Staring Contest

[Topaz Urquart]

@'Sage Macnair' @'Tristan Michaud' 20 March 1887 bc that's actually a school day

Honestly, for a girl who loved learning and was fascinated by every subject, Topaz spent a lot of time dreading going to class. Not every class, of course. She didn't mind Herbology most of the time, but she tended to get very nervous any time they had to do any hands on work, because her imagination put coiled snakes beneath every large leaf and behind every upturned root. Defense Against the Dark Arts was stressful because Professor Sleptov was so intimidating. Then there was Transfiguration.

Topaz liked transfiguration. What she was decidedly less certain about was her transfiguration partner. Azzie had never been very good at talking in front of people, and was rather abysmal at performing magic in front of anyone but her siblings and her closest friends (and even with that she was iffy). Adding her general reluctance to have anything to do with boys only made things more strained.

She was a few minutes early to class, but Mcnair was already there. Topaz offered him a curt nod as she took her seat next to him and turned her attention to her book bag, getting her textbook and her notes and laying everything out. She was just finishing when she saw, or thought she saw, something strange from the corner of her eye. Was Mcnair staring at her? Or was she imagining it? She did tend to have an active imagination. Or maybe there was something on her face?

"What?" she asked, turning to face him.

  

[Sage Macnair]

Transfiguration was one of Sage's best classes which is why it rankled deep to the core to have been saddled with such a useless partner in it. He also would have much preferred to have been partnered with another boy. He had no interest in speaking to her outside of the class and he avoided doing so during class just as much.

Lately, he had been wondering if she might be non-magical, after all. She knew the theory, that much he could tell from their written projects. He was very curious to find out but it wasn't like he could just ask her. That would be indirectly admitting to her that he actually thought she was smart. Which she was, he could admit to himself privately; at least when it came to the written assignments.

Sage had not fully realized that he was staring at her as his mind worked through all these possibilities after she had taken her usual seat. She speaks! He thought to himself sarcastically. She did so in front of him so rarely that he often forgot she was capable of verbalization. "We're doing practical work today," he informed her instead, watching her for any minute reaction that she might have to that.

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   Topaz Urquart

[Topaz Urquart]

Topaz tried her best to keep her expression blank as Macnair responded, but there was a flicker of uncertainty that passed over her face. She knew she could do it--she'd proved that much to herself in the library, with the little dragon she'd forged out of the small black rocks. Not that she could tell him that, or that he would even believe her if she did. Could she make it happen again?

It had been so easy when she'd known no one was watching, but Topaz hadn't been able to do it last week at all. And she had been trying, despite a snide comment or two to the contrary that she'd heard from some of her less charitable classmates.

"Well, good thing I brought my wand, then," she said; she'd meant for it to sound like a joke, to show that she was confident and unafraid, but her voice was undeniably weaker than she'd wanted it to be.