Closed In Perfect Order

[Nell Night]

If there was one thing Nell was really, really taking to in her new school it was the schedule. She liked having her days so neatly organised, already perfectly planned out weeks in advance, with plenty of time in between for setting aside time for study and hobbies and friends. Everything was neat and organised, and it suited her perfectly. And it suited Nell's bullet journal perfectly, which had been flourishing since she had arrived at school. Nell had set aside some time in the afternoon for adding the next couple of weeks of activities, and found a nice quiet corner of the lounge to do so on. Her large collection of pens and stickers and pretty tape took up a decent portion of the table as she carefully measured out boxes for things like checking on her plants in the Wild Patch or homework, and Nell enjoyed the satisfying feeling of watching her schedule fill itself up neatly. She had left enough space on the table for another person's things if anyone wanted to join her, but for the moment she was just relishing the satisfaction of a tidy, busy journal.

 

[Elliot Briar]

The Hufflepuff common was perhaps too comfortable, Elliot had found he had to start studying in the Student Lounge or Library if he actually wanted to get anything done. He'd collected his notes, planning on copying them out neater from the ones he'd taken in class. He was able to find a spot in the lounge pretty fast, setting down at a table with a girl he recognized from some of his classes.
He shot her a brief smile, hoping she didn't mind sharing the space, before turning his focus to his notes, dithering on which color to use for Astronomy. Blue made sense, but he'd already used it for Charms. Maybe purple, did he have purple? He glanced over the table, cataloging the pens he'd brought and couldn't help admiring the other girl's array of supplies. He wasn't trying to be nosy, but he couldn't help but glance at her notebook. "Wow, your notes are amazing," he said, fiddling with his pen. "What's the tape for?" he asked, suddenly trailing off. Her writing looked so pretty and organized, but Elliot didn't want to interrupt.

 

[Nell Night]

Nell was absorbed in her work, but she looked up when a boy she knew from class joined her, giving him a bright smile in greeting. She wanted to say hi but the boy looked like he wanted to focus on his work, so Nell reluctantly lowered her head back to the page she was carefully filling in the days for. When the boy spoke though Nell looked up, smiling happily. "Thanks! It's my journal." She added, showing him the page. "The tape is decorative, I use it to make the pages pretty." Nell added, showing him a strip of tape she had used to carefully border an important section. Trying to peer over at the boy's notes, Nell added, "What are you working on?"

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot was glad the other girl didn't seem to mind the interruption, looking closely at her journal when she happily showed it off. The tape was so pretty, Elliot wondered if he'd ever want to use it if he got some himself or if he'd be too worried about wasting it to ever try.
He looked down at his own notes when she asked what he was working, shuffling them around so she could have a look. "I'm re-writing all my class notes, I like to do them twice to help me remember and also make them look neater," He'd always had a knack for keeping all his writing and school work organized, color-coded and neatly arranged on the page, but he couldn't say he had quite the flair for design as the girl's journal. "I'm trying to decide what color to use for Astronomy this semester," he motioned to his collection of pens, hoping maybe she'd understand the importance of getting just the right color scheme.

 

[Nell Night]

Nell nodded as the boy explained what he was doing. "That's a good idea!" She said thoughtfully. "I go over my notes when I do my journalling but I don't re-write them, do you think it helps much? Where did you get the idea? Have you always done that or did you start at Hogwarts?" She asked, eager to learn more about useful study techniques. The boy's quandry over colours made her laugh slightly, and Nell shook her head. "It's dark blue, obviously! For the sky!" She said cheerfully, showing him where she had blocked in an hour for an Astronomy lesson in her journal, outlined neatly in a rich navy blue.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had to take a few moments to process all of the girls questions before he could respond, thinking carefully. "I think it does.. I remember things better the more I write them down, I guess. Do you just summarize your lessons or your day when you journal?" Elliot had always considered journalling to be more creative writing than anything and it wasn't really a skill he thought he had. But there was a sort of appeal to having everything summarized neatly in one place to go over. "I uh, I started doing it because my notes weren't super neat in class and it bothered me," He ducked his head a little to admit that. It sounded kind of lame when he admitted it out loud, but keeping everything neat made him feel calmer and it had become something of a ritual while he was here at Hogwarts. He considered the other girl for a moment before admitting it, "I really started doing it once I got here. It helps me relax after classes sometimes,"
He nodded when she suggested blue for Astronomy. "Yeah, I agree. But I used blue for Charms last semester... I was thinking purple?"