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Post by skyeknight on Aug 3, 2017 18:24:25 GMT
Jane had been hired to teach third graders. She was over the moon, but she had to be prepared. Of course the students were given a list of supplies to bring. However, some students wouldn't be able to afford the lists. She was going to need to pick up extra supplies as she could. She had a few backpacks at home that she wouldn't miss and supplies were cheap for someone like her. She was after all the foster child of a very rich couple who only used her to better their positions in high society. Over the years she pocketed jewelry that she then turned around and sold. Her family would have had them melted down once the next year's style came in anyways. She supposed she took after her father in that aspect, accumulating wealth to do what she enjoyed.
She had a few bags of goodies like pencils and fun little creature shaped erasers. Now she was looking for paper and notebooks. Maybe some coloring books. For her students, the first day would be fun. The homework for that week would be for their parents. Mostly forms. Health forms, permission forms for field trips, for guests, for eating habits, all those fun things that no parent really liked to do but had to since no third grader could say they were lactose intolerant let alone spell it out on a piece of paper. |
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 3, 2017 18:56:13 GMT
Tax free weekend. For Shadow, this was both a good thing and a bad thing. School was starting soon, which meant that people were getting new uniforms, new wards to protect students from supernatural dangers, and of course, the ever popular school supplies. He was sweeping the wings of Magnolia Road, checking for pickpockets or thieves or waiting predators. So far, so good. But ever since the whole "catch up" with Disparion, Shadow had been on edge. That creep could be anywhere, and something told him his eye wouldn't be blind for long.
He passed someone and in the rush, a few small monster shaped erasers bounced out. Shadow picked up the fallen items and made an effort to catch up.
"Excuse me. These little monsters tried to run away,"
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 3, 2017 19:25:37 GMT
"Little monsters?"
Jane turned to see Shadow holding a small handful of creature erasers. She couldn't help but laugh. The dark and brooding police officer holding a bunch of bright and colorful erasers was certainly something she hadn't expected to see. It was startlingly out of place. But not necessarily in a bad way. Besides, she was in such a good mood about her job offer she was far more open to laughing with the man for 'wrangling her little eraser beasts' for her. Guess there was no job too big or too small for him to handle.
"Yeah, those are mine," she said. "Thanks for catching them for me officer."
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 3, 2017 19:37:13 GMT
"...Getting supplies already, Jane?"
He hadn't expected to run into Jane. Well, really, run into anyone today. Well, at least Jane was in a good mood. The times they met had been both of them in equally sour moods. Well, the concert kind of counted as them being neutral. Despite his "perma-scowl", the friendlier tone of voice he was emitting showed that he was not on the "tough guy" or "overconfident" mood. He only showed the let down of his walls around people he genuinely trusted.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 3, 2017 20:01:54 GMT
"I just got hired as a third grade teacher," she explained.
She took the little monster erasers and put them in a plastic bag within another bag, that way she didn't lose them a second time. If anyone else had picked up the little erasers they would have pocketed them, or tried to barter them at least. So she counted herself lucky that it was Shadow who found her lost rewards and not anyone else. Oddly enough, she wasn't so bad with the cop. He wasn't like most other cops she had dealt with in the past.
"Some kids can't always bring supplies so I'm picking up some just in case."
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 3, 2017 20:49:07 GMT
"Third grade. That's a good level; getting out of the bare bones and more into the tougher lessons."
Shadow wasn't just talking about higher levels of math or reading either. Third grade was that time of year when kids started finding themselves. They started opening their eyes to the world around them and figuring out what they wanted to do. It changed usually, but most of the kids who came up and said they wanted to be police officers were in that vein.
"And good idea. What all have you got?"
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 3, 2017 20:55:36 GMT
"I was about to start looking for paper, coloring books and note books. A second set of eyes wouldn't hurt."
As close as Jane would get to offering for Shadow to come with her. She wasn't typically the type to let a cop follow her around. It had too much to do with her distrust of them. But if she was going to start to get along in the city, she had to get along with it's inhabitants, even if she was skeptical about it. Shadow wasn't half bad, she kept telling herself. He seemed to take enough humor in their situations and he was a generally nice guy.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 3, 2017 21:12:24 GMT
"An escort mission? Well, better than looking for something that isn't even here."
Sure, Jane didn't openly ask him to come along, but he got a bit of a hint. Despite the rocky start, they were, in an odd way, beginning to see eye to eye. Besides, she was someone worth talking to and it would keep him from getting bored. Training with Yang was going well, but he wanted to take a break from the police work for a while. Well, security guard was a gray area, but after the infamous Antoinette Frank incident in the 90's, he had been cautious on taking those jobs, particularly in a city where Other haters could deny him service.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 3, 2017 21:26:31 GMT
"At least you won't die of boredom." she shrugged.
She continued walking towards the stalls. She didn't have to check if Shadow would follow, he had already agreed (in his own way) he would. It was funny. Neither of them were coming out and saying things directly but they knew what the other was trying to say. She supposed they kind of understood each other. She did wonder if that came from the fact that they had both been in a life or death situation against killer croc together. She wouldn't deny a certain sense of pride when she saw his ugly mug in the paper, behind bars where he belonged.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 4, 2017 3:08:49 GMT
Shadow made a quiet, muffled chuckle. Well, leave it to the promise of not boredom to get him moving. He rushed behind to catch up with her. Well, he did his job at the exact same time, too. So far, it looked like no one was showing signs of guilt. Well, not counting the kid who looked guilty in front of a parent for no doubt causing a "gimmie" tantrum.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 4, 2017 13:27:42 GMT
"So, how have you been?" Jane asked.
She was certainly more conversational than she had been in the past. It was something she was going to attribute to her good mood. Shadow seemed to be focused on something, so she wasn't going to force talking. She was on a hunt too, hers not as important or dire as his. She stopped at a stall, smiling when she saw the notebooks were cheap and there were plenty of them. So she took the whole lot, paying the vendor for them and adding them to the basket she carried. She would need lots of notebooks over the school year and if she didn't use them this year, students would use them next year. That was the nice thing about plan spiral notebooks.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 4, 2017 16:19:29 GMT
"Can't complain."
Well that was putting it lightly. He had a run in with dear old Dad who hadn't forgotten his defiance. Disparion had once again got him in the the phase of not trusting strangers, but Jane was no stranger. She was a young woman buying supplies for school. He checked the vendor she bought the plain notebooks from. Well, no signs of dangerous Other blood. Heck, stuck in the notebooks was an emerald pen to scare away demons from the stall. Maybe she was just as cautious as he was when shopping down here.
"What about you? Last time we 'talked' was at the concert."
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 4, 2017 19:23:16 GMT
"Really good actually." she said. "I've always wanted to be a teacher and now I finally get to. Though I'm a troll, any dream job is a job taking care of kids."
She was always proud of her troll heritage. Even more so when she was told she passed her exams and could start teaching. Most people in her position weren't so lucky as to get a job right out of the gate. Most teachers had to work as substitutes for ages before they got a job. She was lucky. She had shown the school she had temporarily worked for that she could handle a class of her own. For that, she was thankful. She looked down to her odd little companion. If someone told her a few weeks ago, she would be willingly and casually talking with a police officer, she might have decked them.
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Post by Zuyuri on Aug 4, 2017 20:53:14 GMT
"This is how you break the molds of stereotypes. You show them that there's more to a troll than what they're told. So, congrats on getting your dream job!"
He was speaking from personal experience, and an experience sadly faced by many Others. Well, not on the job front; the officer job was handed to him on a silver platter. Whatever dream jobs for those out there were shut down or taken by someone "more inclined", which was code for an applicant without Other blood. Hopefully she got paid as well as some of the other teachers. Because of his heritage, it was difficult really to get any sort of respect. He had been ridiculed and the self consciousness was starting to wean a bit the more she looked at him. There was a height difference, yes, and it was one of the few times his almost bulletproof ego - an ego that had slowly begun to deflate - got stung.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 4, 2017 21:10:37 GMT
"Thanks Shadow."
She was surprised by his congratulations on her job, but it was a well earned victory on her part. She wanted to take her negative experiences in life and make something good come from it. All the heartache and pain would be worth it if she could do something good. Children were where she wanted to start. The younger generation could be made to see reason, that Others weren't bad if they had good Other role models in their life. Some parents wouldn't like it, but others wouldn't care since she was a hybrid.
"I want to do something good with my life, you know? I think teaching is how I can do that."
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