Oh. It was all good. That was good. Because y'know... good was... well... for lack of a better word, good was good. She just nodded her head and poked the imaginary eye of the waffle.

Melanie nodded slowly, not really sure what exactly the girl meant. "I... guess?" Melanie said, unsure. She supposed Ronnie was very nice name too. Melanie liked that name. It sounded cute... or bumblebee-ish or something. The Gryffindor stuck her spork back into her mouth and thought about it. She thought everyone's names suited them... that's why they had those names, right? Because their parents thought it suited them? And most always, adults were right. Which meant in a few short months, she'd be most always right too.

"It's just not the same, doesn't really feel much like Hogwarts anymore," Melanie said with a little shrug before stuffing her waffle in her mouth. It felt weird. Hogwarts was a shiny castle last year and then... it just wasn't though the school had their reasons. "But I guess it is nice that we're here." Though a little heads up would've been nice too. That way students would've been given options. "Not really fond of the turnstiles though," Melanie said, shaking her head. At least the school didn't start charging people to use the bathroom. She supposed this was like paying rent... kinda.

She smiled a little as Melanie said 'I guess'. The girl didn't know her...so why had Ronnie said that? Silly Ronnieeee. "Well perhaps if you knew me better...you'd know. But I just prefer it." she said with a nod.

Ronnie nodded in agreement. "I agree." she said, sighing a little. Those bloody turnstiles. She kept worrying at some point, she'd not have any money or forget some, and have to sleep in the corridor or something. The thought bugged her. She wouldn't feel too safe sleeping on the floor. Mehhh. Stupid turnstiles.

Melanie thought about it for a second then simply nodded. "I guess. It's like how actors and actresses and other celebrities have stage names... because they prefer those." Right? That sounded right to Melanie. Though she always thought that was strange because if she was going to be announced onto a stage she'd want to hear her own name - her real name - in a loud booming voice read out by the host or whatever. Oh, how exciting that would be.

"So, have you done anything interesting this term?" Melanie asked, mixing the rest of her eggs with the waffle before taking a sip of tea from the red plastic cup.

Hmm...yeah, now that she thought of it, it actually was a bit like that! Except she'd never be a celebrity or anything like that. But yeah. That's pretty much what it was. She nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right." she said, grinning. Then the girl was asking about interesting stuff for the term. She thought for a second before answering, "Well, I just got a boyfriend which was pretty exciting." BEAM. "Hmm...other than that, not much else. What about you?" she asked.

After grudgingly handing over her ten knuts she skipped into the Great Hall, two boxes of Bertie Bott's in hand and a chocolate frog or three in her pockets. Those were for just in case.

Now where to sit. She thought to plop down at the Ravvie table for Aidan's convenience but then she changed her mind. The Gryffie table was nicer anyway. He wouldn't mind. Lex sat and looked around. It was just about lunch time but nothing on the table looked anymore appetizing than the beans. No way was that macaroni. Nooope.

She tapped the table with her index finger and waited as patiently as she could which probably wasn't all that patient. And what luck! There was ice-cream at the table. She couldn't have any at the moment because it'd get in the way of her taste but after they could have some.

Nodnodnod.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

After grudgingly handing over her ten knuts she skipped into the Great Hall, two boxes of Bertie Bott's in hand and a chocolate frog or three in her pockets. Those were for just in case.

Now where to sit. She thought to plop down at the Ravvie table for Aidan's convenience but then she changed her mind. The Gryffie table was nicer anyway. He wouldn't mind. Lex sat and looked around. It was just about lunch time but nothing on the table looked anymore appetizing than the beans. No way was that macaroni. Nooope.

She tapped the table with her index finger and waited as patiently as she could which probably wasn't all that patient. And what luck! There was ice-cream at the table. She couldn't have any at the moment because it'd get in the way of her taste but after they could have some.

Nodnodnod.

The turnstiles were old news. He was so used to them by now, they didn't faze him. What would would be if they were gone. But alas....

Aidan payed his fine and scanned the Great Hall, looking for his friend. And, of course she'd be at the Gryffindor table. Why did he even bother looking at Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's? The fourteen year old made his way over and took a seat beside her. "Hey," he greeted.

OH LOOK ICE CREAM!!!

"HEY! We can use that if one of them is particularly nasty to get the taste out!!" He reached for two bowls and pulled them close.

She smiled when he finally got there. THEY COULD START NOW!!! "Hey!" He actually hadn't taken as long to get here as she thought he would.

Lex grabbed one of the boxes and began opening it. She reached over for an extra plastic plate and emptied them on it then did the same with the second. There might have been more bad flavours in one box than the other. This was for just in case. Now it was perfectly even.

Oh? "Yeah we could! But only if it's really bad. There's pumpkin juice too."

She eyed all the beans on the plate. "How many different flavours do you think we'll find in all these--did you bring anything to write them down?" She had, on the off chance he hadn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

She smiled when he finally got there. THEY COULD START NOW!!! "Hey!" He actually hadn't taken as long to get here as she thought he would.

Lex grabbed one of the boxes and began opening it. She reached over for an extra plastic plate and emptied them on it then did the same with the second. There might have been more bad flavours in one box than the other. This was for just in case. Now it was perfectly even.

Oh? "Yeah we could! But only if it's really bad. There's pumpkin juice too."

She eyed all the beans on the plate. "How many different flavours do you think we'll find in all these--did you bring anything to write them down?" She had, on the off chance he hadn't.

"Ice cream's better!" he blurted out without giving it a second thought. Or...any thought to the pumpkin juice at all, really.

"Erm..." Aidan tore his eyes from the ice cram and scanned the plate, "I don't know. Like 100 maybe. Or more. I don't know. Probably." He never kept track of what he ate. And, actually, hadn't had Bertie Botts in quite some time. Last time he had them, he looked forward to the gross flavors. Now....not so much.

Did he bring anything to write them down? "No." He didn't think about that. Lex wanted to keep track? Fine. But he had no parchment and quill for her.

"Well of course ice-cream's better but bad flavoured beans might make the ice-cream taste bad too." She didn't like the thought of being turned off her ice-cream.

And he thought there was like 100. She didn't know...didn't they repeat some flavours maybe once? No? Really how did they do this?? She gave the beans a curious look. "We'll find out eventually." She pulled the parchment and quill from her candy bag and placed them on the table. Of course she wanted to keep track. It'd always fascinated her just what flavours they had but she'd never finished a whole box so how would she know? Besides, Jeremy didn't believe her when she said it had every flavour. She would prove him wrong.

"You can go first. Try...um...that one." She pointed to a neon pink looking one. This was how it would work. They'd choose the flavour the other tasted.

"And remember, no spitting it out.

Not that she thought he would. This was Aidan afterall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

"Well of course ice-cream's better but bad flavoured beans might make the ice-cream taste bad too." She didn't like the thought of being turned off her ice-cream.

And he thought there was like 100. She didn't know...didn't they repeat some flavours maybe once? No? Really how did they do this?? She gave the beans a curious look. "We'll find out eventually." She pulled the parchment and quill from her candy bag and placed them on the table. Of course she wanted to keep track. It'd always fascinated her just what flavours they had but she'd never finished a whole box so how would she know? Besides, Jeremy didn't believe her when she said it had every flavour. She would prove him wrong.

"You can go first. Try...um...that one." She pointed to a neon pink looking one. This was how it would work. They'd choose the flavour the other tasted.

"And remember, no spitting it out.

Not that she thought he would. This was Aidan afterall.

...That was some serious bubble popping right there. Beans making ice cream taste bad. Yikes. "No...but...but...the ice cream will make it taste better," Aidan nodded. That was the point. And....he wanted ice cream.

He nodded as he watched her pull out the parchment. Why did she ask him if he had any when she did all along? At least she was prepared. Something he was a little surprised about, but this was Lex's idea, after all.

UGH. Did she have to make him eat the pink one?? But that was a GIRL color, Lex! Grudgingly, he picked it up and popped it in his mouth.

His frown quickly turned, though. "Ha! Pink lemonade. You next. Eat...," he pointed to a bluish green one, "that one. And no spitting," he added, since she felt the need to do so with him. Yet, he was happily chewing his.

She wasn't about to start arguing with him about ice-cream, not while they were busy working out flavours so she dropped it. If he got something like vomit flavour and tried his ice-cream then he'd be the unlucky one having his ice-cream ruined by the lingering taste of vomit.

She caught the look on his face at her suggestion of the pink one. Well of course! Did he expect her to eat the pink one??? Obviously not...though there was nothing she could do if he directly asked her to try one of those. But he wouldn't. Nope. Not at all. Why would he when he knew how much she hated the colour? Suck it up dude--

What????

"Pink...lemonade...?" How oddly disappointing. She scribbled it down then turned to see the flavour he was suggesting. One that had blue! Sorta! She popped it in her mouth without question but froze...what was this? "It's a little sour...like a half ripe blueberry or something...? Is that a flavour?" She would wait for him answer to write that down.

"Try that one." Ovvvver there. That red one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

She wasn't about to start arguing with him about ice-cream, not while they were busy working out flavours so she dropped it. If he got something like vomit flavour and tried his ice-cream then he'd be the unlucky one having his ice-cream ruined by the lingering taste of vomit.

She caught the look on his face at her suggestion of the pink one. Well of course! Did he expect her to eat the pink one??? Obviously not...though there was nothing she could do if he directly asked her to try one of those. But he wouldn't. Nope. Not at all. Why would he when he knew how much she hated the colour? Suck it up dude--

What????

"Pink...lemonade...?" How oddly disappointing. She scribbled it down then turned to see the flavour he was suggesting. One that had blue! Sorta! She popped it in her mouth without question but froze...what was this? "It's a little sour...like a half ripe blueberry or something...? Is that a flavour?" She would wait for him answer to write that down.

"Try that one." Ovvvver there. That red one.

Half ripe blueberry? Aidan shrugged. "Sure, it could be." Probably only the Botts knew for sure what flavors they had. The rest of them could only guess. So Lex could write that down. But he was disappointed that it wasn't something worse. The bean looked gross enough

Okay. The red one. He popped it into his mouth and started chewing. After a moment, he clamped his hand over his lips to stop himself from spitting it out. "It's like...a hot pepper," he told her, his eyes slightly watery. But he could man it out. It wasn't that bad. For a man. Just surprising.

"Erm...how about...that," he pointed to a pale yellow.

That sounds about right. That made Melanie grin because she had gotten something about right. Which was a good thing, yes? Of course. Being right was nice too. The Gryffindor slid her plat to a side and just held her red plastic sup that would probably run out of tea soon.

Oh. Cute. Ronnie got a boyfriend. Cute.

Kind of. Melanie thought about that for a moment, thinking about last term before pushing that to the back of her head and smiling at Ronnie. "Oh, that's really nice. You guys must be so cute together!" And a little nagging voice in the back of Melanie's mind let her know that people were only cute together until they split because once that happened it wasn't so cutesy anymore. But she pushed that little voice into a box in the back of her mind and locked it too. "Oh... uh... me? Nothing interesting at all. I'm not a very interesting person," Melanie said with a little laugh.

Yup. Nothing interesting whatsoever.

Confirmation so she scribbled it down too. There were very few other things it could have been anyway. So far they had, pink lemonade and some blueberry thing. Going all fruity with this batch, weren't they?

Lex dropped the quill and watched him take the bean. She jumped a little when he suddenly covered his mouth. Merlin, he SO wouldn't like it if he spat it at her. He didn't though. He was holding it in. Good on him. In the mean time she tried her hardest not to giggle. This was difficult with the look on his face.

"Hot pepper. Got it!" And she scribbled that down too.

Lex reached over and pinked up the pale yellow. This one got eyed suspiciously after what just happened to her friend but she stuck it in her mouth. "Ew." Nose wrinkling was happening. It wasn't that the flavour was gross but more that it was one of her least favourite of all her regular candy flavours. She never bought these. "Banana Taffy." Scribble. And it was still in the corner of her cheek. Nasty flavour.

"Try that." The glittery orange one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Confirmation so she scribbled it down too. There were very few other things it could have been anyway. So far they had, pink lemonade and some blueberry thing. Going all fruity with this batch, weren't they?

Lex dropped the quill and watched him take the bean. She jumped a little when he suddenly covered his mouth. Merlin, he SO wouldn't like it if he spat it at her. He didn't though. He was holding it in. Good on him. In the mean time she tried her hardest not to giggle. This was difficult with the look on his face.

"Hot pepper. Got it!" And she scribbled that down too.

Lex reached over and pinked up the pale yellow. This one got eyed suspiciously after what just happened to her friend but she stuck it in her mouth. "Ew." Nose wrinkling was happening. It wasn't that the flavour was gross but more that it was one of her least favourite of all her regular candy flavours. She never bought these. "Banana Taffy." Scribble. And it was still in the corner of her cheek. Nasty flavour.

"Try that." The glittery orange one.

As Lex tried her flavor, Aidan sat there, licking the roof of his mouth, subtly trying to get the pepper taste to go away. "What?" Banana Taffy? "That's not even bad." No nose wrinkling. Merlin. There were worse flavors to be had, he was sure.

...Like the glittery orange one? He popped it into his mouth and chewed. His mouth puckered slightly, but he kept chewing. "I'm not sure...it's got a sweetness to it...but not like food...like...sweat?" he wrinkled his nose.

This would be another that lingered in his mouth.

"There. Try that purple and gray one."

Not even bad? Says him. There was a reason she never bothered buying these. To her, they were awful. She managed to finally swallow it as he popped another into his mouth. It was distraction enough.

"......sweat?" And she thought she was wrinkling her nose before. "And you actually swallowed that?" Sure they were meant to, that was the point, but SWEAT??? She sat, staring at him with a mixture of admiration and 'dude I can't believe you swallowed that'.

His pointing brought her back to the current situation. Purple and gray? A double coloured one?

...Okay then.

She'd had good luck so far. Maybe this would be no different? Lex threw it in her mouth and cringed. Ink. Bleh. "Definitely ink." The bitterness almost made her gag. "I don't think I can get it down." She was trying over here but her throat was saying no.

Two more to add to the notes. Ink and sweat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Not even bad? Says him. There was a reason she never bothered buying these. To her, they were awful. She managed to finally swallow it as he popped another into his mouth. It was distraction enough.

"......sweat?" And she thought she was wrinkling her nose before. "And you actually swallowed that?" Sure they were meant to, that was the point, but SWEAT??? She sat, staring at him with a mixture of admiration and 'dude I can't believe you swallowed that'.

His pointing brought her back to the current situation. Purple and gray? A double coloured one?

...Okay then.

She'd had good luck so far. Maybe this would be no different? Lex threw it in her mouth and cringed. Ink. Bleh. "Definitely ink." The bitterness almost made her gag. "I don't think I can get it down." She was trying over here but her throat was saying no.

Two more to add to the notes. Ink and sweat.

Aidan decided to take the cool road. Or what he thought would be the cool road and just smirked and nodded. Of course he swallowed it. That was the rules. He could take it. He could take anything.

Ink? He would laugh at her if he wasn't still trying to get the taste of SWEAT from his mouth. Which was worse, mind you. "You have to. Besides, it's not all that bad. Haven't you ever sucked your quill?" He used to try eating ink when he was younger. "Or you could mask it in a spoonful." Of ice cream, of course.

...........

"Why would I try eating my quill? It's not made of candy." Or was he mocking her. Right now she was too busy trying to get rid of the taste of ink to really think about. She looked over at the ice-cream. No she didn't want it tasting like ink but then, this needed to go away--

Waaaait. "No, it's fine. I can handle it. It's not that bad." Aidan didn't need ice-cream after his two horrid flavours so she wasn't about to look soft by being the first to eat the some.

"I just swallowed it and I'm fine, now try that one." She gestured to the slate coloured one. She was willing to bet it was dust or dirt but she'd have to wait 'til he tried it. Her eyes drifted back to the ice-cream.

No Lex!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

...........

"Why would I try eating my quill? It's not made of candy." Or was he mocking her. Right now she was too busy trying to get rid of the taste of ink to really think about. She looked over at the ice-cream. No she didn't want it tasting like ink but then, this needed to go away--

Waaaait. "No, it's fine. I can handle it. It's not that bad." Aidan didn't need ice-cream after his two horrid flavours so she wasn't about to look soft by being the first to eat the some.

"I just swallowed it and I'm fine, now try that one." She gestured to the slate coloured one. She was willing to bet it was dust or dirt but she'd have to wait 'til he tried it. Her eyes drifted back to the ice-cream.

No Lex!

"Not eating your quill," he rolled his eyes, "Sucking on it when you're thinking or something. No?" Aidan thought that was quite common. But then...Lex was very unusual.

This time he chuckled. Sure she could handle it. But he definitely saw the way she was looking at the ice cream.

The boy put the bean in his mouth. "It's," he coughed, "Like a fish of some sort. Tastes the way fish smell." He just couldn't hide his disgust this time, his face was all squished up and gagging was going on. "Give me a better one next time, please." He even said PLEASE. He was that desperate.

"Eat that one," he pointed at a dark green bean.

"That's what sugar quills or chocolate frogs are for and they most certainly don't have ink in them." She would know. "How does having a bitter taste in your mouth help you think? Is it like, hurry up and get the idea so the taste can go away?" That was all she was getting from it. Sugar stemmed good ideas. He should remember that.

She ignored his chuckling and focused, instead, on the way his face was contorting with digust.

What in Merlin's beard had he just eaten??? She leaned back just a bit in case he really did throw up this time. "Fish??" She had to ask again even as she wrote it down. Fish? Now she was even less enthused about trying the next but gosh, Aidan had gotten the worst of it. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pick the bad ones but how am I to know which one's are garbage?"

Dark green? Why did that NOT look good. Slowly, she reached for it, gave him a hesitant look then popped it in her mouth.

O_O

"Ewwwwwwww!!!!" She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember that spitting out wasn't allowed but but but there had to be an exception!! "Vo-mit. I. Cannot. No." It was still in her mouth and she was trying to get it down. "That one. Go ahead and try that one." Pay no attention to her struggle. Help yourself to that beige one. Ew. Ew. Ew. ICK.

Text Cut: Lex

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

"That's what sugar quills or chocolate frogs are for and they most certainly don't have ink in them." She would know. "How does having a bitter taste in your mouth help you think? Is it like, hurry up and get the idea so the taste can go away?" That was all she was getting from it. Sugar stemmed good ideas. He should remember that.

She ignored his chuckling and focused, instead, on the way his face was contorting with digust.

What in Merlin's beard had he just eaten??? She leaned back just a bit in case he really did throw up this time. "Fish??" She had to ask again even as she wrote it down. Fish? Now she was even less enthused about trying the next but gosh, Aidan had gotten the worst of it. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pick the bad ones but how am I to know which one's are garbage?"

Dark green? Why did that NOT look good. Slowly, she reached for it, gave him a hesitant look then popped it in her mouth.

O_O

"Ewwwwwwww!!!!" She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember that spitting out wasn't allowed but but but there had to be an exception!! "Vo-mit. I. Cannot. No." It was still in her mouth and she was trying to get it down. "That one. Go ahead and try that one." Pay no attention to her struggle. Help yourself to that beige one. Ew. Ew. Ew. ICK.

He shook his head, "That's not the point, the taste. It's just...habit." But whatever. Was she over it yet? She'd better be.

Was he over the fish taste? No. Not at all. That ice cream was awfully tempting. But he was trying hard to salivate and swallow and dilute the flavor. Over and over and over again.

Aidan waved off her apology. He knew she didn't know better. But it sure seemed that way with how many gross ones he'd just gotten in a row. And, well, at least he was purposely trying to get her to eat nasty flavors. That was the fun of it, yeah?

They shouldn't do this again anytime soon.

Vomit? The Ravenclaw laughed. "Ice cream." He nudged the bowl closer to her. No one would think any less of her if she caved in and spit it out and ate that bowl whole. But he'd never let her forget it either.

His gaze traveled to the bean she picked for him. ......That color didn't look appetizing at all, Lex. Couldn't he have a blue one? Wasn't she supposed to give him something nice now? He'd said 'please'. After a sigh, he ate it. "Good one. Coffee." Nothing bad. Or at least it wasn't fish or ink or vomit. "Thank you." No really. THANK YOU.

As for her.....well...was she going to eat the ice cream? He'd give her a few minutes to get over vomit. Hopefully without vomiting, herself.

Smiling, she nodded. "Thank you," she said. She then noticed the girl get a bit quiet for a minute, clearly thinking of something. Ronnie looked at her curiously, but then decided not to be nosy with questions. That would be rude..and Ronnie was always curious about people and asking questions. But today she'd rather not.

She then cocked her head at what Melanie said. D'aww. There had to be something interesting! "Reeeally? There has to be something. Anything interesting happen in classes...or what about your Christmas break?" she asked. Something had to have happened during Christmas break of course!

He choose to argue the point of the chewing your quill thing while she was over here suffering from something her throat was violently refusing??? DUDE! NO! Wait 'til she swallowed at least! She didn't look at him or mention anything about the bloody quills she'd never tried eating. Yes Aidan, eating. NOMMING on it to concentrate.

The taste was getting worse as the bean began dissolving in her mouth. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. A tongue scrubber, she needed one of those, PLEASE!

dfbjjgfkugduktkyjdejgl!!! ICE-CREAM.

Her hand moved toward it but she stopped just before she got to the bowl. No ice-cream. He ate fish. This couldn't have been that big a deal. She would swallow then devour the ice-cream. Why had she thought about this again??? Oh yeah, in the hopes of finding a chocolate flavoured bean. So far, THIS WASN'T WORKING!!

She sat perfectly still, trying to will the bean down her throat--merlin knew she wasn't about it chew on it! Coffee? She just ate vomit and he got coffee? ....Finally, with one painful gulp she got the bean down. "BLEH!" Lex reached forward and grabbed the bowl. What she wanted to do was stick her face in it and forget everything but Aidan was still watching and she'd done too much of a good job getting that thing down her throat to ruin it all by losing her composure.

She shoved a spoonful in her mouth, then another and another three after that. "Help me get these out then you can pick my next flavour." She said pointing to all the dark greens before plucking two of them from the plate. They knew what they were now. That was all.

Oh, Merlin. She WAS going to hurl. Aidan felt a bit sick himself just watching her go through that. His face even contorted with her, regardless of the much nicer coffee flavor he was currently experiencing. It was such a relief when she took the ice cream.

Was she good now? All better?

Oh. Take the green ones out. Noooo problem. "I'll do it. You keep eating." Seriously. Lex NEEDED that ice cream. Aidan pulled the plate closer and started picking at the beans.

Slowly the taste was going away. She was right at first because the first scoop tasted JUST LIKE THE BEAN but after a few spoonsful she couldn't taste it anymore. At Aidan's offer she continued eating and watched him get rid of them. Neither of them would be trying any more of that one. They were only occupying space in that plate unnecessarily.

She sat, shoveling ice-cream into her mouth until finally she'd finished the bowl.

"Merlin..." Guess that was the end of ice-cream for her but vomit was the worst flavour they could find...right? So she might not even need another bowl anyway. "I think this is the first time candy's ever betrayed me. You never see chocolate frogs doing something like this."

Lex leaned forward in her seat and watched him picking. "I think that's the last one. You see anymore?" That awful flavour might have found someway of messing with her eyesight. If he was done then they could get back to tasting and he could pick her flavour carefully.