17 Sep 2019, 01:40
The Amazing Race
She definitely wasn't going to show up.
There was still time, but Adam was extremely doubtful. If she was like any normal person, he couldn't see any reason why she would show up. He hadn't realized it at the time, but the longer he leaned against the wall of the corridor, the more ridiculous his entire idea was beginning to seem.
After reconnecting and reconciling with Max Avery, Adam had spent the night wondering who else from his past had been a missed connection. He'd met a lot of students in only two years at Hogwarts, and it was hard to keep them all straight. There were some that had, unfortunately, faded into the background, and some that never could -- like Eris, or Cecily, or Rosie. Then there was the middle group, the in-between: the people that weren't exactly close to Adam, but had left a lasting impression on him. Dozens of names fell into this category, from fellow Ravenclaw Phaedra Stavrou, to Hufflepuffs Serena Towers and Reid Kovacs, and far beyond that. They were the people that Adam had heard stories about, seen in passing, maybe even shared a conversation or a dance with, but hadn't gotten to know quite as much as he liked.
In his quest to reinvent himself, Adam wanted to talk to each and every one of the people on that list, and anyone that might pop up along the way. There was a lot that he would need help with if he was going to get to his brother's level -- above his brother's level -- and luckily he had a lot of friendly faces that could teach him a thing or two before he graduated. And even beyond that, it was always good to have more friends. So, upon waking up the next morning with a new plan in motion, he'd started with the perfect candidate.
Rhea Bishop had beaten him in a duel once, and their relationship hadn't progressed very much since then. But those ten minutes or so had been enough for Adam to get an idea of the girl that was reinforced in the stories he heard from everyone (well, everyone being Eris). She was strong, motivated, and capable. As bright as the flames that had leaped from her wand, Rhea was the kind of person that you always wanted to have on your side. At least, Adam was pretty sure she was. Again, he didn't know all that much about her. It wasn't like they had been complete strangers since their duel; they shared a few mutual friends, and he was pretty sure they'd shared a train compartment at the end of first year. Even so, they definitely weren't familiar enough to validate the owl he'd sent her before his morning classes.
It was an unusual note to send, the kind that he usually reserved for Eris, who was used to his nonsense, but he had hoped that Rhea had gotten the intent behind it. Surely she remembered their duel as well as he did, as they'd both taken some damage during the test run. He was just banking on her Gryffindor resolve to beat him again, this time in something different. It had worked with Anatole, at the very least.
You are hereby invited to Round 2 of the Gryffinclaw Wizard Triathlon. The event shall take place before dinner tonight in the fifth floor corridors. Mister Adam Harringtom looks forward to competing with you again after your victory in the dueling component. If you should choose to compete, meet him outside of the Transfiguration classroom. Good luck. - A. H.
But, of course, the message was easily interpreted the wrong way. Adam cursed himself as he waited by the door to the classroom, the dinner hour drawing nearer. How many students had been hurt under mysterious circumstances in the past two years? She must think that he was trying to trick her into some kind of ambush. She might even report him to the professors, if she had any sense! Maybe it wasn't too late to find her and apologize, explain what he had really been trying to do.
Or, he could just...wait. Something in him was speaking out over all of the panic, telling him that Rhea wasn't the type to go running for cover at the first sign of danger. He had a feeling that her curiosity would get the better of her, and she'd be here before the first dishes were uncovered in the Great Hall. She was very competent, and pretty fearless, in Adam's mind. Letting these thoughts relax him, he leaned back against the wall and tried to ignore the slight rumbling of his stomach. It would just be a few more minutes...right?
2 Oct 2019, 23:23
The Amazing Race
To be honest, this was the last thing Rhea expected to find herself doing instead of eating dinner. In fact, she wasn't sure why she was even showing up. But she was bored, and food was of no interest to her when there was some sort of contest to be at. The owl she'd received had been out of the blue, kind of confusing, but nonetheless Rhea couldn't help but be curious. She'd had little to no interactions with Adam Harringtom, but the times they'd spoken had always been entertaining. And who could forget the experiment duel they'd both been a part of? (Where, of course, Rhea had won).
Still, to receive the letter had caused Rhea to think about who she had and hadn't talked to since her official return to Hogwarts. Her brief hiatus from the school had also halted her social life, but now she was back... and better than ever! Hopefully. She had yet to reconnect with many of her old friends, but already she'd formed new acquaintances (who, hopefully, would turn into friends. The girl thrived off of attention; the more the better). And that was one of the reasons she found herself speed-walking towards the Transfiguration classroom.
Another reason? Rhea was bored, uninterested with the boring everyday routine of life. She needed something to... well, for lack of a better word, spice things up. And besides, the way Adam had written the note itself had caught her interest. He had to have something interested plan, or at least something out of the ordinary. So, without further hesitation, Rhea made her way to the classroom.
But wait. She was... hungry. To suppress the growling sound in her stomach, she popped by her dorm to grab two pumpkin pasties (one for Adam, one for her, she wasn't about to eat both of them!) and then headed down to the classroom.
Upon getting there, it wasn't hard to spot the blond boy. Grinning, she picked up the pace (practicing for the race, of course), until she got close enough to him to wave. "You know, you could've just asked to be graced with my presence, instead of going through all the trouble of owling me," she stated, obviously joking. Lightheartedness evident in both her tone and actions, Rhea held up a Pumpkin pastie. "Want it?" If Adam said yes, she'd toss it to him. But if he said no, she'd shrug and put it back in her pocket; save it for later.
"So, what's your plan for this whole... competition, of a sort? I'm assuming you have one?" Rhea unwrapped her own sweet and popped it into her mouth, chewing it slowly before swallowing it. Her hunger lessened instantly. "Are we just going to be running? Or is there an obstacle? I'm not opposed to either, to be honest... all I know is I'll win once again," she chuckled, before casting a look down at her shoes. It was a good day to wear her Fancy Sneakers. Which were just expensive Vans.
the trouble is, if you don't risk anything -- you risk more.
♕ℛ ♕
STAMINA: 4; EVASION: 10; STRENGTH: 8; WISDOM: 6; ARCANE POWER: 5; ACCURACY: 12
17 Oct 2019, 21:55
The Amazing Race
It was good to see that he hadn't scared Rhea off -- or creeped her out enough to send the professors his way. Adam grinned and waved back as she approached, pushing himself off of the wall and swinging his arms back and forth to stretch out his shoulders. (At least, that's what he assumed it was doing. Runners always did that sort of thing before a race.) As she slowed to a stop in front of him and teased him about his letter, he kept his smile on and laughed.
"Well, yeah, I guess, but where's the fun in that?" Rhea held up a treat for him, a Pumpkin Pasty by the looks of it. It had been sweet of her to bring him one -- maybe he'd take it easy on her after all. Unless, that's what she was trying to get him to do...hm... Either way, it was still dessert, and he nodded eagerly when she offered it to him. Catching it against his chest, he opened the package and bit into it, watching his competitor do the same.
"Of course I have a plan," he declared through a mouthful of pasty. His cheeks turned red from embarrassment -- that had been totally unintelligible -- and he swallowed before repeating himself for clarity. Adam pointed down the hallway and tried to think of something that sounded plausible. He had maybe forgotten to set an actual course for the race.
"We'll do...three laps of this floor. Run as fast as you can to get back to this spot -- here, we'll mark it." Taking off his tie, Adam looped it around the neck of an empty suit of armor. "We'll do a normal race for the first two laps, but for the last one, we'll, uh...take off our shoes." What? Where had that come from? The boy had forgotten that his imagination tended to run rampant when it wasn't tied down by, you know, actual plans. It was too late to take it back now, so he tried not to make eye contact with Rhea and nodded. "Yes. The last lap is without shoes. Be careful around the corners, probably."
Adam would be plenty willing to change things up if Rhea had any better ideas, but for now he tried to keep an air of confidence around him. Reminded of one more thing, he crumpled up his Pumpkin Pasty wrapper and stuffed it in his robe pocket before taking the bulky things off. He could run a lot better in the simple sweater and pants that were underneath. "If the castle starts to move around during the race, obviously don't get more lost. Just try to find your way back here. If we don't hear from each other for a few days, we'll tell the profs, yeah?" He was pretty sure all of this could go unsaid, but he would feel very guilty if Rhea got hurt or lost and it was his fault.
Bending down to check that his shoes wouldn't fall off while running, Adam narrowed his eyes in thought and tried to remember if there was anything he was missing. Right -- there was one last thing that was worth mentioning. It was a risky bargain, but he needed something to make this worth Rhea's time besides bragging rights. "The winner gets to make the loser do their homework for any class they want. Just one assignment, though." He tried to judge her reaction to his idea, wondering if he'd overstretched himself. Would she have taken something simple, like candy?
Adam was very much out of his league in this whole endeavor, but he was trying his hardest not to look that way. He'd never act or talk so surely in front of his other friends, except for maybe Max. He'd certainly never break the school rules -- again, except for when he was with Max. For all that people looked down on Slytherin, maybe it was Gryffindor that was a bad influence. Then again, it was Adam who'd reached out to Rhea. It could be that he was in need of a few bad influences.
"You ready?" he asked her with a final smile. "We'll go on your count." He was so going to beat her this time. At the very least, he was going to have some fun.