Kill Me Now

[Gertrude Baker]

Gertrude was not a happy bunny. She was at a ball. Her! At a ball! She was sure that there was some law of the universe that made her being at a ball both wrong and impossible. Nevertheless, Gertrude was at the coming out ball, in a dress that Anne had lent her and that she had been assured was very pretty. Pretty dress or not, Gertrude felt out of place, uncomfortable and very, very grumpy.

Using all her internal strength not to scowl due to the dress or cry due to the fact she had somehow ended up alone in the sea of people who must have known she was a fraud. It wouldn’t take much to realise the dress was a teency bit on the big side, even if Gertrude had thrown every spell she knew at it. Why was she even here? With all the rich people (or at least, people who were far richer than her) around her, it was just all wrong. She knew they were secretly judging her.

All she could do was search for her friends in the sea of people. She didn’t want to search by moving around, she knew she would end up looking desperate (because she was) and end up accidentally knocking someone over or kicking someone or stepping on someone’s foot. No, to save whatever dignity she still had left she remained where she was and scoured the crowd with her eyes alone.

  

[Lea Hogsbottom]

Lea couldn’t believe her own eyes when she and Anette finished dealing with Gertrude. She looked like a different girl, though one that was quite grumpy. Lea could imagine that it must have felt uncomfortable to wear such a dress and rather unusual. After all lower classes dressed differently and with all her love and respect for Gertie she looked much better like that. Lea herself decided to go for a dress far simpler than the one Anne chose for Gertrude. It was pastel pink and rather simple. Her long, blonde hair was up in a braid crown around her head. She thought she looked pretty, but not as pretty as Anne or even Gertrude. She was looking for her dormmates and when she found Gertrude she jumped from behind her back:
"Boo!"

  

[Gertrude Baker]

Gertrude jumped as she heard the 'boo' from behind her and placed her hand over her heart in shock. She turned to look who it was as she calmed down, and laughed as she saw that it was Lea. "Boo to you too!" she laughed back, smiling broadly, forgetting her unease in an instant. Now she was with someone whose company she liked and was no longer alone, she felt much more comfortable.

"Enjoying the ball?" Gertrude asked with a slight about of sarcasm. The sarcasm wasn't really intended, nor was it really noticeable, but she was literally incapable of asking that question in a serious manner, for the idea that she was asking it seemed completely and utterly ridiculous.