a tempered blade {Piper}

[Jackie Peters]

«Jackie Layce Peters
female; thirty years

Jackie had long since decided that this was not a good day. She had had good days before so she’d known what they felt like, and she had no problem announcing that this was not one of them. It was the exact opposite of a good day. It was quite a bad one.

So when she entered a certain Hammel room it was with such violence that it made the inhabitants of said room turn and stare before quickly looking down again. The coffee cup in her hand seemed about to burst with the pressure she’d put on it. Her heels clicked against the hard surface with a purpose, her eyes bright like a truck’s headlights of the most murderous variety. When she’d gotten to her desk she slammed the hapless coffee down on the table so hard little drops of mocha spilled out and sizzled its life out on the wooden surface, while Jackie herself sat abruptly down with her back straight as a board. Silent but fuming, she looked out around the room, her slightly slanted eyes narrowed and her chin tilted up. It was as though she were daring anyone to start off on the wrong foot today. Just waiting. Luckily, no one took her up on her offer.

Jackie, with no outlet for her anger, had no choice but to carry on as though this were a good day. She could not understand it but knew that it was part of the paper she’d signed when she agreed to teach here. ‘Look out for the well-being of the students,’ it’d said. ‘Practice understanding.’ No matter what she did, Jackie simply could not imagine saying these words without Steve Erkel’s perfectly grating voice.

Her trimmed fingernails drummed on her desk. ”Not bad for your first test,” she said, her eyes hawk-like and scanning the rows of students. ”Not bad at all. But it ain’t too good either.”

***
After class, Jackie’s furious but melodic voice sounded at the backs of the retreating students.

”Miss Crumin,” she said, arms crossed, one eyebrow tilted downwards. She paused to swipe some hair from her shoulder, disturbing the gold around her ear and causing it to jingle. ”I need to talk to you. Do you have a place you’ve got to be?”

Her tilted eyebrow raised to match the other. ”Won’t take long.”

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(this should technically be in the classrooms, but she will move to the training place, so…c: )

[Piper Crumin]

Piper kept quiet during class. Alone in the back, that girl with the hair that would fall over her eyes and hide them away. She was that girl you all knew once upon a time, and would think in the corner of your mind "She will never be one of us."

"Us" being the people who had friends, who were accepted and talked to. "Us" being those who were not chosen last when put into teams during classtime. "Us" being anything but her.

She kept her head down until the end of class, letting the bell ring in her ears. At this time, she pushed a clump of unruly hair behind her ear, and stood up, picking up her bookbag. She was just about to get to freedom, back to the outside where she could be alone, but then she heard her name called, stopping her dead in her tracks.

She turned slowly, keeping her head low and letting her hair fall around her face. The teacher's voice did not sound happy, and it scared the brown-haired girl. She shuffled her feet for a moment, and then looked up toward Ms. Peter's face. She smiled timidly.

"Uhm, alright, ma'am. What do you need?"

[Jackie Peters]

«Jackie Layce Peters
female; thirty years

”I need you to pay attention in class, for one thing,” she barked, squeezing her eyes until they were almost shut and staring at Piper through dark brown slits. Her lips were still tightly pressed together, her posture angry, haughty. Luckily she did not dwell on Piper’s supposed lack of attention. ”And take off those stupid bracelets. They rattle.”

Jackie was one to talk. She often decked herself out in outrageous ornaments, but her long-winded tirades never seemed to apply to her.

”Now,” she said, quaintly. ”I’ve noticed that you’ve not been on top of your studies as much as you might have liked. It’s nothing to worry about and it’s easily fixed. However…that’s not what’s worrying me.” Jackie’s dark brown eyes gazed down at the young student. Her feet shifted, and her arm crossed. She paused to flip some golden-highlighted curls off her shoulder, and then continued, slowly, as though she was not really sure of what she was about to say. ”You seem very quiet. Now I don’t mind that, but – very quiet. You refuse to work in groups and do not participate in class. That’s a part of your grade too, you know. I’ll be forced to lower it if you go on this way.”

Adjusting the shaw around her shoulders, Jackie gestured towards the chair in front of her desk, indicating that Piper sit down. She pulled back a chair herself, sitting down on it gracefully.

Jackie cleared her throat. ”So…I’m wondering, Miss Crumlin, if you need some counseling. There are institutions and faculty in Hammel that can assist you if you’d like.” She interwove her fingers, her dark eyes focusing intensely on Piper’s face. ”Is there something you’d like to tell me?”