The Acid Pop Club #2 - I Solemnly Swear Closed

Prim gently pushed open the door of the trophy room and slid down the wall with her face in her knees. She let out a big sigh. School was stressing her out. A lot. She lifted her head to the lone face of the notorious Jo Morgan, leader of the girls only Acid Pop Club. Prim gave a sound of a sort of yelp. "Ahpb," she squeaked. "Hi, um, y-yes hi, my name is P-primrose Mcarthy a-a-and your name is Jo Morgan r-right? Prim's face flooded with warmth. Why didn't I just let her introduce herself?

Jo seemed to look specifically at her bloody bandaged hands from a couple days ago at the great hall. Oh yeah. I still have to change those. She could still feel her trembling hands as she dropped the glass then frantically scrambled to go and pick the shattered pieces up. This only made her think of the welcoming Slytherin Thora, whom she missed so much.

As Prim sat their looking at her own hands, lost in memory she realized, What is Jo Morgan doing alone in such a random place like the trophy room....with a binder....and snacks.....She's waiting for her club!!! Excitement rushed through Prim. Her head went from hung low and full of tiredness to up and alert with excitement. She looked around. The place was a mess. Now if there was one thing Prim couldn't stand it was a dirty space. She immediately got up and begun tidying.

"Um, Jo? I realized that you were here waiting for your club, and well....I adore you and your club. And I can't stand that Rafael D'Spacito. We're like....frenemies. My friend Saoirse happens to go to this club and has told me that you all have been planning pranks on him and his rival club. Umm.." Nervousness and adrenaline rushed through Prim's veins all at the same time. "CanIjoinyourclub?" Prim rushed out. Jo gave her a concerned look that sort of said..What? She took a deep breath. "Can I please join your club?

The door opened with a squeak, putting a stop to the Gryffindor’s silent reveries.

An unfamiliar girl slinked in as if under the influence of a Jelly Legs Charm, and practically melted to the floor while heaving a melodramatic sigh.

Brown Eyes. Brown Hair. Slytherin. Holy shit! Bloody hands. Perhaps a boxer? No, no, this was Wizarding school.

Jo stared at the new arrival blankly - she wasn’t a member of the Acid Pop club as far as Jo knew. Had she accidentally interrupted the meeting of some other group?

Sorry, I’ll just… Jo began to gather her things.

The rudimentary shell of what seemed to be a word erupted from the young witch’s mouth.

Hi, um, y-yes hi, my name is P-primrose Mcarthy a-a-and your name is Jo Morgan r-right?

the girl stuttered.

Jo was surprised - the new girl knew her name and almost seemed to be impressed by her. Time to act like a leader, then, if she wanted to be respected.

Yes, I suppose that’s me. Jo tried to give the welcome smile she always gave, but deep inside she was afraid this new, bandaged Slytherin would be nothing but trouble. An evanescent frown seemed to pass by her lips - gone ere it was even detected. The new girl - Prim, was it? turned her eyes downwards towards her bandaged hands, staring at them as if they were something foreign to her. An accident, perhaps. Maybe a fight - a duel? Perhaps why the witch seemed so worn out. Suddenly a lightbulb seemed to go off in Prim’s head, and she straightened herself out, looking towards Jo with newfound confidence and twinkling eyes. She began to rush around and clear the area, thickening the already dirty room with yet another layer of dust, furiously stacking delicate papers, pens, books, and other sundry educational material.

Um, Jo? I realized that you were here waiting for your club, and well....I adore you and your club. And I can't stand that Rafael D'Spacito. My friend Saoirse happens to go to this club and has told me that you all have been planning pranks on him and his rival club. Umm…

Jo already knew what came next. She had to think of an answer - fast.

CanIjoinyourclub?

Think. Come on, Morgan. Think of an answer. She’s waiting.

Can I join your club?

Jo beamed from ear to ear. How could she say no? It sounded like the girl was in need of a break anyway, and if the Acid Pop Club was what she needed to make some friends and chill out, so be it.

We’d love to have you. Sit right down, even though you’re quite early. About 30 minutes to be exact. Members usually bring a book and a blanket, as well as a pillow - it’s a comfort thing, as well as to add more color than just a bunch of red and gold pillows and blankets I brought from the Gryffindor common room. We’ll swap books around - kind of like a book club. This meeting we were working on members’ nicknames as well as prank ideas - did you have of those any in mind? And if you know more about Rafael, I’d love to know. The truth is that I actually don’t know that much about him other than he has a rival club and he’s insufferable.

As Wren walked down to the care taker's office where they had agreed to meet for the second meeting of the Acid Pop Club, she remembered she was to bring a book. "Shit" she muttered. "I forgot to bring a book and a blanket. I will not show up to that meeting again without a book." she broke into a run, back to the girls dorms. Running into the dorms she flew open the musty old trunk's lid, that her parents had manages to find at a garage sale, and began to rumage around it looking for the specific book she had in mind. Now, the book she found was not very big, had a red cover with a tree hanging over the authors name, and the book title up at the top, in a black background with three green words and a white word. It was her favorite book of all time. She grabbed her purple fuzzy blanket and walked down to the common room. "Oh shit I'm gonna be late again." She broke into a blind run, nearly missing a cluster of students standing around talking. She slowed her steps to a walk as she reached the Caretaker's office and checked her watch. "Well, i sure ain't late." she muttered as she opened the door to find only two of the six girls that had joined the club.
OOC: Wren did not pass out this time. XD

Jo turned her head as the second member arrived - it was Wren, the chatty Gryffindor. At least the girl had entered without making a scene this time.

Jo motioned towards the new girl.
Wren, this is our newest member, Primrose McCarthy. She came to us after hearing that we were going to prank D'spacito's club. It seems like she's got some personal beef, but I'm not sure. Primrose, this is Wren Caster. She's quite the loudmouth, but always full of ideas. I'm sure you two will be the best of friends, especially since you both speak so quickly! Your brains must be running at light years a minute - I don't know how I'd ever keep up.

Jo motioned for the girls to sit, and, taking a roasted chestnut from a nearby goblet, examined its soft flesh, applying pressure from several different angles before she found the sweet spot - the brown nut split in perfect halves, one dropping into her robe. She picked it out carefully before turning to address Wren.

Feel free to help yourselves to the food! You guys are a bit early, and I'd actually planned on eating dinner here since the Hall was so loud. I'm saving the snacks in the blue bowl for the meeting, but it's mostly cauldron cakes and stuff. There should be a few extra goblets, and a few pitchers of pumpkin juice and tea somewhere around here. I'm not a fan of Butterbeer, so you'll have to pass on that this time. Anyway, maybe we can get some brainstorming done before the meeting begins.

A quick scan of the room yielded no sign of her notebook - she hesitantly raised a bowl of popcorn and found the elusive volume, flipping through its worn and yellowed pages until she found her vermillion bookmark. She tossed it aside and squinted at her hasty writing.

Any ideas for nicknames? I've got Spider, Foxtail or Ragtail, Withers, Dormouse, Cricket, and Whisker. I don't know... I'm a sucker for duosyllabic names; I guess I just think they're cute.

Jo turned towards Wren - she'd trust the new girl's opinion later, if and only if the Slytherin proved herself to have any wit about her. She supposed she was harsh. Perhaps she was.

Maybe we should assign animals based on our traits and then pick nicknames. I wish we knew our patronuses!

Saoirse entered the room, swift and quiet as could be hoping to not make the same scene as last time. That was until she noticed the new member, who she shrieked about and rushed towards, scooping the girl up and twirled her around. That girl was Primrose Mcarthy, the same girl who had helped her out of the muddied ditch years ago at Summer Camp, oh boy did they have fun together. Too much fun, too much work for councilors, wait who was Saoirse trying to fool again? Those two may have had too much fun but didn't go around breaking stuff and being a nuisance, well except poor, old frog's back.
"Sorry! Sorry!" She rushed back over to the doorway and shut it tight, grabbing her stuff along the way. This time she had grabbed a large dragon body pillow that she perched against some old cases, laying down her pastel Irish flag blanket next to it she sat down, her snowy-owl throw pillow behind her back and her book beside her. All that was left was her catlamp, which she switched on quickly and set down in the center once again. "So for animal nicknames, I don't know about everyone else but Prim's absolutely a bunny, too soft, too cuddly, too sweet for anything else so maybe Bun-Bun or Rabbittail, something like that."
During that duration she padded the side of her blanket next to her inviting Wren to come over and sit with her while she gathered about a quarter handful of roasted chestnuts. "Prank-wise we need to find out where they often meet or well the type of space they often meet, see apparently we like dark, stone, cold, and musty areas," directing her now annoyed to at Jo, "so we can plan out how we can prank them when they least expect it."

The click of the doorknob attracted her attention, and a familiar redhead entered silently only to be rushed by the bandaged girl. Jo immediately whipped out her wand… but sighed in relief, seeing it was only a happy reunion.

Saoirse settled down, and Prim cuddled next to her in that peculiar way shy girls would when they only had one person to rely on. The Hufflepuff took out an Irish flag and Jo nodded in satisfaction, finally understanding that her previous assessment of the girl’s heritage based solely on the girl’s earrings had been perfectly correct. Nothing pleased the young witch as when one of her vague but fact-based hypotheses turned out to be true.

So for animal nicknames, I don't know about everyone else but Prim's absolutely a bunny, too soft, too cuddly, too sweet for anything else so maybe Bun-Bun or Rabbittail, something like that.

Jo admired Saoirse’s brashness as the girl impulsively reached for some chestnuts without even asking for permission.

I adore you and your club

- Prim’s kind words came back to her mind, and she nodded in agreement.

I like those! I think they’re super cute! I think you know her best out of all of us, but I do have Ragtail, Cotton, Whisker, Bun Dormouse, and Clover written down as ideas for “cute” nicknames, so those that would go well with nice people.

To be honest, Jo wasn’t sure if the girl was even listening, so she stopped there and reached instead for a piece of black pudding and a buttered crumpet. She made a face while munching down on the tasteless flour - she’d give anything for tacoyaki…or an unadon…or some perfect, delicious sashimi…

Prank-wise we need to find out where they often meet or well the type of space they often meet, see apparently we like dark, stone, cold, and musty areas, so we can plan out how we can prank them when they least expect it.

Jo winced in fear as the sarcastic redhead voiced her displeasure. She wan’t used to having someone angry at her all the time, but irritation seemed more like a default emotion to Saoirse, and she’d have to get used to it. Perhaps Jo had done something wrong or offensive? She certainly wouldn’t have noticed. Wasn’t Saorise raised in the presence of magic? Perhaps the magical community had customs Jo was entirely unaware of, and she had accidentally broken some taboo. For now, she realized she’d just have to deal with the redhead’s mood swings.

Jo frowned, took a breath, and arched her back, loudly cracking it. They meet in the boy’s bathroom, and we aren’t allowed to go there. Guess we’re not the only people that like musty places. We could move our meetings to somewhere more public like the library or the Small Hall, but I’m kind of worried about it being too loud and rambunctious as well as people listening in to our meetings. I thought this would be a nice and quiet place, and I’ll be sure to bring my air purifier to the next meeting.

Adlai popped her head through the door to the trophy room. This time she was surprising late. She had heard some of the girls conversation through the door but she didn’t know much else of what was going on. She felt kind of bad. She walked into the room and was wearing a beige ankle length skirt with a white hoodie and sneakers.

“Hey guys!” She said giving them all a wave as she held her small pillow and blanket within her other arm but then noticed a new face. “Hello.” She said to the unfamiliar girl.

Adlai always loved meeting knew people but their relationship depended on how they acted towards her. If Adlai was able to have a one on one conversation with someone she’d be able to tell if they were a friend or not, but in a group situation Adlai deemed everyone has well known acquaintances, of course with no offense to anyone in the room.

In the pocket of her hoodie Adlai have a small bad of wrapped sweets for everyone, thinking it would be a kind gesture to show everyone how thankful she was for them allowing her to be part of this club.

OOC: Sorry for the late reply my IRL life had been crazy! I’ll try to keep up more.

Saoirse walked in the room and Prim's eyes lit up with excitement. "Saoirse!" Prim exclaimed. "I didn't know you went here! I should have paid more attention during the Sorting." As Prim was saying this Saoirse ran up to her and twirled her in place. This surprised Prim a lot and sent her into a fit of giggles.

After they had finished with that, Saoirse walked to a big trophy stand and set up her large pillow and her Irish flag blanket. She ran over to the door realizing that she had left it open, then ran back over and set up her cat lamp. Prim looked around at all the girls who all had their books and blankets and snacks. Wow. I really am so unprepared.

Saoirse started mentioning nicknames-something that must have been from the last meeting-and started suggesting some for Prim. "So for animal nicknames, I don't know about everyone else, but Prim is absolutely a bunny. To cuddly, to sweet for anything else so maybe Bun-Bun or Rabbittail, something like that," Saoirse said as she made herself comfortable on her body pillow.

That just rubbed Prim the wrong way. "Soft and cuddly?" she blurted, obviously annoyed. "I may be shy with new people but once you get to know me I can be everything but soft and cuddly." Apparently Saoirse didn't know as much as she thought. Though Prim could understand where she was coming from. Prim didn't like coming across as mean. She was kind and nice but not soft and cuddly.

Realizing what she had just said, her kind side kicked in. "Sorry," she said slightly remorsefully. Prim just hated being thought of as what she was not. It reminded her far too much of home. Prim found a small cushion that was holding a medal under it, removed the medal, and sat on it, looking down at the floor. Then Saoirse started talking again. "Prank wise we need to find out where they often meet, or the type of space they often meet, see we apparently like dark, stone, cold, and musty areas, so we can plan how to prank them when they least expect it.

Prim immediately shot up. "I KNOW WHERE THEY MEET!" She said her voice full of excitement. "You see I'm good friends with Rafael D'Spacito the leader of their club and so he has told me some stuff. I guess I didn't seem like the kind of person who would join his rival club." This thought made Prim smile with an evil sort of feeling in her chest. "I know their club is called Club Thunderbird. They have like seven or eight people last I heard. They have at least one person from each house and are gaining members quickly. They meet in the Boys Lavatory because they want to go the one place where we can't get them. Because they know we will get them."

Jo waved happily to Adlai as the girl wordlessly sat down, handing her a treacle tart.

If we want to go with the small, soft animal idea but aren't looking for something overly cute, might I re-suggest Ragtail, Dormouse or Whisker? They imply a small, enthusiastic, and resourceful animal.
Jo knew she was repeating herself, but the young witch just didn't like being ignored. She tried to shake off the grimace she knew was on her face, and it successfully returned to her normal, emotionless visage.

Saorise, you’re kind of sarcastic and easily annoyed, but also efficient and attentive. Might I suggest some kind of feline, such as Wampus or Panther? You have really bright red hair, so Tiger or Redpaw might be good options.

I KNOW WHERE THEY MEET! You see I'm good friends with Rafael D'Spacito the leader of their club and so he has told me some stuff. I guess I didn't seem like the kind of person who would join his rival club. I know their club is called Club Thunderbird. They have like seven or eight people last I heard. They have at least one person from each house and are gaining members quickly. They meet in the Boys Lavatory because they want to go the one place where we can't get them. Because they know we will get them.

Jo nodded, slightly frowning as the girl ignored her similar previous statement. Shit - she was already being judgemental. Why was she being judgemental? She had no reason to dislike this girl at all. In fact, she seemed rather nice, although obviously the Slytherin didn't like being called that. Either way, she had important information about Club Thunderbird - information that made her a valuable asset to the club.

Sounds like they’re a formidable rival. A wave of undeserved pride washed over Jo at her use of a difficult word. I was talking with Gwen the other day while we were picking lavender for Herbology. She thinks that instead of using magic pranks like wasabi quills or love potion chocolates (which they’ll probably see coming}, we should put our heads together and try to think of a smart Muggle prank, since wizards aren’t really good at being logical - they rely completely on magic. An anti-jinx won’t work on chili peppers in the tea!