Closed Day Dreaming

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan felt weird being back at school. He was looking forward to his classes and getting to work with Professor Burleigh some more. But for the first time he felt like he was leaving more at home than he had waiting for him at school. At least he didn't have to worry about exams this year which was a small relief. He still had plenty of reading to do, and now he had to make up for all the extra time his new little sister had taken up. Who knew it was hard to focus on obscure aquatic creatures of the British Isles when a baby was crying? Ethan ducked into the student lounge to find a comfy place to sit but got distracted when he found Senna asleep at one of the tables. He walked over and hovered, unsure how or if he should wake her up? It didn't seem like she had meant to take a nap. First he tried waving a hand in front of her face which didn't work because she was well, asleep. His next attempt was to tap on the table next to her face, once, twice, and then three times as he waited to see if that would make her stir.

 

[Senna Overby]

Senna had a lot of conflicted feelings after being at home during the break and dealing with the changed dynamics in their household now that her baby sister had arrived. The one thing she did know for certain was that she was glad to be back at school. Not because things at home had been terrible but because she needed sleep. Sharing a dorm with a few other girls she could handle but sharing her home with a baby had been a lot and at this point in time she felt like she'd be tired forever. The rational side of her knew it wasn't that bad, that she'd probably be fine after a few weeks back at school. The sleep deprived part of her, however, could not see that just quite yet. Deciding she needed to finish some schoolwork before she'd allow herself to take a quick nap before dinner Sen had come to the student lounge and claimed a table to work at. She had opened her book in front of her and rested her chin upon her hand as she started reading before subconsciously lowering her arm until it laid flat on the table, head automatically following while she quickly dozed off.

Senna frowned when she heard a weird noise close to her ear. What even was that? She was about to just ignore it when the other sounds around her started to get through to her. Voices. Students chattering, laughing. Then came another realization: her eyes where closed. Why were her eyes closed? The student lounge. That's where she was. Yeah, she went to the student lounge to study and- oh no. Had she fallen asleep in the middle of the lounge? The realisation made her quickly open her eyes, confused when the first thing she noticed was a hand right next to her face. Sen slowly lifted her head while her eyes made their way up from the hand to the connecting arm, shoulder and eventually the face that belonged to it as well. "Heeeey, Ethan." She tried to greet him as casually as possible, dragging her 'hey' on far too long while she sat up a little straighter. The list of situations during which she wished she could disappear was a short one, but she had definitely just added one to it.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan was frozen in place as he watched Senna slowly wake up. There was no point in pretending he wasn't the one trying to wake her. "Hey Senna." he said, mimicking the way she had greeted him. Except he didn't think he sounded quite as tired. "Sorry if you didn't want to wake up." he said sheepishly. "I just wasn't sure you had done it on purpose." he tried to explain. He was almost tempted to try and tuck her back in, metaphorically.

 

[Senna Overby]

Senna was glad she wasn't usually so self conscious or her head would probably be on fire right now. Falling asleep was still a little embarassing, sure, but there were students who had done far sillier things so she knew she'd be over it in a couple of minutes. "No, yeah, I'm glad you did." She responded still a little groggily. "I actually intended do some reading, not fall asleep. So, yeah, thanks. Mostly for saving me the embarassment of someone I don't know waking me." Or would that have been better? She wasn't sure but she liked Ethan and she definitely appreciated him looking out for her.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan felt relief once she confirmed he had done the right thing and woken her up. "Mind if I join you?" he asked. "I can keep you awake at least." he joked, even if his voice came out dead pan like usual. "I'm sure you're not the first person to do it." he offered to make her feel a little better. "So what are you reading that made you so tired?" he asked curiously.

 

[Senna Overby]

Senna smiled when Ethan asked if he could join her, nodding without as much of a second thought. At least chatting with someone would surely keep her from somehow dozing off again. Ethan had a point when he mentioned she couldn't have been the first one to have ever fallen asleep in the common lounge and still she was a little displeased that it had happened. Especially when she was so used to having quite some energy. "Oh, yeah, it's just charms." She responded, glancing over at the book to make sure it actually was. "I don't think it's the book though, I've just been tired lately."