2013. Friday

 

It's the first trial.

Everyone is assembled around the Nicholas Flamel fountain watching the champions struggling in the Cave of Misfortune on the other side of the academy. If most of them are sat by the school, there is small group of the three schools hanging together, the academy allowed the foreign students to wear their own uniform to support their own champion. Clare is sat between Brice and Corinna who are bickering time to time, couldn't stand each other out; the former couldn't deal with the latter's upside behave and Corinna couldn't bear Brice's hot blood.

That's until Ake comes and greets her. Ake is her Swedish correspondent, they meet the first day of school and since then they bond, they start running together early in the morning to exercise the body. At least, it's like a daily exercise for the Durmstrang students, Clare just sees it like a torture. They talk about things and others, being as light as their first talk but it calms her two friends. Then, every attention is turned to the fountain where images of the three champions appears. There are puddle in the Cave and the professors enchanted them to reflect what appear to the fountain so the students could watch.

Once Clare hears the rules, she starts to zone out, the trial could be quite long, especially the beginning despite the delay to exit within the one hour. So she looks around and finds she's not the only one who's bored. A fifth year that Teddy introduces them because she's redhead is reading a manga.

You have to know that the relationship between Clare and manga is really long and deep. Everything began eight years ago, when, at eight, she went to the library alone and lost herself in the manga shelf thus beginning the story. But since she starts Hogwarts, it's quite difficult to keep reading manga, she couldn't borrow the book too long and she doesn't want to buy, so starting a collection was a big no-no as some serie were somewhat too long.

So when Lara turns one more page, she gathers enough bravery and murmurs at her ear:

"What are you reading?"

The fifth year turns to her and smiles, she shows her the jacket of the book.

"Color. Is it a one shot?"

"Yeah, do you wanna read?"

"Oh, I don't want to bother you, you were reading..."

"I already finished it. 'Was just reading some authors' notes."

"Is that so? I always read them within the manga itself."

"I did too, before. But it often spoils us so I stopped times ago. Here you go," Lara invites her by giving her the manga.

Clare looks at the fountain where the reflection of the champions are running madly since there is already half the time left and at her neighbors who are mesmerized, then starts to read quietly. But as the story evolutes, she has a feeling to be ogled. Or perhaps the manga is being ogled.

"Corinna! Couldn't you have say something?"

"What are you reading?" Her friend barely aknowledges her accusation.

"A manga."

"Oh. Your Japanese comics books?"

"Call whatever you want...," she sighs before going back to read.

The story deals about two guys bonding. They're like one soul split in two, what we call soul sister, and the lector follow the evolution of their friendship until... Well, until soul sister become soul mate.

"What the... Is it a porn?" Corinna stutters.

"What are you reading?" A male voice asks Clare.

It surprises her so much she starts and closes the book at where she left.

"Ake, how are you?" She deflects.

"Fine, Nels is first."

Nels is Ake's best-friend and also Durmstrang's champion, understanding that, Clear also realizes the first trial has ended.

"Oh, right. Congratulation, I guess."

Ake grins before letting her to join his friends.

"How nice of him to wait till you finish reading to tell you that."

"Yeah, it's not like I bet or something..."

Corinna frowns at her friend's answer.

"Anyway, how's our champion?" Corinna asks their neighbors Brice and Lara.

"You mean, Beaux Bâtons? Or Hogwarts?" Lara arches an eyebrow.

"Well, what's the outcome?" Clare huffs.

"They're ex aequo," Brice tells them.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Berthe and Leon were as fast as each other but once they're in front of the chest, they jump at the hint together and split it in two."

"Oh my, and what happen?"

"They had to face to know who got the next hint," Brice shrugs before standing up and leaving the fountain.

The girls follow suit and Clare gives back the manga to her owner.

"So, how is it?" Lara asks her.

"I- I didn't... I'm not used at those kind of manga."

"What kind? Too rated M or..."

"Homosexual," Corinna finishes.

"...are you homophobic?"

"No, but I won't be excited to see those graphs again."

"And I totally get it. I mean, why would you want to see sex scene unless you're sexually obsessed?"

"Well, I admit I'm a perv but only for 2D males."

That's... actually not better. But everyone has their kink. Like Brice's classmate Côme, who's so obsessed with the school's newspaper that he had to call back Lara, member of the club too.

"Tu peux arrêter de toujours traîner avec ce manga et le présenter à tout le monde comme une propagande?"

"Je ne vois pas de quoi tu parles," Lara answers back because that's the only sentence in French she could say without mistake.

Since, you know, French people like to taunt their opponent by playing dumb.

"Bref, on n'a pas que ça à faire, je te rappelle que tu es celle qui se charge des suggestions et statistiques, alors mets-toi au travail."

The school's newspaper could be found online and is called Beaux Papiers because it was printed on paper before the staffs thought about environmental protection (especially since they're wizards) and changed it to posts on the school's site. And, yes, Beaux Bâtons got networks and wi-fi and even a computer room, very modern, innit?

Though, the networks works only inside some buildings (the palace itself, the gymnasium, the planetarium and the tree house in the sleeping forest) because there are protection to be seen from above.

Students from every level could be part of the journalism club but this year, Côme is the one in charge and speaks mostly in Frech to all the members, whether they could understand it or not.

"Chill, everyone is already talking about today's result, they won't go online till later," Brice sighs.

Côme shots him a grim look.

"It's not because you're not interested that some people won't crash the site."

Clare will always find French's english funny.

But unlike her friend Corinna, she could keep her feeling, as she snorts. Like, it would be the third time in one month while she barely heard it in four years of friendship.

"No wonder why mister is so boring if he's not interested in anything about his school."

Brice doesn't react, already thinking she's a lost cause.

"So, we just have free time till diner?" Clare says to lighten the mood.

"You have nothing to do until meal time," Lara corrects her.

Yeah, well, she's not the one who choose to be in a such busy club. The two journalism members leave them at the step of high school wing to head for the main wing.

"Do you want to keep embroidering?" Corinna asks her.

Clare thinks she did so purposely to isolate Brice. But Brice must like them or like to annoy Corinna because he seems hella interested in this manual labor.

"Oh, you embroider? I thought you just read in your spare time?"

Well, it's easier. But now he seems interested she wants to see him trying too.

"I also sew and knit, my mother taught me as it's her career."

"Cool, we should do that too."

Corinna lost her smile and looks like having biten into a lemon. Her plan backfired and she now has to bear the afternoon with an annoying presence.

Clare can't stop her bubbly laugh.