Compartment #2 PV Closed

Rowara looked at her lap. “It is frustrating. Not being able to block it out at all.” She paused as she was asked what house. “Well, I’m hoping for Hufflepuff. My mum went to Illvermorny (sp?) and was a Thunderbird. But since we moved from Oregon to here I read up on houses in Hogwarts: A History and I think I am very much Hufflepuff.”

She went to her bag and pulled out some crisps and a bottle of water. “Want any? It’s a long ride so I’ve heard and I don’t want just candy. Gotta have the salty with the sweet.” She offered her an extra bag of crisps she brought cause she brings extra of everything. She even has a first aid kit her mother insisted she have since, well, accidents happen when learning magic.

“I don’t have an extra thing of water but maybe the trolley lady has bottle butter beer or something. I have some money for stuff like that.” She said offering. “Would love me some butter beer right now” She said hopefully. “I heard that the lady that does the Trolley is also a sort of guard for the train to keep students on. Ever hear that?” She asked.

"Thank you," Mariah said taking the chips and then bursting into laughter. "She keeps the student on the train?!" She held her stomach as her fits of mirth took on. "B-b-but who on Earth would try to get off a moving train?!"

Mariah's mind went to a hundred different scenarios where one would try to get off the train. An infestation of spiders, a fire, and someone falling out the window and another jumping to save him were only a few out of many. Each one was funnier than the last. She calmed down enough to talk a bit more.

"No, I've never heard that," Mariah finally admitted. "But I did hear that they have some pretty mean defenses for the train. I wouldn't know why they have them, but Dad says that they're there for a reason and everyone should feel perfectly safe riding.... not that I was nervous or anything." She shuffled her feet around. Mariah, in reality, was extremely nervous. She had never been away from home before her trip to Hogwarts and being without her parents was sure to be a culture shock in the extreme. She hoped it would go well, no doubt, but she couldn't help the butterflies that erupted in her stomach everytime she thought of the incoming school year.

Rowara thought about why anyone would want to leave the train. Immense homesickness, skipping school, feeling ill. Who knows.
“Yea I don’t know either but something I heard. But yea should be totally safe. The school should be too. Read about the defenses the school has. That book is fascinating, you should read it. And His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Charles is totally my Daemon.” She noticed the trolley lady passing by with her ‘Anything from the trolley?!’ chant. She didn’t have butterbeer ‘What am I, a barmaid?’ She asked.
“Oh, sorry. Pumpkin pasties and how about some Bertie Botts and more chocolate frogs? What do you want. I can get a few more.” She asked Mariah.

One thing Rowara was was accommodating, a people pleaser, a showerer of gifts if she has the sickles for it. One thing she loves to do is buy things for others. She wasn’t fond of most of the Botts flavors but she loves some of the others that makes it worth getting a bag of. But only a bag. Any more and it seems like a waste what with the vomit and tripe and snot flavors. But the frogs, she wanted to start her collection off right, new start in life, new collection.

Mariah filed the information away in her mind in case she found a day where she was bored out of her mind a needed something interesting to do. When Rowara offered to buy Mariah something from the trolley, she refused.

"I got it," she said, pulling a mini wallet out of her pocket. She handed the Trolley Lady appropriate change for a pumpkin juice and another chocolate frog. She thanked both the lady and Rowara. She figured it was only polite for Rowara to offer and it was equally polite for Mariah to refuse. After all, Mariah's family had money to spare and she wouldn't feel right taking from someone else when she didn't know how well off they were.

"You wonder what you have to do to get sorted in the houses?" She asked, after they had situated themselves. "My brother says it supposed to be a big secret. Dad and them refuse to tell me. I'm just worried sick on what it could be." Maybe it was a test of the magical variety... or worse. Maybe it was a paper test! She didn't hadn't bothered to crack her new books, much less study them. She would be doomed.

Mariah refused the offer. No biggie. At least she offered like Rowara wanted. She ended up getting some more frogs, spending the rest of the money her mum had set aside for snacks. She opened her bag of crisps and munched as she listened to Mariah.

Rowara was now very glad she had read that Hogwarts book because she now had the answers. Even though she sounded very much like a nerd. “The book says it’s an ancient talking hat. It like, reads your mind or something to determine who you really are and judges and sorts based on that. Don’t worry it’s nothing bad I don’t think. I’ve been meaning to ask what mum had to do for her sorting.” She munched on some more crisps, taking in their saltiness and opened a frog. It didn’t jump until she was about to bite off a leg. “That’s why you get the legs quick.” She commented. “Oooh I got a Dumbledore now too! Oh it has info about the person on the back.” She grabbed the Flemel card. “Nicholas Flemel is an alchemist and owner of the philosopher’s stone. Cool. And Dumbledor I know about already. Do you want me to give you my doubles if you don’t have them?” She asked. “Collect anything?”

"Not particularly," Mariah admitted. "Clothes mostly. And sketches. But can you really collect something you make yourself?" She smiled.

"I love clothes," she continued. "Mum takes me on little shopping trips all the time. They get really long but I enjoy it. I got a whole new wardrobe for school."

Mariah stopped short, realizing she was bragging and aware that it wasn't polite.

"What about you? Do you like clothes?" She supposed she could look at her outfit and tell but Mariah didn't want to come off as judgemental. She wasn't a very judging girl. She was, however, good at picking apart someone's outfit. She could tell the knockoffs, the fashionably inept, and the fashionably inclined. Of course she never mentioned the negatives allowed, not sure whether they knew it or whether they didn't have a choice in the matter on what they wore. For example, if they had a Nana who happened to make horrid clothes and their Mother insisted they wear said clothes, well... how was that their fault. No one expected them to spit in Nana's face and say that they would rather die than commit fashion suicide. Poor guys. She really felt for them.

Rowara ached for new clothes. All she had on were jeans from a year ago that had a hole in the knee and was getting tight around the waist and thigh area and a shirt from three years ago that was thankfully bought too big so she could grow into it but even that was getting tight around the arms. She was thankful she was able to get robes and whatnot so she could have something more her size to wear. “Oh I like clothes. When they fit. The mandatory school clothes are all I have that fit me proper. Mum’s still working on getting a job within the wizard of community and she’s thinking of just taking a muggle job and... what was it. Conversing currentsy. No. Converting currency. Or something like that. To where she gets muggle money and turns it in at Gringotts for magic money. That’s what I call Galleons and such. I love your clothes though. I’m hoping for Christmas to get some new play clothes.”

That was the truth. Her mum said she was hoping to be able to have money for a good Christmas so her daughters could finally have clothes that fit and her youngest could have something that wasn’t a hand-me-down.

“My family came here from Oregon. In America. I don’t know if I said that yet. That’s why my accent is a bit off. At least I’ve been told I have a strange accent. Mum moved because of Dad. She wanted a fresh start in a faraway land. Comes with struggles but I’m thinking it’s worth it to go to this school. Easier to pronounce!” She laughed.

Mariah felt absolutely horrid that she had been bragging about her new outfits. She tended to get overexcited about such things and rub them in other people's faces unintentionally. Mariah noted the girls tight and well worn outfit and wanted nothing more than to offer her the extra set of clothes she had stashed on her bag in case of mishaps, but she refrained. She didn't want Rowara to think that she was offering because she pitied her and her financial situation. Instead she took an interest in where the girl was from.

"Oregon, huh?" She asked. "I'm from hawkshead. It's a tiny little town, more suburban than anything. I've never been to the states. Or left home before this." She said, slightly embarrassed and a little envious. "How was America? Is it any different from here?" She was curious as to what the U.S did differently from England. She had heard of cowboys and bumpkins and their southern culture but she had also heard that England came off as pretentious and had a teatime the same way every day at the same time. It was a little ridiculous despite how true it was that they did indeed have a teatime at her house.

Rowara thought about it for a few moments. "It is different, different accents, different culture and cultures. It's a mix like the contents of the magical creatures book. More kinds of people from all around the world all in one place. Portland is a big city, downtown smells though from all the unfortunate homeless people and their lack of decency on where to *clears throat* relieve themselves. Really wish they would do something about that. Would love someone from our community to invent some kind of defensive thing for pee on walls. Where it bounces back on them. Just think of the look on their face when their own pee gets on them instead. Gross but I'm sure effective that they won't try that again." Rowara had no sense of proper conversation topics. "Anyways it's so much more fresh and clean out here. Like nature is in the wind. I love it." She went over to the window and opened it for a breath of fresh air. It was getting a little stuffy and she loved the smell of the passing forests ansd rivers and little ponds they were passing as they made their way closer and closer to Hogwarts.

(OOC: It's seriously bad here in downtown, I ain't making it up. I think we should just about wrap this up, what do you think?)

Mariah wrinkled her nose at the idea of people urinating on walls. Having grown up in a decent little suburban village with decent amounts of separation between her and her neighbors, Mariah's only city like encounters were London and Diagon Alley.
Before Mariah could comment on her new friend's description, there was a call in the corridor.
"Remember to get yourself changed," a loud booming voice called. "You'll be arriving soon and showing up in casuals will not do!" Mariah jumped. Time seemed to pass so quickly when one was enjoying oneself. Mariah gave an excited jump.
"I guess it's time to get ready," she said, her nerves betraying her through the quiver of her voice. "You think the test will happen instantly?" She asked, her eyes wide with anticipation and fear. She checked the lock on their compartment and fished her robes out of her trunk. She then decided against giving her new friend a full of view and instead stepped toward the compartment door.
"I don't know about you, but I have zero intention of changing in here." She cracked a grin.