"Hey, Altair, wanna go down to the lake for a swim?"
"Nah, I have some studying to do, I will catch you guys later." Studying? He rarely had to study but it was his go to excuse whenever other students invited him outside. They mistook him reading all of the time as studying, when in fact, he was just reading for pleasure. It was always easy to convince them otherwise, they were all too busy goofing off and running around to understand that someone would enjoy reading, when they looked at it as some punishment the Professors were dishing out to them. Scratching his head, he watched as they ran off outside, for a moment he wished he was going with them. Every now and then he got that feeling in his stomach where he wanted to join them, to be normal, to play and have a good time with other kids his age. It quickly faded, though, as they vanished from sight and the prospect of chasing them down almost seemed more embarrassing than actually studying on a Friday night.
Reaching up to scratch his head, he turned on his heel, and took off towards his common room. It didn't help that it seemed as if everyone else was going in the opposite direction as him. He was used to being in the common room alone these days. The semester was just beginning and everyone did all of their studying towards the end when exams were coming up. In truth, Altair had been ready for this years exams since the second week, he had been studying all summer and had read through all of his text books twice. Now he was onto a Potions book that he had recommended to him by his Potions Professor which went over various advanced Potions that intrigued him.
Wow, he really was a nerd, and it didn't seem like it was going to be changing anytime soon. Maybe he would have been better off in Ravenclaw, that's what they always joked, at least. Sure, he studied a lot, but he had nothing in common with them. They all obsessed over their grades and he was only about doing the bare minimum to be successful. Turning a corner he came across a set of moving stair cases that were just coming around. Lucky. He took a step onto them and continued his journey back to the common room.
Getting knocked on the shoulder by a younger student, he almost dropped the book he was holding under his arm, but his quick reflexes made for an easy catch. "Watch it, man." Altair muttered as the Hufflepuff student stared for a moment before running off without offering an apology. Typical, bunch of worthless students they were. If he disliked any house the most, it was Hufflepuff, seemed as if every hypocrite in the world flocked there. Loyal and noble, bunch of riff raff if you asked Altair.
Speaking the password to the portrait, he clambered into his common room, noticing it was mostly empty except for people leaving. Looking on, he longed for a moment to change his mind and join them, but ultimately his laziness prevailed. Sighing, he plopped down on the couch, and another lonely night of reading prevailed.
by Altair Cooper Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:55 am
