Open Left Behind

Status
Not open for further replies.

Monty Pendleton

💡 Inventor | Guardian 💡
 
Messages
10,413
OOC First Name
Claire
Blood Status
Muggleborn
Relationship Status
Single
Sexual Orientation
Asexual
Wand
Straight 9 1/2 Inch Rigid Walnut Wand with Thestral Tail Hair Core
Age
1/1999 (61)
In spite of the music, the dancing, and the laughter, Monty felt incredibly lonely. He stood amid the tables at the side of the hall, sipping his drink and staring unseeingly across the room. All of his friends eventually seemed to leave him. Ava, Arvo, Wren, Sloane, Olive. And now Jon. Monty didn't blame him for wanting to try something new. Had Monty been twenty years younger, he might have considered it himself. No - that wasn't true. He couldn't have left if he'd wanted to. Anyway, he couldn't take it personally. It wasn't as if his friends were actually leaving him. They were just moving on with their lives, branching out into the world, or, in Arvo's case, settling down for a pleasant retirement. Monty blinked, snapping out of his daydream as he realised, with horror, that he'd accidentally been staring at somebody for the last minute.
 
Chaperoning school dances always made Kahurangi strangely nostalgic for her own youth. Her experience of dances had been largely uneventful, but always fun. She certainly didn't miss all the uncertainty and stress that came with being a teenager, but there were definite upsides too, and she found herself missing those as she supervised the kids off making their own dance memories. Staring into the crowd, Kauhurangi tried to stay vigilant, making sure there wasn't anything untowards going on, but she found herself distracted after a while, feeling eyes on her. Looking over, Kahurangi was a bit surprised to see Monty gazing vacantly in her direction. She hesitated a moment before stepping closer to talk to him, giving her colleague a cheeky smile. "Now you can stare at me all you want, Monty, but you're not getting a dance. No offense, but you're a bit too macho to be my type." She teased lightly, giving him a gentle friendly elbow to show that she was joking. "Something on your mind?" She asked with a more sympathetic tone, not wanting to actually make fun of Monty. He was one of the colleagues she wanted to get to know better, and she had always enjoyed their conversations.
 
"I am so sorry," Monty said, mortified. He began to explain that he'd been daydreaming, but then cut his sentence short as he realised Kahurangi had already figured it out. Breathing out a laugh, he made a dismissive gesture with his free hand. "Oh, you know. Nothing out of the ordinary." He would have told Kahurangi what the problem was, except he wasn't sure how many people knew that Jon was leaving. It wasn't his news to share. "I think that might be the first time I've ever been called macho," he added, taking a sip of his drink to conceal his smile. "Are you sure I can't persuade you to dance? Strictly as friends, of course. I fancy we could put these students to shame."
 
Kahurangi smiled reassuringly at Monty's shock, not wanting to actually upset him. She was glad that he got quickly that she had been teasing, noticing the man relaxing a little. She nodded when he brushed off her question, though she could tell there was something else going on. If Monty didn't want to talk about it though, she wasn't going to pry. She let the subject slide, laughing at his response to her calling him macho. "Well, you should've been asking lesbians." She joked. "Though I think I've dated girls butcher than you, so do take that with a grain of salt." Kahurangi teased, though she balked a little at his asking for a dance, considering it for a moment. "Well, it's been a long time since I've danced with anyone, think I might've grown a third left foot." She joked, smiling. "So consider how attached you are to your toes before asking." If she was honest with herself, Kahurangi didn't especially mind the idea of a dance, but it had been so long since anyone had asked her that she didn't really know if she remembered how.
 
"That's the same exact thing Monty said to me before we danced" Professor Kingsley jumped into the conversation. She'd been walking by, heading to the opposite side of the room to help chaperone. It was odd to not have plans following the dance. Usually, she'd have headed home either this evening or the next, a reservation set somewhere for her and Cameron. It wasn't getting easier to deal with, but she'd never particularly loved Valentine's Day though she did miss the chocolate she usually received. She'd spotted Jacob a little earlier but he seemed to be having a good enough time. "He's a lot better than he claims to be. I'm sure you are too, Kahurangi" Cyndi grinned at her two colleagues. The woman wasn't overly friendly with most of her colleagues. These two were the exception to that, and as she took a sip from the plastic cup she had in her hand, some sort of fruit juice she'd lamented and wished were wine, she hoped they'd enjoy a dance or two together. " I can keep watch for toes if you two are really worried" she added with a smirk.
 
Monty almost spat out his drink. He covered his mouth with his hand while he composed himself. "I can believe that," he said at last, lowering his hand. It felt strange to laugh about his effeminacy, a subject that had once caused him embarrassment, but it was also somehow relieving, as if Kahurangi was giving him permission to be himself. Her next remark made him laugh again. He was about to tell her he'd said the very same thing to Cyndi when the very woman appeared, stealing the words right from his mouth. "Cyndi!" he said. "I was just going to say that." He pulled a face as she complimented his dancing. In truth, he knew he wasn't awful, but he was certainly rusty, and prone to make mistakes out of nervousness. "Oh, well I can't now. I'll be too self-conscious!" he said, like an embarrassed teenager, ignoring the fact dancing had been his idea. "You don't really want to dance, do you Kahurangi? You can absolutely say no. In fact there could not be any less pressure."
 
Kahurangi couldn't hold back a giggle at Monty's reaction to her joke. She had never seen him caught so off guard, and she couldn't help but find it amusing. She looked over, surprised at the sound of Cyndi's voice, and laughed lightly at the other woman's comment. "Is that so?" She chuckled, looking to Monty. "And here you were, passing yourself off as Fred Astaire. I've been tricked." Kahurangi joked, but she was relieved that she wasn't the only one a little hesitant about their dancing skills. She considered Monty's offer for a moment, thinking it over. On the one hand, Cyndi was the last person Kahurangi wanted to make a fool of herself in front of, but on the other, this was a challenge now, and she had never been one to back down from a challenge. "Hmm, well, it can't just be Monty and I embarrassing ourselves." She said with a slight smile, glancing at Cyndi. "How about all three of us dance? That way you can both make me look bad."
 
Cyndi had to think long and hard about the name Kahurangi mentioned, but when she finally got to it, she chuckled. Her muggle references were limited but it was one she eventually got even if it took a beat longer. Cyndi waved a dismissive hand at Monty's comment about being self conscious. He was just trying to back out of this dancing, but he should've known better. Cyndi wouldn't just let him do that, and it seemed neither would Kahurangi. Smiling and nodding as soon as the words had settled, Professor Kingsley rested a hand on the upper part of Monty's arm. Cyndi had always enjoyed dancing. "What a great idea! "
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top