Tai's Gallery martch 23

Cheese Quesadilla makes two

ingredients (6) Medium sized slices of cheese (2) Wraps Spreadable butter Additional toppings of choice

equipment Sandwich press/toastie maker Scissors Knife Chopping board

method
1) Defrost wraps and lay them side-by-side on a chopping board.
2) Cut each wrap in a straight line from the bottom to the centre.
3) Place a slice of cheese on the bottom left and both top sections of the wrap.
4) Fold the bottom right quarter of the wrap onto the top right.
5) Fold the top right corner onto the top left, and then down to the bottom left one.
6) Toast the wraps in your sandwich press, pulling off when you are ready.

W R I T I N G one

Write a poem about Spring (under 200 words)

W R I T I N G two

Write a gossip leaflet about your character (think Gossip Girl/Bridgerton style) (under 500 words, over 100 words)

W R I T I N G three

Have your character tell us their best PG13 joke (under 200 words, over 50 words)

Some students had decided to hold a bit of a joke contest and knowing what Althea would say, Taisia of course went. It was inside an empty classroom, and she quickly went along. After watching many students go up and tell jokes, she got used to the friendly atmosphere and decided to tell one of her own. The room quietened.
"Two Hungarian Horntails walk into a bar. One says, 'It's hot in here. The other says, 'Shut your mouth.'
Her joke wouldn't win the competition, but it was funny enough to have people laugh. 94 words.

W R I T I N G four

Write a post about feelings with no dialogue (under 1000 words, over 200 words)

(dated for the day before Spring Break)
It was all new to her. Edward, the going to balls together. The wanting to know if he felt the same way. The thinking about whether they would be high school sweethearts. It was the sort of thing Althea would do, would feel. Althea had had many boyfriends before Taisia had gone away. According to her, she loved each one more than the rest. Taisia smiled at the thought of finally seeing her sister as she packed her suitcase. Just below her was her friend and bunkmate, Bailey Glade. But back to Edward. The Spring Ball was in 21 days, and Taisia was hoping to be asked by him. There, maybe, just maybe, they would finally take it forward, even the tiniest bit. After all, you wouldn't take someone to three balls if you didn't like them right?

Bailey did it though.

And at Hogwarts, Bailey was Taisia's mentor, big sister, idol. She and Kim went to all the balls together. 'Just friends,' they would always tell everyone. What if Ed just thought they were friends? If he was simply being nice to her, because that's what people do?

Taisia came to one conclusion. Althea was wrong. Liking someone was a confusing mess of tangled feelings. Taisia didn't like it.
210/200

W R I T I N G four

Write a solo with your character trying something new (under 1000 words, over 200 words)

Taisia stood in front of a mirror in the Abandoned Toilets. Her reflection stared back at her, nervous about what she was going to do.

Taisia had chosen the Abandoned Bathrooms specifically. She didn't want anyone to walk in on her whilst she was trying this out. Moaning Myrtle was nowhere to be found- thankfully. It was the day before the Spring Ball, and she really wanted to make sure she could do this before tomorrow.

She took the tube out of her pocket, and stepped closer to the mirror, her footsteps unintentionally quiet. Unscrewing the lid, she leaned in and put the brush up to one eye. Taisia paused for a minute and blinked. With the brush so close to her eye, clumps of mascara settled on her lashes. When she took the brush away from her eye, she left a trail of black make up down her cheek.

This was it. This was why she didn't wear make up. But then there was Ed. He'd never specified that he wanted her to wear make up. She was only twelve. But Althea did it. And Althea was Tai's best friend and older sister, so of course she wanted to do it too.

She bent down over the tap and splashed water up over her eyes, scrubbing them free of the mascara. She was glad she hadn't used the waterproof one, or it would've been a complete disaster.

This time, she held the brush a little further away from her eyelashes. When she was ready, she applied it like she'd watched Althea do over the holidays.

After she was done, she stood back. It wasn't perfect, but it still looked great! 281 words

W R I T I N G six

Make up a spell (under 300 words, over 50 words)

Cogitationis
You're running late to an event and you haven't had time to check your appearance. You don't want to walk in and have raccoon eyes from smudged mascara, lipstick on your teeth and wild mane of hair. But you don't have a mirror with you. Introducing Cognitationis! With two circles turning clockwise and a tap of it, you can make any surface reflective! Now you can strut your stuff and make your entrance! 73 words

Taisia was going on an adventure. Kind of.

Now that she was thirteen, Althea was finally deemed old enough to go out, not alone, but not with a parent. She'd spent the first day of her new freedom by shopping with a friend for the entire day. And since she'd come home, Taisia had been bugging her about going up The Hills.

Tai wasn't a very active girl, and running was something she avoided especially. But The Hills were different. The Hills had an air of mystery to them, a place that Taisia wanted to explore.

With a small lunch packed for the two of them, they set off. The Hills were near one of the borders of their property, so their mother had agreed they could walk there.

By the time they reached the base of one of the hills, Taisia was exhausted. Yet she had been waiting to explore The Hills for forever, and so she climbed behind Althea.

The hill they had chosen wasn't that steep, but Taisia didn't have a problem with Althea picking her up. When they reached the top of the hill, Taisia finally looked out. There, in that moment, she felt like she was on top of the world. Parts of the hill the sisters stood on showcased the plains of the countryside, others displaying a more urban approach.

They ate their lunch atop the hill and then while Althea took photos of the view, Taisia headed to one side of the mountain she'd taken note of before. It was different, from the rest. Luscious green grasses grew and beautiful butterflies resided there.

Climbing back down the hill and heading home couldn't even shake the feeling from the girl. She was completely buzzed over her 'adventure', even if it hadn't been all that much.

Taisia hated sports.

She found them to be disgustingly sweaty, noisy and confusing. But she had been brought up on Quidditch. The Stroudefieldes would go out into their backyard, brooms and ball kit in tow and they would play. Taisia missed those Saturday afternoons dearly.

It was on one of those days that Taisia discovered her passion for Quidditch, for Keeping. The family didn't have rules about positions. They plated without a set chaser or seeker, just two teams, a set keeper and no beaters. One day Taisia was tired of playing Chaser. There was mud splotched on her face, in her hair and it was all mussed up. She asked her mum if she could go as a Keeper, and she said yes.

That day Taisia discovered how much she could love a sport. She was a natural born Keeper.

And today she was back on the Quidditch Pitch, training after her first game with Ravenclaw. Of course she was only a second string, but she wanted to be ready if she ever needed to play.

Training as a Keeper was hard when there was no one else out. She remembered last time, with Edward, smiling giddily. Stop. Concentrate on training, then Ed. She decided to practise her reaction times.

As a Keeper, she also had to save people who had fallen off their brooms. She practised diving, plummeting at first, then zooming off in a graceful arc. After a couple of times, she decided to go back in and finish reading her book. 255 words

I've been feeling like this for a long time,
this early it feels like a crime.
But I need to tell you this,
I hope you will not resist.
My heart is beating fast,
reminding me of our past,
Hoping, wishing, you feel the same.
To me, this is more than a game.
Darling, I know it's true.
I love you.
61 words