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Marlene was ready to run from her problems when she got to the field, so she was pleasantly surprised when a guy with a friendly face and smile greeted her by name. He waved, wobbling from side to side as his hand moved. "Hi! You have got to be Marlene, right?" He questioned, his eyebrows shooting up in excitement as he gripped what looked to be a sign-in sheet.
Marlene nodded awkwardly, waving back, albeit with less enthusiasm. His grin was infectious, and managed to turn her sour mood from the encounter with Dorcas into a slightly happy one, even excited.
"So, you're good at like, sprinting?" He asked. Marlene nodded again. The man had clumsy long legs she struggled to keep up with, and the wind blowing against them and the fast paced talking wasn't helping her understand him.
"Well, I'm going to be honest, we absolutely suck at sprinting!" He grinned again. Marlene wondered if he ever wouldn't, as they neared closer towards the center of the track. Alice from lunch waved to her, before tugging the man's arm towards her. "C'mon, now Frank. Let's not scare her off already, she only just got here." She winked at Marlene before pulling Frank away and he moved to chatting Alice's ear off. Marlene noticed the slight red on both their cheeks, and the hesitant touching of their linked arms. She smiled to herself as Alice let out a loud, merry laugh from something Frank had said, and wondered how long it would take them to get together.
Marlene started warming up, taking into account the different people at practice/tryouts. Well, she assumed it was also tryouts. There was a wide variety of people, and most looked confused and some like they'd never even run before. Some, Marlene recognized from her different classes, including the two annoyances from French and Rita Skeeter from breakfast. Marlene figured Rita was only here to report on people, and suddenly felt self conscious as she examined herself.
Frank poked his head out of a huddle with Alice and James, and had him whoop loudly to get everyone's attention. Some laughed.
"OK, ok you guys!" Frank yelled over the small whispers still going on. He looked quizzically at Rita as she wrote something down on a tiny notepad, a little green pen in her bony hands.
"If you're already on the team, stand over here!" He ordered, gesturing towards the space between the first 3 starting points. He pointed to the other side of the track. "The rest of you, stand over there and wait for me!" He called out. Alice pulled Marlene's arm, directing them both to the veterans team. Frank nodded at Alice, seeing her dragging, and waved Marlene over to their group.
James and his friend from french class were there, along with a few others Marlene didn't recognize. Of course there was Alice, but also a mean looking girl who kept looking at James' friend and a few other unfamiliar and unfriendly faces. None of them outright glared at Marlene, but most seemed wary at best. Frank continued to grin, obviously immune to the tension between his players.
"Ok! I'm going to divide you lot into groups. Narcissa," -he pointed to the girl glaring at James' friend- ''go to between the first and second lanes. Any other sprinters, follow her. And ONLY, sprinters." He glared at James, who smirked proudly. Marlene followed Narcissa and James' friend joined them. Marlene watched as Frank gave similar instructions to the remaining people. James, along with 2 other people, went to distance, while Alice and the only remaining person went to the long distance lanes, the ones on the farthest edge of the track. The groups were going to be perfectly even once Frank joined the long distance.
Frank told the groups to start warming up for an example lap, and to get to know each other while he went to the people here for tryouts. Most looked confused, and others whispered to their friends about how unfair it was that they didn't get a chance to see Marlene try out. They didn't know that Marlene had showed up with a handful of other scholarship kids, who were then tried out at that time, before the school year started. Only Marlene and one long distance runner had made it to the school, and she recognized him over by the others.
Narcissa glared at Marlene and James' friend, while she finished lacing up her sneakers and got up to start warming up. James' friend rolled his eyes.
"Ignore her. She's like that to everyone." He shrugged. "I'm Sirius, by the way."
"Marlene." She smiled at him. He seemed nicer than James, so far, and they had something in common. Narcissa being rude to them, apparently.
"That's my cousin." He glared at the woman, now doing jumping jacks and such. Marlene nodded sympathetically. She hadn't known her for long, but she did not have the same energy as Marlene's abundance of cousins. Ranging from 5-22, and from rambunctious to posh and back again, she had a variety of them, but good ones in that variety.
By this time, Frank had started walking back towards the lanes the groups were using, and his naturally loud voice cut through Marlene and Sirius' conversation with ease.
"Ok, people!" He yelled. "Just got the newbies prepared! You ready for that example?"
The team groaned. Half of them rolled their eyes. Frank mimicked the gesture. "At least I warned you this time!" He shouted, to more groaning and what seemed like cringing at whatever memory they all shared. Marlene herself shared a look of confusion with the other person who hadn't been there last year. He seemed grateful to not know what was in store for them.
Sirius offered the two lanes closest to the inside of the track to Narcissa and Marlene. He explained he wasn't in a "running mood" at the moment, and gladly gave Marlene his spot next to his cousin. It didn't matter one way or the other to Marlene. She was still ready to sprint after the interaction with Dorcas and the greasy guy.
Marlene also noticed her scholarship buddy was going instead of Alice,
Frank gestured for the newbies to shut up, before raising him arm above his head. Marlene had a brief thought about what the long distance and normal would do for this, but cut it short when Frank started to count.
"3."
"2."
"1." He brought his arm down quickly, and someone blew a whistle. Most likely Alice from the sidelines.
Marlene burst into speed, racing down the track and overtaking 3 people. It was just one lap, and she was closest to the inside, but it still felt exhilarating. The slight, cool breeze strengthened by 10, and Marlene felt her hair fly out of her face, flailing in the wind behind her. Her legs burned with the cold and short adrenaline burst from the sprint. She was so close to the finish line, what could only be a half dozen meters away, before Narcissa passed her, grinning like a madman as she passed through the finish line.
Marlene followed her quickly, stopping right after to catch her breath. James let out a loud laugh as he finished 3rd, and Marlene's scholarship buddy came up for 4th. The other two people weren't far behind. The newbies had a tired and cold expression on their face, but most still had some interest. The rest of the team members, finishing last, took a short breather while Frank, with James and Alice at his side, directed the newbies in different races, sometimes pairing them up with members on the team.
Marlene was only paired with someone once, a short brunette who finished 4 seconds after Marlene, despite her effort on the other sprint and the short amount of time she had to recover from it. The other girl did not make the team, not to Marlene's surprise.
James and Alice were regular contestants, and Marlene was awestruck to see the smooth way they both ran. It was grace, it was elegance, it was first place worthy. It was the most promising thing Marlene had.
After practice, Frank announced the three new team members. One sprinter, one distance, and one long distance, perfectly even. They weren't particularly memorable, but against the other newbies they shone out like a planet among a sky of stars.
Marlene's other classes were like her old school, nothing special like French or Track practice. The rest of the day was boring, classes of introductions and rules and seating charts with people she barely knew or recognized, and she felt relieved at the idea of no homework, responsibilities or after school activities awaiting her at the dorm.
In fact, she was genuinely happy to find her luck was mostly good, being roomed with Mary, Emmeline, and Alice. Dorm 108 had three twin beds in it, and the bedding, drapes, and small, circular rugs matched with a calming theme of floral sage green. It didn't match Marlene's usual aesthetic, and she quickly switched out the green cover on her bed to her own, neon red one. It was electric, and clashed with the green energy of the rest of the room, but Marlene liked it.
Emmeline, a quiet girl, seemed to not, but thankfully didn't make a fuss out of it. She seemed to recognize Marlene from lunch, and even gave a friendly wave when she came in to the dorm, albeit a little late to when they were supposed to meet to discuss rules & such. Mary rushed in about 30 minutes later, saying she didn't care much about rules, as long as they weren't to strict.
Marlene and Emmeline agreed on a 10:00 lights off, 10:30 no noise, and a few exceptions to the rules as well, (ex. studying and parties, which Mary wholeheartedly agreed with). Mary actually suggested throwing a party that night, but the glare from both Marlene and Emmeline shut that idea down quickly. It had been a long day, and both girls were tired.
"Don't worry, we'll for sure have something this weekend." Marlene told her. At this, Mary seemed to brighten up, and immediately began planning. What to wear, how best to get Marlene acquainted with the cute boys, typical party things.
"You have no idea how excited I am for this." She squealed. If it wasn't for the short space, she would have most likely danced, Marlene assumed.
Without homework, due to it being the first day, the girls spent the night doing fun icebreaker activities, and a smile just beginning to peek out of the corners of her mouth proved to Marlene that she really might belong.