terribly sorry, officer (baelfiery) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-07-06 20:04:00 |
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Diana needed a break from her apartment. It wasn’t that she was overwhelmed with boxes from the move -- quite the contrary. Her home was disturbingly sparse. Most of what she owned remained in Greece with her mother. Aside from her clothes, she’d only sent over a couple boxes full of a few pictures and books. Her desire for a fresh start had seemed like such a good idea until she was faced with the reality of being without so many things that had brought her comfort. Instead of it being a breath of fresh air, it made Diana homesick. To say that she hadn’t considered returning to Naxos would have been a lie, but she was just proud enough to stick things out. Besides, she would never be able to forgive herself for giving up after only a few days. Armed with an errand list and a newspaper, Diana headed out this morning to spend the day exploring her new home. Her last stop was by far the most important to her. She’d been watching the classifieds since she arrived. It had been a while since she’d had a job, and while she wasn’t certain she wanted something full time while she tried to study, it would be nice to have something fulfilling to do with her free time. Her eyes had lit up when she saw an ad for the Jean Grey Outreach Center. The listing didn’t give much information, but the highlights seemed to be exactly what she was looking for. “Hello,” Diana said with a smile as she greeted the first person she saw inside the center. “I’m hoping to speak to someone in charge?” The main office building, on the ‘ranch’ (its affectionate and simpler nickname - because ‘The Jean Grey Outreach Center’ was kind of a mouthful) was a one-story, rambler house. Neal’s office was in there, the offices for the counselors too, and at the front desk sat the same secretary who had been there since the ranch’s inception. It had undergone some changes since then, in both moniker and style, but one thing always remained constant - the place was meant to be a safe haven. For youth who felt like no one was in their corner, for those on Valarnet who had developed extra abilities they couldn’t quite control yet, for troubled folks in general. And they were always looking for volunteers, at least. As it so happened, Neal also had several positions open - some seasonal, some not, and he was in the office scheduling interviews when he heard the secretary yell for him. No fancy-ass intercoms here. “Hey Cassidy! You got company.” The woman who just arrived looked polished and professional, so, job inquiry - that was the automatic assumption. Out came the ranch hand-turned-administrator, cloaked in his ‘uniform’ of dusty jeans from the work he’d done on trail maintenance in the wee morning hours, and a t-shirt. “Hi, welcome,” he extended his hand for a shake. “Neal Cassidy, I run the place. Can I help you?” Diana was taken aback by the sudden shouting, but the surprise caused her to laugh softly. That had certainly erased any lingering notions that this place operated like anything she had experienced before. Her firm hadn’t been the most prestigious, but it lacked warmth and familiarity, even for those who worked there. She didn’t think there was danger of that happening here. “Diana Prince, and yes, Indeed you can.” she said, gladly taking Neal’s hand to accept the greeting. “I was hoping you might still be in need of help here.” So formal and to the point, unintentionally so, much like her outfit today. Her intention had been to dress casual, but it seemed that her desire to make the best first impression had won out. Diana looked like she was going into a interview at another firm. “I should let you know upfront that I don’t have any formal training.” “Come on back, we can figure something out,” Neal promised, canting his head in the direction of his office. He led the visitor there - and the views of the canyon were actually really beautiful, all those rolling hills and rock formations, and the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. Awe-inspiring, and looked like the horizon caught fire - you really couldn’t beat the beauty of nature sometimes. He motioned for Diana to take a seat in any of the chairs by his desk, and settled there. “The ranch caters to at-risk youth, so, kids who have done a stint or two in juvie or are on probation - they have time here to turn their lives around, and we encourage second chances. We also encourage letting out aggression in healthy ways, and we have a few gyms for sports and martial arts. The kids really like being around the animals too, it’s therapeutic for them. So we’ve got a lot going on here, and can work with lack of formal training, trust me. Were you looking for strictly volunteer work, or a more permanent position? Either way, we can narrow it down in terms of where you’d prefer to focus - either working with the kids, or with the animals. We have open positions in both areas.” It was a lot of info, but there was a bit of something for everyone here - and they did good work, at the ranch. He was obviously proud to have inherited the more administrative aspects of running something so near and dear to him. With a nod of her head and a brightened smile, she followed Neal back to his office. The beautiful landscape was not lost on Diana and she found her neck craning to see more that the window allowed her to view. If one was looking for peace of mind, she was certain it could be found here, outdoors, enjoying what nature had to offer. It fueled the excitement and anxiousness that had already started to develop in the pit of her stomach at the idea of working here. Hearing more about the center only made matters worse. There was so much to do, so many opportunities, and each one of them -- even working with the animals -- seemed to match what she had imagined for herself when she moved to America. She took a deep breath, digesting the information before softly saying the word ‘Wow’. That ad had truly undersold the ranch significantly. “I feel a bit spoiled for choice, as they say,” she responded with a chuckle. “I would gladly accept something permanent, if it was available. I suppose it would help matters to know a little more about me?” Diana settled further into the chair she had taken, feeling relaxed by how well this was going so far. “I was a lawyer -- not here, but in Greece. I decided to go into social work, which I’m taking classes for at the moment. I’ve got more free time than I know what to do with, so there wouldn’t be an issue of finding time to be here.” Since Neal had gone through the spiel of what the ranch did, the preliminaries, he was glad to get to know a little more about Diana. That way they could find something that was best suited for her. Upon hearing she had been a lawyer though, he whistled quietly in awe. “Impressive,” he nodded. “And one of the other ladies who volunteers at the ranch is a social worker - I can put you in touch with her, just because it might be nice to network?” Reaching for a pad of paper (and pulling a pencil from where he’d stashed it behind his ear, oh hey), he jotted down Splendid’s name and number, in case Diana did decide she wanted to contact the other woman. “I was a ranch hand before I started running the place - the responsibilities were left to me by the guy who originally hired me, when he moved away. I did a little bit of both though, working with the kids and the animals. With the kids, you’d be kind of in a counselor role - helping them with their schoolwork, since we offer classes here and opportunities for high school students to get their GED, and setting up games and activities for the younger ones. Just basically being a sounding board for them too, earning their trust, that’s important. With the animals, it’s your standard horse and cattle care, getting the horses ready for riding - we also have a donkey rescue here as well.” Some were more comfortable starting with the animals than being around the kids - they didn’t trust easy, and were jaded, and Neal understood that it took a certain kind of person to know how to connect with a kid like that. For all that Diana hadn’t enjoyed practising law, she was still proud of what she had learned and how hard she had worked to get there. It had truly been one of the greatest displays of her determination, once she put her mind to something. “That would actually be amazing.” A new job, a friendly employer, a network connection -- what more could she ask for right now? Diana hadn’t just moved to town without many material items. At the current moment, she was at a loss for friends and resources as well. The chance to network was a welcome one, but she would have been thrilled at any name that Neal wrote on that paper if it was potentially someone she could make friends with. It may have been a somewhat desperate thought, but having people in her life would no doubt make it easier for her to stay in the States. “I think I’d like to start with the kids, or at least try. I can’t say that I’ll ever be able to relate to what they’ve been through, or going through, but I’m a good listening. And I’ve yet to give anyone advice that made things exceptionally worse, so… that’s a start, right?” Then again, Diana had never been a position like this, where her counseling could actually make a difference in someone’s life. It didn’t deter her, but she would be lying to herself if it wasn’t a bit daunting. “Which do you like better, if you don’t mind my asking -- being a ranch hand, or taking over?” “I definitely like the interaction with the kids,” Neal admitted, rolling back in his chair a little to get his hands on the right filing cabinet - in here, he had the correct forms (a lot of paper was pushed around here, as much as he loathed it but running a ranch was kind of a large task so it was a necessary evil) that needed to be filled out when applying for a job. Just standard demographic info, hours preferred, allergies, things like that. He slid the papers to Diana, along with a pen. “These can be filled out here, or you can take them home and bring them back, whichever’s easier. But, yeah, I sort of was a troubled kid myself. If a place like this had existed when I was in my teens, it would have saved me a lot of crap to deal with.” Like constant abandonment, being sucked into the criminal lifestyle and mafia connections, his whole life spiraling before he made the decision to get his shit together. That kind of thing. Diana nodded her head with a smile of acceptance at his answer. He may not have been gushing, but it was clear that Neal liked his job, a fact that she appreciated. For a place like this, it was important that the person in charge actually enjoy what they were doing. It would have been a disservice to the kids otherwise. “Is there a particular age group here, or is it across the board?” Not that it mattered. Diana was walking into this with a clean slate, having little experience with kids of any age. She skimmed the paperwork, judging the complexity, though she’d already decided to take them home with her. “I think I’ll bring it back with me,” she said as she folded the paperwork neatly and tucked it into her bag. “So now you’ve got the chance to save others from dealing with it -- most people only dream of doing such a thing.” She paused a moment. As she had said before, she hadn’t been through what Neal apparently had, but she was not without a personal reason for why she cared. “When I was a lawyer, I saw a lot of people getting cheated by the legal system. I guess it happens everywhere, but I got tired of watching people have their lives ruined and kids fall through the cracks.” He hadn’t known a ton of lawyers before, but that...sounded pretty accurate, actually. It was a shame how easily troubled kids slipped through the cracks, either in the failing foster care system or elsewhere. They were abandoned and forgotten, which was so horrible, to feel like that when you were so young. “All across the board,” Neal smiled crookedly - so basically, it was an adventure here every day. But this whole thing was right for him, no question about it. “And that’s admirable, that you decided to step up and, in your own way, make a difference. We have a variety of kids here, from all different circumstances, but our employees and volunteers have varied backgrounds too. I think you’d fit in, and I’d be glad to welcome you aboard.” They’d start with Diana shadowing some of the other counselors, most likely, just to see what the routine was and what life was like on the ranch, to ease her in. But then she’d be on her own and he had a feeling she’d succeed here. “Thank you,” she returned, though it was a statement of multiple gratitude. Diana hadn’t made the choices she had thus far for any kind of congratulations. In a weird way, they were almost selfish, so deep was her need to be a source of good in the world. And yes, Diana was aware that that mindset made her insufferable to some. If that was the worst thing someone could say about her, she’d take it. “I really appreciate this, more than you know.” Her smile had grown from ear to ear, and she was certain that it would remain that way for the rest of the week. |