The Perks of Being a Rowling

vii. quiditch 101

     “Is there something going on between you and Mason?” I look up from my English textbook to see Jenna patiently awaiting my answer.

            “No…” I really wasn’t in the mood for this conversation at the moment. Finals are approaching soon, and I really want to go to London with a stress-free attitude. “Why?”

            “It’s just that you two have been hanging around a lot lately, and I was just wondering if…you know,” she replies.

            “Mason and I have been hanging out because of that stupid deal he got me into. That’s all.” I return back to pretending to be interested in why rhetorical devices are important in one’s writing.

            “Sure.” She winks at me and turns back to her laptop like this conservation is over, even though we both know this conversation is nowhere near it.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, not sure I want to hear her answer.

            “Just that I mean you do know that Mason is into you, right? It’s pretty obvious.”

            “What?” I shake my head in disbelief. “No he’s not. The only female Mason has ever even thought about romantically is probably going to be Hermione Granger.”

            “Oh come on, Libby.” She rolls her eyes. “Don’t act like you don’t see it.”

            “See what?” I don’t know what’s worse; that Jenna assumes Mason -god forbid- has feelings for me, or that she assumes I can’t tell when a guy has feelings for me.

            “Behind the whole Harry Potter nonsense of his. It’s just an excuse for him to spend time with you.”

            “Or maybe Mason is a delusional overly-obsessed Harry Potter fan that he refuses to believe that someone doesn’t like the boy who lived?”

            “I like my theory better,” she retorts.

            “For the sake of sanity, I’m going to stick with mine.” I reply.

            “Fine.”

            We both return back into our studies even though my mind wasn’t focused on studying at all. What if Jenna was right? Maybe Mason was using the Harry Potter thing to get close to me. I shake my head. I’m not going to overthink this: Mason is just obsessed with Harry Potter and cannot handle that I’m not.

            I repeat that statement to myself over fifty times, and I’m still not sure I believe it.

****                              

            “So I’m sure you’re wondering why we are here…in the middle of an empty field.”

            “Mason,” I sigh. “At this rate, there’s no need for wondering- nothing you do is normal.”

            Mason grins and then pats me on the back. “Finally! Someone understands.”

            He did leave me wondering, though. The only time I’ve ever seen a guy take a girl into an empty field is for one of two reasons: to have sex, or to murder her.

            I am 125% sure that there is no way in hell Mason and I will be having sex so I take a few steps back just to be sure. Mason is carrying what I presume to be a laptop bag, but one can never be too careful. Somehow in the midst of thinking that Mason is a killer, the conversation Jenna and I had yesterday kept coming back to my mind.