Teammates

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace was feeling so good about her new position on the team, she felt proud to be the new Co-Captain. It was a responsibility she welcomed, she loved Quidditch and she enjoyed being in charge of things. It required teamwork, especially with the other Captain, but she felt up for the job. One thing she needed to be better at, though, was socializing with her teammates. She had been on the Beauxbatons team for three years, but barely had a friendship with most of the others on the team. It wasn't something that came easy to her, she tended to keep people at arms length instinctively, even if she was friendly to everyone too.

She spotted something pink in the distance and knew who it was at once. Her resolve to get to know her teammates better made her speed up to catch up. "Jessica, hi!" She called, a friendly smile on her face as she approached the younger girl.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica had just finished with classes for the day and was heading down to the great hall for lunch when she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw her Quidditch captain calling her. "Hey," Jess smiled at Grace. "Did you need something?" she wondered politely. She and Grace had never talked much besides Quidditch tactics, which was always fun, so it wasn't unreasonable for her to assume that's what Grace wanted to do now. Though she wondered why she was approaching her now instead of waiting until practice. Perhaps the older girl had come up with an idea too good to wait. That or Grace just wanted to chat, which Jess secretly hoped for because she wanted to become better friends with the girl.​

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace admired Jessica for her bold choice of hair color. It suited her, but it did make her stand out, which not everyone would want. Jessica didn't seem to care, though, which was what was impressive to Grace. She could tell from Jessica's reaction to her approach that she really needed to be more social to her teammates. The other girl seemed pretty surprised to be spoken to by Grace and also seemed to assume she would only talk to her when she needed something or wanted to talk about the team. It made her feel a little bad, but at least she was working on it. "Not really." She said, keeping step with her. "I was just wondering how you were doing. We don't get much chance to talk during practice, but I'd still like to talk to you." She smiled. "It wouldn't be very good practice if we could just chat all day though, so we must be doing something right."

 

[Jessica Park]

Jess smiled happily when Grace said there was no real reason for her to have called her over other than to talk. As much as Jess loved talking Quidditch, this made her even happier. She laughed lightly when Grace said they must be doing something right during practice and nodded in agreement. "Cool," she replied easily. She tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear and shrugged. "I've been fine! How about you?" She knew the girl was a year older than her which reminded her, "How are your classes going? It's O.W.L. year for you isn't it?" Jess was not particularly studious but she knew come next year she would have to buckle down and scrape a few OWLs so perhaps she could get some pointers from Grace. She didn't know if playing Quidditch professionally required good OWLs and NEWTs but that profession also wasn't forever either so that had to be taken into consideration as well.​

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace was relieved that Jessica didn't seem to mind her random interruption of her day. She was happy to chat with the younger girl, and was glad the feeling seemed mutual. "I've been fine too, just busy." She smiled when the girl asked about her classes. "Yes, busy with classes mostly. OWLs are kicking my butt, honestly." Grace was the sort of person that took her studies very seriously, and wanted to perform well in all parts of her life. Her grades were second only to her quidditch scores in her mind, though her parents considered it the other way around. "But I'll be fine. I'm sure you will be as well next year. My only advice is: start on time." She sighed, shaking her head. "The dates creep up on you, I promise." It had happened to her as well, even though she tended to be well prepared most of the time. "But after they're done, it's finally time for the holidays." She added happily. Grace wasn't really one for long holidays and she was sure she would prefer going back to school after about a week, but she still wanted the break after the exams.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica chuckled at the comments Grace made about her the OWLs, although she wasn't in the same position just yet she could understand her sentiments. She nodded and said, "Okay I'll keep that in mind!" She could use any tips the older girl had because Sica was the oldest of her sisters so she had no one else to ask about these wizarding tests. Jess brightened up at the mention of holidays. "That must be nice, to be free after all that stressing and studying!" she reasoned. "Any plans for your newfound freedom once you ace all your OWLs?" Jess asked playfully. Although she and Grace were not close she could tell the girl was pretty studious at times.​

 

[Professor Grace Holland]

Grace wished she had better advice to give Jessica, but it was really all she got for now. This girl would be in her position soon enough, and she wanted to help her. "If you end up running into trouble next year, I could help." She said with a shrug and a smile. "I'll make sure to save my notes." She wanted to be helpful in any way she could.

The question about what she was going to do after was one she didn't really want to think about too much, it would make her too excited about the summer to want to study more. Still, she couldn't help smiling. "I'm going with my parents and little sister to New Zealand to visit my cousins there, that's pretty much the only set plans I have. Besides that I'm probably just going to relax as much as I can." She sighed dreamily. "Sleeping in, waking up without having an exam to cram for... I can't wait." It took her a few moments to return to earth and she shook her head, trying to focus on the conversation instead of the future after the OWLs. "What are you going to do during the summer?"

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica smiled brightly when Grace offered her help and especially her notes. "That would be great!" she nodded enthusiastically. She wasn't planning to take advantage of Grace's generosity but she was not one to turn down anything that made things easier for her. Yet for all she knew, she and Grace didn't even take any of the same classes. Jessica's only ambition so far was to be a professional Quidditch player so she didn't really push herself to take any advanced courses except the ones her advisor suggested she do so she wasn't too invested in them.

Jess figured she'd just figure that all out next year when she needed to. For now she was more interested in Grace's plans for the summer, which for the most part sounded a lot like what she was planning to do. "New Zealand? Huh, that's cool," she mused. She and her family traveled a lot because her dad was in the military, which is why she had ended up in France, but they had never been to New Zealand. "Tell me how it is! It looks so beautiful in pictures but I want to know if that's how it really looks or if it's just like misleading brochure pictures or something," she laughed. "My family and I are going back to Seoul," she smiled happily at the mention of her hometown. "We haven't been back since I started school here, so I'm excited."​