Closed Studying Surprise

Once the last class of the day was over, EmmaLee carefully packed her things into her bag and headed outside to study. She liked the library when she needed to do some research but there was something about the fresh air and the smell of Scottish grass that always cleared her mind and made it easier for her to concentrate. Even with all of the other students milling about, chattering, and enjoying the end of their day, EmmaLee did most of her homework outside near this particular tree on the grounds. She liked it, partially, because the tree was good for climbing as well when she need a moment to move around and stretch her legs and the hill it sat on gave a nice view of the grounds and everyone milling about around her.

She waved to a few friends who were talking or playing outside games as she walked along the grounds and over to "her" studying spot. As she came over the hill, she saw a boy under the tree she usually sat under instead. She recalled him from a few of her classes. He was a quiet, Gryffindor boy who didn't seem to really talk to anyone and she knew at least that his last name was Drago from the professor's calling on him in class. She tipped her head a little to the side in curiosity, as he was looking very closely at what he was trying to read. Was he confused about the information? Did he need glasses?

Well, not one to be perturbed or deterred by someone sitting in "her" spot, she continued to walk over to him and chuckled a little as she did. "You seem to be in my spot, sir. I was planning on studying there." She said, smiling wide to show that she wasn't actually bothered. "Do you mind if we share the tree?" She pushed a lock of long white hair out of her face and over her ear as the wind picked up and she waited for the boy's response.

Abi glanced upward upon hearing the gentle voice, eyes a bit wide. He examined the girl- white blonde hair, and blue eyes similar to his. The freckles scattered across her cheeks seemed to connect like constellations, causing him to get a little lost in them for a second.

He paused, realizing she was probably waiting for his answer. He glanced down, nodding a bit and scooting over to make room for her. I should probably move, he thought. But it would be rude to walk away now. So instead, he stayed put, looking once again at the book, thinking she would get bored of him anyway, or become annoyed at his silence, or kick him out altogether.

In the meantime, he simply dug his nose back into the book, pulling up his relatively long legs underneath him, trying to make his squinting less noticeable. He remembered the reading glasses in his pocket once again, but dared not pull them out now. It was only his first couple of weeks here, and the last thing he wanted was for the pestering and bullying to start like his old school.

He stared deeply into the book, barely able to read the words, awaiting to see her reaction, and only hoping she isn't like the others.

EmmaLee watched as the Drago boy nodded and then seemed to try and make himself smaller by scooting over and curling his legs under him so that she could sit down as well. It was a rather large tree and would easily fit them both, or three or four other students, comfortably. She wondered for half a second if he was used to making himself smaller for other people, then physically waved the thought from the front of her face before moving to sit against the tree trunk as well in a way that if the boy was facing South, she would be facing East.

"Thank you." She said, politely. "I'm EmmaLee. What's your name?" She asked, folding her own legs delicately under her and smoothing her skirt down as she sat. She leaned against her fourth of the tree and was careful not to let their shoulders bump as she leaned back and stared over the grounds with a comfortable smile on her face. She enjoyed the outdoors and when she wasn't worried about stepping on anyone's toes or anyone making fun of her pronunciations or her accent, she was rather content to just sit and watch people and the world go by in the quiet company of everyone around her.

EmmaLee raised a thin, white eyebrow as the Gryffindor put his nose further into the book in what others would see as a rude gesture, but she could see him squinting even further, obviously trying to see the page. She almost chuckled at the similarity, but held it in, because it was the same face that her childhood friend Grace made when she was insistent that she didn't need glasses. EmmaLee found it endearing, in a way, although was a little sad at the idea that either of them were self conscious about needing glasses.

She decided not to mention it. If he was anything like Grace and was as insecure about it as she had been, he would probably yell at her and run away. Also, maybe it was just the sun on the page, despite the full shade of the tree. Instead, she pulled her knees up to her chest, put her head on top of them, and looked towards the other student. "What book are you reading? Is it interesting?" She asked, still wearing a small, hopefully friendly smile.

At the question of his name, he paused. If he said his real name, he'd likely get made fun of or teased. Word would spread around school of the boy with a girly name, and he'd had to go back to how things were before. But, if he tried lying, she would find out eventually and possibly confront him. Both weren't great options.

Instead of answering, he buries his nose back into the book, hoping she wouldn't notice.

She asked another question, and he hesitated once again. She seemed friendly enough, her voice light and accented. It was quite nice. Without glancing up from his book, he said firmly: "My name is Abi. I'm just reading a textbook from potions class." The words scrambled together, smoothly yet hesitantly at the same time. "It's not all that interesting, frankly. A bit confusing, if anything." He lowered the book slightly, his head throbbing slightly from the effort of trying to read the small print. He glanced up a bit, looking at the Hufflepuff girl.

"You said this was your spot. Do you want me to move?" He shifted his legs a bit, already preparing to bolt is she decided his presence was a bit too much.

EmmaLee kept her head on her knees and stayed quite as she watch the conflict on his face. He seemed a little bit like a scared rabbit ho couldn't decide whether to flee or to play dead and hoped the predator would just lose interest. Hmmm not that she thought he thought of her that way. She was sure that if he truly didn't want her around he would have just left or told her to beat it when she joked about it being her spot. He did seem the type of person would would tell someone to just go away if he wanted.

Once he had finally seemed to reach a decision about talking to her and turned to really look at her, she smiled widely and lifted her head to look at him properly as well. "It's nice to meet you, Abi." She crinkled her freckled nose at the mention that it was a potions book, but was still smiling to show that she wasn't upset. "I.... am alright at potions but I really don't like doing them so I'm kind of lazy about it. I'd rather do anything but." She said with a small chuckle and a shrug. "If you want to tell me what you're confused about, maybe we could sort it out together? Are you having trouble with some of the terms?" She turned her head a little bit to try and see the pages of his book, then turned back to look at him as he asked about moving.

"Oh." She blinked her bright blue eyes a couple of times as if she never would have considered asking him to leave, because she wouldn't have. He was here first. "I was really just joking when I said that." She said with a small laugh. "I do sit here a lot to do homework and study, but this tree is definitely big enough for four or five people to comfortably sit under." She turned her body to face him by shuffling her feet from side to side. "I mean, if I am bothering you by talking too much, you can let me know and I can scoot over to the opposite side and leave you alone to sort out your book." She offered calmly, raising a thin, white eyebrow.

Abi considered her offer with the potions book, mulling it over. He dipped his head a bit, his voice lowering. "It's not exactly the content I'm as confused about. It's more of the words." He slid his hand into his left pocket, slowly and hesitantly pulling out thin, black reading glasses. She didn't seem like the type to pick on someone for something like that. Maybe she had been picked on before, for something else. He fingered the glasses, ocean blue eyes flicking towards them. "I'm supposed to be using these, but... well, I'd rather not be picked on by every other person in school for it." He fiddled with his shirt, avoiding eye contact. It was quite embarassing- boys are supposed to be brave, not afraid of some bullies, strong and reckless and not scared of simple things- yet another reason people say he's hardly a boy. But he tried to ignore the pondering thoughts.

He glanced up at her again as she mentioned the tree, instantly shaking his head to her offer. "No, you don't have to move. I... quite like the company." He scratched the back of his head a bit, his black wavy hair wisping over his eyes as a soft blush rushes up his cheeks.

EmmaLee watched intently as Abi pulled out a pair of thin, black frames and tentatively twisted them between his fingers. "Ah, I see." She said with a kind smile. "My friend Grace was really self conscious about her own glasses for a long while." She frowned as a thought crossed her mind.

"Young children can be particularly cruel sometimes for no reason, but it seems in this area of the world, at least, that um Harry Potter person made glasses cool or something. He's in all of the history books." She said, picking at bit at the grass as she spoke. She remembered how one girl had be particularly bad about finding anything she could to try and tease EmmaLee and her friends with. It was part of the reason Grace wouldn't wear her glasses at first as well.

"I don't think I've heard anyone here make any comments about anyone else wearing glasses and quite a few people here do wear them consistently. Maybe wizards over all have just gotten over being rude for dumb reasons." She said, thoughtfully, looking back up at Abi with a shrug. "Really, though, I don't think that you need to worry about being bullied here. Everyone I've met so far has been really nice and helpful, even the older students."

EmmaLee smiled widely as Abi rejected her offer to move. "Ok, then. I'm glad you say that because I'm really enjoying talking to you. It's so nice to meet another friend." She said with a small chuckle.

Abi nodded a bit in understanding, taking in her words. "Yeah, that's true. It's unfair, honestly, but I guess that's life." He looked up, smiling a bit. "Yeah, the Harry Potter guy is pretty famous. And his glasses are pretty cool. I tried getting some like his, but the closest they had were the oval ones."

He slipped the glasses back into his pocket, then brushed his hair out of his face again. "I'm just playing it safe, really. Better safe than sorry, right? But... you're a little different from the rest. It's nice having someone a little similar to me in this school." He offered a small smile, his ocean blue eyes twinkling.

"I wouldn't know how nice people are. I don't really talk to anyone else." He scratched his head a bit, a little lost in thought. "Like I said, better safe then sorry. I'd rather not talk to anyone than talk and risk getting picked on again." He chuckled a bit, remembering the words of his younger sibling. "My little brother would always tell me I could just fight the other kids. I probably could, but I prefer not to. Bad for my record."

He looked up as she answered his previous question, smiling. "I'm glad. I know I'm not the best to talk with. Others say it's hard to understand me with my accent. It's not exactly asian, but it's not british either. It's a mix of both, I suppose." He fidgeted with his hands a bit, trying not to talk too much and annoy her. He knew once he started talking, he had a habit to keep going. "It's nice talking to you too. You're pretty nice. Maybe we could be good friends."

EmmaLee hummed a little in response. "I think your glasses would suit you if you wore them. They'd go well with your floppy hair, too." She said with a sweet smile, reaching up and pushing her own bangs out of her face in a mimic of his motion. "Not everyone has the face for those perfectly round kind." She put her chin on top of her knees and shrugged a little.

"I've kind of started ignoring what people think of me. Those who mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind, yes?" She continued, picking at some of the grass in front of her toes. "Not that I would ever tell anyone what to do or push someone into being uncomfortable, but I think living a life in a box, afraid of being hurt is a waste. If you avoid everything that might hurt you, you also avoid everything that might be great for you. A lot of the time, terrible things happen in your own home and there's no avoiding it at all." She continued, trailing off a little bit as she thought about her father's death and her experiences at summer camp. Her father had never predicted that his potion would go that wrong. She wrinkled her nose and physically waved the thought away from the front of her face, then smiled at Abi again. She chuckled a little at his comment about his brother.

"I think every peaceable action should be taken against a bully first, but I will admit that I am not opposed to smacking a person." She said, sitting up a little and moving her arms into a boxer pose. "To be fair, I've never actually had to hit someone so the point is a little moot. I think girls probably get away with not fighting a little more than boys." She said with another shrug, moving to lean bac on her hands with her legs together in front of her as Abi spoke again.

"I think you are very nice to talk with and you should stop saying things like that about yourself." She responded, sticking her tongue out a little at him to show she wasn't annoyed, but more cared about his self-image. "Anyone who has a problem understanding any accent is just too lazy to make the most minimal effort and blaming it on the person with the accent is rubbish." Emmalee laughed a little and blushed, feeling like she was talking too much. Really being too open, rather. She had a habit of just saying what was on her mind that could drive people away sometimes.

"I'm sorry if I'm a little forceful. I just have strong opinions and I'm not really shy about expressing them. Let me know if being too much." She sat forward, picked a few of the blue wildflowers growing around them, and started braiding them into a crown. "What are your favorite classes so far?" She asked, trying to steer away from bullies and self-image kind of talking.