Closed Reading Is A Good Thing

Emily Hastings

Serious- Loner- Skeptic- British- Horror Fan
 
Messages
288
OOC First Name
Jess S
Blood Status
Mixed Blood
Relationship Status
Single (Not Looking)
Wand
Cherry Wand 12 1/2" Essence of Wood Rose
Age
5/12/2037 (24)
Emily was sitting alone in the lounge, curled up in a chair by the fire. She held a Stephen King novel in her hands. She hadn't read this one before, but she was enjoying it. She liked that he had so many books for her to dig into. She turned the page. The concept of this one was interesting. She wished she had something to drink, though. Maybe a cup of cocoa or some milk would be nice. She stifled a yawn. She was surprised to find she was enjoying being here. That was something she hadn't expected. She wasn't overly invested in any of her classes. She shook her head to clear out the excess thoughts before turning her attention back to the story.
 
Eric was feeling restless. He hadn't seen Nova around, and he had no one else to really talk to. Mark was cool, but he also hadn't seen his fellow Gryffindor anywhere. It was annoying, and Eric missed his mum and his brother more than he wanted to admit. Now that he was settled at Hogwarts a bit more, he was less angry and annoyed than he had been the first few weeks. But he had made a reputation for himself, and now he had to deal with that. He didn't mind too much. It wasn't a bad thing to be regarded as someone who could be dangerous, it meant people were less likely to mess with you. But it could be a bit lonely as well. Eric was wandering around, heading to different rooms and places to see if he could find anything to do there. He headed over to the stack of wizarding games to see if there was anything he could do by himself, but on his way there he noticed a girl from his year with a huge book. He frowned, looked at her, and then spoke. "That book's almost as big as you are. Are you just pretending to read that?" He asked her, wondering if she was trying to look smart. "It looks boring." He added, as he didn't want to seem overly interested in whatever she was reading.
 
Emily looked up, a little annoyed to be interrupted. "Maybe my brain is just big enough to handle it," She retorted simply. She lowered her book a little to look at him. She vaguely recognized him from class. "I happen to enjoy a good thriller story. It's much more interesting than the rabble running around the school." She left her finger in her book. "Did you interrupt me just to insult me? I'm sure if you knew more about what I was reading you might find it could actually be something interesting." She told him, curious as to why he would bother her if he had no interest in what she was doing.
 
Eric scoffed at the girl automatically. "Or your brain is boring enough." He said, not liking the implication that his brain wouldn't be big enough, even if she hadn't actually said that. "Well, I'm sure you're making a ton of friends with that attitude." He scoffed, ignoring that he himself only had one, maybe two, friends. "I was just asking a question. I insulted the book, not you." He added, crossing his arms. "And I really doubt that." He added. "Books are dull." He hadn't found any exceptions to that rule yet, so far.
 
Emily rolled her eyes. "I'm not interested in being friends with everyone. A few good friends is enough for me." She stated simply, setting her book aside and studying the boy. He seemed a bit interesting, even if he was rather... confrontational. She listened to him insult books a bit more. "Maybe you've just been reading the wrong ones." She told him. "School books are rather boring. But the books I read- they're all horror, and death, and mystery." She grinned at him a little. Maybe that would get his attention.
 
Eric rolled his eyes in return. "Of course not, only stupid people want to be friends with everyone." He told the girl. "Most people suck, anyway." He said, not sure if he grouped this girl with that yet or not. Though he didn't think girls were that cool, usually. He shrugged when she said he may have been reading the wrong books. He doubted it. "Storybooks are boring too." He said when the girl mentioned school books. Though her description of the ones she read did sound... kind of cool. But he scoffed anyway, crossing his arms. "Whatever, they're probably not all that scary. What is scary to a girl like you probably isn't scary to me, you know." He said.
 
Emily smiled a little at his response. "It's a bit refreshing to hear you say that, actually," She told him. "Most of the students I've met are naive, sweet little things. Rather irritating... I think I've only met two people in this school whose company I enjoy." She smiled, raising a brow at him. "Alright. I'll loan you one, and if you don't enjoy it, then I'll accept that you're braver than I am." She opened her bag, oddly intrigued by the challenge. "Here. This is one of his more famous pieces." She smiled as she offered him It.
 
The girl seemed to agree with Eric's stance on most people, and it was nice that he wasn't alone with that opinion. "Most of them are annoying and whiny." He told her with a small shrug. "And spoiled, too." He added, thinking of that annoying boy with the Quidditch figurines at the start of the year. He shrugged as she said she had only met two people whose company she enjoyed. He was pretty much in the same boat. But his eyebrows raised as she told him she would loan him a book, and that if he didn't enjoy it she would accept he was brave. He was curious, but that curiosity faded as she saw the book she was offering to him. He frowned and shook his head. "What? I'm not reading a huge book like that." He scoffed. "Why are you carrying that around, anyway? It looks bigger than you are, almost." Eric didn't enjoy reading too much, it was difficult for him to sit still for very long and focus on some boring story. He had never read a book as big as the one she was offering him. "No thanks." He told her with a shrug.
 
Emily smiled at Eric's agreement. She was glad she didn't have to defend not liking everyone. It was a welcome change. She furrowed her brow as he refused the book and placed it back in her bag. "Okay, fine. This one then." She pulled out a smaller book, this one much simpler. Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark was one of the first horror novels she'd read. "Here. Is this better?" She offered, holding it out to him. "It's a bunch of stories. Each one is only a page or two long, so if you don't like them you don't have to finish it." She figured it was as good as anything to start with.
 
Eric figured that after he refused her book, the girl would be done with him. But instead, she handed him another. He stared at it, then at her. "So.... are you a weird miniature librarian or something?" He asked her as he turned the book over in his hand. "Don't you get tired carrying those around?" He considered the book again, feeling like her handing him this was a challenge he could do. The title alone sounded almost like a dare, and he was willing to prove he wasn't scared by any of these supposedly scary stories. "Fine, whatever. I'll have a look." He told her. "What's your name, so I know who to give it back to?"
 
Emily laughed a little at his question. "I suppose I could be." She smiled and shook her head. "Normally I tend to prefer books to people." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Emily. I'm in Ravenclaw. What's your name?" She asked, tucking her feet under her.
 
Eric sighed. "Sounds boring. " He muttered, though it was half-heartedly. He could kind of understand preferring books to people, but didn't quite feel the same. "I prefer neither." He told her with a shrug. "Alright." He said as the girl told him her name ,and he contemplated not saying his own in return. But then he looked at the book she had given to him, even if he hadn't asked for it. It wouldn't hurt to just say who he was. "I'm Eric, Gryffindor." He muttered.
 

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