Open Repeat Encounters

[Kasim Safir]

Open after Kiersten posts with Michael

Kas had been on the look out for Eric, keen to bother him after 3 months of being left in New Zealand while everyone went off to Australia or whatever dumb countries they were from. Not immediately spotting him, Kas made himself comfortable at the Gryffindor table, deciding he might as well get some food out of this until Eric did show. He was in the middle of debating the right amount of jam to put on his toast when he glanced up, double-taking at the familiar face across the table.

"Wait-" Kas started, glancing around the hall quickly, as if to check he was in the right school or something, before looking back at Michael. "I don't remember you being here," He said slowly, squinting. "And you were all-" Kas motioned vaguely at Michael with his toast, "-Englishy. I'd figured you weren't from around here." Kas had enjoyed teasing Michael over the break, but it was a bit disorienting to see him here now, clearly perfectly at home at the Gryffindor table.

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael thought breakfast was the best meal of the day. He loved all the variations of bread, eggs, pastries, and potatoes that existed. It meant that he could basically eat the same thing every day with just a little bit of change. He filled up his plate with two hard boiled eggs, a bit of rye toast, and some fried potatoes. As he eyed adding a tangerine to his plate, he heard someone talking to him. He was so entranced with the food that he didn't recognize the boy across from him. He kept staring and slowly nodding his head in response with a huge grin as the boy stammered about. "I'm not," he laughed, remembering "I have 5 cats" kid. "I just moved here and transferred. I didn't realize someone would want to get rid of me so fast," he joked and stuffed a full hard-boiled egg into his mouth. "Soyougohereaswellthen?" he managed to get out sloppily in between chewing his egg.

 

[Kasim Safir]

Kas felt vindicated that he hadn't just somehow missed Michael for all these years, not that he could blame himself, there were definitely a few students around the school that were extra forgettable. Or that Kas wished he could. "Ah, commiserations, then," He said as Michael explained he'd transferred in. School was hard enough starting from first year, Kas didn't envy anyone who had to try to fit in when everyone had been actually living together for four or five years. "What year are you in, maybe I can give you the run down on your roommates. You might need the extra help," He said, scrunching up his face when Michael spoke with his mouth full. "Nah, I just like to pop in here for fun. They ask fewer questions if you look the part," Kas said flatly, motioning to his uniform wanly.

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael shrugged when Kas didn't seem to approve the thought of transferring. He swallowed his egg and took a bite of his potatoes as the boy continued to ask questions. Swallowing before he continued the conversation, he took a napkin to his face. "Fifth year Gryffindor here," he said, unsure of what the boy meant by extra help. So far, his roommates hadn't been too terrible. "How old are you anyway?" he asked, thinking Kas might also be a 5th year. The boy's sense of humor seemed a little dull, something he had picked up on at their previous meeting. He leaned forward and began to whisper. "Well, then I guess I should be honest, too. I'm a spy from another school. I'm just here to get intel," he said with the most serious face and then started laughing.

 

[Kasim Safir]

For some reason it surprised Kas to hear Michael was in the year above him, taking a moment to mull it over. "Ah right, you're in Eric's dorm then," He said, trying to figure out if that was a good thing or not. Eric certainly had capital 'O' Opinions about his roommates, but Kas figured they should probably be taken with a grain of salt. He'd defend Eric to anyone, but Kas had to imagine he wasn't the easiest to live with. "I've heard they mess around a lot in there, so just stay on your toes," Kas eventually settled on. Vague advice should do the trick without sounding too bias. "Oh, and Eric's no where near as bad as everyone acts, including himself. Don't be fooled," He added, unable to resist. So much for lack of bias. "I'm a 4th year," Kas said, waving his hand dismissively before leveling Michael with a dubious look at his returned joke. "Intel on our breakfast service, perhaps? I hear the jam recipe is a closely guarded secret. It was only a matter of time before Scotland came after it," He said knowingly.

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael wasn't taken aback by Kas' comments on his roommates. He had met them all by now and had interacted with Eric. While it hadn't been the most pleasant start, he was hoping to win him over someday. If not, well, he would deal with that later. "No one seems to bother me too much. I suppose it helps that I have those little dragons. I think they're afraid that one day real fire will pop out of their mouth or they'll bite their toes while they're sleeping," he said with a laugh. His pets wouldn't do that, but people were still wary of the creatures.

The younger student started to play into Michael's spy joke, and the Gryffindor shook his head. "Jam, you say? I'll have to relay that back to my supervisor." He took a quick bite of egg and continued. "What I'm really in search of is the answer to why this place is so obsessed with trampolines," he said and laughed. For some reason, he had heard all about these trampolines and someone had even made a joke that the pitch was a magical trampoline that allowed bludgers to hit beaters back. He continued eating his breakfast, hoping that Kas would encourage the spy joke further.

 

[Kasim Safir]

"Mm, I suppose threatening people with small lizards is one way to get them to leave you alone," Kas said mildly. Eric had complained about his roommates enough that Kas was curious how long Michael's supposed peace would last. He couldn't imagine it would take much for him to get dragged into whatever feud Eric had managed to create in his dorm. Kas was just grateful his roommates were boring enough to not require any oaths of vengeance or anything. At most he just had to get Connor to pick up his socks every once and awhile.

He nodded, pleased that Michael was playing along with his jam joke. "Don't bother mentioning the marmalade though, not as good," He added. Kas nearly groaned at the mention of trampolines though. Michael was right, half the school was obsessed with them right now. "Ah, now you're getting into the thick of it. Trampoline based insanity. I'm afraid it's incurable. You've been exposed now so you probably have no chance. I'm terribly sorry," He said morosely, patting Michael absently on the hand in mock sympathy.

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael shrugged when Kas suggested that his pets were threatening. He knew people were scared of them but hadn't thought about it in that sense. Thankfully, his pets were really harmless, and if any of his roommates truly had a problem with them or were scared, he hoped they would address the problem directly.

The Gryffindor made a funny face as Kas mentioned the marmalade. "Really? I thought it had a special zing to it that we Brits just don't experience in our fruit spreads." He picked up his fork and took another bite of potatoes as Kas continued the conversation. At the mention of his acquiring of the trampoline disease, he paused and held out his fork. "It must be something in the food," he said with a whisper and then threw it down on his plate and grabbed his head. "I can feel my cells morphing. Everything is bouncing inside my skull. Like I am becoming a trampoline." He made a choking sound and fell over on the bench before bursting into laughter.

 

[Kasim Safir]

Kas raised an eyebrow at Michael's use of the word zing, but then again, if what he'd heard about British food was true, then maybe kiwi food did actually have a 'zing' to it for him. Michael certainly didn't seem put off his food at all during the whole conversation. Kas considered just making himself comfortable and getting something to eat too, but it would ruin his aloof image if he did. He'd just have to shove some bread or something in his pocket before he left for class. Much cooler.

Kas' mouth twisted into a half-smile at Michael's theatrics, but he tried to keep his expression somber, nodding sympathetically. "I'm afraid it's already too late for you. The urge to bounce will grow too strong. Soon, all you'll be able to say is "Isn't our trampoline cool. You should ask your Head of House for one,"" He said, doing his best to affect what he considered a Gryffindor accent, which really just sounded like someone who'd probably had too much caffeine. Kas craned his neck to check Michael hadn't actually choked on him after he dropped out of sight, rolling his eyes in amusement when he just spotted Michael laughing down on the bench on the other side and giving him a wry round of applause for his commitment to the bit.

 

[Michael Newton]

Michael laid still as Kas insisted he was now posessed. In response, Michael slowly rose up like Frankenstein's monster and made a groaning sound with his arms out. "Must. find. bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Trampoline." Michael just started saying random words that were associated with the subject and then turned to Kas and tilted his head. "Trampolineeeeeee," he whispered. He couldn't keep a straight face for long though and started giggling.