Closed Making the Best of the Worst

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago knew being sent to Hogwarts was supposed to be some kind of punishment but he hadn't expected it to feel so much like a prison already. Classes hadn't even started and he was counting down the days till he got to go home. He couldn't handle everyone else's excitement and he had ended up spending a lot of time by himself which wasn't really unexpected. He missed his friends and more than anything there wasn't any good places to skate. The stone floors all over the castle weren't actually smooth or that spacious. So far the best he could find was the courtyard but it was usually too crowded to be much good.

But for some reason it was mostly empty today and Santiago jumped at the chance to get on his board and just ignored the irritated looks people shot him when he landed a trick with a loud clack against the stone. It felt good to move those familiar muscles and clear his head a bit. But as much fun as it was it made him miss his friends back home and he wondered if it was worth writing to them. What would his dad say when people asked about him? That he was sent to some boarding school? Santiago wondered just how much trouble he would get in if he told his friends the truth. Would they even have time to punish him if the world was freaking out about magic? He tried to do a kick flip but his mind was too distracted and he stumbled off his board and cursed. With a sigh he picked up his board continued to ignore everyone else.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden knew there was stuff he should be excited about when it came to Hogwarts. Learning magic, castle adventures, new friends... but he just couldn't bring himself to enjoy any of it. School was just another place to be abandoned with strangers, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this was his dad's way of finally getting rid of him and Penny for good. It'd been clear from the moment Mum died that he didn't have any parents who really cared anymore.

And school was just an extension of that, surrounded by boring kids and teachers who wouldn't know him from the kid sitting next to him. The world had given up on him, and it was what it was. He hadn't bothered to do much of his schoolwork, focusing on exploring the castle instead. That was fun at least. The courtyard was nice, and his interest was piqued at the sight of one of his new roommates skateboarding. Holden lingered on the edge of the courtyard and watched as Santiago botched a trick, giving a small snort of laughter. He didn't know much about skateboarding, but it was kind of close to dirtbiking. Kind of. "Nice trick." He teased.

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago dropped his board in front of him and steadied it with his foot before it could roll away again. His head snapped up when he saw one of his roommates laughing at him. His name was something weird, Holden? Regardless of his name, Santiago frowned at him. "I'd like to see you try," he shot back. He knew he wasn't some kind of star skater or anything but he knew he was probably better than most of the kids at this school considering some of them came from sheltered magical families and had never even heard of a skateboard. "And it's not like this is exactly smooth." he complained and gestured to the worn out stones which were flatter than most but there were still lumps and bumps here and there.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden couldn't help laughing at the challenge, shaking his head. "Nah mate, I'd stack it way worse." He grinned, trying to make it clear he hadn't actually been making fun. Of all the people he was stuck in a room with, Santiago had struck him as the least awful. "Brave to try it out here at all." He added, nodding in agreement to his comment about the surface. "You been skating long?"

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago grit his teeth when Holden laughed again. But his defenses lowered slightly when he declined the challenge and seemed to acknowledge that what he was doing was harder than it looked. He kept rolling his board back and forth with one foot while the other kept him firmly planted in place. "I haven't really found a better spot." he said with a sigh when the other boy said he was brave. He didn't feel brave. He felt desperate. "For a couple of years." he answered with a shrug.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden nodded in agreement, looking around. "Yeah, the grounds around here kinda suck for skateboarding." He agreed, though they wouldn't have held him back so much if he'd been allowed to bring his bike. "Cool." He nodded in respect. "I dirtbike." He added, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It's pretty cool, but you don't really get to bring a whole bike to school. Maybe I should get into skating."

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago continued to roll his board back and forth. The movement keeping him grounded as he listened to Holden. He hadn't talked to the other boy much but so far he was proving to be cooler that most of his other roommates. He looked up, impressed when the other boy mentioned he had a dirtbiked. "For real? Like with the engine and everything?" he asked. "A guy my dad works with has one and he showed it to me. My dad never let me ride it but it was really cool." he admitted. "Maybe you can sneak it in pieces." Santiago joked, and considering how much time he spent in his dad's garage he could probably do a decent job putting it back together. "But I could show you how.,,to skate...if you wanted." he shrugged.