Closed Seated on the Sidelines

[Alicia Richelieu]

Alicia had donned her Quidditch gear and taken her broom to the pitch. After flying a few circles and doing some drills, she quickly grew bored of practicing alone. As it was getting late, she decided to head over to the stands. She flew over, stepped off her broom onto one of the benches, and began to remove her gloves. Practicing felt a bit futile after their recent loss. As she settled in, she noticed someone else sitting a few rows below her. The setting sun’s golden light had made it difficult to see the other girl before “Oh, hey!” Alicia called out, waving to the Hufflepuff. “Are you here for some practice or just for some peace and quiet?” She paused and added, “Bailey, right?”

 

[Bailey Walden-Cade]

The stands were a good place to think, aside from during games they were usually empty and they looked out onto the pitch which Bailey always appreciated. The view relaxed her, it was the closest she felt to the game she loved when she wasn't playing or practicing. She didn't expect someone to join her, it was a girl she hadn't seen much of before but she was sure she was on the Gryffindor team, maybe she was a new transfer. She wondered if she was one of the people that Veronica was annoyed about, her sister seemed to blame everyone in her house for her continuously not being on the team, "Yeah it's Bailey, no I'm just here to relax, I can leave if you want to practice,"

 

[Alicia Richelieu]

Alicia climbed over the stands until she was closer to the other girl, sitting down one row below her, turned around on the bench so she was facing her. She recognized the Hufflepuff from classes and was fairly sure she was also a fifth year. She placed her broom on the bench next to her. "Sorry if I'm disturbing your relaxation time, you can tell me to go away." she said with a joking smile. "I'm done practicing for now, it's a little boring alone and after we lost the match... well, it feels a bit futile anyway." She shrugged before brushing her hair off her shoulders. "Congratulations on the win, by the way." She said, as Hufflepuff had won from Gryffindor.

 

[Bailey Walden-Cade]

Bailey waved off the idea that she was being disturbed, she could always tune out the Gryffindor if she felt like she needed to but some company wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. “It’s fine I don’t mind,” There were worse people who could have showed up to pierce her peace and quiet. “Thanks,” Bailey flashed a genuine smile at the congratulations, even if she herself hadn’t earned it. “It was good for the team, maybe one day I’ll actually be the one earning the win,”

 

[Alicia Richelieu]

Alicia had to look up at Bailey as she was one row below her, so she leaned back a bit and listened as she spoke. She seemed nice, which kind of seemed to be the main trait for Hufflepuff as far as Alicia understood it. She grinned when Bailey said she might one day earn her team the win. "Undoubtedly, next year probably." She said confidently. "The current seeker is a seventh year, right?" She asked. She had a pretty firm grasp of all the Hogwarts teams, but she still wasn't entirely sure. "So you'll get it next year. And you'll win- against Ravenclaw or Slytherin though , obviously." She said, smiling to show she was joking. While Alicia loved Quidditch, she wasn't a sore loser. Losing was part of it, in her opinion.

 

[Bailey Walden-Cade]

Bailey knew she had a good chance of becoming Hufflepuff’s permanent seeker, but it wasn’t something she wanted to bank on as weird decisions happened in Quidditch all the time. Something Alicia would know something about having been passed over for the open chaser spot on Gryffindor in favour of a second year. Bailey was biased and would have preferred it to go to her sister Veronica, someone else who had some experience playing and being on the team, but if it had gone to Alicia she didn’t think Veronica would have been as angry as she had been. But then Veronica was angry a lot these days so she could have been wrong. “I hope so, I really want to show my dad that I’m a good seeker you know? He played when he was at school for Gryffindor and he was an amazing player and captain, feels hard sometimes to live up to that,”

@Alicia Richelieu