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Post by Jay Leon Black on Sept 2, 2009 23:41:26 GMT -5
Jay often found himself in this position, lying face down into his pillow with a book on his lap. It was a school textbook--Herebology, if he remembered correctly. Staring upward, he wondered bitterly if if it was wrong to love the school year over the summer. After all, summer was the time of relaxation, and fun. School was hectic, and caused inordinate amounts of stress.
However, even considering that, he still felt he liked school better. It may have been wrong, but it was true. In Hogwarts, he only passed his brother a few times a day--and it was never awkward. They shared a gentle greeting and then went about their business with their respective friends. When they were both confined to the halls of Grimmuald Place, they were expected to get along. It wasn't that he didn't like his brother, on the contrary really. They just didn't share much nor have a lot in common.
He briefly wondered where the other occupants of the house were, but the thought only lingered in the back of his mind. Chances were that Astrid was holed up in her room and Jared had gone outside to clear his head. His brother liked the outdoors, Jay had noticed that many a time. It was one of the few things the two brothers shared.
He heard a quiet footstep outside his door and sat up, the book on his stomach sliding off and making a rather awkward noise on the hard wood floor below him. He rubbed his forehead, swung his legs over the headboard of the bed and stood up. He unconsciously raised his eyebrow and waited for the hinges to swing open and reveal whomever had decided to interrupt his precious study time.
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Post by jaredblack on Sept 2, 2009 23:59:57 GMT -5
Boredom was not one of those feelings that Jared long tolerated, and that afternoon seemed tailor-made for it. Once again - and not for the first time that week, either - the Black children were home alone, as their parents were off on business of some sort. Going outside for fresh air seemed better than staying inside the dank and rather bleak interior of Number 12, but there was only so many times that one could walk around the courtyard. He had parameters to stay within, and knew them - his mother was pretty good at drilling points into his head.
Not allowed to leave the courtyard, he found himself resigned to going back inside. Being very quiet about it for fear of waking up the portrait of Walburga Black at the end of the hall - the grandmother who was definitely not fond of the misbred offspring of her runaway son - he managed to make it up the stairs to the third floor landing much like a ghost. Astrid, he knew for a fact, wouldn't be a very entertaining subject at that time, so it was his second choice to see what his twin had found to do. Studying came to mind, but that was something he stoicly refused to do during break. It was hard enough to focus during the school year.
Not so much as knocking to announce his presence, he opened Jason's door and stepped in, glancing towards his near mirror-image to spot the raised eyebrow. "What, am I past my days of being able to surprise you?" He asked blithely, folding his arms in an all-too-casual manner before leaning back against the doorjamb, conveniently leaving the door open.
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Post by Jay Leon Black on Sept 3, 2009 0:10:57 GMT -5
So, it was his brother Jared. He'd been expecting Astrid, honestly. She sometime came up to his part of the house to retrieve a book of some sort. However, this time he was blessed by the presence of his brother who was more often than not found outside throwing any sort of sports ball against a wall in the courtyard. He shoved the Herebology book back behind his shelving unit so he would avoid yet another teasing session about his study habits. He could do without that for one day-- at least it would be rather nice. "No, you're just getting a little too perdictable, to be honest. You roam around the courtyard for a while and then, when you get too bored of yourself, come and find either Astrid or myself to see if we've come up with a better solution to boredom than you have. Then, you unfortunately discover, that the only other solution is schoolwork. Since you refuse to do that over break, you are once again stuck with a problem that neither of the smart Black children can help you with." He grinned and sat back down on the bed to show his brother he was merely teasing him. He shut his eyes for a moment before looking back at his brother. He couldn't help but notice that he was looking in the the direct view of his Herebology book, and had perhaps seen it after all. Letting out a sigh, he chuckled a little at his lame attempt to hide it at first. |
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Post by jaredblack on Sept 3, 2009 0:22:27 GMT -5
"Oh, please don't strike me over the head with the 'smart Black children' ploy again." Somehow, Jared was able to keep the exasperation out of his voice, a miracle in and of itself. He knew the comment was meant in teasing fashion, but it was something he was constantly reminded of. His teachers constantly reminded him that he wasn't blessed with the brains his brother was, and he was sure he'd be hearing the same thing about his younger sister this coming year. Just what he wanted.
"I can admit you have the brains, but they aren't everything." This wasn't a jab, and he kept his tone conversational and calm to go with it. He had noticed the Herbology textbook, but if something moved at all, he rarely missed it. His reflexes were top-notch in keeping with his skill at most sports, but he decided not to take the teasing route - finding it a waste of breath. "Though I guess you'd much rather be reading that textbook instead of talking to me, hm?"
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Post by Jay Leon Black on Sept 3, 2009 0:31:06 GMT -5
"You don't have to be so cynical, Jared. Sure, I rather like reading that textbook, but I also don't mind having a nice little chat with my little brother." He smirked a bit when he put emphisas on the 'little'. He knew that Jared despised being called his 'younger' brother, because technically they were twins. He folded his arms now and chewed on the bottom half of his lip. Some of the conversations he had with brother grew from teasing to slightly awkward, and when that happened he wasn't fond of it. So, he decided for now that teasing wasn't the smartest route to take. "Well, I know you haven't been studying, so If I may ask, how have you been spending the time our parents have been away? I'm curious to know." |
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Post by jaredblack on Sept 3, 2009 0:36:03 GMT -5
Pointedly making no response to having the customary 'little' applied, Jared simply smirked and adjusted his position, backbone now perfectly aligned with the edge of the doorframe. This had him blocking the view of the hallway outside and made it seem as if he was hedging both of them in. "Catching up on letters from friends, adding the finishing touches to a few of the assigned summer essays, entertaining Cocoa..the usual. Oh, and you don't have to be shocked that I actually have been doing a bit of coursework, I already know you will be. You can forgo the act."
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Post by Jay Leon Black on Sept 3, 2009 10:40:05 GMT -5
Jay smiled a bit and leaned forward. It wasn't news to him that Jared had done some homework. Well, it would be news to him if Jared had enjoyed it. "Oh, I know you've done some coursework. I mean, you'd have to to keep sane in this dull house, wouldn't you agree? Cocoa just isn't that entertaining after long periods of time, unless of course he's eating your parchment. Which in that case, you might have a legitimate excuse as to why you didn't finish them." He glanced past his brother and into the hallway behind him. His view was obstructed by part of Jared's arm, but he could barely see the outline of a pictureframe that no doubt held one of the 'interesting' Black family members of the past. On certain occasions, he had tried to speak with some of them on his late night strolls through the house. It almost always ended badly, so after a while he'd stopped trying. "Ever tried to have a conversation with a painting? I must say, it's rather dull seeing as they all view us as the offspring of a traitor. However, it is rather interesting and a good waste of time." |
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Post by jaredblack on Sept 3, 2009 15:39:01 GMT -5
"I guess. Not much to do once you've wandered each of the floors about a dozen times in two days. Don't get me started on Cocoa, either.." He rolled his eyes, as the rather ditzy dog had decided recently that tearing up random objects in his room was perfectly acceptable. Then again, he had to imagine being cooped up as that dog was would be even worse than the boredom he faced.
"Have I ever talked to..paintings? This question made him raise both eyebrows, looking at his twin almost as if he'd grown another head all of a sudden. "No, I can honestly say that I haven't. Best I ever tried was shouting at the painting of dear grandmum downstairs. Never tried that again, either."
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