Magicae

Chapter 40: Field Trip

Alex looked over at Justin. "How many t-shirts do you think I'll need on this trip?"

Justin shrugged. "I don't know. We're only going to be there for three days. Pack three shirts."

"Yeah, but what if one if them gets dirty?" Alex stared at the shirts before tossing five into his suitcase. "That should be more than enough."

"Yeah," Justin agreed. "What are we even gonna be doing on this trip?"

"Who knows? But I hope we make s'mores." Alex grinned and closed his eyes.

"What are they?"

Alex's eyes popped back open. "What!? You've never had a s'more?"

Justin shook his head. "I grew up in the city."

"Oh man, you have got to try them. You roast a marshmallow, then you out it between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate, and it's super gooey and gets everywhere, but that's half the fun of it, and..." Alex's voice trailed off. "Justin?"

The other boy was staring out the window, seeming not listening. "Justin," Alex repeated.

"What?" Justin's head whipped around.

"You completely zoned out on me. I was telling you about the awesomeness of s'mores," Alex explained.

"Right, sorry. Just thinking, I guess."

"No problem," Alex said, launching back into his telling of s'mores.

***

"Justin Anderson! Get on the bus!"

Justin picked up his bag and glanced at Alex. "I'll save you a seat."

"Thanks."

Justin walked towards the bus, and Alex sighed. Justin seemed so different lately from the fast talking, energetic Alex had first met.

Something is wrong. I want to help him, but how?

A few people later, "Alex Dragoni!" was called, and Alex boarded the school bus.

Justin had gotten a seat towards the back, and Alex grinned. Perks of having a best friend whose last name is at the beginning of the alphabet.

"Nice seat, thanks," Alex commented. Justin smiled faintly.

"Thanks. Er- I mean, you're welcome."

More people boarded the bus, until the entire vehicle was full. Mrs. Proditor and several other teachers were the last to get on.

"All right, everyone. When I say your name, reply 'here.'

"Justin Anderson."

"Here!"

"Lily Boren."

"Here!"

The roll call continued.

"Alex Dragoni."

Alex craned his neck towards the front of the bus. "Here!"

"Emma Erora."

"Present!"

Some people chucked. Emma, Alex realized, was sitting in the seat in front of them with Juliette. Across the aisle was Penny and Geneva, locked in an intense, serious debate.

"You used to ship Harry and Hermione?!"

Alex couldn't help but tune into the conversation at Geneva's horrified voice.

"Key words used to!" Penny waved her arms wildly. "It was like four years ago! I was young and foolish!"

"But still—"

"And it wasn't even for that long! I was just angry at Ron after the Yule Ball, and I had a temporary lapse of judgement!"

Geneva took a breath. "Okay... You ship Romione now though, right?"

"Yes," Penny groaned. "That's what I've been trying to say. Romione is the ultimate ship."

Alex glanced over at them. "What's a ship?" he asked. Both girls openly gaped at him.

"You don't know what— it's short for relationship," Penny said. "Meaning you think someone would make a cute couple."

Alex blinked. "Wait, Ron and Hermione? I thought they argued all the time. And you think they would make a good couple?"

Geneva threw her hands up in the air. "I'm surrounded by fools."

"Hey!"

A girl behind them, across the aisle from Alex, popped her head over the seat. "Sorry to interrupt, but are you talking about Harry Potter?"

Penny nodded. "Yeah... Esmeralda, right?" Penny said. "You're in the dorm next to us. With Vivian."

"Yup!" Esmeralda said, brushing a strand of her long red hair behind her ear.

"What are the odds that three redheads would be next door to each other?" Geneva commented. "We should start a club!"

Esmeralda giggled as Alex watched. "That'd be cool!"

Sighing, Alex rolled back in his seat as the girls chattered about books. "Justin, you want to do something?"

The other boy didn't reply. His ear buds were in, and Justin was tapping a rhythm on his jeans as he stared out the window.

Alex sighed again. It was going to be a long ride.

Well, it's out. Another filler chapter that I struggled to write. But fortunately, I seem to be recovering from my bout of writer's block, and the next chapter will have some more action.

Funny story: While I was trying to write this, I was watching Dancing With the Stars. This season, Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies, is on the show. And Monday, she danced to Hedwig's Theme, and scored a 27 out of 30. (A really good score!)

But the funny part was that when she stated, I was in the living room watching with my mom, my sister was in bed, and my brother was in the kitchen. About twenty seconds into the song, my sister comes out of her room and my brother out of the kitchen, both asking, "Is that Harry Potter?"

Even my dad, who hasn't even read Harry Potter and only seen parts of the movies, came out of his room asking if that was Harry Potter.

In other words, I now know how to summon my family members.