Please Come In

[Deleted]

Tag: Tim Tawfeek, Cade Carson

Esme sat behind her desk, looking through the posts and the commotion the so-called "Dirty Laundry" blog post had created. Things had gotten heated and luckily, Esme had been around to put a stop to it. She only wished she could have been there earlier to prevent things from getting as out of hand as they had. She had notified the rest of the staffers, keeping them all up to date on what had happened.

She had called the two students who had done the worst of the fighting to her office. Heck, she had even sent the email right after stopping them from continuing the argument, and now it was nearly seven, and she hoped for their sake that they were going to show up too.

Then again, she doubted the kids were stupid, and she doubted that this was anything more than two people disagreeing. Esme also knew how easy it was for someone to be a little braver and a little more forward when sitting behind a keyboard.

That wasn't the issue.

Standing up, the blonde walked over to the door, took a deep breath and opened it. Stepping outside with her arms crossed over her chest, she opened her mouth. "Mr. Tawfeek and Mr. Atkinson. Please come in," she called out, and with that, Esme turned around and went back to sit behind her desk.

[Tim Tawfeek]

Tim was actually just arriving. He was still working to figure out how the whole "moving around in a wheelchair" thing worked, and it took a lot for him to get places, especially places he hadn't been to in a while. That definitely included the staff offices, as Tim had to figure out where the elevator was and how to get there and then get from there to Ms. Adler's office and... yeah, not fun.

Huffing, Tim rolled up just as Ms. Adler walked up. "Hey, sorry about being late," he said, raising a gloved hand. "Still getting used to this thing,' he tapped it and then nodded, before looking over at Cade. It felt a little weird that Cade was the one here instead of Devyn, who'd been the real one that Tim had been arguing with and having issues. Cade was just some idiot who wanted a girl and didn't know when to stop. Tim could understand that.

So he just nodded and worked at wheeling himself into the office, which took a lot more effort than he would have liked, that's for sure.

[Cade Carson]

The jerk was here.

Maybe that was a little harsh. He was supposed to be feeling sorry for the things he'd said. He was supposed to be more professional, as a staff member for Bellefonte. He'd sat down in the chair and waited. When the guy wheeled in, Cade sighed, slouching slightly in his chair. He was already tired of this. He tapped his fingers lightly on his knee, impatient.

"I have classes to attend. And...well, there's the fact that every moment I'm awake here is another moment my power makes me fall asleep during class. Can we get down to business? Please?"

[Deleted]

Nodding at Tim, Esme could easily enough understand the strain the poor boy was under. She had heard about what had happened during the fire, and even if she had wanted to, she couldn't have faulted the boy for being late - although, he'd come just in time.

Turning to the other guy as he talked, Esme quirked her brow. "Then you should have thought about that before getting into a fight, Mr. Atkinson," she replied sharply. "And complaining isn't going to get you out of trouble, nor is your ability. And considering how you -- who are supposed to be a staff member, and a role model for the students got into a fight like this, I highly suggest you keep your mouth shut and don't tell me how to do my job."

Folding her hands across the table, she then nodded. "You're both aware of why you're here, and I sincerely hope you're both aware that there's going to be repercussions of this, and since Mr. Impatient over can't wait to hear all about his punishment, I'm going to skip the pep talk and get right to it."

"Mr. Atkinson; this sword of yours that was mentioned is going to be handed in to me, and stay that way for as long as I see fit. The rest of the staff body will discuss how comfortable we are about a staffer keeping weapons around. As for your position as a recruiter; you're officially put on probation for the next thirty days." He should feel lucky the school didn't fire him right off the bat. "Not to mention how that your actions were directed towards a minor. Once your probation ends, your fate as an employee at this school will be re-discussed; but it looks rather grim for you."

"Whereas Mr. Tawfeek is still in high school--" another sharp glance towards the older boy. "--you're getting detention for the next two weeks, and you're losing your internet and computer privileges for a whole month, considering how this is the second time this has happened, except when you need it for school work. Step one toe out of line again, and we will revoke your priviliges to step outside campus, AND go on Spring Break with the rest of the student body. I want you both to understand that what happened last night is borderline cyber bullying, and it doesn't matter who started; we will have none of this kind of behavior here at Bellefonte. Is that understood?"

[Tim Tawfeek]

Well, nice to see that the douchenozzle kept being one even in real life. Tim was tempted to say something else, but his survival instincts kicked in and he opted to instead remain quiet and look slightly abashed. He'd gone through this before, after all, and he was pretty sure he knew what was coming.

Which was why he was at least somewhat surprised when she went for Cade first. Then again, Tim hadn't known about the whole staff thing. Yeah, that definitely wasn't going to look well, and he had to fight back a smile. He could so sue the school for this: not that he would, but it was kind of a funny thought to have. He kept that to himself though. He had kinda started it and it did sound like they were doing stuff to Cade already.

Then it came time for his. Tim again lowered his head, knowing that he should at least look demure. The detention was going to suck, and he'd have to make sure to cancel plans, which would definitely include the party (damn). Losing internet actually made him jerk his head up though. Yeah, that was gonna suck... bad. And he definitely didn't want to miss out on anything else. The accusation for bullying actually really stung, and reminded Tim all too much of the issues that had come up nearly a year ago. He winced and nodded again.

Though...

"Uh," he raised a hand, waiting tentatively. "I sort of started this project involving collecting interviews and stuff. Can I keep doing that? Supervised or whatever, but I kinda reserved a room and stuff..." he was hopeful, but, well, he could also understand them saying 'no.' Wasn't like he couldn't reschedule if need be.

[Cade Carson]

She laid out his punishment and he gritted his teeth together just to stop himself from lashing out. His eyes burned with the rage he felt. Cade's hands gripped the chair tightly, his knuckles whitening as she went on. He could control his temper he could control his temper hecouldcontrolhistmperhecouldcontrolhistemper...wait. Had she said 'second time' it had happened? His rage drained away and was replaced with confusion.

"Second time? What do you mean second time this has happened? I...I'm not really sure if I remember the first time?" And now that he was calmer, he sighed.

"It's understandable. It was stupid of me to continue the fight. It's just...well if what we were doing was borderline cyberbullying, what about the things he was saying about Devyn? Does that count as borderline bullying?" Cade had a point, didn't he?

"Oh, and I kind of saw all of this coming with the sword. I don't like it. I hate being separated from my sword especially when I don't use it. But...well...can I choose the case and locks it's kept in with? If I have to pay for them, I will. I just want to make sure my family's heirloom is kept completely safe."

[Deleted]

"Not anything you should worry yourself over, Mr. Atkinson," Esme simply replied, as that had clearly been about Tim AND addressed to him, and not the young man. Clearly, this man had a thing about making it all about himself, but that wasn't exactly something Esme cared to address here. After all, it was his own demon to chase in the end, and if she was going to be perfectly honest, she cared very little for him.

Nodding, Esme pursed her lips. "Yes it was," she said. "And that's no longer any of your business, as you're on probation. And I highly suggest you stop trying to place the blame on someone else. This isn't about the girl, this is about what was said between the two of you -- directed towards the two of you."

Turning her attention towards the younger boy as he spoke up, Esme furrowed a brow. "Interviews?" she asked, before lifting her hand. "We can discuss that once Mr. Atkinson leaves," she added. It was not why they were here, and she doubted having to force the young man to sit in and listen to something that didn't concern him was of much interest. Besides, he seemed to have this annoying habit of opening his mouth when he really should not.

And speak of the devil... "You used it to threaten a student. That is enough," she pointed out. "As long as you give me the key, that shouldn't be a problem. And I expect it to be handed in at the main office within the day." Standing, Esme nodded towards the door. "Unless there's anything else, you're dismissed- and Mr. Tawfeek, we can now discuss that interview matter."

[Tim Tawfeek]

Nice to know that the guy was consistent. Tim was tempted to say something, could even feel the words bubbling up. Stuff about how the comment had obviously been directed at him, since this definitely wasn't the first time that he'd been called into an office about this sort of thing. Or maybe pointing out that the guy had an unhealthy obsession with someone who bullied other people (and the whole stalking her ex bit; that was always fun to consider). But again, Tim's survival instinct kicked in, telling him that now was not the time to run at the mouth. Keep the mouth shut, let the scary staff woman do her thing.

And that turned out nearly brilliant. That cool dismissal and how things were done. Tim felt like smiling but kept it down, again knowing that wouldn't work. He lowered his head to play with his glasses instead, figuring that would help.

The question caught Emse's attention though, and Tim looked back up. Tim nodded, willing enough to wait and all. He kept his mouth shut and... and listened as Cade kept going. Again, he had to fight the urge to look smug and say or do something, though he was making a mental note to buy or have Karl rig up a tazer ASAP.

[Cade Carson]

Oh that hadn't been directed at him. Oops. Cade obviously hadn't been listening. It was kind of boring, after all. When she brought up threatening a student, he sighed and crossed his arms.

"Firstly that was all talk and anyone who really took the time to know me would know that. Of course, no-one in this friggin' school bothers. None of the guys anyways. So far I consider myself friends with Frank and Devyn. Vera's friendly too. But are any of the guys bothering to talk to me? No. Devyn bothered to talk to me, and didn't just write me off as a jerk." He looked at Tim with a sigh.

"Honestly, if one of the two friends you had was being attacked by someone else online, wouldn't you step up to defend them even if you didn't know the whole story? You think I'm the jerk." He shook his head before standing up.

[Deleted]

"That's something you should discuss with your therapist, and not me, Mr. Atkinson. Or the school counselor." she replied dully. This guy clearly mistook her for someone who cared, and he simply further proved his attention whoring ways by bringing up something so wholly unrelated. It made Esme want to roll her eyes, but she managed to stay composed. "Besides, that's not why we're here, so please, stop pretending to be the victim, take some responsibility and stay on point." This wasn't about his lack or friends, or his relationship with the girl. This was about the fight between him, and the student.

"As a staffer, I would not threaten a student. What you fail to realize Mr. Atkinson, is that you work for this school. Your duty as such, comes before your own pride. Now, another word from you, and I will have you thrown out from here." He completely failed to understand that he wasn't just another student. He couldn't run around doing whatever the hell he wanted. He was an adult. An adult who WORKED for the school. It was so inappropriate and unprofessional of him to be acting this way, it honestly made Esme sick to her stomach. "You do realize that Mr. Tawfeek here could sue you, and the school - and he would without doubt win, right?"

"Your sword. Within the day. You're dismissed."

[Tim Tawfeek]

Tim couldn't help but give Cade a "just how stupid are you?" look as he kept going. Like, didn't he seriously pick up on the whole dismissal thing? That wasn't even touching what he actually said. Like now he was apparently definitely defending Devyn. What happened to all that keeping the peace crap he'd been spewing earlier? If he'd just owned up to defending the girl he obviously wanted to bang, they probably wouldn't even be in this mess. He just kept wanting to valorize himself or something.

But Esme was already on him, and Tim again had that whole "prey" instinct thing that told him to duck his head and keep his mouth shut, which he did quite well then. Though he so wanted to start bobbing his head as she continued. Wasn't like Tim didn't know he'd done fucked up: he wasn't sitting there because he spouted flowers and daisies.

Oh look, the suing thing. "I'm not planning on it," Tim had go volunteer, looking around. "I don't see any reason to: I kinda like it here," he shrugged. Though he did know he could, and he would. But he also knew he had to say what he needed to in order to get out of there unscathed, and preferably still getting internet back in a month. Ugh, that was gonna be a helluva month too.

[Cade Carson]

Cade sighed and rolled his eyes. It technically wasn't a word. And technically he was a student at Bellefonte too. He just happened to also be a staffer. He threw his hands up and walked out of the office. He was tempted to flip the bird because that wasn't another word either, but Cade wasn't that stupid. He wanted to stay here. And he wanted to keep his job. He went out of the office door.

"Good luck Tim. You're on your own now dude." Hey, Cade wasn't the type to hold grudges very long. Yeah he didn't like the guy that much. The guy was mean to Devyn. But if Esme dished as much out to Tim as she had to Cade, Tim would need all the help he could get.

[Deleted]

At last, the guy seemed to get the point and decided it was better for him to simply leave. Sighing, the blonde had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. It was actually rather surprising to think that she was much younger than most of the staff at the school, yet she often felt as if she was the oldest. Clearly, she no longer had to feel that way, because... Well, there was little point in bringing further annoyance to the subject.

As the guy left, Esme turned towards the other kid, the boy in the wheelchair. "Now, you were talking about some kind of project you were working on?" She was actually rather curious about it, and well, if it was something useful, she didn't see the harm in allowing him to continue it. How he was going to do that without a computer, she didn't know, but she figured the boy was smart enough to come up with a solution.

They generally were. Well, at least most of the students here seemed to be smarter than average. Of course, that clearly didn't count for everyone...

[Tim Tawfeek]

Tim waited, watching while the other guy exited. The dude seriously needed to get his shit together, especially if he was supposed to be a staffer or something. Part of Tim almost wanted to lambast him again, and he had to remind himself to be civil, or at least to keep holding his tongue while sitting in front of a staffer. Seriously: it didn't take much brains to figure that you should do that much.

Tim looked back to Esme as she spoke. He nodded: "Yeah, I just started. Got some permission and arranged a room and stuff. The idea is to record a lot of interviews from mutants about their manifestation and put it together into an online vid: sort of raise awareness and show the diversity and junk."

Another nod: "So, yeah, I would kind of like to continue that. I can put it on hold if I gotta: I did kinda fuck up and all. I just put things in motion and, yeah..." he trailed off, not sure what else he could really say there.

[Deleted]

Nodding at the boy's words, Esme pursed her lips. "Is there a way you can do this without a computer and internet? Let's say you record it all with one of the school's cameras, and note down all the things you need and keep it until you have your computer rights back?" Despite the boy clearly being in the right -- to some degree -- with this whole ordeal, he had too broken the rules. Even if that meant he could sue the school, Esme didn't think it was right to let him off the hook just like that. After all, he wasn't completely innocent in all of this.

"Well, I'm glad you understand that you did something wrong." Unlike certain someone else. "But I can't go back on the punishment I've already given you, and even though I think it's very good of you to pay the required amount of respect, the punishment has already been thrown out there." Esme drew her breath as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her feet as she did so. "However, I would be more than happy about coming to some kind of compromise. I can tell that this is very important to you, and I'm sure this will do a lot of students a lot of good."

And Esme liked to believe that Tim had actually learned from the last time he'd been in this kind of position. Even if he was in the very same now. She could easily enough understand how someone would get frustrated. Heck, Cade had even frustrated her.