27 Oct 2019, 01:57
Troublesome Tasks: Homework from Hades
Interacting with @Rosie Parker
Robert was bored. The first step to trying to mitigate a problem was to admit there was one in the first place, right?
The problem was that he sucked at schoolwork up to this point. It was painfully obvious in how he sat, visibly tense, repeatedly closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself down, and rubbing his temples to stave off his growing headache before getting back to work. Robbie wasn't a stupid kid, or at least he'd like to think he wasn't one, but man was the learning curve high for muggle-born wizards. He felt like each of his peers were thriving around him while he was drowning in course work, and it sucked. Between missing home, constantly feeling fairly lonely due to his notable lack of friends, and the academic course load that made him want to tear his hair out, he'd already developed a negative impression of Hogwarts.
Anyone who spared Robbie more than a passing glance probably noted his distress, and the poor first year just looked like he could use some major assistance. Eventually he abruptly shut the book he'd been reading, a History of Magic to be precise, groaning quietly as he laid his head on the desk.
Robert was bored. The first step to trying to mitigate a problem was to admit there was one in the first place, right?
The problem was that he sucked at schoolwork up to this point. It was painfully obvious in how he sat, visibly tense, repeatedly closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself down, and rubbing his temples to stave off his growing headache before getting back to work. Robbie wasn't a stupid kid, or at least he'd like to think he wasn't one, but man was the learning curve high for muggle-born wizards. He felt like each of his peers were thriving around him while he was drowning in course work, and it sucked. Between missing home, constantly feeling fairly lonely due to his notable lack of friends, and the academic course load that made him want to tear his hair out, he'd already developed a negative impression of Hogwarts.
Anyone who spared Robbie more than a passing glance probably noted his distress, and the poor first year just looked like he could use some major assistance. Eventually he abruptly shut the book he'd been reading, a History of Magic to be precise, groaning quietly as he laid his head on the desk.
27 Oct 2019, 13:06
Troublesome Tasks: Homework from Hades
The study room was quiet.
Noticeably more quiet than anywhere else, even the library. She needed some more time to think to herself. The month had been a god damn mess. The memories overwhelmed her sometimes, and she'd fall into a dumb little state where she just stared at the floor. She wanted to break out of those moments in public spaces, so she ventured somewhere she knew would be quiet. Or at least, she thought. When Rosie walked into the study room, books in hand to at least study for a little bit, she found a boy with his head down on the table.
He looked a little familiar, so Rosie guessed he was apart of Hufflepuff. Most of the first years were basically strangers to her, but she could recognize most of the ones in Hufflepuff. The boy seemed to be struggling with his homework. Rosie glanced over a bit, squinting at the homework before wincing herself. Yikes. She remembered doing the same assignment, she struggled with it a lot, especially with the good ol' muggle to wizard learning curve. Maybe he wouldn't mind some help! Rosie took a small breath before trailing over, setting her books aside. She pulled out a chair across from him.
"Hey, do you need a little help? I've done this before, History of Magic is super draining. I had to do it with a friend." She smiled a bit, hoping he'd lift his head or something. Maybe Rosie would actually recognize his face. "I'm Rosie." She added on, even though he didn't ask.
STAMINA 13 // EVASION 13 // STRENGTH 6 // WISDOM 6 // ARCANE POWER 9 // ACCURACY 8
27 Oct 2019, 20:01
Troublesome Tasks: Homework from Hades
Almost immediately as Rosie spoke, Robbie's head jolted up from where he'd been resting it. Upon realizing that he'd been caught moping, his face turned bright red in his embarrassment. "Uh... Robbie. I'm Robbie, I mean." He cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Despite the fact that Robert was typically a rather outgoing and confident kid, he'd been taken by surprise. Eventually, though, he found his rhythm, collecting himself and steeling his resolve. "I'm doing fine, but thanks." A rather difficult to believe lie, really. Robbie had very clearly been struggling with his work up to that point, and was now suffering for it. He offered Rosie a confident smile. If there was something he hated to admit, it was needing help.
Even at 11, he still struggled with reading passages that were supposed to be easy for his age. At home, Robbie heavily relied on his older siblings to help him with coursework, asking for help in nearly every subject. Now, trying to do homework with about forty thousand new vocabulary words in a place far from the comforts of Newcastle, Robbie found himself completely overwhelmed. Swamped. Buried. Besieged! Just about every possible word one could imagine on the subject, in fact. It sucked.
Before Rosie could answer, he followed up his profession of contentedness with a firm, "Besides, wouldn't that be cheating? I mean, you've already done the work before. Seems unfair." While it was true he did care desperately about the fairness of it all--many of his peers probably didn't have a rather nice looking third year offering to help with their work, it was also a thinly-veiled attempt to continue to deny the fact that he needed help at all.
Despite the fact that Robert was typically a rather outgoing and confident kid, he'd been taken by surprise. Eventually, though, he found his rhythm, collecting himself and steeling his resolve. "I'm doing fine, but thanks." A rather difficult to believe lie, really. Robbie had very clearly been struggling with his work up to that point, and was now suffering for it. He offered Rosie a confident smile. If there was something he hated to admit, it was needing help.
Even at 11, he still struggled with reading passages that were supposed to be easy for his age. At home, Robbie heavily relied on his older siblings to help him with coursework, asking for help in nearly every subject. Now, trying to do homework with about forty thousand new vocabulary words in a place far from the comforts of Newcastle, Robbie found himself completely overwhelmed. Swamped. Buried. Besieged! Just about every possible word one could imagine on the subject, in fact. It sucked.
Before Rosie could answer, he followed up his profession of contentedness with a firm, "Besides, wouldn't that be cheating? I mean, you've already done the work before. Seems unfair." While it was true he did care desperately about the fairness of it all--many of his peers probably didn't have a rather nice looking third year offering to help with their work, it was also a thinly-veiled attempt to continue to deny the fact that he needed help at all.
29 Oct 2019, 15:35
Troublesome Tasks: Homework from Hades
Rosie couldn't help but smile a little bit. She just sorta nodded as Robbie desperately tried to defend himself. It was easy to tell he was faking, unfortunately for him. Her friends used to do the same thing, and so did Rosie. But regardless, Rosie nodded, but the smile gave off the idea that she didn't necessarily believe him. In her first year especially, wizard ideas were hard to understand. It shattered your view on the world, going from being normal to a wizard with a robe and a wand in hand. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did give Rosie a headache to learn the history. How did all of this happy right under her nose? Who knew.
But before Rosie could even open her mouth, Robbie said something else. She sat on what he said for a second. But what Robbie didn't get, was that Rosie had the memory of a goldfish. There was no way she could remember every single answer she even put down for her first year homework. But she could recognize the material, and she could help him. Maybe. She had some confidence. "I wouldn't be giving you the answers, really. Just hinting at where you should look, clear up some confusion if you wanted." Rosie paused, taking a breath and shrugging, opening her own book. "But! If you don't want any help, that's okay. But I'm gonna be here for a while, so feel free to ask something." She paused. "It's nice to meet you, Robbie."
STAMINA 13 // EVASION 13 // STRENGTH 6 // WISDOM 6 // ARCANE POWER 9 // ACCURACY 8
5 Nov 2019, 03:45
Troublesome Tasks: Homework from Hades
Robbie paused for a moment. He was assuming that Rosie would try and mount an offensive against his hastily built defenses, tearing them down with sincerity and professions of the need for assistance. Her more hands-off approach was unanticipated, and he let out the breath he'd drawn to continue to profess his self-sufficiency as a sigh. "Thanks. It's nice to meet you too."
He went back to his reading, making very clear efforts to not take his eyes from the pages. It was almost comical, really, the blatant attempts Robbie made to ignore the presence of Rosie entirely. However, his efforts only lasted about thirty to forty seconds before he relented, looking up.
"How come half of these historical figures have weird titles and names starting with E? Egbert the Egregious, Emeric the Evil, Elfric the Eager, how am I supposed to keep all of these names straight?" Most of the questions he had to ask were rhetorical questions, of course. Robbie had just grown frustrated with all of the coursework he'd been assigned over time, and was sick and tired of having to deal with it all.
"Also, why do we need to learn history? I feel like I'll never need to know any of this once I'm a real wizard."
He went back to his reading, making very clear efforts to not take his eyes from the pages. It was almost comical, really, the blatant attempts Robbie made to ignore the presence of Rosie entirely. However, his efforts only lasted about thirty to forty seconds before he relented, looking up.
"How come half of these historical figures have weird titles and names starting with E? Egbert the Egregious, Emeric the Evil, Elfric the Eager, how am I supposed to keep all of these names straight?" Most of the questions he had to ask were rhetorical questions, of course. Robbie had just grown frustrated with all of the coursework he'd been assigned over time, and was sick and tired of having to deal with it all.
"Also, why do we need to learn history? I feel like I'll never need to know any of this once I'm a real wizard."
22 Nov 2019, 16:56
Troublesome Tasks: Homework from Hades
Thirty to forty seconds. That's how long it lasted before Robert talked again. On the inside, she felt a little proud.
Rosie lifted her head again to listen to him rant, tapping her pencil against her notebook idly. His complaints and questions were valid. She did not like History of Magic, personally. It was a whole lot of reading, and sitting still. It wasn't her thing. But she pushed through it for the sake of keeping her E average. It wasn't an O, but it was good enough. (She had a bad habit of not reading questions all the way through, and missing parts. Professors didn't like that.) But that was aside the point.
"Lots and lots of flashcards, dude. But also I just start associating dumb stuff with it so I can differentiate them. Egbert... Egg, stuff like that." She paused, before letting out a small sigh. "I wish I knew how to answer that question. I feel like I'm not going to care about this kind of history once I graduate, or even when I move on to the next year. I guess that stuff is just kinda... Important? To acknowledge wizard history for it's wins and losses." Rosie rubbed her head. "As someone who's from a muggle family, it's only a little more interesting because it's so.. Different? But that doesn't change the fact it involves telling a story through endless lectures."
She realized she was babbling and stopped, managing a small smile. "Sorry, I dunno. I guess the short answer is- I don't know." Rosie paused again. "But uh, if you need help with telling the differences between the names, I could try."
STAMINA 13 // EVASION 13 // STRENGTH 6 // WISDOM 6 // ARCANE POWER 9 // ACCURACY 8