Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
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Post by Layla Jimenez on May 1, 2008 21:58:36 GMT -5
Fresh air and sun. It was something that her grandfather had always recommended to Layla her her siblings when they were a bit under the weather. Perhaps it was a way of keeping them active, or just to keep them from complaining, but the truth was that it always seemed to work. After a few hours out playing, they'd usually feel better. When Layla woke up late on a Saturday morning, feeling a bit groggy and afraid that she was coming down with something, fresh air and sun was the first thing that came to mind.
Descending the tower and seven flights of stairs, ignoring the Hospital Wing, she hoped that there was some validity to her grandfather's old remedy. She remembered on a few distant summers in Spain with her grandfather, remembering when things were... better. She had stopped speaking to even him, though it was the hardest thing to do. But Layla wasn't sure how safe it was for her to keep all her muggle contacts, especially ones abroad. She felt guilty for not writing him, but it only made her feel worse for not contacting her parents who were much closer. Now that she had been back in the magical world and in Hogwarts, the last two years living away was almost a blur.
Walking through the Entrance Hall, Layla felt a familiar tightening of her chest. But she took a deep breath and focused on simpler things as she stepped out into the afternoon, sat on a bench facing the entrance, and took out some notes she had wanted to rewrite... like fresh air and sun.
[Josh/open]
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Post by Josh York on May 1, 2008 22:08:47 GMT -5
Sun. Ew. Josh wasn't a big fan of the sunlight. He had grown to dislike it while living in the States because of it's constant radiating and burning of his skin. He knew Sun in the U.K was exceptionally different from the Sun in Palm Springs, but that didn't mean he liked it anymore. Yet somehow, Josh found himself out in the Sun. Although he was sitting in the shade more, he was still outdoors which was a big deal for the Hufflepuff. He sat with his head down and his eyes focused on the book he was reading. It was Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and it was one of his favourites. He wasn't sure why, but Josh had always been drawn to this book and had read it multiple times. His copy was so old and faded and the spine of it was broken down so much at his favourite passage. The boy had been so wrapped up in his novel that he hadn't noticed when someone else had come outside and was sitting on the bridge that sat a little in front of him.
Grabbing his bookmark, Josh slid it into it's spot in his book, closing it slowly as he watched her. She looked familiar, thinking he knew her from some of his classes. She must be a seventh year, because it was the combined classes that he had noticed her in. And a pretty girl like her would not go unnoticed by Josh.
His eyes followed her as she sat down with what looked like homework. Of course Josh wasn't going to make the effort of going and speaking to her, because he just didn't do that kind of stuff. Josh's encounters with students outside classes had been accidents but this one would be intentional. And the Hufflepuff was just too shy to make himself known.
[Sorry it's kinda long. I gotta run now though, I'll be on tomorrow.]
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Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
|
Post by Layla Jimenez on May 1, 2008 22:44:42 GMT -5
Layla gently unfolded the parchment that she had jammed in her jean pocket and opened up the folder that held fresh new pages. The older notes had tea stains all over them, completely blurring about half of her notes. "Insha'Allah [[God Willing]]," she mumbled, recalling the very little Arabic left she had in her vocabulary, hoping she'd remember enough of the lesson to fill in the blurry blanks. She reached for the ink-filled quill she had slipped into her other pocket when she lost grip of her tea-stained page. Grunting, she quickly bend down and caught it between her palm and the ground before the wind picked it up. It was then when she realized that she wasn't alone.
Wondering who the boy was looking at, she quickly looked behind her, but realized that they were the ones there. Suddenly frozen in place, Layla could only offer a weak wave. "Hey..." she said, unsure how to react when caught doing... nothing. "Josh right?" She had seen him in a few classes since they had been integrated with the 6th years. Though she squinted through the intensity of the sun, she could tell that she'd seen his face several times before, though it seemed as though he had matured much like everyone else she hadn't seen in 2 years. "Hey, does the shade help any?" she asked, finally giving in and getting up to walk towards him.
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Post by Josh York on May 2, 2008 5:41:16 GMT -5
Oh no, Josh though to himself when the girl noticed him and actually called out his name. How did she know it? He had no idea what her name was and he felt like a schmuck for not knowing. Josh was sure he had heard it at some point during their classes together. Did it begin with an L? The closer she got, the more Josh thought he recognized her. Was her name Lily, Lyla? No, that wasn't right. Ly...L...Lay...Layla? That seemed to ring some kind of bell in his head. As the girl neared, he cleared his throat and made himself call back to her. "Yeah, Josh," he choked finally, "You're..You're Lay...la. Right? The shade helps a little."
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Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
|
Post by Layla Jimenez on May 2, 2008 20:42:25 GMT -5
Layla only needed to take a few steps to be shaded to realize that it did, indeed help a bit. She looked at the boy and couldn't quite read the expression on his face as he stumbled over her name. It happened often. Layla was generally a quiet girl until she got to be friends with someone, so it wasn't unusual that someone not know who she was. "Yea, Layla."
"Well... do you mind if we share the shade, then?" She didn't want to intrude if he wanted to be alone, though now that she felt the difference, she decided that the 'sun' ingredient of her grandfather's remedy was one that could be taken in moderation. Layla wasn't interested in feeling hot and gross.
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Post by Josh York on May 3, 2008 16:04:29 GMT -5
"Hi Layla," he greeted her when she confirmed that was indeed her name. He sighed a sigh of relief at getting it right and flashed her a smile. "Oh no, no, no not at all," Josh told her quickly, moving over to make room for the girl to sit. The Hufflepuff patted the spot next to him, still smiling up at her.
"Plenty of shade for us both," said Josh with a chuckle, "What uh...what are you working on, there?"
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Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
|
Post by Layla Jimenez on May 3, 2008 16:41:06 GMT -5
"Oh... well... ok, thanks." She smiled a bit awkwardly, since she wasn't expecting him to accommodate her like he was. But she found that she was glad that he did so since it was getting warmer. She took a seat just a bit away from where he had gestured and placed the stack of parchment between them. Oh... it's just my notes," she told him, "they got ruined." She picked up the stained page and showed him the lack of viable information on it and shrugged. "Actually, it's from Charms Class, so maybe you can help me remember if I get stuck."
She wasn't sure how she felt about the 6th and 7th years being integrated yet, though she didn't exactly like it. Every once in a while she was worried that perhaps the N.E.W.T.S. students might not benefit much from the joint classes. But for now, Layla just tried to keep up with everything. "So what are you reading?"
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Post by Josh York on May 3, 2008 17:41:33 GMT -5
Josh smiled at the girl when she sat down and told him what she was working on. He had some fairly good notes from their Charms class and could tell her what he remembered. "Yeah sure, if you get stuck I can try to help," Josh offered with a smile. He felt his cheeks flare up again and he looked away from her for a moment, wanting it to disappear before he looked at her again. "It's umm...Wuthering Heights...by Emily...Emily Bronte," Josh stuttered. He knew it wasn't exactly the kind of book that most guys read, but it had always been a favourite story of his.
"It's just...my mum gave me this book a long time ago and...I promised her I'd read it," Josh explained, "And I...liked it."
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Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
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Post by Layla Jimenez on May 3, 2008 19:11:19 GMT -5
Layla tilted her head slightly to glance at the cover, not noticing the boy had looked away. "I never read that one... is it any good?" She had spent the summer before sorting through several novels, but had never gotten to that one. Layla grinned at the mention of this mother. She wondered if he was one of those 'momma's boys', and wondered how her own mother was doing. Either way, she found it interesting that he took her suggestions to heart.
She wondered what he meant by 'a long time ago' and spoke again with a bit of caution. "How long ago did she give it to you? You couldn't have been that young, I heard it's pretty hefty reading."
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Post by Josh York on May 18, 2008 21:18:23 GMT -5
"Yeah, it's...it's pretty good," Josh admitted with a slight grin, his cheeks blushing slightly. He wasn't sure why he felt like it was such a big deal, but he did. Another big deal to him was the fact that Josh was actually conversing with an actual human being. He was surprised that the girl had spoken to him, but didn't exactly find it a bad thing.
"I was 13, I think," Josh told her, "I didn't really understand it the first time I read it. You're right, it is rather hefty. But it's one of her favourite books and we talked about it together and she sort of...explained it...yeah, I just ended up really liking it." A nervous chuckle escaped the boy's lips and he tried to smile. "You know...if...you wanted to borrow it...you could," the Hufflepuff boy offered.
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Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
|
Post by Layla Jimenez on May 18, 2008 23:02:53 GMT -5
"Wow..." she said quietly, impressed by the Huffle. "She must really like reading, too, huh?" Layla tried to think of the last time she and her mother shared something they both liked. It had been a long time, but she remembered it fondly. She leaned back against the tree, letting her hands fall to her sides, only looking when Josh offered her the book.
"Oh...," she said timidly, "um.. I'd love to. But are you sure I can borrow your copy? I mean, it's obviously special to you. I can always find a different one, since you've recommended it." Layla found herself, smiling, though feeling a bit a awkward, but she thought it was a nice gesture.
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Post by Josh York on May 18, 2008 23:12:04 GMT -5
"Yeah, she's really into the whole 'literature' thing," Josh admitted with a chuckle, "She makes sure all of us keep up in our reading." Josh regretted that the second it was out of his mouth. She was probably going to ask what he meant by "all of us", but he really hoped she wouldn't. The Hufflepuff didn't want to have to lie about his family again.
"Sure, I don't mind," Josh told her truthfully. He would see her in classes and around the school for sure, so he figured he'd be able to get the book back sometime. And maybe it would give him an excuse to see the girl again. "Just as long as you don't disappear on me with it," he joked playfully.
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Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
|
Post by Layla Jimenez on May 18, 2008 23:30:11 GMT -5
Layla smiled at the offer and giggled. "Oh no, I would never," she told him. "I will take it some time soon though," she told her, finding that it might be fun to read something not related to her schoolwork. "I promise I won'tkeep it captive."
Layla's eyes lit up a bit when Josh made reference to others. "Oh," she said turning a bit more to him. "You have siblings? How many of them?"
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Post by Josh York on May 18, 2008 23:37:47 GMT -5
"Um...yeah. I do," Josh admitted, looking down and becoming incredible interested in the skin around his fingers. He picked at it nervously, wishing he didn't have such obvious reactions to the awkwardness he brought upon himself. "There's five of us," Josh explained, "All pretty close in age, but I'm the youngest." That was actually the truth; the others were only a few years older than he was. He actually liked having them so close in age because it made it easier to relate and get along with them. And being with the family for so long anyways, Josh really was tight with them and they did feel like a family.
"Do you have any siblings?" Josh asked, steering the conversation in her direction.
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Layla Jimenez
Witch
Healer-In-Training
[on:*le pounce*][of:...in hiding]
Posts: 529
|
Post by Layla Jimenez on May 19, 2008 0:13:07 GMT -5
Layla giggled a little. "Wow... there are five of you. It must have been so fun growing up huh?" She had loved having siblings around while she was growing up, even if she had been the eldest. She didn't noticed that Josh had started feeling a bit uncomfortable, and pressed on. "How many boys and girls?"
She started to miss her own siblings as she asked Josh about his, but figured that for now, a conversation about them would have to do. "I have a brother and a sister," she told him, grinning proudly. "I'm the oldest, though."
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