Mario Ingles' Office

[Ingles]

Please knock first.

Once you are given the permission to enter the office, you slowly open the door, and inch by inch the room is revealed to you.

The first thing you notice is the sound of music playing. A small music player sits prominently on one side of the mahogany desk, soft music emitting from it. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard of; a mixture of different genres of music, but always staying true to the pure Spanish descent of the man you wish to speak to.

The shelves are, of course, cluttered with books of different subject matter. One shelf, however, that is situated right behind the librarian, has no books. Instead, it holds photographs of Mr. Ingles; many of them involving his family, some of him in dance contests, and others with him shaking the hands of distinguished officials of other countries.

Behind the desk, in a red, guilded chair, sits the librarian himself.

“Yes?”

[Em's the Game]

Eddy proceeded to the librarian's door with loud and determined footsteps. There was no hesitation, no tremor, no respectful tip-toeing through the stacks for him. No, indeed! He was a man on manly business. Namely, petitioning business. A rucksack hung off his small shoulders - items prepared for any one of a number of anticipated outcomes. Items which would show his commitment to his petition.

Alongside Eddy were his two good friends, Cale and Sho. Each had their own request, but they'd all sworn to support and enthuse over the other's. It was to be as a team that the proposals were made. Solidarity among comrades! Inevitably, it seemed, at least one of them should succeed. It was simply the odds, as Eddy calculated them.

Eddy, it should be said however, wasn't very adept with math.

[PharaohMan18]

Sho walked up to the door and waited for Eddy to knock. It was his idea and he had marched ahead of them, chest out, leading them right to the office. No one knocked though...

"Alright, I guess I'll knock," Sho said, rapping on the door a few times. "Hope he's in..."

[Hawken Terrell]

"That wasn't a knock," Cale said coming up behind Sho. "This," he said as he leaned past the taller Ravenclaw. "Is a knock." He rapped harder then elbowed his way in between the two boys.

"You sure he's in Eddy?" Cale asked a few minutes later leaning up against the door. "Because I don't hear anything moving in there."

[Em's the Game]

All three boys pressed their ears to the door. "I think I hear music," Eddy said, almost under his breath. He pulled away his head and rapped hard enough to cause his knuckles to sting.

"There! That ought to do it. He can't ignore three people knocking, can he?" Eddy looked to the others for confirmation of this logic. "And," Eddy added, dropping his rucksack to the ground, "if he isn't in, we'll just wait until he gets back! Right, men?" Eddy nodded to the others as a prompt. He was so enthusiastic in this little game that he almost saluted them both.

[PharaohMan18]

Sho sat down against the wall and nodded. If they had to wait, they would wait. He had to be back sometime right? He wasn't like some professors who never returned to their office when students needed help. Though this wasn't really help stuff... was it?

[Hawken Terrell]

"Yeah," Cale said spying the hard stone that Sho was sitting on. He wasn't too keen on the idea of sitting on it for a couple of hours - if need be, but he'd do it. Mostly for Eddy's sake. He felt like he owed him something after nearly drowning him in a puddle of muddy water in the common room.

Granted, Cale thought as he slid down the wall to sit next to Sho, the hole drowning thing was partly Eddy's fault in the first place. If he had kept his wand in his pants- the common room wouldn't be sporting the nice wheat brown color now instead of that horrible white.

[Em's the Game]

Reaching into his rucksack, Eddy drew out two pillows that had formerly been property of the Ravenclaw Common Room. They were a strange, blotchy beige and much worse for wear - leaving them pretty much unidentifiable to whomever had purchased them for the CR in the first place.

He tossed one to Sho and another to Cale. The third was dropped to the floor just before Eddy landed heavily upon it. "Up for a game of cards?" Eddy asked, drawing a deck from his pocket. "We could play poker using the Bertie Bott's beans I have leftover from the beginning of term." Eddy was fond of poker. He felt no one could truly be an Adventurer (with a capital "A") unless they were adepts at the game. So Eddy was trying to learn.

[Ingles]

Carefully reading a book that he had been meaning to pick up for some time, Mario turned the page, but stopped midway through the first line as a knock sounded.

Now this was a surprise. He hadn't had any visitors since the beginning of term.

And yet another knock. And then another!

Slightly puzzled at the persistence, he set a marker in the book and set it off to one side. "Come in!" He called.

[PharaohMan18]

Sho stood up and shrugged. Guess he was there all along. He opened the door to the office and stepped inside. Smiling politely, he motioned for the others to come in.

"Hello there Mr...," he paused, looking at anything with a name. "Mr. Ingles. We have a little question for you..."

[Ingles]

Mr. Ingles glanced at the boys who entered the room, not just one, but three. Perhaps this was simply a visit, but he had a feeling that it was much more.

"A question, you say? Well, go ahead then." He prompted as his gaze zeroed in on the boy who was speaking.

[Em's the Game]

Eddy was a bit behind Sho, having had to recollect his pillows and stuff everything back into the rucksack. Now that the proverbial ice was broken, he stepped forward by Sho's side.

"We've a list of, er..." Perhaps 'demands' wasn't a good term. Eddy instinctively shied away from the word. "...ideas. Petitions, if you will." Eddy added in a stronger, slightly lofty tone of one who feels righteous in his moral position. Either way, his skinny chest puffed out just a tad.

Reaching behind him, he grabbed Cale by the arm and yanked him forward. "We all do. Have petitions, I mean."

[Ingles]

Moving his gaze towards another boy as he began to speak, Mr. Ingles listened with a mild expression of curiosity. Ideas? Petitions?

"And what are the intentions of these petitions?" He inquired, folding his hands together on his desk as he looked at each boy in turn. And why had they come to him with it? Deciding not to speak the thought out loud however, he simply waited for an answer.

[Hawken Terrell]

"Books!" Cale's voice choice this moment to squeak on him. He coughed and then swatted at Eddy's hand which was pulling at him. "Books," he said again in a less squeaky voice. It was times like these when his voice changed that he hated being 15 year old boy.

"We've," he shoved his hands into his robe pockets. "We've noticed a lack of resources provided by the library."

[PharaohMan18]

Sho nodded to the librarian, agreeing with his fellow Ravenclaws. The library had far less this time around and most of it was, well, boring.

"We are in need of a few more entertaining pieces of literature if we're to be stuck in this du-... new school," he said, looking around the office.

[Ingles]

Books? That was what the petitions were in regard to? Hmm. "Entertaining pieces of literature." He repeated. "Well...while I can understand the need for such books, I'm afraid that the Minister has selected the types of subject matter that he deems appropriate for the school."

He paused. "The Minister has certain beliefs and the choices for reading reflects those. If you would like to see something more, then you would be better off speaking to the Minister about it." He concluded. "Though a word of caution: He is rather set in his ways."

[Em's the Game]

That old fart?! Eddy thought with shocked indignation and grave disrespect - the kind that youth in its arrogance instinctively reserves for politicians and teachers who like to give lots of boring homework.

"But you're the librarian!" Eddy burst out, unable to contain his outrage. "You should get to choose the books! It's...it's....it's unconstitutional - that's what it is!!" Eddy's American democratic ideals surged to high tide. If he'd had a flag, he'd have waved it. He had to settle for waving his index finger instead.

"This is censorship!" Gasp - nothing less than that, indeed! "What's next? Book burning?" Eddy spluttered, "Why no self-respecting librarian could possibly stand by and let a politician dictate a boy's right to his personal entertainment reading!!" Eddy gave the librarian a significant look, as if questioning whether this might be a 'self-respecting librarian' after all. Surely he understood that a guy needed his comics and adventure stories, what with having to live in such an uncomfortable, formal atmosphere.

"We must...we oughta...you oughta..." Eddy had worked himself up beyond his ability to produce words. Tiny bits of saliva burst from between his lips, but only strangled sounds came out. He could only imagine what Cale and Sho must be feeling.

[PharaohMan18]

Sho's eyebrow rose. Bring up the Constitution in a country that isn't governed by it? Sure he had wanted to do that, but then he remembered where he was. Though Eddy did have a point.

"Um, yes, well maybe in less dramatic terms, we'll do what we can to get you some control," he said, patting Eddy on the head.

[Hawken Terrell]

"Besides," Cale said stepping off to the left and away from the rabid Eddy. For a change, it seemed that Cale was going to be the logical one. "The Owlry's still closed and nobody I know is related to the Minister so if even if it wasn't, we wouldn't be allowed to send him our petitions regardless."

[Ingles]

Mr. Ingles waited calmly until the boy finished his rant before he finally held up a hand. "As I said before, I can understand your position. However, as you very well know, this school is 'Cooper's' School and the man who this school is named after reigns high above me." He began. “Which of course translates to he-can-do-whatever-he-wants.” He remarked, rather bluntly.

"I can tell you something though. Raving about the lack of books that you believe is suitable for yourselves will do nothing to get it. After all, they are just words, and while they may do the trick sometimes; they do not work in all situations.”

"And you do bring up a valid point, young man." He said, addressing Cale. "The closing of the Owlery is most unfortunate. However, there must be a way for some form of communication to occur; even if it is not constantly present through your time here.” Yes, he was being somewhat cryptic, but he believed the Ravenclaws would understand him.

“But I do appreciate you bringing up your concerns to me. When I do speak to the Minister again, I’ll be certain to pass them on.”

[Em's the Game]

Eddy's face was flush and his look crestfallen at the librarian's words. Still...it almost...sort of...sounded like...hmm. Was the librarian hinting at something? It sure seemed like it.

Here Eddy had thought it was just carelessness, silliness, misguideness that caused the lack of books. Surely a little petitioning could've solved that. But it almost appeared as if something more sinister might be afoot.

Eddy looked at Sho and Cale. Did they get that same sense too? Eddy jerked his head towards the door. Perhaps a moment to powwow on the idea?

[PharaohMan18]

Sho nodded to the man and smiled. They had some brainstorming to do. Who knows? They might actually end up back in the library asking him for help.

"Thank you sir," he said, grabbing both boy's shoulders. "Let's go, fellas."

[Hawken Terrell]

Cale shrugged his shoulder out from under Sho's arm. Cale didn't know what the librarian was getting at, but he suddenly had an idea. He stared down the man behind his desk for a moment before turning and following Sho out.

"Isn't anyone," he muttered mostly to himself, although he was sure Sho and/or Eddy probably heard him. "Man enough around here to stand up to injustice besides us men who aren't even old enough to shave?"

[PharaohMan18]

"I shave, I don't know about you," he said, poking Cale's arm. "Besides, we destroyed a common room already and you and Eddy ransacked the kitchen. I think getting mad at a guy who's as angry as we are won't solve anything."

He looked up to see if the Librarian was still paying attention before continuing to whisper to Cale.

"Let's just go to the common room and think."

[Em's the Game]

Eddy, still stirred up, turned to look back at the Librarian. "Don't you worry, sir! We'll get those books back! We will, or my name isn't Eddy Matheus Basilthorne the First!" Eddy raised his fist in symbolic solidarity.

His collar was yanked and Eddy found himself hauled out of the office by Cale and Sho.

"Hey, relax! I'm cool." Eddy adjusted his collar and cleared his throat. He shifted his shoulders, shaking off the surprise of being so unceremonious in his departure.

"So...we need a plan." Eddy rubbed his hands together, looking from Sho to Cale and back again.