For you, a request [Charlie Abbott] on Labyrinth Gardens

James Anthony

March 07, 2010 10:50 AM

For you, a request [Charlie Abbott] by James Anthony

The Ball was approaching quickly, and James Anthony understood with a certainty to be expected of him that it was vital to address the problem of a date with equal rapidity. Charlie Abbott was particularly attractive and although she was certainly not the epitome of intelligence, she was not quite as intellectually impaired as ummentioned others in their year. Then again, if James had been searching solely for intelligence in a Ball partner, in all probability he would have directly invited Quentin. To be sure, Quentin was not nearly as intelligent as he enjoyed pretending to be, but he certainly did have a leg up on many of the other students in this school. Quite frankly, James was befuddled as to how so many of them managed to graduate at all.

It was with this in mind that James had sent Charlie an owl inviting her to meet him in the Labyrinth Gardens early one Saturday afternoon. The Gardens were generally a pleasant spot in which to spend time, and it was not particularly unusual for him to request a meeting with Charlie. It did not occur with excessive frequency, but the Aladren did find spending time with Charlie to come with a certain aspect of catharsis. Thus, James found himself seated on a bench in his preferred place in the Gardens, awaiting the arrival of the younger Abbott.

Once she arrived, the third year stood with a smile. He was wearing sneakers kept dutifully white by the regular application of cleaning charms, neat blue jeans, and a light blue polo solely because he did not see the purpose of dressing in robes. James did not believe in action without a purpose; therefore, he did not understand the concept of dressing in robes. They did apply a sort of social norm at a magical academy similar to the manner in which uniforms provided regularity at a private Muggle academy, but James did not understand why they could not instead dress in khakis and polos the way normal schools did things. Regardless, the boy tended to eschew robes with a greater frequency than that with which he condescended to wear them.

“Good morning, Charlie,” he said with a smile, only reseating himself after she had sat down on the bench. “would you allow me to escort you to the Ball? Assuming, of course, that no other boy has claimed the honour.”

0 James Anthony For you, a request [Charlie Abbott] 126 James Anthony 1 5

Charlotte Abbott

March 09, 2010 4:40 AM

For you, anything. by Charlotte Abbott

It wasn't every day that Charlie received an owl from a boy, asking to meet her in the gardens. She certainly wouldn't mind if it happened with a greater frequency, but she was currently content that it happened at all. Wondering what James wanted to see her for, Charlotte made her way to their meeting place wearing a cute denim dress that finished a little abover her knees, with some pretty white sandals. She had taken a moment to re-tie her pigtails, but otherwise didn't want to look like she was making too much of an effort just to have a chat outside.

James was already waiting when Charlie arrived, and he stood up when he saw her coming - that was so sweet in an old, romantic movie kind of way. Carlotte returned his smile as she took a seat on the bench herself. Not beating about the bush, James got straight to the point, asking Charlie in his special, over-polite way if she wanted to go to the ball with him. "I'd love to go with you," Charlotte beamed. Honestly, she spared a thought for Daniel, but he hadn't asked her yet, and James had. Charlotte sometimes worried that James was too smart for her, but he obviously didn't see this as an issue.

Charlotte was excited! She had a date for the ball, this was going to be awesome. In her enthusiasm, she gave James a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm really looking forward to it," she told him. Already she was starting to think about what she would wear, until she remembered there was a historical theme. "Oh hey," she said to James, "did you have any costume ideas yet?"

0 Charlotte Abbott For you, anything. 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

James

March 21, 2010 9:55 AM

As the lyrics from Annie run rampant by James

Quite frankly, James was a bit taken aback when Charlie kissed him on the cheek. Although it was brief, James was momentarily rendered speechless. He would never quite understand girls, he decided. He had merely asked Charlie’s permission to escort her to the Ball; he had not given her some sort of grand gift or anything of that nature. Nor had he made any sort of ground-breaking discovery or done particularly well on his tests, which all would be appropriate cues for that sort of excitement. However, the concept of the female mind rested firmly in the soft sciences. James had never approved of the veracity of ‘discoveries’ in the soft sciences. They simply were not quantifiable.

“And I as well,” he responded with a smile to Charlie’s statement of anticipation. And he was, really. Even the greatest minds, James believed, should take the opportunity to enjoy the mundane. This sort of thing was quite mundane, and James planned on enjoying it as such.

“I hadn’t given it much thought,” the Aladren admitted in response to his date’s query about their choice of costume. He personally would have liked to go as someone who made a great discovery—Felix Summerbee, perhaps, or Mopsus—but he doubted that Charlie would be so inclined. As they were going to the Ball together, James did feel obliged to match costumes. That sort of thing was to be expected, he had learned from his older sisters. Liss and Lutece essentially had the cumulative mental powers equivalent of a newt, but they were useful for some situations.

“Is there anyone you would be particularly interested in, or perhaps a time period?” James enquired. It was always polite to let the lady choose, anyway.

0 James As the lyrics from Annie run rampant 0 James 0 5

Charlotte

March 27, 2010 5:37 AM

Weird, I got <i>Oliver!</i> by Charlotte

James declared that he hadn't given the costumes much consideration. Deciding not to read too much into that, Charlie's first reaction was that she wanted to look pretty. So she wasn't going as some creepy Salem witch trials victim, or a duddery woman who did something boring. In particulars, then, she wasn't all that fussed. She thought James might like to go as something that wouldn't be too elaborate; he seemed like he got embarrassed fairly easily. Having him dress as Ulrick the Oddball would just make him uncomfortable, and Charlie didn't want that. She doubted James did, either. He would probably best suit someone distinguished, maybe someone who was famous for doing something really clever. Unfortunately, Charlotte hadn't been a huge fan of history of magic, and didn't really know where to start.

"I admit history's not really my strong point," she said to James with a smile. "I'd like to look pretty, but beyond that I don't really mind. I think," she said slowly, trying to gauge his reaction, "it would be fun if we went as people who discovered something, or invented a really important spell, or something like that." Oh, and then she had a brilliant idea. "Maybe we could research it together in the library?" Charlotte suggested.

That would be perfect. A psuedo-date with James before the ball, where they both decided what costumes to wear so neither one would be disappointed on the evening, either with their own outfit or each other's.

(OOC: As we've run out of time for the library date, can we assume it happened and I'll just meet you at the ball?)

0 Charlotte Weird, I got <i>Oliver!</i> 0 Charlotte 0 5