The Principal's Office

[tailor_made]

The door to the principal’s office is open at all hours, although you will only find Hester at the receptionist’s desk from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. This is primarily where you can have private conversations with her. Though there’s an actual office in the back, it is always closed and locked.

Comments

[tailor_made]

[Hester flinches.]

I- [She lowers her eyes, her focus turning from Maya to a corner of her desk that looks particularly interesting.] I did. He told me...he told me when we found out about Angus.

[tailor_made]

With all my heart. [No hesitation.]

[mayavericks]

Where are they? Are they okay?

[The roaring in her ears only gets louder.]

Why didn't you tell me?

[howtheworldwas]

With all your heart?

[ Eurydice raises one eyebrow and nods, ever so slightly. For a brief moment, her expression softens, no longer quite so demanding.

The moment is gone as quickly as it came. ]

Well, that's a start.

[tailor_made]

This is why! I didn't want to upset you and make everything worse for you here. [She takes a breath and lifts her head to look at Maya again.]

Nana and Claudine are fine. Claudine went home after everything and Nana...I'm going to be honest with you, we don't know where Nana is. We just know she left after it all ended and hasn't really shown up since.

[mayavericks]

[And just like that, most of the tension leaves Maya's form. Nana is... concerning, certainly, but being missing is certainly a hell of a lot better than being dead, or trapped in this game.

When she speaks, her voice is substantially closer than the placid tone it normally takes.]

You swear it? [And without waiting.] I-I'm sorry, Hester-san.

[tailor_made]

I swear. [She holds out both hands palm up on her desk. It's a silent invitation but not a demand.] I wouldn't lie to you, Maya.

But don't apologize. You haven't done anything wrong.

[mayavericks]

[Her hands slip into Hester's. She breathes out some of the tension in her chest.]

I didn't need to come in yelling, I don't think. [She tries to breathe in. Her breath hitches but... It's fine.]

Thank you.

backtag to early Week 3

[tellthestory]

[The Balladeer knows for sure, now - he's been in Hester's place, before. He didn't get a knife thrown at his head, exactly, but things weren't exactly friendly in the beginning. It had bothered him, a little bit. He hadn't understood, then, why they were so upset about what was only another show.

He gets it better now.

Still, even if he understands how awful it all is, he also remembers just how much it had meant to him when people were kind. So, with that in mind, he decides to make another overture towards Hester. He'll knock on her door one morning.]

Hester?

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine's almost afraid to let go of it. She keeps her hand on the leather. She looks Hester in the eye, with none of her usual challenge. ]

Thank you. [ ...... ] Your Wizard can go to hell.

[ Even that's quiet. ]

[violentenvies]

Not exactly. [he'll take note of that picture, but not address it for now]

Rather, my dorm and the members of another dorm have decided to stage a sleepover. I wanted to invite you to join us.

[tailor_made]

Oh! You want me- are you sure?

[violentenvies]

I'm absolutely positive. I would love to have you there, and I know some of the others would as well. Perhaps not all of them, but should there be any difficulties, I'll shoulder the responsibility of dealing with it.

Week 4 monday morning

[employeeoftheyear]

[Around 9 am Hester will hear a gentle knock on her door, with Spongebob popping in a few seconds later with a giant stack of pancakes (and Gary chilling on his head).]

Hey Hester, I brought you breakfast!

[employeeoftheyear]

[Well luckily the keyword is "half" because he is still excited to watch stuff this mysterious handsome guy is in.]

That would be wonderful! Maybe we can watch it together, like a movie night!!

[And then Hester pulls out the disc. Spongebob's eyes go wide before he suddenly goes to pull Hester into a hug]

Thank you so much Hester! You're the best!

cw: THE BITS THE BITS THE BITS

[tailor_made]

[She chews the inside of her cheek, mulling over if she should give her a little spoiler just to avoid having to paw through the freezer to bury some disgusting frozen meat...but no, she'll hopefully learn soon enough.

Peregrine will at least like the outdoors, she thinks. Maybe it'll make her a little less spicy.]

I'll take care of it. There's plenty of space on the grounds to bury them so the animals won't get at them.

[comeandfindme]

[ She raises an eyebrow. Wonders just what animals are out there. She hasn't seen birds through the window, hasn't heard anything, but there have to be animals if there's woods nearby, right? Maybe she can figure out where they are. ]

Good. [ And that...should be all. It should. But— ] ...Thanks for letting us use this place earlier. Connor needed it.

[tailor_made]

Come in, Balladeer. [Hey, she doesn't sound like she's ready to spit venom just saying his name. Let's call that progress.]

[tellthestory]

[It's the little things! The Balladeer enters; he's got a plate of pancakes, and a cup of orange juice.]

I made some pancakes, and I thought I'd bring you some. These are the good ones, I ate the ones that were burnt.

[brokeforgood]

[She walks with a purpose straight into Hester’s office, after the motive on Tuesday. She’s still hugging herself—- the arm about her waist had to drop, to open the door, but as soon as it’s shut safely behind her, she returns it to its previous position.

She doesn’t go for her normal seat in the bad kid chairs. She just stands there.]

H?

[tailor_made]

[The screen lights up and Cassandra will see her login screen. It has her username Admin:Hester and a box under it for a password.

She's also getting a good view of Hester's screen background.]

[tailor_made]

[Hester doesn't answer.



Mostly because she's facedown at her desk and very softly snoring.]

[brokeforgood]

H? [Farrah steps closer, then is suddenly... filled with an insane amount of rage. How can she be sleeping, at a time like this? Farrah begins hitting the bell. A lot.]

H! WAKE. UP. H.

[tailor_made]

[Hester jerks awake with a startled snort.]

Huh, wha-? [She blinks a few times and presses the heel of one hand into her eye, smearing a small bit of eyeliner onto her temple.] Farrah-? Why is there a bell here now?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Oh wow! It's a guy she doesn't recognize!]

Password, what... [Well.

This is probably something she shouldn't just smash.

Actually no, Cassandra's got some grasp of this; there's a board with letters and numbers, and a box that probably accepts them. If she can press the correct buttons, it'll do... something. She hopes.

Better start looking through the drawers. Topmost ones first!]