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

Wednesday afternoon

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Okay. A better time of day. Earlier in the week. It's been a while since she last stepped into the Principal's office - The Wizard's office? She doesn't know what to call it anymore. She's not here for him.

She doesn't call out, either. She's here in secret. As quietly as possible, she peers inside the room, scanning for Hester.]

[tailor_made]

[As it happens, Hester is absent from her office. You're all alone, Cass.

What do you do?]

WEEK 3, WEDNESDAY

[comeandfindme]

[ For the second time this week, Peregrine barges into the principal's office. This time, she's alone, and she looks quite annoyed. ]

Alright, don't think I actually want to talk to you. But if you're not gonna let us outside, I need a few things, alright?

[tailor_made]

[Hester, to her credit, seems less surprised by Peregrine's sudden entrance this time. She just slides a steaming cup of tea across her desk toward her and folds her hands in front of her, her expression utterly patient.]

Sure, Peregrine. Just tell me what it is.

[Since Peregrine probably didn't have a lot of time before to really get a look at the place before there are two big things of note: a vase of fresh flowers sitting on the edge of her desk closest to the wall and an impressive poster on the back wall.]

Week 3, Tuesday morning

[barberic]

[Benjamin doesn't linger outside for long this time.]

Can you...answer a question, for me?

[tailor_made]

That's what I'm here for, Mr. Barker. [Hester flashes him a gentle smile when he comes in and makes a small gesture to the plate of sugar cookies sitting on the corner of her desk.] Come in, have a cookie.

Friday, post Trial 2

[violentenvies]

[After making some rounds with Spongebob to deliver some hot chocolate and snacks, Salieri will make his way around to stop by Hester's office once again with a tray, moving to knock on the door]

Sunday, post Trial 2

[violentenvies]

[HELLO HESTER, Knock knock, Dad is here to invite you to the sleepover]

[tailor_made]

It's open, monsieur! [come on in, dad, she has no idea its party time]

[mayavericks]

Hester-san.

[Maya is practically throwing the door open.]

Did you know that this had happened before?

[tailor_made]

[Hester just...looks like a deer caught in headlights.]

I- what? What do you mean?

WEEK 4, SUNDAY

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine enters the principal's office quieter than usual. A little blank. A snow-white deer hide hangs over her shoulder. ]

I need something.

[ She doesn't yell. Doesn't demand. Just says. ]

[tailor_made]

[Hester glances from Peregrine to the snowy deer hide in her shoulder and purses her lips in immediate understanding of what's about to be asked of her.]

What do you need, Peregrine?

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?

[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.]

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!

[tailor_made]

Spon- [She raises a hand to her mouth to muffle a yawn.] -gebob! Good morning.

That's so sweet of you, I was just thinking how I was getting hung- is that Gary?

[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]

[Hester doesn't answer.



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

WEEK 4, FRIDAY, AFTER TRIAL

[comeandfindme]

[ Some time after the trial, maybe...an hour or so, or two—

Peregrine quietly enters the Principal's Office. ]

We gotta talk.

[tailor_made]

[When Peregrine comes in she catches Hester just as she's sitting in her chair. She blinks owlishly, streaks of black mascara and shimmery eyeshadow running down her face.]

I- okay. [She swallows and slowly sits down, mentally bracing herself for whatever dressing down Peregrine has prepared for her.] Let's talk.

Week 5

[mcfife]

[The memories have gotten way too concerning. Claudine, the alien, Riley, now Jeremy? Angus recalls the Wizard's comments to the SQUIP during the trial, and the questions are too great to ignore.

He barges into the office.]

Why did the Wizard bring me back?

[tailor_made]

[Hester, for once, doesn't startle when someone busts into her office unannounced. Instead she looks up at him slowly, her shoulders slumped forward. When she speaks it's slowly, like just talking is a huge effort.]

You have to be more specific, Angus.

[mayavericks]

[When Maya comes in she... doesn't really have any gifts to bring. It's just her, looking mildly distracted. She spares Hester only a glance before sitting down.]

Do you have a moment?

[tailor_made]

Maya- [She's already pouring tea before Maya's butt even hits the seat.] Of course, of course. I always have time for you.

Sunday, post Trial 3

[violentenvies]

[Hi there, Hester. Salieri's back with a knock on your door, and a tray of tea and pie. He looks tired and worn but, like her, is covering it up with some make up]

[tailor_made]

Come in, monsieur. [Hester's voice is soft, nearly too soft to really be heard beyond the door. When he opens it she's hunched over her desk, her forehead resting on a small stack of papers in front of her and her fingers laced behind her neck.

Like the last time he visited after a trial, it doesn't look like she's had time to change out of her costume yet.]

After the bodies are buried, the night of Case 3

[barberic]

[Benjamin is dead on his feet when he finally makes it back up from the garden. But before he passes out in bed, he leaves a note for Hester.]

Thank you.
-B. Barker

[tailor_made]

[When Benjamin wakes up the next morning there's a folded note, written on crisp white stationery and sealed with a little "Great Job!" sticker, sitting on top of his trunk. The sticker might seem odd but some of us didn't get access to fancy wax seals.]

It just felt like the right thing to do.
- Hester

week five; post-motive

[howtheworldwas]

[ well! that was upsetting as usual! at this point, eurydice has come to expect all that, but there's one bit from that song that didn't add up.

knock knock! ]

Hey. Can I ask you about that song?

[ hester may notice that eurydice is actually trying to be polite. that's new. ]

this is a hell of my own making

[tailor_made]

[Hester's office is dark when Eurydice comes in. The assistant director herself has her head resting on her arms when Eurydice comes in and she lifts her head slowly, blinking a few times before she can fully process another presence in her office.]

-oh, Eurydice. [She yawns and forces herself to sit up properly.] Sure, of course. What did you want to know?

Thursday; afternoon

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[...You know, it's been over a few weeks. Cass has to breach the topic eventually. Might as well do it now.

In the afternoon, once everyone's back inside from the story, she goes looking (with candle in hand) for Hester and the principal's office.]

Hester? Are you still in here?

[tailor_made]

[Hester is here today! She's just not at her desk for once. Instead she's sitting on a dark green leather sofa behind her desk that you are positive was not there when you investigated. She has a green towel draped over her head to cover her sopping wet hair and a bright yellow one draped over her shoulders. Laid out next to her on the sofa is a white bathrobe covered in cupcakes.

It looks like she just got out of the shower- but only if she'd gotten in with all her clothes on.]

-Cassandra? What's wrong, do you guys need more candles?

Week 5, post-execution

[stopbelieving]

[Typically, Will still travels normally for the most part, and especially around Hester. He enters her office via the door; he walks backstage with her. It makes him feel a little more...human. But today, he dispenses with all of that - in a panic, he simply brings them both right back to her office. It's a less graceful transition than a true narrator might have made, but it gets the job done.]

Hester! Are you okay?

[tailor_made]

[It had all happened so fast. Her emotions getting the better of her with the song, Mr. Weidman taking over, Discord, the explosions-

Her ears are still ringing when he wills them to her office, gripping her shin.]

I'm- [She pulls her hands away and watches rivlets of blood run down her leg. The wound isn't nearly as bad as it could be, a few burns and some tiny pieces of glass sticking out of her skin. But seeing the wound isn't what makes her stomach sink.]

Why doesn't it hurt?

[mayavericks]

[Considering everything that's been happening, Maya hasn't been able to make it to Hester's office to check on her. She changes that Sunday morning, knocking on the door once before stepping inside.]

Hester? Are you here?

[tailor_made]

It's open, Maya. It always is.

[Hester is, per usual, in her chair just lightly turning back and forth on the swivel. She looks tired but she always looks tired nowadays. What's really unusual is that she's still wearing her dress from the trial. It's rumpled and wrinkled in several places on the skirt but undoubtedly the same one.]

...Hi.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus enters the principal's office for the first time on Sunday, unsure of whether this is something he's supposed to be doing but feeling the deep conviction that he should. He looks a little guilty as he does, all the same - for the feeling of trespassing on someone else's valuable time as well as the fact that, well. When the fire started on the stage, and Maya and Peregrine and the others went to try to go to Hester's aid, he fled. But that last one is also why he's here, now. ]

Excuse me? Miss Hester? Are you there?

[tailor_made]

[Since Orpheus hasn't been in here before, he is probably going to notice several things right off the bat. Firstly, a vase of several kinds of colorful flowers that look like kinds found on the roof garden. Secondly, an empty plate covered in pale crumbs next to a little yellow ceramic tea pot with two matching tea cups. And third an impressive poster of whoever this guy is on the back wall.

Hester's desk is front and center in the room, cutting the room nearly in half but her chair is empty. Behind the desk there's a dark green leather couch covered with a bright yellow fuzzy blanket and, after a few seconds, the blanket moves and Hester lifts her head from under it. She blinks slowly, trying to process exactly who's come in in her half-asleep state.]

Oh- Orpheus? Is that you?

Week 6, Sunday afternoon

[barberic]

[After his breakdown in the garden, and the new bodies are buried, an empty and defeated Benjamin Barker

BENJAMIN! BARKER!

comes into Hester's office and takes a seat, putting his head in his hands.]

...You knew. You knew all along, didn't you?

[There's no malice in his voice - there's no malice in him. Not anymore. Everything inside of him is burnt out, leaving only a jar full of ashes.]

[tailor_made]

[In her chair, still dressed in her little black and green dress from the trial with a distant look on her face, Hester just watches him for a long minute before nodding slowly.]

...You're not what I expected, Mr. Barker. ["The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", befriending historical composers and being kind to ex-cheerleaders.]

WEEK 6, MONDAY

[comeandfindme]

[ On Monday, when she's regained a marginal amount of life to her, Peregrine goes to visit Hester. She is, in some way, relieved that the door isn't locked. ]

Hester? You in here?

[tailor_made]

I'm in, Peregrine. [There she is, the assistant director herself, poised at her desk with tea and cookies. She looks...more put together than she has the past two weeks, less pale and about to collapse in exhaustion at a moment's notice. She taps a final key on her keyboard and turns her head to look at Peregrine with a small, worried smile.]

Hi.

Week 6, Sunday

[fourbutts]

[ After running some Vibe Checks, well... Janis does want to talk to Hester more. So, keeping herself open to The Vibes, she heads over for... the first time she's done this on purpose! ]

Hey, Hester!

[tailor_made]

[When Janis busts in Hester looks up from her little pink laptop, tapping the space bar to pause what she's watching and look at her with a smile.]

Janis! What brings you here?

Wednesday night, week 6

[musacal]

[ It's night time and Nana is doing some last rounds around the school. She knows that, for some sort of logistical reason she doesn't fully grasp yet, murders only ever take place Thursday night, but still she worries especially with the sick motive. At the very least she can look for any stragglers and go get someone else by rattling her sword at them to come pick up their friends. And of course, she's here first and foremost as a spy, so who knows what stuff might happen at night? ]

[tailor_made]

[Nana has been an excellent spy so far. Staying low, staying out of sight. There hasn't been a single indication that the Wizard has even noticed her presence yet. Or Hester for that matter. Even with all her sneaking Nana hasn't really ever gotten a good look at the Wizard's assistant in the several days she's been exploring.

That is until tonight, when she slips out of her office around 10 pm and walks with determination toward and then out the front doors.]

[mayavericks]

[With her companions reporting no luck in tracking down Hester, Maya decides to knock on the door of the principal's office herself. As usual, she tries to let herself in afterward and -- if the door opens, she'll call in --]

Hester?

[tailor_made]

[The door opens without issue but what Maya finds there is...

no one. Hester's chair is empty. Her yellow tea pot, usually gently steaming with a fresh pot of tea for anyone who comes in, is cold and the plate of fresh sugar cookies is empty.]