Holiday Fun

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel had never been invited to anybody's house before, and the experience was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. Thrilling, because this definitely meant Analei considered him a friend, but terrifying, because he had no idea how to behave in somebody else's home. His mum chaperoned him to Analei's street, where he tried not to gawk at how sleek and modern all the houses were. And they were so big. Arvel reckoned he could have fit at least five of his own house in each one.

"You can go, now," he told his mum on Analei's doorstep, though she rolled her eyes and knocked anyway. Ugh. Parents were so embarrassing. Arvel wondered whether Analei was as worried what he would think of her parents, but he doubted it. They lived in a cool house, and had a cool daughter; odds were, they were pretty cool as well. Arvel swallowed thickly, fixing his gaze to the bottom of the door and waiting for it to open.

 

[Analei Westwick]

Analei was so excited to finally have someone over at her house. In South Africa, Analei didn't really have any friends, and her parents hardly allowed anyone over, but they must have seen a change in Analei, or just missed her so much that they were willing to let her invite a friend to visit. She had been anxiously running around the house, excitedly, all morning, making sure everything was clean and ready, begging her mom to make popcorn and other goodies for the two of them. When she heard a knock on the door, she squealed excitedly, and ran to the door, though her mother did beat her to it. Luckily, she was there when her mother opened the door, her smile (if possible) getting bigger when she saw her friend. "Hi Arvel! And Mrs Ayers!" Analei beamed, as her mother also greeted the two. When the pleasantries were out of the way, Analei grabbed Arvel's hand and pulled him inside. She was so excited, she didn't stop chatting the whole way around the house as she gave him the tour (though not showing him the bedrooms because her mom said it was not appropriate), finally ending in the guest lounge where her mom had set up the food and drinks. Analei bounced onto the couch, grinning at Arvel. "So how have your holidays been? What have you been doing?"
​

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel didn't usually have to fight to keep his face blank - bored and aloof was his most natural, well-worn expression - but when Analei greeted him at the door so enthusiastically, he felt the corners of his lips creeping upward, and had to force them down again to avoid embarrassment. He left his mother at the door and stumbled after Analei, who gave him a grand tour of the house. The interior was as impressive as the exterior, if not more so, with fancy furniture and bright, airy rooms that he imagined were just the right temperature all year round. By the time they finished in the lounge, Arvel was exhausted from being so amazed, and felt more inadequate than ever before. Presumably he ought to have invite Analei to his house some day, but there was no chance of that happening now. Sitting awkwardly on the edge of the sofa, as if afraid he might make it dirty, Arvel stared at the food. He was starving, but didn't have the guts to ask if he could eat any of it. Besides, it all looked so... perfect. "Um," he said, wondering whether to make up something exciting, and then deciding he couldn't invent a story quickly enough. "My parents thought they saw a kiwi, so I've been staring out of the window waiting for it to come back..." Merlin, how dull could he be? "They're birdwatchers," he explained. "They think I'm interested. So... what have you been up to?"

 

[Analei Westwick]

Analei watched Arvel as he spoke, leaning forward and grabbing a handful of popcorn and popping a piece in her mouth, giggling slightly at what his parents were up to. It was a funny thing to say, but she couldn't imagine having to sit and stare, and do nothing else. "You mean you're not interested in staring at one spot for hours? Awh man, that's everything I had planned to do today!" Analei teased, before popping another piece of popcorn in her mouth, gesturing to the food, encouraging Arvel to have some as well. "I've just been doing a lot of research on Quidditch. I'm desperate to join this year. But also, just reading up on what we're going to be studying this year, I don't want to be left behind, ya know? Can you believe we're second years already?"
​

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Even after Analei started eating, Arvel wasn't convinced the food had been left out for both of them, and continued not to touch it. He smiled weakly at her joke, wishing it was actually funny. The worst part was, he usually volunteered to sit and stare out of the window, because the alternatives were 1) staring at half-finished homework, or 2) staring at the wall. It was beyond him how anybody could want to move from a thriving village to the middle of nowhere just to look at birds. They didn't even do anything interesting - just flew about, laid eggs, and chirped. "Yes," Arvel replied, when Analei asked him if he could believe how the time had gone. To him, their first year had felt about the length of ten. "I didn't know you liked Quidditch."

 

[Analei Westwick]

Analei nodded her head when Arvel replied. "Yeah, I started watching it since the first game last year and have been into it ever since. I'm planning on getting myself a broom as well! I don't know which one, but I'm really excited. It's cool to be in Second Year though, we're not those annoying first years any more." Analei leaned forward to take another hand of popcorn, though feeling bad she was the only one eating. She threw a piece at Arvel, laughing. "Arvel! Eat some food! I can't eat it all!"
​

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Analei's courage was sort of inspiring. Arvel liked to fly, almost more than anything, but he'd not ever considered joining the school Quidditch team. What if Analei got hurt? Or humiliated herself? And why did none of those things appear to bother her? She was really very interesting. With reflexes that surprised himself, Arvel caught the piece of popcorn, a small smile turning up his lips. He took a handful from the bowl, throwing a piece back at Analei and then jumping up off the couch so that she couldn't try to hit him back. After a little while, they played some games; Arvel hadn't played all of them before, and enjoyed letting Analei teach him the rules; then he suggested he teach her the basics of D&D. Time flew past, and before he knew it, his mother had arrived to collect him. Arvel helped Analei tidy, buying himself a bit more time before he had to go home. Analei's house was way, way more fun than his own, and he couldn't believe he wouldn't get to see her again for a whole month. "Thanks for having me," he said to Analei and her parents, as he emerged into the hall. Suddenly feeling shy again, he ducked his head, unable to meet his friend's eye. "See you at school... I guess...."