Open Been Here All Along

[Caleb Thorne]

(Open after Marijke posts with Ivelisse)

Caleb was glad to be back at school because it was decidedly better than being at home. He had managed to forget just how quiet it could get at his house, especially when his dad was gone on business trips. He loved the nearly constant buzz of activity at school which mean there was almost always something he could preoccupy himself with. He also loved eating in the great hall and even when he ate by himself all the other students kept him from ever feeling lonely. Besides he could always bother Lila but he wasn't that desperate yet. Caleb also didn't mind being by himself, knowing that most other people weren't that interesting anyways. But he did want to at least give people a chance this year and when he spotted a girl from his year approach the Slytherin table he offered her a small wave to see if she would join him.

 

[Ivelisse Burleigh]

Ivelisse couldn't exactly say whether being at school was as interesting as it had felt the last year, especially now she would not only see her sister but her father wandering around the castle as well. As long as it didn't take away from her being her own person she was sure it would be fine, but the idea of her entire family being around was still a bit weird. What was the point of going home over the break and getting excited about telling her dad all of her stories when she could now literally see him at school? Nevertheless, she was still confident this year was going to be great. She was going to make more friends, tryout for quidditch. Yeah, things would be good she was sure of it. As she wandered towards the slytherin table Ivelisse was a bit surprised when of the boys from her year seemed to be waving at her. She looked around to make sure his wave was actually meant for her but it looked like it was. Either that, or he had some invisible friends walking around the place. "Hi!" She greeted once she reached him, quite pleased with the opportunity to get to talk to someone new. "It's, uh, Caleb, right?" She asked as she sat down. Names hadn't always been her strong suit but after being in the same class for a year already she was sure she remembered most of her classmates names correctly. The ones from her own house at the very least.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb's ever present grin widened as the girl approached and was relieved to have some company for once. He had always thought she seemed cool and now it was time to find out. "Hey!" he greeted just ask brightly and raised an eyebrow playfully as she recalled his name. "It is." he said a little impressed. He let out a laugh and tried to look sheepish. "Now I look like an jerk cause I don't remember your name." he admitted. "Let me guess!" he said excitedly and looked thoughtful. "Hmm, does it start with an S?" he asked warily despite his smile.

 

[Ivelisse Burleigh]

Ivelisse was pretty pleased she had gotten her classmates name right. Surely that would make a good impression. "No worries, I just have an excellent memory." She said jokingly, knowing fully well that she had just gotten lucky in matching the right name with the right face. "It does.." She started out, pausing for a second before scrunching her nose. "Not. It does not start with an S." Ive laughed as she pulled her legs up onto the bench and crossed them to make herself more comfortable as she faced the boy. "Wanna guess again?"

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb laughed at her comment. "Oh really? How excellent?" he asked with challenging grin and tried to think of something to ask her that could put that statement to the test. But in the meantime he felt a small flush of embarrassment as he guessed wrong, not that he was really surprised by that. "Hmmm..." he said and tapped a finger on his chin as he made a show of thinking about it. "Nope." he said finally. "I think I've embarrassed myself enough for now." he added.

 

[Ivelisse Burleigh]

Ivelisse bit the inside of her cheek when Caleb sounded like he was about to challenge her. While she didn't usually back down from a little challenge she mostly tried to work her way around ones she knew she wasn't going to to well in as a form of self-preservation. If she was going to be the best she couldn't be seen failing all the time after all. "Okay maybe not that excellent." She admitted in the hopes that her honesty would get him to drop it as well. Ive watched Caleb curiously when he made a little show of deciding whether or not he wanted to guess again. "If you say so." She laughed, thinking it wasn't all that embarassing that he didn't know her name. Especially since she couldn't recall ever really having talked to him. "It's Ivelisse. Or Ive's fine as well." She introduced herself, feeling the need to add the nickname some of her other friends had gone to call her so far.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb raised an eyebrow as she backtracked her claim so quickly. He wasn't going to say anything but he had definitely noticed and grinned. He was at least glad that she seemed to accept his defeat graciously and finally gave him her name. "Ivelisse..." he repeated back to her sounding thoughtful. He made a show of trying not to forget the name and muttered it a few more times for added effect. "Well now I know your name and that your memory is excellent but not that excellent." he said after a moment of pause. "What's something else I should know about you?" he asked, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward to put his head in his hands, as he looked at her closely.

 

[Ivelisse Burleigh]

Ivelisse grinned when Caleb repeated her name as he made a bit of a show of trying to remember it. While she hadn't thought it was embarassing that he hadn't known her name before it surely would be if he managed to forget it now. "Don't know, I think that pretty much sums me up." She joked when he referred back to her name and her memory being not that great as she had made it out to be in the first place. Ive put her finger to her chin at his question, trying to think of something to say. Sure, she could say her dad was a professor or anything basic like that but she didn't want to. If she was going to say something about herself it had to be interesting. Something she could possibly show off with. "Well I'm a gymnast so I've got some cool tricks up my sleeve." She said casually to mask her bragging. "And I'm probably going to be slytherin's next champion seeker." Ive added with a small shrug. It was perhaps an overly confident thing to say when tryouts were still coming up but she didn't really care. "What about you? Any fun facts?" She asked, jokingly mimicking Caleb's posture as she waited for an answer.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb waited patiently for Ivelisse to respond and he wasn't disappointed. "Really?!" he asked and leaned forward in his excitement. His parent's hadn't bothered to sign him up for many activities after they had moved to New Zealand which had always annoyed him. Even Lila got music lessons while he had to learn the piano and drums by himself. "So can you do a back flip?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and wondered if he could convince her to demonstrate some of the tricks she claimed to have. "Well I've heard you have big shoes to fill." he said with a shrug. Caleb didn't care much for quidditch but he had to have lived under a rock not to know about the old seeker and captain. "Me?" he said curiously and pointed at himself before humming as he tried to think of something worth sharing. "I can play two, almost three instruments." he said and paused as he tried to think of something else to say. "And a pet rat named Peach that I take to most lessons." he continued with a definite tilt of his chin and wondered if she was to question him on any of his 'facts'.

 

[Ivelisse Burleigh]

Ivelisse grinned when Caleb seemed excited about her mentioning she was a gymnast. It was exactly the sort of reaction she would hope for when telling anyone about it, specifically because it often meant she would get a chance to show off a little. Something she'd never say no to. "I mean technically, yes. But never inside. I could walk on my hands though." She responded, adding some enthusiasm to the last part of her sentence. She knew doing a backflip would be way cooler than walking around on her hands but if something went wrong she wasn't too keen on falling down on the stone floor. Not that she expected anything to go wrong, but just in case. Ive shrugged at Caleb's response regarding quidditch. "We'll see how it goes." She said casually, although there was no doubt in her mind that she would be great. She curiously waited for the boy to come up with something about himself, genuinely impressed when he mentioned he could play multiple instruments. "That's cool. Which ones? Does that mean you're part of like, the arts club?" Ive asked. Her sister had told her stories about the arts club and their meetings, but it had always sounded like that was more for students who were into visual arts. "No way!" She almost squeaked, perhaps a little too excited about Caleb having a pet rat. "So if I'd claim a seat next to you in class can I hang out with Peach?"

 

[Caleb Thorne]

“That’s still cool.” Caleb said with a shrug. He was less excited but still impressed. It wasn’t as cool as a backflip but it was more than he could do. He taught himself how to do a cartwheel but that was about it when it came to any kind of acrobatics. “I can play piano, drums, and I’m still learning the ukulele. My cousin brought it when she visited over the holiday for my birthday.” he explained and was happy to brag just a little since he learned everything on his own. He shrugged when she asked if he was a part of the arts club. “No. I just didn’t see the point. It’s not like I need a club to create stuff.” he answered with a wave of his hand. He smiled as Ivelisse got excited when he mentioned Peach. “Definitely!” he said smiling even wider. "I don't have her with me today since she was still asleep when I left my room." he said, now a little disappointed he hadn't just woken her up. "But if you bring her grapes she'll be your best friend."