Just Hanging Around

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana's had a busy day. She spent the whole morning sketching out different places in the castle, just capturing its beauty. She doesn't usually sketch much, only when she felt particularly inspired, but she wanted to share her experience with her brother, keep him up to date, and so sketched all morning until her hands ached and her eyes practically crossing in concentration.

Tatyana figured she'd been inside the castle for too long already, and that it was time to enjoy the tall trees and the fresh breeze. She sat down under a particularly tall tree and ate some of the snacks she brought along. After dusting herself off, she slung on her sling bag and climbed the tree, heading for that particular branch that looked perfect for hanging a swing. It was just low enough that even if she did fall, she could just tuck herself in a roll and be no less for wear. Taking out her Charms textbook, she sat with both her legs on one side of the branch before falling back to hang upside-down, with only her legs hanging onto safety.

Grinning widely, Tatyana opened her textbook and continued reading from where she left off. Her cousins always said she was crazy for doing this but they never really understood the thrill of the act.

 

[Oliver Williams]

Ollie had been completely blown away by Hogwarts. First of all, he couldn't believe the immense size of the castle and the fact that people like his mom would be completely unaware it was there when they'd pass it. Second, he was even more astonished by how this could be a school. His old school had always seemed very modern to him and he had liked it, but if he had to choose he'd place this school first in a heartbeat. The one thing that was putting a damper on all the excitement was that classes would start soon. It wasn't that he didn't want to learn, it was just that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep up. He had never been a strong learner and now he had to start at zero and learn about stuff he never even knew existed in the first place.

So, to get his mind off of class and this fear of his, Ollie had made his way outside onto the ground for some well-needed fresh air. It wasn't quite the same as the salty see-breeze he was used to, but at least they weren't stuck in the castle and had the freedom to wander the grounds. He hadn't truly been outside yet, and as he was wandering around Ollie found that this was a whole new place to get used to. Distracted by his own thoughts and his will to look around, he was only just able to stop himself from walking into something that was in front of him. Looking up, the boy noticed a girl hanging from the tree he was stood next to. As if that wasn't strange enough she also seemed to be reading a book.. upside down. Intrigued as he was Ollie jumped around the girl to face her and beamed at her. "Hey! Whatcha reading? And why are you doing it hanging from a tree?"

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana squeaked in surprise and her book accidentally fell down. As per usual, when she's enjoying something, Tatyana was engrossed in reading her book and wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and was therefore surprised when a voice suddenly spoke to her out of nowhere, leaving her in the awkward position of her hands raised?- yes, raised, as if still holding her book and her being face to face with a boy who was beaming at her. She blinked.

Letting her arms fall down, she smiled softly in response to the boy's beaming grin. "Oh, hello there. I was reading up on Charms. And it's because it's fun. My name's Tatyana, by the way. Tatyana Reyes." She said, answering the boy's questions before offering up a hand to shake.

 

[Oliver Williams]

Ollie was quick to pick up the girl's book after she dropped it. If only he taught some more before he acted he could've figured he might startle her. Lucky for him the girl only dropped her book, it would've been much worse if she herself had fallen down. "Sorry!" He exclaimed, picking her book up from the ground and dusting it off a litt,e before stretching out his arm to hand it back to her. "Didn't mean to startle you." Ollie sheepisly smiled, feeling bad that he had. "Charms, that's a subject right? Are you preparing yourself for class already?" His stomache started to twist as his nerves were finding their way back into his mind. Perhaps he should work ahead as well, maybe then he wouldn't feel so nervous. But the tought of opening up a book on his own and to just start reading about something he knew nothing about slightly scared him. "So you just.. hang around for fun?" He chuckled, but he couldn't help thinking that it actually did look like it would be fun. The hanging that was, not so much the reading. When the girl reached out her hand Ollie went to shake it, trying not to laugh about the weirdness of the handshake, with her being upside down and all. "Nice to meet you, I'm Oliver." ​

 

[Tatyana Reyes]

Tatyana decided that she liked Oliver. Kids her age back home didn't really appreciate her eccentricities, but this guy just shook her hand while she was upside-down. Very good friend material. "A pleasure to meet you, Oliver."

"I don't really understand much, but at least I'd have an idea when class starts." Tatyana shrugged before taking back her book. "And yeah, it's fun. Well, hanging upside-down I mean. My cousins might call me crazy but there's a sort of thrill to it, y'know? It's the same feeling you get when you go through a rope course or a zipline. There's only one small thing keeps you from falling to your death but you do it anyway cause it's fun!"

She folded herself back up to sit on the branch and took a few moments to re-orient herself before putting her textbook back inside her bag. Tatyana wondered if she could introduce him to the wonders of hanging upside-down. Nodding to herself, she loosened her hold on her torso to once again hang upside-down and grinned at Oliver. "Do you wanna try? You're not gonna fall, promise!"

 

[Oliver Williams]

Somehow the girl saying she didn't really understand what she was reading calmed Ollie's nerves, at least he knew he wasn't the only one with that problem. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to understand anything when class starts." He chuckled, still wondering whether it would be useful to open up a book. As she explained how hanging upside down from a tree was fun, the boy wasn't exactly sure if he'd think it would actually be as fun as it looked. He wasn't the adventurous type, nor was he a thrill-seeker. He'd also much rather be out in the ocean than to be hanging from a tree. Even though the ocean wasn't always safe, at least he'd know how to take care of himself out there. "Thanks, but I don't think I'd like it very much." Ollie chuckled as the girl asked him whether he wanted to try it. "I'm not much of a thrill-seeker."