Can we just get this done with? [Tag Jessica] on Library

Leonor De Matteo

January 03, 2020 11:53 AM

Can we just get this done with? [Tag Jessica] by Leonor De Matteo

Felipe was an idiot. That much had been clear to Leonor for a long time, but it was painfully so at school. She was glad, once again, that they far enough apart in age that she wouldn't have classes with him until her third year, at which point he'd be a fifth year and they only had to struggle through it for one year before he moved up. She'd thought that they wouldn't even have an overlapping social circle but apparently everyone was related at Sonora, so that wasn't happening. Still, they didn't have to see each other more than they wanted to, and they rarely wanted to. Sometimes it hurt. Sometimes she wondered why Felipe almost seemed to avoid her. But sometimes she avoided him and she couldn't be angry when he returned the favor.

Still, sometimes they did spend time together. It was rare, however, for Felipe to intentionally seek his younger sister out and Leonor wasn't exactly sure what to do about it. On the one hand, she wanted to respect the fact that this had happened, because stuff like this didn't happen. She wanted to be able to be a good little sister. At the same time, that's exactly what she thought she was doing; being a good little sister didn't mean letting your big brother self-destruct over a stupid decision. So Leonor made her way to the library to help him avoid such a thing.

She wasn't entirely sure she'd find what she was looking for here, but if she were wanting to avoid Felipe and her Common Room, this is where she would go. Felipe was much more likely to be in the Gardens or in Cascade Hall, and rarely set foot in a library unless he needed to. He could read, and even enjoyed it sometimes, but would much rather be elsewhere than amidst the spines of so many books with their backs turned towards him. If they were people, he really would self-destruct.

Luckily, a head painted with straight, strawberry blonde hair - so different from her sister's - meant that Leonor really had found what she was looking for. Making her way through the aisles so she could come up in front of the studying Crotalus instead of behind her, Leonor took a seat across the table from Jessica Hayles.

"Hey, I wanna tell you something," she said, happy to drop the constraints of English. That alone was good enough reason to mend things over with Jessica; there weren't enough Spanish speakers at Sonora to keep her properly entertained otherwise. That didn't mean Felipe had to, but she could. A daydream of going to Georgia to visit Jessica and Mara by herself, with Felipe still in Mexico, floated tantalizingly through her mind before she returned to the moment at hand. This was important. "Felipe decked his roommate and I think it was because of you."

22 Leonor De Matteo Can we just get this done with? [Tag Jessica] 1471 1 5

Jessica Hayles

January 06, 2020 8:00 AM

It seems wise. by Jessica Hayles

When Jessica heard the sounds of Spanish coming from nearby, her brain briefly struggled to make sense of them. She understood them, of course, but the voice and accent weren't Mara's, and when someone spoke Spanish to her at Sonora now, she expected that someone to be her sister. Looking up, even aware it was not Mara, she still was openly surprised that it was Leonor.

"Okay," she said, blankly, defaulting to English as she put a bookmark in the copy of The Secret Garden she was rereading, even though she had first read it in third grade and also had the recommended book list for this year tucked into her notebook and was making an effort to complete that. Sometimes, after all, it was pleasant just to retreat into something uncomplicated, something familiar, and she had always enjoyed this book.

Leonor continued in Spanish, and Jessica was briefly sure that she didn't understand what she had said. It sounded like she was saying Felipe had had a fight with Jeremy - which, admittedly, wasn't totally unbelievable; Jeremy was the sort of person who just invited everyone within audio distance of his voice to punch him in the face, just by saying almost literally anything at all; it was something about his tone and expression, she thought sourly - but...about Jessica?

"Because of me? Why do you think that?" she asked, switching to Spanish, as she preferred to limit the number of people who could understand this conversation if someone happened to be lurking nearby. Her mind flashed back to a few days earlier, to Professor Skies asking her about what had happened at the Feast. Something else had happened, but Skies had not been straight with her about what it had been. Had it been this? And did Leonor know about the Feast incident? "And is he okay now?" she added.

16 Jessica Hayles It seems wise. 1442 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

January 06, 2020 2:30 PM

I don't think any of you can comment on what wise looks like. by Leonor De Matteo

Leonor raised her eyebrow in a perfect imitation of Felipe's same expression when Jessica asked after her brother. "Felipe doesn't hit people. He doesn't do anything like that. He doesn't yell at people, either, but he yelled at you and now he's hitting people. That has to be related." Calling the confrontation between Felipe and Jessica 'yelling' was maybe the wrong word, but stoicism and loud voices were about as close as Felipe got in most cases. She waved a hand, dismissing the second - or third? - of Jessica's inquiries. "He's fine, he's fine."

She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms, scrutinising Jessica with an expression that said she had more questions than anything else. Jessica seemed like a normal enough human. Why was everyone losing their mind over her? "He said Jeremy was being racist and vulgar about other students, and that I should be careful around him," she added with a light eyeroll. If Jeremy's problem was that he was racist, then Leonor's blood status meant she didn't need to be careful around him. She wasn't entirely sure that's what her brother meant, because he looked a little embarrassed and he wouldn't tell her what Jeremy said, so she thought maybe it was about something else, but she didn't know. God forbid Felipe just say what he meant for once. "Any ideas?"

22 Leonor De Matteo I don't think any of you can comment on what wise looks like. 1471 0 5

Jessica Hayles

January 06, 2020 5:13 PM

Will if I want to. by Jessica Hayles

Jessica flushed at the implied accusation - that she had somehow, single-handedly, turned Felipe into a nutter butter who went around yelling and hitting people. "Good," she said when Leonor added that he was fine.

She wanted to add a great deal more. The chiefest bit was that it was, well, not her fault if Felipe had issues. He had gotten angry at her for reasons related to her behavior, sure, but that had nothing to do with whatever might make him want to punch Jeremy Mordue in the face. Jessica herself had wanted to...

Oh.

Oh.

But no. Surely not. Skies had just been covering her bases, hadn't she?

She almost certainly hadn't been.

Oh.

"He gave you good advice," said Jessica when Leonor said that Felipe had advised her to avoid Jeremy Mordue. "He called another student - something very bad, during the Feast. And he's rude. He decided to play keep-away with the potatoes that night like a toddler or something. But the racist thing is worse," she judged. Rudeness made her want to put people in their proper places; racism made her want to hit them. "He's absolutely vile, and you should avoid him. I don't think that means it's my fault if Felipe hit him, though. Your brother's been pretending I don't exist since summer," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm sure Jeremy's capable of provoking just about anyone into punching him."

16 Jessica Hayles Will if I want to. 1442 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

January 06, 2020 8:55 PM

Nope. by Leonor De Matteo

Leonor got way too much pleasure from watching someone clue in to what had been very clear to her for a while. It was a bit like watching her father's eyes shine as he watched the sunrise, or else like watching her mother's face turn down as she realized that Felipe had done something boneheaded. Either way, there was that moment where someone went from not understanding to understanding. And Leonor had been the sunrise.

But then Jessica got stupid again and Leonor had to physically reboot before she was up for responding. "I didn't say it's your fault," she said thickly. "I said it was because of you." She paused to adjust in her seat and give Jessica a minute to think about the difference, because clearly she wasn't actually as 'on it' as Leonor had previously thought. Funny how the younger siblings in both their pairs were clearly the smarter ones.

"Felipe always does that. If something doesn't make sense to him, he pretends it doesn't exist. I don't have high hopes of a girl making sense anytime soon. I'll give you points for Jeremy though. He's an ass for sure." Leonor cocked her head, examining Jessica with an objective, distant look. It wasn't hard not to feel attached to this person. Jessica seemed cool for sure, but she had upset Felipe and she had been disloyal to Mara just by virtue of allowing shame to keep anyone from acknowledging her. For that, Leonor was pretty sure she would kind of hate the Crotalus, too. That being said, she understood why Jessica hadn't said anything. It was the same reason Leonor didn't say anything about the ridiculousness of hereditary inheritance falling to the first-born, regardless of their suitability for the task. "But Felipe didn't hit him the last two years. Something's different."

Leonor really thought about getting up and walking away then. She'd accomplished her purpose and gotten the information she wanted. Felipe would already be furious - or his equivalent - if he new she was doing this, and if she went any further . . . but she really needed to talk to someone and she didn't have the same relationship with Zara. She added that to her checklist of things to change when she got around to it.

"I'm worried about him," Leonor admitted, looking away and running her fingers through her hair. "He is not okay and I don't know how to help him. He's not just sad. It's something deeper than that, in his bones. But I don't know what to do about that and I can't keep an eye on him in Crotalus. Would you do that for me? Keep an eye on him?"

Oh yeah. Felipe would be furious if he knew.

22 Leonor De Matteo Nope. 1471 0 5

Jessica Hayles

January 07, 2020 9:07 AM

And you'll stop me how...? by Jessica Hayles

Jessica couldn't quite suppress an inhale and a half-smile, an attempt at suppressing a laugh, when Leonor explained Felipe's behavior. It didn't make sense, so it didn't exist. That was one way of looking at it all. Another was that he just thought he was so much better than her now that he had chosen to ignore her existence, the same way that she had chosen to ignore Jeremy's from now on as far as possible, but she preferred not to think about that possibility. She wouldn't pretend it didn't exist, because that would be ridiculous, but she preferred not to think about it.

All urge to laugh, however, began to fade when Leonor said she was worried about Felipe, though, and was completely gone within seconds of Leonor switching back to Spanish. She met the younger girl's eyes, which were as dark as her own.

"Of course," she said, also switching languages again. "As much as I can, anyway," she amended quickly, for the sake of absolute accuracy. "Do you want me to tell you if I see something concerning?" she asked, suspecting that anything she said to Felipe might well make things worse, the way things were for them now. "And is there anything...anything you know I should look for?"

It would have been easy enough, after all, to tell if something was different with someone she hung out with on a regular basis, but it was another matter with someone who avoided her like Typhoid Mary. That would take more careful examination. Jessica had a thing for details, so she thought she might be able to manage it, but it would help if she had somewhere to start.

16 Jessica Hayles And you'll stop me how...? 1442 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

January 09, 2020 10:08 PM

I will absolutely hex your face off. by Leonor De Matteo

Leonor resisted the scowl that was her instinct. Jessica was the one who had spent the last two years with Felipe. Jessica was the one who apparently knew him soooo well. Why did Leonor have to tell her what 'odd' would look like in Felipe's case? Shouldn't she know already? But that wasn't exactly fair. Watching Jessica over the course of their conversation was enough to convince Leonor that her brother wasn't the only dummy in this friendship, and also that her brother wasn't the only one who had been hurt.

Leonor nodded, although she wasn't sure exactly what she would do if Jessica did see something concerning. "If you see him get in another fight, that would be concerning, she offered dryly. "Felipe... he likes to be outside. If he ever stops wanting to go outside, then something is very wrong."

This was basically Leonor's least favorite conversation ever, and she'd had a lot of conversations she didn't like. That being said, she couldn't help feeling a little bit of sympathy for Jessica. It was pretty irritating having to have feelings about this stuff because she was pretty sure she'd come to Sonora to not have to deal with all this crap. She really thought about just getting up then, calling the conversation done, and then . . . and then what? Seeing Felipe? Seeing Mara? Ugh. Stupid siblings screwing stuff up for everyone else.

Leonor shifted awkwardly in her chair, looking around for a moment before settling into the question she knew she had to ask. "So . . . are you okay?"

22 Leonor De Matteo I will absolutely hex your face off. 1471 0 5

Jessica Hayles

January 17, 2020 11:04 AM

I'd really rather you didn't. by Jessica Hayles

Jessica resisted the impulse to point out that she hadn't seen Felipe get in the first fight, or that she was hardly the sort of person to go running around boys' dorms to check even if that had been physically possible here. Or, indeed, the best person to do so in this situation, as Felipe's response might well be to backhand her, at which point his life might be in danger if their parents were told about it. Her father was the sort of person to advocate for doing things properly and legally. Her mother was not.

None of that, however, was the point, so she just nodded. "Okay," she said. "Yeah, those look like they might be pretty good signs."

There was the additional problem that she didn't know exactly how she was supposed to know if Felipe was spending too much time indoors when they were going out of their ways, currently, to avoid each other. She avoided the common room, and had the impression he was doing so as well. She supposed she could pick up the same frame of mind she'd had at the Feast, which was that she was going to sit where she wanted and that anyone else could avoid her - she suspected that Felipe would be too stubborn to leave just because she was there, and if he did, he might go outside and get some sun, which was good for him, just to avoid her, so she'd achieve something desirable either way - but that, too, wasn't the point. The point was to make Leonor feel better, because the poor thing was obviously concerned, to approach Jessica, of all people, about it.

"Me?" Jessica's instinct was to say of course I'm fine. She decided not to, catching herself before she actually said it, because it would be obvious that she was being dismissive and she had something she wanted to say to Leonor, too, before they parted ways again. She had been thinking about approaching Leonor herself, but had been a bit nervous after...everything, so it was best to get it out of the way now, if she could. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "I'm fine. I've been hanging out with some of the girls I met last year during the Challenges more, and some of us are trying to learn German - which is super weird without a teacher, but so it goes," she said philosophically. "And it's been good having Mara here." She reached back to rub the back of her neck. "Leonor, I...Professor Skies, um, explained some things to me recently," she said. "About...what a lot of wizards apparently think about...people like me, and like Em. Our parents and...all. Em told me you guys were still getting along, so I just wanted to say I appreciate you, well, not being like that."

16 Jessica Hayles I'd really rather you didn't. 1442 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

January 19, 2020 4:53 PM

Then we're on the same page. by Leonor De Matteo

Jessica acquiesced and Leonor would have loved to call the conversation done right then and there. Her mind had just started to wander to the MARS rooms and wonder whether Mara might be around to teach her how to swim, but she knew she shouldn't end it there. So she asked Jessica how she was doing and Jessica . . . wasn't doing great. She wasn't doing terrible either, but she didn't sound particularly excited about this new turn in her life, and for a girl who had spent so much time thinking about makeup and appearances to only just be reaching out to other girls meant that she was either pretty stuck up before or pretty desperate now. Possibly both. Leonor nodded along though, not saying anything but whatever the general friendly tone of a polite nod said.

When Jessica started talking about blood status - and Leonor felt disgusting that she knew that that's exactly what Jessica was talking about - Leonor prided herself in not squirming. It was a topic that made her uncomfortable and a view she knew her family did not espouse, except perhaps in the sense that they were sort of patronizing towards the Muggles of Cuidad de Matteo but that was a lot better than hating them, and she wanted to squirm. She wanted yet again to end the conversation. But this was for Felipe and this was for Mara and this was for her own reputation. She had to face the fact that people like her were awful sometimes. After all, that's why they were here.

Leonor nodded, surprised that it had turned into an expression of gratitude. "I like Mara," she said simply. Then she cocked her head. "Felipe isn't like that either. For whatever that's worth."

22 Leonor De Matteo Then we're on the same page. 1471 0 5