Unruffled. (Zac and Mia)

[Yvette Morgenstern]

((Set the day after the Talk debacle.))

LaRousse was a problem.

No, not Zachary LaRousse, though he was undoubtedly a problem too. But Anthonio LaRousse was one of the biggest contributors to the Hammel endowment. He'd been so for years, even before his son's power had manifested. And as a former member of the Board of the Directors, she'd met him personally on several occasions. And so there was a problem. She could not expel Zachary LaRousse.

Oh, Yvette wanted to expel him, and Mia Keystone, and possibly the older Pearson and the Wilkes boy as well. (And put at least Keystone in prison, with no access to electronics for the rest of her life.) But she couldn't, and no matter how she'd pitched it to her counsel, it looked like she would be dealing with them for at least another year.

The new Head of Hammel sat behind the dignified oak desk she'd never wanted to own, tapping away on her blackberry. The transition from CEO of Morgenstern Electrics to school administrator was supposed to be a slower process than this, so she still had some work in her inbox to deal with, while she tried to handle the worst breach of rules in recent Hammel history.

On top of that, she still had about fifteen families on her call sheet. Issuing Zachary and Mia's punishment wasn't her first duty. No, that was calling up every single family of every student featured in the little display from the day before. She was pretty sure that half the parents she'd spoken to had believed their children to be virgins, and she had accidentally outed at least two.

But if she hadn't done that, it would have looked like a cover-up. It would have been a cover-up. This whole thing was so distasteful, and she now had this resentment added on to all the other feelings she felt towards the troublemakers.

When her intercom buzzed, she merely said, "Send them in," and stood. The woman was tall, and her silver-white hair was only a shade lighter than the enormous feathered wings folded behind her back. Every hair, every feather, and every seam on her suit was perfect and even.

The two students entered, and she did not even gesture to the chairs in front of the desk. "Sit."

[Zachary LaRousse]

Unfortunate as it may be, Zac is still not feeling any remorse for the prank he orchestrated during Dr. Neville’s talk. He stubbornly claims that he never did, never does and never will be remorseful of pulling that prank. Ever.

He even offered to do it again if they please. With footages of the teachers and staff this time (he’s not sure if Mia has them though).

True, the prank went way out of hand (as far as he knows, he’s asked Mia to show a couple of porn clips made by professionals, not Hammel students) but he’s rather firm in his stance that he wouldn’t have it any other way. The usage of Mia’s ‘detective work’ made the whole thing a whole lot closer to home, as it were, and thus making it more memorable and impactful. He says that the amount of jeering and heckling porn clips would produce would not be comparable to the shock and embarrassment he saw on people’s faces that day. It was truly epic.

If there’s anything he feels bad about, it’s that he hadn’t thought about bad the repercussions for Robbie and JD (Mia could take care of herself as far as he’s concerned). When he heard about the whole Robbie-Estelle spat, well, his heart broke. (Not that he’d tell anyone that anyway). And as for JD, he just hoped his father can do something about the whole breaking-the-news-to-JD’s-parents scenario. He doesn’t want to plunge the boy deeper into his dad’s bad side.

Speaking of father’s bad sides, well, he just got an earful from his dad the other night. First time in almost ten years he’s shouted and scolded him like that. Nope, he still doesn’t regret it, but he does feel bad that his father is upset. How he wished he was the one who broke the news to him and all that.

Seems he has to live without his credit cards, car and those out-of-the-country partying until graduation. Or at least November if he shows ‘good behaviour’.

Well, seems he just have to act the part then. (Which is hard, considering he misses the buzzing in his head made by the dozen or so animals he can borrow abilities from before and is making him rather irritable already). Part of it is, apparently, meeting with the headmaster. Scratch that, headmistress. When did ClaudeMr. Harris resign again?

“Morning Ma’am,” he said, flashing a big grin as the grouchy receptionist (who clearly needs to get laid asap) told them to go in. He gave Mia a subtle nudge on the side to tell her to greet Ms. Morganst their new school head before happily taking a seat, careful not to make himself look too comfortable. “Thank you,” nodded the pompous teen, trying to wave off the anxiety that’s starting to creep in, “Nice chairs. Are they new?”

Once he and Mia are settled in, he promptly cleared his throat, and with the grin still in place, spoke, “Err, are we going to talk about a dozen different trivial things before getting to the matter at hand or just get straight to the point? ‘Cause looking at Mia right now, I think the former would be the best course of action. You know, small talk to shake some sense into the zombie. But that’s just me.”

Apparently people forgot to tell him that being a smart mouth is totally not appropriate at these tense situations.

[Mia Keystone]

Remorse was an exceedingly unpleasant emotion. Mia had felt it once, when she and Jonah had had a falling out. She did not feel it now; as she had tried to explain to Dr Campbell, why should she feel bad for the feelings of a bunch of squishies she didn't know, or care about? Apparently Misato running away had been enough to have several students demanding to know how could she make the bottle blonde cry?

Mia had replied that she'd obviously answered that question. In the case of a few students, a physical confrontation seemed certain but usually all Mia had to do was drop into her fighting stance and they'd piss off. Vengeful students she could deal with, and had, and would continue to do so.

What made it move from unpleasant to damn near unbearable was the lobotomy power suppression. In the cyber community she had connections, she had an infinite number of connections to all manner of things at any one time. Even a bed side lamp had a nice hum that helped her sleep more then the light ever could. But it was all gone and she felt numb and slow and stupid.

So much so that when Zac nudged her she didn't even give him a dead arm like she usually would have, but followed him into the room and sank into a chair after glancing up at their white haired new leader. It was a woman. Huh.

Zav's obvious brown nosing made her pierced lip curl and she shot him a quick glare.

That was nothing to the look of concentrated death the technopath shot his way when Zac used her in his suck up scheme. "Shut. up," she snapped quietly, then looked at their new head master. "Can we cut to the chase," something she'd been told again and again surfaced, "ma'am," she added quickly.

Don't be rude, don't make smart remarks, don't do this, don't do that, just say yes ma'am, no ma'am.

Good advice, if she chose to keep it.

[Yvette Morgenstern]

Of course, Yvette was not going to say why the two miscreants were not being expelled. It would only inflate LaRousse's ego more to know that his father's money kept him in school. (The Board had been open to the suggestion of Mia being expelled, but so far as Yvette was concerned, they were both responsible, and she wasn't going to punish Mia more just because she didn't have the same kind of money.) "No, those are not new chairs. I can only imagine how often you must have come before Mr. Harris, but I would think they would be quite familiar to you by now."

Once the two students were sitting down, Yvette sat as well, her wings unfolded slightly to allow for the high back of the executive chair. "We are going to go straight to the point. What you two did was illegal. But you know that. You also know part of your punishment for this. Your powers will be constantly suppressed except for training sessions. Your personal electronics have been confiscated, and your use of them will be monitored and is only for contacting your families and schoolwork. Access to credit cards and debit cards is restricted, and the money in question has been confiscated and will be divided between the students you embarrassed. You are banned from any dances, field trips, and similar events until you graduate." And that wasn't all, "and you will be giving personal apologies to every student featured in your little slideshow and Dr. Neville."

"Now," Yvette picked up two sheets of lined paper from the desk and handed them over, then picked up two pens, "I would like to see drafts of what you are going to say, and if you would like to say something to me, now would be the time."

[Zachary LaRousse]

Mrs. Morgenstern need not tell Zac why he wasn’t being expelled; if anything, even if his dad hasn’t mentioned it in passing during their phone conversation (it was rather obvious in the way the tone of his voice changed when he slipped), the pompous teen would still claim to know why. It’s one of the reasons why he feels so invisible really. That he thinks no matter how crude he becomes, he can never be touched. Just another one of the reasons why he isn’t really repentant about what he’s done. “I’ve only been here once before I think. I forgot why. It happened with my uncle I think, within the first few weeks of my stay here,” he said, rubbing his chin as he tried to remember, “What do you mean? Are we going to spend a lot of time with you in the near future?”

What a dreadful thought really. Mrs. Morgenstern seems rather stiff and stern. She’d definitely not be swayed easily by his words. (Not that any faculty member he knows has been swayed successfully by such a tongue anyway).

“Did you chose those paintings on the walls? I totally love them. You have impeccable taste Mrs. Morgen-“ -he had to take a second to peek at the name etched on the name plate on the table- -stern.” And yes, if it’s not obvious just yet, the mimic’s rather bent on skipping the real reason why the new headmistress called them as much as he can. He has a feeling that there’d be more to their current punishment, and he could barely handle the power suppression and electronics use regulation (not that he’d let that show anyway). He figures if he talks so much, Mrs. Morgenstern would give up and just send them away.

Not much luck in that department as it seems.

“Oh!” he raised his index finger in the middle of Mrs. Morgenstern’s speech, “Since I was among those shown too (I think I saw about 5 or 6 pictures of me) and if I felt embarrassed, would I receive compensation too?” Not likely, but hey, he could try.

The smug grin he had quickly vanished though when Yvette mentioned the whole personal apologies issue. “Say what?!” Zac has never been good with apologies. Never was, never is and probably never will be. Just ask JD. “No. That can’t be serious. They’ll have money already. I’d gladly double it if they need it. But an apology?”

But then came the pen and paper. Damn. “‘Vincent, I’m sorry your penis is so small and Moe got ashamed of it.’ Would that count as an apology?” He looked up to give Yvette a wide grin but then saw her face and quickly went back to looking at his shoes. “I know, I know. How many apologies do we have to write again?”

[Mia Keystone]

If Zac didn't stop sucking up, Mia was going to grab his legs and use him as a vacum cleaner. Would do her more good that way, most likely be better for him too by the looks of it. This new bird seemed as unimpressed with the little toady as Mia felt, though she supposed that could have just been left over anger towards them.

And of course his uncle had visited. Like anything would happen to LaRousse, with his zquillions and all that other fancy shit. That being said, her eyes flickered up to the paintings he spoke of; was something else to focus on after all. This is art. Well, not quite. Not in her opinion. Was a bunch of careless smears of coloured chemicals. Whoop dee friggen do.

"There was at least one of me," she added, unable to keep a small smirk off her face. "If he gets a cut, I want one too. Might need a therapist after all this drama, after all." If she'd come from a wealthy family, that would sound like a threat for legal action, but, as the technopath was sure Ms Morgenstern knew, she did not. All her family could give her was a bosten accent and enough pluck to get herself killed.

The expresion that crossed Mia's frustratingly childish face was one of complete confusion. Paper and pen? As carefully as if she was defusing a bomb the teenager picked up the pen, then looked at the head mistress. She was nonplussed.

"I can't handwrite," she said honestly, rare sincerity in her voice. "I haven't since I was 12. Anyway, I dunno what to say," apart from get over it you bunch of twits, and grow the fuck up anyway. Throwing the pen down, and wondering who on earth could use such an arcaiec form of communication, Mia ideally tore a corner off one of the pieces of paper and started folding it in on itself. "Can I email apologies? Wont use powers, or anything."

Was worth a shot, wasn't it?

[Yvette Morgenstern]

Okay. Yvette really wanted to change her mind now. There had to be something actively wrong with these children to get them to behave so disrespectfully. And whatever that thing was, she did not want it in her school.

And LaRousse's attempt at buttering her up only served to irritate her more. He was so smug, he had to know exactly why he hadn't been expelled.

"No, neither you nor your conspirators will receive any kind of compensation from this. You chose to put pictures of yourself in there." No, it wasn't even worth the effort of trying, there.

"You have to make apologies to each and every one of them, but if you wish to double their compensation, you may do that as well." Finally, something about their punishment was getting through, and that made Yvette feel a little bit better. Punishment was meant to punish, not just be brushed aside, amused. Their exuses about the written apologies didn't get her to like them any more, though. "Enough to cover all of the students you embarrassed, Dr. Neville, and Ms. Vasilev." She completely ignored his suggestion as to what to include in Vincent Verax's apology. "And I will be reading all of them, so do not try anything funny."

And if she felt the slightest bit of sympathy for Mia, she didn't show it as she nudged the paper a bit closer. "Print it, then. This does not count as a school assignment or contacting your parents, so no technology. You can both start with apologizing for causing such a disturbance."

[Zachary LaRousse]

So Mrs. Morgenstern completely ignored him. How wonderful. Doesn’t mean he’ll stop anytime soon though. “Did you hear that Mia?” he asked with so much fake glee – wide grin, giddy shoulders, the lot – that he could probably make everyone around him vomit five times over. He gave her a light nudge on the side and continued, “We’d be spending more time in this wonderful room. Ha. I’m not exactly sure this feels like punishment though, Mrs. Morgenstern. I’m fairly sure you’re not unlikeable, and this room is fantastic.”

Just one of the reasons why people think Zac’s a whole lot dumber than he really is. Though really, proctoring for Zac’s and Mia’s detention is punishment in itself already, and I’m fairly sure even if Dylan’s such a grump, he doesn’t deserve it.

“I didn’t-” Zac was just about to tell Yvette than none of them, except Mia maybe, knew what the technopath’s distraction would be. (Yes, that was supposedly just a distraction, not the focal point of the whole prank). Not him, not Robbie, not JD. But then he quickly caught himself, thinking that he might be accidentally putting more blame on the midget’s shoulders than she can handle. Zac, for one, doesn’t blame her for putting him in such a hot seat, but who knows what goes on in the twisted heads of these administration people, he says.

And besides, if people knew that Mia had far better imagination than him, well, they might question his whole ‘mastermind’ position in the scheme. Not good.

“No way. It’s double the compensation or apologies. There no such thing as ‘all of the above’ in the real world after all.” Mia’s prank was worth every penny. Writing an apology to the student body, to Dr. Neville and to Mr. Tonaya’s killjoy fucktoy, on the other hand, was not.

Seeing that there’s really no way out, Zac decided to simply make his letters generic. She didn’t say anything about that as far as he knows. And he already made an effort, surely she wasn’t that sadistic.

“So Mrs. Morgenstern, why’d you decide to suddenly become a headmistress? You’re the wife of, what’s his name again?” He’s heard about them before, might’ve seen them once or twice in his uncle’s galas even. “And where’d Mr. Harris go now? What happened anyway?”

A little small talk while writing crapapologies wouldn’t hurt, won’t it?

[/justify][/font]

[Mia Keystone]

Touch me, and that hand will never touch anything again

If there was ever a time for Zac to become a telepath it was now, as Mia looked down from the elbow that had just nudged her ribs to his face. Her own expression was dour, and her eyes promised death. They were not friends, and Mia didn't like being touched by anyone, let especially people she disliked with an intensity that eclipsed a thousand burning suns.

Her opinion was quickly changed however. When Zac had started to protest his innocence on the whole sex thing, Mia had felt that nasty feeling when your stomach drops through your feet. The only reason she hadn't been expelled was because of Zac and his money; if he came clear on the whole thing she was royally boned. When he backed off, her eyes flickered towards him for a moment, then back again. Not much of a give-away, but even with that tiny movement her disks were spinning.

"It's how I work," Mia protested, trying to hold her pen properly. "If I sign them or something?" Still, to show she was at least going to try, she wrote out a shaky Sorry on one piece of paper, scowling at it. There was no grace, no style, no logic in handwriting. Scribbling her name under, she thrust it at the headmistress. "Because that's all I can do, otherwise."

[Yvette Morgenstern]

She bit her tongue and didn't snap back that it was obvious the boy was unlikable. If he had to act out this way in an attempt to be charming, she was pretty sure he already knew how distasteful she found him.

The head arched her eyebrow at Zac when he started to protest his innocence. They had been caught, and he'd been fairly upfront about being involved. What could would it do to deny anything now?

"Sometimes there is, Zachary. That's what punitive damages are for. It is a concept I'm sure you will learn about at one point in your life or another." Honestly, they had probably heard the term on television. She completely wasn't suggesting that she expected Zac to end up in court eventually. "It is Ms. Morgenstern; I did not take my husband's last name. And I was hired to replace Mr. Harris. He is retired and I believe him and his wife have moved down south." No, Zac, she wasn't about to give him more info.

Yvette frowned at the scribbled note. If Mia was really incapable of writing an apology, then it was probably a good thing Claude had stepped down. Hammel was not just about training; no one should be leaving without basic life skills like handwriting. She nudged the paper and pen back to the student, "You will do better than that, Mia. I can wait."

She still had a call sheet a mile long, but she had time to make sure this punishment was effective.

((Wrap?))

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac’s smile twitched slightly when Ms. Morgenstern shot him down. Again. Seems there’s no getting around the old hag our new headmistress. How swell. The thought of saying a supposedly idle comment about missing Mr. Harris and him being nice and accommodating crossed him; maybe it’d make the woman feel a bit more guilty about being so cold to himthem and at least smile. He was just about to say it when common sense finally hit him and told to him that the possibility of it happening is way slim; that he’d be digging himself a deeper grave than getting himself out nine out of ten times. Not good.

Maybe next time.

“N’aww. I don’t think so. I’ll be a whole lot more sneaky next time,” he said with a smug grin, trying to sound reassuring. If he wasn’t so bent on being known as the mind behind the extremely successful explosive sex ed prank, he surely would’ve been more discreet with his plans. No boob-balloons, no loud insults. If only he used his brain before pleasing his ego.

“He’s that old? Woah. Think you have his number? I want to know what he uses on his skin,” he said in while writing his first apology (addressed to Dr. Neville, no less). The last thing he wants is to get that close with their former headmaster though. But he’s definitely not letting their new one off easy. “There. Apology number one done. Just forty-nine more to go, right?”

ooc:
Rather crappy. Sorry. And yes, I'm good with wrapping up. .
- Jam

[Mia Keystone]

"I really can't," Mia insisted, glaring at the paper. "I don't know what to write, and I sure as hell couldn't make it personal." This was about dealing with emotional responses, something Mia did not so much as dabble in. Instead she just wrote Very in front of sorry and scribbled her signature under it.

Rinse and repeat. This was going to take forever and her wrist was already protesting the unusual movements.

Still, unlike Zac (and really, did he not shut up ever?) Mia didn't feel the need to make a million snarky comments, as she was trying very hard to get used to the big emptiness that had replaced the network of humming connections as numerous as stars. And how on earth hand writing made things personal she'd never know. If she wanted to make it personal, she'd do the entire thing in binary.

(and we're wrapped)