Open I Play It Back

[Isadora Novak]

Open after Marijke posts with Kiara

Settling back at Hogwarts had been less easy than Isadora had expected. She felt right at home again, but everything had changed just slightly. It seemed like everyone around her had gotten a prefect badge over break, and Isadora felt just slightly distant from all her classmates. They all had a year together without her. There were new friendships, new couples, and Isadora had missed it all. Thing with Margo were fine, but Cameron was a different matter. Isadora was eager to reconnect with other friends, so when she spotted Kiara sitting in the student lounge, she walked up behind the Ravenclaw and tapped her on the shoulder. "Boo." She said, hoping the girl would be happy to see her again.

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Getting a prefect badge in the mail had definitely upped Kiara's confidence a bit and now that it had she was keen on trying to show it. Act more confident in the hopes that it would lead to her actually becoming even more confident. Something she was sure she'd need to be now that she would be both rocking a new badge and co-leading one of the school's clubs. In an attempt to work with that small amount of new-found confidence she had, Kiara had found herself a seat in one of the more comfortable armchairs the student lounge had to offer. She was certain confident people didn't mind sitting alone, so she shouldn't either. Or at least she could pretend like she didn't. Like she wasn't still anxious about people judging her because she was sitting alone. Having been way too focussed on what she was doing and how she was sitting Kiara was genuinely startled when someone suddenly tapped on her shoulder. Yet she was even more surprised when she turned around to see who had done so. "Oh my- hi!" She beamed, jumping up to properly face Isadora but simultaneously being a little lost on what to say.

 

[Isadora Novak]

Isadora smiled brightly at Kiara, moving forward to hug the girl. But she realized that maybe this wasn't a hugging moment, and stopped herself quickly. Kiara seemed happy to see her, but an awkwardness fell between them quickly. Isadora didn't understand it. She did this much overthinking. She blinked and forced herself to grin just as brightly as first. "Surprise!" She said, holding out her arms in a 'ta da' sort of movement. "Ohh, nice badge." She added, though she was a little frustrated to see it. Had everyone become a prefect?

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara was honestly glad to see Isadora back at the school yet at the same time she felt guilty for not even having tried to write the girl why she was away. It wasn't like she had singled her out, like she was the only friend Kiara hadn't paid attention to last year, but Isadora obviously didn't know that. And telling her that would be.. weird. Instead, Kiara smiled and tried to fill in her own idea of confidence by stepping forward to hug Isadora. "Thanks!" She beamed when she let go again, glancing down at her badge for a second before looking back at her friend. Were they still friends? "I'm honestly glad to see you back. Sorry I didn't try to write.." Kiara added genuinely.

 

[Isadora Novak]

Isadora felt relieved when Kiara closed the distance between them and hugged her. She smiled, hugging her back before letting go. There was something different about Kiara, she seemed more sure of herself. Strange, because Isadora felt less sure of herself than she ever had before her year away. She shrugged as Kiara apologized for not writing, wondering briefly why it bothered her so much more when it was Cameron. Maybe it was just the fact that Kiara immediately apologized. "No worries." She said. "Can I sit with you? Fill me in on the year I missed." She said, her smile only slightly forced.

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara was glad Isadora accepted her hug. It wasn't something she'd normally do, but she was set on appearing more confident. Even if she had to fake it. Overthinking could be done later anyways. "Yeah, for sure." She nodded in response to Isadora's question, trying to think of what she could say to her while she waited for the girl to sit. Had anything interesting happened last year? Anything Isadora would find interesting? Anything that would make her year sound less sad and lonely than it had been? Then again.. perhaps being shipped off to another school meant Isadora's year had been quite similar to hers. Or even worse. "I'm not really sure where to start.." Kiara said with a soft giggle. "We had roses on valentine's again, which was a lot of fun.." She started, hoping Isadora would just start asking question so she wouldn't look so silly trying to think of things when she had paid so little attention to whatever had been going on around the school or with her classmates.

 

[Isadora Novak]

Isadora sat down next to Kiara and smiled, trying to feel more at ease. She found it hard to shake the feeling like she was the new kid at school again, even though she knew pretty much everyone here. But did she raelly? She had no idea when Kiara had gotten so much more confident. Isadora liked it, but it also reminded her of everything she had missed. The Ravenclaw talked about roses and Isadora felt a pang. She had enjoyed delivering roses in first year, and now she had missed her chance. "Oh, fun!" She said, pushing down her sadness. "Did you get any good ones? Maybe pink or red?" She asked, teasing a little.

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara couldn't help but to secretely wonder if her act of confidence was credible but then again she had been around her brother and cousin enough to know what real confidence looked like. Admittedly, it did feel nice to not be shy and quiet, to push away the feelings of doubt for a later time. Perhaps putting herself out there wasn't all that bad. "I think I got three, they were nice." She responded with a small smile. "..one of them was pink." Kiara added a little more quietly, mask shifting just a little. "But I'm still not entirely sure if it was meant as like.. pink pink or more as an attempt to boost my confidence."

 

[Isadora Novak]

Isadora was glad she had latched onto the rose conversation. It was a pretty normal thing to talk about and it made her feel better. She smiled as Kiara spoke about them, her eyes widening a bit as the girl said one of them had been pink. “Of course it’s pink pink!” She said immediately. “Who was it from?” She leaned forward, eager to hear the answer.

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara shrugged at Isadora's response. If anything, she had never expected a pink rose. Let alone one from someone she barely knew. Although it had been nice to hear someone call her pretty. Or read it, actually. "It was from this new girl that transferred here last year." She responded honestly, almost mentioning it wasn't someone Isadora knew but feeling like that would be in bad taste. "So I don't know.. she is very confident which is why I figured it might just have been some sort of pick me up?"

 

[Isadora Novak]

Isadora had almost felt like she had never left, but of course Kiara's rose had been from someone new she didn't know. She just had to be reminded of how much she had missed. Still, she kept smiling. "Oh, nice! So do you think she likes you? Do you like her?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "What's her name? What house is she in?" She had no idea if Kiara liked girls, but this was exciting news. "If she's confident, I'm sure she was just trying to tell you she likes you." Isadora told her. "Like, why else send a pink rose?"

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara giggled at Isadora's excitement. She wasn't sure whether she was so excited about the rose herself though, but she could understand how it sounded interesting to her friend. Especially when she had been away for a year. "I don't know." She replied with a small shrug. "Her name's Gabrielle, she's in Ravenclaw too." Kiara answered, wondering if Isadora would now make sure to pay attention in class so she could know who she was talking about. "I mean it was a very sweet gesture, we've just never really discussed it after. And I'm not sure if I like girls in like.. a romantic way."

 

[Isadora Novak]

Isadora nodded as Kiara said the girl's name and house. She couldn't say she had noticed her yet, as she was pretty sure she didn't know anyone by that name. She listened seriously as Kiara continued to talk, nodding along. She grimaced as she said she wasn't sure she liked girls that way. That did complicate things. "Well, maybe it's smart to just keep not discussing it then, and if she ever brings it up again you can tell her that?" She suggested. Isadora knew she was the last person to go to for romantic advice, but she was trying her best.

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara listened to Isadora's advice, nodding at what the girl said. That actually seemed like a solid plan. "Yeah, that sounds smart. Thanks." She replied with a smile, glad Isadora had decided to seek her out now that she was back at school. She had always liked the girl's company, so it was nice to chat to her again. Especially now that she herself was trying to be a little quiet than she used to be. "What about you? Any interesting stories from last year? Did you make new friends?"

 

[Isadora Novak]

Isadora smiled as Kiara took her advice and thanked her. She liked the idea that she helped her friend. Her smile slipped a little as Kiara asked about her previous year. It was a logical question, but Isadora didn't want to talk about it. She didn't have much to say, anyway. She sighed. "No. I was just miserable for a year." She said. "I didn't make any friends." In fact, she had tried very hard not to make any. It hadn't been difficult. "I'd honestly rather not talk about it." She added with an apologetic smile. "I'm hoping I can forget all about it."

 

[Kiara Thompson]

Kiara wasn't sure what she had expected Isadora to answer, but hearing the girl had been miserable while she was away definitely made her feel bad. She wasn't sure why she had left in the first place but it sounded a lot like it hadn't been her own choice. "Oh, I'm sorry." Kiara responded genuinely, waving off Isadora's apologetic smile. "Forget I said anything." She added, determined to to at least try and not mention her being away again. Or many other things from last year. It had to be difficult to be back after missing a whole year. Things were bound to be different. "All the more reason to make some better memories this year." She said with a smile. "Any big plans?"