Second floor common room- Friday morning

[imawizard]

Harry wasn't huge on caffeine but he was kind of dragging some by now. It also hasn't occurred to him that there was maybe a spell or something that would take care of this. More than likely the letter he'd sent back to Hermione this week complaining would get a response of "if only you had tried ____" the day after this ended.

For now though he was contemplating a chocolate Pop Tart in the kitchen. Chocolate had caffeine, right? Did chocolate count? Would this help? Would he try either way? (Yes, no, no, yes.)


[Open!]

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[outofthequiver]

Libby had plenty of time in the morning before her first class, and she popped her head through the door of the common room to see if anyone had beaten her to it.

"Oh, hello, Harry!" she greeted brightly as she went ahead and walked in, blissfully unaware of anything the island could potentially be depriving her of at the moment, since caffeine and alcohol were almost strictly forbidden. "Good morning! Were you thinking of making breakfast?"

[imawizard]

"I'm wondering if this is still a source of caffeine," he said, waving the shiny wrapped package, and this was a totally normal thing to say.

[outofthequiver]

Libby tilted her head thoughtfully as she considered it, thinking back on everything she'd researched about caffeine yesterday, and then gave Harry an apologetic smile. "Probably not," she concluded. "You're probably better off just having a regular chocolate bar, really..."

But her expression went sympathetic, remembering the near epidemic of headachy, lethargic people who filled her clinic shift yesterday. "Are you dealing with that whole caffeine withdrawal thing, too?"

[imawizard]

"I don't think it's withdrawal," he mused, setting the Pop Tart back on the counter. "But the fact that I can't have it is stupid."

[outofthequiver]

Libby could only shrug a little. "I've never been able to have it," she admitted, "not really, anyway, so I guess I don't even know what I'm missing..."

By now, she made it to the fridge, though, opening it up to take stock of what could be useful inside. "A good hearty breakfast," she said, already reaching for some eggs, "is probably a better start to the day, anyway."

[imawizard]

"Is a Pop Tart not hearty?" Harry joked. And no, Harry, it wasn't. "Why couldn't you have it?"

[outofthequiver]

And Libby had to give Harry the same sort of withering, indulgent look that seemed to show just how good she was being by not rolling her eyes at a smart mouth comment like that that she would have given her brothers, since apparently there were some things that were just universal.

"I wasn't allowed to have Pop Tarts, either," she added, just as smart, especially since no one here seemed to care if she gave back out what was dished out to her, "so I wouldn't know, but something tells me no."

Besides, that response gave her the chance to cover up that little blip of hesitation before explaining, as she grabbed some milk and went looking for flour.

"And intoxicating or stimulating substances are against our beliefs," she explained, significantly more subdued. "Especially when they could be addicting. That just opens the door wide open to all sorts of temptation."

[imawizard]

"Huh," he says, frowning a little. "So this week is just.... nothing to you."

That's what he was getting out of that, yes.

[outofthequiver]

Which was honestly a big relief to Libby. She'd been nervous about bringing up anything too religious with anyone she didn't know as well, pretty much since the get-go with Vi getting upset about the whole 'arrows in the quiver of God's army' thing, and she smiled, shrugged a shoulder.

"It was busier in the clinic this week?" she offered. "But that's about it, really. And even then most of it was just handing people a bottle of water and telling them to go have a nap."

[imawizard]

"I don't know what they that they'd get, other than maybe an aspirin," Harry admitted. "I think we just suffer through this one. For days."

[outofthequiver]

"I did read that withdrawal symptoms can last anywhere from two to nine days," Libby noted helpfully. "So let's hope it's closer to the two than the nine for most people..."

If it did last longer, boy, was that going to make her feel validated in all the restrictive expectations of her lifestyle.

[imawizard]

"And how many people do you think are going right back to it as soon as this is over?"

He had a guess! Because it was what he'd do.

[outofthequiver]

Libby's smile was a little wry. "I'd reckon most of them."

She actually figured it was closer to all, but a part of her, perhaps misguided and naive, hoped that maybe a few people might figure it was worth it to stay off of it in the long run.

[imawizard]

"I might have to walk past the Perk that day. See the chaos for myself," he decjded.

[outofthequiver]

"Those poor employees!" Libby said, but she couldn't help a small laugh as she tried to picture. "I might have to stop in just to give them an extra tip for having to deal with all that."

A real one, not one of those bullshit pamphlets that looked like a twenty dollar bill but actually was just telling you how much you needed to find Jesus, thank you.

[imawizard]

"If you want company, I'll walk down with you," Harry offered. "I can watch the antics while you be nice."

[outofthequiver]

"You might wind up being terribly disappointed," Libby warned. "Maybe everyone will be perfectly reasonable and orderly and kind."

Okay, yeah, even the sheltered fundie kid who'd barely left her own yard until these last few months knew enough to not be able to say that one with a straight face.

[imawizard]

"I'm picturing a lot of people silently drinking several cups at their own tables," Harry said. "Focusing on what's really important."

He's been considering the caffeine content of a Pop Tart, he should maybe not judge.

[outofthequiver]

Libby had to giggle a little as she was picturing it now, too.

"Clinging desperately to them," she, who could and definitely would judge (but not too much!), "for dear life..."

[imawizard]

"Hopefully for them this isn't one of those yearly things," Harry realized.

[outofthequiver]

Libby's head tilted with a curious confusion. "...those yearly things?" she asked.

She had somehow managed to still go blissfully unaware of some of this place's more....consistent quirks so far.

Honestly, she was still grappling with some of the others ones.

[imawizard]

"I guess there are some things that come back around sometimes," he said. "I usually hear kids mentioned."

[outofthequiver]

"Kids?" That explanation didn't seem to help Libby's confusion much, considering, well, they were all kids. Some more than others, sure, but still. Also, she wasn't sure if it was another Normal School Thing that just flew way over her head. "You mean, like students that leave for a bit and come back?"

[imawizard]

"No, like actual children. But I've never gotten the context."

Maybe because it could mean a couple things.

[outofthequiver]

"So...like, just Littles?" Libby asked, and she had to laugh, at the idea of a bunch of tiny children just swarming the place. "Little kids, just randomly showing up? Really?"

She actually wouldn't mind that, actually, even though she was sure it would just make her moss wrangling up her own little siblings all that much more. But she liked kids (she kind of had to!), and, even more, she felt she was pretty good with them, too.