Tickling the Giant Squid and other Grand Adventures

7. Karou

I opened my eyes as I heard the sleepy shuffling of girls coming up the staircase. I wasn't a terribly light sleeper, but the clanking of feet against the metal staircase had been enough to wake me. Rubbing my own eyes, I slipped out of bed, grabbing my clothes out of my trunk and pulling the white curtain that hung next to my bed. It curled in a large enough circle for me to get dressed in private, and I brushed my teeth in the little sink that came out of the wall. It was pretty small, but more than enough for teeth brushing and midnight drinks and other such necessities.

Pulling the curtain back, I tripped into the common room, (and I mean literally tripped, damn robes) where schedules were laid out on the tables. After a minute of searching, I found my name. Scanning, I looked quickly through my classes. Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, the usual. My day wasn't completely packed, though; one open spot stood. I grinned. Plenty of time for exploring, then. As I turned around, my eyes were drawn to the basket again. There was a significant amount of letters now, far more than there had been last night.

One of the prefects, Gladys, walked past, and I tapped just below her shoulder blade since that was about as far as my short arms could comfortably reach. She looked at me and I pointed to the basket. "What's that for?"

"Oh, that's kind of like... um... do you know what a crisis center is?"

"Yeah."

"It's like that."

"Oh, okay. Awesome."

My phone, still in the pocket of yesterday's jeans, buzzed under my robe. I furrowed my brow in confusion; there was no service or wifi here, though I had found a charging port under the bed when I woke up in the middle of last night. I whipped out my phone, clicking it open. Just a notification from Dragon Story.

Swinging my bag onto of my shoulder, I practically ran out of the common room. It was a short jog to the Great Hall, which was nice, though I doubted I'd be eating many breakfasts there with the kitchens so close to my dormitory. Waving at my own table, I jogged over to my sister at the Slytherin table.

"You promised you'd fix my hair," I said, poking her and interrupting her conversation.

She turned around, white hair flipping over her shoulder. "Yes yes, of course." She swung her leg over and sat to face me as I shoved some bacon into my face. "How long?"

"Small of my back, please."

"Colors?"

"Hmm," I looked around. "Let's do dark brown with a thick stripe of yellow."

Marissa rolled her eyes as she took out her wand. "Alright then." She waved her wand, brows drawn together in concentration, and I felt my hair rapidly begin to grow. Taking it between my fingers, I rubbed it, enjoying the silky texture.

"Thanks," I said, smiling at her.

Reaching into her bag, Marissa pulled out her makeup palette. "Mom owled that you left yours at home and that she'd be sending it along. In the meantime, I'll do yours for you."

I frowned but submitted as she delicately lined and shadowed my eyes, doing the mascara quickly with a practiced hand. Holding my breath, I looked at myself in her compact. Amazingly enough, she hadn't overdone it. Light liner, brown mascara to match my hair, and a faint yellow shadow.

"I thought you were going to make me a goth," I joked, pulling her into a hug.

"Not unless you asked," she replied, squeezing me back tightly. The green glitter around her eyes brought out her large black irises well, and I was a little jealous. Mine were a boring blue.