Time Alone (OPEN!)

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

As much as Callie loved her sisters, sometimes she just needed some time to herself. When they were together, they were "the triplets," like they were just three pieces of a single unit. She didn't mind that, really.... but sometimes she needed to remind herself that she was an individual, and not just part of a unit. On these occasions, she would either walk outside on the grounds, or, if the weather was bad, she would go and sit in the library under the guise of "studying."

Fortunately, today was sunny and warm, although the March wind was blowing pretty fiercely. Still, she could handle a little wind. So she wandered down to the lake, book in hand, and stared out at the water, which was capped with white peaks as the wind created miniature waves on the surface.

There didn't seem to be any other students around; perhaps they were scared off by the wind. Nevertheless, she felt relaxed enough to sit down in the shadow of the willow and open up her book. Soon she was absorbed in the book, and didn't even hear someone approaching.

[Dierks Brooks]

Being tired of all the cold weather, there was no way that Dierks was going to miss his chance of feeling the warmer weather. The wind was blowing, but it didn't bother him. Being out in a little wind never hurt anybody.

Taking a detour path to the lake, rather than going straight there, Dierks put his hands in his pockets and started whistling to himself. He had a decent song running through his head by the time he came up to the lake. His whistling stopped whenever he noticed one of the Sanders sisters. He could tell that it wasn't Bobby. In fact, he could tell the three apart without really thinking just in the way they presented themselves. If they were to act the same, well, that could probably cause a little problem.

Noticing that she was reading, Dierks took it to be Callie. Not wanting to really disturb her at the moment, he quietly walked up and took a seat on the grass beside her, waiting to see if she would notice him.

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

Callie didn't notice him until he actually sat down. Startled, she dropped her book and stared at the boy through narrowed eyes for a moment. She recognized him as one of Bobby's flock of boys and she wondered if he had mistaken her for Bobby. What she didn't realize was that no one ever mistook her for either of her sisters. Although they looked similar, they were different in many other ways, and very few people ever got them confused.

"You know, it's not polite to sneak up on people," she said.

[Dierks Brooks]

"And it ain't polite to interrupt people while they're readin'," Dierks said turning his head to her. There was a smile that could be heard in his voice but it wasn't one of those smug smiles. He picked up her book and handed it back to her. "I really didn't mean ter sort of sneak up on you. I was just tryin' to be polite while you were readin'," he apologized.

Dierks gave her a smile. "Although, if you want me to go and leave you alone, just tell me. I ain't gonna bother you if you don't want me to."

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

Callie gave a slight smile. "I'll forgive you this time," she said, raising an eyebrow. "And I don't give many people free passes, so don't push your luck."

She opened her book and leafed through the pages, trying to find the place where she had left off. Once she found it, she tucked her bookmark into the page and closed the book before turning back to him.

"You're friends with my sister, aren't you?" she said.

[Dierks Brooks]

"Thanks," he said with a small chuckle. From what he had heard about Callie, she sometimes chased people away from her, however, Dierks didn't scare easily but he was respectful. If she had wanted him to leave, there wouldn't have been a problem in leaving.

He gave a nod of his head. "Yeah, I'm friends with Bobby." Dierks held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Dierks, by the way. It's Callie, right?" He knew it was her but he wanted to be polite about it.

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

"Yeah, I'm Callie," she said. "Nice to meet you, Dierks. You know, some people would say you're taking your life into your hands just by talking to me."

She had no idea if people actually said that about her, but she knew people said she was "scary." People always said that sort of thing about strong females who actually dared to express their opinions and not be shy. Callie had never been shy. Even as a little girl, she was the one of the triplets who would always speak her mind about everything. She was also not one to lie just to protect someone. The way she saw it, sometimes the truth hurt, but lies would always hurt worse in the long run.

The sun was peeking through the trees, and she squinted her eyes as she surveyed him quietly. "You're not from around here, are you?"

[Dierks Brooks]

"Nice ter meet you too," he replied. "And don't worry, I don't scare that easily. I think I'll be alright, after all, you ain't hexed me, chased me away, or anythin' like that yet." Dierk gave her a broad smile.

Dierks learned back home about those strongly opinionated girls. He didn't have a problem with it. Sometimes he thought it was funny but he knew better than to get on one of their bad sides. He always tried to be nice to them.

"Naw, I ain't. I'm about 5250 miles from where I used ter live," he said giving a shrug. "My parents decided to move to England not ter long ago."

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

"Not yet," Callie said. "But don't push your luck."

Callie always felt that, when dealing with boys, it was best to instill in them a healthy dose of fear. They'd think twice about trying anything that way. Maybe it was a defense mechanism, but Callie never tried to think about why she felt it necessary to keeep the boys away. It wasn't that she didn't like guys. But she didn't trust them. If you trusted them enough, they would only break your heart; at least that was how she saw it.

"So, what, are you American?"

[Dierks Brooks]

Dierks gave a laugh, but it wasn't teasingly. He held both of his hands up. "I ain't gonna push my luck. I believe you."

There was nothing wrong with a strong girl. In fact, there needed to be more of them in the world. However, they didn't need to be too strong in the sense of running almost everyone off. Although, Dierks did a few people like that. His aunts in particular.

"Yeah, I'm a 'merican. I'm from Texas. My mama works is an auror, so we moved here cause she was transferrin' from the 'merican branch of the Ministry ter here," he said with a shrug. "Sure is different over here. I ain't never been in cold weather like it gits here."

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

Callie didn't know much about Americans, except for what she had seen in muggle movies. She particularly liked the old classics, like the ones starring Katharine Hepburn. She always seemed to play such strong-willed women, and Callie had to admire that.

But the people in the movies didn't talk like Dierks did. His accent was so thick, it was hard for her to understand him. She wondered if it was as hard for him to understand her with her British accent.

"It must have really been an adjustment for you, coming here," she said. "What was it like in Texas?"

[Dierks Brooks]

"It ain't that bad," said Dierks, "as long as I'm 'round people that tell me what ter do if I'm clueless." He gave a laugh. "But I'm still workin' on how things go 'round 'ere. I got how somethings go. Lotta people are nice 'round 'ere. Reminds me of people back home." He smiled and then shrugged.

"Texas is prudy hot usually. The winters are kinda cold, but it ain't like it is 'ere. We got good Mexican food there, that's fer sure. Anyway, it's a huge state. Lots of people. Some are friendly, some ain't. That's 'bout it really."

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

Callie surveyed him quietly. Of all the times to move to England, she privately thought now wasn't the best time. Attacks in Hogsmeade, people disappearing, aurors being killed.... the world was dangerous. Was it the same way in America?

"Your mum's an auror, you said? That's a pretty dangerous job to have these days. Is it safer in America? Is that why she was transferred?"

[Dierks Brooks]

"I think why we came here," said Dierks. "They never really said exactly why we were movin' 'cept mama was gettin' transferred." He gave a shrug. "As fer safer in 'merica, I guess it might be. We ain't heard 'bout any attacks there but I reckon there's always a time fer everything."

He was worried about the friends he had back home, but he never heard anything from them about any attacks. Everything had been quiet so far.

Not wanting to really talk about what was going on outside the school, Dierks decided to change the subject. "So, if you don't mind me askin', how exactly do you scare the guys away," he asked with a teasing tone.

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

Callie had to laugh at the question. It was unusually blunt, and Callie wondered whether that was typical of Americans.

"Well, it all depends," she replied honestly. "On the guy, on his approach, and on the situation. I scare a lot of them off just by yelling a lot and using big words. It's amazing how easily boys are intimidated by a girl who's smarter than they are. But sometimes.... well, let's just say I'm stronger than I look. I've been taking karate for self-defense."

[Dierks Brooks]

"I don't think I'm intimidated by a girl smarter than me. It just gives me someone else to ask fer help if I need it, cause I ain't gotta problem admittin' that I ain't the smartest kid in school." Dierks gave her a lopsided grin. "As fer you bein' stronger and knowing karate, now that would sort of scare me but then again that does raise more respect. There's a friend of mine back home, Kelsey, she beat me prudy good whenever we first met. She thought that I was gonna go after her but I just wanted ter be friends. After all that, we became prudy good friends."

He gave Callie a sheepish look. "But what I just told you, 'bout Kelsey, we gotta keep that between us. Can't let every body in school know that." Dierks gave a laugh.

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

Callie smiled in spite of herself. Dierks seemed like a genuinely nice guy, which was a rare thing indeed. Or so she thought, anyway. It was easier for her to think negatively about people than to admit that they weren't so bad. It meant admitting that she was wrong, and that was something Callie had never been very good at doing.

"Oh, I won't tell anyone. I only really talk to my sisters, anyway. And sometimes Rayne DiCostas. Mostly everyone else avoids me. So, tell me, Dierks, how long have you been in this country? Just this year?"

[Dierks Brooks]

"See, not even Bobby knows 'bout that, so it's our little secret. If she knew, then it would be never endin' teasin'." Dierks gave a smile.

"Yes ma'am, I've only been here fer almost a year. It'll be a year this comin' summer. Hafta say it's nice over here. Most people are nice, like they are in Texas. Haven't got quite used to all the people whenever I go to London just yet though. My parents found us a house that is outside the city where we have a fairly big yard. That's a good thing 'cause my dog, Jake, likes it. He stays inside until me or dad go outside, and he likes ter just run around. Plus, havin' a bigger yard keeps a home like feelin' to it."

[Callisto "Callie" Sanders]

"Bobby never teases," Callie replied. "I'm more likely to tease you than she is. And Merlin help you if Linette ever finds out. She'll spread it all over the school."

At the mention of a dog, however, he attracted her attention. She was an animal lover from way back, and she'd recently been experimenting with being a vegetarian. As much as she liked her junk food, she was not crazy about eating meat, for the sake of the animals.

"You have a dog?" she said, smiling. "I love dogs. Tell me about him."

[Dierks Brooks]

Talking with Callie wasn't bad at all. Once he was able to find common ground that broke through a little, things seemed easier. "Yes, Jake. He is four years old actually. We've had him since he was a puppy. When I was twelve, my parents got me a puppy for Christmas. I remember that Jake was nothing but a fur ball whenever we got him. He became my best friend pretty much. Everywhere I went, he wanted to go to. Whenever I was in school, my parents would tell me that he would sleep on my bed every night."

Dierks smiled as he talked about his dog. "If you don't really want to go outside and Jake does, he'll nudge you with his nose until you go with him. Sometimes though, he is the most lazy dog in the world."