Between a rock and a hard place
September 1st
Hogwarts - Great Hall
18:10
It was dinner time in Hogwarts. September 1st it was, the first day of the school year, and many a student talked to their friends about how their break was, what pranks they planned to do, their expectations for this year, and many more very interesting matters that came to the kids' mind. Perhaps Anna would be talking about the lovely time she had with her family, too, but she had a severe issue. An awkward issue. A mind-boggling issue. She was in a difficult situation. See, Anna always sitted at the very same spot every meal ever since she got accepted into the loyal and earnest house of Hufflepuff: the left edge of the left side, closer to the Ravenclaw table, as she admired their wisdom and enjoyed hearing their conversations. She always arrived early in the hall, in the minute meals began to be served, to avoid anyone in that crowded school sitting on her spot. But today, that was no more.
"Why is that person sitting on my spot?!", thought the blue-eyed, between annoyance and confusion. Someone had sitted on the left edge on the left side of the hufflepuff table. She was in a daze. She could sit somewhere else, of course, but sitting somewhere else felt awkward, unfamiliar, even wrong, as though she would be in a completely different place, like a fish out of the water. Maybe she could ask that student to leave, but the spot wasn't hers, maybe she'd offend the person or cause an argument. Maybe they had a reason to sit there, maybe it was to talk to her friends, in which case she'd be killjoy final boss. Would it be weird if she asked them to leave? She understands people find many things weird, but would asking someone to leave her place unusual? How would she know?
...And that's why she has been quietly standing against a wall of the Great Hall, pressing her plushy penguin, Aoibheann, and intensely staring at the student who sat on her spot, rehearsing some possible ways she could ask them to leave. "Excuse me", she whispered to herself, trying to find a the right words, "but you're sitting on my place. Could you please leave?"
Quite the simple request. But she couldn't get herself to walk to that stranger and ask them to leave the spot they're eating on because she wants to sit there. "Surely it'd be rude if I asked them to leave... I'm sure they'd find it weird", the dark-skinned thought, completely unaware to the fact it was likely even more unusual that she was standing up on the corner, without eating anything and staring at a random person.
The hufflepuff held Aoibheann more tightly. "At this rate, I won't even eat", she thought. "But my other option is bothering someone who didn't do anything wrong... I'll just... watch them until they leave and then I'll eat..."
In such an unexpected situation, Anna froze and shrinked away from the source of her discomfort; she chose the safety of inaction over the risk of boldness.
Between a rock and a hard place
Reducio
IC DATE: 1 Sep 2025 (MON)
OOC DATE: 7 Sep 2025 (SUN)
MOOD:
OUTFIT: Lavender cardigan, sage green shirt, black miniskirt, black knee socks, and green combat boots
Blue - Ruby speaking
Purple - Ruby thinking
Yellow - Other people speaking
@Anna Blackberry
OOC DATE: 7 Sep 2025 (SUN)
MOOD:
OUTFIT: Lavender cardigan, sage green shirt, black miniskirt, black knee socks, and green combat boots
Blue - Ruby speaking
Purple - Ruby thinking
Yellow - Other people speaking
@Anna Blackberry
Ruby crossed her legs, bored. Okay, the return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Perhaps something new is going to happen. Perhaps. She absentmindedly got a scrunchie and tied her hair into a little bun at the nape of her neck. Ah yes. The beautiful me. Not be narcissistic, though. Then, Ruby decided to ponder on how things would go at Hogwarts. Of course, when you’re at Hogwarts, things are going to definitely be complicated, magical (of course, of course!), and amazing. Her mind wandered to every adventure she might have. When she was done daydreaming, she realized that she may be more airheaded than she thought. I always stare off into space, I don’t pay attention sometimes, and don’t give a damn sometimes. But then she remembered her food is waiting for her, so she got her spoon and then began to eat the chicken soup. Whoa, this is actually pretty good. As she ate and swallowed, she then began to notice someone, with a penguin stuffed animal near a wall. What the hell is she doing? Attention seeking? she murmured to herself, very very very softly. She flattened her skirt, absentmindedly untied her hair and pocketed the scrunchie. What IS her deal though? Wait, I think I recognize her also. A-Anna Blackberry?! That Hufflepuff? Damn. Should I greet her? No, stupid, you’ll scare her. But, come on, she’s pretty nice, just look at her, she’s doing almost nothing. Just eat. No, I don’t want to be tactless. Still, focus on yourself. Girl, let’s be nice to her! Might be a fake friend. C’mon, this life is amazing when you greet it with open arms. Did you really have to put the reference? I thought that it’ll convince myself. At this point, what the hell are you even doing now? Yapping. Speaking Yapanese to be exact. That’s your favorite language at that point. Come on, it will become awkward now! Stop and talk to her! But what if she… UGH, JUST FORGET ABOUT IT, AT LEAST SHE’LL GET ACKNOWLEDGED, AND THE HEAVENS KNOW THAT YOU WANT ACKNOWLEDGMENT ALSO! How dare you call me that?! I’m talking to myself, so I don’t regret it, at least I’m hurting myself, not others!
Last edited by Ruby Diumme on 8 Sep 2025, 06:24, edited 3 times in total.
Between a rock and a hard place
Anna stared off to the abyss, thinking about the goddamn kid who wouldn't leave HER little spot. She didn't want to directly ask someone to move, it's not like the place was marked as hers, but did they really have to take that freaking long to eat?! Have they never seen that she always eats there?! She was beginning to get impatient, and looked around to the crowded hall. All those people were usually the reason she preferred to eat fast and leave as soon as she could. She missed taking long to eat back at home, where it was just her, her parents, her brother... The many servants, house elves and 29 animals. Although most of them didn't actually stay indoors and 5 were fishes. It used to feel cozily empty back there, and Hogwarts feels overwhelmingly crowded in comparison. Thankfully, she was getting used to it.
...That's when she realized she had zoned out for a few seconds. Or minutes. The divine might know. Anna quickly looked back to the hufflepuff table... But the kid was still there. And that's when Anna realized there was a girl looking at her from the ravenclaw table, not so far from the student that sitted on her place. "If I keep waiting here, I'll never get to eat", she thought, so she decided to take action. Talk to the student? No, at this point it'd be awkward. Instead, she marched directly to the girl staring at her.
—Hey... Do you know that kid over there? —She whispered.
Suddenly, the hufflepuff looked at the girl with glasses with suspicion and made a funny face. ".....wait. I think I know her"
Anna kept that funny face for a few seconds.
—Ruby?!
...She asked softly, so softly that surely even someone in China could've heard her voice if they paid close attention.
...That's when she realized she had zoned out for a few seconds. Or minutes. The divine might know. Anna quickly looked back to the hufflepuff table... But the kid was still there. And that's when Anna realized there was a girl looking at her from the ravenclaw table, not so far from the student that sitted on her place. "If I keep waiting here, I'll never get to eat", she thought, so she decided to take action. Talk to the student? No, at this point it'd be awkward. Instead, she marched directly to the girl staring at her.
—Hey... Do you know that kid over there? —She whispered.
Suddenly, the hufflepuff looked at the girl with glasses with suspicion and made a funny face. ".....wait. I think I know her"
Anna kept that funny face for a few seconds.
—Ruby?!
...She asked softly, so softly that surely even someone in China could've heard her voice if they paid close attention.
Reducio
@Ruby Diumme
Between a rock and a hard place
Reducio
IC DATE: 1 Sep 2025 (MON)
OOC DATE: 8 Sep 2025 (MON)
MOOD:
OUTFIT: Lavender cardigan, sage green shirt, black miniskirt, black knee socks, and green combat boots
Blue - Ruby speaking
Purple - Ruby thinking
Yellow - Other people speaking
@Anna Blackberry
OOC DATE: 8 Sep 2025 (MON)
MOOD:
OUTFIT: Lavender cardigan, sage green shirt, black miniskirt, black knee socks, and green combat boots
Blue - Ruby speaking
Purple - Ruby thinking
Yellow - Other people speaking
@Anna Blackberry
Stop talking to yourself. But c’mon, I wanna convince you— LOOK, SHE’S LOOKING AT YOU! WAIT, WHAT THE F—!? Ruby stopped furiously arguing with herself. Oh, crap, you’re right, she is looking at me. SEE?! YOU NEVER PAY ATTENTION SOMETIMES! Ruby took a deep breath and tried to look as normal as she could. Anna?— she replied, extremely bemused. Damn. Seems like we really did get a fun little reunion. Ruby attempted to look like the most normal girl in the history of the entire universe again, managing a completely expressionless face, as if she were a doll. I hope I don’t creep Anna Blackberry out. This is just one of my default faces. I hope she will understand. She looked at her, flummoxed. Then she noticed Anna’s most noticeable features. Her hair. Her curls look cute. I wish I had very beautiful hair like that. But again, I do have to continue the conversation. My best talent is being both a very sociable and quiet person all at once. It is the time to utilize said talent. H-Hi… Er, why aren’t you sitting down? Ruby blurted out. Okay, maybe this is probably the most inconvenient time. C’mon, talent, show. But then she realized that she had to make a very very good time of the conversation and hence got out her sort of… weird- and cottage-core side. Being peculiar isn’t something you should refrain from doing. It’s just who you are. No need to restrain. Be yourself. It’s not a crime to wear Spectrespecs anyway. She got out the Spectrespecs, carefully adjusting her glasses so that they’ll not irritate her face. Damn! This is actually a blast. As most magical people (usually the adults) had known, Ruby’s favorite magizoologist was Luna Lovegood, and very much wanted to be a lot like her, while not stealing her style. Yeah, but seriously, though, why aren’t you sitting down.
Between a rock and a hard place
Anna took several seconds to answer. It was already normal that she didn't answer people immediately; her mind didn't process words as quickly as other people, and if she tried to talk without thinking first, she would only stumble on her own words. However, this time it took her much more than her usual few seconds. She just had too many things to say at once. "What's that on her face? Does she remember me? She seems to remember me, I think she does. How do I say someone sitted on my usual place? Wait... One thing at once..."
The hufflepuff closed her eyes and took a deep breath, began to form the proper sentence in her mind, and at the end of 15 silent seconds, she opened her mouth again.
—Hi, Ruby. I'm not sitting anywhere because that kid —She pointed at the poor soul who happened to sit on "her" place — is sitting down on my place, but I don't want to seem like I'm one of those people who force others to leave public spaces just because they like it. You know, those entitled people who think they own the world. So I've been standing here for the past I-actually-don't-know-for-how-long, and what the f**k is that on your face?
She paused, expressionless.
—I... I meant to say "freak". A-As in, what the freak is that on your face?
A single stutter on her words and she already felt nervous. She never remembered to not say swear words, but stuttering over herself like that just made her feel anxious.
Reducio
@Ruby Diumme