sarah grant 🇺🇸 [steve rogers] (charcoal) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2019-01-28 16:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, * jeanne, c: thomas corvin, r * laura, r: sarah grant |
WHO: Sarah Grant & Thomas Corvin
WHEN: Friday, Jan 25
WHERE: Dunhaven High!
SUMMARY: Some of Steve bleeds over into Sarah, and then Sarah makes a new friend.
WARNINGS: Naaaah.
Her mind was still caught up in the dream she’d had that night (an enormous battle on open fields and in lush jungle, one she knew they’d lose in the end), so Sarah’s attention span was a bit scattered once she got to school. It remained that way all morning, despite her best efforts otherwise. She’d brewed a calming tea during a break between classes, hoping that would help settle her mind (it usually did), but she was still jittery. And to think, she hadn’t even had any coffee. After the final bell rang, Sarah cleared all of her students out of her classroom and headed for the library to tell Margaret that she was staying late that day to help a student out with a project she’d been struggling with. Students milled about here and there, catching up with their friends before leaving for the day, and as she passed by a gaggle of sixteen year old girls, she overheard them making fun of another student -- in French. Without hesitation, Sarah turned. “Should I tell Ms. Amin this is what you’re doing with what she’s taught you?” she scolded them in perfectly accented French. “I don’t want to hear this sort of language from any of you again. You know better.” -- Though Thomas had been at Dunhaven High School for nearly a month now, he was definitely still learning the names and faces of some of the staff. There were a few that he interacted with more regularly, yes, and those names he knew- as well as his students, with those who had made a name for themselves (good or bad) sticking in his memory quite quickly. But this face- and voice- wasn't as familiar, even though he was certain he'd been introduced to her at one point or another during his orientation. He recognized the language, though only caught a word or two- certainly not enough to convey the meaning, though her tone was a decent clue. As were the students' faces, when they realized that they'd been caught at… whatever it was they'd been doing wrong. (Thomas, eyes scanning the science non-fiction shelves, hadn't noticed their indiscretion.) There were quick utterances of apologies- to the teacher- and the shuffling of books and papers as the guilty parties made their way hastily from the library. Grabbing two volumes of interest off the shelf, Thomas offered his fellow faculty a smile. "Nice trick, that one. Let me guess, French teacher?" -- Startled, Sarah flinched, and then relaxed the moment she looked in the direction of the voice and saw the new physics teacher there. She’d been so focused on the students that she hadn’t even realized anyone was around -- and why did he ask if she was the French teacher? “Um.” Sarah squinted a little at him, trying to figure out why he would’ve thought that. “No, art teacher, actually. I’m Sarah --” And it was then, as she was holding out her hand in greeting, that she remembered that the kids had been speaking French to each other and she’d understood every word. She’d studied Italian in high school and college, but she didn’t remember much of that anymore, even though she’d studied abroad for a semester. She cleared her throat. “Sarah Grant.” -- Thomas shifted the books to one side, holding them with an arm so he could extend his other hand and shake hers in the offered greeting. "Thomas Corvin," he introduced himself- perhaps unnecessarily, but just in case, adding, "the new physics teacher. Nice to meet you. Or- maybe re-meet you, and if so, sorry. I've had a pretty whirlwind few weeks getting settled in here." -- “Hey, no worries. You’ve had a busy time. New coworkers and new students to remember? That’d be a lot for everyone.” Sarah wondered how much he knew about the town. Had anyone warned him about its eccentricities? Or had he found out himself, first hand? He’d figure it out soon enough if he spent any time on the network, but if he wasn’t having dreams himself, there was always a chance he’d write them all off as crazy. The transition hadn’t been easy for her; the last thing she wanted was for someone else to feel alone. “Are you brand new to Dunhaven, too?” -- There was always that initial 'getting to know you' period at the beginning of each year, as new students came and went from one grade to another, but coming to a new school system meant that whole thing started over again from zero. So Thomas could agree, with an easy nod, that it was still a work in progress. "I am," Thomas replied. "Grew up in St Louis, but I moved to DC ten years ago for college. My wife's a DC native, though, so we decided to stay in the area. You?" -- He was in for one hell of a ride, Sarah thought. Dunhaven really should have come with a warning label: move in at your own risk. “Oh, so you’re not too far from familiarity,” she commented with a smile. “I’m from New York City. Brooklyn, to be exact. But I’ve been here for a few years now. Loved it so much two of my sisters ended up moving here, too.” Well, what was closer to the truth was that they’d loved it so much that they’d stayed, but it was close enough. Sarah decided to poke at the elephant in the room cautiously and ask a fairly mild question - but one that might open the door. “How are you liking it so far?” -- "I've only been to New York once," Thomas admitted, somewhat ruefully, "but it's a great city. Even though I'm sure I mostly saw the parts that were sanitized for tourists." Still, he'd enjoyed it, and he'd visit again if given the chance (or an excuse) to do so. "Only child, here. I've been trying to get my parents to move out east, but they're fairly settled in their midwestern ways." He shook his head, though he was still smiling. "They still live in the house I grew up in." He didn't have to hesitate, though, when asked about Dunhaven. "I like it, so far. It's a… nice change of pace, from the pressure and society of DC. My wife and I just closed on our house… last week? I think it was last week. The days and the paperwork all blurs together, after a while." -- Sarah’s smile widened as he began to describe what he liked. She’d been drawn to the slow pace, too, in contrast to New York, where life had flashed by. (The chance to actually teach was nice, too. It’s been hard to find a job in the city, and afford rent.) “Congratulations are in order, in that case. I really liked how different life is here, too. There’s a real community. That’s hard to find in bigger cities sometimes. Everyone’s caught up in their own lives…” Well, he knew how that was. “Maybe you and your wife could come over to ours for dinner soon? My girlfriend, Margaret, she’s the librarian.” -- "Too caught up, in my experience," Thomas offered, somewhat ruefully, shaking his head. Though he had made wonderful memories in DC, there had been some truly awful ones, too. He desperately wanted Dunhaven to be different. At the offered invitation, however, his smile was back in earnest. "That'd be great, actually. So long as you allow my wife to bring the dessert. She's a baker," he added, by way of explanation. -- Sarah grinned. “We’re definitely not going to say no to that.” Any chance Sarah got to support someone’s creativity and talent, she was all in. She’d discovered a while ago that it was a good way to make a friend or two, and good bakers were artists in their own right. It was entirely possible she’d have plenty in common with his wife. “Let me get with Margaret and I’ll let you know when’s good for us, okay? Are either of you vegetarian? Vegan?” For a second, Sarah worried she sounded overeager, but she pushed past it. “Allergic to anything?” -- "No, we're omnivores both," Thomas replied, grinning a bit- though he was glad at the forethought Sarah had showed in the asking. Couldn't be too safe, he supposed. He reconsidered, just for a moment, then added, "But no grapefruit. Not that I expect it would come up as a dinner option, but Calliope can't stand it." And, of course, he'd return the courtesy in asking, "Any flavors to favor or avoid, dessert-wise, before I let Calliope's creativity take over?" -- “No grapefruit. Got it.” Sarah didn’t think that would’ve popped up, either, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “I just didn’t want to end up serving cilantro to someone who thinks it tastes like soap, you know. So I thought I’d ask. We’re pretty flexible about dessert, honestly. I’ll try anything.” Within reason, of course, although Sarah couldn’t imagine too many completely off-the-wall dessert ideas that would end up disgusting. She liked being surprised by something she didn’t think would work, but did. “Margaret’s favourite is tiramisu, though. If that helps.” -- "So far as I know, cilantro isn't soap-like for us," he added with a faint laugh. That was one of those weird physiology things- he'd heard of it before, though of course hadn't experienced it for himself. "Tiramisu is a great choice," he nodded his agreement. "I'm fairly certain Calliope has made tiramisu cupcakes before, but even if not, she's always trying new things. She likes to experiment. I don't have nearly that kind of imagination. Facts and figures, things that are easily defined and replicated." -- Sarah grinned. “You’ll get along with Margaret, in that case. I’m a little more free-flowing than she is.” That wasn’t to say Margaret was all stiff upper lip, of course. But Sarah was the artist; she was the one who was more likely to experiment with something on a regular basis. “Although I would say that baking’s pretty mathematical when you get down to it. You mess up those measurements or the temperature or the time, and it throws the whole thing off.” She stole a glance at the clock on the wall. “I should probably run. I was hoping to catch her before I tutor some kids in a bit. But it was really good to meet, officially.” She meant that, genuinely. She’d never worked with a more passionate and dedicated group of teachers before. And the fact that they were all able to get along outside of the classroom, too, meant a lot for morale. -- "Maybe I should clarify, then, that I'm good with numbers on paper," Thomas added, "the… practical application of such measurements and timing, maybe not as much." The kitchen, and all that entailed, was entirely Calliope's domain- by her own choice. He could assist when given very specific directions, but otherwise, it was probably best for everyone involved that he remained well clear of it. A nod, then, and Thomas moved out of the way- just in case he might have been blocking the path toward the library's exit. "You, too, Sarah. I look forward to meeting Margaret, as well." -- “Ha. Well, we can’t be good at everything,” she teased. Sarah understood -- at least a little. She was better in the abstract than with specifics (though there was plenty of specific measurements in art, too, if one wanted to get their dimensions right). There’d been something so normal about talking to Thomas that Sarah had completely forgotten about her earlier mishap until she was giving him a wave goodbye. Dunhaven was such a funny little town; she hoped that it wouldn’t scare him off once he realized what was going on. It would have thrown Sarah more for a loop if she hadn’t already been entrenched in the town. “See you around.” |