Welcoming Assembly
Jul 10, 2018 13:19:45 GMT -6
Post by Snick on Jul 10, 2018 13:19:45 GMT -6
The lights of the auditorium dimmed. "Please give a warm welcome to your principal, Mrs. Liliana Cook!" boomed a voice seemingly out of thin air. A bright spotlight followed Principal Cook to a podium at center stage. Tapping her index cards upon the wooden surface, she waited for the applause to die down. In a row of chairs behind her, in front of the navy blue curtains, sat the very diverse faculty of Salem Institute.
"It is my great honor and pleasure to welcome you to the 1995-96 school year at Salem Institute," Lil began, smiling out at the gathered pupils with her own wand against her throat. "What a delight it is to see all of your smiling faces, new and old. I would particularly like to welcome the new arrivals. We look forward to guiding you through the coming years.
"Salem Institute will be your home for the next several months. Please treat the school buildings and property with respect. The faculty will be your guardians and role models. Follow their lead and example. Seek their assistance in any matter, big or small. Your peers will be your family. Lean on each other. Encourage each other. Have faith in one another. Love one another as family should.
"This school has a multitude of resources and facilities at your disposal, and I encourage all of you to take advantage of every single one. One could say that learning at this institution is like maneuvering through a seemingly endless field of possibilities. It is material and immaterial, practical and theoretical. It’s to be found in our extremely resourceful faculty group, in the Legacies, in the classrooms, in the labs and workshops, in the auditorium, in the gym, in every exchange between students and with the many invited professionals and lecturers. While all this points to possibilities, it also points to potential. What is potential? Potential is 'to be determined'.
"Potential is not what you are, but what you could be. There are lots of things you can do with this school but the content is to a large degree defined by yourselves. Lean back and wait for the staff to tell you what to do, what to learn and what to know, and it’ll soon dry out. Use it, shape it, feed it, and it will live and grow. I want to see your potential live and grow. It's simple, yet demanding. What I know, looking out over your eager faces, is that I will not be disappointed. Thank you and welcome to Salem Institute!"
With her speech done, the principal once again waited for the clapping to fade. "Please use this time before classes begin to become acquainted, or reacquainted, with your fellow students," Liliana bowed out, put away her wand, and the lights above the pupils brightened.
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Esther clapped on cue, then smiled brightly at her friends and the new students. She had her image to maintain, after all.
She wondered who the new pledges would be for Beta Tau Phi --Blood Traitor and Proud, as it had been originally named. But now it was for a sort of an American magical nobility--not by blood, but by being a leader of industry and art and business in spite of the old blood back home. Of course, for her family, it had started with a mercantile five generations before her. Now that small mercantile had evolved into the most prosperous independent department store in Colorado, with a whole section in the upper floor just for magical supplies.
She smiled at the faculty, at least at her favorite ones, anyway. It looked like there were a few new ones. Some were pretty cute. Too bad they were all too old. Now the Care of Magical Creatures teacher was hot, for an old guy. She waved at Professor Buskirk since Esther was one of her key actors.
Too bad there was no ballet at school. Esther had spent the summer going to intense workshops and working as hard as she could on her ballet, but despite working out on her own, and tutoring any younger students who wanted to maintain their ballet skills in a club after class, she felt like she slacked off every school year.
She glanced at the O'Brien girl with the impossibly spelled name and smiled. She suspected she might pledge BTP this year, and she might even make it too, save that sulky brother of hers would probably want to join with her. That could veto them both.
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Katrien sat on the edge of her seat, goofy grin plastered between her chipmunk cheeks. This was really happening. This school, this world, these people - totally real! Maybe she had finally found where she belonged. Looking around the auditorium, full of identically-dressed students, her smile grew. Many of them, mostly the younger ones, looked excited or nervous. Some looked bored, while others looked calm and collected.
How was Katrien supposed to know how she was expected to behave? If I'm too eager, they might think I'm a spaz, she thought, forcing her smile away. Slouching back in her chair, she tried to look nonchalant and indifferent. It was not long before she grew self-conscious. She tugged her stupid skirt so it covered her knees and sat up straight. Why wouldn't they let her wear pants?
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Lex sat with the other first years, just trying to take everything in. The last few months of her life felt like a blur. It had been hard to concentrate on anything since she'd found out she was a witch. Though Lex was far from an eager student, she had spent the rest of her summer hiding away, reading as much as she could. All her school supplies came from scholarship money, but she had managed to convince the school official who accompanied her to Paranor Mall to let her buy a book titled You're a wizard, now what? Everything the muggle family needs to know about the magical world. She'd hidden away with the book and read it cover to cover. She'd also managed to read through much of her text books. For once in her life, Lex actually enjoyed reading school books, she could hardly get enough of them. Part of it was driven by fascination, who wouldn't want to find out all the could? The other part was driven by fear that she would be terribly far behind and everyone would make fun of her for her ignorance.
Lex was only vaguely listening to the principal as she addressed the school. She wasn't saying much of content, so instead Lex took the opportunity to survey her fellow students. She wondered if this new school, apart from the magic, was going to be all that different from all the other school's she'd attended. It definitely wasn't like the rundown public schools she'd spent more of her time at, that was for sure. Salem was the nicest place Lex had ever set foot. Some of the kids also didn't look like they'd make it half a day at a public school. At the very least, she was starting at the beginning of the year like everyone else, that was something. Moving foster families and then having to switch into another school in the middle of the year wasn't easy, you were immediately noticed and asked about. At least here Lex wasn't immediately the weird kid.
The speech was over. Lex noticed another first year next to her tugging at her skirt uncomfortably and decided that, to get off on a good foot, she'd strike up a conversation. The girl didn't look horrible, so maybe this would go well. "I hate it too. It's pretty stupid that they won't just let us wear pants" She added grimly. Lex felt completely out of place in her uniform and wondered if she looked it. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd worn a skirt or dress, maybe never. The way she slouched in her seat, her feet set wide on the floor and her arms crossed across her seat did not suggest a familiarity with refined manners.
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Behind the two young witches, Makepeace cleared his throat with a soft rumbling. "Conformity." He said with a slightly bored expression on his face, turning his dress capotain over in his hands. "Girls are actually allowed to wear slacks, like the boys, but the school doesn't advertise that, nor do the stores that sell the "official" school uniforms."
"The dress code encourages conformity and supposedly creates a sense of belonging. Like the Army. It discourages the expression of individuality. Lots of Muggle Sociologists have done studies on it, and most of them agree that uniforms contribute to better grades and fewer disciplinary problems." He went on to say.
Makepeace's gaze caught onto a passing faculty member that seemed to be looking in his direction an awful lot -- Ms. Rogerian -- and his eyes narrowed a little. "And no, I don't believe a word of it, either." His words were in sharp contrast to the way he wore the school colors, as the soft-spoken young man seemed like a poster boy for school uniforms. His jacket and pants were nearly immaculate and pressed so sharply that the creases could shave concrete. Moreover, he seemed comfortable in the blazer, slacks and tie that he wore, whereas other students were tugging at their collars or fidgeting.
"You should be glad this isn't Europe. I hear they make the students there wear robes and powdered wigs and stuff."
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After the slightest of jumps, Katrien turned to her neighbor. "Yeah," she agreed. "I would even settle for tights. Anything but skirts."
Just as she began to slump back in her seat once more, a voice trickled into her ear from behind. She hadn't even gotten around to introducing herself! Kit turned around fully. Her knees were in the crook of the chair, chin propped on the back and flanked by dainty fingers. "But all I've got is skirts," she pouted, large eyes staring at the older boy. "A lot of good it does to know that now."
Robes and powdered wigs? How thankful she was to be an American! Katrien looked to the girl beside her. Maybe she had pants. Maybe she would share. Kind of a silly thing to ask before knowing her name, though.
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Siobahn checked out the new students, and their mix of nervousness and excitement. She nodded to some of the older students, then stretched her uniform slacks clad legs out under her chair. Poor newbies probably didn't know that skirts were optional. She nudged Lorcan and gave him a wink. "Are you going to pledge with me?" she whispered. She looked over at Esther, the queen bee of Beta Tau Phi, and smiled at her. It would help to stay on her good side.
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Lorccan hated these opening ceremonies. Cook gave practically the same speech every year, at least as far as he remembered. What was the point? Welcome to the school freshies, welcome back previous years. It didn't make him feel warm and fuzzy inside just because the Principal decided to say welcome. Unlike most of the other students Lorccan didn't bother clapping, just slouched in his chair next to his sister, wishing the noise will go away.
"Pledge? To whom?" Lorccan asked looking over at Siobhan. "I don't really see what benefit there is in being stuck in some smelly old house with a bunch of stuck up kids thinking they're special cause they got a pin on their shirt. You can buy those pins in Paramour Mall and wear them all if you really want one of them."
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The other girl voiced her distaste regarding the skirts. Then a boy behind them offered his own analysis of the situation, adding that they actually did have the option to wear pants. "Well, shit, that sucks." Lex responded, both annoyed and disappointed that she hadn't known about the pants option. She didn't remotely acknowledge the fact that she had just sworn, it was a habit she barely even noticed. "Well, I've got pants for the casual uniform thing for after classes. That's something, at least." She looked down at herself, would wearing a uniform make her grades better, like the boy said? Would it allow her to fit in more easily with the other kids? Maybe dressing like everyone else would make her feel and act like everyone else. That would be nice.
Lex snorted with laughter at the idea of robes and powdered wigs. "These ridiculous hats are bad enough." She said, pulling the hat off her head and inspecting it. She had felt a bit of a fool when she'd first put it on. In fact, she'd carried in her hands until getting into the auditorium where everyone was already wearing them. "At least we only wear them for special occasions. I'd feel like an idiot if I had to wear it everyday. Worse than a skirt." Though Lex was often seen sporting a beanie or a baseball cap, pointed wizard hats were not her idea of acceptable attire.
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"Oh, these were all the rage in the 80's." Makepeace said, spinning his hat on a finger and then grasping it by the back and donning it with a showy flip. "The 1780's." He concluded, glancing up at the brim and then back down at the two preteens in front of him. He then doffed the tall pilgrim hat and shrugged. "I think it's supposed to give us a sense of tradition and such."
"If you've got money and you know your measurements, you can always send away for some pants. The school has messenger owls that you can borrow to bring you stuff, or you can ask one of the teachers to take you to Paranor Mall over the weekend." He added helpfully. He didn't know much about girls' clothes sizes, except that the words 'petite' and 'junior miss' were involved.
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Elizabeta listened to Principal Cook do her usual beginning of term speech and found very little deviation from last year's welcome. Once all the clapping was done, she turned her attention to looking out over the sea of faces. It wasn't hard to pick out all the new students, most were so small it was hard to say some were even 11 years old. A couple of girls sat not too far away and curiously, her classmate with the odd name was chatting them up. Or what served as chatting for the often quiet teen.
Looking over at Makepeace Elizabeta was positive he put on a couple inches over the summer. He certainly was growing even more attractive. They had shared several classes over the years and Elizabeta learned he wasn't as shy as he first seems. There was so much more about him she didn't know but opportunities to talk with him didn't come up much in the past. She truly preferred to focus on her studies than make friends outside the connections she needed to succeed in pledging for Novus Ordo Secolorum. She wouldn't be opposed to learning more about the dark haired young man.
One thing she did know about him is he created some card game based on a Muggle game with a similar name. She, like most students checked it out but she didn't find much practical use for the game. An amusing pass time but not something she stuck with after the first six months or so of trying it out. That was some time ago now and she doubted she had any of the cards left anymore. There were far more important things she wanted to focus her time on outside of her regular classes, like the Dueling Club.
Taking her eyes off the handsome 16 year old, she looked over towards the staff, her eyes immediately spotting the Care of Magical Creatures professor. He knew his stuff even though in the past Elizabeta disagreed with some of his knowledge and suggested techniques in handling certain creatures. She did have a high respect for the man so their disagreements usually resulted in a productive discussion after class. Her eyes moved to the other staff settling on her potions' teacher and head of her Legacy house. That was a man who intrigued her. She enjoyed potions and found him to be a great teacher but she had a hard time figuring him out. She liked the mystery he presented and certainly intended to see what secrets she could learn from him. The path she wished to take will be a long and hard one and definitely cultivating good relations with her teachers, especially those who could very well have useful connections off campus.
It was good to be back here, the reserve was always interesting and challenging but as much as she loved it, Elizabeta knew it would never be hers to run as she saw fit. School offered her a whole new world of learning and future prospects and she had great ambitions.
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That the other girl cursed didn't seem to phase her. Growing up in public school did that to a kid. Katrien chuckled. This guy was funny. She wondered what grade he was in. This obviously wasn't his first year. Somewhere inside, she hoped he was still in junior high. Second or third year, she mentally corrected herself. This magical school thing was going to take some getting used to.
"I like them," Kit piped in, tapping her own hat. "I bet they'd make suitable makeshift soccer goals."
Since these two didn't seem to be keen on introducing themselves, she took the initiative for once. "Katrien Vogel," she said randomly, holding her hand out first to the boy, then the girl for a shake. "You can call me Kitkat. Or Kit, if you like that better."
She honestly didn't have a preference. No one back home called her by her given name. It puzzled her why anyone would name their child one thing and call them something else. Why not just name them what you want to call them? She didn't even know her actual name was Myna Katrien until she was 5. From that day forward, she vowed she wasn't going to do that to her children, if she had any.
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An unfamiliar feeling was washing over Lex as she sat and chatted with the other kids, it was relief. She'd never felt this way upon arriving at a new school and interacting with new students. Before, even if she did manage to make friends, it was impossible to keep them. She would inevitably move soon after arriving and any time she wanted to participate in activities she had to get signed permission, even to go over to someone's house. Getting invited to birthday parties was a lot more of a hassle when paperwork was involved.
The boy was funny and the fact that he was willing to chat with two eleven year-olds meant that he was nice too. The girl mentioned soccer and Lex started to feel even better. Lex managed best when interacting with other kids her age if she was involved in some athletic activity. Now she knew she wouldn't be the only girl who wanted to go outside and run around.
"Maybe I'll try to send mine in and exchange them for pants." Lex said in response to the boy. She definitely didn't have the money to buy an entirely new set of pants. She hadn't even worn her other skirts, so they were, hopefully, likely to just take them back and switch them out. "Oh, right, I'm Lex Lively." She took Katrien's hand. She didn't even bother providing her real name, she hated it and not giving it at all provided people less opportunity to use it.
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"My name's Makepeace." He said by way of introduction, shaking Kit's hand, and Lex's if she offered it. "That's, uh, my only name, by the way. If you need any help, or have any questions, come to me. I'll try to help you out if I can." He added, looking between the two. He was saying more in the opening hour of school than he usually did in the first week, or so he reckoned.
He hated first week; there was a lot of reviewing of last year's stuff, and some teachers liked to outline the whole year in a syllabus while the sensory and mental overload was hitting him so deep that he could rarely hear half of it. It was like there was an ocean roaring in his ears, or maybe a radio playing really loud static drowning out the teacher's voice. The same thing happened when he switched homes, too, and it made him wonder if it might be a blood pressure thing or something.
"First week's always a little tough, and some of the teachers won't cut you any slack. The guy with the saggy face over there? Mr. Llewellyn." He said, nodding towards the tall man. "Scary. You don't want to get on his bad side, or he'll give you the chewing-out of your life. I think he's like an ex-cop or something. And Mr. Glassman over there, the one with the glasses? You show up late to his class, and he'll badger you for the next week with questions that you'd have to be at the college level to answer." When he spoke next, his voice took on a strident edge with a slightly nasal tone to it. "'Mr. Makepeace, explain the dynamics of the three part reaction vessels invented by the Chinese alchemist Sun Ssu Mo during the Tang dynasty.' 'I don't know.' 'Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to be late to one of my classes.'"
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"Lex Lively? That sounds familiar," Katrien commented, knowing it was more than the slight similarity to the name 'Lex Luthor'. "Anyway, a pleasure to meet both of you."
Where had she heard that name before? Or perhaps she had seen it. That was it, she'd seen it in the list of room assignments. Feeling this wasn't the right moment to start rifling through her bag, she just made a mental note to check it later. Her eyes traveled to where Makepeace indicated. Both of the men were scowling. Not very friendly-looking at all. Every school had those teachers. Thankfully, she'd yet to encounter one. But now she wouldn't stay in one room with one teacher like in elementary school.
"Any other hardasses we should know about?" she asked, the slightest tinge of pink in her cheeks. Lex had cursed, so she felt almost obligated to do so, as well. If her friends jumped off a bridge, she'd probably follow suit. It didn't matter that most of what was taught here was completely foreign to her. A strict teacher was a strict teacher, and she was appreciative of this boy's advice.
"It is my great honor and pleasure to welcome you to the 1995-96 school year at Salem Institute," Lil began, smiling out at the gathered pupils with her own wand against her throat. "What a delight it is to see all of your smiling faces, new and old. I would particularly like to welcome the new arrivals. We look forward to guiding you through the coming years.
"Salem Institute will be your home for the next several months. Please treat the school buildings and property with respect. The faculty will be your guardians and role models. Follow their lead and example. Seek their assistance in any matter, big or small. Your peers will be your family. Lean on each other. Encourage each other. Have faith in one another. Love one another as family should.
"This school has a multitude of resources and facilities at your disposal, and I encourage all of you to take advantage of every single one. One could say that learning at this institution is like maneuvering through a seemingly endless field of possibilities. It is material and immaterial, practical and theoretical. It’s to be found in our extremely resourceful faculty group, in the Legacies, in the classrooms, in the labs and workshops, in the auditorium, in the gym, in every exchange between students and with the many invited professionals and lecturers. While all this points to possibilities, it also points to potential. What is potential? Potential is 'to be determined'.
"Potential is not what you are, but what you could be. There are lots of things you can do with this school but the content is to a large degree defined by yourselves. Lean back and wait for the staff to tell you what to do, what to learn and what to know, and it’ll soon dry out. Use it, shape it, feed it, and it will live and grow. I want to see your potential live and grow. It's simple, yet demanding. What I know, looking out over your eager faces, is that I will not be disappointed. Thank you and welcome to Salem Institute!"
With her speech done, the principal once again waited for the clapping to fade. "Please use this time before classes begin to become acquainted, or reacquainted, with your fellow students," Liliana bowed out, put away her wand, and the lights above the pupils brightened.
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Esther clapped on cue, then smiled brightly at her friends and the new students. She had her image to maintain, after all.
She wondered who the new pledges would be for Beta Tau Phi --Blood Traitor and Proud, as it had been originally named. But now it was for a sort of an American magical nobility--not by blood, but by being a leader of industry and art and business in spite of the old blood back home. Of course, for her family, it had started with a mercantile five generations before her. Now that small mercantile had evolved into the most prosperous independent department store in Colorado, with a whole section in the upper floor just for magical supplies.
She smiled at the faculty, at least at her favorite ones, anyway. It looked like there were a few new ones. Some were pretty cute. Too bad they were all too old. Now the Care of Magical Creatures teacher was hot, for an old guy. She waved at Professor Buskirk since Esther was one of her key actors.
Too bad there was no ballet at school. Esther had spent the summer going to intense workshops and working as hard as she could on her ballet, but despite working out on her own, and tutoring any younger students who wanted to maintain their ballet skills in a club after class, she felt like she slacked off every school year.
She glanced at the O'Brien girl with the impossibly spelled name and smiled. She suspected she might pledge BTP this year, and she might even make it too, save that sulky brother of hers would probably want to join with her. That could veto them both.
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Katrien sat on the edge of her seat, goofy grin plastered between her chipmunk cheeks. This was really happening. This school, this world, these people - totally real! Maybe she had finally found where she belonged. Looking around the auditorium, full of identically-dressed students, her smile grew. Many of them, mostly the younger ones, looked excited or nervous. Some looked bored, while others looked calm and collected.
How was Katrien supposed to know how she was expected to behave? If I'm too eager, they might think I'm a spaz, she thought, forcing her smile away. Slouching back in her chair, she tried to look nonchalant and indifferent. It was not long before she grew self-conscious. She tugged her stupid skirt so it covered her knees and sat up straight. Why wouldn't they let her wear pants?
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Lex sat with the other first years, just trying to take everything in. The last few months of her life felt like a blur. It had been hard to concentrate on anything since she'd found out she was a witch. Though Lex was far from an eager student, she had spent the rest of her summer hiding away, reading as much as she could. All her school supplies came from scholarship money, but she had managed to convince the school official who accompanied her to Paranor Mall to let her buy a book titled You're a wizard, now what? Everything the muggle family needs to know about the magical world. She'd hidden away with the book and read it cover to cover. She'd also managed to read through much of her text books. For once in her life, Lex actually enjoyed reading school books, she could hardly get enough of them. Part of it was driven by fascination, who wouldn't want to find out all the could? The other part was driven by fear that she would be terribly far behind and everyone would make fun of her for her ignorance.
Lex was only vaguely listening to the principal as she addressed the school. She wasn't saying much of content, so instead Lex took the opportunity to survey her fellow students. She wondered if this new school, apart from the magic, was going to be all that different from all the other school's she'd attended. It definitely wasn't like the rundown public schools she'd spent more of her time at, that was for sure. Salem was the nicest place Lex had ever set foot. Some of the kids also didn't look like they'd make it half a day at a public school. At the very least, she was starting at the beginning of the year like everyone else, that was something. Moving foster families and then having to switch into another school in the middle of the year wasn't easy, you were immediately noticed and asked about. At least here Lex wasn't immediately the weird kid.
The speech was over. Lex noticed another first year next to her tugging at her skirt uncomfortably and decided that, to get off on a good foot, she'd strike up a conversation. The girl didn't look horrible, so maybe this would go well. "I hate it too. It's pretty stupid that they won't just let us wear pants" She added grimly. Lex felt completely out of place in her uniform and wondered if she looked it. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd worn a skirt or dress, maybe never. The way she slouched in her seat, her feet set wide on the floor and her arms crossed across her seat did not suggest a familiarity with refined manners.
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Behind the two young witches, Makepeace cleared his throat with a soft rumbling. "Conformity." He said with a slightly bored expression on his face, turning his dress capotain over in his hands. "Girls are actually allowed to wear slacks, like the boys, but the school doesn't advertise that, nor do the stores that sell the "official" school uniforms."
"The dress code encourages conformity and supposedly creates a sense of belonging. Like the Army. It discourages the expression of individuality. Lots of Muggle Sociologists have done studies on it, and most of them agree that uniforms contribute to better grades and fewer disciplinary problems." He went on to say.
Makepeace's gaze caught onto a passing faculty member that seemed to be looking in his direction an awful lot -- Ms. Rogerian -- and his eyes narrowed a little. "And no, I don't believe a word of it, either." His words were in sharp contrast to the way he wore the school colors, as the soft-spoken young man seemed like a poster boy for school uniforms. His jacket and pants were nearly immaculate and pressed so sharply that the creases could shave concrete. Moreover, he seemed comfortable in the blazer, slacks and tie that he wore, whereas other students were tugging at their collars or fidgeting.
"You should be glad this isn't Europe. I hear they make the students there wear robes and powdered wigs and stuff."
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After the slightest of jumps, Katrien turned to her neighbor. "Yeah," she agreed. "I would even settle for tights. Anything but skirts."
Just as she began to slump back in her seat once more, a voice trickled into her ear from behind. She hadn't even gotten around to introducing herself! Kit turned around fully. Her knees were in the crook of the chair, chin propped on the back and flanked by dainty fingers. "But all I've got is skirts," she pouted, large eyes staring at the older boy. "A lot of good it does to know that now."
Robes and powdered wigs? How thankful she was to be an American! Katrien looked to the girl beside her. Maybe she had pants. Maybe she would share. Kind of a silly thing to ask before knowing her name, though.
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Siobahn checked out the new students, and their mix of nervousness and excitement. She nodded to some of the older students, then stretched her uniform slacks clad legs out under her chair. Poor newbies probably didn't know that skirts were optional. She nudged Lorcan and gave him a wink. "Are you going to pledge with me?" she whispered. She looked over at Esther, the queen bee of Beta Tau Phi, and smiled at her. It would help to stay on her good side.
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Lorccan hated these opening ceremonies. Cook gave practically the same speech every year, at least as far as he remembered. What was the point? Welcome to the school freshies, welcome back previous years. It didn't make him feel warm and fuzzy inside just because the Principal decided to say welcome. Unlike most of the other students Lorccan didn't bother clapping, just slouched in his chair next to his sister, wishing the noise will go away.
"Pledge? To whom?" Lorccan asked looking over at Siobhan. "I don't really see what benefit there is in being stuck in some smelly old house with a bunch of stuck up kids thinking they're special cause they got a pin on their shirt. You can buy those pins in Paramour Mall and wear them all if you really want one of them."
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The other girl voiced her distaste regarding the skirts. Then a boy behind them offered his own analysis of the situation, adding that they actually did have the option to wear pants. "Well, shit, that sucks." Lex responded, both annoyed and disappointed that she hadn't known about the pants option. She didn't remotely acknowledge the fact that she had just sworn, it was a habit she barely even noticed. "Well, I've got pants for the casual uniform thing for after classes. That's something, at least." She looked down at herself, would wearing a uniform make her grades better, like the boy said? Would it allow her to fit in more easily with the other kids? Maybe dressing like everyone else would make her feel and act like everyone else. That would be nice.
Lex snorted with laughter at the idea of robes and powdered wigs. "These ridiculous hats are bad enough." She said, pulling the hat off her head and inspecting it. She had felt a bit of a fool when she'd first put it on. In fact, she'd carried in her hands until getting into the auditorium where everyone was already wearing them. "At least we only wear them for special occasions. I'd feel like an idiot if I had to wear it everyday. Worse than a skirt." Though Lex was often seen sporting a beanie or a baseball cap, pointed wizard hats were not her idea of acceptable attire.
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"Oh, these were all the rage in the 80's." Makepeace said, spinning his hat on a finger and then grasping it by the back and donning it with a showy flip. "The 1780's." He concluded, glancing up at the brim and then back down at the two preteens in front of him. He then doffed the tall pilgrim hat and shrugged. "I think it's supposed to give us a sense of tradition and such."
"If you've got money and you know your measurements, you can always send away for some pants. The school has messenger owls that you can borrow to bring you stuff, or you can ask one of the teachers to take you to Paranor Mall over the weekend." He added helpfully. He didn't know much about girls' clothes sizes, except that the words 'petite' and 'junior miss' were involved.
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Elizabeta listened to Principal Cook do her usual beginning of term speech and found very little deviation from last year's welcome. Once all the clapping was done, she turned her attention to looking out over the sea of faces. It wasn't hard to pick out all the new students, most were so small it was hard to say some were even 11 years old. A couple of girls sat not too far away and curiously, her classmate with the odd name was chatting them up. Or what served as chatting for the often quiet teen.
Looking over at Makepeace Elizabeta was positive he put on a couple inches over the summer. He certainly was growing even more attractive. They had shared several classes over the years and Elizabeta learned he wasn't as shy as he first seems. There was so much more about him she didn't know but opportunities to talk with him didn't come up much in the past. She truly preferred to focus on her studies than make friends outside the connections she needed to succeed in pledging for Novus Ordo Secolorum. She wouldn't be opposed to learning more about the dark haired young man.
One thing she did know about him is he created some card game based on a Muggle game with a similar name. She, like most students checked it out but she didn't find much practical use for the game. An amusing pass time but not something she stuck with after the first six months or so of trying it out. That was some time ago now and she doubted she had any of the cards left anymore. There were far more important things she wanted to focus her time on outside of her regular classes, like the Dueling Club.
Taking her eyes off the handsome 16 year old, she looked over towards the staff, her eyes immediately spotting the Care of Magical Creatures professor. He knew his stuff even though in the past Elizabeta disagreed with some of his knowledge and suggested techniques in handling certain creatures. She did have a high respect for the man so their disagreements usually resulted in a productive discussion after class. Her eyes moved to the other staff settling on her potions' teacher and head of her Legacy house. That was a man who intrigued her. She enjoyed potions and found him to be a great teacher but she had a hard time figuring him out. She liked the mystery he presented and certainly intended to see what secrets she could learn from him. The path she wished to take will be a long and hard one and definitely cultivating good relations with her teachers, especially those who could very well have useful connections off campus.
It was good to be back here, the reserve was always interesting and challenging but as much as she loved it, Elizabeta knew it would never be hers to run as she saw fit. School offered her a whole new world of learning and future prospects and she had great ambitions.
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That the other girl cursed didn't seem to phase her. Growing up in public school did that to a kid. Katrien chuckled. This guy was funny. She wondered what grade he was in. This obviously wasn't his first year. Somewhere inside, she hoped he was still in junior high. Second or third year, she mentally corrected herself. This magical school thing was going to take some getting used to.
"I like them," Kit piped in, tapping her own hat. "I bet they'd make suitable makeshift soccer goals."
Since these two didn't seem to be keen on introducing themselves, she took the initiative for once. "Katrien Vogel," she said randomly, holding her hand out first to the boy, then the girl for a shake. "You can call me Kitkat. Or Kit, if you like that better."
She honestly didn't have a preference. No one back home called her by her given name. It puzzled her why anyone would name their child one thing and call them something else. Why not just name them what you want to call them? She didn't even know her actual name was Myna Katrien until she was 5. From that day forward, she vowed she wasn't going to do that to her children, if she had any.
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An unfamiliar feeling was washing over Lex as she sat and chatted with the other kids, it was relief. She'd never felt this way upon arriving at a new school and interacting with new students. Before, even if she did manage to make friends, it was impossible to keep them. She would inevitably move soon after arriving and any time she wanted to participate in activities she had to get signed permission, even to go over to someone's house. Getting invited to birthday parties was a lot more of a hassle when paperwork was involved.
The boy was funny and the fact that he was willing to chat with two eleven year-olds meant that he was nice too. The girl mentioned soccer and Lex started to feel even better. Lex managed best when interacting with other kids her age if she was involved in some athletic activity. Now she knew she wouldn't be the only girl who wanted to go outside and run around.
"Maybe I'll try to send mine in and exchange them for pants." Lex said in response to the boy. She definitely didn't have the money to buy an entirely new set of pants. She hadn't even worn her other skirts, so they were, hopefully, likely to just take them back and switch them out. "Oh, right, I'm Lex Lively." She took Katrien's hand. She didn't even bother providing her real name, she hated it and not giving it at all provided people less opportunity to use it.
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"My name's Makepeace." He said by way of introduction, shaking Kit's hand, and Lex's if she offered it. "That's, uh, my only name, by the way. If you need any help, or have any questions, come to me. I'll try to help you out if I can." He added, looking between the two. He was saying more in the opening hour of school than he usually did in the first week, or so he reckoned.
He hated first week; there was a lot of reviewing of last year's stuff, and some teachers liked to outline the whole year in a syllabus while the sensory and mental overload was hitting him so deep that he could rarely hear half of it. It was like there was an ocean roaring in his ears, or maybe a radio playing really loud static drowning out the teacher's voice. The same thing happened when he switched homes, too, and it made him wonder if it might be a blood pressure thing or something.
"First week's always a little tough, and some of the teachers won't cut you any slack. The guy with the saggy face over there? Mr. Llewellyn." He said, nodding towards the tall man. "Scary. You don't want to get on his bad side, or he'll give you the chewing-out of your life. I think he's like an ex-cop or something. And Mr. Glassman over there, the one with the glasses? You show up late to his class, and he'll badger you for the next week with questions that you'd have to be at the college level to answer." When he spoke next, his voice took on a strident edge with a slightly nasal tone to it. "'Mr. Makepeace, explain the dynamics of the three part reaction vessels invented by the Chinese alchemist Sun Ssu Mo during the Tang dynasty.' 'I don't know.' 'Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to be late to one of my classes.'"
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"Lex Lively? That sounds familiar," Katrien commented, knowing it was more than the slight similarity to the name 'Lex Luthor'. "Anyway, a pleasure to meet both of you."
Where had she heard that name before? Or perhaps she had seen it. That was it, she'd seen it in the list of room assignments. Feeling this wasn't the right moment to start rifling through her bag, she just made a mental note to check it later. Her eyes traveled to where Makepeace indicated. Both of the men were scowling. Not very friendly-looking at all. Every school had those teachers. Thankfully, she'd yet to encounter one. But now she wouldn't stay in one room with one teacher like in elementary school.
"Any other hardasses we should know about?" she asked, the slightest tinge of pink in her cheeks. Lex had cursed, so she felt almost obligated to do so, as well. If her friends jumped off a bridge, she'd probably follow suit. It didn't matter that most of what was taught here was completely foreign to her. A strict teacher was a strict teacher, and she was appreciative of this boy's advice.
