Closed Plus One

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio had walked by the sign up list a few times now. A wheelbarrow race sounded extremely fun! The only issue was he didn’t have a partner, and you needed one for this sort of thing. Determined to not let that stop him, Benicio hovered around the sheet hoping he'd be able to spot someone who seemed to be in a similar predicament.

 

[Tempest Vero]

Tempest had been pacing in her room for the past 15 minutes. She walked by the stupid wheelbarrow race sign-ups at lunch and saw June's name on it. And she hadn't even asked her to be her partner. Not that Tempest really wanted to do the race, but she figured that they would have been a winning team, and June hadn't seen that. She wasn't sure why there was this sudden need to compete with her roommate, but it was giving her an edge. The Slytherin made her way back up to stare at the list again, thinking maybe she had misread it, and stood in the Entrance Hall, placing her finger on the sheet. There it was, plain as day. Tempest crossed her arms and stared at the sheet, trying to figure out what to do next.

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio was watching closely, and eventually he spotted someone who didn't just quickly scribble their name. Doing his best to casually step closer, Benicio was finally close enough to say, " Oh wow, a wheelbarrow race. That's pretty cool. Are you thinking of signing up?"

 

[Tempest Vero]

Tempest almost didn't hear someone speak to her and looked over at a boy she didn't know. "No," she started. "Well, maybe," she continued as she thought hard about who she would con into being her partner. And then it hit her. Tempest turned swiftly to the boy and put on a smile. "Are you thinking of signing up?"

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio shrugged. "I mean...yes" he admitted, unable to keep up the ruse now that he felt he was close to getting a partner. "But I need a partner. Would you also maybe be looking for a partner?" Benicio knew he was either going to come out of this with a partner or die of shame. This was probably the most important minute of his life.

 

[Tempest Vero]

Tempest thought for a moment before responding to the boy. She didn’t want to seem desperate. “Well, I’ve had a few people ask me to be their partners already. But you seem fast. You are fast, right?” she added quickly.

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio's hope was dwindling. Of course, she'd have her pick of partners. She was tall and looked athletic to him, both would be helpful in a race. "So fast" he confirmed with a nod. He didn't know how to make himself look quicker, so he focused on just sounding sure. "You won't regret partnering with me" he added.