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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 1, 2009 0:31:53 GMT -5
"I guess," Jeremy answered with a shrug before running to get the ball. Hogwarts was better than Muggle school had been back home. At least here, he had Brenton who tolerated him. Back home, there had been no one. back home, he had to watch what he said and what he did. sure, he had to do that here to some extent, but with the number of Mudbloods that were at school, he knew someone had to know what he was talking about.
He returned to her with a wry smile and passed her the ball, finding it odd that he wasn't really threatened by her questions. "So... do... do you like it here?"
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Post by Emma Wickham on Mar 1, 2009 1:00:19 GMT -5
Emma was secretly thrilled that she had guessed right. Okay, she had kind of guessed right. Sure he hadn't exactly said that he didn't like the school but he hadn't said that he loved it either. Which came as a sort of relief to her. Not loving Hogwarts seemed like a bad thing, especially since so many students spoke highly of it. There was no denying that the mystery the castle held was intriguing. Yet, it wasn't home. It was childish and didn't care to admit it to anyone. But it was true.
"I guess," Emma mirrored his response. Catching the ball she looked up and noticed the smile on Jeremy's face. It was inviting and she felt like telling him more for some odd reason. "The last couple weeks haven't been the best of my life. But, it's getting better I think."
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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 1, 2009 1:17:38 GMT -5
He looked at her with an odd expression on his faced, one that was mixed between relief and wonder. Everyone raved over how great the school was, and while he'd admit to himself that it was better than the last school he had been to, he still saw... and experienced a lot of the same problems. Kids still picked on him, teachers still hated him, and he still didn't get anything in any of his classes. It was kind of nice to hear that not everyone was thrilled to be there.
"So... like... your parents made you come here too?" he asked, kind of wondering what kind of problems a neat girl like Emma would have. She was pretty and nice and knew how to play basketball. What wouldn't be good about that?
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Post by Emma Wickham on Mar 1, 2009 1:36:02 GMT -5
Emma watched Jeremy's face as he registered the information that she gave out. He was looking at her with an expression that she had not seen him give her before. Although she couldn't exactly figure out what that expression was, she knew it was a good thing. He actually looked like he liked her now, like he might even consider her his friend. She was particularly happy when the last part crossed her mind. His tone was lighter than before and he didn't even seem very guarded about her question before.
However, when he asked a question she knew instantly that she was going to disappoint him. The tone of his voice sounded almost hopeful. Like he wanted to relate to her even more. She wondered how upset Jeremy would be if she revealed that she was just being a silly, home-sick child. Emma didn't want to stop him from looking at her like he was. But she knew that her answer would most likely do so.
With a sigh she responded, "Not exactly. I kind of decided to go because this was better than my house. I would have been pretty much alone in a huge house, with no one to even spare a passing glance towards me."
Her hands held the ball tight as it rested in front of her. Her green eyes fell to the ground as she waited to be reprimanded or something. Jeremy had said 'too', surely indicating that Hogwarts hadn't exactly been his choice. However, she didn't know how to say that it wasn't her choice either without sounding like she was asking for sympathy. With a slight shrug she looked back up to Jeremy and added, "Better than being alone."
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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 1, 2009 1:48:30 GMT -5
She almost sounded sorry to say it had been her decision to go to Hogwarts. While a small part of him wanted to lump her into that group of people who actually wanted to be there, it was the last bit of what she said that kept him from doing so. No way. It just wasn't possible for her to really understand what he was going through, ignored by the general population. Heck, even his best friend barely tolerated him.
"Alone? You?" he asked incredulously. It just wasn't possible and even if it was, sometimes being left alone was a good thing. "Even if it's true, it's better than being stuffed in broom cupboards," he mumbled to himself, hoping she hadn't heard him once it was said.
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Post by Emma Wickham on Mar 1, 2009 2:05:23 GMT -5
Emma was taken back by his response. She had not expected him to doubt what she was saying. Well at least doubt the fact that she had been pretty much without friends her entire life. Of course, it was kind of her fault. Her adolescent self had convinced her mother that she simply could not get along with other children. Hence the failed attempts at daycare, public school, and recreational quidditch teams. There was no one else to blame but her self for not having friends. When she had finally grown out of being so bold and deviant it was too late. Now that she liked kids her own age, she still didn't make friends. She had learned to simply just go with it and who ever stuck were the friends that she ended up with.
However, she had caught the last part of what he had said under his breath. This interrupted her thought process and she suddenly saw Jeremy in a whole new light. No wonder he had jumped down her throat about telling on him. Now his being so defensive and guarded made some sense to her. She couldn't control her expression from the shock that went through her mind. As her mouth dropped open, she looked at Jeremy wide-eyed.
"Broom closets? But, why? That doesn't make any sense!" Emma didn't understand why anyone would pick on Jeremy. Sure, he was a bit hard to get along with at first but ended up being so nice in the end. Not to mention, he seemed like he could be pretty funny if he could just lighten up a bit.
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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 1, 2009 2:13:53 GMT -5
She sounded so surprised when he kind of took it for granted. It felt like most of his life bigger people had been shoving him into spaces he didn't want to be: lockers, closets, toilets. He obviously didn't like it, but he kind of expected it.
He shrugged back at her, having no explanation other than that was the way it was. He really didn't want to get into it and looked over at the basket, hoping to change the subject. As much as he wanted to hear about why she was alone, he was afraid it would lead to his own difficulties. Perhaps it was just better to mind his own damn business. "You going to take the shot?" he asked, still looking at the hoop.
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Post by Emma Wickham on Mar 1, 2009 2:28:57 GMT -5
Emma was confused at first. She didn't understand what he meant and had to glance down at the ball to realize what they had been doing before. The basketball in her hands had been stationary and she had barely noticed that she was holding on to it still. Blinking a couple of times, she remembered that it was her turn to shoot. "Yeah," The girl murmured. Taking a step away from Jeremy so that she wouldn't hit him, she aimed and shot the ball. It barely hit the rim, veering off to the left too much.
Silently, she walked to get the failed ball back. She didn't exactly know what to think. He hadn't answered her question. Obviously, he didn't want to talk about it but she just couldn't understand why someone would want to shove Jeremy into a closet. He didn't seem like the type to provoke anything and without that she could find no reasonable cause for doing that to someone. The fact that he was only as big as she was crossed her mind, but that was no grounds for picking on someone. Not that she had much experience with public schooling. She had basically been the bully the one time she attended the place but had acted that way with due cause.
"Well since we're both stuck here for about another four years, we might as well stick together. Right?" Emma suggested with a smile as she returned with the ball.
It would be nice to have someone that was easy to talk to. Plus the fact that he liked, or at least seemed to like, basketball would mean that they could play together. The girl extended the basketball out to him, balancing it on her right hand as sort of an offering of friendship.
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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 1, 2009 2:44:26 GMT -5
He continued to keep his eye on the ball, doing his best not to look at her. There were a million questions about her that he wanted answered, but none that could be asked without threat of being asked questions as well. He just met this girl and as cool as she seemed, he still wasn't sure he was ready to share any of that stuff with anyone.
"Yeah... I guess so," he answered, taking the ball back but still not looking at her. It would be good to have someone like Emma to hang out with, but he still felt a little wary of the whole situation. He set up his backwards shot again and flipped the ball over his head, this time... miraculously... sinking it. He stood up straight and turned around to look at the hoop, not sure he really saw what he thought he saw.
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Post by Emma Wickham on Mar 1, 2009 14:15:02 GMT -5
Emma figured that his answer was good enough. Jeremy had agreed to being friends with her and that was all she was asking for. He seemed cautious about accepting her offer. Like he didn't know what to believe anymore. It was entertaining. Especially since she knew that there was really no mystery about her. If anything, she was a boring character just cast as a side roll in the pages of a novel. She didn't mind her part though, it was what she was used to with two all star older brothers.
As Jeremy began to line up the shot, Emma took a step back to give him room. He was determined to make a backwards basket. She had never seen it done before. Just as the thought occurred to her, the boy released the ball and it went straight through the basket. Her face lit up in amazement as she stared at the basket the ball had went through just seconds before. It was a fantastic shot.
"Oh my gosh! That was unbelievable!" Emma exclaimed with excitement. Looking towards him, she resisted pulling him into a celebratory hug because she didn't want him to roll his eyes at her again. Instead she waited for the reality of the shot to sink in, watching his reaction.
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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 2, 2009 1:48:10 GMT -5
He still wasn't sure he could trust his eyes and even though Emma was cheering for him, he stared at the basket slack-jawed and wide-eyed, not actually believing that the ball had actually gone in through the hoop. He stood there facing the basket stuck to the wall, waiting for some sort of signal that it had just been his imagination. When none came, he looked over at Emma, confirming that she had in fact seen the ball go in as well.
"It really went in?" he asked, just to make sure his eyes hadn't played a trick on him, being upside down and all. He really hadn't ever expected to make the shot. It had all been for fun, goofing off and dreaming about what would happen if it really did.
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Post by Emma Wickham on Mar 2, 2009 20:24:21 GMT -5
Emma laughed as he questioned the validity of his sanity. And eyesight. Jeremy didn't seem to believe that the ball had actually went through the basket. Admittedly, she had not thought that the shot could be made. But it would be an entertaining if he could make the shot consistently. Useful even. Like a secret weapon that no one would ever be expecting. However, the one shot was enough to amaze the both of them.
"It went in! I saw it!" Emma stated matter-of-factedly.
She knew that making a shot like that on her part, would be once in a lifetime. The two times she had attempted the shot before had been completely misses. From his reaction, it was obviously the first time he had made a shot like that. That was due cause for celebration in her opinion. "Victory dance?" Emma asked playfully, wondering if Jeremy would go for it.
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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 2, 2009 20:51:38 GMT -5
A wide grin broke out across his face as he finally realized that he had actually made that impossible shot. He doubted he'd ever make it again and there was a good chance no one would ever believe that he had made it this time, but at least Emma had really seen it. If no one believed him, they'd have to believe her.
The smile he wore slipped slightly when she mentioned any sort of dancing, victory or otherwise. He wasn't fond of dancing, never really having a reason to do it just for the heck of it. He shrugged back, not exactly sure what he was supposed to do and feeling like an idiot because of it.
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Post by Emma Wickham on Mar 2, 2009 21:06:35 GMT -5
"Oh come on!" Emma rolled her eyes at him, instintively moving her hands to her hips.
Obviously Jeremy was not comfortable with the thought of him dancing. However, the entire definition of a victory dance was a pointless jig that was completely allowed to look as stupid as one wanted since the person had accomplished something. It wasn't like she was going to point and laugh at him, but of course he didn't know that she would never do that. So it was up to her to initiate the corny dancing. Being bold was Emma's strong point, so that part was no problem. Getting Jeremy to go along with her. That was more difficult.
Emma stepped up to where he had stepped away from and took both of his hands in hers. Laughing she encouraged him, "Loosen up and don't worry so much." Pulling his hands back and forth, her wide smile touched her eyes as she did a 'victory dance' with Jeremy. Bobbing her head, she tried to get him to go along with her. He really did need to stop being such a fuddy duddy. The wrinkle lines on his forehead were starting to set in permanently.
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Post by Jeremy Taylor on Mar 2, 2009 21:27:33 GMT -5
Jeremy allowed her to take up his hands in hers, and let her puppet him through the victory dance. It actually wasn't all that bad and while he rolled his eyes at her attempts to get him to dance, he snickered and wobbled his head in an effort to play along. As much as he wanted to hate it all, he was kind of having fun... not that he'd actually admit it out loud of course.
"I think I'm getting whiplash," he complained but the smile on his face told a different story and he made no effort to pull his hands from hers. He kind of liked it actually.
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