Friday - 9/14/07 Who: Olivia and Simon When: Thursday Afternoon Where: Olivia's office What: Olivia meets with her second student charge.
One would think that the second meeting of the day would be far less nerve wracking than the first. And one would be wrong. It wasn't just a matter of getting her feet wet that had Olivia completely stressed out about this job, it was the fear of not being liked and not being accepted that really tried her nerves. And even though things had gone well enough in the morning, this was a completely different student who may be completely different in nature. And that was simply terrifying!
Simon Curtis sounded like a nice enough boy on paper. He was from the states, had lost his father (There was a similarity again.), and his mother was in an institution. Fire was his element, which she knew precious little about, but he was raised in a very religious household, something else that they would have in common. He too was a transfer from Halcyon, just as Ita had been, and as were many of the students this semester. And that probably made her all the more nervous simply because sometimes people rejected change and he could have been one of those boys.
Similar to this morning, she was at her desk waiting for the clock to hit three. She was on her feet and at the door the moment that his hand had touched the wood, her acute hearing having clued her in to his approach. This time, she didn't forget the introduction. "Olivia Albright!" She extended her hand towards him. "You must be Simon. It's simply lovely to meet you. Please, come in, have a seat. We'll just have a spot of a chat and you can be on your way. Sound good?"