Making Waves

[Sofia Gutierrez]

Sofia was decidedly not getting into a large, sticky pumpkin boat where all its stringy tendrils could cling and wrap around her as she struggled to float in the middle of the lake. Plus, the chances of her tipping over and falling into the lake were too high for her liking. So instead she did the sensible thing and decided to get into the water to swim, that way her getting wet was on purpose and not from a failed boat excursion. Sofia wore her bathing suit beneath her robes and had carefully folded her clothes beside her shoes, placing them on the edge of the lake so she could grab them easily on her way out.

She was no stranger to getting in large bodies of water so it didn't take her long to walk into the lake where the water reached up to her hips. After a few moments of adjusting to the cold water, she began to dip her body lower into the water and swim happily. Even though she was in an area designated for swimming away from the floating pumpkins, all the activity in the lake was causing lots of ripple effects, causing her to be pushed and swayed back and forth with the waves, occasionally engulfing her and submerging her entire head underwater. Sofia pushed her head over the surface of the water, trying not to get annoyed that her hair was ruined and attempted to swim further back to the shore.

 

[AJ Carpenter]

AJ didn't have the patience to carve a pumpkin, so when he had seen some of the professors had carved some already, he had been quick to grab one. Paddling the pumpkin over the water had been a lot of fun, though more difficult than he had thought it would be. It had started out well enough, but slowly but surely he had started to drift away from where he wanted to be. He knew there was a designated area for the boats, and he didn't intend to leave it, but he eventually found himself in the area for the swimmers. He grimaced as he tried to paddle without hitting anyone, mumbling apologies as he got annoyed looks. He put the paddle down in the water, and nearly hit a girl who just surfaced. "Oops, sorry!" He called, grimacing as he realized it was one of his classmates.

 

[Sofia Gutierrez]

Sofia was wading in the water trying to keep afloat amid all the constant movement and let out a little yelp as a paddle just managed to miss her head. She looked up at the person responsible, recognizing him from some of her classes, and had half a mind to glare at him, but he immediately apologized so Sofia had to concede he didn't mean any real harm. "It's okay," she said with a wary smile. "Aren't you a little far out to be paddling here?" she asked with an eyebrow raise and a hint of a smirk. As if to punctuate her statement she tried to pushed his pumpkin away softly, but given how big it was it did nothing to actually move him in any meaningful way.

 

[AJ Carpenter]

AJ wasn't sure how the girl would react. If he remembered right, she was a Hufflepuff. He was pretty sure they were supposed to be pretty nice, but he also knew you couldn't really judge everyone by their house. He smiled sheepishly at her question and shrugged. "Turns out I'm not naturally talented at paddling around in a pumpkin." He admitted. "I guess I just jumped in and figured I could do it."

 

[Sofia Gutierrez]

Sofia was actually grateful for the pumpkin being here because it gave her something to hold on to like a buoy, even if all she was doing was pressing her palm up against it for leverage. She chuckled a little at his comment and replied, "At least you're braver than me, I didn't want to make a fool of myself." She held back the 'like you' at the end of her sentence. She had to remember she wasn't arguing against her brothers and didn't have to be in defense mode all the time. "I'd try and help you but I'm afraid if I push you I'd tip you over," she laughed a little at the thought.