Wristbands | Sirius Black [1]

Chapter Three

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[Chapter Three: Wristbands]

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As the school year progressed, professors became more vigorous with their homework and exams. Almost every day a new project was assigned with a correlating pop quiz worth just as much as their 'grade-defining' examinations. Aspen was no longer maintaining any aspect of her post-summer honeymoon phase and was thereby irrevocably stressed, to say the least. Procrastination plagued her throughout the day, and once she finally finished her work (usually hours past-bedtime), she was plagued with spells of impounding dread. It usually led her to falling asleep with tears staining her eyes and shirt, feeling physically inept by the time she was supposed to wake up.

    That particular morning, she had both finished her physical homework and studying for the night, but her mind was unfinished, herding her into a near-mental breakdown. It was as if she was in a dream where she showed up somewhere with that one VERY important thing needed for the day to successfully go by. She skipped dinner the night before, sure–but that was intentional. Not forgotten. She did her Charms homework, and studied chapters 14-16 for the incoming History of Magic examination. She rewrote three short Transfiguration essays to perfection, reminded Wendy of her own schoolwork that required attention (as requested the night before), and even remembered to tell Evelyn to wish her father a 'Happy Birthday!'

    By all accounts, Aspen Lee was probably overthinking–again. A chronic issue that constantly plagues her, and is 9 out of 10 times utterly exaggerated and incorrect.

Alas, it had come to pass that she did, in fact, forget something; the FOURTH short essay due in Transfiguration.

The day started out ordinarily, she got up out of bed, dressed in her uniform, and immediately went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Of course after attempting to kindly wish the Nutcracker a 'good-bye and good-day,' to which the Nutcracker responded with a kick. It cracked the glass with a minute click, Aspen was both impressed and bothered. She quickly fixed the glass with a flick of her wand and then put a blanket over his jar to discourage any attempted escapes throughout the day.

Entering the Great Hall, her day was already off to a poor start. The doors whipped open against the doorframe causing all attention to turn toward her. She went wide-eyed and lowered her head, continuing her walk toward the long gryffindor table. What a wonderful way to start her day! Her friends were already fortunately sitting at the table which allowed her to quickly engross herself before any more panic could set in.

Sitting down beside Evelyn, she grabbed a plate and filled it with nearly everything at their section of the table. She grabbed two eggs, two pieces of toast, two pieces of sausage, and a single brownie. In a matter of minutes, the only thing left on the table was the brownie. It was her tactic, eat all the healthy stuff and save the poison for last. By the end, she was always too stuffed to eat the poison. She grabbed a handkerchief and wiped the crumbs from her mouth, scanning the room quietly to make sure no one noticed... What did she not want to notice? Is she eating? Right! Eating was embarrassing, especially when she ate in abundance. Fortunately, no one had noticed other than her two best friends who stared at her with bewilderment. She didn't really care about what they thought about her. Friends came and went, yes she'd be hurt if she lost them—but she'd survive. If she could survive without a mother she could survive without Evelyn Reid or Wen–