Anne Wright

December 22, 2006 2:07 PM

Professor Kijewski, you're my only hope. by Anne Wright

Geoffrey had been the most vocal about it, but Anne suspected he wasn’t the only one confused about why she hadn’t started Quidditch practices within minutes of hearing that Jennifer Zucchero had beaten her to it. When Geoff tried to bring it up, she usually made a joke or just ignored him, though she had delivered a shouted lecture vaguely related to patience and consideration when the interruption caused her to get the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way mixed up on her Astronomy homework. She had never answered the question, but not because she didn’t know what to tell him. She was stalling on doing something she hated almost more than losing: asking for help. Advice, anyway.

Fox probably would have been the most logical solution to Anne’s problem, but other factors made her reluctant to approach the coach. Geoff calling someone a jerk was one thing, but when Lenny called the same person “terribly rude” in that prissy, slightly offended way of hers, it was time to run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. It didn’t help that Amy Fox had been booted from the Quidditch league for excessive violence, a background that made Anne think laws and such wouldn’t be her strong point. Being judged for attention to such things, even if it was all in her head, wasn’t something Anne was going to put up with if there was a way out of it. The Headmaster would probably know, but he probably had more important problems to deal with, and it might make her look incompetent to go to him, anyway. Since the House prefect was still on her team, Anne was left with one option: Kijewski.

Anne didn’t adore the woman the way some of her classmates seemed to, but she didn’t have any major problems with her – just with her class. So long as she didn’t act out on it, there was nothing saying she had to like any of her classes. She did as well as she thought she could be expected to, which should, theoretically, be enough. Even so, there was no harm in taking a few precautions before she went into the lion’s den. She had straightened her hair, put on make-up, dug out one of her better outfits, and, almost as an afterthought, shoved on the bracelet Allie had given her the Christmas she’d spent at Magnolia Grove. She might not have been quite up to her Aunt Sarah’s standards, but Anne thought she managed respectability by those of normal people. She had to make the best impression possible, if she wanted to be seen as at all competent despite her inability to work through the problem of how to deal with Romanova.

Stay cool, Anne. You can do this. No big deal. You’re doing the right thing, asking the people who know instead of being stubborn and making a mess out of things. It’ll get easier once you start. Go on, then, do what you have to do, pick up your - She shook her head hard. Giving herself a pep talk was almost as ridiculous as flying off the handle over the Milky Way. It wouldn’t be proper to be buddy-like with her Head of House, but she certainly wasn’t supposed to be afraid of Kijewski. Not that she was; the only thing she was afraid of was being demoted and made to look like a fool beforehand. She rapped three firm times on the professor’s office door and waited.\n\n
16 Anne Wright Professor Kijewski, you're my only hope. 59 Anne Wright 1 5


Professor Kijewski

December 26, 2006 11:24 PM

No pressure for me in that statement. by Professor Kijewski

So far the year hadn't been too terrible for Kiva to handle. She thought that becoming Deputy Head meant far more work for her and to stretch herself to the breaking point. But, so far, nothing too major. Her classes were running as smoothly as they could considering, and there was only a couple of times when she had to be firm with a student. Actually, the only ones that made her slightly wary were the staff members. There were so many who all had completely different personalities that Kiva wasn't sure how to react or respond to them.

Finishing up the last of the paperwork Kiva was doing as well as finishing up a letter she was sending to a correspondence in hopes to get the creatures she wanted to teach for next year, Kiva stretched and leaned back in her chair. Ria jumped up onto the desk and meowed softly at Kiva to pay attention to her. The sight of Ria made Kiva realize that she hadn't seen much of Oscar or Tarquin lately. She'd have to make a special trip to see the Librarian and his cat.

Sighing, Kiva closed her eyes. Her hand lazily scratched behind Ria's fluffy ears. If she had known teaching would have caused her do much discomfort, Kiva would have found a research team that only stayed within the states. Animals, no matter how dangerous, were far easier to handle then children were. Or, teenagers. The knock on the door caused Kiva to jump in surprise.

Standing, Kiva made her way over to her office door. SHe glanced around her office momentarily. There were creatures in cages, mainly those that she were to teach that year like the puffskeins, papers were cluttered on her desk, and bookshelves were filled with books on creatures. Ria had curled up on her cushion that Kiva had brought for her in the corner. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through her curls, Kiva opened the door. She looked around for a moment before her eyes took in Anne Wright. "Anne?" Kiva asked, not even bothering to conceal the surprise from her voice. "Everything alright?" She asked the girl, holding the door open to allow the fourth year access to her office.\n\n
0 Professor Kijewski No pressure for me in that statement. 0 Professor Kijewski 0 5


Anne Wright

December 27, 2006 9:43 PM

Of course not. by Anne Wright

Anne jerked her hand away from her hair as the door opened and spent the time it took the professor to acknowledge her debating whether or not to attempt curtsying and/or making what her aunts called polite niceties. Her lack of skill at both played its role in the decision to get to the point, along with Kijewski’s surprise and the small problem of being in pants. Pretending to be something she wasn't might help, but not enough to bother with. She nodded when her Head of House said her name and was careful not to bump into her as she entered the office.

She glanced around the space, taking note of the clutter, the cat, and the class subjects in their cages. She forced herself to look at those in particular. They couldn’t get out of their cages, and she doubted someone smart enough to be an Aladren would keep something murderous in her office a cracked door away from a crowd of students she was responsible for. The cat was almost certainly tame. She still held herself stiffly, though, and kept away from anything alive. “I hope so, Professor,” she said to the question, and then stopped, not sure how to put it.

As far as she could remember, political correctness had never been a strong point of hers. Now looked like a good time to make it one, but she knew it didn't work that way. For perhaps the third time, she envied her cousins their upbringing, since that style of raising seemed to include instruction in how to turn different traits on and off at will. One hand strayed to the bracelet on the other wrist, and she began to frown at it. It was a wintertime piece, and they were still in the middle of fall. Pressing the virtually invisible catch it had taken her hours to work out, she took it off and stuffed it unceremonially into her pocket.

“It’s about the Quidditch team,” she said finally. “I’ve got three first years signed up as alternates this year, and one of them – might kind of be a problem.” Hey, she hadn’t come right out and said the kid was a problem she’d just as soon not deal with. “Michael Romanova.” That probably wasn’t how to pronounce his name, but it was close enough. “The people I know’ve pretty much confirmed he’s the boy in the wheelchair.” She’d never wished that mind-reading existed so much in her life. Explaining her point without sounding like a jerk was turning out a lot harder than it had looked in foresight.

“I don't know much about wizarding law, but I'm assuming there's something in it about handicapped discrimination," she said, trying to forget that she was talking to a superior. "I call the shots as far as they can be called for the team, but I can't promise anyone they'll come off the Pitch in the same health they went onto it, and that's people who don't have mobility issues." And that, pretty or not, was the simple truth. If Lexi Stafford could take out two-thirds of the Pecari Chasers in a few minutes, anything could happen. Anne hadn't seen the match where it happened, but she'd heard about it from multiple sources.

She was almost sure she sounded blunt and unsympathetic, but she didn't know how to make the situation sound better than it was. "I'll work with him if he's that bound and determined to do it, but I can't favor him over the others, and I don't want me or my folks getting in trouble with the school or the law or somebody's parents or anything like that. What I'm asking is, is there some kind of waiver or something I need to get signed so my - " a lie was best, here; she didn't want to distract Kijewski from the meat of the message - "parents don't get sued if Romanova gets hurt and it makes whatever's wrong with him worse?" \n\n
16 Anne Wright Of course not. 59 Anne Wright 0 5


Professor K

January 05, 2007 9:07 PM

Sorry for the delay...(Tag:Mika) by Professor K

Kiva watched Anne for a moment. The fourth year seemed slightly nervous or uncertain at the moment and Kiva had no idea as to why. Since Kiva started working here, she has done her best to be the type of professor the students would feel comfortable talking with. Whether they saw her as that was another question entirely.

She listened intently as Anne began to speak. However, the moment Mika'el was mentioned and was claimed to be a 'potential problem' a visible frown formed at the corners of her mouth. By the time Anne had finished, the frown had deepened and Kiva's brows joined in on the frowning. She sat there quietly for a moment, with her eyes closed and her index and thumb pinching the bridge of her nose as she thought of how to go about this.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, Kiva opened her eyes and looked at Anne. Hand dropping at her sigh, Kiva pressed a small smile onto her face. "Anne, muggle or magical, there will always be laws against discrimination of any kind. And no matter how you say it, what you are asking is exactly what you're trying to keep from doing. Pointing out that Mika'el has a disablilty and asking such a thing is discriminating against Mika'el." Kiva stated, her voice was still soft, but there was also a hint of strain behind it.

"Every student who signs that piece of paper is agreeing to the terms of Quidditch. Including the fact that they are more than liking to get injured while playing." Kiva said before taking a breath. "Mika'el has an issue with his legs, but that won't prevent him from being able to fly or use his arms. There is no real reason for why he shouldn't be able to play and have the same opportunities as his classmates." This time, her voice was firm with her words. She wouldn't allow Anne to just disgard Mika'el simply because she didn't like the idea that the boy was in a wheel chair.

Picking up a quill, Kiva jotted down a note, folded it, and called over her cat. Attaching the note to Ria, Kiva whispered words to the cat. Ria trotted to the door and left when Kiva magically opened it with her wand. "I understand your concern Anne and don't blame you for worrying about it. But, I think this will best be solved if we have a discussion involving Mika'el." Kiva glanced at the door for a moment before returning her gaze to Anne. "Ria went to fetch him now, but it might be a few minutes."

OOC: For Mika, the note read:

Mika'el,

Please come to my office immediately. We have to have a discussion about Quidditch.

Professor Kijewski\n\n
0 Professor K Sorry for the delay...(Tag:Mika) 0 Professor K 0 5


Mika

January 06, 2007 12:17 AM

D'oh by Mika

Mika had been unshocked at the note. He had suspected someone would object to his playing Quiddich. Of course, he had expected it to be the healer. He hadn't seemed keen on the idea. Mika knew he looked... well, was... a but frail. He did tend to bruise rather easily. His bones didn't break any easier than any other child's though. And his head was just as hard. Sure his knees, and hips were easy to dislocate, but he was at risk for that stepping out of the shower. And it hurt worse than anything in the world... but it wasn't serious. His mother didn't really want him to play. But he did really care. Usually he respected his mother, but in this, she was just being... silly.

Mika had been sitting on his bed playing his cello when he had received the note. Considering his physical abilities were apt to be the subject of the conversation, he decided it was best to put his best foot forward, literally. He picked his crutches up from the floor, and stood carefully, before limping to his HOH's office. It was slow going, especially down the stairs, but the only way he would ever walk with more strength and speed was to keep doing it. Even if it was currently slow and hobbling.

It was more than a few minutes when he finally knocked on the door, standing as straight as he could for having most of his weight on the armcanes. He had been playing over in his head all the various arguments for why he should be given a chance.

The moment the door was open and he made eye contact with Professor K, not even noticing someone else in the room, and before anyone had a chance to say anything; Mika tilted his chin up, jaw set, all he needed was floppy ears and a tail and he would have been a stubborn donkey digging its hooves in.

"I am more strong than I appear! My hand-eye coordination is excellent. I am light and fast. If there was ever a sport that was meant for people in wheelchairs it is quiddich! If paraplegics can play rugby I most certainly can play quiddich!"

His pale face went a little red, especially once he realized there was someone else in the room, but he kept his stance, though he did push his glasses up on his nose nervously. He didn't raise his voice at all, but spoke determinedly.\n\n
0 Mika D'oh 0 Mika 0 5


Anne Wright

January 06, 2007 1:19 AM

This is the part where I try to play nice. by Anne Wright

Anne's usual reaction to an angry teacher - and she was pretty sure that Kijewski fit the bill just now - was to be scared out of her wits. Teachers, after all, were the ultimate authority figures, higher than parents, who were easy to manipulate, or aunts and uncles, who were an underhanded variant on the usual hostile forces. When Kijewski started talking, the dread she usually reserved for her aunts hit on cue, but was quickly curbed by something else: resentment.

She had been trying to do the right thing and keep everyone happy, and all that had gotten her was being turned into a bigoted villainess. Kijewski wasn't the first person to form an opinion about her that she didn't agree with - Kijewski wasn't even the first adult to form an opinion about her that she didn't agree with, come to that - but she was the first one to do it when what Anne had been trying to do was make things better instead of worse. If trying to do something right got her in trouble just like doing something wrong, then what was the point of doing anything right?

Other, of course, than being a certifiable member of the Do No Wrong Before Thy Teachers Nerd Society whose life could be ruined in three sentences from the woman in front of her to Amy Fox. There was always that. The resentment took on a tinge of desperation. Geoff had always said her worst trait was trying too hard to present herself well, and she had a feeling she was about to prove him right. She hated proving Geoff right, but some recessive trait passed down through Aladrens wouldn't let her let it go.

"I'm very sorry, Professor," she said, her voice not quite picking up the meek tone she was trying to insert. It sounded tight, even strained, but meek and favor-seeking barely crept in. "If anything I've said or done offended you or caused you to think - um - bad of me." That was one way to put it. "For the record, I'm not anti-disabled-people or anti-anything-else. I mean, I know common sense says that if you sign up for a sport with metal balls, things can happen, but I didn't think a sheet of paper written by a fourteen-year-old without any outlining of the possible risks would count if it came right down to it." She made herself meet the professor's eyes.

"My uncles work with all these legal types. I'm a minor, so I don't think they could do too much to me personally, but my family'd lose everything if I took a gamble on a sign-up sheet being accepted as a contract and lost. I don't want to single - Mika'el? - out. That was never the idea. I just wanted some kind of reassurance that I'm not going to go home for Christmas and find out that some hotshot lawyer or whatever they're called talked his parents into going after mine because I didn't make accommodations."

And because this was the kind of thing the legal types went for: people who were in some way different who'd gone through something unpleasant at the hands, directly or indirectly, of someone else. Since the Wrights didn't have the kind of money necessary for shutting up anyone who challenged them, she had to be careful. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right, but she wasn't living in Utopia, either. "If it'll make things better, I could come up with something explaining the risks of Quidditch and have them all sign it..." She trailed off. It was a lost cause. "I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

The entrance of a kid she could only assume was Romanova kept her from having to embarrass herself further. She gave him a quick once-over as he began laying out his case for Kijewski. He had nerve, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If he was telling the truth about himself, then he might make a decent Chaser. Her standard was Zack, who was tiny even compared to his direct opponents, but she thought he was too tall for a Seeker, and definitely too light for a Beater. Maybe Keeper; that was relatively safe, as long as the Chasers and Beaters did their jobs and kept the Quaffle away from their own scoring area...

But she was getting ahead of herself. She was the captain right now, but she had no way of knowing if Kijewski was going to use this little misunderstanding to get her fired. It didn't seem likely - she'd only thought about reacting to Kijewski like she was one of her aunts, and the professor had never struck her as the type to harbor a vendetta towards Morgaine's entire family for something as trivial as what had happened the previous year - but it was a possibility. She gave the kid a small smile while she waited for Kijewski to do the honors and began pulling on the ends of her hair again. Hard.\n\n
16 Anne Wright This is the part where I try to play nice. 59 Anne Wright 0 5


Professor K

January 06, 2007 3:57 PM

At least be polite by Professor K

Kiva listened as Anne spoke. The entire time of the fourth years rant, Kiva never took her eyes off of the girl. Apparently, when Kiva had spoken, Anne either misinterpreted what she had said, or Kiva hadn't done a very good job of saying it in the first place. Kiva wouldn't be surprised if it had been the latter.

Kiva would have responded, to assure Anne that Kiva did not think anything terrible of the girl, but before she could even open her mouth, Mika'el had entered her office. His defiant words caused a small smile to form on Kiva's lips. Standing, Kiva held up a hand to calm him. "I never said you couldn't Mika'el. Please, have a seat." Kiva responded before turning away from Mika'el and returning her gaze to Anne.

"Anne, I never meant to imply that you thought that way. I was simply saying that by asking it of only one person, you are doing exactly what you don't want to do. If you ask it of everyone as well as continue to do so every year that you are a Captain, well, that's different. We'll discuss that a bit later though, alright?" Kiva asked the girl. Kiva kept herself from sighing. She never knew Quidditch would give her this much trouble.

"Anne Wright, I would like you to meet Mika'el Romanova. Mika'el, this is Anne, the Captain of our Quidditch team." Kiva introduced the two of them. She walked around her desk and rested on the edge of it infront of her two students. "Mika'el, Anne would like to talk to you about Quidditch and just how dangerous it can be for someone in your position. We need to know that this is something that won't cause Anne or the school any heartache in the long run."\n\n
0 Professor K At least be polite 0 Professor K 0 5


Mika

January 07, 2007 12:48 AM

Which Position Would That be? by Mika

Mika glanced at Anne and nodded to her briefly. The remaining faint stain of pink on his cheeks a bit obvious on his pale skin. He refused to apologize for his little... statement. He knew he was right. Still, despite a slightly rebellious streak, he generally was an 'obey the rules' and 'respect your elders' kind of guy, so the urge continued. He ignored it though and limped further into the office, lowering himself slowly into the offered chair and laying his crutches besides him.

He listened to Professor K speak, frowning a bit, concentrating very hard to catch every word and be sure he understand the literal as well as the meaning behind the words. Because he was suspecting the latter was the more important. She was doing a rather lovely tap-dance around the issues. Her point was that he was a cripple and quiddich was a sport and sports and crips don't generally mix.

It was on the very tip of his tongue to ask which position she was referring to as his, keeper, seeker, chaser, or beater, but he suspected that she would take him literally and think he had actually misunderstood. Besides, he had already made his thoughts clear on the issue, sarcasm wouldn't help.

The truth was, Mika was often sarcastic and biting as a defense. His tongue had been legendary at his yeshiva back in Israel. This whole situation made him uncomfortable. It made him doubt his own abilities, what few he had. There was nothing he hated more than doubting himself. It was hard enough when everyone assume you were helpless at best, and mentally as well as physically feeble at worst. When you started to feel that way yourself... well Mika flat out hated it.

He was quiet for a long moment, lips pressed together tightly in thought and concentration. His posture would have made any etiquette teacher proud. When he spoke, his voice was its usual quiet and reserved tone. Calm and thoughtful, his eyes often on his hands but glancing at both Anne and the Prof as he spoke.

"My position?" he raised his eyebrow slightly. "Because I am disabled, you mean? Quiddich will not kill me. At least, it is no more likely to do so than any other who is to play this activity. It is only my legs that cause me problem." he shrugged. "But it is not life threatening to have a joint that is dislocated. Trust me. Many times I had have this happen." Mika was picking his words carefully, he knew they still weren't coming out as perfectly as he wanted them to be. English was annoyingly complicated. Especially since this was outside the kind of thing our average language lesson taught.

"So often, to fact, that I can pop my knees back in on my own." The only thing worse than popping his own knees back into joint was when he dislocated a hip. Which was thankfully rare. "I can handle much pain. I am, I think, far more likely to be able to stay on my broom even when badly hurt, than most people, should it come up." He wasn't trying to brag, it was just true. Dislocations, especially knees and hips, were horribly painful.

"Bigger a threat to my health would be to be playing in rain and wet and cold." he smiled slightly, "But this is Arizona. I do not think this shall be an issue."

Mika stopped and looked at both of them, squarely. "I may simply not be good enough for the team." He admitted with a shrug. "I have no idea of how good your other players are. But please, let me at least try."\n\n
0 Mika Which Position Would That be? 0 Mika 0 5


Anne Wright

January 12, 2007 8:50 PM

My turn to apologize for the delay... by Anne Wright

Anne didn't dare look straight at Kijewski when she went back to what had been on the table, veiling it, or so Anne assumed, for the kid's benefit. She was too worried that she'd look annoyed and have it misconstructed. It did not take a genius to work out why the professor was being so vague, and probably not too much intelligence to work out the gist of what had been said before, if not the details. Since she doubted Aladren had started accepting people because they wanted to be smart, she could probably add Romanova to the list of Housemates and teammates who wanted her dead for whatever reason.

At least there was a bright side. A first year wouldn't be a threat to her in and of himself, and Geoff's continued respiration meant that if people wanted her dead in a more literal sense than she thought, they weren't likely to act on their desires. She nodded once when Kijewski finished her spiel. "Yes, Professor," she said neutrally. What else was there to say?

She thought she did a fair enough job of keeping her expression neutral as Kijewski spoke to Romanova and Romanova spoke to them both. Against her will, she felt a grudging admiration for the kid's composure, especially in light of his rant of a few minutes earlier. Even more against her will, she felt kind of sorry for Kijewski. The woman had two defensive students on one awkward topic in one office with only herself to moderate. Anne wasn't the most imaginative of people, but she thought she could see how nightmarish the situation would be.

She clasped her hands together and looked at Romanova and Romanova alone when he fell silent. They had, as far as she was concerned, entered the realm of team business, which meant, to her, her business. Kijewski was legal counsel, not a team member. "Well," she said, trying to speak clearly and hoping he would understand what she was saying in spite of the accent and off syntax, "the team is good. Very good. All of the older players chose to stay on the team this year, so you'll be a reserve. That means you'll be part of the team, practice with the rest of us, and go play if someone on the first string gets hurt before or during a game."

Not what he'd wanted, if she knew anything about how people worked, but it would have to do. She wasn't going to toss people who'd stayed with her, some of them for four years, now, over the fence because Kijewski or anyone else thought she was being mean and/or unfair to the firstie. With the Lexi Staffords and Craven twins of the school still alive and kicking, the kid stood a decent chance of getting to play. Anne didn't like to think about anything happening to one of her players, but she wasn't stupid enough to think that everyone's luck would last forever.

And while she was on that mental note..."With Quidditch, you can have falls from pretty high up, high-impact Bludger hits, bruises, strains, sprains, fractured bones, shattered bones, concussions, elbowing, collisions, and, though I don't think this has happened in a few hundred years because of field medics, death, if you get bits of bone or bone marrow in your blood stream or get hit in the right part of your head or something like that. It's not a very forgiving game." It felt redundant to be saying all of this after his little speech, but contradicting Kijewski would be worse. She was in the middle, rank-wise, which meant juggling. She'd always been bad at juggling.

She had no idea what she was supposed to say, since announcing her desire to vanish on the spot would go against the accepted standards of her current social group. "The weather does have a tendency to be pretty rotten during matches," she said, internally wincing at the lameness of it. "No rain, though, at least not yet." Which wasn't to say that would continue; after her first year, she wasn't in the habit of ruling many things out as impossible.

"Anyway," she started to mumble before remembering that she was, at least for the kid, a leader-figure or something like that. "I - er, we - just wanted to be sure that you got how dangerous all this can be..." Was she quoting Kijewski?\n\n
16 Anne Wright My turn to apologize for the delay... 59 Anne Wright 0 5


Mika

January 15, 2007 5:04 PM

Sorry If It's Not My Turn by Mika

Mika frowned as the girl spoke. He was no idiot, he knew what quiddich was like. He bit his tongue literally to keep it from running away with him. If there was anything he hated more than people assuming he was too weak to do anything but sit around and look frail, it was when people assumed that his mind was equally weak. He was in Aladren, for Merlin's sake!

"Really?" He feigned incredulity, "Quiddich is dangerous?" Mika's sarcasm was obvious to anyone with half a brain. After he said it though, he pressed his lips tightly together to keep from saying anything else. A moment later he cleared his throat.

"I am sorry, that was uncalled for. I understand Quiddich is dangerous. That is the nature of the game. I do understand the mechanics of the game. I am not muggle born." Maybe that was the issue? Maybe she assumed he didn't know because he was from a muggle family? Mika decided to assume that was why she felt the need to explain the obvious. "Quiddich is as popular in the rest of the world as it is here." He added.

He glanced at the professor with a sigh. "If you will not let me play, there is little I can do about it, as I am sure you are capable of making it happen in a way that doesn't leave anyone legally culpable. Furthermore, even if you did not, I assure you my mother is more likely to thank you, than to sue you." His mother wouldn't deny him permission, he didn't think, but he knew full well she did not want him to play.

"I have no idea how to make more clear that I understand the risks as well as anyone else in this school or the wizarding world. If anything, I have a better understanding, because I know how badly it does hurt to have a serious injury. My mother is a healer. I understand the risks. It is unlikely to be issue with the weather." Further more, he was sure he wouldn't be excused from, say, Care of Magical Creatures, because it was cold and rainy out, for medical reasons.

"The only injury I am more susceptible to than anyone else is to have a dislocation. I have had many. It is probably less serious for me to have this, than a 'normal' player." How many more ways could he tell them that he understood quiddich was dangerous, and that he wasn't going to die from playing. At least no more so than anyone else.

"I do not want any special treatment. I do not expect to play if I am not talented enough. All I want is to be treated like anyone else who has been sign up to play. Because I am as capable on a broom as any wizard."

This conversation was getting redundant. Mika wished they'd just tell him that he wouldn't be allowed to play, or whatever, and have it done with so he could go be angry and frustrated in private. No matter what they said, he would play anyway, even if all he did was fly around the field chasing after a snitch or tossing around a quaffle.

He glanced back and forth between the other two in the room, looking just as stubborn and determined as when he came in. If someone who didn't know him had seen him sitting there, back straight, shoulders squared, head up, they would have never guessed he was in any way disabled. Skinny, yes, pale, yes, but crippled? No way.\n\n
0 Mika Sorry If It's Not My Turn 0 Mika 0 5


Professor K

January 17, 2007 10:52 PM

*Shrugs* I'm behind on a lot of things by Professor K

When Mika'el began to speak, Kiva moved back behind her desk and sat back down, watching the two students in front of her. Her eyes rested calmly onto Mika'el as he spoke of his disability. The corners of her mouth threatened to pull themselves in a manner of a frown.

She stayed quiet through the whole conversation. The team was completely up to Anne, Kiva would allow the girl to choose, in the end, whom would be the ones to go on the team. But, Kiva also wanted the fourth year to be fair and at least give Mika'el the chance. The best bet to do that, was at least to get the two of them talking. If nothing else, talking would open a few doors or windows for the two of them and a possible spot on the team next year if Anne was too worried about it this year.

By the end of the conversation, there was little else that Kiva could really contribute. She wanted to sigh, to rub her eyes, to hide her face in her hands, she wanted to do a million things to show how exhausting being a Professor really was. She didn't think she was built for such a career as this. Animals didn't need her to help make decisions. They didn't ask her for her opinions. There weren't so many rules to follow. She didn't have to worry about saying the wrong thing. Animals were simple. Children were complex.

"I have no qualms with you playing, Mika'el." Kiva stated slowly once the room had grown silent. "The team is completely up to Anne. She decides who is on it and who isn't. But I wanted the two of you to meet and talk. It's best to know everything than go on assumptions." Kiva clasped her hands together and stared down at them for a moment.

"Mika'el...about the weather..." Kiva started, looking up at him. "Though we are located in Arizona, the school itself has weather charms. In the winter, it snows, in the spring, it rains, and every other time of the year, it's hot, and dry. There is a slight possibility of playing in the cold and rainy. Just so you are aware." Kiva stated. She paused for a moment, looking between the two of them.

"Decisions don't have to be made any time soon. It's getting late. Unless any of you have anything to add, I'd say it was time to head off and get some rest." Kiva stood and moved away from her desk towards her door. "I want to thank you both for taking the time to talk to one another."\n\n
0 Professor K *Shrugs* I'm behind on a lot of things 0 Professor K 0 5