Reminiscing

[Walter Katzman]

The teen let out a long sigh and walked out of the classroom, he had finally finished the detention he'd gotten from the history of magic classroom, he knew he had deserved it, talking back to the professor for a good ten minutes had obviously resulted in that. Walter all but slammed the door behind him as he walked out of the room, muttering under his breath as he did so. The american boy greeted a few people as he made his way through the halls of this school. He glanced at his watch and realised he was late in meeting the new kid, apparently it was someone from his last school, Walter wasn't sure who this person was but given that they had attended school together and were in the same year it only made sense that Walter be given the task of trying to help him out. It was an odd thing for Walter to be asked to do something, the headmaster knew his name, but not for good reasons, the boy seemed to always be on his last warning. Walter had his usual care free smile on his face, he was a little nervous about who this person could be, who it might be that someone who had disliked him.

As Walter rounded the corner he easily spotted amongst the rest of the students that he did know the one that he hadn't seen in about two years, and he found himself smiling with his usual charming smile, "Ren!" he greeted, it had been about two years since he'd last seen the other boy, they hadn't been friends really during his time their last school, but he couldn't imagine that the boy was feeling pretty good about this move, "What brings you out here man?" he asked in a jovial tone as he stood next to the man, holding out his hand in a proper greeting, opting for the easier english than the Japanese he could barely manage. The teen grinned easily at the other boy, it was nice to see someone from his old school in the end, it was a little nice and far less nerve wracking than he had briefly thought it would be. Walter himself had grown a bit since he'd been at Ilvermonry, his voice a little deeper, but even with his uniform he was dressed as smartly as he always was, "Please tell me that the history of magic professor at Ilvermonry has finally had a heart attack?"
​

 

[Ren Yukimura]

The only refuge Ren found amidst the chaos of his transfer to Mahoutokoro was the fact no one knew who he was. That he could get away with nearly anything and was able to tell anyone in the school lies about himself to hide the arranged marriage that ruined his old life in America and brought him to Japan in the first place. Ren's coping mechanism was always to pretend like problems didn't exist and this transfer was the perfect opportunity to create a new life while hiding from the one he wanted to avoid. Despite the transfer being due to his arranged marriage he still thought ignoring it was a good idea. Something genius on his part as it gave him solace from the stress of seeing his 'fiance' in classes or corridors. At least a temporary form of solace before the weight of the situation finally dawned on him enough that it couldn't be ignored.

That day Ren had more of a distraction than usual as he was told one of his previous peers from Ilvermorny who transferred to Mahoutokoro years ago would be showing him around. During breakfast that day Ren's fiance chose to annoy him to his limits so he was glad to speak to someone he was sure he would recognize in one way or another. If not by name, then by face as he knew they were in the same year at Ilvermorny. He leant casually against one of the pillars in the corridor as he adjusted the camera strap around his neck, waiting for this person to meet him. The sound of his own name eventually realerted him to his surroundings so he quickly looked up to see an all to familiar face. One he hadn't seen in years but it was nonetheless a sight for his sore eyes. He and Walter weren't friends but they were on a first name basis and got along when they did interact and that spoke for itself. Ren was pleased to see Walter and instantly returned the boy's smile. "Walter!" He exclaimed, smiling even wider and speaking confidently in English as he returned the boy's handshake. Company such as Walter's was the best thing Ren could have asked for. A way for him to feel somewhat normal in such a different part of the world with a stressful situation looming over his head. "I'm living with my grandparents now and they're here in Japan so it made sense to transfer!" He answered in a half-truth, glad when the subject moved to one of the Ilvermorny professors as he didn't need to elaborate more than he wanted to. "No, but they had a stroke or something! Now all they do is waddle between classes like a goose!" Ren answered with a chuckle to his tone.​

 

[Walter Katzman]

Walter could hardly believe that Ren was stood in front of him, they hadn't been friends in the last school they'd both attended and he was happy to see him, it was always a good thing to see someone from his last school, he had friends in this school but his Japanese being as bad as it was he did occasionally struggle often, and having someone who could understand him easily. He shook the boy's hand heartily with happy grin on his face, very clearly happy to see this person in front of him, he was surprised to see him but definitely glad about it, "It is good to see you Ren," he told him honestly, the smile still clear on his face, "Wow, that sucks, this school is alright but I preferred Ilvermonry," the teen smiled easily at him. The boy did like this school, it wasn't nothing like his last school, but at least during the breaks at this school he didn't have to go back to the middle of no where, and the people he had met at this school were just as fun as with his last, and the language barrier was the only real issue of this school.

"Oh man?" he asked in an excited tone, just laughing lightly at the thought of the man walking with a waddle, "What I would pay to see that," he continued laughing lightly thinking of the man, "That man hated my guts so much," the teen continued laughing lightly only stopped a little and taking a small step away from him, "I'm sorry I'm late to meet you mate, I just got out of detention," he explained with a little bit of a shrug which he knew Ren would probably understand, "The history of professor in this school is worse than the last one," Walter told him with a little chuckle, "How are you finding this place so far?" Walt asked with a little grin, he had found the place quite disorientating at first, and even more so because he had been really bad at the language, "It'll be easier for you, since you speak more of the language right?" Walter wasn't sure if Ren was Japanese, given that his grandparents lived in the country he felt like it was a good bet.
​

 

[Ren Yukimura]

Walter was definitely a sight for Ren's sore eyes and almost like a diamond in the rough of a new school and country where he felt out of place and out of control of his life. It was a sense of familiarity in an otherwise unfamiliar place and it comforted him more than he wanted to admit so to distract himself he adjusted the camera strap on his shoulder again while alternately shrugging the backpack on his other shoulder. He smiled as Walter spoke about the History of Magic professor, glad to be joking around as it lightened his mood from what had been a stressful morning and made him momentarily think that attending Mahoutokoro wouldn't be so bad if Walter was going to be in classes with him. He hadn't forgotten the boy's antics when they were at Ilvermorny together nor the reactions of the professors who seemed to be annoyed at the mention of him to that very day.

Ren raised his eyebrows curiously as Walter said the History of Magic professor at Mahoutokoro was worse than the one at Ilvermorny. He had a hard time believing such a statement as the HOM professor at Ilvermorny was the worst of all of them, but at the same time all the professors he was taught by were mean, old and close minded. It didn't seem like a far cry for a professor teaching History of Magic to be mean but one worse than the idiot Ilvermorny hired was impossible to imagine. He shook his head as he thought about it and then finally responded when Walter asked how he was finding the school. "It's boring, like every other school." He answered, honestly. "Though it'll be more fun knowing you're here to ruffle some feathers." He then said, moving to gently and playfully punch Walter's shoulder before continuing to speak "Yeah I know the language but it doesn't make the school interesting."
​

 

[Walter Katzman]

In what was really such a surprising thing for this day was the way in which seeing someone he had once known from his last school had just completely lifted his mood, he couldn't help the true smile on his face and the way he actually couldn't wait to show this guy around. The american boy didn't remember much about him, but he was sure that it would fine and it would fun, he missed his old school, even though so much of it had just been terrible and boring, but it was no different to this current school that he was currently attending, it's teachers acted in the same manner especially in regards to him. But this little element of his school was just going to surely bring good things. Walt couldn't help the smile on his face, he felt so joyous at having someone to share and who would understand everything he said. He had so many thoughts about his last school flashing in his head, people to ask after, professors to inquire about but there would be time for that at some other point, instead he just nodded in understanding about the first part of what he said.

At the second part, Walter just laughed, easily moving with the momentum of the joking punch, "Oh you know me man, disrupting the class, being funny, detentions, always "one step away" from being kicked out," he joked easily, not minding that those were the things people associated with him. Walt didn't have such an advantage with language, he struggled though he'd improved, "I'm not going to lie my Japanese is poor, I can mostly get by, but I should've paid more attention in my Japanese classes instead of making that teacher's life a living hell," Walter laughed lightly at what he'd said, knowing that Ren might also find amusement in it, and just a further way of making this friendship with him better, the shared english. The teen smiled, "So, you realise man I'm probably going to turn to you whenever I need help?" Walter joked, "What's the first thing of this school you want to see?" Since he was supposed to be helping him with the school, and though usually Walt would not have done it, he liked Ren, and he was keen to keep talking to the boy, so a little conversation as he helped orientate himself would, he believe be mutually beneficial.
​

 

[Ren Yukimura]

The playful way in which he and Walter were speaking and acting made Ren feel furthermore comfortable and like his experience at Mahoutokoro wouldn't be all bad. Though much of it had been and would continue to be terrible, the classes he was going to share with Walter would be a distraction and a way for him to laugh through the stress of the problems he was working so hard to avoid. It was a breath of fresh air to be talking and joking with someone he knew as more than a stranger and it relaxed him more than he wanted to admit. Somehow, he began to feel like he was at home in what was an unfamiliar country, far away from everything he once knew. Japan would never feel as much like a home as his house with his parents in the United States did, but having a friend or at least someone to joke with made it feel like it was sort of a home. At least it felt like less of a prison without a means of escape.

Ren laughed when Walter said his Japanese was poor. He quite frankly expected that from the other boy. Ren was lucky to have grown up speaking both Japanese and English. It made the transfer easier despite how frequently he did make mistakes when reading and writing in Japanese instead of English. He couldn't imagine transferring to a country without having knowledge of the language and was certain he would be in the same boat as Walter if he didn't grow up speaking both languages freely within his home. Ren laughed again when Walter said he would turn to him for help. He then nodded and said "I'd love if you turned to me when you need help. It'll give me an excuse to not do my homework!" It would also beat having to think about his 'fiance' but Ren chose not to mention that fact. He adjusted his camera strap for the millionth time when Walter asked what he wanted to see first in the school and shrugged. "Show me the places you like to hang out, I guess?"​

 

[Walter Katzman]

It was so much of a surprise to Walter to see this guy at this school but he had to admit to how good it also felt, it was just so much easier to talk to someone who spoke his native language and knew a little bit about him. But, it left him with a lot of questions about why this boy was here, the answer had been rather vague, really though Walt didn't care much, he was just happy to see him, to be able to talk to someone so easily, it had been a rather tricky few years figuring out how best to communicate with people. Walter did as best he could but it was obviously not his strong suit and he had just molded into the role of the english speaking kid who didn't take things seriously. He was just glad that he was able to get english copies of the books they covered just to make things easier for him. Spell casting was similar from place to place and as long as he could try to copy how the spells sounded in class he usually managed just fine.

"Yas man," he replied when Ren said he'd be happy to help him, "Don't bother with the homework, I never do" he added still laughing a little to himself and giving a look of i'm still here in relation to what he'd said about the lack of homework. And of course when Ren told Walt to show him the places where he hung out, the boy nodded in an excited manner, clearly slightly overjoyed at the fact he finally had someone to talk to as easily as it was for them. He took a few moments to just think about where to go before leading him towards a certain direction, "The library is pretty big, but you know not a place you can hang out, the back courtyard is pretty fun, there are some good hidden areas near the pitch if you wanna get some privacy with someone, I personally like the common room-esque areas, because they have a lot of people and usually a good atmosphere," Walter explained motioning in vague directions towards where these things he was talking about were, in perhaps an unhelpful manner, but it wasn't like Walter was ever going to give an amazing and detailed tour. He was making his way with Ren towards one of his favourite places in the school, where he knew most of the friends he had would be, "What electives are you taking man?" he asked wondering how many classes he might end up sharing with Ren.
​

This is so late i'm sorry man.