Closed Level Playing Field

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke knew she couldn't be imagining that Delilah seemed to vanish a little longer between classes sometimes than she could account for. Brooke didn't have every lesson with her, but she had enough to notice by now that Delilah was up to something in her spare time. She'd caught her friend slipping out of Professor Corrin's office the other day and her curiosity had only grown until she'd managed to corral Delilah at her house table over lunch. "So! Getting a little extra time with Professor Corrins?" Brooke asked, her tone light but her eyes sharp as she tried to look busy fixing herself a plate. It was no secret that Professor Corrins was pretty hands on with her students, setting up meetings with everyone to discuss study plans, but Brooke didn't think Delilah would still need such regular meetings to just talk over which books to read. "You guys friends now or?" Brooke trailed of, waving a butter knife to encourage Delilah to finish her sentence hopefully.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah was trying to use the little spare time she had for herself and sometimes that included eating lunch by herself while she read a book that wasn’t for school. She had just taken a big bite of an apple when she noticed Brooke approaching her looking like she was up to something. She suppressed the urge to shiver and rushed to swallow her bite so she could say hello but she didn’t even get the chance before the other girl sat down and hurled a question at her. Delilah blinked and wasn’t sure if she had heard correctly until the reality of the situation fell into place. “Oh.” she said softly and closed her book. Immediately there was a rushing sound in her ears and she felt her face go red. This was the last thing she wanted but she was stuck.

Delilah took a deep breath and straightened her posture as Brooke asked if they were friends. “Not exactly.” she said in a measured voice. She wanted to say she wasn’t so desperate that she needed to make friends with professors but that was exactly what a desperate person would say. “She’s been giving me extra lessons.” Delilah said quickly but couldn’t quite meet Brooke’s gaze. She figured it was better to be honest and try and make it seem like it was something she was doing to get ahead and not something she needed to keep up. Maybe she could at least keep that to herself.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

"Don't choke," Brooke said blandly as Delilah struggled to swallow her food, straightening her own plate in front of her and looking at Delilah with polite curiosity as she struggled to spit it out. So to speak. Brooke's eyebrows raised when Delilah simply admitted she was getting extra lessons, rolling her lips and nodding with a simple hm, though she enjoyed how clear it was that Delilah seemed uneasy to admit as such. "Well, there's no shame in admitting you need help," she said, patting Delilah's hand and taking a bite of her own lunch. "I'm always happy to answer any questions if you need it," she added, giving Delilah a mild smile. She couldn't imagine needing extra help with something, especially something as important as Charms, but she supposed at least Delilah knew she needed help.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah nodded weakly as Brooke told her not to choke and she regained most of her composure. She had a hard time looking at the other girl but she was trying. She wanted to gage Brooke's reaction for herself and wasn't surprised when her friend seemed pleased by her answer. Her grip on her cup tightened as her friend reached out and gave her other a pat. Delilah wasn't surprised by how delighted Brooke sounded about all of this, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow. "Why would you assume I needed help?" she blurted out without thinking. She had surprised herself and with a split second decision she decided to double down. Delilah sat up straighter and pulled her hands closer to herself. "Maybe I just wanted to get ahead?" she asked coolly. She didn't sound like herself and she hoped she could keep it up.