Bigger, Brighter, Better (Chloe)

[Patricia Reed]

It was nearing the end of the day. Again, an abundance of Patricia’s time had been spent outside, caring to the plants around the school. When the seeds she planted began to sprout, she was finally able to manipulate the flowers to her liking, making their bloom preciously how she imagined they should be. Bright colors and wide, luscious petals.

Though she didn’t spend all her time outside. She was maintenance, not groundskeeper, after all. So, she was sometimes needed elsewhere. But she would’ve been perfectly happy to be outside all day and have her hands and clothes caked in dirt.

In that time spent away from the outside, she’d been in the staff lounge once or twice. The room was nice to have in general. However, Patricia was put off by the lack of plants. Plants were her answer to everything. If a room looked dull, a plant could liven it up. If a room were simply nice, a few flowers could make it beautiful. It was with that reasoning in mind that she’d gone into town the day before, bought a few plants, and placed them strategically around the room.

Of course, she waited until now to manipulate them. Not because she was ashamed of her power or because she was wary what one might think. But Patricia considered herself an expert florist, for good reason when one considered her power. As well as the worker at the flower shop did, she supposed. And she would never insult another florist so much as to manipulate a flower (with the unfair advantage she had) and make it bigger and brighter than they might ever be able to.

Just as she was starting with the last of the potted plants, Patricia’s eyes looked up to the door she’d left open. She heard footfalls heading towards the room. She simply hoped it was an actual staff member. Students were always trying to get in here. Usually, only to be disappointed when they couldn’t or were kicked out.

But she only hoped it wasn’t a student because she didn’t think of herself as a disciplinarian. Of course, she’d tell them they weren’t supposed to be there and ask them to leave, but push come to shove, she wouldn’t force them out. As she finished her work, her eyes watched the door carefully.

[Chloe Singleton]

Relieved to be done with classes for the day, Chloe was nearly skipping through the halls. It was a beautiful day, which she had been constantly reminded of by the brilliant and warm sunshine that streamed through the windows of her classroom. She couldn't even blame her students for being distracted, because she had been as well. Spring was Chloe's favorite season, after all.

She was on her way to the staff lounge to retrieve the tray she had left earlier covered with cookies for the other staff members. Chloe often left treats for her co-workers, anything from brownies to pies, for several reasons. One was just because it was a nice gesture. After dealing with troublesome students all day, who didn't appreciate something sweet to reward themselves with. Another reason being that she often baked much more than she and Ella could eat on their own. And she loved to share.

Her heels were clicking merrily as Chloe pranced into the room with a wide smile on her face. She didn't notice Patricia right away, too busy doing a girlish twirl to make her skirt spin around her knees, and dropping her bag rather unceremoniously onto the couch. She did, however, notice that the room seemed brighter than usual, likely due to the gorgeous flowers that she didn't remember seeing there before.

Chloe paused next to one of the plants, taking a moment to smell the flower, before she realized that she wasn't alone. "Oh!" She gasped, fixing Patricia with a smile. "I didn't even see you there." Giggling, Chloe put her hand over her mouth. She recognized the woman from her days as a student at Hammel, having often seen her outside tending to the plants. "Did you do this?" She gestured at one of the flowers. "They're absolutely beautiful."

[Patricia Reed]

Chloe. Patricia had known the woman had been a student when she first started working at the institute ten years ago. Only in passing though and when first seeing her as a teacher, Patricia’s memory had failed her. Most students didn’t generally make habit of talking to people related to the institute unless they had to, teachers and the doctors and such. Which the older woman wasn’t actually opposed to, the students not talking to her much. She wasn’t exactly private per say. But Addie did like to keep her much of her life quiet.

Since it wasn’t a student in the room, not a current one at least, the maintenance worker dropped her eyes back to plant her hands were laid upon, trying not to giggle as the teacher twirled around. It was kind of childish, but mostly adorable. The younger woman’s presence reminded Patricia just how old she was. It was hard to believe that ten years ago Ms. Singleton had been a student and now she was a teacher. The time had gone faster than Patricia was willing to admit.

Looking up at the grown woman, Addie smiled slightly. “It’s ok Miss Singleton. I tend to blend in.” It was true. Quite often she went unnoticed. Honestly though, she didn’t mind. Having peoples attention or focus on her wasn’t exactly her thing. And that’s an understatement. But she doubted that the younger woman would know about blending in. She was beautiful. Bubbly. Friendly. She couldn’t imagine somebody looking over her. Of course, she’d never vocalize such nice things. That’d be inappropriate.

Holding the last flower in her hand, she watched carefully as it’s bloom expanded and it’s color turned brighter. “I did. I thought the room could use a little life in it.” She said as her smile became a little more pronounced on her face. Dropping her hands away from the plant, she looked back to the teacher. “How were the kids today? Any of them act up?” This was a school after all. And with students aged from twelve to the occasional twenty year old, things were bound to get a little out of control sometimes.

[Chloe Singleton]

Smiling at the flowers and then back at Patricia, Chloe shifted her weight from foot to foot, bouncing as she did so. She was feeling much too bubbly to stand still. "Please, just call me Chloe. Miss Singleton is for the kids." Although, to be completely honest, Chloe didn't like that title very much. She was young for a teacher, having skipped several grades and started college early, and so while it was appropriate for the students to call her such for some reasons she didn't really care about, like respecting her position of authority, it felt weird coming from someone else. Especially someone older than her, then it almost felt like she was being mocked or punished. Not that Addie would do such a thing, she was much too nice.

"I agree. It's much nicer in here with all this color." It certainly brightened Chloe's mood, not that it was a hard thing to do, but still. Flowers, nature, anything bright and cheery was wonderful in Chloe's books and Addie's additions to the room coupled with the warm spring breeze blowing in through the windows made Chloe feel almost giddy.

Chloe giggled at the question, shaking her head. "They're kids. If they didn't act up, then I'd be worried. You learn to deal with it, though." They weren't that bad, really. They mouthed off occasionally, whined about homework, and a select few had wandering eyes. "And sometimes, it's best to ignore it." She muffled her giggle behind her hand. "I can't imagine calling a young man out for staring at my backside in a room full of teenagers."

Moving to retrieve the tray of cookies, Chloe noticed there were a few still left. "Do you like cookies? Chocolate chip?" She held the tray out to Patricia with a hopeful smile. "I left them here earlier for the other staff, but looks like I made too many again." There was still a plateful back at her apartment, even though Chloe had tried to make a smaller batch this time around. But she enjoyed baking so much that she often got carried away.

[Patricia Reed]

Oh no, Addie would never mock or punish. The maintenance worker felt as if she had no authority in the school. Not that she would want any to begin with. Being in charge wasn’t exactly her cup of tea. But Addie had called her such because she often called the students by their last names. And she still had vague memories of Chloe as a student. But with a chuckle, she nodded. “Chloe it is then.”

With a smile, Addie looked back at the flowers. “I’m glad you like them Chloe.” Touching a petal, she debated showing off just a little and making it grow even more. But she decided against it. Doing such things were considered rude. “What’s your favorite flower? I’d be happy to bring some in for you sometime.” Half the reason she liked bringing flowers into some of the more dreary rooms of the school was in the hopes that a staff members or a student might catch a glimpse of their favorite and it might make their day a little better. Not that she’d ever admit to putting that much thought into her plants.

She might not be a teacher, but Addie understand what she meant about being worried if they weren’t causing some kind of commotion. “I suppose you’re right. Kids will be kids after all.” The older woman had had her own run ins with a few of the students. Nothing comparable to disrupting a class. Though she didn’t particularly like when they went stomping through her hard work. Addie’s eyes widened in shock and her cheeks flushed only slightly. You would never catch this woman talking about her own backside so freely. Try as she might to disassociate herself from the prude-ness of which she was raised, some things were harder to shake. “Oh my.” She said, unable to peel her eyes away from the plant. “Yes, I would imagine that would be quite mortifying for a boy doing such.”

Finally looking back to Chloe, Addie nodded. “Oh yes, I do enjoy chocolate chip cookies. Though, I can’t imagine a person who doesn’t.” She smiled as she took one off the tray. “Thank you.” Taking a bite, she made the ‘mmmm’ sound that went along with eating delicious food. “Those are excellent Chloe. Kudos. Do you bake often?”