Open Master of None

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb so far was underwhelmed but Hogwarts. Lessons were boring and so where his roommates. He had spent most of his first year exploring around the castle and had found quite a few interesting places but he had yet to find people who he thought were worth his time. He wanted to share what he had found but they all seemed so busy without him. But he also knew he should try harder to actually get to know his classmates. Which was how he ended up in the student lounge playing Exploding Snap by himself. Caleb had found the pack of cards in one of the quieter hallways on the seventh floor and had pocketed them without a second thought. Slowly he drew a card and let out a relieved sigh as the card fell to the table silently.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Whenever Louis had nothing to do outside, he was pretty bored. It was never all that interesting at Hogwarts, especially during the lessons. Louis preferred to just play soccer outside or hang out with his classmates. The boy had gone to the student lounge with the intention to study, but he spotted a familiar boy nearby with a deck of cards. It was a quick decision to abandon his book and join him. "Hey Caleb." He said with a grin. "Is that exploding snap? Can I play?"

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb looked up and grinned when he saw Louis. "Oh hey!" he said excitedly, glad to have some good company now, finally. "Sure." he nodded and stared to deal out some cards. He was both relieved and disappointed as none of the cards explored. He was starting to think the deck was faulty. It would explain why it might have been abandoned. "So..." he drawled slowly as he picked up his cards. "How can we make this more interesting?" he mused dramatically. "Maybe we should make a bet? I have a few galleons to spare" Caleb offered and raised an eyebrow at Louis.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis sat down and grinned, glad Caleb told him he could join. He watched the cards carefully, though they didn't seem like they were exploding anytime soon. He looked up when Caleb asked him how they could make this more interesting. Louis grinned at him. "So do I, what were you thinking?" He asked, never one to back down from a challenge.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb drummed his fingers idlily on the table as he waited for Louis to respond, and grinned when he seemed interested in his plan. "Well how about for every card we draw we add in a few coins, and who ever gets an exploding card loses." he suggested and propped up his head on his hands as he looked at the other boy. It was a simple game but it seemed exciting. Or at least suspenseful. He might even win a few galleons out of the deal.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis grinned as Caleb mentioned his plan, leaning forward slightly in his eagerness. "That sounds awesome." He said, grabbing his bag and digging through it for his coin purse. He put it on the table, which felt pretty cool. He opened it and placed a few knuts down, then grabbed a card. It didn't explode, and he smirked and nodded to Caleb to make the next move.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb's smile widened. "Good." he said simply. He took his time drawing a card and slowly reached out for the deck of cards to build the suspense. But has he finally lifted the card it snapped loudly and the force of it stung his finger. He dropped the card and scowled. "That's not fair!" he whined and looked up at Louis. He knew he sounded like a little kid and took a deep breath to keep his cool. He rolled his shoulders back and gave Louis a mischievous look. "Let's go again." he insisted. "That was hardly an interesting round."

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis couldn't help laughing when he saw how the very first card Caleb drew snapped and burned his fingers. He leaned back in his chair and laughed. "It totally is." He said with a grin. But then he smiled. "But I'm happy to go again." He said, gesturing to the same knuts on the table and adding a few to it. "But loser has to start."

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb tired to be a good sport and rolled his eyes as Louis insisted it was fair. It was but he didn't have to rub it in. "Fine." he said defiantly and tossed in a few coins without really looking and picked up a card with out hesitating. This time he was luckier and he dropped it on the table silently before leaning back in his chair. "Your turn." he said with a smug grin.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis grinned as Caleb tossed a few coins on the table and picked up a card. It would have been hilarious if he had gotten an exploding one again immediately, but he didn't. Louis shrugged and added a few coins to the pile and drew the next card. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when the card snapped loudly in his hand. He quickly dropped it. "Oh c'mon!" He said. "This game sucks."