The Files of the Big Damn Principal

Willow was nervous. She hadn't talked to the principal before and she really hoped this didn't end up with her getting detention.

~~There were also others who were going to join her at some point, time permitting~~

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Blair bounced up behind her, totally not nervous.

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"Hey, Blair," Willow said, smiling when he came up. "Thanks for coming."

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"Not a problem. Are you all ready to fight in a non-violent manner?"

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"A non-violent, respectful of all manner," Willow agreed. "Bridge might be joining us too, by the way."

[ooc: WTF, comment notification, WTF?]

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"Exactly." Blair nodded. "Poke me if I start to lose the 'respectful of all' perspective. I have a bad habit of not being respectful to authority figures. But yay Bridge! Is he jewish?"

[no kidding! I keep getting ones from two months ago.]

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"He is," Willow said. "I also talked with other students who are behind the idea. Like Anakin and Rory."

{ooc: you too, huh?}

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"Yay for people who like diversity." Blair grinned and tugged on his braid at the mention of Anakin. "So do we have a plan?"

[yup. A whole boatload of introduction comments from the first computer class in May. *sigh*]

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"State our point of view respectfully and clearly, and ask for a slight change on the event," Willow said.

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Blair tried not to be disappointed that sit-in was not in the plan. "What change are we asking for?"

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"Something more open and welcoming," Willow said.

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"What are you prepared to do if they won't change their mind. Boycott? Protest? Petition?"

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"Petition," Willow said. "Rory suggested it."

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"Good, I'm glad you have a backup plan." Blair nodded and then leaned against the wall to wait for Bridge.

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bridge-carson.livejournal.com

Who shows up just then. ~~Despite the fact that there's an hour between the times these two comments were posted. suspension of disbelief!~~

"Hey, guys."

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"Hey, Bridge!" Willow said. "Thanks for coming!"

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bridge-carson.livejournal.com

"No problem," Bridge says, smiling slightly. "So... is anyone else coming or are we ready to brave the Principal's office?"

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"We're ready," Willow said. She squared her shoulders and knocked on Zoe's door.

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Zoe looked up at the knock. Surely, the sense of forboding she was feeling was just indigestion. "Come in."

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"Principal Washburn?" Willow said, poking her head in. "May we have a moment of your time?"

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"Oh, sure," she said, waving the group in. "How can I help you?"

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Willow swallowed, trying to steady her nerves. "Um. I'm Willow Rosenberg, this is Blair Sandburg, and this is Bridge Carson. We wanted to talk to you about one of the events for the summer?"

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"Which event?" Zoe asked, trying to be as non-threatening as possible, for the moment.

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"Christmas in July?" Willow said. Yes, she could say things and still end them with a question mark. It was Willow.

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Zoe thought for a moment, but nothing particularly bothersome came immediately to mind. "What about it? We did schedule it for July, didn't we?" she said, glancing at her calendar.

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"Oh, no, you did," Willow assured her. "It's just, well, some of us were wondering if we could maybe make the event more inclusive? Like to those who don't necessarily celebrate Christmas?"

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Zoe looked at the three of them. "Do you all not celebrate Christmas?"

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"The three of us are Jewish," Willow said. "But it's not just us. There are students here who aren't from Earth. And it's not that anybody hates Christmas or anything - um - ma'am. But if it's a school event couldn't it maybe be something where the fun could come from everybody's background? Not just one?"

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"We understand that with such a diverse student population that it would be hard to incorporate everyone's religious holidays at once." Blair bounced, trying to reign in his Damn the Man attitude. "But if that can't be done can we at least call it something that's neutral and doesn't seem like the administration is honoring one religion and tradition above all the rest?"

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Even Zoe had to admit, that was a pretty valid point. "I suppose this means a lot to you, if you've taken the time to come here to talk to me, doesn't it?"

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"Yeah, it's not just about the event. It's about the message it sends." Blair nodded seriously.

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"Well, we certainly don't want to send the wrong message," Zoe replied, managing to sound just as serious as she looked at the calendar again. "I don't think so much planning has gone into this that we can't find a more...appropriate name."

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Blair blinked. "Seriously, man? That's so awesome!" He bounced cheerfully and looked over at Willow and Bridge. "Thanks a lot!"

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"Yes!" Willow said, finally daring to take a proper breath. "Thank you! Very much! And if there's any way that I can help, I'd be happy to. It's only fair."

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bridge-carson.livejournal.com

"Thanks, Principal Washburn ma'am!" Bridge says, feeling the strange urge to salute. He opts for a thumbs-up instead.

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Zoe figured that happy students meant she'd done something right. "You're all very welcome."

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While he was up at the dorms taking care of a few things, Anders stopped by Principal Washburn's office, having decided it might be a good idea to, you know, check in first.

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Zoe looked up at the sound of someone at the door. "Hi there. Can I help you?"

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Anders had had nothing but traumatic experiences the past couple of times he'd had to go into the principal or the dean's office. He was hoping this wouldn't continue his streak. Also? He was going to get through this without saying "Um." He was.

"Hi, Principal Washburn. I was just wondering if a couple of us could set up a Pyramid court in one of the clearings at the campsite. I'd just have to haul the equipment down, and I've got the protective padding and everything. We just need a clear patch of ground, but I didn't want to do it without checking first."

Okay, so the checking first had actually been an afterthought.

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"I suppose you could," Zoe said cautiously. "But you'll have to explain to me what a Pyramid court is first."

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"It's for a sport." Anders pulled a folded piece of graph paper out of his pocket and showed it to her. "We thought it might be better down there, since it'd hurt less to get tackled into grass than on the gym floor."

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"That makes sense," she replied, trying to make sense of the picture as well. "And you said there's padding as well, for the players?"

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Anders nodded. "Yeah, and I wouldn't go full-out with them anyway. One person getting hurt was enough, and I really don't want that happening again."

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Zoe nodded. "Is there enough space in the clearing for you to set everything up?"

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"Oh, yeah. It won't take up that much room, either," Anders assured her.

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"Well, I suppose that would be all right then." She handed the graph paper back to him with a smile. "Just be careful."

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"I'm always careful when it comes to Pyramid, ma'am." Anders pocketed the paper and gave her a relieved smile. "Thanks."

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just-add-starch.livejournal.com

Fraser comes by Principal Washburn's office but upon seeing her quite busy, just leaves what he brought at the door ~~because you're busy today!.~~

So, he leaves this (http://a764.g.akamai.net/f/764/1052/1h/www.1800flowers.com/800f_assets/images/flowers/images/shop/catalog/16353.jpg) by the door but out of the way so no foot meets the vase and breaks it.

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