tracy jacks [open] - Study Room

18 Oct 2019, 22:36

if u don't know the song here it is!!
it would be nice if gem had someone to play jacks with, also maybe have a conversation about music? any amount of people can join!

It had been a very simple past time for as long as Gem could remember.

He often did it at home, his record player turning slow and patient, the airy noise of any record he'd felt like in particular that day, the crisp autumn air blowing in through his window, and him sitting on the floor, playing jacks by himself. It was very comfortable, it kept him settled down, and it was a relaxing way to pass the time when he didn't feel like doing anything else.

Right now, he was doing something just as similar. He had his wireless radio sitting there, playing a station with a weather report, hunched over his seat, bouncing the ball, snatching as many metal jacks as he could in his hand before it landed. Four. Not his best, he'd admit, but better than his first time. It wasn't really a game of skill, nor was it one he particularly enjoyed, but because he wasn't smart enough to play chess or cards, he had to settle for it, kind of like how you had to settle for a younger sibling. Or, at least he thought it was, he'd never had any siblings.

It was a very easy way to tell Gem had reverted back to his old self again. Sad, purposefully lonely, and nervous. He'd been told his depression was genetic, but he never thought it'd get him so early. His dad said it may have been the hormones balancing themselves out, but he couldn't know for sure. It was very hard to focus, everything was dull again, and he was starting to look as depressing as he felt. He hadn't even been in the mood for a cheeky cig, he hadn't been in the mood for anything. Everything had gotten so boring, so sad, so... unnecessary, tiring. He didn't want to write, really play the guitar, he just wanted to lay down and listen to the radio, sleep, or maybe just watch the clouds so he wouldn't lack as much vitamin D as he'd been told.

He dropped the ball on the table again, snatched up eight in that big hand of his. That was a new record, eight out of ten in only a second. He felt a little smile creep its way across his features, a contrast to the dullness of his eyes, the little dark bags that clung beneath them. He even managed to force a small 'huh' out the back of his throat, watching the unmoving jacks in his hands. He even got that tune by Blur stuck in his head, pinging around his head with warm, comforting familiarity. His dad loved that song.

"I'd love to stay here and be normal, but then it's just so overrated," he mumbled, his voice barely catching the tune as he dropped the ball again, snatching up four again. "-Agh."

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.

Catriona Staverly

Second year, Ravenclaw

115 10

19 Oct 2019, 17:47

Interacting with @Gem Stuart
Mentioning no one
RPing as Catriona Staverly | text color #8e7cc3

It wasn't uncommon to hear strains of conversation or even music coming from the Study Room. Catriona had been walking past it on her way to the Ravenclaw Common room to deposit Dorian, her cat, on her bed before going back to the Library, when she heard a faint melody. She hadn't thought much of it, more concerned with keeping the squirming ball of fur in her arms. She'd taken him outside for a bit of fresh air, but she was regretting that now as she tried her best to keep him from running off.

Sighing, she put him down on the ground where he sat for a few moments, fixing her with a glare and darted into the Study Room. She ran after him, scooping him up into her arms again when she spotted him under a chair. She turned, eyes searching the room for the person listening to the music she'd heard before.

Gem. There, sitting hunched in a chair with what looked like some metal jacks. Catriona hadn't played the game before, but she knew what it was (or at least she thought she did). Her hand absently stroked Dorian's fur as she crossed over to where Gem was seated.

"Gem?" She said, tapping him gently on the shoulder. He looked sad, the smudges under his eyes dark and pronounced, more so than when she'd last seen him. He looked like he hadn't slept in ages. Or decades maybe. "Are— are you alright?"

Gem Stuart

Second year, Ravenclaw

451 18

19 Oct 2019, 23:58

interacting w/ @Catriona Staverly

It was very Gem-like to overreact to a simple tap on the shoulder, but this time, he only winced, turning his head slowly in the direction of where his shoulder was tapped. He knew he'd recognized that voice, that face, and the little grey cat peeking its head out of her arms. Well damn, it was . He didn't know why she was here, usually she'd go spend time around in the library, but... well, maybe she just happened to be passing by. His thoughts were very stale.

"Oh, hi," he said, reaching up to sloppily pet the top of Dorian's head. "Funneh seein' you 'ere. In the study room, it's not funneh seeing you at Hogwarts. Cos' you're always here." He looked around sheepishly, gesturing at the seat across him where he'd hoped she'd sit. It felt weird, talking to his own best friend, and when put into that perspective, was even weirder. A single chemical imbalance affecting every single friendship you've ever had, imagine that.

"I'm 'lright, joost dealin' wiv teenage angst," He spoke very lazily, dropping the ball again, snatching up six jacks. "Earlier, I got eight. Can ya fookin' believe that? Eight," He hardly looked up when he spoke, almost like he were embarrassed at his state of being. He remembered seeing old pictures of his dad when he was fifteen, looked just like him, his mam said.

"Me dad would play this a lot in secondary school, here n' Hogwarts?" He set the metal jacks down, rubbing the red rubber ball with his thumb. "Until he found other things ta do, anyway. He looked a lot like me, apparently. Very popular wiv the ladies," He tried to smile, but it was very measly and sort of sadder than if he just kept frowning with his head down. "His younger bruvver was a year under im', he'd always pick on him, right? But when they were alone, they'd sneak out an' play jacks togever." He sniffed, rubbing his brow with the sleeve of his dad's old red sweater. It still smelled like him. "I dunno. S' stupid, but I like ta think about it."

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tracy jacks open