Crossroads of Two Worlds

16- Deep Down I'm A Genius

We made it down to breakfast just on time and I was delighted to see not only eggs and bacon, but also waffles and French toast. Rose had left before us and was already feasting when we got there. We sat down on either side of her and she froze, obviously thinking we were someone else.

She slowly looked at me and sighed, relieved. After swallowing, she spoke in a slightly hysterical voice, "I thought you two were someone else!"

Kaley frowned, "Who else would sit by you?"

Rose rolled her eyes, "well I don't know! My family? Or maybe Quentin Devon has taken a fancy to me!?"

Quentin Devon was a very attractive fourth year Hufflepuff that every first year girl had immediately taken notice to. It was honestly hard not to.

I snorted and punched her playfully in the arm, "Yeah right!"

Rose practically threw her spoon down, "Could you maybe not insult me before I finish breakfast?"

I laughed,  spooning myself some porridge, "Well who else could we insult?! You know there's hardly anyone else around!"

I laughed and sat, dumping brown sugar on my breakfast.

From right behind me, inches away from my ear, a voice said, "You're ruining your porridge."

Thank goodness my mouth was full or else I would have screamed like a six year old girl right in James Potter's face. And I was not a girly girl. Any girly habits I'd ever had were squeezed out of me at camp this summer, fighting in the mud and climbing rock walls running with lava. In all reality, if he'd scared me any more he might have ended up with his face pinned on the table and his arm twisted behind his back. Nevertheless, as soon as I could swallow, I yelled in his face, "JAMES POTTER!!!!! Don't you sneak up on me like that! Ever!"

He just grinned and sat down next to Kaley, propping an elbow on the table and placing his head in his hand. In the last few days we hadn't even had the chance to talk to James, so he therefore hadn't met Kaley, the third member to our trio. He smiled in what he obviously thought was an attractive way and spoke to my friend, "Well hello beautiful, what might they call you?"

I choked on my juice as Kaley raised an eyebrow. She was beautiful, but if she had made anything clear when we talked late into the night, it was that she had no interest in boys.

She cleared her throat and turned to James with a deceivingly sweet smile, now that she was irritated her accent was thicker when she spoke, "Let's just get this out of the way. My name is Kalena, not "sweetheart" or "love" or even "beautiful." I'm eleven years old and I have three younger siblings and an older brother. And because of them, you have just put yourself in grave danger by flirting with me. I love to read and I know four different languages. This makes me much smarter than you unless for some reason you speak French. If so:  Vous êtes une pomme de terre avec le visage d'un cochon d'inde. Lastly, I will never be interested in you."

She then, amidst all the gasps of people around, went back to her breakfast. She ignored James's  friends who were making fun of him for getting turned down by a first year, and didn't look his way again.

James, shocked by her brutal refusal, returned to his laughing friends.

I reached wiped a fake tear from my eye, "I'm so proud of you! Standing up against players and Potters!"

She laughed, "It's just who I am."

Alice Longbottom leaned over to Kaley and asked quietly, "What did you say to him? You know, when you were speaking French?"

"I told him he was a potato with the face of a guinea pig. Don't fault me, I was in too much of a hurry to think of a better insult."

Alice snorted and returned to her bacon as I let out a loud laugh.