8:30 PM

Readjusting her shirt, Jordyn stopped in front of the Slytherin door.  She wanted to make sure that things were... in order.  She licked her lips - still tasted vaguely of coconut, though not quite so much as when she had left earlier that afternoon.  She assumed no one would notice, though she did have to talk to Neely.  This was super huge news, and the only person that she would trust to tell would surely be lounging around in the fourth year dormitories, or somewhere nearby.  Whatever the case, she needed to talk  to her, and looking at the entry way, Jordyn sighed, revealing the password in a hushed, but stern enough voice that the door opened, and she basically flounced on in.

The common room was almost eerily empty.  She was a little confused, seeing as most people would be doing their homework and other things right now, but maybe it was just that they were actually active in something.  She didn't recall anything schedules, but then again, her whole schedule was thrown off.  For all she knew, they could have been outside!  It had been getting darker later recently, maybe they were all lingering?  Jordyn wasn't a particular fan of the outdoors (it lightened her hair, darkened her skin, gave her freckles - all around not a good thing), but she supposed some people didn't mind their looks deteriorating by exposure to natural sunlight.  Jordyn felt she was naturally very pretty, why ruin it? 

Her day was certainly going well too, since there was no one really around the common room, and she had just had a perfectly wonderful meeting with the last person she would have expected.  But, sometimes things just... happened!  Devlin and his devious mind just happened to her, and it was at this moment that she enjoyed having a spontaneous moment to do something unexpected, on a Wednesday of all days!  And now she was going to have to push her homework back even further.  Her heart was almost beating too quickly (she hated being off schedule), but major news required desperate changes.  Thankfully she didn't have much to do. 

Jogging up the stairs to the dormitories, Jordyn hummed along to a song she couldn't remember the name of and kicked off her shoes as she got into the room, leaning down to pick them up and put them in their spot.  Of course, Jordyn's intuition was right, and she was grinning almost far too obviously to even hide what she was thinking.  "I have SO much to tell you," she sighed, sucking in for a second to undo all of the tabs on her corset, tossing it on top of her trunk before she threw herself, stomach first onto the bed.

Like most gossiping fifteen year old girls, she was on her stomach, her hands propping up her chin as her knees almost immediately curled upward, swinging back and forth, bobbing with the steadiness so characteristic of the brunette.  "You will never guess who I was just with in the abandoned corridor," she smirked, biting up her bottom lip to refrain from revealing EVERYTHING.

"Two for Neely... None for you."

Neely blew a kiss at her cat, Cashmere, and popped a dark chocolate raspberry truffle into her mouth. Two, in fact. She was careful not to break them open or nibble at them as she usually might, because though their contents perfectly matched the pretty rose color she'd painted her nails, the sticky substance definitely did not match her bed sheets.

"Three for Neely... One for..." She leaned forward wiggling the chocolate at the kitten, who was in its back with its paws swiping at the air. "Neely," she finished, falling back into her pillows and biting into yet another sweet with a devilish grin. The headboard of her school four-poster was barely visible behind the mountain of pillows that the fourth year had strategically placed in front of it. She had learned back in the "dark ages" (her first year) how to create a splendid view of the dormitory, her own wardrobe, and the very foot of her bed-- upon which a half-dozen magazines were currently strewn open.

Stretching her arm to its limits, Neely was just able to graze the lounging cat with her fingers. She gave its tummy a delicate tickle at the exact moment the door burst open. Jumping like a rocket, Cashmere hissed and darted for shelter. Neely, however, burst into laughter and crawled out of her pillow cavern to get a better look at Jordyn. Her eyes darted admirably after the discarded corset before settling once more on the dark-haired girl.

"Tell, tell!" Neely begged, hunching over into a pretzel position and holding out her box of truffles. She gave the magazines one grand sweep to make more room for her bestie. "Chocolate? Mum sent them from wherever she is. Totally expensive. Totally delicious." She rolled her eyes upward in mock ecstasy and them mirrored Jordyn's smirk. "So who was it? Please don't say that creepy fifth year who wanted to collect your hair last semester." She contorted her face, eyes closing and tongue falling in an oh-no-I've-been-poisoned-by-grossness manner. She was certain by the tone of Jordyn's voice and the look on her face, however, that it had been quite a peachy encounter.

When invited onto Neely’s bed, Jordyn quitted her own to make sure that the conversation was held to absolutely just them.  It didn’t appear that anyone else was in the room, but one could never truly be sure (sometimes Jordyn was a little paranoid), and pushing herself off of her lush, deep green duvet, embroidered with silver and black flowers with slightly lighter green stems and leaves.  Her mother had exquisite taste, Jordyn had to admit, and all the pillows to match – really, it was a pretty sight! 

The cover was slightly rumpled now, however, and Jordyn moved around the foot of her own bed before hopping up onto Neely’s, sitting cross-legged across from her friend who was holding out some very delicious looking chocolate.  “Just one,” she plucked it out of the container, grinning at her friend.  “My weight never goes where I want it to,” she glanced down at her chest with a bit of an annoyed sign, “and unlike you, I can’t eat whatever I want without my butt ballooning out,” she rolled her eyes and popped the candy in her mouth, sighing as the contents broke out of the hard shell.

Heaven! She thought as she chewed slowly, putting off the juicy gossip for the equally as juicy candy.  “Your mum is fabulous,” Jordyn commented, “and NO.  It was not Harold Bates,” her face contorted into an expression that was equal parts disgust and horror.  “I wouldn’t willingly go anywhere with him – and then be happy about it.”  She giggled slightly, although she subconsciously reached up to touch her long brown hair, shivering in remembrance of that awful “love” note he sent her – more like a creep note!

“But!” she smiled excitedly, “It was someone way better.  Get this,” she squeaked in delight, clasping her hands over her mouth to stop from squealing before she continued.  Collecting herself, she waved her hands towards her face, a sort of way to calm down before she leaned forward, the wickedest grin on her face as she practically whispered.  ”Devlin Matthews!”

"Just one," Neely echoed disbelievingly. How could anyone eat just one chocolate? Well, Jordyn was that person. Neely stared at her admirably. The Dimbleby girl's self-discipline would win awards one day, Neely knew it. She followed her friend's glance to her chest and giggled, looking down at her own less-than-stellar bustline. "One day," she promised consolingly. "My mum was like a pancake until I was three, true story. And then they just appeared like that." She lifted her wand from her bedside and gave it a twirl. "Over night. Salazar's honor." Yes, indeed, Corina's now-glorious chest had just arrived like, well, magic signed for and paid in full by Daddy. Surely the same thing would happen to both of them!

"Metabolisms," she said with a shrug. Neely still didn't know exactly what metabolisms did, just that her own was insanely fast and that every editor of every witch's magazine raved about fast metabolisms. They would probably bury her alive to trade metabolisms, which was why Neely needed to bury them first and steal their jobs. And if Neely's youthful snacking habits ever caught up with her? Well she would simply 'Do A Corina', and travel to whichever Eastern country had clinics full of dodgy weight loss potions and dangerous shrinking charms.

Feeling a jolt of pride at the compliment, Neely couldn't wipe the grin of her face. "I know," she said simply. Corina was definitely one of those mothers who tried to be their daughter's friend first and mum second. Neely only wished she could see her a bit more often, but she had learned not to complain. "But ohmymerlin Harold. Ugh. Hello, future star of St. Mungo's Mental Ward. I think he has rabies, Jordy." Neely's eyes went wide and she nodded.

Now positively on edge, as if waiting for the final scene of her favorite mushy theater play, Neely bit her lip. Who was the mystery person?! Wait for it, wait for it... "Devlin Matthews!" She squealed, falling backward on the mattress so that the chocolates threatened to leap from their little niches in the box. Neely smiled up at the ceiling, seeing pretty dots as her eyes opened from their tight squeeze. Only Jordyn could bag a sixth year. Neely shook with silent giggles. "What did he waaa-ant?" She teased, her voice signing the last word impishly. She set up yet again, her hair disheveled, but it was no bother because they were alone. The smile on her face was lethal. She needed every detail. "Is that why you were wearing that corset?"

Jordyn envied her best friend’s metabolism.  She was certainly gifted, but then again, her mum always told her that metabolisms were fast when one was young, but everything caught up with them later.  It was better that she watched what she ate now and got used to it rather than gorged herself until she was thirty-five and then bubbled up like she had an engorging charm performed on her.  She certainly didn’t think that would happen to Neely though, it would be taken care of.  She smiled; so glad they had the ability to think like that. 

Giggling almost obnoxiously, the Slytherin shook her head.  “He couldn’t even be the star of that ward, more like the circus attraction,” she snickered. Jordyn Dimbleby could be quite mean when she wanted to be, really, and when it came to Harold Bates, she could be exceptionally brutal.  He had wanted to steal some of her hair!  He wrote her love letters for weeks and sent them to her at breakfast, to which she had to throw them on the floor for a house elf to pick up and discard, because she wasn’t going to even waste the time to throw it away herself.  So gross! 

She devolved into a fit of squeals as soon as Neely did and shook her head, “I know! Can you believe it?!” She bounced slightly on the comfortable mattress and squeaked with jubilation.  If this was how she reacted to just hearing that they met in the hallway, wait until she found out what else had happened! Neely Woolfolk was in for quite a surprise. 

“I was wearing the corset because it makes me look good,” she teased with a wink before shifting her position so she had her legs off the side of the bed, kicking her feet back and forth a little.  She was quite excited, and she rolled her eyes at her friend.  “You look like Cashmere when there’s catnip around,” She teased, the feral smile on Neely’s face was all Jordyn needed to see to know she was fully drawn into the story – just how Jordyn liked her audience when she was telling any sort of story, particularly this kind! 

“What did he want?” she repeated, just to stall and drive her friend a little mad with anticipation, that was always fun!  “Me, of course,” she laughed and threw her head back as she did, dying down into a fit of giggles before refocusing on Neely, a little devil of smirk on her face as her eyes gleamed with mischief.  “And, may I add,” she looked at her nails – she definitely needed to repaint them the luxurious green that she was so very fond of, “he is a wicked kisser.”

"It's alright. He'll have Nicola for company, right?" She grinned maliciously, hoping to score points. Neely didn't really know the Hames girl well enough to loathe her to the same degree Jordyn did, but she certainly didn't like her. She would stick by her friend throughout that sticky battle. And any chance Neely got to be a snippy brat, she would take full advantage. "We can do their wedding invitations. With clowns and acrobats. Hideous," she hissed happily.

Neely was still very much in a state of girlish shock. It wasn't that shocking when she really thought about it, because Jordyn was probably the most mature and clever person she knew, and Devlin Matthews inviting her into a corridor wasn't out of the question... But just the concept in general of an older boy, one with a reputation at that, taking an interest in her closest friend was painfully exciting. Neely was getting the exclusive story!

"Well, obviously." Neely exhaled and laughed at the same time, seeming to choke. "Oh my holy Hufflepuff, he probably forgot the name of that pop singer on the cover of Playwizard when he saw you." Jordyn was also a million times classier, Neely noted.

The Woolfolk girl came to her senses, calming her laughter in time to process the Cashmere comment. "Where is the little spoiled brat?" She asked, without a hint of irony. The cat needed to hear the exciting news, too. It was just that good. "C'mere Cashmere," she cooed, leaning over the side of the bed in hopes of spying a paw or tail. No such luck. She couldn't spare another moment. She settled back into her position of twisted limbs and gave her full attention to Jordyn.

Feeling tortured, Neely dug her fingernails into the material of her duvet cover. Oooh, Jordyn was evil! In a fantastic way. But still evil. "HE SNOGGED YOU!" She screamed, springing to her feet and bouncing down on the bed again. "AHHH, I KNEW IT." Had she? She couldn't remember. Everything Pre-Revelation was now foggy. This was a new era. Jordyn had been kissed by Devlin Matthews. Neely heard Cashmere hiss in protest as the mattress springs strained. It took her a long moments to settle down and inhale before she could form a proper question. "Are you going to date him?" She breathed excitedly, her smile now almost permanently etched.

At the mention of Nicola, Jordyn’s face took on that ‘I’m going to be sick’ look and she rolled her eyes.  “Nicola should just be put down like the rabid hippogriff she is,” she grumbled, hating the fact that Gavin was dating her.  Really!  He was dating her of all people, when he could have someone so much better right there, in his own house – and for longer.  Nicola would be gone next year and that meant Jordyn wouldn’t have to see her ugly face around, which was a plus, but it also meant she could get to be around Gavin without her – and take advantage of that to its fullest. 

Giggling maliciously, she glanced at her nails again.  “I’m just glad she’ll be gone next year.  We won’t have to look at Icky Nicky ever again.  Thank Merlin!”  And that was all she had to say about that, bringing Icky Nicky into the conversation really put a damper on the fact she had had a fabulous snog with Devlin Matthews, which should have been an occasion to rejoice! 

“Who needs Playwizard when you’ve got the real thing?” Jordyn tried not to laugh and put her hand on the back of her head, shifting to get on her knees and strike a pose as seductive as she could manage, like one of those fabulous pin-ups!  She puckered her lips like she was getting ready to receive a kiss and batted her eyelashes, sticking out her bum and chest as best she could before she couldn’t help it any longer and started to giggle again.  Falling into a heap back on the bed, she shook her head and looked around the room – where was Neely’s adorable kitten?

Moving back, instinctively when Neely jumped up, Jordyn couldn’t help but grin either.  This was fantastically exciting news, after all, and as best friends, they were obliged to tell one another of such things!  She was possibly even more excited than Jordyn was, and that was very excited. 

Looking around the room she put her finger to her lips, telling her to quiet down – she didn’t want anyone else privy to this information yet.  It wasn’t like she ran a gossip newsletter or anything, and Jordyn did not want to be top story, not right now anyway.  Maybe in a week when she sorted everything out, then it could be made totally public.  “Well of course we’re going to date!” she replied with a laugh that seemed to be at the expense of Neely, but she was good natured about it.

“He asked me out before we started kissing,” she explained, “I wouldn’t just go around and snog someone I wasn’t properly attached to,” she rolled her eyes and fell back on the bed, giggling again.  “Now, all I need is my prefect badge and next year will be absolutely smashing!”  Neely didn’t even know the half of it…

"Agreed so hard," Neely announced, wishing she had butterbeer or lemonade or cocoa, or something spiked with just a dash of Fire Whiskey so that she could raise a goblet in cheers. Instead she made do with a chocolate, which she raised ceremoniously before popping it into her mouth. "And! Sorry to stress the topic, but, Jordy you definitely need to give her a great going away present. I think that would really set the mood for next year." Neely could only imagine the things she would do if she were the one with the major vendetta. "I think her hair could use a new style." Peroxide curls, perhaps? But it had to be sneaky, if anything at all. The professors were a pesky bunch of wet blankets, and reputations were always at stake. Bummer.

Neely reached for her bedside table, grabbing the decorative paper flamenco fan she'd bought while holidaying in Pamplona. She whipped it open with a flick of her wrist, just as she'd learned during her one-off dance session. Batting it fancifully, she held it out to 'Pin-Up Jordyn'. Now they just needed... "Accio pink boa!" Neely's wardrobe doors flung open, various garments spilling onto the floor like a waterfall in the process. Luckily, most of her belongings had been stuffed into cubby-holes and vintage hat boxes with Expanding Charms (one of the few bits of magic Neely had practiced until she she could cast the spell in her sleep). A pink feathered boa, the color of well-fed flamingos, floated through the air, tickling the Woolfolk girl's face before fluttering onto the bed beside the newly-fallen pile of fabulosity that was Jordyn. Neely had an army of similarly useless and wasteful possessions. She was glad that she had specified the pink boa, or they might have wound up buried under six such fluffy scarves and Neely would never become a godmother to the Matthews-Dimbleby children. Tragic.

"I keep forgetting to order that new solution for my camera," she lamented with a pout, speaking of the purple substance that set off cloudy explosions whenever a Wizarding snapshot was taken. Now would have been an opportune time for the silly sort of photos that only teenage girls managed to take.

It took longer than a moment to calm down, and Neely felt as if she might implode with the news, but she eventually clasped a hand over her own mouth and squealed into it, her face flushing pink in the process. Jordyn was one of the few people whose secrets Neely would keep safe. The rest of the school's snogging sessions were fodder for public service announcements as far as the Woolfolk girl was concerned. "Of course, of course," she giggled in a rush. She had gotten ahead of herself. Jordyn was an upstanding witch, not a skag. "Ugh, this is so perfect, J. Everyone knows Devlin. I bet he could get you two into any of those amazing clubs in London without IDs. If you go this summer, you have to drag me to at least one!" Neely was already thinking of the outfit she would wear to get past security. Ha! What security? VIP lists, thank you kindly.

Settling down and rolling onto her back again beside Jordyn, Neely spoke quietly. "Soooo..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "What do you think... certain people, you know, his friends... will say?" One friend in particular, perhaps. "I mean, whenever you two decide to tell people." Neely definitely wasn't going to go blabbing. She tilted her cheek to the side to study Jordyn's profile.

“The only present she’ll be getting,” Jordyn sneered, “is good slam of the door behind her.  Good riddance!”  Truly, she was someone Jordyn just couldn’t come to terms with, even if her and Gavin didn’t last.  She was horrible and ugly and didn’t have a clue about how to dress herself, it was a near travesty.  At least, with a face like that, the least she could do was emphasize her other features in a positive way… apparently Icky Nicky had no want for that.

Picking at her fingernails in the most agitated manner, Jordyn’s face puckered in concentration.  “I don’t know what Gavin sees in her, really,” she commented.  “She’s all disgusting and weird.  I bet she’s easy,” she commented off handedly, that had to be the reason, or he wouldn’t have given her the time of day – she wouldn’t be worth it if she wasn’t like that.  “He could have someone a lot classier too, but I guess he’s just going to be stupid like that.” 

The green nail polish came off easily as she picked and the witched flicked it off onto the floor, knowing that in the morning a House Elf would dutifully sweep it up.  They couldn’t be expected to care about those things and get good grades, could they?  Honestly. 

She stopped picking at herself when Neely mentioned the perks of being with Devlin Matthews, she did have that right – it did have advantages.  Sitting up almost immediately, her eyes were sparkling with excitement and her smile, which was normally subdued and generally sneaky, reflected the radiance that she was wholly capable of but never really took full advantage of.  At this moment, however, she was fabulously excited.  “Of course I would bring you, Neely!  What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t extend my invitations to only the best?” She smirked, “My Mum and Dad would be so mad!” she squeaked, somewhat excitedly, at the thought she might actually do something against the rules!

Jordyn never broke rules; it was something she was terrified of.  She thought she would get caught and then the consequences would be something she didn’t want to deal with.  Sure, there were things that weren’t exactly perfect that she did, but she never thought they were explicitly written out.  And laughing softly, Jordyn turned her head to look at Neely, grinning like a wolf.  “Well, I know Gavin will have something to say, and I’m pretty sure Icky Nicky won’t like it either.  I can’t see anyone being really surprised though,” she commented, “I mean, really, when you have fabulous people and you put them together, who can’t expect for something to happen?”

"It'll only be a matter of time before your Mr. Fabulous walks into the picture," she winked.  "Mum has been talking about going to the Riviera over the summer... maybe you can come along and meet some French wizards," she winked and giggled, clapping excitedly.  "I can't imagine your parents saying you couldn't come with us!"

Neely secretly wished she could be privy to some sinister farewell plan, but it seemed Jordyn was intent on getting over the hurtle that was Nicola and moving toward the future. It was fair enough; the future was exciting! But Neely wouldn't have been Neely if her eyes didn't sparkle at the idea of mild trick-playing and clever bratiness. She was still a teenage girl, after all, and one with an ego that craved constant verification of elitism.

"If I were a boy, I would definitely not be interested in that," Neely agreed. To be fair, Jordyn's feud with Nicola aside, Neely could almost see the older Slytherin's appeal to boys as a platonic friend. She definitely had a tomboy-ish quality about her that the pair of fourth years seemed not to possess. But was Miss Hames girlfriend material? She was certainly not on par with the Slytherin sweethearts who happened to be sitting atop a pile of expensive blankets and insulting her every attribute, Neely thought. "Easy as an elf," she giggled. "Maybe he's going through an insecure phase and needs to date someone below him," she added wisely. She had read all about such adolescent male crises in the last issue of TeenWitch.

Neely beamed at the idea of being brought along to wherever it was important older students like Devlin went. She thought of Jordyn's parents, who were not quite like her own, and her smile widened considerably (if it were even possible). "You can tell them you're staying with me and I'll tell my parents I'm staying with you, and we'll party our heads off. Oh, oh! And if we don't feel like sneaking back home in the middle of the night, we could totally get one of those fancy hotel rooms in London." One didn't even need an Apparition license for that, just galleons. Neely suddenly felt very grownup and haughty in a good way. She knew she was far more prone to blatantly ignoring rules than Jordyn, but Jordyn knew how to have fun. "Or maybe we could host a party, Jordy." Now that the list would officially include half of the soon-to-be-seventh-years.

It was true: people of a similar caliber were bound to end up together. All of those rubbish Beedle the Bard fairytales about poor girls with no shoes or familial connections ending up with wonderfully rich and richly wonderful wizarding princes were just that: rubbish. Neely was an opportunist as much as the next good little Slytherin girl, but she also knew about social structure. Jordyn and Devlin were a good match. "I hope they're both so angry that they forget the other one exists," she laughed, referring to Gavin and his drab lady friend.

More exciting than a night out alone in London or fancy-pants hotel rooms and fake champagne spiked with real champagne was the idea of vacationing abroad with the Dimbleby family. "Are you kidding? My parents would push me out the door." Neely grinned; She knew her parents loved her, but they were also business-obsessed adults who had the habit of caving to their daughters' whim to avoid hassle. "Time to brush up on our French, mademoiselle!"

“You’re probably right,” Jordyn consented, remembering being in this very position reading that very article in TeenWitch.  Leave it to Neely to remember a fact like that.  Jordyn could never recall stuff like that; she was more concerned with her next exam than the intricacies of boys according to those that knew: the people in the magazines, anyway.  Sometimes they had such good points and then sometimes the wizards themselves had features.  Jordyn had a few of them tacked up to her wall.  Not only boys could have attractive pictures on their walls, after all.

Neely was also far better at thinking of social things than Jordyn.  Jordyn may have been officially smarter, but Neely at least had the social stuff down.  Together, they were a pretty intense pair of socialites in the making.  The wizarding world had best prepare for them.  They still had two full years to set everything straight, so Jordyn wasn’t worried.  “I would love to have a party!” Jordyn sighed – the planning in-and-of-itself would be enough to keep her happy and bubbling with excitement for a long while…  As she thought, she clasped her hands over her face and squealed.

“My birthday!” she announced, “I know it’s at the beginning of the school year, but I should have a proper party before we come back to school!” It was perfect, “I’ll have to write my parents,” she nodded, already picking out the decorations in her head, “and you’ll have to help, of course.  I can’t do something this fabulous without you.”  She was beaming excitedly, practically bouncing in her seat.  Birthdays deserved this kind of treatment! 

All of this would only be made even better by lounging on the beaches of the French Riviera over the summer.  Her mother had been emphatic that they go somewhere absolutely exclusive and gorgeous this summer, not to another city.  The previous year, her father had insisted they go to Moscow, and although the more exclusive parts were exciting, it was time to relax.  “Mais oui!” Jordyn giggled.  She had taken French for as long as she could remember when her parents sent her to school, “C’est la langue d’amour et vous avons besoin les romances d’été!*” she laughed, a bit prideful in show-off behavior.  “Ou un peu du flirt**,” she giggled, winking at her best friend.

“We could go shopping before we leave too.  I know I need a new bathing suit,” she smirked – daddy’s galleons would come in quite handy for this summer. 

---

*It’s the language of love and we need summer romances! 
**Or a little bit of flirting

"Yes!" Neely cheered, now thoroughly enraptured with the idea of a party. It was no longer merely a suggestion, but something that would have to happen. They had to celebrate Jordyn's birthday in style! Especially before they were forced into a terrible year of O.W.L. preparation-- though Neely kept this particular thought to herself. "Cornelia Woolfolk, Co-Head of the Party Planning Committee at your service," she said dramatically, fluttering her eyelids and tossing her head. "I wonder if we could book a band..." She mused aloud, quite sincerely. "Happy Birthday is better coming from rock stars."

Neely knew enough French (through many years of travel) to half-understand Jordyn. They were close enough that she could guess the bits she wasn't sure about. Something about love and flirting? That was really Neely needed to know! "Flirting and planning," she amended with a laugh. "Especially if the trip is before the party." Neely loved the idea of finding exclusive French things no one else would have at their parties. Even Remembering Day in Hogsmeade would pale in comparison, she felt.

Ooh, bathing suits. The double-edged swords of the wardrobe world. Neely could hardly be described as voluptuous in all of her teenage glory-- even mildly 'mature' would be too generous for her figure. But bathing suits were just so cute that she couldn't resist buying new ones for each swim season. During which swimming was usually the last thing she thought about. "Sounds like a must to me. What kind do you want? A bikini?" She cooed, picking at the feathers in the pink boa and continuing to giggle. "I think I want one of those adorable vintage 1950s kind. Except new." Because wearing a swim costume someone else had worn? Creepy.

This break was sounding better and better.  Jordyn and Neely would be able to go to France together and be “grown up” on the Riviera, and then they would plan her birthday party, which would be a huge party with everyone who was anyone.  She thought it was going to be a perfect situation, especially because of that order.  No homework over the summer made it even better too; she could devote all of her time to her party and her vacation.  She really wanted to get a perfect tan and throw the perfect party.  It shouldn’t be that hard for a girl like Jordyn, really! 

When Neely mentioned types of bathing suits, Jordyn’s face puckered in thought.  “I love the vintage styled ones,” Jordyn agreed.  “It’d look so good on you,” she added with a grin.  “Something red,” her eyes widened in thought, trying to picture it.  “With a halter strap,” her nod was decisive.  “As for me…” she got up from the bed and stretched for a moment, feeling tired of sitting and suddenly restless to just get up and move. 

“I think I’d like something with polka dots,” she nodded, “and minimal tan lines.  I don’t want to look like a roast or something.”  Ugh, the idea made her cringe.  She hated when she saw pictures of girls with tan lines and all that nastiness, one should look like it was their natural skin tone and that meant no one should be able to see what was covered and where.  It made for some interesting bathing suits, particularly on a fifteen year old.  She couldn’t wait until she got older and her Mum let her wear whatever she wanted.  For now, she had to try and make her parents happy as well as herself – a delicate balance. 

While standing, Jordyn grabbed her pajama bottoms and moved behind the other side of her bed so she could change with a little decency while still continuing conversation – girls were good at doing things like that.  “I think polka dots are in this season,” she commented, “and vintage looks are always in style.  You could get a giant floppy hat like a starlet.” She sighed, “how amazing it would be to be glamorous like that!”

A halter strap vintage one-piece and floppy hat sounded perfect to Neely. She was already getting flushed thinking about it. She hoped her next runway catalog would arrive before the weekend, so that she could start circling all of her favorite selections and order the ones she wanted for Absolutely-Must-Happen holiday in France with Jordyn's family. Maybe she should also ask Daddy to start sending all of his owls in French until summertime. (Complete with little boxes from Parisian chocolatiers, of course.)

She moved to the edge of the mattress when Jordyn vacated her spot. Cashmere appeared beneath the bed skirt, and Neely bent to scoop the cat up before it could escape again. Attempting to calm the creature with her hands while her eyes stayed on Jordyn, the Woolfolk girl nodded in approval. "I love polka dots with dark hair. It gives you a certain... pop." Edge. Wow factor. Neely had a million such phrases she'd thrifted from magazine pages and the streets of Chelsea. "I'm sure you'll find the perfect cut. You could never look like one of those orange people with random white stripes who stalk the Wimbourne Wasps." Neely made yet another face of horror. Self-tanning potions and charms should be legally banned. Too many people abused them. "Actually, I'm surprised they have any tan lines or ever wear clothes."  The slags.

Already in her own pajamas, Neely dragged Cashmere like a rag doll back to her hill of pillows and nestled herself against it. She glanced at the Transfiguration book on her bedside table and sighed heavily. After-dinner, pre-beauty-sleep studying wasn't quite as appealing as it should have been.

"Polka dots are definitely in," she confirmed, turning away from her textbook to smooth Cashmere's cheek. Her cat had to look just as impressive as she, and definitely better than those awkward mix-breed cats who roamed the school like homeless people.

"But we are starlets, daaarling," she purred, and then giggled. "Would the glamorous Miss Dimbleby happen to have a jar of exfoliant?" Neely sat up. She could make use of her spare time by exfoliating and masking a day early, she decided, and definitely before the usual rush of students who tried to squeeze in their powder-room self-pampering right on the brink of curfew. "When you get your badge, do me a favor and describe the Prefect's bathtub in sumptuous detail so I can live through you," she continued with a slight moan. If there was one thing Neely hated about boarding school, it was sharing sinks, showers, mirrors, and lavatories.

Laughing softly, Jordyn nodded.  “Being a Quidditch groupie is so not me,” Jordyn agreed.  “I guess I could imagine fawning over the players,” she jumped on her bed, front first so she was laying on her stomach facing Neely.  A dreamy sort of look crossed her face.  “Keegan McManus,” she looked up at the poster above her bed.  She rolled over to look at him with a heavenly sigh.  “If Quidditch ever got anything right – it is Keegan McManus.  I might actually consider going to a Kestrals game if I had a chance to meet him.” 

She looked to Neely with a happy smile, day dreaming in her own right.  “He’s waiting for me, you know.  We’re going to get married and run off together, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”  She giggled, like the teenage girl she was, rolling back over again.  She leaned over the side of her bed, Jordyn grabbed up the work she had been doing before.  Her text book was closed, but the parchment she was writing on was in the page she left off on – making it an easy place to continue and find what she was doing. 

Moving to the head of her bed, she moved her pillows to accommodate her body and drew up her knees to rest her book there.  A parchment on the significance of simple spells in dueling was really not something she wanted to write about, but she supposed it was necessary, or the professor wouldn’t have assigned it.  And she giggled, reading a passage and listening to Neely at the same time.

“If you go in my trunk,” she instructed her friend, “It’s right on the top.  It smells delish too.  Mum got it from Switzerland,” she added with a grin, flourishing her quill to add a very cute little dot above an i.  “I’ll be sure to let you know everything,” she added, biting her lip in thought.  She was convinced that it was going to happen, but she also got very nervous that it wouldn’t.  If that was the case then she was certainly going to be in trouble.  Whatever the case, she figured she was going to have to deal with it.  Hopefully, it would go in her way – and she had worked hard for it.  Daddy and Mummy hadn’t interfered at all this time.

The Poster