We thought we lost you... welcome back

[crashiscoming]

Chance Adams is sitting on a bench somewhere on the streets of Chicago, waiting for a goddamn bus to pick her up. She's pissed because summer school is sucking and she KNOWS this stuff already. She angrily throws down first the highlighters she's been using primarily to doodle in the margins, and then the textbook itself. And then a car drives by

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[knownallbyheart]

Hermione watches the girl throw down the highlighters and the book, then she winces as the car splashes water all over her. She can't think of too many things more personally miserable than being splashed like that, and it appears that the girl's day was already not doing so well.

She bites her lip, miserable at the thought of just how unpleasant a day it must be for her. Walking over, just a bit hesitant, she gives a small wave. "I beg your pardon. Can I help?"

She realizes it must seem a rather ridiculous question, and she attempts a small smile. "I'm rather good with books. I can have it dry for you in a jiffy."

[teenytinyteme]

Chance whirls on Hermione, surprised that anyone saw her. She hadn't really accounted for there being other people on the street, so to actually be approached by someone is confusing.

She's about to say something snarky before the words that Hermione said sink in. She figures it'd just be some jeering comment, not an offer to help. But she hears the words and realizes what exactly is being said, and so exhales heavily instead of saying what she was going to say. "It's. I mean. It's fine. It'll dry out tonight, the pages will just be a little wrinkly but that's okay 'cause after this semester I am NEVER taking a history again."

Yes, her pride won't let her get help from anyone about anything. It's kind of ridiculous.

[knownallbyheart]

Hermione nods once, accepting that. She certainly won't try to force the issue.

Still. The girl seems rather upset, and Hermione would like to help in some way... It's not as if she's not one to stick her nose a bit out at times. Ahem.

A part of it is also that it's another girl, having a rather rotten day. Hermione can remember being in a ladies room, crying her eyes out, all too well.

She listens to her and bites her lip. "Is it the subject or the instructor? At my school, the professor tended to put my classmates to sleep with his lectures." Not Hermione, of course, but nearly everyone else.

[teenytinyteme]

Chance sighs and looks at her feet. She knows the answer to that question, and the answer is (of course) secret option c.

"It's neither," she admits. "I mean. The teacher's kind of boring I guess, but like all teachers are kind of boring. And the class isn't like super hard. It's just stupid because I already took it and if a bunch of stuff hadn't happened--I got kidnapped last semester, and missed a big test that my teacher wouldn't let me make up, which I guess is fair 'cause I've also skipped out a couple of times, but I was kidnapped and. Stuff. And I'm already a year behind 'cause I skipped out on a year when I first came to Chicago and."

She realizes that she's babbling, and so she stops talking and digs her fingers into the edge of the bench again. "So I guess the answer to your question is that it's just me," she says finally.

[knownallbyheart]

Hermione can actually empathize with having a boring teacher. She feels that was more to Professor Trelawney's lack of knowledge than the subject, but...the narration will not let her ramble endlessly here.

When she says she's been kidnapped, however, Hermione's thoughts of teachers flee altogether. "That's completely absurd," she sputters. "I should think being kidnapped would be sufficient reason to allow a make-up test."

Hermione, of course, is not one to encourage skipping classes, but it seems ridiculous to hold that against someone when they've been kidnapped.

She forces herself to take a breath, so as not to embark on a lecture for a teacher who is not actually present. "I think I would be rather frustrated, too," she says quietly. She'll now attempt to offer the girl a smile. "I'm Hermione."

[teenytinyteme]

Chance shrugs. "I mean. It's stupid, yeah, but it was only for a couple of hours and I survived so it's not like I have any real excuse. I mean, I do, but I don't really have anything to show for it. Like. Anyone can get rope burns. And besides, in the end it ended up being my word against the teachers and I ALWAYS lose those. Always."

She kicks at the ground. She's still pissed off about that, but... well. She realizes that in part, it's kind of her fault. If she hadn't skipped classes those times before... Whatever.

"Nice to meet you," Chance says, looking back up at Hermione. "I'm Chance."

Clearly they can go party in the vaguely weird name department.

[knownallbyheart]

Hermione shrugs, too, though she's still rather upset on Chance's behalf. When she mentions rope burns, Hermione feels even worse. "I'm sorry to hear that," she says. "One's word shouldn't be given an ill-advantage simply because it's placed against a teacher's."

Hermione has great love and respect for many teachers. And, she is also aware of those teachers who have been proven to be spies and assassins. It's her firm belief that one's position should not give their word an advantage, particularly over a student's.

"It's very nice to meet you as well, Chance." Her smile widens. "So. Is there a class that you do like? A favorite? I'm rather fond of Arithmancy."

[teenytinyteme]

Chance shrugs. "You get kind of used to it after a while," she admits. "I mean. It's not like they have any real reason to believe me. I'm just a kid." That's the story of her life, not being believed. It's why she can use it to her advantage, why someone believed her when she said that both her parents had died in a freak accident.

Chance doesn't think about it too much. It works out a lot better that way, she's discovered.

"Uh. I was never really into higher-level math." Because hell if she knows what arithmancy is. "But, um. I mean. I dunno. Whatever class is right after lunchtime, 'cause then I can sit in the back and sleep." Chance isn't really into that whole school thing.

[knownallbyheart]

Hermione frowns, because she knows it's likely true. She's seen adults refuse to take the word of a child over an adult, for no other reason than because they were a child. It will always baffle her, but she knows it happens. When it's an adult in a position of influence, such as a teacher, it happens even more.

"Your age shouldn't influence anyone's belief in you," she says softly, "and I'm sorry that happened." It's a bit all-encompassing, really.

Hermione tilts her head, listening. She actually smiles when Chance answers. "After lunch...I think that's my friend, Ron's favorite class, too," she says, and she sounds more fond than she likely has when speaking to Ron about such things. Nostalgia and missing friends and home and such... "Arithmancy is a bit different than math, though," she admits. "It's the study of the magical properties of numbers."

[ooc: I'm sorry this is so late. :( ]

[teenytinyteme]

Chance shrugs again. That's how she's made it this far, she figures--roll with the punches as they come. Sometimes literally. It happens.

Chance nods. "I'm sure Ron and I would get along perfectly," she says. "It's sort of pretty much the best class ever."

And then her brow wrinkles in confusion. "The what now?" she asks. "The who-diddle on the what-what?" She's having a hard time believing what she's hearing. If that wasn't apparent.

[knownallbyheart]

Hermione smiles at Chance's comment. While she's a fan of education, she's well-aware it's not everyone's cup of tea.

She's also rather fond of anyone who thinks they would get along with Ron.

She might be a bit nostalgic, Chance. Forgive her.

At the question, she hums for a moment. "Erm. If you take a number for each letter of your name, for example, and add them together, then add those together, and so forth? You'll eventually come to a very specific number. That number can be used to determine personality traits and even future events. It's one of the applications, anyway. There's a great deal of memorization, but I was always fond of the potential."

Yes. Hermione is a geek. She's very proud of this.

[teenytinyteme]

So long as Chance doesn't have to hear about the nostalgia... It's not that she's a bitch. She just hasn't really gotten over that whole 'everything in the world is about me' thing, and while she can relate to other people's problems, nostalgia is kind of something she doesn't indulge in.

Chance just blinks at Hermione when she goes into the explanation. "How do you--can you do it right now?" Of course that's her first question. Of course it is.