Selina Skies
November 18, 2022 7:45 PM
The Concert by Selina Skies
The concert was easily the most stressful event for Selina as a staff member. The ball and the bonfire probably came with the most interpersonal drama, some of which ended up as her responsibility to deal with the fall out from, but the event planning mostly took care of itself. The fair required organisation, which was sometimes up to the staff and sometimes up to the students, but the concert always relied on the contributions of the students, to be showcased to families. They had approached performance generation in different ways over the years, such as having prefects lead groups, or having house acts, and sometimes it was just a free-for-all. It was always a worry in the latter case that they wouldn’t get enough acts, and in all cases about whether they’d be fit to present. The staff kept an eye on things, helping students to develop rehearsal schedules, and checking in that they were progressing, but it was a lot more work than sticking some tents on the school field and setting something on fire. Especially this year, when it had fallen in line with the challenges.But, as ever, Sonora’s students had risen to the occasion. There was a suitable number of acts, showing a diverse range of skills, and the challenges had actually provided a further opportunity to generate acts.
The other part of the concert that was stressful—the fact that it was presented to families—was also what made it so enjoyable. Sonora didn’t have a lot of opportunities to have families visit, and it was (almost) always a delight to welcome them to campus. The school had reached out to the families of Muggleborn students to help with travel arrangements, and had the option of a pick up in town. The car involved might stretch their limits of what a car should look like on the inside and how it ought to behave, and there was really no way around just having to sort of… whoosh at some point when entering an itinerant magical school, but it was still gentler than any of the other options. The welcome station was located in the gardens, lined with fireplaces for Floo travellers, and temporarily placed outside the apparition limitations. A number of portkeys had been arranged from major travel hubs, and the school had signed off on any for families large enough and magical enough (and rich enough) to arrange their own. The welcome station was also stocked with water, an anti-nausea potion, and some chairs should anyone feel the need to recover from their journey. There were also sticky labels on which people could write their name and relationship to the students they were there to support.
The faculty were present to greet families, after which they were allowed into the main hall for snacks and mingling and taken on a tour if they wanted to see the school.
After that they were let into the Cascade Hall, which had been rearranged as a theatre for the evening, with rows of chairs facing a large stage. Whilst it might have been easier to use one of the MARS rooms, the hall did have such a sense of occasion.
“Hello, and welcome,” Selina addressed the assembled families. “We’re so pleased to have you here for our concert. The concert is part of an events rotation which occurs every four years, and is a chance for our students to show some of the skills that they have outside of their classes, and sometimes a few of the ones they’re using in them. We have a great range of acts for you tonight, which you can see listed in your programme.” The acts ranged from puppetry to comedy to a… band(?) which was playing some Muggle rock songs in what Selina had deemed a passable enough way to allow in. “The majority of these were devised by the students in their free time or through student-led extra-curricular activities. In addition to this, we have three musical performances from our schoolwide challenges this year. In our second event, students had to use their transfiguration skills and their imaginations to turn junk into musical instruments, conventional or otherwise, and to compose a piece for performance. The three winning teams from that challenge are showcasing their pieces tonight.
“Without further ado, let us welcome our first act…” Selina had asked each set of performing students for a brief introduction for both the program and her intro speeches. She had tidied them up as necessary, and used them to welcome each act onto the stage.
Once the final group had performed, she took to the stage to invite one more round of applause, and then asked the audience to stand and to mind out as the furniture rearranged itself. With the audience off to the sides, several tables trotted in from the lobby, and the chairs gathered around them. At the back of the hall, a buffet table stocked itself. After that, parents and students were free to mingle. Students could leave that evening with their parents, although there would be one more night at school and the wagons in the morning for any whose families hadn’t attended, for whom travelling back together wasn’t practical, or who just wanted one more night to spend with their friends and one more trip on the flying wagons.
OOC: Welcome to the concert!
Some house-keeping:
- Please use the 'other' box and specify the lead POV character if writing a family post (e.g. 'Monica Spellman').
- If a post writes for more than one character, please mark this using 'What of thread is this?' and selecting 'This whole post is mine but writes for more than one character.' Any thread that includes dialogue or actions from another character that wouldn't be within reasonable god-modding limits (e.g. having someone let you into an office, invite you to take a seat etc are defined as reasonable) should be tagged this way. A good rule of thumb is... If they weren't your character, would you need more than a head nod from someone in chatzy to approve the actions? If so, you're probably writing for multiple characters. The purpose of this tag is to keep such posts out of the running for 'longest post' where they would obviously have an unfair advantage.
- Posts with a Sonora character as their lead POV are added to their page/stats for the term even when using this tag. Posts with a family member as the POV aren't automatically added (cos computers cannot understand) but may be included towards a character's activity total at the discretion of the admins.
- Please include a time frame [pre-concert, concert performance, post-concert] in your post title to help others stay organised. Your post may cover more than one of these time frames - go with tagging where it ends.
Subthreads: [Pre concert] (Magical?) Cookie! by Joel Lundstrom
[Post concert] Looking for moral support by Leviosa Scurlock with Christopher Brockert
[Post Concert] Dashed hopes by Nausicaa Scapetello
[Post-Concert] That's my daughter! [tag Adam] by Wendy Holland with Adam Brockert
[Post Concert] Things begin to draw to a close once more [Amethyst] by Iris Cobb with Amethyst Brockert
[Pre-Concert] The anniversary of our engagement by Bel Pierce with Monica Spellman, Deidre Beales
[Pre Concert] Date night! [Marissa] by Andrew Duell with Marissa Duell
[Post Concert] That’s my boy by Camden Bavol with Catherinre Scurlock
[Post concert] TWIRLY HUGS! [tag Anya] by Theo Spurn with Anya Delachene
[Post-concert] So hard to say goodbye (Phil) by Gabriel Wilson with Phil Carson
[Post-concert] I just can't stay away. by Allegra Brockert
[Pre-Concert] Touring by Flo Carbondale with Jana Wilson
[Post Concert] Brother to Banjo Girl by Sullivan Quincy
[Post-concert]The End by Esme Brockert
[Post Concert] This is terrible [Wally] by Valentine Duell with Wally O'Malley
[Post-concert]Forgiveness rather than permission (Karl) by Cory Brockert with Karl Hexenmeister
[Pre-concert] Reuniting with an old friend (Hilda) by Sophia Priory with Hilda Hexenmeister
[Post concert] Nevermind by Constance Melcher
[Post concert] Well, it's half the family, anyway. by Mara Morales
[Post concert] ...so, mom talk? (Sophie) by Marissa Duell with Sophie O'Malley
[Post-concert]One of these days I will just type random words for a title by Ian Malone
[Post-concert] Glad it's all over. by Lydia Priory
[Concert Performance] The Middle by Oz Spellman with
[Post-concert] I really don't want it to be over. by Isla Brockert
{Post-concert] by Piper Wilson
13
Selina Skies
The Concert
26
1
5
Wendy Holland
November 19, 2022 9:41 PM
[Post-Concert] That's my daughter! [tag Adam] by Wendy Holland
When Lyla had written to ask her to meet her friend's parents, Wendy hadn't thought much of it. Apparently the other girl was also based in Colorado, so a summer visit was what her daughter was aiming at. Wendy had no problem with that, but there were two things that made her pause.The first were the words, Please don't embarrass me , which Wendy would normally laugh at, but coupled with the next thing, made her frown.
Gwendolyn Brockert.
Wendy knew she hadn't ever met this girl, and she probably hadn't even met the girl's parents when she was in school, but any pureblood worth their salt knew of the family. The Brockerts were one of the most prominent pureblood families this side of the Atlantic. And Lyla didn't want to be embarrassed by her dear old mom in front of her new friend? Like Wendy was an embarrassment.
Given that Wendy had been disowned by her parents for daring to fall in love with a man who was decidedly not a pureblood, it had taken a day or two for her to work her jaw out of its tight clench before agreeing to her daughter's request. Not all pureblood families were dirtbags that didn't care about their daughter's feelings, and she had no reason to think that the Brockerts were that way, either. She would just have to wait and see. She absolutely would be an embarrassment, though, just to prove she could.
Wendy declined to go on the school tour, instead getting Lena a cookie so the five-year-old wouldn't cause too much of a fuss for the performance. It was almost uncomfortable to be back here; it made her feel like a student again, and it wasn't in a pleasantly nostalgic way. Not for the first time that day, she wished that Russell had been able to get out of work for this. Since he couldn't, Wendy twisted her wedding band around her finger, letting the action distract her mind.
By the time the concert started, Lena was four cookies deep and singing quietly to herself. Wendy was just happy she wasn't trying to crawl up onto the stage. After Lyla's group had finished their...interesting performance, Wendy jumped up from her seat and cheered at the top of her lungs, startling the man seated next to her.
"That's my daughter!" she shouted, pointing to Lyla. Lyla's cheeks turned bright red, and Wendy whistled. She sat back down and waited through the rest of the performances.
As she gathered up the cookie crumbs that Lena had left all over her seat, she asked the man she'd startled, "So, which one's yours?"
64
Wendy Holland
[Post-Concert] That's my daughter! [tag Adam]
0
Wendy Holland
0
5
Adam Brockert
November 21, 2022 8:56 AM
Send lawyers, guns and money, they'll get me out of this! by Adam Brockert
OOC: CW-Brief mention of substance abuse BIC:
Adam could not say that he was all that happy to be returning to Sonora after all this time. Some people might feel nostalgic about going back to their old school but those people were either ones who had been well-liked and popular or those who were seriously deluding themselves. Or maybe people like his cousin Marshall who were so out of it that they didn’t remember how badly it had sucked. Although, he didn’t think school had sucked that bad for Marshall, and his alma mater was no longer open anyway, but he meant those who tended to abuse substances to the same level that his cousin did but would have had bad memories of school, like Adam did, had they not obliterated them, probably on purpose.
Last year,the Crotalus alum had managed to avoid having to come here for the alumni career/hobby fair, and did what he did on a daily basis-have Cory do all the horrible people-related things that Adam did not want to do. In fact, it was not just that he simply didn’t want to, it was more like the idea filled him with horrific anxiety. That he would do or say something that would not only make people dislike him, as had been the case when he was a Sonora student, but that it would cost him business. Adam very much wanted to be judged on his wand making abilities and not his social skills. The former was by far superior to the latter. Granted, his abilities in just about anything else were superior to his social skills.
So Cory, who was generally less off-putting to people than he was-not that that was saying much, he was pretty off-putting-did things like sell the wands that Adam made and handed out brochures about wandmaking and wandology at school alumni fairs. There had been absolutely no way that Adam had been about to give talks to teenagers about his job. There was way too much potential for him to make a fool of himself.
However, Adam’s older daughter Gwendolyn was a student here-which, incidentally, was another reason why he absolutely hadn’t wanted to attend the fair, he could have embarrassed her and caused others to bully and exclude her, which was the absolute last thing he would ever want for his daughters-so he had to be…unselfish and put what was good for him aside to make his daughter happy. Although, arguably, much like last year, the best thing that Adam could ever do for anyone was to stay away from them so they weren’t associated with him.
But Gwendolyn was going to actually be performing in the Concert tonight. Apparently, she and her Challenge teammates had ‘won’ the dubious honor of performing tonight on instruments transfigured from random junk. Honestly, this was another reason why Adam was supremely glad that they had not had the Challenges when he was in school. The idea of being forced to perform on stage in front of every student in school and their families made him queasy. He was just glad Gwendolyn did not have this same issue.
And hopefully, Adam would not have to speak to anyone besides his own relatives. And hopefully, not that many of them either. Although Gwendolyn had said something about meeting her friend’s parents because they both lived in Colorado and wanted to meet up or something. Even though he really felt that him having to meet someone new was extremely unnecessary. Adam would give them the benefit of the doubt that they weren’t some sort of violent criminal if it meant that he didn’t have to talk to someone and potentially make a fool of himself.
On the plus side, he was glad that Gwendolyn had made a friend and that he didn’t immediately recognize the name of the friend and have to worry that the friend’s parents were people he knew and never wanted to see again. So, there was that at least.
Although Adam had spent some time chatting with his sister Kaylie and her husband Ian, they had gotten separated and he found himself sitting next to a woman that he thankfully didn’t know. In fact he’d made sure to avoid anyone he recognized that wasn’t a relative and purposely sat next to someone unfamiliar, with no plans whatsoever to speak to them.
A decision that Adam realized was a wise move, after the woman stood up after Gwendolyn’s performance and cheered, pointing out her own daughter. He felt nothing but pity for the poor girl. Did she not know that her daughter was likely mortified? That this was a place where her daughter would be surrounded by her fellow students for-judging by the presumed age of the girl she’d pointed out-for quite a while? Maybe the woman just had some issue with impulse control and couldn’t help herself.
Wait. The age of the girl she’d pointed out. The fact that Gwendolyn said that her friend was one of her Challenge teammates. Oh no . Oh dear Merlin help him, no .
Not that it meant he would forbid his daughter from being friends with this woman’s. Adam would never judge someone by their relatives, seeing as he would not want that himself. He definitely was not the same as some of them.
As the performance ended, Adam wondered if he should try to escape or if he was going to be forced to talk to this woman soon enough so he might as well stay there and face the music, no pun intended.
Before he could make his decision,or indeed, actually escape,the woman addressed him, asking him which child was his. Adam smiled nervously, and scanned the room for Gwendolyn. “That one.” He pointed, spotting her. “She was in the act with your daughter.”
He really really wished that this was a moment where he could have Cory stand in for him.
11
Adam Brockert
Send lawyers, guns and money, they'll get me out of this!
78
0
5
Wendy Holland
November 29, 2022 1:09 AM
Cookie crumbs and meaningless musings by Wendy Holland
So, this was a Brockert. And not just any Brockert. The one whose daughter Lyla had befriended. Belatedly, Wendy thought that perhaps she ought to have dialed her enthusiasm down a few notches. It wouldn't do for Lyla to have her mom ruining her friendships before she even got started.On the bright side, this particular Brockert hadn't immediately turned a snooty nose up, so she took it as a lesson learned and tried to smooth it over.
"Oh, you must be Gwendolyn's dad! Lyla's so excited to have her as a friend. She's being very gung-ho about summer plans, but of course I told her I would have to meet with you first. I'm Wendy, by the way, Wendy Holland."
She stuck out her palm for a handshake, then took it back when she realized her hand was still full of cookie crumbs.
"Sorry," she muttered, vanishing the crumbs quickly and re-extending her hand. Lena, thankfully, was curled up under her chair pretending to be a sleeping cat, which looked a little strange, but as long as she was being both still and quiet, Wendy was happy to let her be.
"Kids," she said by way of explanation to the man beside her, shrugging, "Yeah, it's weird, but I hate to tamp down their creativity, you know? They're only little for a little while."
Gwendolyn's dad was older than Wendy, although Wendy knew that she would be hard-pressed to find a parent her age with a child Lyla's age. She was feeling less and less intimidated by the man, realizing that even though he was one of the legendary Brockerts, he was just a regular guy. He was even a little on the quiet side. Okay, a lot on the quiet side. And maybe, Wendy admitted to herself, 'legendary' was a little too over-the-top for a family that was, in fact, made up of regular people. 'Prestigious' or 'prominent' were closer. However, vocabulary had never been Wendy's strong suit, and she dropped the line of thought the moment another thought zipped past.
"I don't suppose you have a camera? I didn't think to bring mine, but I'd like a photo of the team, if we can scrape everyone together," she pressed her lips together, thinking, before letting out a disappointed sigh.
"Never mind, it'll be too hard to get all of them in one place, and I wouldn't know who I was looking for in the crowd anyway."
"So," Wendy continued, barely taking a breath, "We should at least go find the girls, yeah? I know Lyla will be first in line for refreshments."
64
Wendy Holland
Cookie crumbs and meaningless musings
0
Wendy Holland
0
5
Adam Brockert
November 29, 2022 1:17 PM
Just being awkward by Adam Brockert
“That would be me.” Adam confirmed. “Adam Brockert.” He decided to forgo all the pureblood propriety with his greeting since it seemed to somehow be off putting to people who weren’t part of the upper echelons of pureblood society. Of course, if Adam was around other purebloods of his social status, he had to introduce himself that way…or people would be offended. These were rules that just seemed to…reinforce differences between them and everyone else because there were differences in the way they were supposed to treat different people.Although there were those who wanted it that way. Whom Adam generally disagreed with because he honestly never felt like he was better than anyone. In fact, he’d spent his time at Sonora feeling that others generally looked down on him for his shyness. So, it had been extremely weird for him to go from that to people acting like he was anyone special. To this day, he still got extremely confused by people being deferential towards him. Like Cory’s friend Raúl when they met had called him Mr. Brockert even though Adam was a few years younger than him and they were about to be hanging out on a guys night. Adam had pointed out quickly that was unnecessary, especially given Cory was there and also a Mr. Brockert. Apparently that was just Raúl’s personality to defer to others but it was still odd for Adam when others had once treated him like garbage.
Anyway, if people not of his social status wanted to be equal to those who were and be treated as such, then they shouldn’t get all bent out of shape and consider people like him pretentious when they introduced themselves the way they’d been taught to.
Of course, Adam felt that he could personally best avoid such situations by not socializing with people from any walk of life much at all. Although there was a fat chance of that given his future as the Brockert family patriarch. Fortunately, he didn’t think that would be for a really long time. After all, he was pretty sure the Grim Reaper himself was afraid of Great-Grandfather and then there was his grandpa and his dad to go through before Adam had to do anything himself. Not that that truly prevented others from pressuring him to socialize.
Still, Wendy had not introduced herself like a pureblood so Adam, who tried very hard to not be offensive and off putting, albeit probably not with much success,didn’t either. “Nice to meet you.” He shook the offered hand “ Yes, Gwendolyn did mention that. I’m glad she made a friend too.” Honestly, he was just glad his daughter was doing better than he had socially. Adam had had friends, even a girlfriend, but he always felt like everyone else looked down on him.
Honestly, while he was glad not to have had to do the Challenges while in school, because that would have put him with a bunch of people who he didn’t know doing things he wasn’t good at-after all, from what Gwendolyn said, almost nobody in the whole school played a musical instrument, which based on those acts, was pretty apparent- and who probably would have made fun of him and blamed him if they had done terribly, it seemed like it had been a positive experience for Gwendolyn, and he was glad.
Of course, Adam wanted his daughters to have positive experiences and not...end up like him, bitter, with a chip on his shoulder and a bit of a misanthropic streak, while also being terrified of getting hurt and rejected every time they talked to someone. He wouldn’t have thought any less of his girls if they ended up that way, but he wanted them to have an easier time than he did. Plus, if they had bad experiences at school too,Adam would end up even angrier at the world and he was sure that would kill him.
So, for more than the usual reasons that most parents would want their kids to succeed in a competition and make friends, he was glad that Gwendolyn had.
“Oh, no problem. I understand kids.” Adam assured Wendy. “I mean, having kids. And not wanting to stifle their creativity. I mean, I have another besides Gwendolyn. Misty. She’s going to be coming to school next year.” He looked over at Lena. “So, it’s been awhile since they’ve been that age but yeah.” Oh, Merlin, he sounded like a complete and total moron. Adam hated meeting new people and now he was sure this woman thought her daughter’s friend was raised by a total idiot. He really hoped he hadn’t ruined things for the Aladren.
“Um, I don’t, but someone in my family might.” Adam replied. There were enough of them around that odds were that at least one of them had. “And if you really want a picture and if our daughters do as well, it can probably be arranged.” So long as he didn’t have to get in any of them. “They would know who to gather up.”
Adam nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.”
11
Adam Brockert
Just being awkward
78
0
5
Wendy Holland
November 30, 2022 1:44 AM
Trying very hard not to be weird but there's a cat under this chair by Wendy Holland
Wendy was actually starting to like Adam, despite her reservations. He seemed very down-to-earth and not at all like the sort of purebloods she'd come from. And he didn't mind that her five-year-old was curled up under a chair, fake-snoring.She was glad that Lyla was making friends, too, and even happier that Lyla hadn't seemed to inherit her rebellious streak, having been sorted into Crotalus. Wendy knew there were outliers in every House, but overall, one of the things Crotali were known for was their respect for rules. Her daughter's time here would no doubt go much smoother than Wendy's had.
Refusing to allow herself to get dragged down into a cesspool of bad memories, Wendy chose to focus on Adam and what he was saying...which wasn't much. His other daughter was just a year behind Lyla, so they would most likely end up being friends as well, as long as everything with Gwendolyn went well. Not that she had any reason to think it wouldn't, but sometimes what looked like promising friendships simply didn't work out.
"Oh, no, don't trouble yourself, really," she replied to Adam's comment about sourcing a camera, "Sometimes I just get harebrained ideas, and besides, I'm sure the other families want to spend time with their kids without my silly interruptions."
He agreed that finding the girls would be ideal, which was a relief to Wendy- if only to give her something to talk about other than the inner workings of her scattered brain- and she set about teasing Lena out of her spot.
"Come here, kitty, kitty," she tutted in a singsong voice, "It is time for your supper!"
When she got home, she was going to thank any deity that was listening that Lena had chosen today to behave, because the little girl faked a wake-up yawn and stretch before crawling out into her mother's waiting arms. The last thing she wanted was for Adam to think she was a poor parent who couldn't control her kids, especially if Gwendolyn was going to come and stay with them for a while.
It's not that Lena was bad , by any means, but that rebellious streak that Lyla had missed out on, had caught Lena full-force. It was an endless game of reverse psychology and sticker charts, and it was exhausting. Wendy took the hard days with the easy days, but since today was supposed to be about Lyla, she was glad today was an easy day so she could focus her attention on her eldest daughter.
Lena-kitty safely on her hip, she tilted her head in the direction of the buffet.
"After you."
64
Wendy Holland
Trying very hard not to be weird but there's a cat under this chair
0
Wendy Holland
0
5
Adam Brockert
November 30, 2022 11:33 AM
I try not to be weird either, but it doesn't really work by Adam Brockert
Adam had to admit that this woman was not nearly as terrible as he’d initially been worried about. Of course, he didn’t agree with her calling out and probably embarrassing her daughter during the performance but she was probably just proud of Lyla. After all, he was proud of Gwendolyn for winning and the performance…well, Adam was proud of the fact that she could get up on stage, especially doing something that she didn’t know how to do very well. He would have panicked even doing something he did know how to do. The idea of being in front of people who might make fun of him later made him feel nauseous.He just hoped they didn’t do that to his daughter. The thought of his children being bullied or excluded just made him really angry. So, he was glad that Gwendolyn had Lyla. She had also mentioned a boy named Eben who’d been on her Challenge team and was only a year older and a boy named Fortune that she’d hung out with on a field trip last year. Hopefully the second year would be able to cultivate those friendships more as well.
Honestly, Adam was just glad that Gwendolyn wasn’t like him when he was her age. He had been painfully shy, even more so than now, and incapable of standing up for himself, more like his niece Lydia was. On the other hand, while she didn’t go looking for fights or want to be in them, Gwendolyn wouldn’t take anyone’s crap. She was way stronger than he had ever been or was even now while still having compassion and patience with those who weren’t as tough.
Adam nodded. “All right.” It probably wasn’t worth it to try to hunt down some relative, asking everyone if they had a camera and then try to round up all of Gwendolyn’s teammates. Besides, some people didn’t like having their picture taken in the first place, he was one of those people himself. Which was possibly why he didn’t think to bring a camera. Adam didn’t think Gwendolyn would care about taking a picture either way but for all he knew some of her teammates were more like he was about it.
“I actually don’t think it’s all that harebrained though” Adam added. After all, when he came up with an idea and actually had the rare courage to suggest it, he needed to be reassured that it wasn’t terrible. “Wanting to take a picture of your child and have a record of some accomplishment or good memory is reasonable, so long as your child doesn’t mind. It’s not as if you’re part of the paparazzi.” Merlin, did Adam hate the paparazzi. Family pictures were one thing, though he still usually hated how he looked in them, but those weren’t usually seen by the public. The last thing that Adam would want was to be photographed by some tabloid reporter and end up the subject of a scandal.
So he tried very hard not to do or say anything that would put him in such a position. And, for the most part, he was very low key and there was nothing juicy or questionable about his life, even though Adam could be blunt at times when he was comfortable enough with the people around him. However, there was the small problem of him being incredibly socially awkward. It was bad enough to have someone you were talking to judging you, it would be even worse if they printed stories about you acting foolish and saying stupid things for everyone to read. “Wait, you’re not right?” Adam asked. Hopefully it could be laughed off as a joke if need be but if so there was no way summer visits would be happening. “It’s just that it would probably take a bit to find a camera and get everyone together.”
He waited as Wendy coaxed her younger daughter from beneath the chair. Once she had the little girl in her arms, he took off towards the buffet, assuming that she would follow. Adam really did want to find Gwendolyn since she was the one person here that he wanted to see. Well, of course, he wanted to find Serenity and Misty too, and he didn’t mind seeing his sister Kaylie and her family or his cousin Cory, who had come despite not technically being supposed to, but Gwendolyn was the one he hadn’t seen since the holidays.
11
Adam Brockert
I try not to be weird either, but it doesn't really work
78
0
5
Wendy Holland
December 01, 2022 1:44 AM
Maybe I'm actually starting to get things right by Wendy Holland
Wendy was impressed. She had come today thinking that the concert was something to endure, not enjoy. Instead, the vast majority of the acts had been exceptional; a testament to the environment that Sonora cultivated. She hadn't appreciated it as a moody teenager, but coming back a decade later had shifted her perspective. She was glad that Lyla was here and was making friends, and although her own parents had been snooty, stuffy purebloods and had insisted that Wendy only socialize with the snooty, stuffy purebloods they were friends with, Adam's halfway decent attempt at humor showed Wendy that they were not the norm.As she followed Adam through the crowd, Wendy let out a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't seemed put out by her concert companion's meowing, and she hadn't seen any sign of Gwendolyn not being allowed to spend some time with Lyla this summer.
They found the girls with little trouble, and, after introductions, Wendy gave Lyla a hug.
"You did great, kiddo! I really liked the...um...oboe?"
She wasn't quite sure what instrument her daughter had played, as it had looked like a hybrid between a woodwind and a brass instrument, but she was proud anyway. It had been fun to watch the group perform, as they all had clearly put their personalities into the music.
Lyla was quick to correct her mother, telling her that actually , it was a clarinet fashioned from a silver candlestick. Wendy smiled at her daughter's precociousness, resisting the urge to silly-sass right back at her like she normally would when Lyla got mouthy. It was plain to her that Lyla had really begun to come out of her shell. Whether it was due to the built-in team she'd had to talk to all year, or the atmosphere of a supportive, stable environment, Wendy didn't know, but she felt better than she ever had about Lyla being at Sonora.
Not that home wasn't a supportive environment, but the 'stability' left something to be desired. The frequent moves had uprooted friendships for Lyla on more than one occasion. Having a home base like Sonora, where her friends would be a constant- at least for the next six years- would have a much better influence on Lyla's self-esteem than military life could offer. Wendy and Russell didn't regret their decisions; they understood that a life of service was a life of sacrificing family dinners and special events.
"Where's dad?" Lyla looked behind her mother as though he would suddenly appear.
"Daddy couldn't make it, darling, but he sends his love, and he should be home next week."
A life of service was a life of qualifying your statements- Dad should be home, but if he's not, that's just life. Wendy had learned early on that she couldn't count down the days until Russell returned from wherever he'd been sent, because too many times she'd run out of buttons or rings on a paper chain only to be told that his trip had been extended. Instead, she and the girls started counting up. One ring for each day he was gone, inscribed with something happy that had happened that day.
The look on Lyla's face broke her heart.
"So," Wendy hurried to change the subject, addressing Lyla and her friend, but glancing over at Adam to make sure she wasn't overstepping, "How about we figure out some summer plans?"
64
Wendy Holland
Maybe I'm actually starting to get things right
0
Wendy Holland
0
5
Adam Brockert
December 01, 2022 4:59 PM
If I can get out of here without doing anything wrong, it'll be a miracle by Adam Brockert
As they walked away to find their elder daughters, Adam realized that Wendy…had not actually answered his question about being a reporter. He was just going to give her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn’t and that she had interpreted the question as a joke. After all, if she was she would have likely said yes, right? Also she had not asked him any really uncomfortable questions or anything, just who his kid was and if he had a camera-and if Wendy had been planning to get photos of him or anyone else for the tabloids, she would have brought one. So Adam was going to guess that she actually wasn’t one.They found Gwendolyn and a girl that he assumed was Lyla fairly easily. “Hey.” Adam greeted the second year with a hug. “Good job.”
Which was what she expected. That her dad would greet her with more physical affection than actual words. The Aladren was honestly just happy that he had shown up at all. She knew that last year, with the alumni fair, he had not been at all willing to come, sending Cory instead to hand out information about wand making. Gwendolyn understood, her dad was not the sort of person who wanted to speak to others and tell them how to do something and do what was basically public speaking.
Still, Cory could not stand in for her dad. Maybe Liesl wanted him to stand in for hers, but that was different, that was her uncle and the third year was super close to him. Gwendolyn knew Cory since he’d always worked for Dad selling the wands that her father made, but he was not her dad.
“And mine was a suona ” A suona was a Chinese trumpet. “Made from a funnel and an old pipe.” The second year added. “Isla did the more complicated bits of transfiguration.” Honestly, being a second year sort of sucked when it came to the Challenges, because she had known how to do the least amount of magic besides Lyla. Even though Gwendolyn was pretty sure she was at least as good at Transfiguration as most of the third years.
Adam nodded. “Impressive.” He had to hand it to them for creativity if not musical skill.
Lyla asked where her dad was and both of the Brockerts felt bad for her. However, Gwendolyn was glad to have her dad there and Adam was glad that his daughter didn’t feel bad the same way her friend did.
The Aladen looked at her dad. “Are Mom and Misty here?” She asked. She assumed that they must have been because if anyone wasn’t going to come, it would be Dad. Coming back to his old school was not an easy thing for him, even if he was just sitting in the audience, so Gwendolyn absolutely appreciated how hard this was for him, and appreciated him so much for coming despite it.
“Of course.” Adam replied. He turned back to Lyla’s mom, glad that the somewhat awkward situation was being sidestepped. He felt bad for the girl, but he really was unsure how to deal with another family’s issues. Also, he was glad that he had not caused the awkward situation. If he could get out of here without embarrassing himself, his daughters or the Brockert family as a whole, he’d be very proud of himself.“I suppose we should. Any time that especially sounds good or bad for you?”
11
Adam Brockert
If I can get out of here without doing anything wrong, it'll be a miracle
78
0
7
