Disclaimer: I own the plot as well as most of the characters, not the
setting or the HP elements tho... I'm sure you can pick those out for
yourself. And, this isn't really a HP fanfic, it's just a story I wanted to
write that is conveniently located at Hogwarts. Look for symbolism!
(Especially you, Lizzie!)
Too bad "Times New Roman" isn't a way to describe someone's life: regulated, plain, and boring. Well, I suppose some people have that kind of experience, but then who would want to know about them anyway? Granted, everyone has humdrum days where they feel like sleeping for twenty-four hours straight, I know I sure do, but it's the defining moments, critical decisions, and intense emotions a person feels that makes life worth living. Yeah, sure, everyone feels like crap once in a while, but that's no reason to stop doing what you're doing... get over yourself and live your life the way you want to. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, like internal struggles. Who can ever decide something for themselves when they support both sides of the arguement? Well, that's where the rest of the human race comes in, to help and hinder each other while they walk blindly through life, each person in their own little world.
"Oh. My. God!" thought Marina as she scurried down the long hallway with high vaulted ceilings towards her next class. She held several sheets of paper crumpled in her fist, each of which contained various notes she had absentmindedly taken during Transfiguration. Why did I wait until the last minute to study? AGAIN?!
Marina stopped short as she realized she was about to run head on into Katarina, a fellow student and close friend. However, unlike Marina, Katarina was calmly loitering outside of the oaken door, flipping her long strawberry-blonde hair and chatting with the passers-by walking slowly to their destinations.
"Scuse, pardon, thanks!", squeaked Marina as she pushed by the clump of students and into the classroom. Only a few students were in there, including Tom, Jeremy, Ivy, and Calvin. She rushed to her seat, threw down her heavy bag, and began to flatten out her sheets of notes.
"Into a duck...figure-eight...and, no, wait... uhhh...oh a kumquat...." She mumbled indistinct phrases while trying to decipher her scrawl and memorize the information at the same time. "No. Yes, wait, no.... AUGH!!" Marina slammed her fist down on the desk, causing a dull throbbing in her right hand. Oh great, now HE's looking over here too, while I'm making a complete fool of myself...
Jeremy was gazing over curiously at Marina, with a look of slight concern. "Uh... are you..."
"I'M OK!" yelled Marina, which only caused him to look even more alarmed. She turned away to look back at the sheets of wrinkly paper, that were now strewn all over the floor. Fine, now how can this day possibly get any worse?
Katarina strolled in, her usual composed self, and walked towards Marina, still laughing from the conversation she'd just finished with another 5th year.
"Haha... oh, are you alright, Mari? Um, no, I'll get that for you..." She bent over to gather together the papers before the class came in and trampled all over them. She stood up and turned towards Marina, her green eyes full of a confused amusement. "Er, well, good luck on the test, then! Oh yeah, you'll never guess what Tobias said to me just now! He was talking about the time his house elf accidentally set their dog on fire...."
Marina mentally blocked out that useless drivel, and tried to set her mind on the task before her. I bet Kat studied ages ago, why does she have to be so perfect anyway? I don't see what's so great about being great at everything. She thought bitterly. She watched as Katarina took a seat next to Jeremy, and started joking and laughing with him. She was leaning closer to him than Marina would have liked, in fact, she didn't like her talking to him at all! Not like I have a claim on him though. She sighed at that depressing thought and slumped forward in her seat, staring at the papers on her desk but not really seeing them.
"Class, it's time for your test!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out over the chattering kids. Everyone immediately got silent and looked towards her, knowing that this test was one of the single most important grades they'd ever receive the entire year. "Now, begin!" She waved her wand, and a thick stack of papers appeared on everyone's desk.
Marina closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly opened them again. She looked down at the intimidating mountain of paper and found the first question. "What is the proper procedure for changing an African Bullhog into an exact replica of HMS Titanic?" There was no multiple choice. Marina's eyes widened as she realized, "I am going to FAIL."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The bell rang, and students from all over the school burst out of their classrooms, relieved and ready for the weekend.
"Hogsmeade, tomorrow!" Said Katarina excitedly as she led Marina to the great hall, who was following sullenly. "Oh, are you worried about that old test? Don't worry, I did pretty bad too..."
Like hell you did, thought Marina, you were the first goddam person finished. "Uh, it's ok. Hey, did Jeremy tell you if he was going?"
"Um, now that you mention it, he and Tobias said they were going to meet up at the Three Broomsticks for a few drinks around two. He said we could come too," she added hastily as she saw the yearning look on Marina's face, then smiled. "You know, if you really like him that much you should talk to him," Katarina said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world (which it was).
Marina looked at her with an incredulous expression, but chose not to voice her exasperation. "Yeah, I know, but..." "NO buts! I'm going to make sure you talk to him tomorrow. Let's go to Herewolf Salon this afternoon, and cut your hair! Then he'll have something to talk to you about, and get his attention. Eh?" Katarina nudged Marina with her elbow and winked. She saw Marina's eyebrows raise. "Oh, come ON. It'll be fun!" And with that, Marina lost any hope of getting out of this and let herself be dragged to the salon.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Marina sat in the styling chair while Katarina tried to describe to the formidable hairdresser what she wanted.
"Uh, make it cute, but not 'little girl' cute, uh, with layers... and flippy. Yeah, make it flippy. Er, well, just do whatever will make it look best."
The tall, slim, and stylishly dressed hairdresser fingered a lock of Marina's long brown hair, and thought for a while. Finally, she said in a thick Transylvanian accent, "Ve vill make eet short."
"Ok, great, hear that, Mari? Short!" commented Katarina for no apparent reason: Marina was not hard of hearing.
When she was finally finished, the tall woman turned Marina's chair towards the mirror. She stared back at her reflection. He'd better say something about it to me tomorrow. If he doesn't, then guys are denser than I ever thought!
"Woah! You look great!" proclaimed Katarina, looking down enviously at Marina. Her new cut was about shoulder length, with fringed bangs and flipped out at the ends. "I think you're ready for tomorrow."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
[A/N:] Like it? Didn't? Reviews appreciated! Yeah I know, that was really random. But hey, it's only the first chapter, and it's supposed to catch your attention. Did it?
Too bad "Times New Roman" isn't a way to describe someone's life: regulated, plain, and boring. Well, I suppose some people have that kind of experience, but then who would want to know about them anyway? Granted, everyone has humdrum days where they feel like sleeping for twenty-four hours straight, I know I sure do, but it's the defining moments, critical decisions, and intense emotions a person feels that makes life worth living. Yeah, sure, everyone feels like crap once in a while, but that's no reason to stop doing what you're doing... get over yourself and live your life the way you want to. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, like internal struggles. Who can ever decide something for themselves when they support both sides of the arguement? Well, that's where the rest of the human race comes in, to help and hinder each other while they walk blindly through life, each person in their own little world.
"Oh. My. God!" thought Marina as she scurried down the long hallway with high vaulted ceilings towards her next class. She held several sheets of paper crumpled in her fist, each of which contained various notes she had absentmindedly taken during Transfiguration. Why did I wait until the last minute to study? AGAIN?!
Marina stopped short as she realized she was about to run head on into Katarina, a fellow student and close friend. However, unlike Marina, Katarina was calmly loitering outside of the oaken door, flipping her long strawberry-blonde hair and chatting with the passers-by walking slowly to their destinations.
"Scuse, pardon, thanks!", squeaked Marina as she pushed by the clump of students and into the classroom. Only a few students were in there, including Tom, Jeremy, Ivy, and Calvin. She rushed to her seat, threw down her heavy bag, and began to flatten out her sheets of notes.
"Into a duck...figure-eight...and, no, wait... uhhh...oh a kumquat...." She mumbled indistinct phrases while trying to decipher her scrawl and memorize the information at the same time. "No. Yes, wait, no.... AUGH!!" Marina slammed her fist down on the desk, causing a dull throbbing in her right hand. Oh great, now HE's looking over here too, while I'm making a complete fool of myself...
Jeremy was gazing over curiously at Marina, with a look of slight concern. "Uh... are you..."
"I'M OK!" yelled Marina, which only caused him to look even more alarmed. She turned away to look back at the sheets of wrinkly paper, that were now strewn all over the floor. Fine, now how can this day possibly get any worse?
Katarina strolled in, her usual composed self, and walked towards Marina, still laughing from the conversation she'd just finished with another 5th year.
"Haha... oh, are you alright, Mari? Um, no, I'll get that for you..." She bent over to gather together the papers before the class came in and trampled all over them. She stood up and turned towards Marina, her green eyes full of a confused amusement. "Er, well, good luck on the test, then! Oh yeah, you'll never guess what Tobias said to me just now! He was talking about the time his house elf accidentally set their dog on fire...."
Marina mentally blocked out that useless drivel, and tried to set her mind on the task before her. I bet Kat studied ages ago, why does she have to be so perfect anyway? I don't see what's so great about being great at everything. She thought bitterly. She watched as Katarina took a seat next to Jeremy, and started joking and laughing with him. She was leaning closer to him than Marina would have liked, in fact, she didn't like her talking to him at all! Not like I have a claim on him though. She sighed at that depressing thought and slumped forward in her seat, staring at the papers on her desk but not really seeing them.
"Class, it's time for your test!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out over the chattering kids. Everyone immediately got silent and looked towards her, knowing that this test was one of the single most important grades they'd ever receive the entire year. "Now, begin!" She waved her wand, and a thick stack of papers appeared on everyone's desk.
Marina closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly opened them again. She looked down at the intimidating mountain of paper and found the first question. "What is the proper procedure for changing an African Bullhog into an exact replica of HMS Titanic?" There was no multiple choice. Marina's eyes widened as she realized, "I am going to FAIL."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The bell rang, and students from all over the school burst out of their classrooms, relieved and ready for the weekend.
"Hogsmeade, tomorrow!" Said Katarina excitedly as she led Marina to the great hall, who was following sullenly. "Oh, are you worried about that old test? Don't worry, I did pretty bad too..."
Like hell you did, thought Marina, you were the first goddam person finished. "Uh, it's ok. Hey, did Jeremy tell you if he was going?"
"Um, now that you mention it, he and Tobias said they were going to meet up at the Three Broomsticks for a few drinks around two. He said we could come too," she added hastily as she saw the yearning look on Marina's face, then smiled. "You know, if you really like him that much you should talk to him," Katarina said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world (which it was).
Marina looked at her with an incredulous expression, but chose not to voice her exasperation. "Yeah, I know, but..." "NO buts! I'm going to make sure you talk to him tomorrow. Let's go to Herewolf Salon this afternoon, and cut your hair! Then he'll have something to talk to you about, and get his attention. Eh?" Katarina nudged Marina with her elbow and winked. She saw Marina's eyebrows raise. "Oh, come ON. It'll be fun!" And with that, Marina lost any hope of getting out of this and let herself be dragged to the salon.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Marina sat in the styling chair while Katarina tried to describe to the formidable hairdresser what she wanted.
"Uh, make it cute, but not 'little girl' cute, uh, with layers... and flippy. Yeah, make it flippy. Er, well, just do whatever will make it look best."
The tall, slim, and stylishly dressed hairdresser fingered a lock of Marina's long brown hair, and thought for a while. Finally, she said in a thick Transylvanian accent, "Ve vill make eet short."
"Ok, great, hear that, Mari? Short!" commented Katarina for no apparent reason: Marina was not hard of hearing.
When she was finally finished, the tall woman turned Marina's chair towards the mirror. She stared back at her reflection. He'd better say something about it to me tomorrow. If he doesn't, then guys are denser than I ever thought!
"Woah! You look great!" proclaimed Katarina, looking down enviously at Marina. Her new cut was about shoulder length, with fringed bangs and flipped out at the ends. "I think you're ready for tomorrow."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
[A/N:] Like it? Didn't? Reviews appreciated! Yeah I know, that was really random. But hey, it's only the first chapter, and it's supposed to catch your attention. Did it?