Wednesday - 10/10/07 Who: Jin-Sang and Tatienne When: Evening Where: The pool room What: Mathieu would like swimming lessons.
Mathieu did not speak often, and because of that, when he did speak, Tatienne listened. This did not mean, however, that she always liked what she heard. And when the boy requested to go swimming, well, that didn't please her at all. For one, being part fire demon, being a Laroque, she didn't care for water. And for two, the fear of drowning, even if she couldn't remember what her mother had done, was strong within her, and that wasn't likely to ever subside. It had taken her years upon years to become okay with taking a shower without throwing a tantrum about it. A bath was still out of the question. So swimming... That was a path down which she would not travel.
But because she disliked something didn't automatically mean that Matthieu should be denied it. If he wanted something, he should have it. And it really was a simple request. And the happier she made the child, the more likely it would be that he would come out of his shell and actually start to learn and grow. She would do anything to increase his worth, for one, and for two, she would do anything simply because she loved him.
It was this unconditional love that she felt for a child that wasn't even biologically her own that drove her to be in the one place that she feared more than any other place upon this campus, chapels included, the pool room. The heels of her shoes upon her dainty feet echoed off of the walls in a way that was completely ominous to her, and every hair upon her body stood on edge as she crossed over to the adjacent office and knocked softly upon the open door.
"Professor Connor?" Her accent was thick and distinctly French for anyone that knew anything of the language. "Have you a moment?" She would not interrupt him if he were busy, of course she would much rather get this done and over with so that she may not have to come here again.