too cool for school | jessie & simon

[simon sixten svendsen]

April 2025

Simon hated Potions. To be fair, Simon hated most all of his classes and the act of studying, school sucked. Sitting still wasn't easy for the half-vamp. He blew off most steam through quidditch, or his art, but today he had to dedicate the day to the books. He was assigned a partner for his next assignment. A girl named Jessie, who he didn't know very well but she was a fellow Gryffindor. Normally he got along well with his house mates, so he'd go into this assignment with an open mind, but he wasn't the type of student to go above and beyond. So she'd have to deal with that.

He found his way into the library and threw himself into one of the chairs towards the back rows of long tables. Simon wasn't going to start anything without his designated partner, so he sat lazily at the table and started to doodle on the wooden table surface with a pencil and awaited for her to arrive.

@jessiemeadows

[Deleted]

The small lioness trudged her way through the library, looking down every aisle and table for her assigned partner. She didn't know him all too well, but she knew his face. Hopefully she would spot him sooner, rather than later, seeing how heavy her notes and books were becoming. Jessie had debated whether or not to bring her old notes or not. Considering she didn't know whether or not her partner was skilled in Potions, she thought it best to go ahead and bring every little note and text with her. 

Just as she was about to work up a sweat, she finally stumbled upon Simon. "Oh there you are! Lovely day isn't it?" she asked, beaming down at him. She sat in the chair across from him and began spreading out her notes. "So, since we are supposed to choose a potion that would cause physical changes in a living thing and brew it, I thought we could try the Manegrow potion. It should be fairly easy to gather the ingredients and brew it. It takes about a week or so to brew," she babbled, cutting right to the chase.

Jessie prided herself at being relatively good at potions. It went without saying that she was anxious to make sure she could succeed with a partner, rather than working alone. 

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

April 2025

Simon sank into the chair as he patiently awaited for his partner to arrive in the library. The pencil etched deeply into the wooden table top as he doodled an eyeball absentmindedly. As he heard footsteps approaching, he didn't turn to greet whoever it was, but he could tell by the greeting and tone who it was already. She greeted him...Little Miss Sunshine-ing out of her arse. "Hey" He chuckled, unable to hide the fact that he didn't want to be there. "Yeah, a lovely day to be trapped with dusty old books." he responded, his eyes noticing the stack of work she had brought, his nose crinkled at the sight.

The half vampire attempted to listen as she immediately jumped into their schoolwork. It sounded like she had already put thought into the assignment, so she was already a step ahead. The prep time of the potion she mentioned caused him to snap his head to the side.  "Holy Hell. A week?" he repeated after her, raising his eyes brows at her with a slightly taken aback look. Great. He got paired with 'the overachiever'. This would certainly be interesting. Simon drummed his fingers on the table rhythmically against the table top, "Anything a little less...time consuming?" he asked, already searching for the easy way out. 

@jessiemeadows

[Deleted]

As Jessie sat, still spreading out her notes, she couldn't help but pay special attention to his remark about 'dusty old books'. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to analyze his sarcasm. She refrained from judging him. That is, until she saw his reaction towards learning how long the potion would take. With all the strength in the world, Jessie managed not to roll her eyes at his response. With a soft exhale, her brown eyes met his blue through a weary look.

Despite her acute frustration, she was caught off guard by the blue in his eyes. It was almost as if his shock were giving his eyes an extra dose of vibrancy. She cleared her throat and pulled her own eyes away from his.  "Not if you want high marks. Besides, I was going soft on the time. Some of our classmates are doing two week brews, considering the due date isn't for another three," she said, a little sharply.

Jessie tried to keep her slight frustration in check. She felt a little guilty, very quickly. She didn't like being mean. She preferred her bubbly, over-the-top attitude. However, her quick temper sometimes got in her way. "But.. I could look into more? If that would work better for you?" she offered, trying to recover from her earlier spiel.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

April 2025

Simon could already feel the energy shift in the room. It seemed like they had...started off on the wrong foot? Unfortunately, the Lion had too much pride to admit that to the Lioness, but he honestly wasn't trying to be rude. School and studying took a lot of effort for him and it at times was very frustrating. If he didn't do well in his core classes he couldn't play quidditch, again. Which was embarrassing for him.

As Jessie continued her spiel on their classmates brews pushing two weeks, he took a breath in when she told him she'll look into it. "No, it's fine. I don't care." he shrugged his shoulders, refraining from an eyeroll because usually that would mean things weren't 'fine'. He didn't care about high marks. All he wanted to do was play quidditch. Simon ruffled a hand through his hair, kicking back into his chair. "One week is better than three, I guess." he sighed, unapologetically.

"Manegrow it is..." he stated unenthusiastically, his expression blank as he twiddled his thumbs. Simon took a breath as his eyes surveyed the smaller girl. She had a weird American accent that clashed with his Swedish one, it was somewhat humorous. His eyes fell back down to the work she was laying out, "What in the name of Merlin have you brought with you...?" he asked her, not feeling the need to sugarcoat his tone. From the looks of it...she took very detailed notes with perfect scrawl...he wasn't sure how he felt about it yet.

@jessiemeadows

[Deleted]

Jessie hoped it wasn't noticeable, but her body sagged in relief when he agreed to still work on the potion. Schoolwork often consumed all of her time and energy. It was a distraction for her, in a way. She didn't like to dwell on the situation between her and her sisters. Therefore, she threw herself into any and all activities she could. Sadness wasn't an emotion she was accustomed to, so pushing all of the painful memories aside was the best way she coped. Albeit an unhealthy way to cope. All in all, if she wasn't doing something, Jessie found herself obsessing over why her sisters no longer accepted her. It was just better if she didn't give it any thought.

She was so lost in thought that she barely noticed Simon asking her what the notes were. Let alone the tone he was using. "Hmm?" she breathed, giving him her full attention again. "Oh, these?" Jessie glanced down at the now organized notes and books. They were organized a bit obsessively. Stacks were put together by ingredient, potion types, and time to brew. "They're my Potions notes. This way we won't have to pull as many textbooks. These over here," she said, pointing to the stack on the left, "are the ingredients we need for Manegrow, as well as the best way to utilize them in the brewing process." 

As she explained everything, her face began to flush. She really had gone over the top this time. He probably thought she was a control freak. Jessie couldn't explain it, but for some reason, she was struggling to maintain her cool around Simon. Normally she found it easy to talk to, well, everyone. 

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

It was becoming quite clear that the underachiever was paired with the overachiever as some sort of sick joke. Maybe their professor thought that Jessie could help him get higher marks... Simon wasn’t sure how he felt about this. He honestly didn’t want to come off as a rude jerk to the girl because she seemed very pleasant, he just said things how they were and his face wasn’t always the friendliest when he said it. Simons friends constantly told him that he suffered from chronic resting bitch face... Something that poor Jessie was probably encountering right now.

So, he allowed the corners of his lips to slowly turn upwards as her face started to flush as she explained the stacks of notes that were meticulously organized in front of them. Simon nodded his head lazily, ”Well, it looks like you have everything under control...” he stated nonchalantly, pretending to start to push himself up from the chair to dismiss himself. Really, he just wanted to see her reaction.

Then, he smiled; a true indication to show her he was messing with her. ”I’m just messing with ya...” he chuckled, his icy blue eyes falling on her as he sank back into the chair, ”What do you need me to do?” Simon asked simply, already dreading that it was probably going to be something that he hated.

@jessiemeadows

[Deleted]

When Simon began to stand up, Jessie's heart sank into her stomach. As quickly has her mouth fell open, Simon was already back in his seat, giving her a smile. The panicked feeling that had been welling up in her torso quickly receded. She managed to give him a small smile in return, after falling back against her chair and letting out a relieved exhale. Thank Merlin he was only joking. Truth be told, she could do the assignment on her own. However, she hated being alone. It would make the assignment so much more terrible to do. Jessie would literally rather work with someone infuriating rather than solo. 

Her doe eyes met his as he asked her what she required of him. "Honestly, I'm going to need the most help actually collecting the ingredients. Some of the ingredients are in the greenhouse. I got permission to harvest those specific ingredients when they are ripe, which will be later this week. The others can be found around the grounds, as well as stocked in the Potions class. Basically I'll need help hunting everything down. We should be able to actually start brewing at the beginning of next week." 

She was a little out of breath at the end of her speech. Face tinged pink, she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Sorry, I know it seems like a lot. It's mostly just gathering." 

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

April 2025

Simon almost felt a little bad when she apologized for the intensity of the project. He didn't really think it was her fault, at least she was a step ahead and had an idea of what to do... Now they wouldn't be wasting time deciding what to do. Simon didn't mind taking the passenger seat for academics, the girl obviously knew what she was doing. The half vampire shrugged his shoulders upwards at her apology, not finding an apology necessary. "Okay.." his eyes found the paper with ingredients neatly scrawled, icy blue saucers scanning the page as his finger tapped each one. "Chomping cabbage...nettle leaves....burdock root...and rose oil." he recited, ruffling a hand through his hair with a sigh.

 "That sounds simple enough.." The Lion turned toward his partner, "I have a feeling like you already know what to do for this, and  I'm going to admit to you right now that I f-cking hate school..." he stated unapologetically, before continuing, "So, what do we need to collect first?" he asked her with an expectant expression. Merlin, he desperately hoped that they could get this finished within record time. A week typically wasn't long for concocting Potions, Simon just had no patience when it came to the topic.

@jessiemeadows

[Deleted]

Jessie flinched as he dropped the 'f' bomb. Not because of the actual word, but rather the unexpectedness of it. As he spoke his truth, she couldn't help but smile slightly. Although Simon expressed his honesty...well, rather bluntly, she found herself pleased by it for the time being. Honesty was something she valued very highly, especially when being given it free of charge. He may be crude about his delivery of said truth, but it was truth nonetheless. However, Jessie was sure that if they were to spend a multitude of time together, his 'tude would rub her the wrong way eventually.

She too took a glance at the ingredient list, as she leaned forward and craned her neck to the side. She pursed her lips slightly, straining to read it upside down, "The Chomping Cabbage is first. It'll be ready to harvest on Saturday. I can meet you down in the Common Room if you would like, so we can head that way together?" She flicked her eyes towards him, as she waited to gauge his reaction. It was a Saturday, of course. Not everyone would be thrilled to give up a free day to continue school work. She had a feeling that Simon wouldn't be thrilled either.

simon sixten svendsen

[simon sixten svendsen]

April 2025

Simon pushed the list back toward the girl when he noticed her crane her neck to the side. He listened as she explained the chomping cabbage. Simon never had a knack for Herbology, and he'd never handled a chomping cabbage before, so he had a feeling like this would be an experience. One that he probably wasn't going to enjoy in the slightest. "Saturday?" he grumbled, biting down on his lip. Damn, she was serious about school if she wanted to gather ingredients on the weekend. This was going to suck. Simon felt her eyes on him, observing his expression or something. With a sigh, he nodded his head, "Uh-Yeah, I guess..." he shrugged, disinterested, and slightly annoyed that she was already controlling his life so much after only ten minutes. The rebel in him hated when anyone had control over him. It took everything in him not to eye roll like a typical teenager.

The girl started to pile up her things neatly, and his eyebrows raised. It appeared like they were finished here. Thank, Merlin! Simon quickly pushed himself up from the chair and excused himself. As if he spent another minute in the library he may combust, "Welllll. See ya." he said quickly, pushing his chair in and slinking away towards the entrance of the library.

[end simon]

@jessiemeadows