moved to orchestrahearts

Turning a Phrase: How to Write Historical Dialogue 

Victorian Era English Language 

Etiquette Of Conversation Victorian Era (Of Era Etiquette Guide)

Fairytale •

Boq had sprung up from his seat as Mel entered, wide-eyed and over-awed, and now settled back down with an expression of familiar red-facedness. No matter the matter, no matter the situation, there would always be some small part of Boq constantly on edge for…Her. Most of his friends had simply learned to live with it. That, or they’d given up entirely. Boq was a lost cause. 

The spread of textbooks and papers on the table in front of Boq were, thankfully, decidedly un-Galinda related. The ink smudged across his cuffs and forehead spoke of a battle far closer to home. Boq was, at the very least, as desperate in his pursuit of good grades as he was the fabled Miss Galinda. 

“I…uh… thought we could start wiiith-” Boq was already fumbling through the mess of papers, leaving inky thumb-prints in his wake. A textbook was extracted, hastily de-crumpled, and passed across the table to Mel. “Doctor Dillamond’s History test. That’s…uh…that’s on Tuesday!”

Boq was diligent, and Boq was bright. Intelligence, at Shiz, sat on a sliding scale next to personal wealth, and Boq could never have bought his way in. But it was a brightness reflected in an inert eagerness to please, not so much a startling aptitude in class. Farming was Boq’s true calling– Farming was expected of him– but when it came to all other subjects Boq was brilliantly average. Astoundingly so. And, in history class, happy to sit in the courts of the perpetually unnoticeable. 

Boq needed Mel’s help as much as he needed a study partner to keep him on track.