Closed Summer Ready Bonfire Bash

The girls ran as fast as they could up to the edge of the shore, and Charlie went right up to the edge of the water, before she realized that her friend Ava had fallen behind her. She paused, and before she could turn to see what the heck Ava was doing, someone behind her pushed her. And not just a little tap or shove, a great big push that sent her flying right into the waters of the great lake. She wasn’t even wearing her swimsuit, which was not helpful. Not helpful at all. Her clothes were now soaked, which happened to be one of the worst feelings besides getting dumped by your best friend.

Charlie wiped the water out of her eyes and turned in the water to look at her best friend Ava who was still standing at the water's edge. “Ava, do I need to get out and shove you in?” Charlie asked as she looked up at her friend who was standing above her.

When Ava finally got into the murky lake water, before Charlie could splash her, Ava declared a race. Charlie being Charlie she just couldn’t say no. So the two set off, but Ava had beaten her by… quite a lot.

Charlie made it back to the shore and plopped down right next to Ava. “Gonna go grab a few towels, be right back.” Charlie said as she hopped right back up and made her way over to where the party was.

June 30, 2023
Mention: @Ava Winchect
Permission given/received for godmods

While Charlie was going to grab towels, Ava lied down on the grass and spread her arms and legs out on the grass. The cool grass tickled her underarms, and the soft breeze whipped her hair around her face, which had returned to a normal color.

Ava had no cares in the world, and all she could think was ‘this is how it’s supposed to be’. Her hair pulsed yellow to match her content and happy feeling, and it continued in waves until a thought sobered her up. Was this what normal people felt like all the time? People who weren’t…almost-murderers? If she had never done it, would she feel like this every day? Did Charlie feel like this everyday?

She sat up and used her arms to support her. The grass tickled her palms but her hold was steady, not wavering until Charlie returned with the towels. One of them smacked into her back, and Ava smiled sadly. Good old Charlie, a classic move to get back at her for splashing her. Ava reached one arm to readjust the towel so it covered her better, and kept the other on the ground to keep her propped up.

"Is this what it’s always like?" Ava asked, and she knew Charlie would understand the true meaning behind the words.

x/200

June 28th

@Charlie Jacobsen

Permission given for godmods

Charlie Jacobsen hurried quickly into the bonfire area to snatch two towels for herself and her friend Ava. She grabbed two of the neatly folded towels from the somewhat large pile of towels. Charlie hugged the towels tight as she trotted back to Ava through the trees back to the shores of the great magical lake. When she arrived her friend Ava was laying down in the grass, all sprawled out. When Charlie was closer, she called out “Catch, Ava, Catch!” she shouted.

What Ava did not do was turn quickly enough to catch the towel that Charlie threw at her. It hit Ava’s back and fell to the ground into the muddy grassy ground.

Charlie and her towel plopped down on the ground and did a quick little drying of her hair while Ava adjusted herself. When Ava asked her if that was how it was to be normal, Charlie had no idea what to say. After waiting a couple of seconds that felt like minutes, Charlie decided to answer.

“Well… Uhhh… I mean sure? I don’t really know what to say…” she eventually responded. This was a difficult conversation. Very hard. Charlie had no clue what to say to her friend. She sat and played in the grass and mud while she waited for Ava to respond.

June 30, 2023
Mention: @Ava Winchect
Permission given/received for godmods

"Nevermind," Ava sighed as she pulled herself up and out of the grass. She rewrapped her towel around herself and headed towards the snack bar, where her stomach was teased with an assortment of foods.

"What do you want to try first?" Ava asked as she grabbed a cup and poured herself some water. After all, you had to start with a fresh pallet before each food. Ava was eying the chocolates and some caramels, while Charlie seemed to be more focused on the marshmallows. "Why don’t we try the s’mores stuff first?" She offered, then grabbed a marshmallow so that Charlie didn’t have time to say ‘no’.

You couldn’t just have a marshmallow and put it on graham crackers, though. First, you had to roast it. Sure, there was a perfectly good fire waiting to be used to make perfectly golden-brown marshmallows. But nothing in Ava’s life would ever be perfect, and so neither would her marshmallows. She whipped her wand out of a hidden pocket in her clothes and held it up with a mischievous smile. She didn’t know if Charlie knew what she was planning, but she would in a split second.


Ava dropped the marshmallow on the ground and flicked her wand in the correct wand movement: a flame. "Incendio," she pronounced under her breath, and a flame sprouted from the tip of her wand and moved steadily towards the marshmallow.

x/200

June 28th

@Charlie Jacobsen

Permission given for godmods

The awkward moment was over in a jiffy, when Ava never minded Charlie. Charlie wanted to say something back, but she didn’t really have the guts to do so. She followed Ava like a duckling might follow their mother, over to the snack table where Charlie began looking at the assortment of s’mores toppings. They all looked really delicious and made her mouth water. She knew that at least four different s’mores would end up in her stomach, along with miscellaneous chocolates and cookies.

Ava spoke and began grabbing stuff to roast some s’mores. Charlie didn’t have time to complain, not that she wanted to, so she followed Ava and started off with a plain marshmallow on her roasting stick.

Charlie circled around the fire and settled on a spot that had hot coals. She stuck the marshmallow into the fire and waited. She waited a moment, but didn’t see Ava roasting her marshmallow in the fire, so she got up and saw her. Ava was incendio-ing her marshmallow. The marshmallow had caught on fire, but it was extremely close to Ava. Before Charlie could think, her wand was in her right hand and “Extinguo!” She shouted and made the correct wand motion. The fire had burnt Ava‘s marshmallow to a black crisp. I thought rushed into Charlie’s mind that Ava might’ve actually wanted her marshmallow burnt, but Charlie had stopped it. “You scared me Ava.” She said quietly.

June 30, 2023
Mention: @Ava Winchect
Permission given/received for godmods

Ava rolled her eyes at Charlie. "You sound like a mom," It sounded like a normal tease, but the words held hurt behind them. She didn’t say ‘you sound like my mom’, she said ‘you sound like a mom’. Clearly, things were always on her mind, be it her messed up family or her messed up actions. Sometimes even her messed up school and messed up friends.

Sometimes the words that came out of her words were a tease. Sometimes they sounded like one, but weren’t.

Ava went to grab some graham crackers to smash her marshmallow between, and she did so rather violently. "I had it under control," She muttered, then blushed. She hoped Charlie hadn’t heard her unhappiness, because, while their friendship had been through a lot, Ava would punch anyone who told her that.

At least the s’more still tasted alright. She headed over to where everyone else was sitting, and crunched on the s’more goodness in silence. She wasn’t sure what Charlie was thinking, honestly. Once she finished her s’more, she stood up to grab another marshmallow. This time she would roast it like everyone else. How everyone expected her to roast it.

x/200

June 28th

@Charlie Jacobsen

Permission given for godmods

Charlie pretty much had instant regret when she put out Ava’s flaming marshmallow. Charlie really just wanted to help her friend, but instead it had pretty much backfired. Ava called her a mom, which felt weird to Charlie. Charlie didn't say anything back, but she just stared. Charlie had felt regret like this a few times before with her friend Ava, and this time she just decided to let go. Before she could leave, Ava did. Ava ran back to the food table to get graham crackers for her now burnt marshmallow, to finish her s'more. Charlie wanted to run after her friend Ava, but she didn't. Instead, she plopped down on one of the logs that had been moved close up to the fire, and mindlessly stuck her marshmallow into the fire.

A few moments later, her own marshmallow erupted in to flames. Before even trying to blow it out she whipped out her wand and “Extinguo.” she said, and watched the flames go out. Charlie sat in silence for a few moments, before throwing her burnt marshmallow into the fire. She sat there for a moment and then decided to get up and get a new marshmallow. It was okay to have to start over, this was Charlie doing so. She had already started over with Ava, but it hadn’t been really official. She snatched two marshmallows and marched over to Ava.

June 30, 2023
Mention: @Ava Winchect
Permission given/received for godmods

"Why'd you make it complicated, Charlie? Watch and learn." Ava said, but Charlie probably didn't hear her as she stood up to go get more marshmallows. When Charlie returned, Ava snatched one of the marshmallows out of her hands and pulled out her wand, waving it and muttering a quick spell. "Wingardium Leviosa." As she spoke the words, the marshmallow began to rise, and move swiftly towards the fire. She dipped her wand down and down the marshmallow went, straight into the fire. It took a moment for the sugary treat to catch on fire but when it did, she waved her wand and dropped it onto the ground nearby. It was still aflame so she went over and stomped the flames out, trying to make Charlie laugh. When Ava lifted her foot, the flames were gone but her shoe was now covered in gooey marshmallow. Ava turned on her heel to face Charlie and gave an exaggerated bow. "That, Miss Charlie, is how it's done." She said with a giggle.

Sometimes at this school, it was hard to remember they were only a bunch of 12 year olds. Everyone acted so mature and smart. But when you let yourself just be yourself, it was wonderful where the paths lead. Maybe not the smartest choices, but at least they weren't done with false intentions.

224/200

June 28th

@Charlie Jacobsen

Permission given for godmods

Ava started off by calling Charlie's method of roasting marshmallows complicated. This didn't really offend Charlie but she didn't really know what to say back to Ava. Charlie had practically perfected this method as a child. She had grown up in a more muggle way, but she her mum did not wait to tell her that she was a witch. She knew what magic was and what it could do, and that her mother was a witch and father was a vampire, but they all just acted like muggles because of where they lived. If they lived in a wizarding community maybe it would have been different, but Charlie loved the muggles around her, so, they never left. In the time that she had lived there, she had learned the perfect way to roast the perfect marshmallow. As a child this was one of the few things she could be proud of when she felt like she had so much to hide from everyone around her. No matter what Charlie did, she would not stop doing it her way.

Charlie watched as Ava used a basic spell they had learned earlier that year in charms class. She watched as the marshmallow hovered in the air over the fire. Charlie watched as her friend let it erupt into flames. She watched slightly puzzled as to why Ava had just flung the marshmallow on to the ground and stomped out the flames. Charlie could tell that Ava was trying to fix the problems between the two girls, so she let out a soft chuckle and let her face do a small smile, which was rare to see from Charlie. She let out a full on laugh as she watched Ava bow after her preformance.

Charlie stuck the marshmallow she had in her hand onto a roasting stick and stuck it into the fire near some of the smoking hot coals. She switched the stick to her left hand and ripped off a corner of the other marshmallow that she was holding. She clutched it and threw it right at her friend Ava.

June 30, 2023
Mention: @Ava Winchect
Permission given/received for godmods