Paul Simon
September 17, 2009 10:00 AM
No kidding?! (tag: Headmistress) by Paul Simon
Most of Simon's muggle mail went to the California Pierce PO Box first, then one of his family would go through it, and distribute the letters into one of three piles. Only one of those did Simon ever see. They would be forwarded by owl to Sonora, but most of the California clan would know their contents before he did. The Pierces did not grasp the concept of privacy.The first set was financial; bills and paychecks. They went to the Pierce booking office where Maria either deposited the check into the Pierce account or paid the bill, and marked the contribution or deduction to Simon's name. With the college loans paid off, and his room and board provided by the school, his cash flow was now well into the black, and rivaled the income of all four of the Nowhere Men put together. He was, after all, working four jobs to their one each.
The second pile of letters that Simon never saw was junk. That got recycled. Sometimes, Simon got a letter telling him what had been tossed, if anything was particularly interesting. These, in addition to advertisements, credit card applications, and attempts to get him to change where he was getting his car insurance - one of the minivans might have technically been in his name - also included rejection letters if Simon had been to any auditions lately.
Everything else got bundled together, tied to the leg of the strongest of the Pierce owls, and came winging across the desert to reach the magical school in Arizona where Simon spent most of his time.
Today's package of muggle mail reached him about an hour before dinner. He was overseeing the elves as they did something with the hedges. It was after five - as long as they weren't blowing up the weather charms again, he didn't particularly care what they were doing exactly - but it was a nice spring day, with just a hint of the approaching summer in the air, and he didn't feel like going inside yet.
He waved at the elves and encouraged, "Carry on without me," and took the bundle over to one of the garden benches and started going through the letters.
The one on top had his father's handwriting on it - "Congratulations!" - so Simon checked the return address (the Golden Dice Casino) and felt a sense of bemused curiosity instead the worried apprehension that an unprecedented letter from his boss there might have normally invoked.
The more he read of the letter, though, the more the feeling changed to astonished disbelief. He had to read it twice to be sure he wasn't imagining the whole thing. Then he jabbed himself with the tip of his wand, but he still didn't wake up.
Reaching the conclusion this was really happening, he stood up and walked toward the school building, still looking and feeling a little dazed. The letter hung loosely between his fingers, but the rest of the bundle lay forgotten on the bench he'd vacated.
His feet took him down the Hall of Plants to the Headmistress's office. He knocked once and entered, unsure if he'd been invited in or not. His brain was still going over the words in the letter, rather than paying any attention to what was going on around him. It felt like a dream, except he'd already determined it wasn't.
"Headmistress?" he asked, making himself focus on her. He held up the letter. "I was offered a full time position as a stage magician. Two shows a day, private parties, that kind of thing. They're going to put me up in a room in the Casino's hotel. I think I have to tender my resignation, effective the end of the school year." He blinked a few times and the stunned fog began to clear. "My family and I are still available for hire for midsummer events, of course."
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No kidding?! (tag: Headmistress)
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Headmistress Powell
September 20, 2009 7:35 AM
Good news is sad news by Headmistress Powell
Today was one of those rare, blissfully quiet days. No meetings, no important paperwork with impossible deadlines; the Headmistress was enjoying it immensly. While students were in classes or commons and the halls were quiet, Sadi was passing the time by proof-reading a manuscript: her husband's new book, entitled 'Sticks and Stones can Heal my Bones, detailed healing using natural subtances (bark, crystals, etc) and a little magic. She'd just reached the end of the chapter on runic healing (with a few minor alterations made here and there), when a knock sounded at her door. Pushing the manuscript aside, Sadi opened her mouth to ask her visitor to enter, when he did so of his own accord, anyway.Simon Tellerman looked a little distracted. Sadi stood and walked round her desk to greet him, with half a mind to ask immediately what was wrong, and she was presented with a letter. She didn't need to read it; the groundskeeper explained the situation succinctly. It took Sadi a moment or two to react, but when she did it was with a smile. "Congratulations," she said to him. "It sounds like a fantastic opportunity." Sadi sat in one of the more comfortable chairs away from her desk, and indicated for Simon to do the same. "Of course you'll be very much missed here, by staff and students."
"I'll need your official resignation in writing," she said after a pause. It had been the third time this year she'd had to ask that of staff who'd been serving the school far longer than Sadi had herself. She knew they would all go on to fantastic futures: Kiva with Emery, Amy with her Quidditch, and Simon with his casino career. Of course Sadi - and Sonora - would be sad to see them go.
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Good news is sad news
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