The Exciting Start Open Finished

Elodie heaved her trunk onto the train, then pushed it further in. The bag's weight was partly her own fault - she had filled it with as many books possible, both magical and Muggle. It was choice she currently regretted, but Elodie knew that she would be glad of it later in the year, when she wanted to pick up a book. Once she had secured her trunk, Elodie stepped onto the train. Before she moved into the train's corridor, Elodie took a glance over the busy platform. Obscured by steam, and strangely still in a crowd of constantly-moving parents and children, stood her father. He was observing the masses of people, and didn't seem to be interested in Elodie's departure. Elodie ignored any pain or pity she felt, and instead turned into the train. That's one positive of a boarding school, she thought to herself.

Moving through the corridor, Elodie peered into each carriage, looking for an empty room. But there was none, and most were filled with large groups of friends, chatting and laughing. Elodie grew worried, where would she sit? And, as she was feeling as if she would never find a carriage, Elodie spotted a carriage. It was not empty, but there was only one girl in there, and she looked like a First Year. Taking a deep breath, Elodie opened the carriage door and walked in.

"Hello," she said quietly, her Manchester accent prominent. "D'you mind if I sit here?"

Hope it's okay if I join! @Crystal Jagger

Interacting with @Elodie Nyangui and @Crystal Jagger

How many people could one train platform fit? Obviously, that was the question 9 and 3/4 was trying to solve, what with the massive amount of what Mars' assumed were new students and their magical parents.

The wind blew briskly through the old stone station. Mars clenched a hand, used to feeling soft fingers within. When they were met with nothing but cold, nervous sweat, they sighed, wiping the palm on the fabric of their jeans. They hadn't been sure if they were meant to be wearing one of the three large, billowy robes they had purchased in Diagon Alley, so they'd opted not to, relishing in the last time they'd be able to wear jeans and a leather jacket for an entire year.

Boarding school had not been something they wanted to pursue. For weeks, they had thrown the red-stamped letter in the wastebasket. The poor thing was probably still stuffed to the brim unless one of the boys had emptied it out. But here they were, standing alone with a single duffle bag slung across their shoulder, staring at the train as a flood of kids and teenagers pours through the doors.

Well, might as well bite the bullet. There was nothing they were achieving by standing here. They had already said goodbye to their teary brothers, promising to come home safe whenever possible. There was nothing left to do, lest they run all the way back to the manor. So they followed the stream of up and coming wizards into the train.

----

Okay, compartments were not what they had been expecting. Maybe they had read one too many 21st century novels or listened to their brothers beg to go on airplane rides, but this 20th-century train was a punch in the nose for all they knew. They had intended on picking a random seat and promptly ignoring everyone else for the rest of the ride, earbuds in, daydreaming out the window. But compartments require at least a little social interaction.

Mars sighed. Welp. They wandered around the train, looking for an open seat. There didn't seem to be anything until they came across an open door. Peeking in, there were two girls, one seated and the other standing. The one who was standing seemed to be gesturing at a seat. Mars caught the tail end of her question.

"D'you mind if I sit here?" Oh, what a pretty accent. Musing, Mars entered, leaning against the door frame.

"Got room for two?"

Alright for one more?

Interacting with @Mars T'ien and @Elodie Nyangui

"Thanks! They look dead delicious," Elodie says, feeling slightly more comfortable as she took a piece of bread from the girl, Crystal. On closer inspection, Elodie noticed that the bread wasn't ordinary bread - there were small flecks of green, and it smelt of something... but Elodie couldn't put her finger on it. A herb, maybe? A bite of the bread confirmed her suspicions, but she still couldn't figure out what herb. Nevertheless, it was as delicious as it had looked.

Elodie took a seat in the compartment, next to the window. Outside, she could see the crowd of parents still waving goodbye. She began to search the crowd for her father, but then stopped. Why should she bother? If he wasn't going to miss her, she wouldn't miss him. She took another bite of the soft dough, and turned to look at her companions instead. The first, who had introduced herself as Crystal, was a pretty girl, with and angular face, ginger red hair and lips that stood out on her fair skin. She was rather thin and small, a wisp of a girl, but appeared friendly, and larger than life. The second had not yet introduced themself. Their hair was red, but much darker than Crystal's, and Elodie suspected it was dyed. Eyeliner added to sharp features, and they looked much older than the first, but still young enough to be a First Year.

"M'name's Elodie," she added, her mouth still full of the mysterious herb bread. "This bread's really good, where'd you get it?"

@Mars T'ien and @Crystal Jagger

Interacting with @Crystal Jagger @Mars T'ien and @Elodie Nyangui

Interacting with @Wyatt Starkey, @Elodie Nyangui, and @Mars T'ien

Interacting with @Wyatt Starkey, @Crystal Jagger, and @Elodie Nyangui

At the girl's permission, Mars sank into the spot by the window, shoving their duffel bag under the seat. The other girl sat in the other window seat, gazing out the window, before turning back to the compartment. Mars peeled their jacket off, revealing a low-cut tank top and a pair of earbuds. They glanced at their companions, committing the faces to memory. The one who'd been in first had pale skin dotted with freckles, blue-gray eyes, and wispy ginger hair that framed her face well. She was thin too and seemed to be short, though it was hard to tell in her seated position. She seemed to be fidgeting in her seat, unable to sit still. The other had darker skin with freckle-like marks, curly brown hair, and round brown eyes that seemed to shift from place to place endlessly. She was well-dressed and adorned with gold jewelry that matched her skin tone.

The ginger shuffled her bags around, allowing the compartment to have adequate foot space. She pulled what looked like a loaf of bread out of one of her bags, already split into four pieces.

"My name's Crystal, Crystal Jagger. What are your names?" she asked as she offered a piece to both of them. Mars shook their head politely. The bread smelled wonderful, definitely baked with some kind of herbs. Probably rosemary if Mars had to guess. Still, eating, trains, and them didn't mix. The other girl, however, happily took a piece. She seemed to examine it for a moment before stuffing it into her mouth.

"M'name's Elodie," she said, mouth full. "This bread's really good, where'd you get it?" Before Crystal could respond, a boy turned into the compartment, looking somewhere between frantic and relieved. They could only assume most of the train was probably full by now, and finding a seat that wasn't surrounded by 4th or 5th years was a dream come true.

"Sorry- Do you mind if I join? The other compartments are full..." he asked. He had messy brown hair and pierced ears, odd for a boy so young. He was pale as a ghost and skinny, looking like he could be knocked over at any second. The scars that ran over his face didn't help either.

Crystal answered Elodie's question, something about her mother baking the rosemary bread. Ah, so it was rosemary. Mars smiled a little at their correct guess. When they came back out of their thoughts, the boy was already seated, probably having been welcomed by Crystal. Speaking of her, the girl had taken out a bunch of art supplies and seemed to be scribbling down a sketch as the train picked up speed.

The boy had a piece of bread in his hand and was chewing thoughtfully. He looked a little green, maybe just first day nerves or bread on a train, but he settled back, seeming as though he was content to sit there for the rest of the trip. Mars grinned. They knew the feeling.

"Now that we have a full house, I'm Mars," turning to the boy, they asked, "You are?"

Sorry I was late, I was trying to fix up my encyclopedia page.