Zoe's Office Hours - August 1

[bigdamnprincipal]

While Zoe was waiting for certain wayward students to arrive, she sat at her desk, attempting to compose a letter to Mal, to update him on how the summer sessions were going.

She had to admit, it was amazingly difficult to try to explain jello dragons in a way that didn't make it seem as though the school had driven her to further lengths of insanity.

[open like an open thing, except for the thread with Sam.]

Comments

[likethegun]

After taking a few deep breaths in the hallway, Sam went up to the principal's door and knocked.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe looked up and set her letter aside on her desk. "Come in."

[likethegun]

Sam opened the door and stepped inside, trying to look as sweet and innocent as possible. The facade might not work, but it was certainly worth trying. "You asked me to come by, ma'am? I'm Sam Winchester."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Ah, yes. Please, have a seat," she said, motioning to the chair across from her. It was good to know that there were still some students who seemed to be intimidated by her. "So, Mr. Winchester, do you know why I called you here this morning?"

[likethegun]

If he was Dean, he probably would have started lying right off the bat. But Sam tended to think that a little bit of honesty made for smoother conversations with authority figures. "I might have some idea, but I'm not sure," he said. After all, if this was about the fight, he figured Alec should have been called down too.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe grabbed the remote and turned one of the video screens so that Sam could see it. Hitting play, she replayed the video feed from the fourth floor common room from the previous afternoon. "Would you like to explain to me why you felt the need to hit one of your fellow students?" she asked.

[likethegun]

Sam frowned with diappointment as he watched the video, partly because he'd completely forgotten that public areas were monitored, partly because that punch made him really look bad, and partly because watching it reminded him of how much he really wished he'd hit Alec a second time. "He started it," Sam tried to explain.

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Are you sure about that?" Zoe rewound the video and pointed to the screen. "From what I can tell, you initiated the conversation, and you were the only one to throw a punch. So how is it exactly that he started the fight?"

[likethegun]

"You don't understand. Alec has made it his goal to bother me as much as humanly possible ever since I got here. It's like he's trying to drive me crazy," Sam said. He had it coming! He only had himself to blame!

[bigdamnprincipal]

"And it looks to me like he's succeeded," Zoe replied. "If he bothers you so much, why did you initiate a conversation with him?" If I'd been there and seen it, I would have done the same?

[likethegun]

Sam sighed. "I was trying to get him to apologize for something he did this weekend. I didn't plan on hitting him. It just sort of happened." I wish! That would be funny.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe turned the video screen back around and shut it off. "If you really have so much trouble with this boy, perhaps you should just stay away from him. Then he won't be able to bother you, and you won't feel compelled to hit him again."

[likethegun]

Now there was advice that would have been a lot more helpful before yesterday afternoon. "I know. I have every intention of staying away, if I can. But as much as it might look like it from that video, this isn't one sided. It's not like he doesn't come over and talk to me."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Well, then you'll just have to think of other ways to deal with him. And you'll have plenty of time to do just that in detention this weekend."

[likethegun]

Sam bit back the groan that threatened at the back of his throat, and went back to trying the innocent route. "Are you sure that's necessary, ma'am? I promise, this won't happen again."

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe fixed him with a glance. She had to admit, that was a very good puppy face. "I appreciate that promise, but I think it'll be a lot stronger if you have the detention to go along with it."

[likethegun]

"Okay. I understand." Maybe he could quietly drown Alec at the beach. That would be even more effective than detention at ensuring this didn't happen again. "Is that all?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Yes, that's all I had to say, for now. You're free to go."

[likethegun]

Sam nodded, and hightailed it out of the office before she could decide that he needed to be punished more.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean had heard the announcement calling his brother to the principal's office and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. And, knowing Sammy, he would go in and be shamefaced and not even try to talk himself out of whatever punishment he was given. Dean shook his head -- he really needed to work with Sammy on that whole respect authority impulse he had.

But luckily, Dean thought, Sammy had an older brother who was willing to lie for him.

So before meeting up with his brother, he headed for the principal's office and knocked on the door.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe had gone back to her letter after Sam left the office, and she barely looked up from scribbling about not being able to speak for a weekend to glance at the door. "Yes? Come in."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean put on his most respectful and "I'm so charming you can't say no to me" expression and opened the door.

"Principal Washburn? Can I talk to you a moment?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

Ooh, a charmer. This was going to be interesting.

"Certainly," she said, offering him the seat by the front of the desk. "How can I help you?"

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean settled into the offered chair. "I'm Dean Winchester -- you called my brother to the office earlier and I think I know what it was about and might be able to shed some more light on the situation if so."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Aah. Well, I called your brother in to speak to him about an incident that occurred in the fourth floor common room yesterday. Is that what you think you can shed light on?"

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Yes, m'am," Dean said, nodding. "I was there, y'see and I know what it probably looked like but it wasn't really that at all."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Oh?" Zoe looked curiously amused. "So Sam didn't really go over and hit another boy? That was all a trick of the surveillance camera light?"

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Oh, he hit him, I can't deny that," Dean admitted, silently cursing the surveillance cameras. He gave a smile. "You saw him hit him and I'd have to be pretty crazy to try and tell you you didn't, wouldn't I?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Yes, I'd say you'd have to be," Zoe replied. "Not that that level of crazy doesn't run often rampant among some of our students once they've had enough alcohol, but you don't appear to be intoxicated or under any kind of strong medication right now."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"No, m'am," Dean said, tryiing to look as innocent as possible. "I'm not old enough to purchase alcohol." Without a fake i.d. or at Caritas, he added mentally.

"So I was pefectly sober and sane when I saw what happened and I can assure you it was all an accident."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"You know, Sam also implied that the fight wasn't entirely his fault." Not that his excuse had been much better. "Maybe you can fill me in on what really happened."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Well it's actually kinda funny," Dean said, laughing a little. "We were talking about different fighting and sparring techniques. Sammy threw a punch as a demonstration of something he was saying and either he miscalculated or Alec moved and he actually connected."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Really?" Zoe asked, managing to sound intrigued. "That sounds like a very unfortunate accident. In a 'wrong place at the wrong time' sort of way."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Oh absolutely," Dean agreed whole heartedly. "If you've seen the video of it, you'll know that Sammy was so upset about it, that he ran off. I wouldn't be surprised if he even tried to take the blame as if it's on purpose." He shurgged. "He's just that kind of guy."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Well, I suppose that explains why Sam came in here and didn't really try to deny having done anything wrong. But that doesn't quite explain why he went on about how much he and Alec dislike each other. It almost sounded like he thought Alec deserved to get hit. Perhaps it wasn't as much of an accident as you think," Zoe said.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean made a mental note to sit Sammy down and go over how not to sabotage your brother who's trying to save your ass. "Well, he had to come up with some reason for him to take the blame," he said, shaking his head in what he hoped looked like fond exasperation. "Kid's got a bit of a martyr thing going. Truth is, if you hadn't called him down, he probably would've shown up and 'confessed' anyway."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Are you sure? I think if I hadn't called him down here, that just would have given you two time to make sure your stories matched. Which, by the way, is something you might want to look into in the future," Zoe said seriously. "You also might want to make sure that your story matches the video feed, such as including the fact that your brother was clearly arguing with Alec before he hit him. Or was that something else you think he would have just 'confessed' to?"

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"It was... uh... a very animated conversation," Dean said, faltering a little.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe was doing her best not to smirk. "Dean, if you don't mind me asking, how close are you and Sam?"

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean blinked. "He's my brother."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Yes, I'm aware of that. What I meant was, you must be fairly close if you're willing to come in here on your own to try to come to his defense, right? Because, while the effort is admirable, lying to my face is not the way to go about helping him."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Lying?" Dean did his best to look shocked. "Me? I can assure you Principal Washburn, that-"

[bigdamnprincipal]

"You'd better just stop right there," Zoe said, putting her hand up. "I don't know if your brother put you up to this or not, but either way, I'm sure he'll appreciate having you there with him in detention on Saturday."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean stared at her. "Detention?" he said weakly.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe nodded. "I enjoy a good story as much as the next person, but not when the storyteller's trying to fool me."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean sputtered for a moment, trying to come up with a defense, but eventually just gave in with a sigh, knowing when he was beat.

"For the record, Sammy didn't put me up to anything -- he doesn't even know I'm here. And he doesn't deserve to be punished so much as he probably deserves a medal for not punching Alec earlier. Alec's been stepping over the line with him for months now. And I'm saying that as someone who likes Alec."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Well, no matter how far Alec has stepped over the line, that still doesn't excuse hitting him. There are other ways to deal with a problem besides violence." Not that Zoe really knew what any of them were, but she knew that they existed. "If you like Alec, you might want to try convincing him to be a little less abrasive in the future. That could clear this whole issue up."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean actually laughed. "Yeah, because that's worked really well so far. Alec? Not so big on the taking advice."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Would it help if the advice came from someone other than a student?" If Zoe had been talking to another adult, there might have been an evil grin there.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean privately didn't think it would, but he owed Alec something for all this crap coming down on Sammy and himself. "I don't know, but it might be worth a try," he said. "It's got to a really bad level if Sammy's actually throwing punches." He pasted on his most hopeful expression. "I don't suppose, m'am that you'd... talk to him?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

With all the trouble he seemed to be causing, it didn't make much sense to not agree to speak to Alec. "Yes, I think I will. Surely, some of the tension here can be fixed, and if it results in all of you getting into less trouble, then everyone wins."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"I'm just trying to look out for my brother," Dean protested, trying to look as innocent as he could.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe gave Dean an amused look. "Well, I suppose I can believe that, seeing as how that's what you've been trying to do since you walked in here. I'll be sure to talk to Alec."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Dean said. He stood and headed for the door, pausing only where he reached it. "I don't suppose we can just forget the whole detention thing for me and Sammy, given the extenuating circumstances of extreme duress?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Nope," Zoe said simply. "But nice try."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Didn't think so." He grinned suddenly as he opened the door. "But you never know if you don't try."