Redthorn Academy for the Magically Gifted discussion

((This is where students learn English))

Hearing a call from his classroom, Orion set down the books he was reorganizing and walked through the door from his personal office into the classroom. Seeing a female student with dirty blonde hair he was immediately reminded that he'd been asked to serve her detention. Clearing his throat to get her attention, he gave a stern look as he spoke. "Hello, you must be the Miss Ryder here in detention. I hear you had an altercation with another student? Care to tell me why you thought it necessary to attack the other student instead of using your words to come to terms with them?"

Mirroring her expression with a raised brow of his own, Orion uncrossed his arms and motions at a seat for her to sit. "Be that as it may, you can clearly see that it was not the proper action as it's only landed you in detention. Next time, perhaps walking away and finding a teacher would be better than fighting with the others. The principal gave me three hours to punish you as I saw fit, so I think a writing assignment will be in order." As he spoke he walked to his desk at the front of the room and collected a blank notebook and a blue pen.

"It's Orion Harris, and your assignment should be somewhat entertaining and insightful. I want you to write out in detail the events of today. I want you to take the time to write any minute detail that you can recall and any feelings that you felt. After you finish, I want you to flip the script and write the same account from the other person's view. How you think they felt and what you think they saw." Setting the notebook and pen down in front of her, Orion smiled gently. "This exercise will start to help you understand how your actions affect others around you just as much as their actions affect you."

Sitting down next to Elizabeth, Orion gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "I know it might be hard, but it's a good way to work through your emotions and reactions. Just try, you'd be surprised how eas writing down the events can be than having to tell someone directly." Thinking quickly, Orion decided to let her read a special passage that he had written himself about the events of his father's death, funeral, and absence over the first few months. The writings tell about how he himself reacted and felt during those times, and he thought perhaps it might help young Midd Ryder write her experience. He pulled the small leatherbound book out of his inside coat pocket and flipped to the correct page before holding it out to her.

Nodding his head, he held his hand out gently. "Do you mind if I read your paper? Maybe I can help give you insight or directive." As soon as he read the paper, however, his face twisted into anger. Schooling himself, he stood and motioned for Elizabeth to stand. "Did you tell the headmaster about this? We're going to them right now and taking care of this. The behavior of this young man is unacceptable and he should be the one being punished, not you."

Giving her a serious look, Orion placed his hands on her shoulders and bent a bit to look her directly in the eyes. "Elizabeth, we cannot let this go. If he said something to you, threatened you, you need to tell the principle. The faculty will not allow anything to happen to you, I can promise you that. Do you still want to keep this quiet?"

Following out of his classroom, Orion finds her quickly and knocks gently. "Elizabeth, will you let me in so we can talk. You don't have to be afraid, I won't say anything if you really don't want me to, but I can't leave you to suffer through this alone. I may not know exactly what you're going through, but I know how it is to feel alone. Please, talk to me. We can skip your detention and do something else. What do you like to do?" He didn't want to forget about what he'd found out and he didn't want to make it seem like he was glossing over it either. But he did want to help calm her and give her the opportunity to talk about other things to take her mind off the situation.

Seeing an opportunity to change the subject and allow Elizabeth to calm down, Orion smiled gently. "Really? I'm not much of an artist, but I can paint a picture with my words. Would you want to read one of my books? Do you like to read?" He placed his hand on the door, not pushing hard enough to throw it open, but enough to keep it where it was. "Or perhaps we should get you a towel and a change of clothes first? You look absolutely miserable."

Motioning for her to come out, Orion pulls his keys out of his pocket to unlock a nearby closet. Grabbing a mop and bucket, he rolled it over to be able to mop up the water, which was quickly spreading through the hallway and most likely the classroom Elizabeth was in. If you could shut off the water, that'd be nice. Don't want anyone to slip. I have hand-towels in a drawer near the chalkboard, so you could try to dry up with some of those." He soaked up some of the water with the mop then squeezed the water into the bucket using the cadillac on top.

"It's alright, I understand that it can hard to control your powers when you're young or emotionally distraught. I'm lucky to have a power that doesn't really do much, though there was a time that everything I read translated into German, which I can't actually read on my own." After cleaning up the mess, Orion placed some wet floor signs down and lead Elizabeth back to his classroom. He brought out some of the had towels so she could dry her hands and such a bit before he walked over to his shelf to find his book.

Handing her the book, he nods to it. Why don't you read the synopsis on the back?" On the back of the book, the words read
A Dystopian society where women have taken over and stored enough sperm to last millions of years. Scientists even figured out how to genetically engineer to make sure women always give birth to females. After giving birth privately in her home, Laila discovers something astonishing about her baby. It's a boy!

((This is actually a book that I want to write in real life.))

((Of course, I'd be glad to. Heck, you and I could turn our RP with Vaz and Lizzy into a book all on its own.))

"Of course you can borrow it, let me know what you think. It never really took off when I published it, so not many know about it." He noticed the shiver and frowned slightly as he worried for her. "Well, you can stay here and read until your 'detention' is over. I'll just grade some papers and essays while you read. I have other published and non-published works that you can borrow if you're interested. Take a look at my bookshelf over there, all of my work is there."

Glancing up at the sound of the book slamming shut, Orion placed his materials down to show that she had his full attention. "Do you want to talk about what you're feeling? I know I may not be the best person to talk to, but I'm willing to listen if you need." He laced his fingers and fixed Elizabeth his a calm but caring gaze.

"Elizabeth, I know that what you went through can't have been easy, but there's no reason for you to feel like crap. It's the young man who did you wrong, you did not bring it on yourself. My offer to take this to the principal still stands, I'd hate to see you hurt due to another student's selfish actions." His hazel eyes remained calm and caring throughout his little speech, he meant what he said and he wished he could do something to help this student.

Lowering his hands, Orion gave her a stern, serious look. "I meant what I said, I will not tell the principal without your consent. I don't want to force you to talk about your experience unless you feel comfortable." His face softened as he paused and a contemplative look popped up. "Would you rather speak to a female teacher about all this? I know I must be hard to relate to." Trying to calm the situation and keep Elizabeth content and unfocused on her anger, he pondered out loud to her. "You're not in my class this year, are you? Do you plan to take English next year?"

((That'd be really cool and sweet.))

"Of course the principal should know, he'll need to punish the student and inform his parents. Sexual assault is a serious offense and police might even become involved if you choose to pursue legal action. And don't worry about any intimidation on the boy's part, I'll make sure you're safe." He mirrored her smile and motioned her to follow him as he stood. "We can go right now if you want?"

Noticing her fear and hesitation, Orion slowed his pace and wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. "Of course he's nice, he's the principal of a school after all. He cares deeply about all his students just like I do. He'll want to do something about what happened to you, you'll see. I'll be there with you the whole time, I promise."

"Of course I'll help you. I'll be right next to you and if you need help just tell me." Giving her shoulder a firm grip, he nodded and stood with her outside the principal's office to give her time to ready herself. "Remember, I'm right next to you and I'll do everything I can to help you. Are you ready?" He paused with his hand raised to knock on the door.

"Actually principal, I'm here with Miss Ryder to speak to you about the occurrences today. Miss Ryder has disclosed to me that she fought with Ryan because he sexually assaulted Elizabeth. I believe her, so I wish to pursue Mister Ryan for his actions." Orion spoke with firmness and finality, and the whole time he kept a comforting arm around Elizabeth's shoulder. He nudged her lightly to step forward and speak with the principal as he finished speaking.

Gripping her shoulder comfortingly, he spoke softly. "You don't have to tell us exact details, but we need to know general things. Just do your best to give details, we can pull up security camera footage as well." He felt anger at the way she was treated prickling at the edge of his mind, but he pushed it aside so as not to scare the already frightened girl. "You said he threatened you, correct? What exactly did he say?"

Kneeling down quickly, Orion pulled her into a hug and shushed her. "It's okay, Elizabeth, you're alight. Nothing's going to happen to you now and we'll make sure Ryan is punished for his actions." He ran his hand over her head and felt his heart ache for the poor girl, glancing at the principal to give him a pained look. The principal immediately nodded and spoke firmly. "Mr. Harris is correct, we won't let this go and you will not be harmed for coming forward. It was very brave of you to speak about what happened and I'm so sorry about what happened to you, young lady."

Nodding his head, he remained where he was and let Elizabeth pull away first. Once she did he stood up slowly and smiled gently. "You did very well, you were brave. Come on, let's get you cleaned up and back to your dorm." He considered for a moment what to do about Ryan's threats to her, and decided to give her some options. "Miss Ryder, I want to make sure your safe, so if you'd like I can give you my personal cell phone number in case of emergencies. I'd also like to see you in my creative writing club after school on Wednesdays and Fridays, if you'd like?"

"I have a few students in my club, and I hope you'll at least consider joining." He pulled his phone out to give her his number when he noticed the cloud. At her comment and smirked and patted her shoulder. "It's alright Elizabeth, you'll get the hang of it over time. Now, shall we exchange phone numbers to keep in touch?"

After adding his number to her phone and hers to his he handed it back to her and nodded in agreement. It had been a long, stressful day and he could tell Elizabeth didn't exactly want to leave just yet. "Well, we write. One of my members is writing a science fiction mystery novel and everyone else helps her with proofreading and plot elements and flow and such. I have a young man who loves to write poetry and read them to the class. Another girl is working on her second book and the last girl just loves to keep up with everyone's progress and give insight and advice. We have competitions sometimes where I'll give them a topic and they'll have 60 minutes to write a short story about it. Then we give copies to all the teachers on campus and have them vote for their favorite story. Whoever wins gets a prize, sometimes a candy bar, sometimes a movie ticket of their choice, it all depends. Sound interesting to you?"

He raised a brow and nudged her gently with an elbow. "Hey, if something's bothering you, you can talk to me. I don't want you to leave things to fester, it's not healthy for you. Besides, maybe opening up about your feelings will help you control your powers."

"You don't have to be scared, nothing's going to happen to you. I'll make sure you're safe. You have my number, and you know where to find me. I will always be there if you need me." He wrapped his arm around her to pull her into a side hug. He felt terrible for the way she was feeling and what she went through, but he knew that he couldn't change the past or make her feel any better.

He gave her shoulder another squeeze and smiled gently. "If it had been Ryan then he would have deserved it. Just remember Elizabeth, violence should always be a last resort, and you should never do more than necessary to get away from your aggressor. There's a line where self-defense becomes assault, and it's best not to cross that line or else you might be getting in trouble alongside the original perpetrator." He stopped walking as they finally made it to the Venti dorm, and opened the door for Elizabeth. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything, and hopefully I'll see you at the next creative writing club meeting?"

After waiting to make sure Elizabeth had gone inside, Orion turned and made his way back to his classroom. He gathered all his papers and walked to his home on campus. It was a small suite, as he lived alone, in the teacher's dorm. He felt anxious and restless all night as he tried to grade papers, make dinner and sleep. He eyed his phone for a moment as he tossed and turned in bed, noting the time as only 8:20. He eventually fell asleep and woke up to his alarm, groggy and bleary-eyed. After he got ready for the morning he decided to take his papers to the break room and try to grade them there, as well as get some coffee. He could tell this was going to be a long day. He couldn't wait for the club meeting after school, it would give him a chance to check on Elizabeth and possibly help her make some friends. The kids in his club were all very nice and he was sure they'd welcome her gladly.

((Sure, sounds good. It'll free up space for other to RP.))