Adventures Look Different to Everyone

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine was pretty content with life these days. Classes were going well, she'd been making some new friends, and she was just generally happy. Being able to step out of the castle for a little bit only made things better. She loved being in the school, aside from the learning part which was ok but not always fun, but getting away was an opportunity not to be missed.

With a bag packed with snacks, Corrine made her way to Takarokaro Park, and after a quick glance around found a tree low enough that she could climb. Of course there were benches, but who wanted to sit on a bench when you could be in a tree? And there she sat, her bag on her lap as she dipped her hand in to pull out a cookie every now and then. She was reading a book, a work of fiction about a girl who thought she was muggleborn but who turned out to be a long lost pureblood girl. It was engrossing, and as Corrine closed the book, having finished a chapter, Corrine wished for that kind of adventure. Something that would take her out of her normal, everyday things. Something different. She sat back against the trunk, looking out as people milled around.

 

[Cullen Yeong]

Cullen hadn't previously gone to Brightstone, he hadn't the permission to go. Once his father had gone to the town and look it around, he was finally given permission to go to the town over the Brightstone weekend for this semester. He thought it would be really interesting, as he hadn't spent much time in the New Zealand wizard town his family moved to yet, he'd finally get to experience what it was like compared to his Korean hometown. Leaving the main part of the town behind Cullen headed into the local park. It was lush and green as summer was coming to an end here. He couldn't believe it as back home it would be rather chilly now. Walking around he heard the sound of a crunch above him as he passed under a tree. Looking up he thought he might see some sort of animal but was rather surprised to see a girl, and one that was in his year. "Oh!" He said startled and stepping back slightly. He did hope he didn't scare the girl in return but it was an awfully quiet park and she seemed to be reading, so he might have. "Sorry, sorry. I did not mean to scare you, sorry sorry," Cullen said raising his hands as a sign of meaning no harm.
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[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine let out a small gasp and then chuckled as she heard a voice below her. It was the transfer guy. They weren't an especially large group and she recognized the faces even if she didn't know everyone, so a new face always stood out. Corrine thought about it for a second, knowing his name started with a C like hers. Colin, she was sure that was it. "It's ok. I think I scared you more" she replied, good naturedly now that she'd gotten over her slight scare. They'd shared a few classes she knew, but she'd never really spoken to him before which wasn't saying much. She had always kept to herself in classes, and she was pretty sure Colin did as well. This was the first time she could recall having heard his voice anyway. "So I'm the one who should say sorry " she admitted. "You're in the same year as me. Colin, right?" she smiled as she sat up, straddling the branch she was sitting on so she wouldn't fall out of the tree. She didn't think she'd get too hurt if she did. It wasn't that high. "I'm Corrine" she added, pronouncing it as Ker-in.

 

[Cullen Yeong]

Cullen nodded his head, her presence in the tree had really scared him. He didn't know why but he seemed to always be getting scared by the Gryffindor girls in his year, one way or another. "It's Cullen," he answered correcting the girl. He wasn't sure what the name Colin meant but he had picked Cullen for himself because it meant handsome, though he wasn't really that full of himself most days. He wasn't to be considered handsome at least. "Why are you in a tree?" He asked wondering why and also how she got up into the tree. He hadn't ever thought of doing such a thing, not that his parents would have allowed it anyways. He had a strong Korean accent and hoped the girl understood what he was saying. "Fourth year, yes," he added remembering that she had asked if they were in the same year. He remembered seeing her in the Gryffindor group during their classes.
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[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine reddened slightly. She didn't like when people mispronounced her name, and here she'd gone and called the transfer student by a completely wrong name. "Sorry. Cullen" she repeated, making sure she wouldn't mistake it again. Her own accent was slight, the countless hours of English lessons she'd had growing had done its best to interfere with her Greek accent. She had to put in some effort to understand Cullen as he spoke, but she liked his accent even so. "Why not?" she shrugged as she answered his question with a question. Still, it was a little awkward to speak to him from up here. "You should come up. The view is nice" she said with a smile, though she wasn't so high that it was much of a view.

 

[Cullen Yeong]

Cullen was glad the tree was blocking the light from the sun, he didn't need to worry in seeing Corrine up in the tree, still it was rather odd talking up into a tree. He looked around the park to see if anyone would think he was weird for talking to a tree in such a way. He didn't understand her response to him. Nor did he think he should accept her offer. What his parents would think if they came across him standing in a tree. But they weren't here and he did want to make friends. "I..I..do know how to....ack what is the word*," he said up towards his classmate. But when he got frustrated and began to speak in Korean he looked down at the ground imitating climbing with his hands. This was one of the reasons why he had not gone into great conversations with his schoolmates. They were all so good at speaking in English and he was still learning. He knew how to hold basic conversations and understood nearly everything the Professor's talked about in classes, and it helped having translated versions of the books.

*Italicized = Korean
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