Comes and goes

[Calum Lloyd]

After graduating from Hogwarts New Zealand, Calum felt more free than ever. He no longer had his parents on his back as he made it clear to them that he was older now and could do whatever he wanted, and so that's what he did. The young man found his life to be so much better, especially now that his only focus was dueling and he knew exactly what he wanted to do with it. Better yet, Pia seemed to be going very well with her new job and Calum couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of everything around him maturing, as well as himself. However, there was a part of him that was growing bored from the lack of activity and he could only hope he would soon overcome that as he became more and more settled into his new life.

The former Slytherin had just finished his daily dueling practice and decided he would apparate himself to Brightstone Village. It was hopefully the end of the Brightstone Weekend for the children at Hogwarts and so there would be fewer people around. However, Calum didn't really care how many people would be there and instead just wanted to get some fresh air and spend some time by himself. He walked down the street with his hands in his pockets and his head down before coming across a secluded wooden bench away from the street. The boy sat himself down and let his long hair fall over his face as his mind began to wander. In ten years time he didn't really see himself anywhere other than where he was now but he didn't particularly know what to do about it. He wasn't really good for much else and couldn't imagine himself doing anything but firing spells at people. Nonetheless, as Calum sat on the wooden bench by himself, his long legs spread out in front of him, he couldn't help but think he wasn't doing enough and was eager to know the answer to all of the ever growing questions he had.

 

[Mireya Sepulveda]

Mireya was really enjoying living in New Zealand over the past year because it had been such a welcome change from living in the States her entire life. She had decided not to live with her older sister because Rey preferred to live her life independently and wanted to try and make it on her own instead of being sheltered and cared for her entire life. Adjusting to the seasons being flipped had also taken her some time to get used to, but now she wore a jean jacket since it was getting colder lately.

Currently, Rey worked at a muggle restaurant as a waitress because it was the first job she'd gotten when moving here. She was still getting used to the fact that people here didn't tip like they did in the United States, but at least she got paid decently to pay her rent. She was getting bored though, she wanted to do more with her life and she knew she was better than just a waitress. Most of all, she missed being around wizards all the time, so she decided to visit Brightstone because it was all magical and only wizards could access it. She wanted to be surrounded by the wizarding world.

Rey walked around the small town, stopping by stores to shop and window shopping for other things she couldn't currently afford. With her shopping bags in tow, Rey walked around admiring all the wizarding sights the city had to offer, like moms blowing bubbles out of their wands for their children, or someone refilling their own water glass. Something like that would really make her job at the restaurant a lot easier, but she couldn't use her wand while working there. In the midst of her thoughts, she hadn't noticed someone's legs sticking a little further out from a bench on the path she was walking on and tripped over one of his feet. Rey stumbled and let out a little yelp as she tried to keep her balance and not fall.
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[Calum Lloyd]

Calum's thoughts had slowly made him a bit drowsy and he slouched in his seat, spreading his legs out even more. But before he was able to dose off into a peaceful sleep, he suddenly became alert when something had collided with his feet. Sitting up, he instinctively placed his hand on the pocket of his jeans where his wand was and noticed that it was simply a stupid person who tripped over him. "Watch it, will ya?" he told them, taking his hand away from his pocket. It was then that Calum recognised this person. It was Mireya from Pia's party and Calum quickly straightened himself up. He wasn't really sure why he was suddenly conscious of how he looked or why he felt different talking to her, but she was a nice girl and Calum couldn't help but appreciate that. "Mireya?" he questioned, knowing perfectly well that it was her but choosing to question it nonetheless. "What brings you here?"

 

[Mireya Sepulveda]

Rey just managed to catch her footing before she fell over, though it wasn't a pretty stumble. She was about to retort to the person who snapped at her because it was his fault for taking up more space than he needed, but she recognized him at the same time that he recognized her. She suddenly felt embarrassed for having tripped in front of him and unnecessarily smoothed down her hair and her outfit as she smiled at him. "Calum, hey!" she greeted him happily, leaning in for a quick one-armed hug even if he didn't reciprocate it. She held up her shopping bags as an answer to his question and said, "Just enjoying my day off," with a small chuckle. "What about you?" she asked in return.
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[Calum Lloyd]

Calum smiled slightly at Mireya as she happily greeted him and gave him a one-armed hug. He wasn't sure how he felt about her extraordinarily bubbly demeanor but took the hug nonetheless, not feeling the need to hug her back. At the mention of having a day off, Calum raised his eyebrow. "A day off from what?" he asked her, not sure why he even cared. It had occurred to him that he didn't know what she did for a living however and he couldn't help but feel curious about it, even if it was none of his business. "I guess you could say I'm doing the same thing. I just finished my training for the day." he boasted, feeling quite proud of himself for his achievements. He wasn't particularly sure if she cared but told her nonetheless, feeling as if she had to know.

 

[Mireya Sepulveda]

Rey shrugged a little uncomfortably when he asked about her job. "Just some muggle restaurant that I waitress at," she rolled her eyes lightly. It bothered Mireya that she wasn't doing anything substantial with her life just yet, but she knew she wouldn't be doing this forever. She just had to figure out exactly what it was she was meant to do first. Moving to New Zealand seemed like a good start though. She was more interested to hear what he did, raising an eyebrow when he mentioned training. "Training for what?" she asked. Since she had met him at a party they hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk about anything so she had no idea what he did. "Mind if I join you?" she asked, gesturing to the seat beside him, figuring since he had just been somewhat napping that he'd have time to chat.
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[Calum Lloyd]

Calum could see that Mireya probably didn't like his question about her job. Waitressing wasn't that bad at all and Calum's girlfriend was really good at it. Calum knew Mireya was most likely no where near as good as Pia but he nodded at her impressively nonetheless. If Calum didn't have dueling in his life he would consider taking up waitressing himself. The sight of him in a mini skirt at a drunken bar made him chuckle. "Why a muggle resturaunt? Why not a wizard's one? From what I've heard, wizards are funnier when they're drunk." Calum winked at her, referring back to the night they first met in which Calum didn't remember much with all that alcohol. It was the first night he really let himself loose, especially in front of Pia, and despite the fact that he didn't remember it all, he wouldn't trade it for the world. "Training for my next dueling match, of course." Calum told her proudly, before nodding and moving slightly over so she could join him. He slouched more in his seat, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

 

[Mireya Sepulveda]

Mireya was halfway through shrugging when Calum asked her why she was waitressing at a muggle restaurant when she heard the rest of his comment and burst out laughing at it. "Oh boy, that is definitely true," she said through her chuckles, remembering how wild everyone had been on the night of the party. She found it funny that she had so far run into a few people she met that night, but this was the first time she was running into Calum since then. She smiled as she took a seat beside him, turning her body towards him to talk to him better. "I only work there because it was the first place to hire me," she explained simply. "But it's only temporary," she assured herself more than him. She was more eager to hear about his training for a dueling match and raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Wow, are you a duelist? Any good?" she asked cheekily.
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