Closed Scoffing at Sports

[Emery Mettlestone]

Last year, Emery had mostly spent time with Rāwhiti, the only kid at school he would consider a friend. Emery hadn't seen any problem with that, as he didn't see why he would need more than one friend. But lately he had been realizing it was a bit inconvenient that Rāwhiti was in a different house. Emery hadn't really talked to his roommates much, choosing to mostly ignore them. He hadn't really considered they would be people he would be spending a lot of time around, it might have been smart to pick a friend out of that group as well. It was just difficult because most of them were either boring or annoying. Emery glanced around at breakfast as he buttered his toast, wondering vaguely if he should talk to someone. He paused at the sight of Michael Watson, one of his roommates. He was wearing what was clearly Quidditch gear, and Emery frowned. "Why are you wearing that?" He asked, not bothering with any sort of greeting. Emery didn't like Quidditch and had very little regard for those who played it. Rāwhiti being an exception.

 

[Michael Watson]

Michael hadn't really done a whole lot at Hogwarts. Since he couldn't play cricket or rugby, he'd thrown himself into Quidditch. The exercise was good, and there was plenty for him to learn. He wasn't sure if he'd be a top player, or if that was what he realky wanted. Maybe he'd stick to the statistical side of things later on down the line, he thought. He might need to put more effort in with his grades for that. But for now he'd enjoy getting stuck into the sport, quietly lamenting the lack of other options but liking it regardless. It was a shame he couldn't really talk to his dormmates about it, though. He got on okay with Ethan, he thought, and Emmanuel was pleasant enough although they didn't really have much in common. Emery, however, was decidedly unpleasant, and Michael didn't really know what he'd done to draw his ire this morning apart from being dressed for quidditch. He looked over at Emery, giving a non-committal shrug. "I'm trying out my halloween costume early," he joked, lightly. His jokes were pretty awful, but that was the point of them. "Nothing scarier than our performance last year." He hoped Sawyer wasn't in earshot. "Also try-outs."

 

[Emery Mettlestone]

Emery frowned at Michael's comment about his clothes, only to realize a beat later he was joking. He hadn't known Michael well enough to predict that, and he decided he didn't like it. Why not just answer the question normally? Emery took a bite of his toast and frowned. "If you were on the team last year, why do you have to go to tryouts?" He asked, as that sounded stupid and contradictory to him. He had vaguely noticed Michael was on the Quidditch team, but had no idea what position he held. He barely knew the different positions in Quidditch anyway.

 

[Michael Watson]

Michael could see he was in no way winning Emery over. Quidditch wasn't to everyone's taste, he knew, but he wasn't sure if it was the quidditch thing or if Emery just had a problem with him. Michael didn't like conflict, though. When his mum was in a bad mood, she'd fight with retail workers and waitstaff and Michael had to be the one to smooth things over. Fighting just made him uncomfortable. "Ah, well, I was only an alternate," he admitted, shrugging. That wasn't a bad thing - he'd only been a first year so having him as an alternate at all was pretty good, if he said so himself. "Though they like the actual team to go to to help out," he added. "Quidditch not your thing, I'm guessing?"

 

[Emery Mettlestone]

Emery took a bite of toast, chewing it as he listened to Michael explain why he had to try out again. He frowned, wiping a few crumbs off his chin. "What do they need alternates for?" He asked, curious despite himself. He shrugged at Michael's comment about Quidditch. He wasn't unpleasant, but his taste in sports left something to be desired. "I think it's overrated and horribly confusing." He said with a shrug. "And just kind of stupid."

 

[Michael Watson]

Although Michael would've defended the rules of cricket until the proverbial cows came home, it had given him something of an understanding of people not appreciating sports. He might not have exactly liked it, but he got it. "'Cause for some reason they thought they needed to combine all the potential sports to play on brooms in to one," he said, with a light shrug. "So there's these things called bludgers that exist to knock people out. Excitement factor, I guess." He wasn't sure why they couldn't stick to field restrictions or fireworks or something, but he supposed this is what they'd done forever. "And I guess if people are sick on a game day, logistically." That had been why he'd ended up taking the field last year, though it had only been for about a minute at most. "Fair point. I wouldn't say overrated," he half-agreed, casually fence sitting as he was wont to do. It was a little unnecessarily complex, though he did enjoy it for what it was. "Though it'd be good if there were other options, not just Quidditch."

 

[Emery Mettlestone]

Emery smiled a little as Michael said Quidditch was a bit like combining all sports on brooms into one. He liked that description and was definitely stealing it for later, even if he had no idea how accurate it was. He frowned as Michael explained the bludgers, shaking his head. "You play a game where you can get hurt, and you enjoy it?" He asked skeptically. But he supposed it was at least smart to have alternates for people who were sick. Emery nodded as Michael said he wished there were other options. "Like, muggle sports?"