Helping Out A Friend

Jude hardly ever got mail besides the occasional letters from his parents. Today, a package arrived for the first year. He was so excited that he couldn't possibly open the gift by himself. The first person to come to mind to help him was his friend McKenna. They had just gotten back from winter va ation and he had celebrated his birthday over that time. The package must have been a late birthday present. He held the big package with both hands and made his way over to the Montagnard table. He got weird looks from some Montagnards as he set his box down in front of McKenna. "Hello," he grinned.

He sat on his knees instead of his butt so he could see over the box. "So, I got a package and we're going to look through it together." He began to remove the tape that sealed the large box. "I must be a late birthday present," he explained.

McKenna was sitting by herself at the table, sipping at a glass of water. Cori was off hanging out with Indigo, Melanie was off with Hayden. She was all by her lonesome. The second year sighed softly and flipped through the book she had brought with her, then got very bored with that. She rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her palms. McKenna jumped as the large box was presented to her. She peaked around it to see her new friend, Jude. A bright smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Hey yourself.”

She kneels on the bench so that she could see into the box better. Though she was very careful not to bend over too much, she was wearing a skirt and ladies never show off their underwear whilst wearing one. “A late birthday present? When was your birthday? Did I miss it!” She gasped. What a horrible friend she was.

He started to pull things out of the box and placing them beside the box. "You didn't miss much, it was over break. Christmas Eve, actually." He pulled out a bag full of cookies that his grandmother had made. "Try these," he opened the bag and took out a cookie. "My grandma makes the best." He held out the cookie for her to take.

He put the bag down and then pulled a knitted sweater out of the box. He had a huge 'J' on the front. He set that aside then pulled out what he though was the last item. "Wizarding chess," he grinned. "We should play sometime." He checked to make sure there was nothing left. "CANDY!" He said a bit too loudly. He blushed when he realized people were staring.

McKenna watched as Jude took items from the box. “Well, I’m a pretty lousy friend for not knowing it. Don’t worry, I’ll get you the best present ever next year.” She nodded matter-of-factly and took the cookie with a small ‘thank you’. McKenna bit into it and was fairly certain she was drooling. “Oh Merlin, these cookies are amazing!” Jude was going to have to keep an eye on those cookies or else McKenna was going to eat them all.

She smiled watching him pull out the rest of the items. How sweet of his family to send him the package. “Wizarding chess?” She tiled her head. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never played.” McKenna admitted softly. She almost doubled over in laughter at Jude’s outburst and then at everyone’s concerned glances at him. Granted, a giggling idiot wasn’t exactly helping that either.

"You've never player wizarding chess?" He played it with his grandpa when he visited him and his grandma. He finally got his own set. "I'm not very good at it, my grandpa is great." It was obvious that the chess set came from his grandpa and the cookies came from his grandma. The candy probably came from both of them. "I love food," he explained. Sweets were his favorite, dessert was his favorite meal.

His face burned and his covered his face with his hands. He hid his behind the box until people didn't pay attention to him anymore. "So, how are you?" He picked up a knife from the table and began to poke two holes into the box. He dumped the candy out on the table after setting down the knife. He stuck the box on his head and grinned, the box covered his whole face besides his blue eyes.

“Never, ever.” McKenna nodded. Who was she to play with? She only knew about normal chess and with muggle parents they wouldn’t know anything about it. McKenna rested her chin on her palms again and nodded. “Food is the greatest.” She really loved cereal. What a weird thing to like, but then again McKenna wasn’t a very conventional person.

She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her giggling. Poor Jude, he looked like a little tomato. McKenna glanced around and gave some people who were still staring a pointed look. She turned back to Jude and smiled. “I doing good, a little bored. Yourself?” McKenna shrugged and held up a piece of candy. “May I?” She wanted to ask before just taking. McKenna laughed and reached across the table to flick the box.

Finally, someone who understood his love for food. He could eat anything without gaining a single pound. Which was great, he never got big. "I love food," he said for what seemed like the fifth time even though he hadn't said it that much. He remembered the homemade meals his parents would make together. But now it wasn't the same with just one parent, they completed meals together that tasted so good. They completed each other. "My parents used to make the best meals," he grinned. He tapped the table a few times before continuing. "They're divored now. But I know they'll get back together." He loved to believe that, even though it wasn't the truth. He'd fond out sooner or later that things didn't always go the way he wanted.

"I'm well," he began to grin again. He had stopped to talk about his parents divorce. "Over break, I whinned about not having the whole family together for Christmas and my mom called my dad and he came over. The only problem with that was that he brought over Janet , his wife. We all had dinner together, I acted as if Janet wasn't even there." To him, she wasn't. It was just him and his parents. He nodded o answer her question. "Don't hate 'cause you don't have a cool box like me." He laughed.

McKenna could go on and on about food. She loved it so much. And she always made sure that she got every single meal of the day. Snacks included. She giggled and nodded in agreement once more. Food is the easiest way to win her trust. Her smile slowly faded as he spoked about his family. Oh. She hadn’t realized that his parents were divorced..or maybe this was the first time he mentioned it? She wasn’t really sure. McKenna just chewed on her lip and nodded slowly. She wasn’t sure what to say to that.

McKenna smiled at the grin that formed on his cheeks. Oh, but then he was back to discussing his parents and their divorce. Her family was still together and still crazy, so she wasn’t sure what to say or if she should say something. McKenna unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth, biting it right away. Another weird habit, she liked chewing candy right away. McKenna giggled and rolled her eyes. “Right you are, I’m so jealous of your box.”