Rose walks into the crowded room. She sticks close to her friends, following them through the crowds of people waiting to get dinner. The group of people she'd come with split, merging with the crowds and greeting people they've met before. Rose lingers in the middle of the room. It's her first time coming to the International Quidditch Training Intensive for Young Witches and Wizards and she is feeling a little dwarfed by the occasion. As her team spread around the crowd, Rose follows and tries her hardest to fit in with the group.
Everywhere she turns there is another player who Rose knows by reputation, and she has a sinking feeling that everyone here will be far better than her. She tries not to let the awe and anxiety battling within her show on her face as she wonders whether she should get a drink or not. 'On one hand it would mean I have something to do, which I desperately need,' she thinks, but she doesn't feel thirsty, and nothing that is being sold seems appealing. Rose stands near the bar and goes over her choices. There is Butterbeer, Exploding Lemonade and Muggle drinks like Coke and Fanta. Rose's nose wrinkles. 'You'd think that at a quidditch training event, they would provide more healthy options.' Rose turns away and scans the room. Almost everyone has a drink, should she?
Her decision is made for her as someone calls for everyone to move into the dining room. There's a nervous flutter in Rose's stomach. In an effort to dispel any inter-team rivalries for the week, the organisers had split the teams up so that there was only one member of each team on a table. Rose is on table N. She weaves her way through the crowds, searching for her friend Hayley. Hayley has table U which is next to N. When they get to the dining room, there isn't anyone there yet.
"Maybe we should wait a while," Hayley mumbles. "I don't want to be the only one at my table, let's just go back for a while."
"I don't know, let's just sit. Everyone else should be coming in soon anyway." Rose sits, she really just wants to stop wandering around aimlessly.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Hayley sits on the chair back to back with Rose. They talk a bit, but more people join Hayley before anyone gets to Rose's table. Rose turns back to her own table just as someone joins her.
"Is anyone sitting here?" The newcomer is a big boy; he's tall and broad in the shoulders. He has light brown hair that is held back in a ponytail which reaches past his shoulders. Despite his size, he has a baby face and a kind smile.
Rose smiles back at him. "No."
"Cool," He sits down. "What team are you with?"
"Phoenix's," Rose answers.
"I'm with the Shotguns." Rose nods and their conversation trails off. They sit there in silence, and Rose fights to keep from grinning. Sitting next to someone who's feeling awkward always amuses her. She looks over the crowd, watching the awkward conversations on other tables that seem to match the one at her own.
The boy from the Shotguns fidgets, shifting in his seat. Rose is thinking that she should say something just as a new girl sits across from Rose, snapping the awkward tension.
"Hi, I'm Tagen, who are you guys?" Tagen comes across as loud and confident as she takes the seat on the other side of Rose with no hesitation, and then waits expectantly for her reply.
"I'm Rose, I'm here with the Phoenix's." 'She didn't ask your team!' Rose tries to ignore the panicking voice in her head.
"I'm David."
Tagen grins. "So you're from England, right Rose? I'm from Canada, I play for the Haileybury Hammers. How old are you guys?"
Rose glances at David, and then at Tagen. She answers first. "I'm fifteen."
"Sixteen."
Rose looks back at David, she's surprised to say the least. She had thought David would be her age or even a bit younger. One year really isn't that much older, but despite his size, his childlike face gives the illusion that he is only thirteen or so. Rose drifts out of the conversation, David and Tegan have begun talking about a Canadian team that she's never heard of, and paying attention to what anyone is saying is getting harder. As more and more people enter the room, the conversation noise swells. Rose hopes it will die down a little once the food is served, she can already feel the traces of a headache.
'He's cute.' The thought steals into Rose's head. Her eyes had been wandering around the room but were now glued to one of the entrances. She'd caught sight of a boy leaning against the door frame and talking to people out of Rose's sight. 'He only looks a year or two older than me.' He has tan skin and dark messy hair that sweeps across his forehead. He's dressed in Muggle clothes, like most of the younger people present. Rose watches him, attempting to look like she's just gazing around the room, when instead her eyes are trained like lasers on the individual in the door way.
His grin flashes and across the room Rose smiles in response. She can only see his profile because he's facing out of the room. Something in the easy way that he stands still, among the crowds milling through the room, traps her gaze.
The call comes again for people to move to their seats. 'I wonder where he's sitting,' Rose wonders as she sees him glance down at his hand, and then look into the room. He starts walking through the tables and Rose watches. She feels like she's staring outright and looks away to avoid being caught. She peeks a glance when she guesses that he'd be passing her table. Instead of seeing someone walking behind her, Rose's eyes meet his. 'Oh my gods.'
"Is this table N?"
Rose blinks at him a few times before her brain connects with her mouth again.
"Um, yeah."
I am sorry in advance if this never gets completed, I really want to I just don't have a good track record. I am hopeful though for the muse is strong in this one. Please leave a review they make my week when I get one. If you've got this far thanks for reading.