Compartment Seven

Emily and Victor eventually found an empty compartment. Emily immediately slunk into one of the red, rather comfortable seats, and leaned against the window sill, staring blankly out of it. Victor sat across from her, not saying anything, and instead just sat around uncomfortable. He tried to strike up a conversation with Emily, but she wasn't in the mood to talk. Obviously, she wasn't very happy that she was sharing the compartment with her rather dorky twin brother.

A rather petite girl with mutilated brown hair slid the compartment door open, peeking inside with a gleam. "I'm going to sit here, okay!" Without waiting for a response, she perched in beside Emily.

Emily looked at her, and she suddenly had suddenly caught the virus of awkwardness from the nearby Victor. Oh well. She seemed nice enough. She would be doable for her future posse.

"Um... okay." she said. "I'm Emily." And she snatched the little girl's hand, and began to shake it up and down furiously.

Victor didn't say much, just stared at the girl, his eyes luminous behind his glasses. He only really had guy friends back home, girl never seemed to want to approach him.

The girl shook Emily's hand with the same vigor. "Pretty name. I'm Louise!" She took no notice of Victor, as was status quo for him from the sound of things.

"Oh, thank you!" she said trying to keep her best manners, but she did an imaginary eye roll in her head. "My grandfather is named Louis... on my daddy's side of the family." Louis was an alright name, if you asked Emily.

If you were a gas station attendant.

"Looweeze," she corrected, not releasing the other girl's hand. "Not [i]loo[/o]wiss."

"Okay Looweeze. Are you a first year too?" she asked, attempting to make small talk.

Victor cleared his throat. "...I think she looks older then a first year." he said quietly, this time he indeed rolled his eyes at Emily. She was so empty headed sometimes.

"Did you hear something?" she asked innocently, glancing around the room in search of the source of Victor's remark in a manner similar to a fly or a bird of sorts. "To answer your question, I'm a second year!"

"OH! Well! Sorry, you just look younger then you actually are." said Emily, not realizing how rude that comment sounded. "And that was my brother Victor who said that." She pointed at him, as though her were an animal on a zoo display. "He's kinda quiet, obviously."

Louise nods, looking over at Victor. "He seems like the type!" she whispers.

"It's the glasses." Emily agreed.

Victor stood up. "If you're just going to sit around and talk about me when I'm sitting right in front of you, in very loud conspicuous whispers, then I'm going to leave." With a flourish of his school robe, she marched out of the compartment, to find someone else to sit by.

When he was gone, Emily just continued talking. "And, it's the big words he uses. He reads a lot so he knows a ton."

"Could a ton fit inside your head? Like, if you compressed it..."

"I dunno." she said with a shrug, and she narrowed her eyes at Louise. "You'd probably like talking to Victor more then me, if you're interested in that kind of thing." Gosh, could this girl take a hint?

Louise had taken to staring at the opposite wall with a dreamy expression as she contemplated whether such a thing was possible. As dense as the Earth itself.

"Well..."

Now Emily truly understood how Victor must have felt. Completely and undoubtedly awkward.

"I wonder where Alex went?" she asked the wall. Then, turning back to Emily, she went on: "You're a first year, then?"

"Yes, of course." she said with a nod. "Who's Alex?"

"Oh, it's grand. You'll be sorted, then you'll stuff your face!"

"What House are you in?" Emily asked curiously. "And..." Emily cleared her throat before she continued talking; she didn't want to appear as a timid first year. "How do they sort you, exactly? My parents say they place a hat on you, but I somehow don't believe that..."

"Yep, that's how! It's pretty snazzy if you ask me."