chapter nine.
teenagers can suck
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ELECTRA GROANED AT THE NOISE FILLING HER DORM. You would think that after four years Marietta would be better at getting ready early without making a loud noise. She was not. Electra was pretty sure that it was barely even light outside and here Marietta and Aileen were awake and getting ready for the day. Aileen has mastered the skill better than Marietta, she was not rummaging through her things, that did not stop her voice from being heard through the room.
"Marietta," Aileen hissed at her best friend, "Quiet," she warned. Electra heard Marietta freeze rummaging through the deep blue curtains surrounding her bed.
"It's too late, Chang," Sue Li announced and Electra heard her pull her curtains open so she could see Marietta and Aileen.
"I think we're all awake," Mandy followed suit, from the noise of her curtains Electra could tell Mandy pulled them apart with a little more pizazz than Sue did, that was Mandy.
"Shh, Electra," Aileen hushed again. Electra took that as her cue to open her curtain.
"It's too late," she told them as her curtain pulled back revealing their room to her.
"Sorry guys," Marietta winced, receiving multiple gestures brushing it off. They were used to it by now.
"Definitely not sleeping till noon now," Mandy muttered sitting up in bed leaning against her headboard as Electra slinked back down underneath her covers and Sue lay on her stomach bringing her pillow with her as she lay at the opposite end of the bed.
"Those were your plans, Mandy?" Marietta questions finally producing the make-up product she'd been searching for.
"Got a better one?" Mandy questioned.
Marietta was holding her compact mirror in one hand and her eyeliner in the other but before she could both answer Mandy and figure out how to hold the mirror and do her makeup Aileen walked the small distance over from the end of her bed opposite Marietta's, having finished getting ready herself, plucking the mirror out of Marietta's hand holding it for her to look into, "Thanks, Aileen," she thanked her best friend before starting her make up and answering Mandy, "Well, Mandy, I'm gonna take a look at those Durmstrang boys. See if I can attract their attention, they'll be bored now they know who's competing," she explained expertly finishing her first eye before pointing at Aileen as she said her name and then moving on to the next eye, "I tried to convince Aileen to go with me but she's gonna go practice Quidditch. Which makes no sense as there's no Quidditch this year,"
"That's why," Aileen answered, emphasising the word why, "I don't want to be rusty. I've just gotta find someone to practise with me,"
"Ask Cedric," Mandy suggested with a smirk.
Aileen turned to look at Mandy with an exasperated expression, "Mandy he's on another team, I don't wanna reveal my play,"
"But he is another seeker, could give you tips," Sue suggested with a shrug.
Marietta capped her eyeliner taking the compact mirror back from Aileen, "That's not what Mandy meant guys," she told them. Electra chuckled lightly.
Aileen quickly grabbed the scrounged up t-shirt at the end of the bed, chucking it at Mandy, "Oh shut up Mandy," everyone but Aileen laughed.
"You're meant to catch things not throw them," Mandy said, picking it up from where it had fallen into her lap after she blocked it with her arms, "You sure you're a seeker, not a chaser?" Mandy taunted throwing it back at her.
Aileen caught it easily before she glared playfully back at her. "I'm guessing then that none of you want to come practice Quidditch with me?" she assumed correctly as she folded her t-shirt placing it at the end of her bed.
"No," Sue and Electra answered at the same time. They smiled making eye contact before Sue raised her hand and they air high-fived.
"None of us play Quidditch, other than you and Sue," Mandy told Aileen.
"You could," Aileen argued.
Mandy pretended to consider it before deciding, "Not today,"
Electra tried to reach for her copy of Pride and Prejudice on her bedside cabinet without leaving the warmth of her duvet. Just as she reached it Aileen called her name, "Electra," which called her to drop it.
"Fuck," she muttered looking down at the book, "What?" she asked hanging off the edge of her bed for it.
"Your dad was a professional keeper, right?" Aileen sort to confirm.
"No, he just has trouble not burning diner," Electra joked, "Yes for the Banchory Bangers and Caerphilly Catapults," she answered seriously, it was when he had been with the Catapults that Andrew had strolled into the florist where Clara worked.
"So don't you know about Quidditch?" Aileen asked as Electra wrapped her fingers around her book pulling it under the covers with her.
"As much as my dad wishes that was the truth the answer is no," Electra responded to Aileen.
"What about Robin?" Aileen asked.
"He also wants me to understand, I don't," Electra answered she kind of knew that wasn't the question really but she was on this path she's gotta commit, "Nor is my dad his dad,"
"Doesn't he play?" Aileen confirmed.
"Yeah, he wants to be on the team as a chaser," she answered properly.
"Do you think if I asked he'd practise with me?" Aileen asked her last question.
"Who would say no?" Electra shrugged, smiling at Aileen.
"You guys did," Aileen answered like it was obvious, which is kind of was.
"Cause we don't play Chang," Sue answered.
"Yes you do, Li," Aileen answered back, copying Sue's tendency to call people by their last names by emphasising Sue's last name.
"Not right now," Sue shrugged.
"Bixby will say yes, Corner probably will too," Marietta assured Aileen, continuing the last name thing. But at the mention of Micheal Corner Electra, Mandy and Sue made sounds of disapproval either scoffing or grumbling.
"What's you guy's problem with Michael?" Aileen asked them.
"Principal," was Mandy's simple answer. Aileen rolled her eyes in response.
"Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady," Mandy pretended to scold, "That is not the way to treat your peers,"
"You're a hypocrite," Aileen responded simply.
"Why thank you," Mandy waved her hands into a bow the best she could whilst sitting down.
"That's not a compliment," Marietta says before applying her lip gloss looking into her compact mirror again.
"She knows," Sue responds glancing over to where Mandy is smirking, "Trust me she knows,"
"Marietta, you almost done?" Aileen asks, turning to her best friend.
Marietta snaps her mirror shut, "Just start walking without me I'll catch up in one second," she picks her Mary Janes up that she hasn't put on yet waving them in Aileen's direction.
Aileen decides it's definitely best to start making her way to breakfast, maybe she'd see someone she could ask about Quidditch, "Enjoy your days' guys," she waves walking out of the room, everyone waves her off.
"I'm guessing you guys don't wanna go with me either," Marietta asks as she sits down to put her shoes on.
"No," Electra and Sue at the same time again.
"We got to stop meeting like this Sue," Electra jokes, smiling at Sue.
"You sure you want that, Deveraux?" Sue jokes right back and Electra laughs.
"Stop flirting, you too," Mandy says.
"Course my dear," Sue promises before winking at Electra and making a fake phone with her hand gesturing for Electra to call her in a jokey manner. Electra mimics that.
"Leave them to it," Marietta tells Mandy, starting to put her second shoe on, "What are you gonna do then?" she asks Mandy.
"Sleep," Mandy answers simply.
"Course, why did I expect anything different," Marietta rolls her eyes standing up with both shoes on her feet grabbing her jacket and holding onto it before twirling, "What do you think?" she asks.
"You'll knock 'em dead," Mandy assures. Cause Marietta looks good as always.
"I know," she responds smugly, as she should, "See ya," she says goodbye being waved off just like Aileen was.
"Finally," Mandy sits up further in her bed when the door closes, "Wanna bitch about them behind their backs?" she jokes smacking her hands on the duvet. They all laugh.
Electra pulls out her book from under the covers to open it, "Hey, Electra," Sue calls, "What book are you currently reading?"
"Erm Pride and Prejudice,"
"Again?" Sue asks, no judgement in her voice, just wondering.
"How many times?" Mandy asks in the same tone as Sue.
"This is the sixth," Electra shrugs.
"Must be good," Mandy muses, "You recommend it?"
"Yeah, Jane Austen is a brilliant writer," Electra smiles, "And the characters as well are spectacular," she trails off worried they wouldn't be interested but she could tell they were, "If you want you can borrow this copy when I'm done or I can probably get you one,"
"No don't worry about it," Mandy waves it off before Electra could get disappointed Sue speaks.
"You could read it to us," she suggests.
"Proving once again why you're in Ravenclaw there, Sue," Mandy proclaims, "That is if you want Electra?" she quickly checked.
"Yeah," Electra nods, "You might be confused by where I am though," she worries, "You've missed the beginning,"
"Then start there," Mandy says simply, "And come over here you're too far away," she gestures to her, "Sit on my bed, budge up, Sue" she gets up, bringing her duvet to sit next to Sue.
"Anything for you my dear" Sue says as they sit cross-legged on her bed facing Mandy's.
Electra brings her duvet and a scrap piece of paper for a bookmark climbing walking around Aileen's bed which is closer to her walking to where Sue and Mandy's beds are right next to each other facing the wall Electra's bed is closest to. She also wraps her duvet around her like Mandy and Sue facing them.
"So keep in mind this a muggle book from the early eighteen hundreds, the regency era," she explains opening the book to the first page, "So if you're confused feel free to ask me questions," Mandy and Sue nod.
"Will do," Mandy gave a thumbs up.
"I'm excited," Sue exclaimed.
"Okay," Electra smiled, "Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Chapter One," she read aloud, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife..."
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AFTER A FEW CHAPTERS OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE THEY DECIDED THEY WERE HUNGRY. So they went down for their breakfast. Electra had made note of the way Marietta was batting her eyes at the boys of Durmstrang. She thought it might be going well. So did Mandy, she made a comment. Electra couldn't see Robin anywhere, but she couldn't see Aileen either so she guessed that they were out on the quidditch pitch. Electra opted to leave the Hall after the only thing left of her breakfast was a piece of toast. Mandy and Sue were caught up in their own little world. They did that a lot.
As Electra chews on what's left of her toast she walks into the entrance hall seeing Neville walking away from her, "Hey, Neville," she calls as she catches up with him.
"Hey, Electra," Neville greats with a kind smile, "How are you?"
Electra shrugs as she finishes her toast, "I'm alright, you?" she returns the question.
"I'm good," Neville responds, "I'm just going down to the lake. Moody gave me this book about Magical Water-plants of the Highland Lochs," he pointed towards the way he was facing which led to the lake.
"You mind if I come with you?" Electra asks, hoping he says yes, still worried he won't.
"No, come on," he agrees with a smile himself, "You interested in Water-plants?" he wonders as they start to walk his book under his arm.
"I just wanna hang out but I'd be willing to learn," Electra smiles at him.
Neville smiles back at her before asking, "What book you got?"
Electra smiles at him asking, "Pride and Prejudice," she tells him, as she has before.
"Haven't you read that before?" he wonders.
Warmth grows in Electra's chest at the fact he remembers, "Yeah, I like it," she nods, "Tell me about those Water-plants, Neville," Electra requests and Neville is happy to.
Now Harry was not having a good morning for glaringly obvious reasons. Mainly the fact that his best friend was mad at him for something he didn't even do. He was too wrapped up in his annoyance that he almost didn't notice Neville with his trousers rolled up on the edge of the lake until Hermione greeted him.
But then he did notice how Electra was leaning her back against a tree as she watched Neville's wading. She hugged her legs to her chest as she watched with a smile. "Hey, Electra," Harry says after greeting Neville.
"Hey, Harry," she greets, "And Hermione,"
"Hey, Electra," Hermione responds, "How are you?"
"Alright, you?" Electra nods at her.
"Alright," Hermione parrots.
"Harry?" Electra asks.
"What?" Harry questions.
"How are you?" Electra asks, "I'm guessing it begins in not and ends in good,"
"Something like that," Harry responds.
Electra makes an understanding expression, "Sadly I do not have anything to make you feel better. I could not pry information out of my dad. But I will not give up. Do not lose hope,"
"Oh don't worry I'm just full of hope," Harry responds and Electra rolls her eyes.
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TEENAGERS CAN INDEED SUCK. At this moment Electra's specific frame of reference is Michael Corner. Electra was already annoyed by most of the things Michael did. She didn't have a sound reason. He just pissed her off. But Robin liked him. So Electra just ignored him. But right now he was going on and on about the incredibly false article written about Harry Potter crying over his dead parents, she was pretty sure he did not. Also the Hermione dating thing, she could tell it was completely false, she also had a male best friend. It wasn't just Michael it was everyone. But right now it was Michael. Also, Michael sucks.
"Electra, what do you think?" Robin asks, he could tell she had an opinion and sure he liked Michael but right now he sucked.
"I think Rita Skeeter is a disgrace to the name of journalism who only publishes scandalous falsehoods to inflate her own monstrous ego," Electra responds before looking back down at the homework they were meant to be working on instead of gossiping.
"Falsehoods?" Michael repeats.
"She's lying, Michael," Electra looks back up at Michael, annoyed.
"I know what that means," Michael responds, offended, "Why would she lie?"
"To have a scoop," Electra responds with a shrug, "Do you really think a teenage boy would tell some random woman he's never met before he cries about his parents? Not very impressive is it,"
"I can't believe you're defending Potter," Michael proclaims, "You should be on Diggory's side," he points to his badge, "Potter Stinks," he says as it switches, pushing it into Electra's face.
Electra lightly pushes him away from her, "I'm defending truth, Michael," she responds, "There's a difference," she looks back at her homework, finishing her sentence, "Also never shove anything in my face ever again," she decides she's done, "Now I have somewhere else to be," she says even though she doesn't bit just to get out of there.
"What's gotten into her?" Michael asks as Electra walks out of the common room.
"A desire for truth to triumph," Robin responds, he then gathers his own stuff to follow her out into the castle.
A/N More #Sandy content
Electra is the leader of the Hate Michael club, she just hates him, like you do.
I am still writing this I will finish one day my interests get taken else where, adhd tings. But I always come back here to Electra.
I hope you enjoyed!! Love Nell xx