do you... want a sticker?

[laurenberkshire]

hazelreid​:

Immediately, Hazel found herself warming to the principal - such was the natural bias of motherhood. Anybody who held warmth for her children immediately won a few points with her by default. Momentarily, Hazel felt a breath of relief; Damien wasn’t in trouble, after all. She was shortly naive enough to let herself think she’d been called in for something good.

When the picture came out, and Hazel heard that word - family - that hope dwindled. With a bleak, stoic expression, she reached to slide the paper closer towards herself over the desk. Her brow creased, knitting itself into a tangle that belied her shame, and when she retracted her fingers it was quick, like she’d been burned. “I, um…” She swallowed, craning her neck to avert her eyes from everything, for a moment. The lump formed in her throat all too quickly.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and clenched her eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” she began, clearing her throat fruitlessly. The apology wasn’t for Lauren, not really - but she needed somebody to hear it. When she opened her eyes again, she wasn’t bawling, thank goodness - but she’d certainly looked better. “My… –Damien’s father and I are separated,” she spoke, clear, painfully drawn out. “It’s a quite recent development, and he’d moved away as a result, but he’s developed a habit of… Visiting. He’s never in a particularly good mood when he does.”

≠≠≠

“I see,” Lauren replied, careful to keep her voice neutral as she slipped the artwork back into the folder. She rearranged the tissue box on her desk, hoping to draw enough attention to it that if Hazel felt the need, she could partake. 

“Is there any way the school can support you and your family during this? I can set up a regular appointment with Damien and a school counselor, or point you to some other help of that nature... I, and others at this school, recognize that these situations are incredibly delicate.”

[laurenberkshire]

hazelreid​:

First a flash of anger, and then a quick breath to soothe it. Hazel was in this on her own, it seemed, and that was just fine - it had been that way for much longer than anybody would care to admit, least of all her. At least the principal had the grace to step over that landmine of awkwardness. Hazel leant forwards, joining her hand with the other woman’s in a firm, polite shake. “Of course, yes… pleasure to meet you, too. Damien’s a big fan,” she added, partially to ensure that her son stayed in good favour, but mostly because it was true. He kept her up to date comprehensively on all of his teacher-opinions.

She gave a little flick of her wrist at the mention of her schedule. “Oh, please, don’t mention it. I’m his mum, it’s my job,” she stated simply, pointedly ignoring the empty chair beside her. “I have all the time in the world, really - but we should probably get into it.” Hazel leaned back in her seat, folding her arms loosely in front of her. “What seems to be the issue? I know it’s not his grades… He’s a terrible liar, bless him, there’s no way he’d be able to fake those report cards.”

≠≠≠

"And I’m a big fan in turn,” Lauren said, retracting her hand and bringing it to her folder, where Damien’s grades and notes from the teacher could be found, alongside the artwork that was the source of the drama. She delicately pulled it out, careful not the crease or wrinkle the paper.

“It isn’t his grades,” she affirmed, while laying it out in front of her. “Mr. Morris did his yearly ‘draw a picture of your family’ assignment, and Damien turned this in... I’m sure you can tell why we’re concerned,” Lauren said, keeping her voice reasonable and soft as she nodded down at the paper, which seemed to depict an angry dad standing (and yelling) outside the house, wherein artistic depictions of the rest of the family stood. 

“The operating procedure following something like this really depends on the case, and I figured it was worth checking with you exactly... what the case is, here.” She leaned back in her chair, the art on the desk acting like a wall between them.

[laurenberkshire]

marisoldlv​:

Marisol ducked her head to soften a snort - she didn’t know much about the sport, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t tie well into circumnavigating the more problematic parents. Still, she wanted them dealt with too, and she was willing to work with any analogy that would let her leave the school that night with as small of a headache as possible. “Right. Which means we need offense, and defense. Players to distract, and back-up to keep them from crossing paths. Personally, I see myself as a… what do they call them– a tackle? A left tackle? I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that before. I just think I’d make a good tackler.”

≠≠≠

“So, does that mean the tackle is someone who walks up to parents and just starts talking?” she asked, looking down at her list. While she had no question that Marisol would be personally amazing at physical tackling, she had some concern about the ability to bring the pep of an interpersonal teacher tackle. Even so, she was definitely down to give her the challenge. “You can take one or two at the door... maybe reach out and discuss what an energetic dancer their child is?”

[laurenberkshire]

The decision to pull out an old Marie Antoinette costume for Halloween was risky, yes. It was practically begging for some smart ass fifth grader to announce “off with your head!” upon even the slightest bit of pushback. Even so, it was a reliable hit, one that stayed for away from being inappropriate or underachieving. She was proud of it, and walked a little taller for it.

[laurenberkshire]

dmndmyths​:

with a practised ease, june put them through the till and slipped them into a paper bag. “that’ll be forty dollars, do you want to sign up for a member card? it just means you can discounts and the like once you spend enough.” she smiled as she spoke, not just because it was her job but also because the woman had been a genuinely pleasant customer. unfortunately, they could be a little rare some days.

≠≠≠

Lauren easily handed over her card, passing it over to June with a smile. Normally she wouldn’t give her information to another random store, but as a elementary school principal, it was her job to keep up with this kind of thing? “Sure... is this a phone number or email thing?”

[laurenberkshire]

hazelreid​:

{ - }

Nothing was quite as nerve-wracking as a spontaneous parent-teacher conference. Hazel was admittedly used to them; Darcy always had a penchant for well-meaning pranks that went awry, or getting a little bit too lively during class debates, which his more stringent teachers rarely took kindly to. Most of the time she ended up reinforcing his lively, independent spirit anyway - although the time he put the school up for sale on Craigslist was a little much. Damien, however, was a very different young man. Trouble seldom caught up with him, and he rarely sought it out himself. He was a gentle, quiet, kind boy, and so being called into Central Elementary left her to ruminate on what, exactly, had gone wrong. Bullies were the worst case scenario, although she’d seen that before too - hell, up until her separation, they’d lived with one.

She finally arrived at the school seven minutes late, and with an ominous brown stain on the bottom of her left pant leg that she could only hope wouldn’t be called into question. This was about her son, after all, and the less things her ex-husband had to laud over her throughout the meeting, the better.

Except he wasn’t there. Hazel thrust the door to Lauren’s office open, stopping just short of an apology as she noticed two empty chairs opposite the principal’s desk. “…Well…” she said, a little taken-aback. Maybe she was the only one who could be bothered to bolt across town on her lunch hour, even though she was also the only one who didn’t have full-reign over her own schedule. Hazel cleared her throat, letting the door shut behind her with a sheepish smile. “–Hi, Lauren. Sorry, just… catching my breath,” she explained hastily, dropping into one of the chairs and trying to not think so hard about the other. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything from m–…Damien’s father, have you?”

≠≠≠

“No, I have not,” Lauren said, her eyebrows creasing for a moment in worry. She had expected that they would arrive together, but with a look back down at the page, it clicked into place, she reached her hand across the desk, extended into a handshake.

“Well, missing fathers notwithstanding, it’s nice to finally be introduced. Thank you for dealing with the scheduling, I know that as a nurse, it must be difficult.” She kept her tone even and diplomatic. Hazel was projecting a comforting amount of reasonability, but even the most levelheaded parents have been known to turn on a dime when their kids were concerned.

[laurenberkshire]

marisoldlv​:

Mr. Morris was a gift to society at large, not that Marisol would ever admit it aloud - but she would gladly take advantage of the strategic display. She clicked her tongue at the question, her brows creasing as she tried to recall the rumour-mill. “From what I hear, we’ll be seeing Stone, but not Epstein. I only know this because Marshall Baumann is convinced his mom is Emma Stone. But that doesn’t guarantee Epstein won’t turn up to have another embarrassingly public argument about some… stupid vase they both want custody over.”

≠≠≠

Lauren sighed. “With them? There’s always the chance... maybe we need a diagram. A game plan... like in football, right?” Lauren’s ‘caring about football’ days were far behind her, ended after one disastrous breakup with a jock lesbian who would be late for dates if the game went overtime. Nonetheless, she reached for her notepad and pen, prepped and ready to sketch it all out. 

[laurenberkshire]

dmndmyths​:

“wonderful!” june beamed at her customers response. whether it came to her painting, or even simply her work at the comic book store, few things felt better than seeing a visibly pleased customer. “i like to think it’s the former” she responded, chuckling as she began to walk back to the counter. “now, is there anything else you’re looking for or will that be all for you?”

≠≠≠

“Nothing else comes to mind...” even if Lauren wouldn’t hate spending more time in this comic book store, perusing all of her recommendations. That being said, she was a little too busy to justify such a drawn out visit, and with a grim smile, made her decision. “This will be all.” She gave the books a little shake in her hand. “But if I find a need for more comic books, there’s a good chance you’ll see me around again.”

[laurenberkshire]

ofrovers​:

appearances mattered. there was no use in pretending it didn’t. to support and help fund a minor league helps the two parties tremendously ; lauren benefits from the performance indicators, and daniel, the positive press releases. despite already silently agreeing to this arrangement from their initial emails, he would be foolish not to obtain more information before solidifying a financial deal. he sits forward, his fingers intertwining. “are there any other current benefactors? as i am just curious as to why there’s been a lag in resources. but i understand, that the education sector has its fair share of cuts.” his eyes are probing. “and in terms of donations, how much is central elementary in need of?“

≠≠≠

"Unless you count Ms. Katchadorian, who pays for the post-game lunches? No benefactors to speak of. The school budget provides some support, as does the access to regular gym equipment, but most current budgetary efforts are focused on building repairs and technology upgrades,” she explained. “Before we drop numbers, I’d like to know how involved you wish to be, monetarily. You can pick up a few items, or a percentage of the total need... to give you the most accurate number, I need to know if you’d prefer that avenue, or a more... enthusiastic approach to cultivating the next generation of soccer stars,” she rattled off. This was the time, she figured, to get Daniel to show his cards, to make clear how interested he was.

[laurenberkshire]

@hazelreid​

Damien Clark was, in Lauren’s quite educated opinion, a good kid. He wasn’t mean, or spiteful, and whenever he landed in the principal’s office, it was as a result of someone being mean to him, or a work of art that raised one too many questions. 

Lauren was sitting here, patiently awaiting the arrival of Hazel and Jason Clark, as a result of the latter.

An art project asking children to depict their families was always going to be troublesome, but Damien’s addition to the pantheon of “this isn’t going to be displayed at Parent’s Night” earned both her and the ever-busy parents a little conference. Scheduling itself was insane, a mess of emails and calendars that landed with an awkward 1:20pm meetup time. Either way, it brought Lauren here, waiting for her secretary to give Damien’s parents the green light. The offending artwork was laid out in front of her, but her focus was on the Newton’s Cradle, which she lazily played with while in wait.

[laurenberkshire]

dmndmyths​:

june shook her head in exasperation. “it’s ridiculous isn’t it? to think that people believe captain underpants and some queer representation is the biggest threat to students. idiots, honestly.” as she spoke, she whipped out two graphic novels from the shelves and handed them to the woman beside her. “stargazing by jen wang is a really sweet one, it’s more for middle schoolers but any primary schooler who reads more then most should enjoy it. then there’s little robot byben hatke, best for the younger ones but heart-warming enough that the parents will like it as well” 

≠≠≠

Lauren didn’t know who this woman was, but she was almost certain that she had stars in her eyes. Her grace, her elegance, her knowledge... she took a book in each hand, looking over the covers. “This is... exactly what I’m looking for,” she said, awed as she flipped them over to check the backs. Finding nothing but good information, she offered June a sunny smile. “Are you always this helpful, or am I just lucky?”

[laurenberkshire]

marisoldlv​:

It took no time at all for Marisol to concoct an alternate scheme. Her lips curled into another smirk - her cunning prowess was truly wasted in the field of education. “Childsplay,” she replied, jabbing a thumb towards the door. “Take ‘em straight to Mr. Morris’ room. Have you seen that display he put out last week? It’s so… fun, and creative. Organised chaos. The Kincaids will hate it. They won’t leave that room for… at least half an hour, and that’s only if Morris can shake them off, which he probably can’t.”

≠≠≠

Another reason to adore Mr. Morris, as far as Lauren saw it. She’d never say it out loud, but he was her favorite teacher for a reason. “Mr. Morris saves the day once again.” A happy sigh, before her light smile dropped into a grimace of dread, reminded of a situation that even he couldn’t fix. “Wait... do you know if both of Justin Epstein-Stone’s parents will be there?” The divorced couple never failed to make a scene at the parent meetings that they insisted on attending together.

[laurenberkshire]

brighternite​:

“  finding  nemo.  ” repetition  occurs  in  a  voice  she  can  only  hear,  but  in  a  place  like  this  with  music  this  loud,  she  shouldn't  have  been  worried  about  her  monologues  being  heard.  “ finding  nemo  did  win  an  oscar,  so  i  suppose  you  have  a  pattern  for  watch  you  watch.  ”  she  never  expected  to  give  a  cinema  fact  on  the  dance  floor,  especially  a  finding  nemo  one.  surprises  abound  in  life.  “ i  wonder  what  you  do  for  a  living  ?  ”  the  redhead  adds  calmly.  “  if  it’s  alrgiht  for  me  to  ask.  ”

She sees Lal mouth some words, her voice too soft for Lauren to hear her over the music. In response, her eyebrows crease, even as she continues listening. What if her dancing partner was judging her? She was on guard as she took in the change of pace in conversation.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, she reminded herself. Just like Finding Nemo said. Go with the flow. “I’m a principal!” she did an accompanying little shimmy. “Central Elementary.”

[laurenberkshire]

ofrovers​:

he turns before entering as children clamour behind, their shrieks loud. but to his own surprise, he did not feel assaulted by the noise. daniel’s focus returns, and he reaches to shake lauren’s hand ; he is diligently polite when it came to business.   “hello, ms berkshire. it is nice to finally meet you.” inherently nosy in settings such as this, he ponders the office before he positions himself onto a chair. “thankfully, i did not get lost. it is quite the warren though, isn’t it?”  situating himself deeper into the chair, he tugs at his tie so that it rests against the buttons of his shirt. “so please, tell me more. is there a reason in particular why you seek external funding? because ms berkshire, i am extremely optimistic for the launch of this project of yours.”

≠≠≠

"Of course,” Lauren said, taking a seat across from Daniel and reading for the relevant folder. “It’s a little labyrinthian... rumor has it that the architect picked that design so it was harder for the kids to run away,” she said, her voice calm and reasonable as if it were a fact about the weather. With that, she opened up the folder in front of her, congenial smile on display. 

“Central Elementary has two sports teams- one for soccer, and one for basketball. The soccer team is the one that needs help.” She looked Daniel in the eye. “The Raptors, as they’re known, is without funds. Their booster club has been unable to get anything sufficient together, and their jerseys are falling apart at the seams... I figured if there’s any benefactor who could help out, it’s out very own local businessman.” At that, she leaned back in her chair, gesturing to Daniel.

[laurenberkshire]

dmndmyths​:

one of the best things about working at comic book store (other then it being owned by her best friend of course) was that june was surrounded by images that constantly inspired her. one would be surprised how even some of the grittiest comics inspired some of her gentlest pieces. she was currently flicking through of said grittier comics when an unfamiliar woman. now, that was interesting. june being june knew almost everyone.

“definitely! follow me.” putting down her reading, she stepped out from behind the counter and began to lead the other woman to a corner of the store. “here are a few that you should look. most of this are all along the captain underpants kind of vibe. a bit silly, a bit funny but all around quite wholesome if you think about it.”

≠≠≠

Lauren followed, avidly hanging on to her every word. “Captain Underpants... it caused a bit of a stir at one of my old schools, but I’ve always been a bit of a fan,” she explained. “I admired the guts of the queer representation, even if it led to so many emails about banning it from the classrooms.” Lauren rolled her eyes at the mere memory of it. 

She scanned over some of the titles in the corner, trying to suss out the ones with the most potential on sight alone. “Do you have any personal favorites?”

[laurenberkshire]

rockinmissrobin​:

“I mean, I guess they could have tried a new jelly and had an adverse reaction? Or a new nut butter? I really don’t, know Laur. You got me stumped there.” Robin conceded, brow knitting in concern for her friend. It was clear the woman had a lot on her plate and need a break of some sort. “Is there any way I can help? I’m pretty decent at making large portions of food on a budget. There’s also partnering with one of the restaurants in town. I’m sure they’d cut you a deal if it meant more families coming in to eat! More families means larger parties, which means more money.” she reasoned to her friend, hoping the suggestion might help ease some of her burden. “Bless your dear heart, I really am so sorry to hear that. Is there anything in the world that I could do to help?”

Her question about the yikes moments in Jungle Cruise resulted in a soft, disgruntled sigh from the brunette. “Well….it may just be me, and please keep me honest if I’m talking out of my ass here…But here’s the skinny. Jungle Cruise is based on a Disney attraction that, like so many of its time, suffers from hugely problematic elements that Disney has slowly been trying to course correct over the years. There is progress made in this film, like an actual scene with the gay character explaining their painful coming out that hit the mark for me. However, part of the issue with Jungle Cruise was its reliance on stereotypes. They remove those stereotypes in the attraction, but then have them crop up in the film? Like I get it, people would riot if Trader Sam and the headhunters weren’t in the movie, but their characterization isn’t really that great? Furthermore, they cast someone as a Spanish Conquistador with ZERO Hispanic heritage. NONE!” She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingertips before continuing, “Like, they had a person of color play this character, but if someone like me, who isn’t a screenwriter, could cast an ethnically appropriate actor who satisfies the criteria or rewrite the script to make it appropriate for the actor you want to have in that role, I feel like there’s a problem there. It’s made even worse because you KNOW people were like ‘Ehh, this actor is so charismatic and famous and has melanin, nobody is going to care that he’s not cast appropriately EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THE POSTER CHILD FOR DISNEY’S ‘DIVERSITY PUSH’ WITH MOANA.”

Robin took a deep, calming breath and centered herself. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to go off, but it just bothers me that not only is this character not cast appropriately, but he is also a ‘good colonizer’ but we’re supposed to think it’s ‘progressive’ because he’s non-white. Do I sound crazy? I feel like I sound crazy.”

“The cafeteria people are pulling that bit together... I mean, if there’s anything I learned from doing the budget, it’s that we have massive quantities of sun butter. I’ve never heard of sun butter, but far be it from me to critique a hypoallergenic alternative to the bane of any principal’s existence... you know, i’m not even allergic to peanut butter, but just the smell of it sends me into a flurry. All the incident reports...” she sighed, before resting her chin on her hand, listening carefully to Robin’s rant.

“You don’t sound crazy. It sounds disrespectful, both to the audience and to the cultures involved... and as the biggest media conglomerate in the world, it’s not as if Disney has no charismatic Hispanic actors they could call for the part. They have all the access and all the resources, and they still opted for a skewed casting. Shame on them.” She shook her head, disappointed more than she was angry.

[laurenberkshire]

marisoldlv​:

Ugh, the Lowes indeed. Marisol nodded solemnly at the disdain - it required little more explanation than that. They were nightmares, a terrible twosome, or a trio with Emily in the mix as well. The little girl was difficult enough to deal with on her own as far as students went, but her parents? Every pack they punched was double the intensity, because they were unified on every awful front. To their credit, they were a power couple - it was just a shame that they used that power for evil.

“They’ll monopolise everything if they can. You have to keep yourself on the move - fast and loose, like I said,” Marisol replied with a quick shrug. She passed the paper over willingly with the knowledge that several back-up copies sat snugly in her desk drawer. “Viable distraction options include a deliberately sub-par refreshment table they’ll complain to the kitchen staff about, a huge art display that they’ll spend a solid hour searching through for something Emily did, or some kind of nuclear winter. Obviously, we’re on a short notice, so… I’d recommend the art thing.”

≠≠≠

Lauren picked up the piece of paper, scanning it for other parents who could be drawn in by an art ruse. “I like the sound of it. I know Larry keeps everything to students make in some crazy filing cabinet... and the Kincaids would undoubtedly throw a little tiff if they saw some especially sloppy or ill-maintained art.” The Kincaids weren’t the worst, but they were consummate neat freaks. They went through extraordinary measures in the first week to make sure that Henry’s classroom wasn’t lice infested, including daily calls to the school board about how they were keeping the desks free from Clorox-resistant lice bugs.

“But we run the risk of setting the Lowes up with the Kincaids... it could be dangerous if they banded together.” She bit her lip, deep in thought.