Principal’s Office:
By TerraMGP
Getting called to the principal’s office sucked. Kids all dreaded it. Even the seniors found themselves quickly humbled when they had to march their way in front of the school admins. Tabs was used to the apprehension and whining any time anyone got too far out of line. She was used to people venting every shred of rage they had at her right up until the point where she would utter the dreaded words and direct the student out of the large gym double-doors where actual consequences would befall them.
Truth was, teachers hated it too. Not always for the same reason. Usually it was worse. Usually it meant a student had fucked up badly enough and some specific teacher was the only one who could un-fuck it. This, though. Tabs felt a grinding nervousness she couldn’t ignore. She made her way in to the small office looking around for cops. Sure that somehow, some way, someone had figured out just what she was doing. Any of them would act on it. Some, the real bitches in this place, would even enjoy it.
One such bitch was quick to make her presence known. The plump panthress pulled herself from behind the small cube wall where she’d been sitting. She had fifteen years on Tabs and likely had never been in a fight in her life, yet she always had this knack of moving just into the corner of her victim’s peripheral vision. Skulking in like some seasoned hunter before locking eyes with all the cold calculating logic of a TV meth dealer.
Tabs had met plenty of real drug dealers. She’d beaten more than a few down for money, or fun, or survival. She’d take any of them over the woman now gazing up at her with hands on hips. “Miss Blake.” Miss Dixon nodded softly “I’m glad you could make it in a timely fashion.”
“I mean, class is over.” Tabs shrugged. “If this is about those health reports, I got them in. If they went missing just let me know and I’ll print em off again. But I can promise I didn’t forget.”
“I got them.” The panther nodded “But there’s another matter we need to deal with. If it’s ok with you, I think I’d like to discuss it in the office.”
Tabs shrugged her shoulders and shoved her hands into her pockets. If anyone could read past the practiced calm shielding her panic it was Dixon. Cops had nothing on her when it came to ripping apart a BS story and the bitch very clearly knew it.
Once they were seated Tabs did her best to flash a smile and glanced down at lean back casually. Doubling down on the cool exterior and yet nowhere near the ice of the woman sitting across from her with hands enfolded. Grey-green orbs flashing up and down the nonchalant wolverine.
“So, if this isn’t about the reports.” Tabs started softly “What exactly is it that-”
“Mister Sang. And Mister Flanner.” Dixon almost barked the words.
Tabs was sure her calm had cracked. She could feel her claws digging into her palms. Sure any second she’d feel blood pooling up in her pockets as she struggled to keep the rest of her body still. She nodded, but said nothing. Not wanting to risk it just yet.
“I assume you are familiar with all of the details regarding Mister Flannery’s suspension, first of all. Another one of his little outbursts. Honestly I was ready to expel him this time. After last year I was quite done with it, but his mother persuaded me to give him another chance in light of his actual academics.”
The relieved sigh slipping from Tabs’ lips felt way too obvious. She quirked her head a bit and nodded. God but she hated how hard it was to get a read on this woman. “Yeah I know. I was actually worried about that before. Trying to get the kid to calm down. I’ve seen what a short fuse like that can do ya know. After I heard about him going at it with some college boy I started to worry he was gonna end up, well-”
“Well what?” Dixon almost growled the words.
“Dead.” Tabs muttered bluntly “I know what happens to kids like that. Most of em don’t meet a good end.”
The panther woman leaned in ever so slightly. Even with her icy expression the hints of hate were still clear. Contempt brimming at the edges of her muzzle in small imperceptible twitches. Most would tell Tabs they were imagined. They weren’t, and they killed any ease she’d felt moments ago. “I’m sure in ‘your’ little world that’s absolutely the case.” Dixon said smoothly “However it does raise quite a few questions. After all, the boy may be a hothead, but he’s not exactly a delinquent. A criminal. Is he?”
Tabs did her best to shake off the accusatory tone and leaned forward to meet Dixon’s gaze. She was about to put her paws on the table until remembering the sharp pain still throbbing in pricking points along her palm. “You don’t need to be a criminal to get dead, Miss Dixon. Whatever my past is, the school board and the state of Michigan seem fine to let me teach in spite of it. And it just so happens I can do something besides give these kids pointless health advice that most of em will drop the second they no longer take my class. Or do you think I have any illusions about the importance of what I teach?”
“Physical education and health are important parts of the curriculum, Miss Blake. I would hope that you take it more seriously than that.” Dixon growled softly
Tabs simply shrugged “I take it as seriously as the job says to. I make sure those kids are in as good a shape as I can until they leave. What they do after that is up to them. But Flannery? Well, I figured I could actually help that boy. Make sure he knows how not to get killed if he gets in over his head. Maybe teach him some discipline too. Easier than signing him up for a martial arts class, right?”
“So you admit you were seeing him after school hours.” Dixon asked, quirking a brow.
“Yeah, I asked John first. Not like I’m going to drag the kid off without getting his parents ok. Sure as hell not going to keep up with that now that he’s used what I taught him to get his ass beat on school grounds. But I figured it was worth a shot, right? You‘re not going to tell me that trying to keep students from doing something stupid stops when I go home for the day, are you?”
“Home.” Dixon smirked “And what was he doing over at your home last month, if I may ask?”
The question kicked Tabs off guard. She leaned back again and quirked her brow, finally blinking in a bit of mocking surprise. “oh that! Yeah. Kid fixed my mower. Did… something with the spark plugs. I donno. Freaking tiny one strokes always confused the hell out of me. Always feel so fiddly.”
Dixon nodded. Her expression remained still as stone. She reached for a small folder sitting on top of the stack of paperwork for the principal and flipped it open, looking it over carefully. “He has displayed some mechanical aptitude. Which, I assume, is why you proceeded to set him up with a job. Is that correct?”
“How’d you find that out?” Tabs blinked
“Surprised, Miss Blake?” Miss Dixon finally cracked a bit of a smile as she asked. “You do realize the state requires students or their guardians to inform us if they take on part time work. Correct?”
“Huh. I didn’t know that.” Tabs shrugged. Inside she could feel her heart screaming at her. Ready to burst if she had to go though more of these shocks to the system. She could just barely imagine years of cheap beer and fried food having worn a hole just waiting for this kind of stress to pop it open like an over-ripe tomato. Dixon could see it too. She was sure of it. Even if the gargoyle didn’t let on.
“Look. Jo’s an old friend. She’s also a damn good mechanic. If the kid isn’t going to learn to check his temper from me, she’s honestly the best option he’s got. Plus I can’t imagine working in a bike shop is going to hurt his resume any when he puts in applications for schools.”
“That’s a counselors job to decide, Miss Blake.” Dixon murmured “And considering your past, I can’t imagine your ‘friends’ would be a positive influence on any of our students.”
“Hey!” Tabs snapped “Say what you want about me, but Jo is an upstanding businesswoman. Kid could walk out of there the next Billy Lane. Except hopefully, you know, without the drugs. Drinking. DUIs, losing his shop… you get what I mean. Oh no, Finch. Yeah no Ron Finch would be better. Way more the kids style anyways. I think Finch was from Michigan too.”
“Are you done?” Dixon sighed “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Though lord knows I’d rather not see any of our students end up with any form of substance abuse problems. Or legal problems for that matter. Hence my worry seeing you gravitating towards them after hours like this. It’s not just Mr. Flannery either. This is the main reason I’ve asked you here.”
It was a cheap print up. A camera photo put out on one of the school printers. But it was clear enough. The public library. The packed table. Justin at the head of it. The rest sitting around. Laptops and snacks scattered about. Tabs leaning back in a chair that she only now realized looked ready to break under her weight and rough abuse. Tabs looked slowly up to Dixon who sat back calmly and folded her hands together, waiting for some sort of reaction. Patiently watching the other woman’s expression.
“Oh, wait. That? Is that what this is about?” Tabs blinked as she looked at the picture.
“Yes.” Dixon growled. “Would you care to explain it?”
“Explain it? Yeah, that’s Shadowrun.”
The contempt on the panther’s face finally melted into a mask of incredulity and confusion. She looked at Tabs for a long awkward eternity trying to fit the odd comment together. Tabs let it hang. Mostly her body waiting for some new wave of wrath to rain down upon her. When it didn’t, she smirked and leaned in a bit more. “Well, It’s kinda like Dungeons and Dragons, but not. The boys figured this might be a bit more my speed than fifth edition D&D I guess. It’s kinda like, well, It’s cyberpunk. You know. Cyberpunk?”
“Like the Keanu Reeves movie…” Dixon muttered the half-question
“Which one?” Tabs snorted to herself. Her smile quickly fading when she saw the wrath returning to the vice principal’s face. “But yeah, no. That’s our normal game. Flannery is the GM. Parker plays some literal hobo with a shotgun. I go way out on a limb as a biker. Sang, well, the Sang sister, she’s doing some odd techno-thingamajig. Like a hacker, but in her mind. Like a magic hacker? I donno I just nod my head and wait for things to hit with my big fuck off club.”
“That’s quite enough!” All the calm was gone in an instant. Dixon snarled, her fur bristled. Her eyes flashed. If this were ten years ago in a bar Tabs would already be reaching for a weapon, and probably already be dead meat before she could get it. “What I want to know is why it is that Mr. Flannery happens to be dressed in… those. Those cloths.” She gestured at the picture. Collin, Kathoey. ‘Kathy’ as she’d been using there in the library and a few other public places. “It’s clear from the face that is Mr. Sang. His sister is sitting right there, and the wig certainly doesn’t hide much. So would you care to enlighten me as to why it is he’s sitting there in girls clothing during your little children’s game?”
“… no.” Tabs said
“I’m sorry, no?” It wasn’t the answer Dixon was expecting. In truth it wasn’t an answer she seemed able to process. She slid back down into the principals seat and put her paw on the picture. Dixon pushed it roughly up to where her subordinate could see it more clearly and narrowed her eyes. Claw tips barely scratching into the cheap paper it was printed on. “I don’t think you understand your situation here, Miss Blake. We have you fraternizing with students, after hours. One of them is doing something clearly untoward. Another student you seem willing to ‘help’ up to the point where you’ve gotten him a job with one of your criminal associates.”
“She’s not a criminal” Tabs snapped.
“And now you expect me to simply let it go when you refuse to tell me why one of our students is wearing… this?”
“I do.” Tabs said calmly. “Because it’s none of your god damn business.”
Tabs stood now. Her full weight resting on her wide frame. Any discrepancy between the two of them and who was on top shattered as she leaned forwards and towered over the sitting woman. “What you have is a student trying to deal with things that aren’t your business, aren’t the schools business. Now I was told something in confidence by this student. If I thought it was something bad, I’d tell the parents. But right now you have someone trying to figure their shit out, and that student already gets enough grief without having this piled on top. So no, Miss Dixon, I’m not going to tell you. You wanna take it to the principal? The super? More than happy to do it. But I don’t plan on making life worse for the poor kid just because you got a problem with some former biker bitch dite being one of your co workers.”
“Now you wait just a moment-” The panther growled. She managed to get part way up before a finger shot right into her face
“No, you wait.” Tabs barked “We both know you have a problem with me. You want me out of here then that’s fine. Find a way to do it that doesn’t screw over some poor kids in the process. What Sang’s going though is his own thing and he doesn’t need you making his last few months at home uncomfortable because you gotta turn anything that doesn’t fit your narrow little world view into something sexual. Now I’ll say it again. You wanna come after me, come after me. I’m sure you have plenty of grounds to do it. But I’m gonna warn you right now if you go after that boy and I’ll make sure you’re up on charges for discrimination. Somehow I doubt the board of education is gonna look favorably on that. Are they, Miss Dixon?”
The panthress cycled though about a dozen different conflicting emotions. Rage and raw venom simmering at the back of her throat as a growl wafted ready to turn into a screaming refrain of hateful retorts.
And then it stopped. The woman took the picture, looked at it, and let out a sigh. Her shoulders slumped as she made her way back around the desk. “You can go, Miss Blake.” the panther muttered “But if I ever, ever find out that you have been doing anything untoward with a student.”
“Yeah I’m sure you will.” Tabs muttered. “Once dropout trash, always dropout trash. Right?” With that the wolverine made her way out of the office and out towards the parking lot. God in heaven, did she need a beer.
--------------------
“Oh come on. What’s the big deal?” A large, stocky badger boy whined the words while leaning against a battered pickup truck.
“I said no, Bug.” Justin retorted from where he stood by his own car.
“You said we’d talk about it after class.” Bug corrected.
“No.” Justin corrected “’You’ Said that after I told you no for the fifth time.”
“But why not? Come on. You know it’d look badass!” Bug put both heels on the tarnished chrome step that had been bolted under the normal step for the F-150 and balanced on his heels. The heavyset boy spreading his arms out wide and gesturing along the length of the truck “Just think of me like this, but like, two more feet up! It’d rock. Get some nice big fat tires on there. Something that can really go off road.”
“Off road where?” Justin snorted “A fucking corn field? Up a dune? Dude, everything around here is flat or covered in trees. Besides, it’s not safe.”
“But you work on my engine all the time!” Bug whined. “You’re not worried that’s gonna break.”
“Your engine breaks down, worst thing that happens is you gotta pull off on the highway and call your dad. Even then I’d get dad to help me if it was anything serious. What you’re talking about is a lift kit. Two grand worth of cosmetic bullshit”
“It’s not cosmetic, man. Guys on work sites do it all the time.”
“Then wait until you’re on one of those sites and pay someone who knows what they’re doing!” Justin snapped “Dude, you think I wanna spend every waking moment worrying that you’re gonna end up rolling over into a ditch because I fucked up a bolt or something? Besides you’d look like one of those bro country doucehbags.”
“Don’t you go knocking my Florida Georgia line.” Bug growled semi-playfully.
“Fucking… you’re from Michigan, Man.” Justin Muttered, face fully in palm now.
Tabs was unable to suppress her chuckle as she walked out between the two. She leaned against the side of the Truck and looked Bug over. The badger boy, already a veritable refrigerator of a young man, standing there awkwardly in a pose that made the large truck seem almost awkwardly small due to the proportions. “You two boys having fun?” Tabs snickered as she looked between the two. Her words causing the bigger boy to shrink from his perch and smile nervously to the teacher.
“Oh, hey coach.” Bug muttered “Nah just wanted Justin here to hook me up and he’s being stubborn about it. I kinda figured if he could cut me a deal I could afford to jack up the ol bug mobile a bit! I think it’d look pretty badass.”
“Uh huh.” Tabs chuckled “I wasn’t aware ‘poser yuppie rich boy’ was in style these days. Let me guess. You were gonna get some huge rims and some of those huge tractor tires they try to pass off as truck tires?”
Bug’s embarrassment only grew to a fever pitch now. He glanced at Justin and slugged the otter in the arm for an uncontrollable chuckle fit before looking back at the teacher and slumping his shoulders.
“So if you have time to worry about this, I assume that means you’ve already finished those tackle drills I said you should be doing?” Tabs may not have been the football coach officially, but she spent enough time helping the actual coach while he dealt with his English teacher duties. It was easy to tell who was slacking off and when, and Bug was always one of the prime offenders. He laughed nervously and nodded once more before pulling himself up into the cab of his truck and giving Justin a small sidelong glance.
“Yeah sure coach.” Bug nodded “Don’t worry, Nobody’s getting by me the rest of the year. So uh, Justin. I’ll catch you later, man. We’ll talk about… something. Yeah.”
Tabs watched him walking away and then glanced down at Justin. Her eyes narrowed and teeth gritted. “Flannery.” She sighed “We need to talk”
