Wandering the Corridors ((Rachel))

[Ethan Jacobs G5]

Ethan walked around the corridors of Hogwarts surrounded by people. Ezzie was not far from him, but surrounded by quite a different group of people. He was cornered by close friends who he talked to often. They were all boys, except for maybe the lingering little girl staring at him from the back of the crowd. Ezzie was followed by a large group of girls who were talking at the speed of light with the occasion boy of course. This was how Ethan and Ezzie walked around the corridors these days. Ethan had been followed by large groups of friends a lot, but Ezzie was new at it. He could see her awkward face from far away. She smiled once in a while and listened to the stories of her friends, but mostly she just wanted to get to her class. Ezzie was one of the few smart girls in that group of friends, and enjoyed her studies. She was the person who always helped Ethan with his last minute studying. Every time she helped him out, he passed with at least a decent grade. He knew that if something terrible were to ever happen to her singing career, she would surely have her intelligence to fall back upon. He smiled a bit as his friend told him about the wild time he had with his girlfriend the other day. He really could care less, but he didn’t tell his friend that of course. “So Ethan, how are you and Ezzie going? You know, if you two don’t work out, I can always take her off your hands for you. Now she is one delicious piece of meat.” Ethan’s jaw clenched. He hated the way his friend talked about Ezzie. She wasn’t a piece of meat; she was a living breathing person. She was special to him. He would murder his friend if he ever tried anything on Ezzie. He hid his emotions and spoke to his friend with a mischievous smirk. “I don’t kiss and tell.” His friends cheered and Ethan chuckled softly. “Shut up guys. God, don’t you have any dignity? Please, go obsess over your own girlfriends! I know mine is ten times hotter than yours, but what are you going to do?” He smiled a bit. “Don’t you guys have a class to go to?”

Just as Ethan had said this, the late bell rang and every student but him scattered. He didn’t have a class now, so he wasn’t rushing anywhere. He was glad to finally be free from the large group and the prying questions. He looked around for Ezzie, but then he remembered she had History of Magic now. Ethan walked around the corridors with nothing much to do. He had plenty of homework, but he really didn’t feel like getting to it just yet. Most of it was due the next day, but Ethan was proud to say he was a procrastinator. He’d save the homework for after dinner, when Ezzie could help him out with it. He had an exam in a few days, but he wasn’t going to start studying until tomorrow. Some would call his procrastination a bad thing, but he liked it. He worked better under the pressure of time. He also worked better when Ezzie was around to help, which tended to be a day or so before the work is due. He shrugged as he walked toward the Great Hall. He was hungry, even though he had just eaten lunch. Then he saw it-a large window facing the grounds. Ethan loved to look at beautiful scenery, especially if that scenery was Hogwarts grounds. He stopped to look out the window. The sun was high up in the air and there were few people outside. He’d go out to the grounds later that day. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy the view. Ethan was so absorbed in the beautiful scenery outside that he didn’t hear the footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor.

[Rachel Cohen R6]

Forever. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of the concept. It was one she couldn’t swallow. To large, to vague, it was so hollow. Her heart continued to behave irrationally as she tried to swallow enough air so the oxygen could reach her brain. Hopefully the sane region so she would be able to think in a rational manner. She felt hot, as if she was on fire and her breathing was a tad on the irregular side. Her long pale hands gripped the desk hard and if imaginable turned her knuckles even whiter than they naturally where. “Forever?” She whispered questionably, slowly, and dangerously low. At the sound of her own voice her heart raced even faster. No one was around, and for this she was more afraid. I might have to rephrase that actually. No one was there in the physical terms any way. There was of course someone in spirit. The letter, especially the last line of the letter rang in her head as if real words where spoken. As if she was hearing his voice again, it was impossible to believe this of course, yet she heard it with every word she had read. I will love you forever. That was the last line for the curious. A chill was sent down her spine at the creepiness of the whole ordeal. Why was this letter being delivered to her just now? It was a letter from her father. One he left for her in his will. That was forever ago, years ago. She was only receiving it now. It scared her in a way she never felt fear before. On a level she only read about. It was hardly fair the effect the letter had on her. She was supposed to be strong. “Enough!” She announced to herself sternly her voice full of authority. She wasn’t going dwell on this any longer. This was no way to deal with a situation this … unusual. It took a few moments for her to convince her mind that this was ridicules. Finally she caved into this desire and left it a faint thought in the furthest corner of her never stopping mind. By the time she was feeling better meaning her heart was normal as well as her breathing she knew she needed to leave. She couldn’t bare to think of the letter any longer. She vowed not to think of her father. Her poor mother, had she received a similar letter? Rachel wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She just had to leave.

Her footsteps disrupted the quietness of the halls. For once she didn’t mind. The tapping of her shoes distracted her in the kindest way possible. She was fixing to try what she used to do as a child when her father first died. She was going to find a distraction. She walked still. She walked very graceful. She tried walking more carefully since the real Rachel was underneath and the real Rachel was very bothered by the noise of her footsteps. She didn’t want to upset herself further. Continuing on, she walked slowly, gracefully, counting her breathing. The she saw it. Or him. Her distraction. A small menacing smile spread across her lips. This was wrong. She shouldn’t use people this way. She needed to deal with this problem another way. Those thoughts were trying there hardest to be heard. The voice of reason protested once more, but her mind was made up. She smiled sweetly. “Hello.” She said musically, and smoothly, still low and barely audibly the only sign that something had defiantly happened earlier. She wanted to think about the letter at once, but refused to give into temptation.

[Ethan Jacobs G5]

Ethan observed the setting sun in the distance. It’s orange glow was left upon everything on the grounds, making them look magnificent. If only Carson was here. Carson loved to paint, and Ethan could bet all his pocket money that Carson as outside right now painting the sunset. He was really quite good, and Ethan sometimes felt jealous of Carson’s many talents. He was good at so much, whereas Ethan was really only good at having his last name. He was a fair skateboarder, that was for sure, but he didn’t have the passion it took to be a serious artist, or amazing guitarist like Carson was. He had no idea how much talent was imbedded beneath his skin. One day, Carson would e famous for something. Ethan was sure of that. He also knew that his fame would have nothing to do with women, that was for sure. He was so different from Ethan in the field of girls. Carson couldn’t be bothered by them, whereas Ethan’s life revolved around the existence of women…one in particular. Ezzie was the one and only thing on his mind more than half his day. There was always something Ezzie related lingering in the far corners of his mind. Even if someone asked him to fold his socks or eat his lunch, Ethan would immediately link that order into something Ezzie related. He barely thought about anything else these days. He knew he would have never guessed this of himself. He knew if someone approached Ethan’s fourth year self and asked him what he would be doing in his fifth year, Ethan knew what his answer would be. ‘Getting away with murder at school while dating pretty much every beautiful girl in sight’ would be his first answer. The answer ‘going steady with a beautiful girl and working hard on schoolwork’ would have been far from his mind at the time. Ethan had changed a lot over the past summer, and he felt in his heart that all the changes were for the best. Suddenly, Ethan realized someone was behind him. He turned around and smiled, hoping it wasn’t another little girl following him around and asking for his autograph. He was pleased to see it was Rachel Cohen, a pretty Ravenclaw girl in his year. He didn’t know her personally, but she was in a few of his classes and he knew her by name.

“Hello Rachel.” He said calmly. “And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?” He asked very politely. He didn’t know her well, but he knew that look in her eyes. It was a look that was common amongst all teenage girls. She wasn’t well, and she was only using Ethan as a distraction to her problems. With all the girls Ethan had dealt with in the past, he knew this look well and it was all too common. Maybe she had just gotten over a long relationship. Maybe she wanted to get away from her ex and move on, but just a bit too fast? Maybe she had received a bad grade on a test, and was looking for something-or rather someone to cheer up her day. She walked with a certain air to her. Ethan had a bit of a talent for deducting a person's personality by the way they walked. Ethan could definitely see confidence. The confidence in her was strong. He could also see a bit of rhythm; her feet hit the floor in a bit of a musical pattern. He could definitely tell by her walk that she was hiding something-or covering up her true emotions. He didn't know how he knew this, but by the way her body carried itself down the corridor, Ethan could see right through her. Ethan didn’t know what Rachel Cohen was up really up to though, as his predictions weren't always correct. He did have a feeling though, that he would soon find out.