face down in the mud [isis]

Shelby was lying down in her bunk in her now half-empty room feeling absolutely sorry for herself. Tomie and the others had left by portkey this morning and now almost NONE of her friends were here and Simon and Archie were mostly hanging out with other BOYS anyway and it was FINE and it was NOT FINE and she wanted to GO HOME! But instead of articulating any of that to anyone, Shelby had locked herself in her cabin.

So what if she was wallowing in self-pity? It wasn't like anyone was here to see it.

Someone knocked on the door. Shelby ignored it. She didn't care that she was supposed to be at the lake right now with the rest of the kids staying the whole time or whatever. She was just gonna sit here and mope. The knocking persisted, a little more frantic. Shelby rolled over in her bed and pulled the pillow over her ears. "Go away!" she yelled, though it was also muffled by her pillow. After a moment, she could hear the sound of the key in the door. Ugh, it must be a counsellor then, with the master key, here to harass her. Shelby screamed into her pillow briefly, then got up in time to see the door open.

Carla was there, looking very disapprovingly at her. Shelby couldn't make eye contact with the older girl, given what she observed last night. "What's up?" Shelby asked, fists stuffed in her pockets.

Carla waved to someone outside, and a small girl that Shelby vaguely recognized as one of the Americans walked in with her stuff. "There was a housing mix-up," said Carla, "so Isis is going to be staying here now. Is that okay?"

It didn't feel okay, but Shelby didn't want to be mean, so she just nodded. Carla nodded back, and to Shelby's relief, left immediately.

Now it was just the two of them. Shelby felt awkward and just wanted to go back to bed, so she did so. "You can leave your shoes by the door," Shelby said, flopping back on her bunk.

@Isis Arceneaux

It had been a weird kind of day. The first bunch of kids, the ones who were only staying for the first half of camp, had gone home that morning and for a few hours it had seemed very quiet. Isis had taken the opportunity to go down to the lake with a book she was supposed to be reading over the summer, but the chickadees had been singing in the trees so she'd only gotten through four and a half pages before she was up and dancing to the birdsong, oblivious to everything else around her. She'd lost track of time and had run back to meet the new kids who were arriving, but when she went back to her dorm something was very wrong.

Somehow there'd been a mix-up and there were four new kids, all from the same school, now in her room, all speaking some weird language that Carla told her was Swedish. Isis wouldn't have minded that, it would have been fun to share with three other kids who didn't speak English, but now there was no room for her and she started to panic that she might be sent home. Isis rarely cried, but she was so upset at the thought of not being able to join in tomrrow night's campfire singalong she flung herself into Carla's arms and wept pitifully, even as the counselor assured her that it would be fine, they'd pack up her bags and find somewhere else for her right away...

Isis hated feeling like she didn't belong, as if she wasn't wanted. Even knowing that she was going to stay didn't make her feel better immediately and she sat with the counselors at dinner that night, not wanting to talk to anyone else and not even feeling like she wanted to get to know the newcomers. She picked at her food and the only thing that cheered her up was when the two Russian assistant counselors started talking about the dragon taming school they were going to in the fall. Truth be told, at least one of them wasn't Russian and it wasn't really a dragon taming school, but their accents confused her so she made some of it up in her head).

Finally Carla took her along to her new cabin, but Isis didn't have the nerve to go in by herself. Not this time. It was just as well that Carla was there, before the door seemed to be locked, and Isis had a nasty sinking feeling that whoever was in there didn't want her either. She could feel her eyes filling with tears again and she wiped her arm roughly across her face, determined to look friendly and cheerful no matter who was in there. "Thanks, Carla" she managed as she stepped inside and stood uncertainly looking at her new roommate, who at least was someone she'd spoken to a few times. That was something to be thankful for, right?

Even if she was met with a cross face and body language that said "go away".

Even if the only welcome she got was "leave your shoes by the door", as if she'd been dragged up in the sort of house where people had no manners.

Even if...even if she wasn't wanted here, either.

Biting her lip, she bent down and removed her sneakers, left them with the heels perfectly straight against the wall and brought her bags over to the new bed. It had a nicer throw cover than the one she'd left, she noted. Brighter colours. There, that was another good thing. She sat down and looked at the other girl quizzically.

"I didn't see you at dinner" she offered quietly "Are you okay...are you sick?"

[OOC: Sorry! Isis got excited and wanted to reply right away!]

When Isis spoke, her voice was so soft and tender that Shelby immediately felt a wave of guilt. Merlin, this was mean! She was being mean! Shelby sniffled a little, rolling over - not out of her bed, but onto her side so she could face the American girl where she was sitting on the other bed. "Sorry," she said, then, "sorry," again, as if she couldn't make up her mind what she was sorry about.

"I'm not sick," she managed, tucking her arm under her head. "Just really sad, I guess." A beat, then she added - "I've been really sad for a while, on and off, so maybe I am sick. Sad sick. Is that a thing?" Her eyes were red when she met Isis's gaze. Her stomach rumbled. Ah, well, she had missed dinner.

Shelby was quiet for a moment, mulling over what Carla had said - she hadn't really been listening. "Wait, what happened with your old cabin?" Shelby sat up, hugging the pillow to her chest. "Not that, of course I'm happy to not be alone in here, but, you were here for the first part of camp. What?" A very articulate question indeed.

Isis stared down at her socks. She'd been in a hurry that morning, and somehow her clothes had got kind of mixed up in her bag so she was wearing one red striped sock and one orange and yellow spotty one. They looked horrible together and she coudn't believe she'd spent the whole day walking around in clashing colours. She nibbled on her lip and raised her head. The other girl - Shelby, wasn't it? She had been sure that's what Carla had said but now it came to real introductions she felt shy and unsure. She decided to wait until the other girl confirmed her name.

"It's okay. everyone gets sad sometimes" she said, though judging by what she'd heard a few moments earlier, mad would have been a more accurate word. She shrugged. Most of the time Isis was happy, or at least she found a way to make the best of things, but it sounded like it could be a thing. "Yeah. Maybe" she offered, sounding a little unsure.

Then of course the question of why she was here. Isis felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes again and she took a deep breath, blinking hard because she absolutely was NOT going to feel sorry for herself. "Like Carla said...there was a mix-up. I got back there earlier and it was full of Swedish kids. I mean, I wouldn't have minded even if I didn't know what they were saying, but they all knew each other so..." she paused and swallowed hard "...so it would have been mean to ask one of them to move just so I could stay there, right? So...now I'm here. If that's okay with you" she added softly, sounding a little uncertain. She didn't want to ask, but Isis guessed Shelby's friends had all left and that's why this cabin had spaces. That could account for why she was feeling sad.

Isis reminded her of some of her cousins. It wasn't hard, given the sheer number of them dotting the English countryside, but Isis had such Hufflepuff-Trickett energy about her, in the way she was so willing to accept Shelby's silly excuse for her behaviour. Shelby's cheeks went a little pink. "Do you want to come sit?" Shelby asked, scooting over towards her pillow on the lower bunk to make room.

Isis explained, and Shelby felt sorry for asking when the wetness began to pool in the other girls eyes. She hadn't paid attention when Carla had explained, but Isis' explanation seemed to have more detail, anyway. Shelby blinked a little at the mention of Sweden -- hadn't there been something in Sweden recently? -- but mostly just nodded slowly. "Of course it's okay with me. I'm sorry for being cranky. And also I'm sorry that happened." Isis seemed sad, too. "We can be sad together for a little bit, maybe."

Shelby glanced down -- eye contact was hard for her to hold too long, looked at Isis's socks and smiled. "I like your socks," Shelby said, her voice a little brighter. "It looks really fun, not matching them."

"Sure! Oh...wait a minute..." Isis said, pulling open the zipper on her larger bag and digging into the inside pocket. She dug around in there for a minute and pulled out a slightly crumpled though as yet unopened bag of liquorice wands. "Want one?" she asked as she pulled the bag open and held it out hopefully. They were her favourites, not just plain liquorice but the kind that changed flavour, switching through cherry, mint, chocolate and lemon as they were eaten.

Taking one for herself, she folded the top of the bag and replaced it neatly, realising she felt a little better already. She nodded thoughtfully. Being sad was easier when you weren't alone, though she wasn't sure she was with a friend - not yet, anyway. A little tentatively, she crossed over to sit where Shelby had indicated, glancing down at her own ankles as she seated herself.

"Oh...yeah" a little embarrassed giggle. And then, because it felt like such a stupid think to feel bad over something as ordinary as socks "And you know what, I've got another pair just like them in my bag!" She settled herself cross-legged and took a bite of the liquorice wand, pulling down on it until it stretched and a bit broke off. Right now it tasted of lemon. She chewed it before asking more quietly "I guess your friends didn't get to stay the whole summer?"