Marie pulled her suitcase behind her, forcing herself not to cry. Of all the things her mother could have done...! Why yes, Marie understood that her mother had merely been excited for her, but still! To fuss and fuss over every little thing until Marie almost didn't makethe transportation to the school. And on a flying covered wagon?! The little girl had run on at the last minute, narrowly avoiding missing the wagon altogether. And to make things worse, after the entire ride, Marie's trunk had fallen open as she headed to the school at the back of the group of students. Stopping to pick everything up, she had fallen behind and lost sight of the group.
Now, lost in the middle of a huge group of gardens, Marie finally came to a place where she could sit down on a bench and rest her tired legs. The girl had been walking for so long, it seemed. By now, she had surely missed the Opening Feast. And once she did make it back to the school, how on Earth was she going to find the common room? She was in Teppenpaw, but that was all Marie was sure of. So far, the year wasn't starting out so well.
And to top it all off, she wasn't even going to the same school that her Uncle was teaching at! Uncle Sean had gotten his job at some stupid University school. Marie didn't understand why he couldn't teach kids her age. Maybe then they couldbe together. When you were an only child of a single mother, it was easy for your one other relative in the world, your Uncle, to be one of your favorite people.
She scuffed her feet from where she was sitting on the bench and sighed. What if no one ever found her? What if she stayed here until she rotted into a skeleton? Would she turn into a ghost and never be able to leave the school? Marie hadn't even seen a ghost before. Were they scary?
Hearing a voice, she looked up quickly, her heart racing. Was the one who had made the noise just now a ghost?
OOC: Actually, you wouldn't know your house until the feast told you which one you're in. BIC:
Simon was always late for the Opening Feast. Three years ago, he'd made it in time for the Sorting, but that was because his cousin had been a first year and he'd skimped on his duties. Today, he got the students off on their way, the wagons tucked away in their storage house, the luggage sent off to the various dorm rooms (except the firstie luggage which was waiting upon the sorting results before being distributed to their new homes), and the detritus of many people passing through cleaned up before starting back toward the school.
Heading back that way tonight, he stopped short as he entered one of the clearings with benches. A little girl sat on one of them, her luggage still with her, looking somewhat upset. "Hey," he called softly, hoping not to frighten her, but she looked up too quickly and he suspected he hadn't quite managed it. "Shouldn't you be at the feast? Come on, it's this way." He moved closer and picked up the suitcase that she apparently hadn't wanted to leave to the elves and held out a hand to her.
"I'm Simon. I work as the groundskeeper for the school. Let's get you inside, all right?"
1Paul Simon Tellerman, GroundskeeperFound. Yellow Submarine!14Paul Simon Tellerman, Groundskeeper05