Unfortunately for Lily she had not heard Ngila come into the dorm last night so was unable to talk to her. This morning she needed too though. She had never told anyone about her secret feeling for James Potter. What that feeling was? She was not too sure but she was sure that Ngila might be able to decipher it for her.
It was Sunday morning and Lily had stayed up late the night before so she had slept later as well. She awoke to humming and pulled her curtains open to reveal Ngila sitting at her vanity and French braiding her brown locks. Her sweeping bangs were still covering her left eye but the rest of her hair was in braiding pigtails seeing as she was tying the second up with the hair band as Lily opened the curtains.
"Morning, pumpkin, you slept late this morning. It's already ten and you're usually up at seven. I haven't been down to breakfast yet. Wash up and join me, will you? And be quick about it." Ngila spoke kindly to her friend while assessing her through the mirror. Her elbow length red hair was incredibly frizzy as opposed to what her own shoulder length brown hair looked like in the morning. Her eyes were still drooping from sleep and she only saw a little sliver of emerald. Lily woke her self up by rubbing the bridge of her nose where all her freckles were planted.
"Keep your pants on. I see that you're donning muggle fashion today, hmm?" Lily asked her friend curiously while getting out of her bed and studying Ngila's faded blue jeans, converse sneakers, and plain white t-shirt with a small pocket on the breast.
"I happen to think it's more comfortable and school robes aren't required on Sundays. It's better this way, now let's get moving." Ngila screamed while finishing her makeup (only eye shadow) and putting on her prescription ranger sunglasses.
Lily headed into the bathroom where she took a shower and dried her hair quickly. She then slipped on a pair of jeans, flip flops, and a black tank top with a white zip up sweatshirt over it. Tying her hair up in a pony tail she studied herself in the mirror and was pleased with the reflection.
"You ready to go, Ngila?" Lily called out while opening the door.
"Of course darling, breakfast waits." Ngila held out her arm which was soon linked with Lily's as they skipped out the dorm and downstairs.
"Are you planning on wearing those silly sunglasses all day?" Lily asked her as they sat down across from each other to eat.
"Well, seeing as I lost my regular glasses and these are the only other prescription ones I own, yes, I do." Ngila replied while buttering her toast heavily.
"You lost them! Did you forget you were a witch and can summon them!? You'll give yourself a heart attack if you eat that much butter." Lily scolded as she watched her friend inhale the butter drenched bread.
"Oh, Lily, I'm only seventeen, that's fool-" Ngila started but was unable to finished as she began clutching at her chest dramatically and flopped her self onto the empty bench while gasping and making odd noises causing other students to stare her way.
"Ngila, get up, I get your point." Lily laughed while standing up and leaning against the table to see the other side.
"Lily….heart attack….get someone…fast!" Ngila gasped as Sirius and the other Marauders came into the
hall.
"Oy, Ngila, do you need some mouth to mouth resuscitation?" Sirius asked while coming up beside her. Ngila suddenly sprung to life.
"Funny, my heart suddenly feels a million times better. It must have been a false alarm." Ngila said while proceeding eating the rest of her food.
"You are aware that we're inside and you're wearing sunglasses, right?" Remus asked her while sitting on her other side.
"Really, I'm wearing sunglasses! How incredibly odd! Oh my goodness, I am! Lily, how come you didn't say anything! My god, I am outraged!" Ngila began to rant until Sirius shoved a scone in her mouth.
"Thank you Sirius, she was beginning to get on my nerves." Lily told him, now regarding James who had taken a seat next to her.
"Morning, Evans, how are you on this lovely day?" James asked while smiling at her.
"I could be better." Lily replied while shoveling scrambled eggs into her mouth.
"Maybe I could help you with that." James replied winking suggestively.
"Actually, you could," Lily began and began leaning closer to him; "you could leave." Lily breathed as she became hair's width away from his lips. She leaned back and smirked while the other laughed.
"Evil wench." He muttered under his breath.
"So, what do you propose we do today, my fair Lily?" Ngila spoke as she had finally finished the scone.
"I want to go outside again; it's a nice day today."
"Sounds perfectly fine to me, you want to go now?"
"Of course, shall we?" Lily asked as they both stood up to leave.
"Do you mind if we come?" Sirius asked.
"Lily?" Ngila questioned.
"I supposed it would be alright." Lily replied to her friend's puppy dog face.
"Thanks, Lils." Sirius smiled and stood up with Remus and James to leave the great hall with the girls.
"You were right about doing this, Lily. It is a stunning day." Remus remarked while heading out around the lake.
"I concur with Mr. Moony. It is quite a ravishing day." Sirius said refined while began to walk in an oddly proper way.
"You're not a gentleman, Sirius, so stop acting like one." Ngila laughed as she walked towards a few hills.
"Oh, shot down, Mr. Padfoot. You absolutely must learn to stick your foot in your mouth when it comes to these ladies." James scolded Sirius playfully.
"Shush up, Potter, like you're much better." Lily spoke harshly.
"Well, I would say that I'm a gentleman. What do you think James?" James asked Ngila. He was always partial to her middle name.
"I do believe you are quite wrong. I don't see any gentleman around these parts." Ngila spoke while smiling.
"You'll get yours for that comment Ken!" Sirius yelled playfully at her.
"I don't understand why all the nicknames I have are boy's names." Ngila sighed, frustrated.
"Maybe they're trying to suggest something, Ngila." Lily told her thoughtfully.
"Ha ha, very funny, Evans. I could think of some very clever nicknames for you!" Ngila exclaimed.
"Well, you never do." Lily muttered. Ngila obviously didn't hear her because she glanced over at an upcoming hill and gasped. She soon began running and stopped at the stop with her arms outstretched and her head tilted towards the sky.
"THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC!" She belted out and began singing loudly.
"Oh goodness, I am sorry that I didn't bring my guitar out." Lily smiled at her friend. In the middle of the song, however, Sirius jumped on her and they fell to the ground and went tumbling down the hill.
"Ahh, Black, geroff me!" Ngila squealed.
"Where did Remus go?" Lily asked James suddenly.
"I think he found someone else to hang around with." James said while nodding his over in the direction of the lake. Remus was walking around it with a fairly pretty Ravenclaw by the name of Rachel Stephen
"I always thought he fancied her. He's always giving that look during Charms." Lily commented.
"What look?"
"You know the look. The one that hopeless guys use when staring at a girl they like."
"That's the look? I always called it the eye."
"Why the eye? I always thought of the eye as being a rude look."
"That's stupid. I always called that the look. It makes much more sense."
"No it doesn't. If you liked someone you wouldn't give them the eye. You'd give them the look."
"That's not true. You'd give them to eye to let them know."
"No, you wouldn't."
"Yes, you would."
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!
"NO!"
"YES!"
"You're impossible James Potter!" Lily screamed while biting back a smile.
"Does that mean I win?" James asked excitedly.
"Of course not, it just means that I am tired of shouting `no' at you." Lily smirked.
"In that case, this isn't over, Evans. James Potter never loses."
"I'd love to prove you wrong, you know that?"
"No one will ever win when they are up against me."
"I suppose you kept telling yourself that until you actually believed it, right?"
"I only tell myself eight times a day. That's not a lot."
"Of course it isn't, Potter. It's a completely normal amount."
"I knew it. I am normal after all."
"Yeah, sure." Lily replied smugly before walking away trying to find Ngila and Sirius.
"Hey, where are you going?" James yelled out running up beside her.
"I'm attempting to find my best friend." Lily replied now coming closer to the hill Ngila had just tumbled down.
"What are you talking about? I'm right here, silly!" James said stupidly.
"Has anyone ever told you that you should be a stand up comedian?" Lily asked him while approaching the top of the hill.
"No, but now that you mention it I am quite funny, aren't I?" James inquired.
"Of course you are." Lily told him sweetly while patting his shoulder in a sympathetic manner and spotting Ngila and Sirius lying on their backs staring up at the sky.
"What are you guys doing down there?" James shouted as he and Lily came up to them.
"Looking at the clouds." Sirius said as if James should have known.
"Look, look at the one, Sirius. It looks like an upside down hippogriff doing the bump with a pixie." Ngila said excitedly while hitting Sirius in the shoulder and pointing up at the sky.
"That one's better. It looks like McGonagall making out with a goblin." Sirius told her while smirking.
"That's so perverse you strange little man." Ngila spoke while laughing.
"You know, I am starting to think you are normal compared to these two hoodlums." Lily told James.
"Did you just call them hoodlums?" James asked while smiling and giving her an odd look.
"Yes, do you have a problem with that stud!?" Lily shot back.
"You do come up with some interesting insults, I'll give you that." James told her while sitting on the ground next to the two "hoodlums" who continued to point out weird pictures in the clouds.
"I happen to be very creative." Lily stated while taking a seat next to him staring out on the grounds of her beloved school.
"Or you just have an oddly extensive vocabulary."
"I'm not the one that carries a dictionary around in my pocket at all times (a/n: I do that!)."
"Leave me alone. I told you I like to expand my vocabulary."
"But it is a bit dodgy that you carry a dictionary around."
"It's not dodgy, it's…..unique."
"Uniquely differentiated. I like it."
"I didn't say that."
"I know, I did, and I like it."
"And you still have to nerve to call me odd!"
"You still are."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"Will you two idiots just shut the fuck up!?" Ngila finally screamed out.
"Ditto, you two are acting as if you were three years old." Sirius remarked while propping himself up on his elbows.
"He started it." Lily whispered while looking down and pointing at James.
"Did not, you were the one that called me odd." James shouted at her looking sour.
"I was only being the honest person that I am and you should respect that." Lily pointed out quaintly.
"Honest, shmonest! You were most certainly telling lies about me." James said while crossing his arms and sticking his nose up in the air.
"Sweet Jesus, you two are the most asinine teenagers I have seen in my days." Ngila muttered while shaking her head after sitting up next to Sirius.
"And you won't see many more if you call me asinine again." Lily told her while standing up.
"I am not asinine!" James yelled.
"Let's go Potter, before you're best friend starts using freaky adjectives to describe us too." Lily said while motioning for James.
"You two should be ashamed of yourselves." James scolded and wagged a finger before shaking a finger at the two of them.
"Absurd those two are." Sirius told Ngila while watching their retreating backs.
"You said it my brother from another mother." Ngila breathed back while lying back down and ignoring Sirius' odd look of confusion.
Thank you for the reviews my home slices! Much obliged if I do say so myself!
Once again, as I said before in the chapter, I actually carry a pocket dictionary around because I enjoy enhancing my vocabulary. I find it oddly liberating.
Excuse the amount of times odd was used in this chapter. I seem to feel that it was used quite a bit but it is the word of the day because I apparently said weird too much in common speech.
Anyway, get back to your other activities, but not before reviewing. Thanks a bunch!
-Bex