Meeting after class

[Dylan Cooper]

Asked to stay behind after Ancient Runes class, he thought back on the lesson. There wasn’t really much to think about, considering how out of it he’d been. He thoroughly expected to be harassed for information as to why he and D’rorah had taken so long to return, and why he was naive enough to slack off in Professor Choi’s class. Standing in her office, he didn’t believe he would maintain his cool if she put on a performance similar to the last time he had been present in her office.

Recalling it, he knew that he'd lost his temper quite easily. Normally he was reserved, calm and cool, but his anger had risen to the surface easily. Having been distraught about the recent news of the death of his foster father, someone with whom he had a very close relationship, he had by no means been in the mood for the interrogation Janet had provided.

Standing idly, waiting for what was to come and turning the events, or non-events, rather, of the last lesson over in his mind, he shuffled slightly. Playing with his hair lightly, in the form of ruffling, he waited.

[janet]

Janet was aware of the students leaving her class in groups and sensed Dylan staying behind, standing a few feet in front of her. She took a few moments to finish some notes before glancing around the room to assure that Dylan was the only student left in the classroom. With a lazy wave of her hand, she brought a chair out from behind one of the desks to sit on the other side of hr desk, a couple feet away from Dylan. She gestured for him to sit before pushing her notes aside and pulling out his untouched manuscript from her stack of homeworks. Janet said nothing for a moment, merely stared at the blank parchment like an interesting insect.

"To state the obvious would waste our time. My rules allow for late work in extreme circumstances, and the recent death of your stepfather qualifies. I put no time limit on grief since I cannot determine the closeness of any student's relationship. Although the longer you keep away from the work the harder it will be to catch up, as I'm sure you understand," she said crisply, but not unkindly, as she gingerly placed his untouched homework in the trash.

"We shall pretend that doesn't exist," she said with an odd smile. Her face became blank again however, as she clearly prepared to switch topics. Janet folded her hands neatly in front of her to indicate this, her eyes scanning Dylan's face for signs of hostility before beginning.

"Mister Cooper, I could not help but notice you arrived later than was expected. As your head of house, this falls under my jurisdiction. This is not acceptable, and if you ever plan to be late I expect an advanced notice." Janet's face softened a bit as she leaned back in her chair.

"However, funerals do not make people run a tight ship, so it would be cruel for me to punish you. But you must understand that recent circumstances have made delayed arrivals cause more worry than normal. And while I am not trying to pry, it is required by the Headmistress that I explain why you and Miss Philosophy were late." Janet raised her eyebrows, waiting for Dylan's answer as she examined her cuticles in the afternoon sun. She stared at him with mild interest as she brought out a nail file.

[Dylan Cooper]

Not seeing what point he would make in refusing to do so, he sluggishly took the seat she offered. His gaze focused on the lower half of the front of her desk, he barely managed to absorb her words. Noting that she placed something in the trash, he could only assume it was his untouched work. Given the current state of his mind, however, he may simply have completely missed something. Her words would indicate otherwise, but who knew? He certainly didn’t; he was lost in deep thought.

Having expected it, he momentarily drew himself out of a deep stupour at her next comments. Waiting for her to finish, he felt too exhausted to really be angry. “Firstly, I by no means planned to be delayed in my return. Believe me, I neither chose my means of delay, nor did I appreciate them,” he said sourly, recalling exactly what had kept the couple from returning when they had been expected. His voice was relatively weak but held it’s own due to the conviction he felt behind his words.

Noting the recently-acquired presence of a nail file, he raised a disapproving eyebrow. Perhaps it was not pertinent to berate a professor, however. Choosing his words as carefully as was possible given his currently limited brain capacity, he spoke once more. “D’rorah and I were held up by a difficulty in my home town,” he said in a relatively evasive manner. He assumed that neither she nor the Headmistress would accept the bare minimum, however. “A member of the town has never perceived me as more than… bait,” he commented grudgingly, luckily too weary to be embarrassed. “I was physically incapacitated for numerous days and required rest and recovery on doctor’s orders. Is that a good enough explanation for the Headmistress?” he finished, not quite up to adding in a small little sarcastic saying while mentioning LaPointe.