Sunday Morning Reverence
Soon to meet @Elsa Veronica Bennettt
Simon was almost always in one of two places. If you were looking for the Hufflepuff, you could either search the Rehearsal Room where he might be with his guitar or seated at the piano, or you could search the Library.
Due to his inquisitive nature, more times than not it seemed he was at the Library come the start of his Second Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Usually it was at one of the larger wooden tables, where he would have books spread all about. Books on a particular subject of interest.
Other times, he could be found in one of the more casual areas of the Library. There was a small area near the East corner of the Library that Simon enjoyed to spend his time, whether it was reading some classic literature, studying one of his subjects, or just finding a place to collect his thoughts or write his music. There was a small sofa in that area, as well as some singular comfortable chairs, which is where he was at that given moment. He liked it there best, because it was away from the sun that filtered in through the windows. While beautiful and offering plenty of light, it just didn't work well for this particular boy.
It was Sunday morning and Simon had always found Sunday mornings to be a little difficult at Hogwarts. If he were back home in London, he would currently be in attendance at church, visiting with his friends and Aunt Maggie, assisting the younger clergy with their learning and playing games, and singing in the children's choir. He would also himself learn about God and his teachings and set small goals for himself to be a better person. Sunday mornings had been some of his favorite times but they didn't have church there at Hogwarts.
So he did the next best thing.
On Sunday morning, Simon would come to the Library, make himself comfortable, and then read through some of the passages in the Bible that he brought with him. From outside, he could hear the clocktower chime, indicating that it was now eleven. Before long, more students would filter into the Library and so he finished up his current passage before slowly closing the book, reflecting on what sort of goals he could gather from the lesson that the words had taught him.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
Sunday Morning Reverence
@Simon Kincaid
Nicky didn't recognize herself that day. And that didn't happen often. She woke up and saw the sun flooding in through the windows but the happiness just wasn't there.
It was the beginning of her third year at Hogwarts but she couldn't seem to make any of her friendships last, some people were plain mean to her and on top of that she had gotten into a huge fight with her sister the day before. She always believed there was a way out of any situation but that morning she was close to giving up altogether.
She went to bed early the night before thinking she would know what to do when the next day came. But it was morning already and she still had no idea.
Her sleep was full of nightmares where the mean girl from her dorm cast a tarantallegra spell on her and she had to dance rumba with a pink ostrich.
Nicky rubbed her eyes, got out of bed and put on her clothes. She didn't know what to do so she decided to just pick a random textbook and go study in the library.
Since it was a Sunday, there was almost no one around. Nicky crept to the farthest corner of the library and looked for a place to sit. There were a few chairs and a sofa but they didn't look as appealing to her as they usually would.
Her sister's words were still ringing around in her head:
"Why don't you find somebody else to bug for a change? I can't focus on anything with your constant babbling around me..."
She always thought talking was good. It helped people connect and it was generally fun. Why would Lynette get so angry with her all of a sudden? Nicky spent a considerable amount of time hanging out with her sister since she thought that Lynette, of all people, wouldn't get tired of her. But since she literally told her to shut up and leave her alone...
Nicky crouched on the floor behind the sofa and opened her potions textbook. But the words didn't seem to make any sense at all and her eyes were slowly welling up with tears.
She was too upset to notice someone sitting down on the sofa. A tear ran down her nose onto the page. She sniffed and wiped a few more tears with the back of her hand. Then she couldn't hold it in anymore and started sobbing quietly.
Nicky didn't recognize herself that day. And that didn't happen often. She woke up and saw the sun flooding in through the windows but the happiness just wasn't there.
It was the beginning of her third year at Hogwarts but she couldn't seem to make any of her friendships last, some people were plain mean to her and on top of that she had gotten into a huge fight with her sister the day before. She always believed there was a way out of any situation but that morning she was close to giving up altogether.
She went to bed early the night before thinking she would know what to do when the next day came. But it was morning already and she still had no idea.
Her sleep was full of nightmares where the mean girl from her dorm cast a tarantallegra spell on her and she had to dance rumba with a pink ostrich.
Nicky rubbed her eyes, got out of bed and put on her clothes. She didn't know what to do so she decided to just pick a random textbook and go study in the library.
Since it was a Sunday, there was almost no one around. Nicky crept to the farthest corner of the library and looked for a place to sit. There were a few chairs and a sofa but they didn't look as appealing to her as they usually would.
Her sister's words were still ringing around in her head:
"Why don't you find somebody else to bug for a change? I can't focus on anything with your constant babbling around me..."
She always thought talking was good. It helped people connect and it was generally fun. Why would Lynette get so angry with her all of a sudden? Nicky spent a considerable amount of time hanging out with her sister since she thought that Lynette, of all people, wouldn't get tired of her. But since she literally told her to shut up and leave her alone...
Nicky crouched on the floor behind the sofa and opened her potions textbook. But the words didn't seem to make any sense at all and her eyes were slowly welling up with tears.
She was too upset to notice someone sitting down on the sofa. A tear ran down her nose onto the page. She sniffed and wiped a few more tears with the back of her hand. Then she couldn't hold it in anymore and started sobbing quietly.
Nicky
Sunday Morning Reverence
Finding @Elsa Veronica Bennett
It was just as Simon was closing the cover to his Bible that he could have sworn he heard the crying. It was very faint, but in the open empty Library the sound was able to carry. He glanced around, seeing the Librarian over at the circulation desk near the entrance and seeing one of the school's elves that helped in the Library off in the distance. No one else. Abandoned.
Simon left his bag there on the small sofa and his book beside it and stood. Maybe they were just around the corner or something. It was the Abandoned Toilets on the second floor of the castle that had a reputation for crying students, but that didn't mean they couldn't retreat to the Library and hide out among the hundreds of thousands of books that rested on thousands upon thousands of shelves.
He took a few steps over the corner and glanced between some shelves in the Herbology section. No one there. He looked to his left across the way to where the History section was. No one. Very odd.
Quite sure that he wasn't hearing things, Simon listened. Nothing. He must have walked further away so he turned back and headed to where he originally started and he glanced around. If the sound didn't come from where he could see...that meant the person was somewhere else. Not further away, just, in a different place. Simon slowly moved to look behind the sofa and that's when he saw the girl. She was down on the floor and obviously not having her best day. "Hey," he said softly, so not to startle her and he instantly knelt down so he could sit down next to her. "What's wrong? What can I do to help?" It didn't matter if he didn't know her. A fellow student was hurting and he wanted to do anything he could to make her feel better.
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
Sunday Morning Reverence
@Simon Kincaid
Nicky couldn't understand where the voice was coming from at first. She glanced at her book absent-mindedly and noticed that several tears had slid down the page and one of the lines now said "add *smudge* slugs". Great. She could fail potions if she didn't find out what the word was. She rubbed the tears out of her eyes and looked in front of her. There was a boy, staring at her with concern. He looked approximately her age, even though she couldn't tell what year he was from.
What had he asked her?... Right. What's wrong.
"Nothing" - she sniffed uncertainly, chunks of her sister's words still stuck in her mind. But then it all started pouring out.
"A lot of things, really. I am annoying and talk too much, not too much but a lot because when I am happy I talk and I am almost always happy and I have a lot to say, well, I talk when I am sad too but not as much, but talking isn't wrong and neither is being happy but some people find that annoying and my sister says I will never have any real friends if I don't shut up once in a while and I am impossible to be around but somehow she was around for thirteen years and didn't get tired of me or was she just pretending to like me and didn't like me, what if nobody else ever liked me too, and I can't talk to Frank because he always gets me but he's in college now and he is busy and I don't want to worry him and I don't want to tell grandpa we had a fight with Lynette because he is going to be worried *sob* too and I miss my family nobody ever fights when we are together but I can't get on with Lynette when we are alone and this other girl said *sob* I am annoying too and I quit Quidditch last year because it was boring but now I miss hanging out with my teammates and I am going to *sob* fail potions because I cried and the page is ruined, I can't study now and I just can't stop crying... That's about it... Oh that's not so many things, that was just four things or was it five I forgot to count *sob*.
Am I talking too much again, is it annoying, are you going to leave now?
And a series of long sobs followed that heartfelt speech while a few more tears fell on the page and now besides adding *smudge* slugs she had to heat the *smudge* up to *smudge* temperature and stir it *smudge* times.
Nicky couldn't understand where the voice was coming from at first. She glanced at her book absent-mindedly and noticed that several tears had slid down the page and one of the lines now said "add *smudge* slugs". Great. She could fail potions if she didn't find out what the word was. She rubbed the tears out of her eyes and looked in front of her. There was a boy, staring at her with concern. He looked approximately her age, even though she couldn't tell what year he was from.
What had he asked her?... Right. What's wrong.
"Nothing" - she sniffed uncertainly, chunks of her sister's words still stuck in her mind. But then it all started pouring out.
"A lot of things, really. I am annoying and talk too much, not too much but a lot because when I am happy I talk and I am almost always happy and I have a lot to say, well, I talk when I am sad too but not as much, but talking isn't wrong and neither is being happy but some people find that annoying and my sister says I will never have any real friends if I don't shut up once in a while and I am impossible to be around but somehow she was around for thirteen years and didn't get tired of me or was she just pretending to like me and didn't like me, what if nobody else ever liked me too, and I can't talk to Frank because he always gets me but he's in college now and he is busy and I don't want to worry him and I don't want to tell grandpa we had a fight with Lynette because he is going to be worried *sob* too and I miss my family nobody ever fights when we are together but I can't get on with Lynette when we are alone and this other girl said *sob* I am annoying too and I quit Quidditch last year because it was boring but now I miss hanging out with my teammates and I am going to *sob* fail potions because I cried and the page is ruined, I can't study now and I just can't stop crying... That's about it... Oh that's not so many things, that was just four things or was it five I forgot to count *sob*.
Am I talking too much again, is it annoying, are you going to leave now?
And a series of long sobs followed that heartfelt speech while a few more tears fell on the page and now besides adding *smudge* slugs she had to heat the *smudge* up to *smudge* temperature and stir it *smudge* times.
Nicky
Sunday Morning Reverence
Hoping to help @Elsa Veronica Bennett
"No, I'm not going to leave," he said, answering the last question first. She had a lot to say but he always held the notion that you couldn't get to know someone unless you talked to them and spent time with them. Like with the girl here, he already knew that she had a sister and perhaps a brother too? She used to play quidditch and she cared about her grades.
"Come, sit with me," he encouraged her, taking her potions book and tossing it up onto the sofa that she was sitting behind. He took her hand and would begin to help her up with an encouraging smile. "I'm Simon. Simon Kincaid." He didn't have to declare he was a Hufflepuff because he still had on his school uniform, Hufflepuff colored tie and all.
"Would I be venturing correctly to assume that Lynette, your sister, is older?" he got that sort of impression from what she was saying. "I've had friends who have older siblings, I haven't any myself, but they get to a certain age where relationships are all that matters and they no longer want to spend time with their siblings or parents or on studies. It's all about boys or it's all about girls. It's not right, but maybe that's where she is right now. It's her issue at having a lack of focus right now on things that are important, like family. It's not an issue with you."
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
Sunday Morning Reverence
@Simon Kincaid
Nicky was afraid that the boy might be overwhelmed by the amount of things she had to say - the cluster of problems she had dumped on him even made her feel uncomfortable, however talkative she was. And Lynette had said... well many things, many of which she probably had never meant to say out loud but which of them were true and which weren't? But the guy in front of her didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he extended a hand to her in a welcoming gesture, inviting her to sit with him. And he introduced himself too. Nicky wiped away a stray tear and smiled through her next sniff.
"It is nice to meet you, Simon. I am Nicky. Well, Elsa Veronica Bennett, really, but the full name is way too long to say every time, so my grandpa helped me choose a cool nickname. He is a Hufflepuff too, by the way. I mean, he used to be, and he is such a great person and a brilliant healer!"
Nicky realized she was being carried away again and, still wary of scaring her new friend away, quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, yes, Lynette is my sister and she is older and she is so smart and compassionate, I don't even know why we fight. I don't think she has a boyfriend or a crush on anyone, but maybe I just didn't notice, or maybe she had other things on her mind. I can understand, I always have so much on my mind too, maybe I just overreacted, I overreacted, right?"
Nicky was afraid that the boy might be overwhelmed by the amount of things she had to say - the cluster of problems she had dumped on him even made her feel uncomfortable, however talkative she was. And Lynette had said... well many things, many of which she probably had never meant to say out loud but which of them were true and which weren't? But the guy in front of her didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he extended a hand to her in a welcoming gesture, inviting her to sit with him. And he introduced himself too. Nicky wiped away a stray tear and smiled through her next sniff.
"It is nice to meet you, Simon. I am Nicky. Well, Elsa Veronica Bennett, really, but the full name is way too long to say every time, so my grandpa helped me choose a cool nickname. He is a Hufflepuff too, by the way. I mean, he used to be, and he is such a great person and a brilliant healer!"
Nicky realized she was being carried away again and, still wary of scaring her new friend away, quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, yes, Lynette is my sister and she is older and she is so smart and compassionate, I don't even know why we fight. I don't think she has a boyfriend or a crush on anyone, but maybe I just didn't notice, or maybe she had other things on her mind. I can understand, I always have so much on my mind too, maybe I just overreacted, I overreacted, right?"
Nicky
Sunday Morning Reverence
Hoping to cheer up @Elsa Veronica Bennett
"Nicky is nice," he said, complimenting her nickname. It was quite a contrast to something more formal though like Elsa Veronica Bennett. Nice though. "You might have overreacted," he shrugged, not really one that could tell her the truth in it. He didn't know her older sister Lynette and he didn't know her intentions on why she said or did the things she had to Nicky. Still, they seemed on pretty good terms - except this minor hiccup.
"I just know that strong relationships are like waves in the ocean. They come strong at times, they are low at other times, but its always there. Don't give up on Lynette. I bet you're as important to her as she is to you. In the meantime, maybe when she's off hanging out with other friends or even boys or whatever, we can hang out some. We already both like the Library," he smiled.
He wasn't sure what else the two had in common but that could be something to figure out in time. And if they had nothing in common? Well, that was fine too! Simon always appreciated learning new things and finding out about someone else's passion. He loved when people found their 'thing' and went with it, even if it wasn't something he had much knowledge of.
"And then, maybe someday, Lynette will want to do something with you and you'll have to tell her 'Oh, sorry, I can't. I already have plans to hang out with my extremely good looking, amazing and awesome friend Simon. Maybe next time, sis."'
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)
Sunday Morning Reverence
@Simon Kincaid
For some reason, his words were comforting and Nicky almost forgot all her worries. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Lynette's words were still gnawing on her but she decided she wouldn't give up as easily. Simon was right, any relationship, no matter how great, would have issues. Maybe she would have to talk to Lynette and ask her to be honest with her about everything. Ask her to tell her if she really doesn't like her anymore or if she was simply upset about something else when she said all those things. Maybe she would feel better then.
Besides, Simon was offering her to hang out! That meant they were going to be friends and she would have one more person to talk to. Nicky looked at Simon with her toothy grin back on her face and her green eyes sparkling.
She even giggled at the last phrase. She was definitely feeling better now.
"Oh, if she asked me to hang out with her, I probably wouldn't be able to say no, I'd just drag her along with us. Or maybe not, I've never said no to hanging out with someone so I wouldn't know. Is that bad?"
She stared at Simon thoughtfully.
For some reason, his words were comforting and Nicky almost forgot all her worries. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Lynette's words were still gnawing on her but she decided she wouldn't give up as easily. Simon was right, any relationship, no matter how great, would have issues. Maybe she would have to talk to Lynette and ask her to be honest with her about everything. Ask her to tell her if she really doesn't like her anymore or if she was simply upset about something else when she said all those things. Maybe she would feel better then.
Besides, Simon was offering her to hang out! That meant they were going to be friends and she would have one more person to talk to. Nicky looked at Simon with her toothy grin back on her face and her green eyes sparkling.
She even giggled at the last phrase. She was definitely feeling better now.
"Oh, if she asked me to hang out with her, I probably wouldn't be able to say no, I'd just drag her along with us. Or maybe not, I've never said no to hanging out with someone so I wouldn't know. Is that bad?"
She stared at Simon thoughtfully.
Nicky
Sunday Morning Reverence
Talking with @Elsa Veronica Bennett
"Depends on the situation, I suppose," he answered, but was glad to see that Nicky seemed to be in better spirits than when he first began to talk with her. "And if you had to ever ditch me for your sister, I'd understand," he smiled. After all, family was important. One didn't have to have a lot of family to still know that. It surrounded him in all he knew, from stories of his own family, to his friends and their families, to fictional characters in movies, television, and literature.
Nicky was lucky for having a sister there at Hogwarts, and it appeared that the sister just had to realize how she was lucky as well having Nicky there. It was a good support system, if used correctly.
"So how're you liking Gryffindor?" If he thought on it, Simon had yet to meet a Gryffindor that was disappointed in getting Gryffindor. It must have been a pretty decenet house to have been chosen by the hat to get into. Simon himself was quite happy with Hufflepuff, even from the start, and now that he knew all that truly encompassed being a Hufflepuff and what it meant - well, he couldn't see himself any other place. "Think you'll want to try for quidditch or broom racing or dueling?"
Be kind to one another. (*iNPC is Miles Thatcher)