Bet I

[Noah Orchard]

I bet ten to one our dear professor is going to use the phrase "would inquiring minds like to know?" At least five times in class today. Wanna take me up on that wager?

[isabelle]

I bet he uses it at least ten times, how's that for a wager? ;)

[Noah Orchard]

Wow you are the little dare devil. I don't know. That means I only get from five to nine while you win if you get anything ten and above. The odds would be on your side but hey, I'm a little daring myself so why the hell not? What are we betting for here?

[isabelle]

Oh, you know me, can't resist a gamble. Pretty sure you're overthinking this, but how about you get to pick the stakes, to make up for being at a disadvantage? That better?

Now choose carefully, oh powerful one.

[Noah Orchard]

Over thinking? I'm going big or going home.

I've got so much power, my fingertips are tingling.

Alright. If I win (which I will), you get to bring breakfast to me at my common room for a week straight. I'd like an umbrella in my drink and freshly squeezed orange juice. You could wear a short little maid skirt too, but you know, that one is optional.

[isabelle]

Ha ha ha, seriously? You're ridiculous, but fine, it's a deal. And if I win, I get the same treatment? Breakfast in bed, little umbrella and all. Clothing also optional.

[Noah Orchard]

I know what I want.

I'll even throw a towel over my arm and wear a bowtie. You have yourself a deal Miss Laurentine. Bring it on.

[isabelle]

Oh my, won't that be a sight.

...You do realize we'll have to wait all the way til the end of the lesson to figure out who wins, right? And that now we have to actually kinda pay attention to what he's saying? Man, who knew all it would take to get us focus would be some harmless gambling. Professors should've been exploiting that long ago.

[Noah Orchard]

Yeah.....

I always told them all they had to do was sink to my level to get me to pay attention.

"would inquiring minds like to know" is a little hard to shut out no matter what better activities we're doing - nasally laugh and all that.

[isabelle]

Ha, and how'd they respond to that?

True, true, we can just half-pay attention then, sounds good to me. What 'better activities' did you have in mind?

[Noah Orchard]

Not as bad as I expected. They usually just called me "cheeky" or something, and I'd come out of that meeting really happy because through name calling I brought them to my level anyway.

Well...So, California. Was that weird?

[isabelle]

Sometimes you amaze me.

Um California was great! Lots of fun. Very sunny, for one thing, that was a nice change. And warm. Awesome beaches. I can see why you like it there. Justin's place was nice. I don't think it was too weird. Like, everything, I mean. With all of us. Could have been weirder.

[Noah Orchard]

And I don't even try.

Yeah, I guess his place is nice if you like museums and silence and all that jazz. Did you feel like you aged forty years?

Definitely could have been. You got to meet baby Chloe right? Haha your surfing improved a little bit. But yeah, definitely nothing weird about you, me, Justin and Rita all on vaca with each other.

Especially nothing weird about the night before we came back to school.

[isabelle]

I do like museums. Well, sometimes. But it's not that bad, honestly. Better than being in London, so I'm not complaining. Besides, I lived with the Blacks for a month and the Malfoys for another month, and I'm pretty sure they win at freaky houses.

Yeah, I did! I thought she was actually pretty cute, you know, surprisingly enough, me not really being a baby person and all. It's... weird, still, you know, Justin having a daughter, but she's a cutie.

Okay, so it was kinda weird, celebrating the holidays with Rita, and then you and Justin and everything, and whatever's going on with her, I don't know. But it could have been worse. Maybe.

Right. Nothing weird about that at all. I mean. Nothing that hasn't happened before. And things are different, sure, but. People have sex all the time. And we were all cooped together and it was weird and tense and it was bound to happen. So. Not really that weird. Right? No reason it has to fuck things up, yeah?

[Noah Orchard]

If someone were to give me say, thirty galleons, then I might consider staying in the Malfoy house for the night. You can't pay me enough to sleep at the Blacks. Thinking of it that way, Justin's quiet house must have been a dream come true for you haha.

Oh yeah, it's weird. My two friends or whatever they are had a baby. Together. And it's cute. At least, from the pictures she is.

I don't know Rita's just....Rita. Haha. Well we did have some fun times on that trip and even with all the tension, it makes a good story right? I'm not going to complain about my English friends running around on the beach in swimsuits.

Except that I was angry as hell with you up until that point. It can't - there's nothing left to fuck up. It's all uphill from here.

Sex is good. I like sex. With you, and you know, other people. It doesn't always have to mean something.