A friendly partner.
Exactly ten minutes earlier.
I arrived, just like my habit, exactly ten minutes before the accorded hour. I looked through the shelves of the library, and found an empty table. Perfect.
Our teacher asked us for a partner project for the next class. I begged him to please let me do it alone, and don't get me wrong, it wasn't because I didn't like my partner, but because I had bad experience with partner projects. They'd always leave me the whole work while they did nothing, and I couldn't say a thing because I was the smart one.
But the teacher said no. He said that 1. We needed to know each other better, since we were going to be classmates for the rest of the year, and 2. Doing it alone meant a lower grade. And I was NOT risking my grades.
I looked at my notes.
Lily Young. Slytherin. First year, too, obviously. I sent a note to her with the time and place we'd met today to discuss the project. I had seen her a couple of times in the class, but I didn't really talk to her. But she seemed nice, at least.
Well, I hope she's as nice as she seems.
I arrived, just like my habit, exactly ten minutes before the accorded hour. I looked through the shelves of the library, and found an empty table. Perfect.
Our teacher asked us for a partner project for the next class. I begged him to please let me do it alone, and don't get me wrong, it wasn't because I didn't like my partner, but because I had bad experience with partner projects. They'd always leave me the whole work while they did nothing, and I couldn't say a thing because I was the smart one.
But the teacher said no. He said that 1. We needed to know each other better, since we were going to be classmates for the rest of the year, and 2. Doing it alone meant a lower grade. And I was NOT risking my grades.
I looked at my notes.
Lily Young. Slytherin. First year, too, obviously. I sent a note to her with the time and place we'd met today to discuss the project. I had seen her a couple of times in the class, but I didn't really talk to her. But she seemed nice, at least.
Well, I hope she's as nice as she seems.
WC: 210 words.
Mentions: @Lily Young
OOC: OMG I'm so so sorry for how long this took, pls don't hate me
Mentions: @Lily Young
OOC: OMG I'm so so sorry for how long this took, pls don't hate me
"I was good. I was really good"
| PC: Mikaela Hendricks | Shop: The Hendricks Archives | iNPC: Coming soon |
A friendly partner.
Lily opened the folded scrap of parchement with careful fingers, the ink slightly smudged along one edge where it had caught against the side of her bag. She re-read the date and time to meet. As she glanced at the clock near the library door, she noticed she had five minutes left.
She hated being late, but five is plenty.
The thought of a partner project made her jaw clench, just a little. She always feared partner projects, because at her Muggle school, people would always take advantage of her or worse reject her and not let her participate at all. Plus, she was not the best at making friends easily, especially with her nerves and awkward nature.
She had read who her partner was, and was confident things should go better than her past experiences. Mikaela Hendricks. Ravenclaw. First year. She had remember seeing her a couple times in classes and around school. Lily hoped she would be sweet and a nice partner.
She made her way through the library shelves, her footsteps soft. Her eyes skimmed the rows and spotted the nearly empty table where a girl sat alone. That's her. I hope she hasn't been waiting too long. Lily paused for half a second, checking a clock nearby one last time. Three minutes early. She took a steadying breath and walked over, sitting across from Mikaela.
She hated being late, but five is plenty.
The thought of a partner project made her jaw clench, just a little. She always feared partner projects, because at her Muggle school, people would always take advantage of her or worse reject her and not let her participate at all. Plus, she was not the best at making friends easily, especially with her nerves and awkward nature.
She had read who her partner was, and was confident things should go better than her past experiences. Mikaela Hendricks. Ravenclaw. First year. She had remember seeing her a couple times in classes and around school. Lily hoped she would be sweet and a nice partner.
She made her way through the library shelves, her footsteps soft. Her eyes skimmed the rows and spotted the nearly empty table where a girl sat alone. That's her. I hope she hasn't been waiting too long. Lily paused for half a second, checking a clock nearby one last time. Three minutes early. She took a steadying breath and walked over, sitting across from Mikaela.
WC: 229
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks
OOC: girl you're fine, don't worry. I don't hate you
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks
OOC: girl you're fine, don't worry. I don't hate you
A friendly partner.
Code by Fawkes Chaos A familiar face sat across the table. Lily, I guessed.
5:00 PM.:TIME
x
"Oh, hi!" I greeted her with a warm smile. She seemed a bit nervous, but I guess that's how both of us looked like
"I'm Mikaela. You can call me Mika, don't worry. I don't know if you remember me..."
I started talking with a shy laugh. When I realized that I was already yapping and rambling, I cleared my throat.
"Alright, so the teacher said that the due date is the next class, which means next week. So technically, we have time, but we still have to do an essay and an oral exposition." I nodded, checking my notes again.
I had absolutely nothing against Slytherins. My mom once said that she had a couple of friends in there. Well, being honest, my mom was quite popular during her time in the castle, so probably she had friends even in the other schools. But she also said that some Slytherins were still obsessed with the pure-blood thing. I still don't understand why, but I hoped I didn't cross paths with them. I knew first hand how cruel people could be when you're different from them, especially when you didn't fit in their ideals.
"I was good. I was really good"
| PC: Mikaela Hendricks | Shop: The Hendricks Archives | iNPC: Coming soon |
A friendly partner.
Lily settled into her chair and relaxed the more Mika spoke. Partner projects had always brought up her nerves, but as Mikaela spoke about what they would need to do she felt better. She could clearly see that Mikaela wouldn't leave Lily to do all the work alone. This might go better than I thought.
As Mikaela finished speaking, and Lily realised it would be her turn to introduce herself, she felt her throat close up for a second. Lily fiddled with her hair as she usually does when nervous and looked at a point over her partner's shoulder. The library was quiet as usual, with many shelves looming around in every direction, settling Lily's mind.
"Hi, I'm Lily. Thank you for setting this up," Lily replied softly, her voice surprisingly steady despite the faint warmth she could feel on her cheeks. She tucked a wavy strand behind her ear, nodding at the notes Mikaela had set up. When I heard about the essay and oral expo, I was a little overwhelmed at first. But I got to reading and have a couple ideas of where to start." Lily realised that now she was the one to ramble a bit, and looked down waiting for Mika to speak next.
As Mikaela finished speaking, and Lily realised it would be her turn to introduce herself, she felt her throat close up for a second. Lily fiddled with her hair as she usually does when nervous and looked at a point over her partner's shoulder. The library was quiet as usual, with many shelves looming around in every direction, settling Lily's mind.
"Hi, I'm Lily. Thank you for setting this up," Lily replied softly, her voice surprisingly steady despite the faint warmth she could feel on her cheeks. She tucked a wavy strand behind her ear, nodding at the notes Mikaela had set up. When I heard about the essay and oral expo, I was a little overwhelmed at first. But I got to reading and have a couple ideas of where to start." Lily realised that now she was the one to ramble a bit, and looked down waiting for Mika to speak next.
WC: 210
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks
A friendly partner.
Code by Fawkes Chaos I nodded, opening slightly my mouth.
5:00 PM.:TIME
x
"Really? Well, I was thinking about I do the theory side, since it's kinda easier, and you go with the exposition and all the oral side, of course we'd both talk, but you look like you know how to do it better, but tell me your ideas! Maybe we can agree on something." I basically threw up verbally. It was the very first time someone actually seemed like not only wanted to work with me, but wanted to do their part of the project. This was very, very new to me.
And honestly, I had no idea of what to do in this kind of cases. I never went so far! Usually they just said something like 'you do everything and I'll pay you' and never paid. Actually, now that I thought of it, they owed me more that I could think of!
Anyway, Lily seemed nice. Pretty nice. She was nice. She maybe seemed a bit nervous, but honestly? I was nervous, too. It isn't like this was the first time I did a partner project in Hogwarts, but the other experiences just weren't that good. Mom was definitely right when she said I had to give a chance to people.
"I was good. I was really good"
| PC: Mikaela Hendricks | Shop: The Hendricks Archives | iNPC: Coming soon |
A friendly partner.
As Mikaela spoke, it felt like the tension in Lily's body had just left. The offer to split the work evenly also helped to ease her mind and relieve tension she didnt even know was there. She thought she would get the same cold shoulder treatment and the same old one sentence demand that she would have to do the whole project by herself, but instead Mika was talking about it like they were actual partners. That made Lily want to try harder and make this the best she's ever done.
At the mention of doing the oral side, Lily nodded slowly and played with her hair like she always does. She like how easily Mikaela divided the work between them and was happy to be trusted with the oral portion. "Sounds good to me. I don't mind doing the exposition part at all. I'll make sure we both have equal speaking time," she said softly, but it carried more confidence now than it had at the start.
She looked down at her notes and than back at Mikaela. "What I was thinking was that you could start with the basic theory and then narrow it down into the most important points so it doen't get too long," Lily explained. "And maybe I could split the oral part into sections, so it feels les long and overwhelming." Her cheeks warmed as she continued to speak, but she didn't feel as scared as she normally would be.
For the first time, a partner project didn't feel like something to survive.
At the mention of doing the oral side, Lily nodded slowly and played with her hair like she always does. She like how easily Mikaela divided the work between them and was happy to be trusted with the oral portion. "Sounds good to me. I don't mind doing the exposition part at all. I'll make sure we both have equal speaking time," she said softly, but it carried more confidence now than it had at the start.
She looked down at her notes and than back at Mikaela. "What I was thinking was that you could start with the basic theory and then narrow it down into the most important points so it doen't get too long," Lily explained. "And maybe I could split the oral part into sections, so it feels les long and overwhelming." Her cheeks warmed as she continued to speak, but she didn't feel as scared as she normally would be.
For the first time, a partner project didn't feel like something to survive.
WC: 259
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks
A friendly partner.
Code by Fawkes Chaos I nodded slowly in agreement, checking her notes and comparing them with mine.
5:00 PM.:TIME
x
"Huh. Yeah, I like the idea. Well, I could finish the essay between... Tonight and tomorrow, but probably tonight. We still have a week, though. It's kinda easy, I think." I began thinking out loud, but shut up the second I realized what I was doing. I got up, the blue robes shushing against my legs and back.
"You need any books to prepare for the oral parts? I think I'll need two or three for the essay... Though it's more for research, since the main part is in the notes. Hm." I shrugged.
I packed through the nearest shelves as I talked, picking up the books I needed to make the work. Turned out i didn't only need two or three, I ended up picking five. The essay needed to be long, so I was going to do it long. Some may say that it was the most boring side of a homework, but I always thought of it as the fun part. It was usually just me, the homework and the research. How can't it be fun?
Being honest, it was usually just because I had done it all alone. But with Lily, who seemed pretty helpful, it felt like the tension in my shoulders began to release.
"I was good. I was really good"
| PC: Mikaela Hendricks | Shop: The Hendricks Archives | iNPC: Coming soon |
A friendly partner.
Lily was listening carefully to every word Mikaela said. It helped her nerves quiet down and the tension leave her body. She felt more at ease with Mikaela than she did with any of her past partners. She noticed her time at Hogwarts was going much better than she could hope. Not many of the other students would bug her and if anyone spoke to her they were all really nice.
When Mikaela mentioned she would maybe finish the essay that night Lily's lips curved into a small smile, releived. "That sound fine. And if you want I can look over it after and give feedback." Her voice was gentle and deefinitely had more confidence than at the start. She liked the way Mikaela thought out loud how she was being pratical and even more lily liked that neither of them had to carry the whole project alone.
At the question about books, Lily gave a small nod. Walking throught the shelves while listening to her new partner speak she grabbed thre books for herself.
For the first time, the project felt less like a test and more like the begining of a possible friendship. And for Lily that was enough to make her want to do her very best to keep this as a normal occurence and possibly make Mikaela her project partner for all future projects in classes they have together.
When Mikaela mentioned she would maybe finish the essay that night Lily's lips curved into a small smile, releived. "That sound fine. And if you want I can look over it after and give feedback." Her voice was gentle and deefinitely had more confidence than at the start. She liked the way Mikaela thought out loud how she was being pratical and even more lily liked that neither of them had to carry the whole project alone.
At the question about books, Lily gave a small nod. Walking throught the shelves while listening to her new partner speak she grabbed thre books for herself.
For the first time, the project felt less like a test and more like the begining of a possible friendship. And for Lily that was enough to make her want to do her very best to keep this as a normal occurence and possibly make Mikaela her project partner for all future projects in classes they have together.
WC: 233
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks
Mentions: @Mikaela Hendricks