I Need A New Partner In Crime And You Shrug

[Ursula Ciccone]

There was nothing better to Ursula than the quiet calm of the morning. She'd been accustomed to early rising at a young age, but slept in that morning till nearly seven am. After going to the kitchens which she'd discovered on her second day, the dark haired girl was now laying on the wall of the courtyard, leg swinging over the edge, eyes gently closed. She was so serene and relaxed. She must have been there, biting off her morning apple for at least half an hour before she heard footsteps. Her eyes opened quickly, and she went from a laying to a standing position quickly, turning to see another student. "Oh. Good morning." She greeted, not sure if this person would start a conversation with her or just leave her be.

 

[Jessica Matthews]

Jessica had decided to go outside and spend some time in the sunshine today to try and keep a bit of colour in her skin - the morning sunshine, of course. Being out in middle-of-the-day sun was out of the question, as this country's sun could be particularly nasty to the unprotected, and she'd never get anywhere at this time of the year with sunscreen on. Instead, she had woken up relatively early and made her way out to the courtyard to find a nice place to sit. Perhaps there would even be someone around to talk with, so she wouldn't be sitting by herself in the quiet like a loser. When she arrived, however, she didn't see anyone which was slightly annoying. Perhaps someone would turn up. Hopefully someone would.

Walking alongside one of the walls Jessica looked for a good place to sit, discarding spots that were too mossy or still damp from overnight. She was focused on a promising looking area just up ahead when suddenly there was movement right beside her, and she couldn't help jumping back with a startled scream. Blinking at what she now realised was a person, Jessica tried not to snap as she said, "Would you mind not doing that?! I didn't even realise you were here and then you swoop out at me like some sort of... vampire or something." She wasn't really sure where that had come from, only that the other girl had long dark hair and looked like she might fit in with the people who liked that sort of thing back at her old school.

 

[Ursula Ciccone]

Ursula laughed at the girl. She couldn't help it. "It does well to mind your surroundings. After all if I was a vampire what would have happened then? Hmm?" Ursula wasn't asking the question to be mean, she meant it in a sincere way. If people didn't carry an awareness for their surroundings they could become hurt. Life held all sorts of landmines for everyone. The dark haired girl decided perhaps that she should apologize though and smiled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you though. I'm Ursula." She lent out a hand, hoping for a firm handshake in return. After all hand shakes were a good first impression - and if the handshake was bad Ursula could cut early.

 

[Jessica Matthews]

Jessica could feel herself beginning to grimace and automatically tried to stop the unwanted facial expression, both to seem less argumentative and in an attempt to ward off the onset of frown lines. "I was minding my surroundings, actually," she muttered, "it wasn't my fault I couldn't see you." However, she tried to smile at the other girl, willing the annoying still-rapid pace of her heart to go away already. "Well, you wouldn't actually be a vampire, would you, so it's fine." Jessica tried to laugh her statement off, although it came out a little forced. "I don't know why I asked such a silly thing." Seriously, why had she said it? Vampires, at least, still weren't real. She eyed the hand Ursula held out to her for just a second, but then took it and gave a small, polite shake. "I'm alright really, don't worry about it. I'm Jessica." She smiled, hoping that the other girl wouldn't have a negative impression of her after their surprise meeting.

 

[Ursula Ciccone]

Ursula was sure that the girl hadn't been minding her surrounding - but that was a pointless argument if she were honest. Ursula nodded ad smiled. "Nice to meet you." The american girl wasn't great with small talk, but as someone who had traveled around the world she enjoyed dialects and picking apart the languages and accents people spoke in or with. The dark haired girl took her seat on the wall again, letting her legs dangle. When she stretched out her feet her toes barely grazed the grass. "So Jessica, where are you from exactly?" She inquired. She heard many accents every time they moved - but sometimes pinpointing their geographical whereabouts was difficult for the eleven year old. After all she only knew around twenty countries by name.

 

[Jessica Matthews]

Jessica watched the other girl sit back on the wall where she must have sprung from. "Well, I'm from here, New Zealand. Hastings, specifically." She didn't know why she kept adding that detail, it was clear that most of the people at this school had never even heard of the town she'd grown up in (outside of). It made her feel rather small, really, like she was some sort of nobody who had never done anything. "I'm guessing you're not though? A lot of people don't seem to be. I don't quite understand why they came here at all, there's nothing very interesting about New Zealand." Jessica didn't think there was anyway. None of the big fashion houses or magazines even seemed to realise that the country existed, and all of the American TV shows came to them weeks if not months late. She didn't quite know what to do with her hands while she was just standing here like this, and after a small bout of indecisiveness Jessica eventually ended up tucking them behind her back, hoping she hadn't looked too strange while she had been trying to make up her mind. "Did you choose to come here, or did they force you to attend this school as well?" It would be nice if she could find at least one other student in the entire castle who suffered from the same problem she did, then she wouldn't feel so different from everyone else.

 

[Ursula Ciccone]

Ursula listened, and frankly thought that the blonde needed to be more excited about her home country. After all, Ursula loved the United States - Johnsenville brats on the grill, baseball games in the summer. There was a lot of beauty there, and in every country. Ursula also didn't think the girl was grateful for her magic, and frankly it put her off - but perhaps the military brat was just raised to be grateful for the dust on her boots as she had the money to have boots when others didn't. "No I'm from the United States, Virginia." She spoke, though her mix of accents was fairly confusing. "I've been everywhere though. When I got my letter my dad happened to be stationed near New Zealand - nearer than anywhere else." she spoke. "So I came here. I wouldn't say forced but i didn't get to chose either. I'm just happy I'm here." Ursula eyed the girl with brilliant orbs. "Were you forced?" She inquired.

 

[Jessica Matthews]

Jessica couldn't help a rising feeling of jealousy at hearing that Ursula seemed to have been all around the world already. So far it sounded like she had been the only one stuck in a small house surrounded by paddocks in every direction, a fact which didn't sit very well with her. In an attempt to make herself feel better, Jessica let out a small laugh. "Everywhere? You can't have." That would just be unfair. In thinking about her response to Ursula's question, however, she paused. The way the other girl was looking at her made her feel as if she should speak the truth, rather than just say what the other girl wanted to hear; Ursula's eyes were unnervingly piercing. "I was," Jessica finally said, tipping her chin up ever so slightly. "I didn't want to come here at all, and if I could I'd go home right now." She hadn't actually told anyone here at the school this opinion before, so she was unsure of how such an admission would be received.