Stretches and Scones

[Alexis Kramer]

It was a bright early weekend morning. Breakfast in the Great Hall was in full swing although there were just a few students who were already enjoying their breakfast. Others took advantage of the weekend to sleep in while some were already out enjoying the morning sun. Alexis was one of those students who were already out. She was still sleepy herself but managed to drag herself out of bed, to the Ravenclaw Table to grab some breakfast and headed out to the Great Lawn. On her left hand was a scone that she also took from the table. She was planning to bring it back to her room and gave it to her cat. She was walking towards some trees, stretching her arms over head. She looked up to the clear sky,trying to shake off the remaining sleep off her. She sat on the soft grass and leaned on a tree."My brothers would not believe me if I tell them I woke up early on a weekend.", she said out loud to no one in particular. Although, she didn't notice that someone actually heard her from the other side of the tree she was leaning on. That person spoke up, making her almost jump from where she was sitting.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

Waking up early in the morning was not in Nixon's nature. Or he at least thought it wasn't in his nature, having lived a mostly nocturnal life until going to Hogwarts. But now that he was at school, settled into a routine, and required to wake up in the morning to make the most of the daylight, he gathered that it wasn't so much about his nature than it was about what he had grown up with. Now he rather enjoyed mornings, choosing to wake up early rather than being forced to wake up at the sound of an alarm. And that morning Nixon had woken up particularly early, getting in a quick look at the remaining stars in the sky and catching up on his class reading before walking to the great hall for breakfast. After his belly was full he had then ventured out to the great lawn, reveling in the smell of the spring air as he chose a comfortable looking spot to sit underneath a tree.

Nixon was content with his surroundings despite not bringing anything with him to keep him entertained. Though as he heard someone sit down, and then speak up on the other side of the tree, he realized he did not need to bring anything with him. He could instead talk to someone new and possibly make another friend. "My parents wouldn't believe me if I told them I woke up early, too!" He responded, aware that the person was talking to themselves in rhetoric but uncaring. As he waited for the person to talk back to him, he smiled hopefully.​

 

[Alexis Kramer]

"My parents wouldn't believe me if I told them I woke up early, too!"

Fourteen words. Fourteen simple words yet it had made Alexis jumped from where she was sitting. The sleepiness in her immediately evaporated as she put a hand on her chest as if to still her heart. She laughed out loud at the situation. The voice sounded young which means the person, a boy, could be around her age or older by a year.
Without looking at the source of the voice, she nodded in response. "Yeah. I would definitely agree with that. Honestly, I was still a bit sleepy. Until you spoke out. Thanks for that.", she added with a small laugh. She looked up to the sky as she waited for the person to either reply or come around and sit beside her. She could do that herself but didn't want to disturb him, just in case he was doing something while lounging outside.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

Nixon felt uncertain as a silence feel, wondering if he had done something wrong and the person wanted to be left alone. Although the boy was reassured when the person on the other side of the tree let out a laugh. His smile widened, ignorant to the fact he had given the person a fright until they spoke up again. It was then his smile turned to a frown and he piped up to apologize. "Oh. Sorry about that!" Nixon said, feeling awkward about his actions although glad there was a tree between him and the other person so it didn't show. "I'm Nixon, by the way." He added to change the subject, eyes moving to the ground and hands occupying themselves by pulling grass out around him while he waited for a response.​

 

[Alexis Kramer]

Alexis' face brightened despite the little scare she got from the sudden voice behind her. However, she was not offended in any way since she was to be blamed for talking to nobody. When she heard the boy apologized, the young Ravenclaw shook her head with a smile, then remembered that he could not see her. "No, don't apologize. It was fine. My fault for talking to nobody. I should have seen it coming.", she explained. She didn't want her new friend to feel awkward about what had just transpired.

"I'm Nixon, by the way."

This got Alexis' attention. She was sure she heard that name somewhere but she couldn't put a face to the name. This made her wonder if they shared classes or not. "Hi, Nixon. I'm Alexis. Glad to meet you.", she introduced herself with a small laugh. She found their setup funny since they were talking without even seeing their faces. More like phone calls,in the Muggle world of thinking.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

The person on the other end of the tree explained Nixon's apology was unwarranted but that did not stop him from feeling guilty, or in the very least awkward about making them jump. It was still early in the morning and he should have considered that other people would not be as awake and aware of his surroundings as he was. He let out a quiet relieved sigh when his change of subject worked, and the person introduced themselves as Alexis. He nodded and then said "Nice to meet you, Alexis" being sure to repeat their name so he would not forget it. The temptation to go to the other side of the tree and find a face to put to the name was apparent to Nixon, but he instead chose to stay where he was, thinking that he would try to make normal conversation before showing his face. Hoping that if the scare of his words was forgotten about by the time he showed his face this mystery person would be more inclined to stay. "So, Alexis, what brings you to the other side of the tree this morning?" He asked.​

 

[Alexis Kramer]

Alexis could somehow sense that her new friend was still feeling awkward for scaring her that early in the morning. If that were her brothers, she would sure chase them around the house. Yet, this friendly voice didn't mean it at all. That is why she was cool about what had just happened.

"Nice to meet you, Alexis."

Alexis nodded with a smile. Then, remembering that Nixon couldn't see her yet, she responded,"Pleasure's all mine, Nixon." She was still racking her brains in trying to find a familiar face for that name. This even tempted her to go around the side of the tree to see him personally yet she stopped herself. She found herself twirling the scone in her hand when she heard him speak, asking about her purpose for being on the other side of the tree. She laughed at this, "I just happened to wake up this early and decided to come here instead of crawling back to my bed. I know this sounded silly but I tend to go back to sleep whenever I am in this kind of situation." She looked down at the scone, contemplating to give it to Nixon or not. "Since coming to Hogwarts, I decided to break out that habit and try to productive. So, I had breakfast and went out here. Then, I met you. That's being productive for me already.", she finished off with a laugh. She looked slightly to her side and saw a pair of shoes from the other side,"How about you, Nix?", she asked, not noticing the nickname she made for him. She was fond of making nicknames that it was almost a natural for her.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

Nixon smiled and nodded as he listened to the person speak. Their reason for sitting under the tree that day was similar to his, which was as reassuring to him it was intriguing him further to venture to the other side of the tree and meet the person properly. When they returned the question Nixon let out a sigh, decided enough was enough, and counted to three in his head. When he reached three he stood up and walked to the other side of the tree with a wide smile on his face. The person he had been talking to was in fact a girl that looked about his age. He wanted to comment on how it was nice to finally see her face, but he instead chose to be nonchalant in his actions, and continued the conversation as normal while he moved to sit across from her. "Well, I'm here because I woke up really early, which means I was also finished with breakfast early and then had some time to kill. Being outside under a tree just seemed like a great way to spend a morning." Nixon said. "And now I've sort of made a friend, so it's even better!" He added as an afterthought, continuing to smile at the girl named Alexis.​

 

[Alexis Kramer]

Alexis waited for Nixon to respond. When she heard nothing, she risked a peek at the other side to find that he was not there anymore. She sighed sadly and turned back around and was slightly surprised to find him sitting across her. "It was finally great to see you, Nix.",before she could stop herself. She found herself staring at his eyes as she listened to him. Their reasons are close to each other and she was glad for that. Her smile even widened when he commented that he felt much better to made a friend in her. She nodded at this in agreement. "Glad to hear the feeling's mutual.",she softly said as she looked down at the scone in her hand. "I know we both already had breakfast but I am hoping you would like this.",she held out the scone. "Sorry, I only had one. If I knew that I would make a new friend, then I would have brought more." She could just get some for her cat on her way back to her common room later.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

The girl seemed to be saying more or less what he was thinking, and Nixon was unsure if it was due to mere circumstance or if their thoughts were on a similar wavelength. First, they had arrived to sit underneath the same tree on opposing sides. Then, where he had thought to comment on finally seeing her, although refrained, she was the one to make a comment instead about finally seeing him. Lastly she had confirmed the small friendship they were forming was mutual. It all brought a wider, more genuine smile to Nixon's face as he sat across from her. She soon held out a scone to him, and he accepted it though quickly said "But if I have this, you won't have one." Then the idea crossed his mind to half the scone and he quickly moved his hands in an attempt to spit the scone in two pieces. It eventually broke and the Hufflepuff boy held the larger piece towards his new friend. "Here you go. Sharing is caring." He said, waiting for the girl to accept the piece of scone.
​

 

[Alexis Kramer]

Alexis mirrored Nixon's smile since they were now sitting across each other. She was glad to wake up early and come out to the grounds on a weekend. Sure, she had not expected this turn of events but she was glad it happened. She was even pleased when he accepted the scone but was surprised when he thought of her having none and split the snack in two pieces. She was about to refuse,assured him that it was fine by her but she was too late. He even gave her the bigger half which she accepted with a friendly smile. "Sharing is caring indeed. That was why I gave this to you.", she laughed as she leaned back against the tree. Crossing her legs while stretching them out, she just realized that with Nixon across her, he didn't have anything to lean back on unlike when they were still talking a few minutes back. She patted the soft patch of grass beside her, "I think it would be unfair, not to mention tiring, to sit like this without leaning on something. We can both lean back on the tree just like a while ago." She gave him a friendly smile as she waited for her new friend to accept her invitation.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

Alexis quickly accepted the bigger half of the scone and Nixon matched her smile, happy to be spending his morning outside on a beautiful day and with a new friend. He soon bit into the smaller half he was holding, chewing happily. When Alexis patted the grass next to her, suggesting they both lean against the tree, Nixon nodded and wordlessly shuffled until he was sitting next to her and his back was supported. He didn't want to talk with his mouth open and risk seeming rude to his new friend so he only spoke again after swallowing his mouthful. "It is tiring to sit without a tree behind you." Nixon agreed. "This is a good scone by the way, I shouldn't be eating so soon after breakfast but I'm enjoying this." He said, before realizing he might be babbling on about nothing and quickly changing the subject to ask Alexis a question, wanting to get to know her better and for the focus of the conversation to be away from him. "Do you have much planned for today?" The hufflepuff asked before taking another bite from his scone while he waited for her answer.​

 

[Alexis Kramer]

Now that they were sitting side by side, Alexis leaned back on the tree. The tree was not that wide but enough to accommodate their backs comfortably.Nixon was happily munching on his half, making her took a bite of her own as well. Alexis smiled as she listened to her Hufflepuff friend talk about how he shouldn't being eating soon after breakfast and pleased to hear that he was actually enjoying it. "I agree on that, Nix.", she replied before she realized what she called him. "I can call you Nix,right?",she asked as she glanced at the boy beside her. She always had this tendency of making short names for everyone she knew.

"Do you have much planned for today?"

Alexis looked at Nixon, thinking over what he asked. She didn't have anything planned aside from writing some letters home and playing with her cat. Shaking her head, she put on her best sad face, trying her best not to laugh. "No.Poor me. Aside from my cat, I have nothing else to do." She couldn't keep the face longer, making her burst in laughter. "Silly me. Sorry. Honestly,aside from letters home and my cat, I really didn't have much planned. I could get my guitar and play some songs though.How about you?", she asked in return to keep the conversation going.