The Stands

[Agnes Baros]

“Like what?” She asked, purely to see what his wonderful solution would be if I’d thought it was a problem. She knew it was but it probably wasn’t as easy as all that. His next comment surprised how though. Sure she tried in class but it wasn’t as though she went above and beyond to make sure she passed. The only reason she did what she did was because she was told to, and if she failed her exams she would have even less options to pick from as an adult. Right now her parents let her choose from three careers but if she failed she knew she’d be destined for one in particular, and it wasn’t one she saw herself in. “Why do you think I study?” She asked, confused why this random boy was talking to her as though he even knew anything about her at all.

 

[William Kaimarama]

William didn't come to Quidditch matches often, but today felt special. He tried to come to as many of Abian's games as he could, but watching Slytherin always made William feel terrible. He loved playing Quidditch at home, and William wished he had the guts to try out, but every year when tryouts came a voice in the back of his head told him not to, reminding William that all that would ever come of putting himself out there like that was failure and embarrassment. He was good enough to play at home, sure, but he could never be good enough for Hogwarts.

Today, though, Beauxbatons was playing, and William knew he couldn't not attend. Though at school he had other things to think about, William hadn't been able to get Nadine off his mind since the summer holidays. She was pretty and nice, and William wished he had had more time with her before she had had to return to France. He knew she went to Beauxbatons though, so if there was any chance she was on the Quidditch team, William was going to attend. He didn't have to wait long, eyes widening as he recognised her amongst the French players immediately. There she was! Nadine was back! William wanted to wave, to get her attention, but he knew there was no chance she would see him in the crowd. And then the game was going ahead, and William could do nothing but watch, doing his best to ignore the Slytherin players and focus on Nadine. He winced when she got hit by a bludger, but couldn't hold back a cheer as she managed to score a goal despite that. William leaned forward in his seat as he watched the game, praying he would get a chance to catch up with her again before the Beauxbatons team returned to France.