SEA, SWALLOW ME, remus lupin

trì air fichead, the return of kettleburn

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
the return of kettleburn

𖦹 ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ˚⋆˚ 𖦹

   WHEN IT COMES TO CARE OF MAGICAL creatures, there are few pros and many cons.

Pro: Kettleburn is back from probation, meaning that Rigby has been sent packing and they can finally start doing more interesting assignments than writing essays every other week. She's missed being outside in the  unpredictable elements, accosted by the crisp autumn air and finally getting the chance to study the creatures up close after a few months without them. She'd take augury spotting in torrential storms over writing essays any day, especially with the unfair marking scheme Rigby seemed to follow. Sometimes, Cove would even get marks off for trying to sympathise with the creatures, which made her all sorts of angry. She swears that Rigby was just out to get her for no apparent reason, thankful to hear that she's gone for good. Or rather, Cove hopes that she is.

Con: Seeing as she's sat next to the boy she's trying her hardest to push away, there's a tense atmosphere of unadulterated awkwardness growing between them like a Venomous Tentacula sprouting from the soil. Enjoying the company of bowtruckles and jobberknolls isn't nearly as pleasant when there's so many unspoken things hanging in the air between them. It doesn't help that Kettleburn hasn't made any altercations to the seating plan seeing as he's preoccupied putting himself in danger for the thrill of it, sealing their fate as class partners until graduation.

So, to summarise:

Pro: She loves the creatures!

Con: She has to fucking sit next to Remus!

  Cove had been tossing and turning all night with that weighing on her mind, kept awake by her own guilt. When the alarm clock sounds, her night is solely marked by dark circles from the countless hours spent awake, worried about something Fallon continuously reassures her isn't going to be a big deal. To say the very least, she hasn't been looking forward to first period. Skiving class did cross her mind at one point or another, but she's a ball of nerves whenever she actually goes through with it and came to the conclusion that just sucking it up would be her best option yet.

  At breakfast, her eyes burn with exhaustion and she practically ends up asleep in her bowl of frosties, just barely propped up on her hand. Her friends are evidently worried about the state of her, making concerned eye contact across the table as they talk about the upcoming Halloween party. Fallon clears her throat obnoxiously loud, eyebrows jumping up and down as if to usher Mary into saying something comforting. She only rolls her eyes in response, adjusting her pristine robes, which stand out as a splash of crimson in a torrential sea of yellow.

Mary squeezes Cove's hand across the table, bracelets jingling. "It'll be fine," she reinforces, letting go to slather butter onto her toast. "You won't even know that he's there."

"Yeah," Fallon agrees through a mouthful. "He probably wants to avoid you just as much."

Mary kicks her shin under the table.

"Ow! What was that for?"

She makes a disgusted face. "You know fine well. And chew with your mouth closed, you minger. Do you have any manners?"