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 Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:10 am
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Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:23 am
The principle's office door opened as a red-haired young woman entered, having forgotten, again, to knock first. "You wanted to see me, Sir Thrutchley?" she inquired, watching as the elderly human man at the desk jolted away from his paperwork and then looked to her, quickly fixing a smile on his face.
"A little sooner than I was expecting you." he admitted with a chuckle. "Please," he added, motioning to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "have a seat, Tenru."
"Tenryuu." she absently corrected, nonetheless sinking into the chair closest to her. She had worked at Wingview Elementary for nearly a year, and still people had trouble with her name. The adults, at least...the children seemed to get it just fine after a few days.
There was a moment of silence as papers continued to be shuffled, placed in order, and laid aside, giving Flying Swords just enough time to wonder if she had somehow been forgotten before Mister Thrutchley folded his hands, leaning forward a bit to look at her over the rims of his glasses.
"We received another phone call from a parent last night." he stated at last, eliciting a noise of exasperation from the woman. These visits had first begun when the head coach had retired and she'd taken his place. She had been completely clueless as to what it had to do with HER that the office had been phoned by a parent, but it had not taken long to quickly make the association. Parents calling the office were calling to complain. About her. And then she was summoned to the office to receive a lecture about how she was expecting entirely too much of the children in her classes.
But she'd THOUGHT she'd been doing better lately...she'd learned that, even with as active as human children were, she could not treat them like tiny soldiers-in-training. And so the morning drills had stopped. When another parent had complained, she had also removed teaching them to spar with wooden rods from the itinerary. As parental phone calls persisted, little by little, the things she felt children SHOULD learn in physical education class were whittled down to simply letting them run wild in the gym as she supervised and occasionally attempted to teach them something about teamwork.
Everyone had seemed happy with that. Several months had passed without a phone call. Which begged the question....
"....about what?"
"It seems there was an incident yesterday morning regarding one of the children in your class."
Tenryuu's mind raced, attempting to place the accusation with an incident.
"Joseph Ellis?"
Ah...! Tenryuu nearly burst into chuckles. Sir Thrutchley didn't need to worry about that, she assured. "Joseph likes to put his mouth before his capabilities." she explained. "He had been teasing the children who were too afraid to climb the cargo net, so I told him to be our example of how it should be done."
"Are you aware, also, that Joseph is prone to fainting spells at great heights?" the man inquired, brow knitted.
....and at this, Tenryuu stopped short, the bewildered blink of her eyes speaking volumes. No, she....hadn't been aware.
"When this year began, your classes brought in forms signed by their parents citing any allergies or disabilities they may have. You were asked to go through them and make note on your attendance sheets. Joseph's...." he paused to rummage a xerox out of the neat pile of papers on his desk to place before her. "....clearly states he is not to climb anything higher than the playground equipment. His mother is very upset with the school."
The young Dragon Knight fell into silence, finding she had nothing to say for herself, though behind her mental wall, her mind was a beesnest of guilt. At a glance, the forms had seemed an unnecessary formality, as she had assumed the children would be quick to tell her of any ailments they might have. Or that failing, that she would easily be able to pick up on any distress in her gym and pull aside the child it was coming from. Young porcelain, after all, were anything BUT guarded about their body's projections for the mostpart. But gleaning anything at all from Gaians' minds was a futile venture.
....and all because she hadn't wanted to hurt her chances at employment by admitting her ability to read this world's language was still rudimentary at best.
"Is he all right?" she ventured at last. At this, the principal's expression softened a bit.
"He's fine." he assured her. "However..." he continued. "....I think its time to discuss the fact that teaching at Wingview may not be for you."
Tenryuu took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, carefully barring back any outward reaction she may have had to this.
"I'm being dismissed, then." she concluded.
"In so many words." the man affirmed with a regretful nod. "I hate to do this to you so close to the holidays, Tenryuu, and I know you've been willing to accommodate, but in these cases we need to think of the--"
Tenryuu understands, the projection interrupted firmly, making him trail off to blink at her.
"All right, then." he nodded once after a pause, reaching across the desk to offer her a handshake. "I wish you the best, Tenryuu. Your last check will be in the mail on Thursday, and you may list us as a reference if you like."
Flying Swords regarded the outstretched hand, having learned months ago that it was a gesture of endearment among Gaians, yet not feeling especially endeared to Sir Thrutchley or Wingview Elementary School at the moment. At length, she stood, offering him a bow in its place.
It has been her honor to serve. "I'll bring by my staff uniform tomorrow after I've had a chance to wash it."
The principal's hand wavered and then drew back to himself. "You can keep it, if you like." he told her.
Tenryuu thinks....she'd really feel better returning it sweatdrop
"All right, then." he relented. sitting up straighter in his chair and offering her a last smile. "Good luck."
"Thank you." she murmured, turning to go. She would, she decided, save her true feelings on the matter for the cottonwood tree in the backyard
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Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:43 am
Almost sure Mother has guessed something is wrong.
I don't care. I don't want to talk about it. I'll check the bulletins tomorrow and hopefully find something to replace it. If I can't work in schools, I'll find something else. As long as we can afford to eat.
I want to go home. At least there my job isn't stripped from me over a few pieces of paper.
腆竜
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