Quentin Coldwater (magicianking) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-02-20 21:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, finnick odair, quentin coldwater |
Who: Quentin Coldwater and Finnick Odair
When: End of January sometime
Where: Elementary School
What: Quentin’s volunteering, Finnick’s picking up his son
Rating/Status: Low/None
Status: Complete
Note: I've decided to drop Quentin--the voice just wasn't working out!--but I'd hate for a complete log to not get posted/credit. <3
The schools weren’t being hit as hard as some of the other establishments in Orange County--as far as the rise in crime went. Which was a good thing. But they were trying to get in as many adults for extra supervision and protection as they could. Quentin volunteered to do some tutoring in the afternoons, so they called him to see if he could come and supervise pick-up and drop-off of the children before and after school. He was available some of the days, working around his teaching schedule for the university, and so he could lend a hand.
Quentin had a large “VOLUNTEER” badge around his neck, and was simply keeping an eye on things. Tall, Lanky, with long, dark hair, he looked fairly out of place in front of an elementary school. But the teachers and other volunteers would wander by and say hello, so at least he wasn’t causing any parents any concern. For the most part.
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With everything that was going on lately, Finnick’s anxiety levels were through the roof. There weren’t any news stations that weren’t reporting about some new arson or break in, mugging or theft. Every noise at night woke him up and he couldn’t go back to sleep until he was convinced that there was no one trying to get onto the ship. Finnick’s number one concern was always his son Ezra, and so far, no one had been cruel enough to attack any schools.
Even so, Finnick always showed up to the school about a fifteen minutes prior to the last bell, some part of him worried about potential abductions. Walking up to the building, Finnick saw someone he wasn’t all that familiar with and he’d be lying if he didn’t admit that his heart rate skyrocketed for a second or two. Seeing the teachers talking with him like he wasn’t out of place made him calm down a little.
“Hey,” Finnick greeted, looking over at the guy. He noticed the volunteer badge he was wearing and that helped his nervousness even more. “They have you out here on stranger danger duty?”
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“Yup.” Quentin replied. He reached out a hand to greet the parent--obviously a parent, because he wasn’t wearing the tell-tale lanyard of half the teachers around the school. “Quentin Coldwater. I tutor some of the fourth and fifth graders after school.”
It wasn’t like Quentin to be so forward, but he knew that tensions were high. The rising crime rate was making everyone a bit mad--a bit crazy--and Quentin wanted to do whatever he could to set minds at ease.
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“Finnick Odair,” he offered, just on the off chance Quentin had some sort of list of regular names he needed to check through. Some days, they had been checking driver’s licenses against the records submitted to the office a couple weeks ago. Finnick always made sure he had his in his pocket, even though he rarely drove here. “My son’s only in first grade.”
Looking around the area, there weren’t too many other people walking or standing around. Behind them, the buses were already lined up to take kids back to their homes the second the bell rang.
“You guys been having any problems here or just taking precautions?” Right after asking the question, Finnick was nervous about the answer, but he hadn’t heard anything on the news, so that had to be good. Right?
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“Precautions,” Quentin assured the man carefully. “Checking identification, more adults around, it’s all just ways the school is trying to keep things a bit safer. I wish we could do more, but the problem is that the threat is constant and untraceable.” The rising level of crime in Orange County was staggering. No one knew why.
Some of the other schools had already been hit with graffiti, broken windows, burglary, but thankfully no children had been hurt. That Quentin knew of, anyway.
“I haven’t met your son.” Quentin added. “But, like I said, I tutor fourth and fifth graders.”
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“I can’t argue with that,” Finnick replied. With everything going on, what they were doing here at least proves this school cares about the safety of its students, which made Finnick feel better. “Did you want to see my ID then?” He was careful not to just start reaching into his pocket, having seen someone jump nearly a foot on the walk here when someone did that. That constant and untraceable danger was really taking a toll on the people here and it was completely understandable.
“At least you’re doing something. As a parent, that’s all that matters to me.” He hoped that all their precautions would end up being just that, precautions, but there was no way to prove that nothing would happen. Finnick couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t a possibility, though he didn’t want to think about it more than he needed to.
“If you’re still at the school in a couple of years, you might tutor him too. You cover all the subjects or just certain ones?”
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“You should probably show it to the teacher,” Quentin replied. “She’ll be the one checking the kids out.” Especially the younger ones. The kindergarteners and first graders were all being checked out to parents or emergency contacts. Some of the older kids, too. It was a bit of a logistical mess.
“I’m just standing where they tell me to.” Quentin wished he could take more credit, but honestly, his mere presence was calming to a lot of the parents. More security. Not that he was doing much, but perhaps he was preventing people from doing bad things?
“Wherever I’m needed. It’s amazing how many students need a little, extra help.”
-
Nodding, Finnick kept that in mind. There weren’t too many people out here since all the kids were still inside, but he was sure someone would come by asking him for his ID and he’d have it ready for them when they asked. “Sounds good,” he replied just to let Quentin know he was listening.
“I see. Still, you’re out here like everyone else and I’m sure I’m not the only parent that feels better because of it.” If for nothing else right now, Finnick was extremely thankful with the way this school was handling the strange crime wave. They seemed to take it seriously while not going overboard with it and while his son had experienced some of their drills lately, he didn’t come home terrified, which he appreciated. It was easy to traumatise the kids with horrible what ifs, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The school just seemed prepared, just in case.
“A little help can make a big difference,” he replied with a smile. Some kids just need a little extra help and once they got it, they could be so much more than they thought they could be. Finnick had never really appreciated a school system until his son had become a part of it, because it really mattered how much the school fostered and made kids interested in learning. If people like Quentin meant anything, it meant there were people invested in these kids. “I’m sure you’ve helped a lot of kids here.”
-
It was something that the school hadn’t ever come across before. This recent crime wave was unheard of--so there was no protocol. Still, Quentin believed that the school was doing a good job of making sure all the kids were safe. They’d brought in all the fingerprinted and vetted personnel they had access to.
“I’ll definitely be here as long as they need me.” Quentin said with a nod. “If you’d told me five years ago that I’d be protecting an elementary school from a crime wave in Orange County, I probably would have asked what sorts of drugs you were on.” It was strange to think how far he’d come in the last few years.
-
This crime wave was something that Finnick, his son and all the rest of the parents and kids here wouldn’t have to worry about again. There were always stories about tragedies happening in schools and every parent just hopes that it won’t happen in the schools their children went to. Finnick wanted to pretend that it couldn’t happen here, but he knew that was impossible. Either way, having a good school system to help protect them all.
“That’s good to hear.” Finnick laughed at Quentin’s next statement. “It’s funny how life doesn’t always go the way you think it would.” Sometimes Finnick tried to think of the future, but since Ezra came into his life, his future will always be mixed with his son’s. “But that’s not always a bad thing.”