Magical Hogwarts

Camp was slowly coming to a close, and Tomie was feeling the time slipping away. Hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót they only just gotten here?? A part of her wished that she?óÔé¼Ôäód been able to sign up for the whole summers?óÔé¼Ôäó worth of camp, but she was pretty sure that Shelby was the only friend of hers who?óÔé¼Ôäód still be here next month. Benny, at least, would be at home, and while Tomie loved Shelby, she did miss spending all of her time with him. They were neighbours at home and neighbours at school, but here Tomie was finding herself pulled in a few different directions.

She brushed some crumbs from her lips with the back of one hand as she skipped down some stairs. Hopefully Benny was free this afternoon. Or JR, she supposed. She paused at the bottom, though, catching sight of something cool on the concrete. The sounds of the skateboard echoed off the building beside them, and Tomie slowed to a stop by the wall, her eyes drawn to the young man skating around in front of her. She took the last bite of her finger bun and scrunched the paper bag she?óÔé¼Ôäód gotten it in into a ball, which she popped into her pocket.

The witch had seen people on skateboards before. She only lived in zone two or something, so it wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót like she?óÔé¼Ôäód never seen a muggle on a skateboard flying by or whatever. But she definitely didn?óÔé¼Ôäót remember seeing any around Hogwarts, and none of her friends at home knew how to skate. She watched him manoeuvre around on it with ease, thinking that it didn?óÔé¼Ôäót look too hard while simultaneously thinking that it looked super cool. She scuffed her sneaker against the hard ground a couple of times ?óÔé¼?ôThat?óÔé¼Ôäós really cool,?óÔé¼?Ø she said, trying to be casual after a moment of hovering.

Eventually, Adam had tracked down this spot: not a real skate park by any means, but a swath of concrete with stairs and railings, and (best of all) without those bastard little metal things that people liked to put on all their shit these days to keep punks like him off it. He?óÔé¼Ôäód have looked like a goof if he?óÔé¼Ôäód brought his board all the way to Vermont only to not use it at all.

He?óÔé¼Ôäód never tried to do something like this before, meeting more wizards his age from all around the world, and it was strange the commonalities he?óÔé¼Ôäód been missing out on. He?óÔé¼Ôäód met his first Vietnamese wizard -- some dude from Actual Bona Fide Vi?í??ÔÇít Nam who went to the Japanese school, who had absolutely nothing in common with him but who spoke the language and had a lot to say about Chinese food -- and his first international magbobs -- they called them muggleborns in Britain, whatever the hell that meant. Adam had felt sort of dwarfed by the vastness of this world, by the breadth of the experiences he shared and the breadth of the experiences he?óÔé¼Ôäód never had. More than that, he?óÔé¼Ôäód been comforted.

It was fuckin?óÔé¼Ôäó weird here, was what it was. So, inevitably, he was back at this dump. Drab and rugged (he?óÔé¼Ôäód scraped up an elbow already, so he knew this for a fact) and trying to eke out some familiarity from Stowe, Vermont. This wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót ugly San Jose, but it was ugly -- that was good enough for now.

At some point, Adam had become aware that he was being watched, by one of the little kids from one of the other schools. Not that he minded; in fact, he was sort of taking this chance to show off a little bit. He?óÔé¼Ôäód come here initially to just loaf around, but if this random little kid wanted to see a frontside flip, by God, she would, he?óÔé¼Ôäód spent ages learning that. He hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót really expected her to actually try and talk to him, though -- he screeched up to a stop and said, awkwardly, ?óÔé¼?ôThanks.?óÔé¼?Ø

That felt like a dumb place to leave off, so he added, ?óÔé¼?ôWhat school you from??óÔé¼?Ø

?óÔé¼?ôWelcome,?óÔé¼?Ø Tomie said politely, but her smile was more amused than polite, and she gave a small shrug. She tried to guess his accent from the five words he?óÔé¼Ôäód said, but she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót very good at that. He sounded American to her, but she?óÔé¼Ôäód grown up in inner London and spent most of her time with other Asian-British kids; the first time she?óÔé¼Ôäód heard an American talk was on this trip. The only thing she was totally sure of was that he wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót from her school. She would have noticed. Because reasons.

Now that he?óÔé¼Ôäód stopped skating, she kinda wished she hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót said anything. ?óÔé¼?ôHogwarts,?óÔé¼?Ø she answered. Since like, half of her year had come on this trip it had almost been more of a school camp than an international summer camp for Tomie. She hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót talked to that many people outside of her group, so this was kinda cool.

?óÔé¼?ôIs it hard??óÔé¼?Ø she asked nodding at his board, far more interested in steering the conversation back to skating. She wondered distantly if she could angle some way for him to teach her or something. Was there a way to do it without being annoying? Was she being annoying now? ?óÔé¼?ôI?óÔé¼Ôäóve never done it,?óÔé¼?Ø she added, ?óÔé¼?ôbut I kinda wanna.?óÔé¼?Ø

Ah, Hogwarts. Adam was still a little wary of them -- his first year he'd heard a lot about Hogwarts rounding magbobs into jail -- but he?óÔé¼Ôäód liked most of the Brits he?óÔé¼Ôäód met. ?óÔé¼?ôMy bunkmate?óÔé¼Ôäós from Hogwarts,?óÔé¼?Ø said Adam. ?óÔé¼?ôDude named Killian.?óÔé¼?Ø This was presumably enough for her to go on, if she knew him -- how many people in the world could have a name like Killian? He jerked his head slightly -- ?óÔé¼?ôI go to Ilvermorny.?óÔé¼?Ø

He had to stop making split-second judgments of people -- but her accent hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót sounded British to him. Not that Adam really knew anything about British accents, he supposed; he could barely pick out a Texan accent. (He?óÔé¼Ôäód been assured that it was different from a Georgian one but he really didn?óÔé¼Ôäót know.)

As always, Adam was torn between nonchalance (oh, it?óÔé¼Ôäós not hard at all) and bragging (so hard) so he compromised with, ?óÔé¼?ôPretty hard. Depends on the tricks you do, if you?óÔé¼Ôäóre not careful you can smash your brains out. But I?óÔé¼Ôäóve been doing this a while, like seven or eight years.?óÔé¼?Ø

She?óÔé¼Ôäód never skated before, but she kinda wanted to -- how the hell was he supposed to interpret that? Adam was not inclined to let random people use his board -- he?óÔé¼Ôäód let his sister on it one time and she?óÔé¼Ôäód barked her shin on a park bench immediately. (He?óÔé¼Ôäód made her get back on it and try again and that afternoon, he?óÔé¼Ôäód taught her how to skate. She still sucked at it.)

?óÔé¼?ôWant a go??óÔé¼?Ø he said grudgingly; he stepped one foot off the board to roll it in her direction, careful not to lose contact with it (lest she think he was enthusiastic about this arrangement.) He didn?óÔé¼Ôäót have another helmet but -- whatever -- it wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót like he was going to show her how to do jumps. Adam had more sense than that.

Killian? Wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót that the name of Josie?óÔé¼Ôäós friend? The kinda boring one? She couldn?óÔé¼Ôäót ask that though, so she said ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ ?óÔé¼?ôKinda tall? I think he?óÔé¼Ôäós in my house.?óÔé¼?Ø She nodded when he said he went to Ilvermorny. Of course an American would be skating around, all cool like.

?óÔé¼?ôWicked,?óÔé¼?Ø Tomie said, leaving ambiguous as to whether it was the brain-smashing or the eight years of skating that she was responding to. She hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót ever had a very good measure of how dangerous something was. Was skateboarding really that dangerous? Like, brain-smashing, potential-death level dangerous? She doubted it. It sounded like the kind of thing she?óÔé¼Ôäód tell Claire or Evelyn to seem cool but keep them off her back at the same time. Her and Benny?óÔé¼Ôäós little sisters were more gullible than her, though, she thought.

Then again, it wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót entirely not-working. She did think he seemed pretty cool.

He didn?óÔé¼Ôäót seem overly enthusiastic about sharing, but Tomie didn?óÔé¼Ôäót mind; she was pushing off of the wall immediately, dusting her hands off on her shorts. ?óÔé¼?ôYeah,?óÔé¼?Ø she said, trying to seem as nonchalant as he was, and absolutely failing. ?óÔé¼?ôWhat foot do I put at the front??óÔé¼?Ø she asked with a happy smile, already putting one of her feet on the board just to get a feel.

?óÔé¼?ôHe?óÔé¼Ôäós not that tall,?óÔé¼?Ø groused Adam, though Killian was -- at least -- taller than he was. (And his hair was even taller.) At least she didn?óÔé¼Ôäót seem as impressed by Killian as she was by Adam; he was impressed by how readily she?óÔé¼Ôäód accepted the smashing brains out stuff. That?óÔé¼Ôäód been enough to make his sister wimp out. His sister had, to be fair, also been there for Adam?óÔé¼Ôäós one and only major skating accident, which had needed like a hundred stitches. He thought about telling this little girl about it (what was her name? was it weird to ask?) but that felt like it was trying too hard.

The coolest thing that?óÔé¼Ôäód ever happened to him (admittedly it hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót been very cool at the time) was only cool if it came up casually. Adam lived by a simple conversational rule: never, ever, appear to care.

She was way too quick to admit to wanting to skate; oddly that made him trust her a little more. At least she was enthusiastic. She put one foot on it, testing it out. ?óÔé¼?ôUsually you put your left foot forward,?óÔé¼?Ø Adam said with apprehension. ?óÔé¼?ôIf you do it the other way we call you goofy. Just test your balance first.?óÔé¼?Ø He took his foot off his board to demonstrate, knees bent, a little awkward when he was on the actual ground.

He stuck his hands out warily, in case she immediately shot his board across the asphalt and needed to grab something. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with her lack of a helmet -- ?óÔé¼?ôYou gotta hat or something??óÔé¼?Ø he said. His helmet was definitely bigger than her head but a hat might help.

Also -- ?óÔé¼?ôWhat?óÔé¼Ôäós your name??óÔé¼?Ø

Not that tall? Tomie shrugged. Mostly everyone was taller than her; she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót sure she?óÔé¼Ôäód seen a single person in the years above her that was her height, and out of her friends only Benny was smaller than her. She wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót very good at judging who was or wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót tall. Tomie followed his instructions as she stepped up onto the board, feeling confident with the first part, at least. Balancing wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót difficult for her ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ maybe because she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót very scared of falling.

With two feet on the board, left foot forward, she bent her knees a little. Seemed easy enough. ?óÔé¼?ôNot on me,?óÔé¼?Ø she said, giving him an amused look, then glancing back at her feet. She had to remind herself not to get smart with older teenagers when she wanted them to like her, or when they were doing something nice for her like sharing boards. Her short time at camp ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and hanging out with Josie, probably ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ had really amped up her cockiness, and she really needed to tone it down before she went home.

?óÔé¼?ôTomie,?óÔé¼?Ø She told him, pushing forward slowly with her back foot. ?óÔé¼?ôYours??óÔé¼?Ø she asked. She wobbled a little, but wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót going fast enough to have to stop. ?óÔé¼?ôI think?óÔé¼?ª?óÔé¼?Ø She got off, then swapped feet so her right foot was at the front. The girl pushed off, more confidently this time. ?óÔé¼?ôYeah, this is better,?óÔé¼?Ø She said with a quick smile over her shoulder. The skateboard hit a small rock and she tumbled forward, tripping, flailing a little, but up again so fast anyone watching might have imagined it. She hoped.

The girl laughed as she brushed her hands off, a little embarrassed but in a well-natured kind of way where she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót really embarrassed that she?óÔé¼Ôäód fallen, but just embarrassed enough in case he was gonna make fun of her for it. "Probably should watch where I'm going," she said lightly, skipping back to the skateboard to give it another go.

Smartass. Adam grinned, hands held a little warily in front of him, in case she fell. ?óÔé¼?ôThink I?óÔé¼Ôäód feel better if you had like, a helmet,?óÔé¼?Ø he said -- he rapped on his with his knuckles, but it wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót like he was going to let her do anything dangerous. She was probably like ten; he?óÔé¼Ôäód barely let his sister go down a ten-degree slope, her first time.

?óÔé¼?ôTomie??óÔé¼?Ø he repeated -- that was an odd name. Maybe a nickname. He wondered what kind of Asian she was (was that racist?) but it didn?óÔé¼Ôäót seem like a question to ask straightaway, and in any case she seemed to care more about the skating than him. She pushed off, before he?óÔé¼Ôäód even suggested she try it; feeling mildly insulted by how quickly she was picking it up, he said, ?óÔé¼?ôI?óÔé¼Ôäóm Adam. Nguyen.?óÔé¼?Ø

Tomie got off the board before he could tell her to -- she?óÔé¼Ôäód been as aware as he felt of her unsteady footing, he supposed -- she switched her stance cheerfully, and immediately knocked herself down. She hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót made it far -- she was back on her feet before Adam had reached her, and he was only about two steps away -- but the skateboard rolled away.

?óÔé¼?ôHey!?óÔé¼?Ø said Adam, as Tomie beelined back toward his board. He stopped short, a little helplessly (what had he gotten himself into?) She didn?óÔé¼Ôäót seem hurt but he was starting to feel like she might brain herself on a rock, and he?óÔé¼Ôäód totally get in trouble for it.

?óÔé¼?ôYeah, but you gotta wear a helmet too. I got a hat you can wear under this one if you want.?óÔé¼?Ø She reached the board before he did, but he jumped in front of her before she could take off again, swung his backpack off his back to find his old A?óÔé¼Ôäós cap and hand it to her. He?óÔé¼Ôäód once been the kind of kid to not take helmets seriously; she seemed the type as well, so he stared her down until she took it, then unbuckled his helmet and took it off.

?óÔé¼?ôSo,?óÔé¼?Ø he said, finally, ?óÔé¼?ôUh, your stance was good. But go more slowly this time.?óÔé¼?Ø

Hey!

?óÔé¼?ôSorry,?óÔé¼?Ø Tomie said automatically, but she made sure to smile to let him know that she was okay, actually, and hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót twisted an ankle or something when she?óÔé¼Ôäód fallen over. When he offered, Tomie took his cap, putting it on backwards automatically. When he held out the helmet, though, she waited a moment, as if he might just be suggesting instead of demanding. When he didn?óÔé¼Ôäót take the helmet back, she reluctantly took it and put it on her head, barely holding back a grimace as she clipped the chin strap together. It was still a little loose, and she had to wonder how much safer she actually was.

?óÔé¼?ôOkay,?óÔé¼?Ø she breathed, thankful for the compliment and impatient to improve. She didn?óÔé¼Ôäót have that kind motivation when it came to academics, but she could feel just a touch of her quidditch-brain kicking into gear here. How cool would it be to have a skateboard of her own, and to skate around Islington with Benny? The brunette held her arms out a little and pushed off, bending her knees instinctively for balance. The concrete was smooth, and she only got a little wobbly just as she was slowing to a stop. She stepped off the board lightly.

?óÔé¼?ôSo Adam?óÔé¼?ª you go to Ilver,?óÔé¼?Ø she said casually, using the nickname Josie had used for the American school. ?óÔé¼?ôBut like, where are you from??óÔé¼?Ø Tomie glanced at him as she turned the skateboard around with her foot like she?óÔé¼Ôäód seen him do, albeit far more clumsily. It was the kind of pointed question that felt kind of weird and awkward coming from a lot of people ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ most people ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ but felt a lot more okay coming from someone who looked like, well, him. She didn?óÔé¼Ôäót consider that other people might have different perspectives to her, or that it could still be uncomfortable, even though they were both clearly... some kind of Asian.

Tomie stepped up onto the board again, exactly as she just had, and pushed off with a little more force this time. Again, she stayed still until it came to a natural stop.

The helmet was a little bit too big for Tomie?óÔé¼Ôäós skull -- he frowned, wondering whether he ought to mess with the straps for her, but it didn?óÔé¼Ôäót seem too likely that it?óÔé¼Ôäód come off, so he doubted it would be a problem. Better any helmet than none at all, right? That made sense.

She did better on her second try; her pace was much slower, verging on almost too slow -- he put his hands back in his shorts pockets as she stepped off. He wondered, idly, if she was a magbob or not -- she didn?óÔé¼Ôäót seem like one of those wizards from fully wizard worlds -- or, at least, her ability to dress herself normally suggested not -- but he?óÔé¼Ôäód realised over time that there were a lot more wizard/no-maj family structures than he?óÔé¼Ôäód given wizards credit for.

?óÔé¼?ôIlvermorny,?óÔé¼?Ø he corrected. He wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót sure if she?óÔé¼Ôäód asked him where was he from in, like, the normal way or the kind-of-racist way, but she was pretty clearly Asian too, so it would make sense if she?óÔé¼Ôäód wanted to know what kind of Asian he was. ?óÔé¼?ôCalifornia,?óÔé¼?Ø he said, ?óÔé¼?ôLike, near Silicon Valley. Lot of Vietnamese out there.?óÔé¼?Ø

There! He thought he?óÔé¼Ôäód played that off well enough. She stepped onto the board again, sailed with slightly more speed across the asphalt. Adam, now content to just chill and let her dick around, stayed put where he was -- he could probably move fast enough in an emergency anyway. He raised his voice, to make sure she could hear him: ?óÔé¼?ôWhat about you??óÔé¼?Ø

He knew exactly nothing about Britain -- Killian had tried at some point to explain where Scotland was in relation to England and Adam felt like he?óÔé¼Ôäód come away with even less understanding than he?óÔé¼Ôäód started out with -- but, hopefully, she?óÔé¼Ôäód know to answer in kind. He didn?óÔé¼Ôäót think she was Vietnamese -- call it a hunch -- but her family was probably from somewhere in that area.

?óÔé¼?ôAh,?óÔé¼?Ø she said. Vietnamese. There was an older Vietnamese couple on her floor, but she didn?óÔé¼Ôäót think she?óÔé¼Ôäód ever spoken to them. She was half-hoping he?óÔé¼Ôäód say he was from the Philippines; she?óÔé¼Ôäód have needed to skip off and tell Benny if that was the case.?á

?óÔé¼?ôI?óÔé¼Ôäóm from London,?óÔé¼?Ø she said with a casual shrug, as if it were obvious and rather uninteresting. Any British person could probably tell; her accent was very London-y. ?óÔé¼?ôIslington,?óÔé¼?Ø she added, too caught up messing around with his skateboard to consider that he probably had as much of an idea about where Islington was as she did Silicon Valley ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ none. California?óÔé¼?ª had a beach? So it was either east or west, but that was about as well as she could do for American geography.

?óÔé¼?ôLot of Indonesians in the Netherlands,?óÔé¼?Ø she said, copying his phrasing without noticing. She paused for a moment, one foot on the board. ?óÔé¼?ôWell, I mean my mum is like Indonesian-Indonesian but my dad?óÔé¼Ôäós family is Dutch-Indonesian.?óÔé¼?Ø She glanced at him to make sure he got it. ?óÔé¼?ôDo you speak Vietnamese??óÔé¼?Ø she asked, before returning to her task. She was getting increasingly confident in the two-feet-on-the-board thing. Tomie was a Gryffindor, after all; she was fearless.

?óÔé¼?ôAre there lots of Vietnamese people at your school??óÔé¼?Ø she asked, unabashed in her curiosity as she wobbled along. ?óÔé¼?ôThere are like no Indonesians at Hogwarts. But my best friend is Filipino, so. Not the same, but more similar than, y?óÔé¼Ôäóknow. Most.?óÔé¼?Ø She felt the one of the wheels hit a small rock and had to jump off of the board just then. Luckily, her knees had been bent and ready to spring; she didn?óÔé¼Ôäót fall off this time.

London was one of about three English cities Adam could name, so he nodded in recognition (not that he?óÔé¼Ôäód have nodded in any other way, even if he hadn?óÔé¼Ôäót recognized the town she?óÔé¼Ôäód named) and said, ?óÔé¼?ôCool.?óÔé¼?Ø Islington must have meant to her what lEast meant to him. She was from a city too, then; San Jose was more sprawling than he thought London was, at least based on like, the Mary Poppins movie. That was set in London, right?

Would this kid know what Mary Poppins was, if he asked? Was it rude to come out and ask if she was a magbob? Did it matter in the first place when she?óÔé¼Ôäód probably asked where he was from because she wanted to know what type of Asian he was?

She was the Indonesian type of Asian -- gratified that he?óÔé¼Ôäód been kind of right about the general location (he?óÔé¼Ôäód thought she was Filipino, if he?óÔé¼Ôäód had to guess) he nodded. He wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót entirely sure if Dutch-Indonesian meant Indonesian but living in the Netherlands, or Dutch but living in Indonesia, but he definitely wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót going to ask if she was like, part white. That seemed even ruder than the magbob thing.

?óÔé¼?ôYeah,?óÔé¼?Ø he said, only barely resisting the urge to say duh. ?óÔé¼?ôI grew up speaking it. What about you, do you speak Indonesian??óÔé¼?Ø He wondered if that, too, was something weirdly universal, the alienation of being raised in a different language. From the looks of it, that was common with some of the other schools; he was lucky he?óÔé¼Ôäód gone to an American elementary. He laughed at her question -- ?óÔé¼?ôNo way,?óÔé¼?Ø he said, ?óÔé¼?ôAt least I?óÔé¼Ôäóm one of the only ones I know.?óÔé¼?Ø There was an Ng a few years down but he thought she was Malaysian. He was saved the trouble of asking about Hogwarts, though the answer wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót a surprise. At least she had one Asian friend.

?óÔé¼?ôI got a friend who?óÔé¼Ôäós Thai,?óÔé¼?Ø he said. ?óÔé¼?ôShe?óÔé¼Ôäós a magbob too.?óÔé¼?Ø

He?óÔé¼Ôäód been paying more attention to the conversation than her skating -- his priorities jolted back into place when she hopped off the board. ?óÔé¼?ôAy-yi-yi,?óÔé¼?Ø he said; she seemed fine, so he chased down his board, brought it back and set it back down at her feet. ?óÔé¼?ôWatch where you?óÔé¼Ôäóre going,?óÔé¼?Ø he said.

?óÔé¼?ôThai,?óÔé¼?Ø Tomie repeated, nodding as if she knew all about Thailand. Sometimes it felt a bit like she did, even though she didn?óÔé¼Ôäót. She knew more, probably, than most white people, and less than any actual Thai people, or even, like, actual Indonesians who lived in Indonesia. For a moment, the girl felt a weird feeling in her tummy, an uncomfortable twist of self-doubt relating vaguely to that thought in particular. She shrugged it off, though, nodding distractedly at magbob, too, as if she knew what that meant.

Tomie straightened up from her almost-fall smoothly, an excited smile on her face as she felt the rush that came with a near-miss. ?óÔé¼?ôRight,?óÔé¼?Ø she said, trying to be sheepish about it all but having a bit too much fun to pull it off. ?óÔé¼?ôSorry.?óÔé¼?Ø For a moment, she?óÔé¼Ôäód thought he was going to take the board away, but he set it down by her feet instead, so she hopped back on enthusiastically. Benny was gonna flip when he heard about this, she thought. She wondered vaguely if Adam would acknowledge her if she waved to him at, like, lunch or something. She?óÔé¼Ôäód make sure to do it in front of her other friends.

She pushed off confidently, wobbling a bit as she shot off a little faster than she was expecting. She went in a pretty straight line, then hopped off and turned the board around so she could come back towards him. ?óÔé¼?ôI have another friend who?óÔé¼Ôäós half Korean,?óÔé¼?Ø Tomie offered, pushing off, her thoughts still lingering somewhere around the whole ethnicity part of the conversation. She didn?óÔé¼Ôäót specify what the other half was.

She didn?óÔé¼Ôäót look sorry; Adam hesitated before he set the board back down, and she was right back at it. He was still wary ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ felt like maybe he should be guarding her, or protecting her, or something, but she wasn?óÔé¼Ôäót his little sister, so he couldn?óÔé¼Ôäót let her hold his hands for balance and in any case she didn?óÔé¼Ôäót seem to need it. She was picking it up faster than he had, initially ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ he decided to believe that it was because he was a good teacher, rather than any less flattering reason. (He?óÔé¼Ôäód mostly taught himself, at least, helped along by a crowd of his friends also teaching themselves. It was a very different way to learn than this.)

Tomie beelined away, and then back; she was keeping pretty straight on, so Adam gave her an approving mental check-plus and folded his arms. She was a real talker ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ he wouldn?óÔé¼Ôäót have minded if it weren?óÔé¼Ôäót becoming rapidly uninteresting. He was running out of friends he could counter her with. ?óÔé¼?ôAll my other Asian friends are back at home,?óÔé¼?Ø he said. ?óÔé¼?ôNo-maj?óÔé¼Ôäós. You guys call them ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ uh ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ Moggles, or something, right??óÔé¼?Ø He would have to ask Killian again ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ it was something stupid like that. ?óÔé¼?ôI got a cousin who?óÔé¼Ôäós only half Vietnamese, the other half is Chinese.?óÔé¼?Ø

This was as much personal insight as Adam could stand to share, so he scratched at his head ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ without his hat, the sun was boring into his skull and he was starting to feel gross. He watched her skate for a little bit, worrying that she might get bored of this and want to learn a trick that would inevitably skin her knees and get his skateboard taken away for the rest of camp. Not ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ he looked around the little stretch of concrete ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ like this place was any good for cool tricks anyway.

But there was something purely fun about just skating ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ no tricks, no stunts, just moving on along ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ on a board. Like gliding. He thought it was the closest he?óÔé¼Ôäód ever come to understanding what it was wizards liked so much about flying (he, himself, though he?óÔé¼Ôäód been on a broom and he knew it didn?óÔé¼Ôäót really feel like sitting on a stick, couldn?óÔé¼Ôäót rid himself of the psychological knowledge that he was.)