The Testing RP discussion

Aberforth and his little sister Lucy share a bedroom. His grandparents occupy the other. Their house has a modest and simple design.

Abe was swinging an axe, splitting pieces of firewood.

Pippa walked up, smiling. "Hey Abe!"

((What she looks like:
))

Abe followed through with his swing, sending two halves of wood flying a foot away from him. He could recognize that voice from a mile away. He turned on his heels and wiped a drop of sweat from his brow. "Oh..uh." Abe lowered the axe to his side. "Hey Pippa." He said in his usual low pitch. He gave her a smile.

Her smile widened a bit. She had a large, infectious smile, and she was almost always smiling. "How's everything going?"

Abe brushed his hair with his fingertips. "Pretty good, pretty good..." His smile was small but always meaningful. There weren't many things that could make him smile, but Pippa always did. He walked towards her, his boots covered with dirt. He wore a white tanktop that hugged his muscular chest. "How are you, Pip?" He said joyfully.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, giving a small laugh. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm stressed. Even though school just ended, waiting for graduation is killing me."

Abe nodded and stuck a hand into the pocket of his jeans, "you hopin' to get picked for that Testing nonsense? ...or just anxious to be able to say we're free from school?" A grin spread across his lips .

She gave him a crooked smile, shrugging. "I don't know, it could be fun. Though I also have a pretty good future here." She paused, then smiled widely. "I got offered an apprenticeship! If I don't get chosen, I'm going to work with the architects!" It had always been her dream to build amazing structures, things that would last for hundreds of years.

Abe's smile stuck to his face. He always loved when she talked about her dreams. There was a fire in her that was something special. He moved closer to her, "Awesome, Pip!" He pointed to a small tool shed about twenty feet away...his first building without grandfather's help. "You'll be building stuff that makes that there look like a house of cards!"
Oh my God....what if one of us gets picked?

She gave him a mischievous grin, and said, "Haven't I already done that?" During this last year, she had drawn and given a set of blueprints to the Architects, which they used to build the new museum. Her work on it is what impressed them enough to decide to apprentice her.

"Well..." Abe gave a shy smile, rubbing the back of his neck. At that moment, the front half of the roof of the little tool shed caved in. He laughed and looked at Pippa, "Guess you have." He stared back at the tool shed. It had been built since he was 7.

Her eyes widened when it caved in, and then she burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh, did you plan that?"

Abe inconspicuously glances at Pippa. He smiles and admires her eyes. She's so beautiful when she laughs. He keeps looking and shrugs his shoulders, "I knew it'd fall sometime!"

She grinned. "If I don't end up in the Testing, I'll help you fix it, okay?"

"Hopefully neither of us end up with those government idiots..." Abe stared at his boots, kicking the dirt a bit. A moment passed.
"Oh yeah...that reminds me... Uh , Pip?" He turned his head back up towards hers. "I kinda had somethin' I wanted to give you..before things get hectic on Graduation Day."

She tilted her head slightly, smiling. "Okay."

He bit his lip and turned away, walking towards the trailer he had been piling his cut wood on. Crouching down by the tire, he picked up the gift. His steps were slow as he smiled at Pippa. "Close your eyes."

She got a curious look on her face, doing what he said. "Should I be concerned?"

Abe paused for a moment, scanning her face. He bit down hard on his lip as he went into thought. I wish she knew...I wish I could hold her face and tell her how much I love her. He looked down at the box he held in his hands. He spent months getting it perfect...each little detail. On the lid, "Pip" is engraved in the wood, with a small, "from Abe." on the bottom.

He held it out to her and swallowed. It was obvious he had spent a long time on it. "This is for your tools...or, whatever." He smiled, "Open your eyes."

She opened her eyes, and they widened in reaction to seeing the beautifuly carved box. "Oh my god, Abe, this is gorgeous. How long have you been working on this??" She ran her hand over the smooth wood, admiring it.

A big smile spread across Abe's face. "Ah..it ain't much. Been workin' on it for awhile. I kept it with me till the right time to give it to you." He took a step closer to her as she admired the box. He'd never felt to happy in his life.

She looked up at him, smiling widely. "This is the best thing anyone has ever given to me. I love it, thank you."

Abe looked down into her eyes, not sure of what to say. All he could think about was how much he wanted to tell her how he felt...before one of them was gone.

She hugged him tightly, then pulled back and smiled. "I couldn't ask for a better friend."

Yep...Friend. Abe gave her a small smile, but something was different. It was obvious something was wrong. He dusted off his shirt and attempted to change the subject. "So if one of us..and by one of us, I mean you, gets picked on Graduation Day..." his low pitched voice trails off.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, they're not going to pick one of us and not the other, okay? We're in the top of the class."

Abe just took a deep breath and looked around the area. He could see the building, now collapsed. He glanced towards the fence...and the wood. He hoped his life wouldn't end up like that building, caved in and ruined, but he knew that would be the case if Pippa left.

She's going to get picked...now I have to act happy about it.

"Yeah...I guess I'd be okay with going if you were with me. Otherwise I'd think about running as far away as I could." He gave her a half smile, laced with worry. He stared over at the fence where they used to search for stars in the hazy sky together after long days.

She followed his gaze, getting a whistful smile on her face. She remembed how they used to skip studying to spend all night at the fence, talking about any random things, sometimes deep things. That had stopped a few years back, when they started being put under more pressure to study hard and get the best grades.

Abe stretched his shoulders and gave a small nostalgic laugh. "Remember sitting there together on that fence and chucking rocks at old Mr. Crow's house when we were younger?"

She gave a small grin. "I remember. He deserved it."

"Exactly." He smirked.

She turned to look at him, starting to feel a lot of sad and anxious feelings build up inside her. With her eyes glistening, she said, "Let's stay out at the fence tonight. Everything could change after graduation, and I want something happy to hold onto if one of us is picked but not the other."

Abe bit his lip, staring at his boots. That'll be my only chance. He looked back up at Pippa and swallowed nervously, his low pitched voice sounded a bit gravely, "I'd love that." He took a step closer to her, leaving about a 12 inch gap between them.

Thinking that all he wanted was a hug, Pippa closed the distance quickly and gave him one.

Abe wrapped his arms around her. He smelled like campfire and vanilla.