Closed A New Look

[Amelie Derouin]

Amelie didn't have many friends, but that was alright. She enjoyed spending time on her own, even if it could be a bit boring. Today though she was trying to alleviate that. She had gotten dressed up in a cute sundress and flats, done her hair in a nice braid and gone out to town to do some shopping. She was in a cute little boutique now, browsing through their collection. She already had one cute skirt over her arm and was browsing through a few tops, humming softly to herself as she looked.

 

[Xenia Nikolaidou]

Xenia wasn't really sure what she was doing. She wasn't exactly fashionable, typically, but she did want to at least try to be able to clean up nicely. She was going into fifth year at Beauxbatons and now she was actually on the Quidditch team people noticed her. More than for just being the Greek girl with slightly sloppier French than everyone else. Being on the team had even improved that, as she found she was talking a lot more than she had been.

So after paying off a tiny bit more of her broom with weekly summer job earnings (the exchange rate wasn't great but at least she should have it by the start of the new year) she wandered out into town, having time to kill before she had to get back home. Xenia awkwardly made her way through a rack of skirts, not sure she'd have much cause to even wear them, when she noticed a somewhat familiar face. Amelie, from the Quidditch team. Xenia smiled, raising a hand in greeting as she approached. "Kalispera*, Amelie," she said, cheerfully but in that awkward way of seeing someone who you didn't know well but knew well enough that it would be really rude not to say hello. "This is unexpected."

*good day/greetings

 

[Amelie Derouin]

Amelie looked up when she heard a familiar voice, smiling as she saw Xenia walking over. "Hey, Xenia," She greeted, abandoning her clothes to walk over. "This is a fun coincidence. Out shopping?" She asked, a bit curious what style of clothes the girl would like.

 

[Xenia Nikolaidou]

"Yeah, I..." Xenia laughed lightly, shifting a little on the spot. "Thought I should try and be fashionable." It wasn't really a huge priority generally, but now she felt like she had to at least try to look pretty and presentable even if that was the least of her concerns on the Quidditch pitch. Not when she had a job to do, which was far more important than looking nice. Still, she looked at her chipped, bitten nails with a slight wince. "I get noticed a little. It's weird."

 

[Amelie Derouin]

Amelie smiled shyly. "Well, if you wanted, we could shop together?" She asked. "It could be fun, we could spend some time together, get to know the other," She smiled, and offered out her hand. "Come on, I could buy you lunch," She added, thinking it would be enticing enough to secure her some company for the day.

 

[Xenia Nikolaidou]

Xenia looked a bit nervous, but nodded. "Oh, you don't have to, I can-" she looked at her wallet, and sighed. "Actually, that would be nice." She had enough money to do a bit of clothes shopping but the majority of her money would be going to a broom. She did a bit of lifeguard duty over the summer back home which made her a bit of money but then converting it to galleons was a bit difficult. She awkwardly took Amelie's hand with a smile. Xenia wasn't especially glamourous, a bit rougher than most of the girls at Beauxbatons. "Uh, are you having a good holiday?" she asked, in slower French than most. Her French wasn't awful after a few years at Beauxbatons, but it was blatantly obvious she was a non-native speaker.

 

[Amelie Derouin]

Amelie smiled, tucking another shirt over her arm. "I am, it's better now that we have a chance to hang out." She spoke slower, studying Xenia before abruptly switching to English. "Do you speak English?" She asked, having noted that the girls French was a bit harsher. "Oh, this would look adorable on you," She gushed in English, offering out a cute top to the other girl.

 

[Xenia Nikolaidou]

Xenia couldn't hide the look of relief that crossed her face when Amelie swapped to English. Her French was fine, better than it was, but it was still her third language behind Greek and English. "Thank you," Xenia said with a small sigh, giving a tiny smile. "I only started learning French when I got in to Beauxbatons," Xenia admitted, a little embarrassed. It felt like a bit of a source of shame, especially with how far behind she ended up in first year between the language barrier and being muggleborn. At least Quidditch had given her a lot more confidence. "You really think so?" Xenia asked, a bit surprised. It was certainly pretty, but she wasn't sure if pretty things suited her.

 

[Amelie Derouin]

Amelie smiled. "We can speak in English if you'd prefer. I could help you with your French, if you'd like," Amelie offered with a smile, knowing how hard it must be trying to learn a new language. She remembered Ares' struggles with it. "I think this would really look nice on you, but if you don't like it we can keep looking," She offered easily. "What kind of clothes do you like?" She asked, eager for this girls day already.

 

[Xenia Nikolaidou]

Xenia relaxed a little further. "Thanks, that helps." Xenia wasn't a genius, but she certainly wasn't stupid. If she could express herself more in Greek she could get her points across well. At least English was going to help more for Quidditch, playing Ilvermony and hopefully Hogwarts. "Hearing it and having to speak it a lot has helped, but then I feel like I'm at school, you know?" Xenia gave a wry smile. "But I need to keep trying. They made me Quidditch captain," she admitted, unable to hide the pride in her voice. "I have to look...more fitting." She shrugged, looking over the clothes and carefully considering. "I just wear things that are good for running around. I guess I can try new clothes. Um, what about you? You're stylish." Anyone at Beauxbatons was stylish compared to her, though, it wasn't that high a bar.

 

[Amelie Derouin]

Amelie giggled. "Glad to help my friend," She teased, her accent thick. She raised a brow at the girls words and shook her head. "You are already fitting," She insisted. "They must have thought so too. You do not need to change to be something when you are already enough," She insisted, nodding. She held out her hand. "Forget school, forget the team for today. Right now we are just two teenage girls buying clothes we love," She smiled, absolutely sure of what they were doing. "That's it, today is completely on me. We are buying you at least four outfits and getting our hair and nails done, and going to the spa. You are now mine," She giggled, already excited for the day.