In The Spotlight

[Athena Rey-Martinez]

There was one thing that Athena loved doing in a castle full of people, especially those around her age, and that was to meet them. She had a reputation to uphold and she was not ready to be known as simply 'another first year'. Everyone had a place in the school and the Slytherin was going to make sure that she established hers quite early. She loved being known around the school. So far, she'd encountered a few people, but she had not met them for long or well enough to remember their names or their house. Of course the girls in her dorm were the easiest to remember. She had to know more, however, so she contemplated her first move of the morning, as she sat at one of the tables in the student lounge, which to the girl's delight was packed today. Mostly older students - she figured those in her year were out playing because who wanted to be inside when they could explore. But Athena was inside because she had a mission and she was not going to rest until she was satisfied.

Soon she noticed a girl from her classes, she was vaguely familiar. Getting up, Athena put on her friendliest smile and went over to her, hoping she wouldn't disturb her. "Hi," she spoke. "Sorry to bother. Would you mind if I sit here? Some older kid chased me away from my own table," she sighed and folded her arms. That wasn't a complete lie - but it wasn't the truth either. It was a half truth. Some student told her to go play when she'd arrived in the lounge but Athena had sat at the same table anyway. She did want to make friends, but with the right people, not some arrogant boy who thought he was better than those younger than him. Everyone had stories and Athena was curious to learn about the other girl sitting in front of her.

 

[Frankie Tillington]

Frankie hadn't been in the student lounge for long, and wasn't planning to remain there for an extended amount of time either. She'd been hoping Gabby might come by; that she'd have another chance to talk to her sister without actively pressing the issue of doing so and scaring her off. Sitting around doing nothing wasn't exactly Frankie's forte though, and with Gabby nowhere in sight she was beginning to consider heading back to Gryffindor house to catch someone there. She had pretty much decided to do exactly that when she sensed someone approaching the table she was waiting at, and Frankie looked up to see a blonde girl about her own age coming towards her. A Slytherin, her mind vaguely supplied, though she didn't particularly care about the house differences.

Raking her hair back from her face, Frankie grinned and pulled out the chair next to her upon hearing the girl's request. "Are you kidding, go for it. It's a free space, no one's allowed to tell you where to sit here." She sat upright in her seat suddenly, moving from a lounging position to one where she had her back straight and her head up, searching for someone who matched the description the girl had just given her. "Which one was it - was it that guy over there? I'll totally go and give him a piece of my mind for you." She was already rising from her chair as she said it, the only thing stopping her from charging off was confirmation that she had identified the right person.

 

[Athena Rey-Martinez]

Athena was grateful to the girl and the fact that she seemed to have a good first impression on her only made her want to know the girl more. "Thanks. I really dislike older students who think they are so much better than us," she rolled her eyes and sat down next to her, about to say more but the girl beat her to it. Sure, maybe they were older and knew more and had more experience but that did not mean they should act the way they did. If that little experience had gotten her anywhere, it led her to the girl and the possible friendship. Athena was a little taken aback by her sudden outburst, but it was entertaining. Although she had identified the correct person, the Slytherin was not just about to let him ruin her interaction with a classmate and end any opportunities to befriend her. "Yeah that is him," she nodded. "But I don't want any trouble and besides," she added quickly, because the other blonde had stood up from her seat, "he doesn't matter, I wouldn't waste my breath on him." And hopefully that would be enough to make the girl calm down. "It would be entertaining to see his reaction though," she said as an afterthought, grinning at the idea. "My name's Athena by the way," she introduced herself.

 

[Frankie Tillington]

Frankie had already managed to take two steps toward the older student, nothing about his age giving her the slightest pause in her mission to give him a piece of her mind about telling people where they could and couldn't sit. It was only the words of the girl who'd approached her that stopped Frankie in her tracks, and she pivoted around on the balls of her feet in surprise. "Are you kidding? He should experience trouble for being that kind of jerk." Her gaze flicked over the other girl's face, reading the level of distress to be seen there - and finding none. "Well, okay, I guess it could be considered a waste of breath. He's probably old and set in his ways anyway." With a grin, Frankie dropped heavily back into her recently vacated seat, happy to believe that anyone older than her own twelve years of age was approaching ancient.

With her attention no longer split, Frankie now regarded the girl in front of her with interest, laughing in response to her joke. "Right? You shouldn't have stopped me. I'm Frankie." She held out her hand for the other girl to shake. "If nothing else, I'm glad you came along to break my boredom. What were you doing before he chased you away? Studying? Reading? Trying to decide who would win in a fight between a lieutenant space corgi and a ninja trained marmoset..?" That's what Frankie had been doing, anyway, before she had almost decided to leave. "Actually, forget it, it would be the marmoset. Quick and deadly. So," she said, abruptly changing the subject and fixing Athena with a curious eye. "What's your deal?" Getting to know new people was the whole point of coming to school, after all.

 

[Athena Rey-Martinez]

Her classmate's reaction was amusing to say the least and she tried not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. "I'm glad someone agrees with me," she said, shrugging, and pretended to be more annoyed than she actually was. This was a good starting point for Athena to befriend the other girl. "Yeah probably. It's hard to change the mindset of old people." The Slytherin grinned. She already liked this girl, she was fun. She had a lot of energy and Athena wondered (and admired her for it) where on earth she got such a strong backbone. She needed people like her on her side. Finally she heard the other girl's name, Frankie. She shook her hand, smiling. "Frankie's a cool name. It isn't short for anything, is it?" Athena asked Frankie. She wouldn't call her by her full name of course, especially as Frankie had introduced herself with that name. Maybe there wasn't even a longer name, but Athena was curious.

She raised her eyebrow as Frankie continued, and she was almost at a loss for words - this girl was odd. Awesome, but odd. Eh, she could get used to this. "Both, actually, since for some if not most classes reading is studying. As for the fight..." she wracked her brain for a good answer but Frankie beat her to it. "Uh, never mind. I was gonna say the marmoset," she shook her head. "My deal?" Athena checked her nails before she responded. "I want to get to know my classmates. You know, everyone is different and their stories are...intriguing. Interesting, some of them." She paused, glancing at Frankie. "I mean isn't that what going to a new school and meeting people is about? Besides learning, of course." Athena didn't mention that she was already trying to be the best, as that wasn't always a topic of conversation that ended smoothly. She hardly knew Frankie, after all.