Alba watched the lake's waves slosh with turbulence against the moored boats ahead of her. Is this safe? Her mothers had warned her that Hogwarts wasn't like Muggle school in more ways than just being magical. Things were to be more mysterious, more dangerous if one was irresponsible. Oh Morgana...were they being for real? Usually she only listened to her parents when she was eavesdropping. But if the boats tipped, the poncho she'd been so eager and grateful to accept wouldn't do much good. Her outfit that she'd spent the last several days before start of term meticulously tailoring would be soaked, and she'd have to change into her back-up uniform that she had only carefully altered.

Shrugging those thoughts away, Alba continued moving towards the boats only to find herself the first student there...the first person there at all, actually. Unperturbed and unsurprised, Alba chose the boat furthest up the shore. Surely someone would sit with her and she could make a friend to get through this with.

Austin tried to get in a boat alone but failed. He half shrugged. What ever. He grinned, a boat ride to the castle? This is great! His dad had told him about it but he didn't think it would be this cool. He glanced at his neigour. A young girl. She looked nervous. He quickly wrote something down on his notebook.

Avalon breathed a sigh of relief as the boats came into view. She was not expecting to have to hike down that steep path, let alone in the rain. If she had known the first years were going to go off-roading, she would have worn more suitable clothing. Her skirt and ballet flats didn't do much for her against the muddy terrain. Shaking out her poncho, she approached a boat with two other first years already seated. Might as well start to make some friends before the school year officially begins. "Beautiful weather we're having. Welcome to Hogwarts, right?" Avalon quipped sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she clambered into the boat. "I don't think I met either of you on the train. I'm Avalon," she said, giving the girl and the boy a quick wave. She suppressed a shiver. It was cold out here. She couldn't wait to enter the warmth of the Great Hall...she could just barely make out the twinkling lights from the castle in the distance.

Alba sat straighter when the boy approached, correctly assuming he'd choose to sit next to her. Why wouldn't he? He seemed happier to be there than she was, but she was just itching to get inside and be SORTED. Smiling out of more politeness than her usual warmth (she was excited, okay, and being excited was a full-body emotion), the first year greeted the new arrival. "Hello! It's good to see another face. I always get to things so early. My name is Albertine, but you can call me Alba."

He didn't seem to be paying attention to her though. Instead the boy took out a spectacularly un-soaked notebook and began writing something down. Oooh. Mysterious, was he? Her dreams were stifled some when she actually read the note. "No offense, but I don't know who your dad is, how truthful he is, or how many times he has been fortunate enough to ride these boats. Or what outfit he was wearing. So like...not much comfort, my friend." Err...probably shouldn't have included that tidbit about the outfit.

Time for a subject change!

"That's a neat notebook. Do you have it spelled to not get wet?"

Just as Alba spoke, another student arrived. This time it was a girl. Yay! Like Alba, she wasn't dressed for the activities they were participating in. Alba gave her ballet flats a knowing, empathetic look. Those would be tricky to clean back to a good shine without magic, and they hadn't been taught any cleaning spells yet. And she was sarcastic to boot! Alba felt a weight lift off her shoulders now that people were here. "Hello, friend! I'm Albertine, or just Alba, and this is...." Hmm. She looked back at Austin apologetically. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"

Austin noticed that both his boat mates had very different attitudes towards the boat ride. One
Alba sounded really fake. Austin imediately didn't like her. The other one Avalon was at least showing some of her true emotions.
He looked to Alba. He wrote something down on hid notebook again.

He showed this paper to both girls not meaning to be annoyed to Avalon. That's why he turned the page and only showed the next thing that he was writing to Alba.

He glared at Alba and then looked away a bit indicating he didn't want to 'talk' to her anymore.

"Hi Austin." Analiese gave a little smile to the boy she had met on the train. She indecisively thought whether to sit in Austin's boat or another one. Ugh. This rain was really annoying. Especially when she was trying to make her mind up about something. She decided to sit in his boat. She made sure to not wet her robes when she entered the boat. Ok, this was strange. Austin was the only one she knew there. The other two girls looked friendly. "Hi!" Was that weird? In Analiese's opinion, the answer was very. She should probably give an introduction. "I'm Analiese, in case you were wondering." This was probably the most uncomfortable conversation she had in her life.

Plonk. Plonk. Plonk. That was the sound of the raindrops on the lake. Analiese listened to the sound. It sounded kind of soothing. Trying to get her mind off the awkwardness of the conversation.

Austin smiled at Ana. Finally a familliar face. He frowned as it was still raining. He was glad though that the pancho was keeping him dry and the charm was keeping his notebook dry. But he still kept ir close to him under the pancho just in case.

At least the girl seemed friendly! And she seemed to know a bit about fashion, too, judging by the looks of her nice outfit. "Nice to meet you, Alba. I'm Avalon," she said, shaking the girl's hand. She noticed Alba glance down at her ballet flats. "I picked the worst possible shoe choice for a day like today." Avalon looked disapprovingly at the mud caked onto her black flats. "But I guess when I think about it, hiking boots with this skirt wouldn't exactly be my idea of fashion." She laughed lightly as she turned to the boy, who was in the process of scribbling something in his notebook. He turned it around to show the girls. Austin. Interesting. Not very talkative then. She gave him a smile, hoping to hide a little bit of the awkwardness she was feeling. She wasn't quite sure what to say next.

Thankfully, Avalon was interrupted by another girl hopping into their boat. She seemed to already know Austin. And judging by the tone of her voice and unsure look on her face, Avalon suspected she was feeling a bit awkward as well. Good - someone to possibly commiserate with! "Hey Analiese. I'm Avalon," she said as a fat raindrop landed on her cheek. She winced as the cold water slid down her face. Wiping it away with her sleeve, she exclaimed, "What are the odds! All of our names begin with the letter A!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to jump off the boat to escape her embarrassment. What a lame thing to say. Who even would care about something like that? Suppressing a cringe, Avalon quickly changed the subject. "What is everyone most excited for at Hogwarts?"

At this point, Austin kept quiet. One, he was nervous abour this year, how would he perform spells if he couldn't talk? How would he get along at all. But sense that was too long to write down, he kept his mouth shut.

Text Cut: Austin and Avalon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireheart

At least the girl seemed friendly! And she seemed to know a bit about fashion, too, judging by the looks of her nice outfit. "Nice to meet you, Alba. I'm Avalon," she said, shaking the girl's hand. She noticed Alba glance down at her ballet flats. "I picked the worst possible shoe choice for a day like today." Avalon looked disapprovingly at the mud caked onto her black flats. "But I guess when I think about it, hiking boots with this skirt wouldn't exactly be my idea of fashion." She laughed lightly as she turned to the boy, who was in the process of scribbling something in his notebook. He turned it around to show the girls. Austin. Interesting. Not very talkative then. She gave him a smile, hoping to hide a little bit of the awkwardness she was feeling. She wasn't quite sure what to say next.

Thankfully, Avalon was interrupted by another girl hopping into their boat. She seemed to already know Austin. And judging by the tone of her voice and unsure look on her face, Avalon suspected she was feeling a bit awkward as well. Good - someone to possibly commiserate with! "Hey Analiese. I'm Avalon," she said as a fat raindrop landed on her cheek. She winced as the cold water slid down her face. Wiping it away with her sleeve, she exclaimed, "What are the odds! All of our names begin with the letter A!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to jump off the boat to escape her embarrassment. What a lame thing to say. Who even would care about something like that? Suppressing a cringe, Avalon quickly changed the subject. "What is everyone most excited for at Hogwarts?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2111jen

At this point, Austin kept quiet. One, he was nervous abour this year, how would he perform spells if he couldn't talk? How would he get along at all. But sense that was too long to write down, he kept his mouth shut.

Analiese slightly cringed at Avalon's statement about all of their names beginning with A. " I'm excited for everything really. But my brother told me the moving staircases can be annoying at times." A cold raindrop fell onto her skirt through a tiny hole in the plastic poncho and she immediately wiped it off. Now there was a water stain. Ugh. She rubbed the stain but it would not come off. "So your name's Alba?" Analiese looked at the other girl. She had figured out the girl's name because of Avalon's conversation with her.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Analiese took a glance down at her water-stained skirt. There just had to be a hole in the poncho there. "This isn't exactly the greatest first day, is it? The rain and all."