on Reggie's red palm and the spell in his head. No more memories. He had to focus on the present. His keen eyes had caught the coach's movements to the very snap. He wasn't observant for nothing. “Abrogario." His red oak wand snapped just the way the coach's had and Reggie's palm lightened to normal. Satisfied, he leaned back and tried not to meet her eyes. The wound in his chest was still too fresh for any remembrance of her. Instead, he kept his eyes on the block.
Josh didn't know what to do now. He didn't want to look at the girl next to him, but he knew that he was done with the spell. Well, there was no harm in trying it again. After all, Reggie could work on getting it done in one try instead of two. Helping other people succeed, especially in academics, wasn't exactly the lonely boy's forté, but he had nothing better to do now except homework. So he brushed his hand against the block once more and held it out, red palm up. "Try it again."
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Josh McLachlan
It's the Contagion.
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Josh McLachlan
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Reggie
April 26, 2012 10:35 PM
Everyone get your masks! by Reggie
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Joshua McLachlan.” Reggie said, still wearing her ever bright smile that rarely ever seemed to leave her face. There were very small moments in her life where Reggie was ever angry or sad or any other emotion that may make her not smile. Small moments, but they did happen. Lately, they happened because of her father and her mother’s family. The idea that she carried a gift that was precious to her mother’s family was a bit of an annoyance. Reggie did not want to gift of ‘Seeing’, especially if it meant that people with whom had never wanted to know her before suddenly had an interest in her. It was revolting.At Sonora though, Reggie was usually always smiling or laughing or chatting. She had a handful of really close good friends and an abundance of friendly acquaintances, there was no real reason for her to be sour here at school. Plus, she had her new movie project to keep her busy and as soon as she got some of her friends involved, she was bound to have a brilliant year filming and editing and just goofing around. Between classes, of course.
Still her smile remained when he went silent on her. He was a strange one. Perhaps Reggie had been spending too much time with Derry. He could talk just as much as she without either of them becoming winded. Reggie wasn’t used to boys who didn’t say much at all. What fun was that? How was she supposed to get to know him if he wasn’t going to talk with her? What a silly fellow. He was new here, wouldn’t he want to get to know people? Mingle a little? Or was he an uppity? Their class didn’t have anyone who was really ‘uppity’. The fourth years had lucked out on that (minus Preston Stratford as Reggie was sure he’d snub her if she was ever inclined to look his way), but there were plenty of uppities in the other years.
“Oh, first try!” Reggie exclaimed, happily as she watched her hand return to its original color. “Very good with your wand, I see. I’m far better at Potions than anything, to be honest.” She told him as she watched him touch the block once more. Lifting her wand, Reggie tried the spell once more and was rewarded with his hand becoming normal again. “Ha!” She said with glee. She relished her glory for a moment before returning her attention to him. “You have an odd accent.” She commented. Reggie was from Nebraska which literally had no accent whatsoever. She sometimes was jealous about those who had one. “Do you mind my asking where you are from? I’m awful at trying to figure them out.”
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Reggie
Everyone get your masks!
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Reggie
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Josh McLachlan
April 27, 2012 12:03 PM
I'd better isolate myself.. by Josh McLachlan
Reggie was a fellow potions lover, it seemed. "That's something we have in common, then," Josh replied. "Potions is my favorite subject." Perhaps now Transfiguration could be added to the list because it was so challenging, but he most certainly loved potions most. He had more control over his potions than spells and it was all logical. He knew what ingredients went together, what had to be kept away from each other in order to work. Of course, he still had to study more in order to understand it completely. As a Potions Master, he'd need to fully understand his ingredients and their different uses.The way Reggie spoke was reminiscent of his first meeting with the Girl. He couldn't bear to even think her name. Your accent's unique! Where's it from? Scotland?! I've always wanted to go there! She was a muggle-born so she didn't know any better. Even so, she hadn't cared that his family was deeply involved in dark magic. She hadn't cared about his irritatingly unhappy past. She had been his friend because she wanted to be and hadn't offered him the pity that he so loathed.
Now Reggie was here acting in a similar fashion and Josh was feeling slightly dizzy with memories. He hated this feeling to the core. It made him feel weak and vulnerable, two things he couldn't stand in himself. He sort of snapped when she called his accent odd. He had to be antisocial not for his own sake, but for the sake of others. That was the difference between first-year and now. He knew better.
And anyhow, if Reggie had to ask where he was from after hearing his family name, then she certainly couldn't be a pureblood. Or she lived under a rock. McLachlans were known in America and Europe and abroad for their dark magic, and he could tell she was American from her accent. His ancestry had played some part in his reason for transferring.
"Scotland," he said, trying to keep himself under control. He had to swallow thickly to keep from saying horrible things. Reggie probably wouldn't want to be his friend if he clammed up. The more boring or irritated he seemed, the less interested she would be. She'd go to her other friends and he could be left alone once again. His wand and his books were his closest possessions now. Really the only things that mattered. Besides, of course, his worn leather wallet-sized photo album.
He pulled out one of his textbooks now since it seemed like they were finished and was going to get started on his Transfiguration homework. Might as well get ahead when he had nothing else to do. Besides, there were still things he didn't understand completely that he was going to make himself understand even if they weren't studying it yet.
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Josh McLachlan
I'd better isolate myself..
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Josh McLachlan
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Reggie
April 28, 2012 11:55 PM
You've done a good job of that already. by Reggie
“Is it?” Reggie asked, rhetorically. She didn’t find very many people who enjoyed potions the way that she did, but it was a nice change for once. Most people seemed to either enjoy Defense Against the Dark Arts because it dealt with spells and counter spells and attacking people and dark things, or Charms because of its every day uses. A potion was very strict with what was needed and if one did not like to follow the rules, they were bound to destroy the potion before it had even begun to boil. “My father is a Potions Master.” Reggie commented. “I grew up helping him make them for the hospital, so I just picked it up pretty quickly. It’s something that we do together.” Or did, anyway. Before her father decided to start dating again and didn’t care to spend time with her anymore.But she was not going to dwell on such things while at Sonora. No. She had promised herself this.
“I probably should be decent at Defense too…” Reggie said after some thought. “My mother is an Auror, so you’d think I’d be somewhat decent at it, but I’m rubbish on my feet.” She didn’t really have to explain herself to him, but Reggie was not ashamed of having flaws. She was who she was and if she couldn’t love herself as she was, she certainly couldn’t expect someone else to as well.
“Scotland?” Reggie repeated, her eyes giving him a once over as though she were taking him in for the first time. She had always assumed people from Scotland were redheads… or maybe that was Ireland? They seemed too similar to her to be different. Of course, she didn’t know much about Europe, so she was probably stereotyping in the worst possible way. “I’ve never been there, but it’s a fun accent to hear.” She told him in a semi-complimentary sort of way.
When Joshua decided to be finished with the lesson instead of continuing practicing with her, Reggie frowned at him. He was new here and it was apparent that he didn’t care to know her or her classmates. If he was going to be a jerk about things, Reggie would have gone off and sat with Derry or Maddie or Josephine. She would not have bothered wasting her time with a guy who wasn’t going to put in the effort to know his peers. That was extremely rude and ill-mannered. Had Reggie not been in Defense, she probably would have called him out on his behavior. She was being polite and trying to be friendly, the least he could do was make an effort back for the short amount of time this lesson was going to take them.
Giving him a glare, Reggie put her wand away and pulled out her notebook. If he wanted to do whatever it was he was doing instead of working with her, fine, she could spend the rest of the lesson working on her own project. She still had a lot to go on the script anyway and she could prove to Coach Pierce that she had tried to put in the work for the lesson but her partner didn’t care to work with her. Twirling her pen, Reggie sat in silence, angry over the rude attitude of the new kid, but also trying to work out the characters for her movie.
Still irritated by his behavior though, Reggie couldn’t stand it any longer and slammed her pen down and turned to him, “You know, Joshua from Scotland, the polite thing to do is at least pretend you are interested in the people around you.” She told him, her voice hard and her hazel eyes dark with anger. “I don’t know how people act where you are from, but here, in this school, people like to use a thing called manners. If you didn’t want to bother talking, just say it so I don’t waste my time, but you don’t have to act like I’m beneath you and ignore me completely.” She was really annoyed and it was rare for her to ever get to this moment, but she felt she was being treated like she was nothing and that was not something she could just let go.
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Reggie
You've done a good job of that already.
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Reggie
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Josh McLachlan
April 29, 2012 3:07 AM
Self-preservation at its best, I say. by Josh McLachlan
Josh was past the jealousy he had once felt when people talked about their parents. He knew enough about his father, but he was never sure if it was true or false. All Josh really focused on was his own ambitions, and, if Reggie’s father was indeed a Potions Master, he wanted to be someone like him. He couldn’t remember there ever being an Auror in his family, but then again, very few McLachlans worked for the government. That required background checks that would always end sourly. It sounded like Reggie was from a well-rounded family, or at least from one that knew what they liked to do. Josh didn’t feel glad knowing that Reggie was from a totally magical family, nor did he feel any interest in learning that Reggie’s father was a Potions Master. He hardly felt anything nowadays, and nobody gave him anything different to feel. He would rather be alone than have people pretend to be interested in his life and pretend to be interested in becoming his friend. Or worse, have people really be interested in learning about his life for their own gain. He’d met plenty of those people in Australia.It was a relief that Reggie had decided to work on her own as well. From what he could see from his peripheral, she was annoyed. Not exactly what he had been going for, but inevitable and foreseeable. Josh didn’t know how to act like a proper boy, honestly, having been left on his own terms for most of his life. He’d been taught how to act like a proper, mannered, fake pureblood when he’d lived with his grandmother, and Josh had hated every minute of it. So he had decided to do away with it altogether once he started school. But right now he was thinking too much to really concentrate on his homework, and he began to clear his mind.
Josh was startled when Reggie slammed down her pen and he was sure it showed in his eyes when he turned to look at her. His eyes widened when she confronted him about his behavior, heart thudding in unease. He didn’t know how to act in confrontation. No one had ever confronted him about him being rude since he was seven. He was surprised especially that Reggie was doing this in the middle of class as well, but it was warranted.
After she had finished her rant, irritated with him still, he had to blink a couple of times to get his bearings back, blank face replaced by a startled one. “I—I just don't usually talk.” He could feel himself coming back together, and his eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t think you’re beneath me at all, and I most certainly have manners, but I’d rather not go through life pretending to be someone I’m not with everyone I meet.”
Honesty was what he believed in, and what he lacked in tact he made up for in passion. Silent passion, of course. “Just because I’m not making eye-contact with you doesn’t mean I’m not listening or uninterested," he continued carefully. "I have a different way of showing it, that’s all.” That was as personal as he’d gotten so far here at Sonora, and that was saying something. If Cec—Reggie had any idea, she’d probably be more annoyed with him. Still, it gave him a quiet, irrational pleasure, feeling like a child who had received attention from his parents for the first time.
The emotion was a familiar one, and he had to make sure to moderate it. Or at least moderate his interaction with Reggie from now on. He met her eyes again. “Go on, then. Let’s have a conversation. I’ll try to make up for my ‘ill-mannered’ ways.” Okay, he was being slightly sarcastic now and it was strange being this “open” with a stranger. This interaction made Josh feel strange, as if he had just been released from a fog of nothingness and left vulnerable. He waited for Reggie to say something, to accept him or reject him, and he knew he would have to be content with either. He swallowed, suddenly slightly nervous of being rejected by someone like her though he had seemingly been rejecting her. If she did reject a conversation with him now, he couldn't blame her in the least.
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Josh McLachlan
Self-preservation at its best, I say.
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Josh McLachlan
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Reggie
April 29, 2012 7:35 PM
It's definitely a selfish act on your part. by Reggie
The look on his face was clear that he hadn’t expected her to react to him like this. Good. Of course, she wouldn’t admit to anyone that she had not planned on reacting to him this way either. She wanted him to feel guilty for his behavior. He ought to feel guilty for his behavior. She had been trying to be nice and get to know him. If he had been a decent person back, making the effort with her, Reggie would have introduced him to her friends, offered a seat to him at meal times so that he didn’t eat alone, or any number of things she would do if she had wanted to be friends with him.Reggie didn’t have to do that. She had wanted to. Reggie enjoyed getting to know people. She liked being around people. So, she had gone out on a limb to try to get to know the Transfer and he didn’t even try to reach back. He hardly even looked at her. His excuse for his behavior too had Reggie restraining herself from rolling her eyes. So he wasn’t a talker, Reggie knew plenty of those, but none of them just pulled out homework and started working on it in the middle of a conversation unless they were working on it together.
“I didn’t ask for eye contact, but when we’re in the middle of a lesson and you just decide to quit and pull out work to do that is essentially ending the conversation. And, to be honest, you weren’t really trying all that hard to begin with.” Reggie explained, her voice still heated. She could feel her cheeks burning and knew she was flushed from anger. “I’m sorry that you are apparently so into your issues that you think having a conversation with someone means to have to pretend to be someone else. No one has asked you to be someone you aren’t. I simply asked for you to pretend to pay attention. Big difference there, Joshua.”
If Reggie was a cursing girl, she would have told him to screw himself in a not so pleasant way. He didn’t deserve her friendship now, especially after mocking her. This time she did roll her eyes and with it came a sour laugh that she had never heard from her before. “I regret taking a seat next to you. I have never met anyone as audacious as you and I am sorry for thinking that I could extent a hand of friendship to you. My mistake.” She exclaimed in a low voice. Her dad had told her once that she often had her mother’s angry voice. It was the sort that went low and cold and he knew to run in the opposite direction. Reggie had never heard it before.
“Your behavior and attitude is unwarranted. Welcome to Sonora, Joshua McLachlan.” Reggie stated in an angry huff.
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Reggie
It's definitely a selfish act on your part.
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Reggie
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5
Josh McLachlan
April 29, 2012 9:56 PM
In your opinion. by Josh McLachlan
If he had been somewhat pleased at the attention Parker was giving him in the beginning, he was getting more annoyed now. Of course, he didn't exactly have any reason to be annoyed at her in particular, she not knowing his situation, but he was annoyed and frustrated with his entire situation. His entire life. But she wouldn't know or understand. It wasn't like she was trying to understand him now. What she saw on the surface was what she was lashing out at, and perhaps she was right. But Josh had too much pride to not lash back at her, and his eyes narrowed."Didn't you just say that I should at least pretend to be interested in what you were saying? I don't 'pretend.' Pretending means not acting in your inherent nature, putting on a guise, and I don't enjoy pretending to be interested in other people when I'm not. Besides, we were finished with the lesson. You and I both know now that we can perform the spell in one go. Isn't that what the whole lesson was about? It's not quitting, it's knowing when we're finished."
He met Parker's furious gaze head-on. "And you're right. I have loads of issues, but it's not your place to judge how focused I should or shouldn't be on them, seeing as you don't know me at all. And I don't need you to get to know my issues and pretend to sympathize when them when you really wouldn't understand. I don't believe in pretending in order to accommodate another's view of what 'polite conversation' is." His expression darkened. "I'm sure you wanted to try and welcome me as the friendly person you are, but you're wasting you time."
If only Reggie knew just how warranted his behavior was in the bigger picture. His smirk was mirthless. "You wouldn't be the first to regret sitting next to me. It's completely understandable that you shouldn't speak to me anymore. Don't I deserve that? After all," he continued, his voice lowered slightly, "no one said friendships were easy to come by, though it may be different for you. I bet you have loads of real happy friends in your happy life.
"I don't apologize for my behavior, Miss Parker, but I am sorry that you wasted your time on me. I'm glad you realize that I'm not the kind of boy you should attempt to be friends with. If we weren't in the middle of class, I'm sure you'd have better people to sit next to." The words were bitter in his mouth. Just nine months ago he'd had friends of his own.
There were still a lot of emotions swirling around in his chest, threatening to choke him, and Josh had to sit still for a moment, listening to his heart thud from the exertion. His sharp gaze was still locked onto Reggie's. He had too much pride to really apologize; after all, he had done nothing wrong. He was a rude and blunt character here purely for educational purposes. After tasting friendship and seeing how awful it could end and what vulnerability it brought with it, he couldn't bear to let himself be hurt once again. He didn't want to be hurt and didn't want others to be put in danger of the McLachlan clan. Friends were vulnerable spots and the fewer he had, the less vulnerable he was. Sometimes, when dealing with people like Reggie, his burden became very hard to bear.
Josh came back down to earth and broke his gaze from Reggie's form and stared at his clasped hands on his desk. They were trembling from the emotions he was trying very hard to contain. It was so difficult, but Josh couldn't bear to pity himself. He didn't want to wallow in his own regrets and family life. However, in turning his body towards Reggie in his rebuttal and sitting straight back in his chair again to gather his wits, his leather wallet-sized photo album had fallen out of his open trouser pocket, unnoticed by its owner.
The wallet was open to the unspeakable photograph of a young girl their age with dark brown hair, dark eyes, olive skin, and a heart-shaped face. She was athletic, dark hair cut to her shoulders. It was only a head-shot of her laughing, trying to place her hand over the camera and then moving her hand as she beamed at the photographer. The other photographs the album held was a ratty photo of his American mother and a cleaner one of his Scottish father. Both looked young in their separate photos with dangerous glints in their eyes. They were a good-looking couple, but Josh had no idea what their personalities had been like. Though he'd heard several stories about his father's great magic from his relatives, no one ever spoke personally of him, and no one ever uttered a kind word about his mother.
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Josh McLachlan
In your opinion.
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Josh McLachlan
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5
Reggie
April 29, 2012 10:47 PM
It's what matters at the moment. by Reggie
This guy was unbelievable. Being polite to another person by feigning interest because it was clear that they wanted to have a nice conversation while working on a lesson together was not the same as pretending to be someone else. Pretending to be someone else was making oneself greedily happy when, in reality, they were angry and hateful of the world. Pretending to be someone else, would be saying you’re a Pureblood from a Proper family when really you were just a Muggleborn from a poor family. Listening to someone talk as though one cared was not putting on a guise as he stated. It was being human. It was being normal.On top of that, he really just insulted her. He was such a jerk that Reggie couldn’t stand it! “You really are unbelievable.” She stated, the disbelief clear on her open face. She had never been treated so poorly by anyone. Ever. Reggie didn’t live necessarily a difficult life, but it wasn’t an easy one either. Her mother was gone 11 and a half months of the year and could be killed at any given moment. Reggie’s relationship with her was strained and basically non-existent, but she reminded herself often that she was still alive. Her father and her had a decent relationship but he now chose his girlfriend over her and Reggie hardly saw him over the summer. On top of that, she recently found out she had a special gift that was apparently so special that the people who disowned her mother before she was born suddenly decided they wanted her in their lives again. The only thing she had now was her friends, they were what kept her smiling and he was threatening to take that from her.
“I wasn’t finished with the lesson, just so you know. Just because I could get it on the first try once, does not mean that I could do that twice in a row. I’m good with potions, but I take my time with wand work. Had you bothered to get to know me on at least that basic of a level, you would have learned that and been at least a decent partner despite your lack of being a decent human being.”
What he was saying made absolutely no sense to her. She wasn’t judging him on how he handled his own damn issues, she was judging him on how he treated others. He really was socially inept and didn’t care to listen to anything someone else told him. “You really don’t listen do you?” Reggie said, never had she been so angry, not even at her father for lying to her for so long. “When did I say I wanted to know your issues? No one in their right mind would sit here and listen to your verbal abuse, when you feel so inclined to actually give them the time of day to talk with them. I said you had issues if you think pretending to be someone else is the only way to make polite conversation. Everything else is clearly just in your head.”
Reggie stuffed her notebook back into her bag, along with her wand and quill. “Actually, I do have really good, close, happy friends and do you want to know why that is?” Reggie looked at him, speaking to him as if he were a small child, “It’s because they know how to communicate properly with other beings without having to fake it with me. They laugh with me, they listen to me and I listen to them, we have fun together and we don’t get bogged down by everything else.” Reggie glanced at the wallet, saw the photo and then looked back up at him with contempt, “If you hate people so much, maybe you should have just been home schooled. No one cares for your kind here. People try here. They want to try. They want to help. And they like people. You, you will get nowhere in life with how you are right here and right now.” Reggie had never been rude in her life. Not ever. Her parents would probably die of a heart attack had they witnessed such a confrontation she just had. Usually things just rolled off her back, but this guy was beyond her. She emotional state, already on overload thanks to her gift, well, for being a growing girl, couldn’t handle him. Grabbing her bag, Reggie left the table, she would tell the Coach what happened if she asked about the seating change, but she couldn’t sit with him anymore. Finding another empty seat, Reggie grabbed it and returned to the assignment at hand.
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Reggie
It's what matters at the moment.
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Reggie
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5
Josh McLachlan
April 29, 2012 11:00 PM
Re: It's what matters at the moment. by Josh McLachlan
Mission accomplished. She was gone from his table and Josh had to be fine with that. Of course, she had weaseled her way through his barriers by getting him all riled up, and in discovering that, was furious. Watching her leave him without deciding that he was worth any more than that hurt. It wasn't supposed to keep hurting. He'd been left by hundreds of people before, but her comment about being homeschooled hit way too close to home. It wasn't that he hated people, it was that he cared too much and he couldn't get that across. He was the most socially awkward person in the world.Great. Alone again. Josh saw her glance down and, in following her glance, noticed his album lying on the floor, and he swiped it up immediately, furious at her for looking at it. It was gone the instant she left his table. He really was that awful to be near and he knew it. She had no idea how much he craved friendships, intimacy, good conversations that didn't end up in desertion. He wasn't wanted by his own family, his friends, and it wasn't even his fault.
The unfairness of it all was going to overwhelm him someday. As of now, he'd start patching up his broken self, pretending that Reggie's words hadn't affected him, and move on. He opened up his textbook again, forcing himself to focus on something he could control.
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Josh McLachlan
Re: It's what matters at the moment.
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Josh McLachlan
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5
