How in the heck are ya?

[Serena Vanderhol]

Serena had taken the rest of the afternoon off from the shop, closing up early so that she could take some time for herself. She'd been so caught up in trying to manage the store on top of having the responsibility of owning her own home and keeping it up and now with her sister getting married in a little less than a year she was helping her plan a wedding as well. It seemed like all she did lately was work work work and now the blonde decided to take some 'me time' for the remainder of the day.

It was a perfectly lovely winter afternoon in New Zealand so Serena grabbed her camera and her shades before heading to the park. She loved to go and take pictures of the wildlife and plants that inhabited the park. The blonde found a bench near the fountain at the middle of the park and sat down. The sun shone brightly down on her back and Serena soaked up its warmth as she took her camera in her hands, looking around her trying to figure out exactly what it was that needed to be captured with her lens.

 

[Mike Gray]

Mike decided to leave the office early; he was only doing paperwork, and signing Michael Goulding repeatedly, and thought to himself it'd leave till tomorrow, and so decided he would get in earlier tomorrow and get it finished then. Finding himself, with a free Winter's afternoon, he decided to take a trip to Brightstone Village and go for a walk. After apparating their, he took a road off the main street of shops, looking around and saw a park ahead of him. He'd never been here before,but decided to go there and get to see what it looked like.

Wrapping bis scarf around his neck, and buttoning his overcoat up, he continued to walk the path, noting the high pitched giggles and screams of the children as they played. A few adults were talking, gossiping whilst making sure their children weren't getting up to mischief. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar face. He turned to see a memory from his past, a person that graduated with Mike. Despite them both being in the same year, he hadn't spoken much to her before, but was fond of her sister, whom Mike was friends with and played on the same Quidditch team as her. Deciding to go over, he swiftly walked her way, and donning a smile, he spoke softly. "Hi Serena. How are you doing?"

 

[Serena Vanderhol]

Looking up from her camera the blonde smiled brightly. "Oh gosh, hey Mike," she said, setting her camera on the bench beside her as she stood. Serena gave him a small friendly hug and replied, "Doing pretty good. Taking the rest of the day to relax and be lazy. How have you been?" For some reason Serena found it odd to run into someone that she'd gone to school with. She wasn't sure why though. It was probably because she'd actually only attended Hogwarts for two years, those being her first year and then her seventh year because she'd been home schooled for every year in between. She hadn't really had many friends when she'd graduated and the ones that did associate with her probably only did so because they'd been friends with her sister.

Sitting back down on the bench she patted the empty space beside her. "So I guess you still live in New Zealand then? Are you playing quidditch or working for the ministry or something?" If she remembered correctly he had played for The Pride when her sister had been in school.

 

[Mike Gray]

A friendly smile still stayed whilst she gave him a small, friendly hug and listened as she spoke. " Being lazy eh? Great minds think alike it seems" he said with a friendly wink. "I've been very well thanks" Mike responded to her enquiry, before sitting down when she invited him to do so. "Yeah, I still live in New Zealand, and still living locally" he said before expanding. " Still living with my brother, Ben. No, unfortunately I didn't continue playing Quidditch after I left. A part of me wishes I have" he admitted, "But yeah I have an office job at the Ministry" he said with a little sadness "As an Auror" he added, in which a beaming smile appeared on his face. "What about yourself?" the Ministry Official asked, "Do you work in the Ministry?" Mike asked, even though he hadn't seen her before, he was new and hadn't seen a lot of familiar faces there. "Or do you work for the Prophet?" Mike asked, looking at her camera. "Still living locally?" he asked, looking at her. After her reply, he looked around at his surroundings. "You know, despite having lived here all my life, I've never been to this part of the village before, this park I mean. It's nice isn't it? Good to get away from things and get some peace and quiet and forget everything" Mike ended quite melancholy.

 

[Serena Vanderhol]

"An auror, eh? Pretty impressive," Serena said smiling. It was always nice to know that the people she went to school with were doing so well with their lives. Shaking her head she replied, "No, no. No ministry position for me. After we graduated I went to live in England with Kat and Chace. I was a beater for the Wimbourne Wasps, but moved back here a few months ago and now I own Vibez at the mall. I just missed New Zealand too much." As an after thought she remembered that Kat and Mike had been pretty good friends when they'd been in school so she told him, "She's engaged now. My sister. They're getting married in May. I'll have to tell her I ran into you. I'm sure she'd love to see you." The blonde smiled and said, "Yeah, it is really nice here. Sometimes I come here when I need to find my sanity again. It's peaceful, even with the kids running around and playing. It's just nice to get away sometimes." It really was a nice park. When she'd lived here before she'd never visited, it was only until Lola had mentioned this place that she came to visit and instantly fell in love with it. "So other than work, what else have you been up to since we graduated? Do you ever see anyone we went to school with anymore," she asked curiously.

 

[Mike Gray]

"Thanks" Mike said, when she complimented on his job. "England? That sounds sweet!" Mike said. "Congratulations! " Mike said to the news that she owned Vibez in the mall. It seemed she was doing extremely well for yourself Mike said with a smile. "She's engaged?" Mike asked rhetorically when Serena brought up news about her sister. "Wow" he commented. "Next time you see, will you tell her congratulations from me?" Mike asked. "That really is awesome!" He exclaimed. "Sadly, no" Mike said reminiscing about the people he shared many laughs with. "Bella and I split up" Mike said sadly. "Went our separate ways" he added. "But, no one really" Mike said sadly. "However, I have met a few new people" Mike said referring to his colleagues at the Auror department. "Yourself?" Mike asked her.