4. Detention (no puns allowed)

[continuousgroaning]

the school year's barely begun and i've already landed in detention

i mean it is kinda my fault and at least the guidance counselor here is better than Mr. Frond was

[some time later, she adds:]

And i just got 2 days tacked on for being caught on my device

so I guess my point is I'm full of all this frustration and aggression & I'm not used to feeling this way so how do i try and burn it off?

Comments

[h2no]

Good girl. I'll be there in half an hour.

[continuousgroaning]

Okay. ... thank you.

[Tina will be sitting on the porch when Archie arrives, writing in her diary and looking distant.]

[h2no]

[mightyena is the one that gets there first. it knows the way and bounds up the path, barking happily. it stops, cocking its head at tina. tail wagging, panting. ears pricked. very cute.

archie shows up a couple of minutes later.]

Hey, T! I'm not interruptin' ya, am I?

[continuousgroaning]

[When Archie comes up, Tina's just hugging Mightyena, petting it and enjoying the attention. Dogs were so great. Pokemon dogs, maybe even moreso.]

Nah, my diary can wait. It's a good, patient listener.

[h2no]

Like owner like diary, I guess.

[he pads down the path, then crouches down to sweep tina up into a BIG OL' BEAR HUG.]

[continuousgroaning]

[Tina grins at the compliment, and she's about to speak when Archie pulls her into the hug, and she closes her eyes, imagining for a moment that it's her dad, or Gene, or even Teddy, allowing herself the shelter of that fantasy for a moment before taking a shaky breath and returning to reality.]

... Thanks for coming. I needed that.

[h2no]

[he pulls back, though keeps a hand on her shoulder to give her a squeeze.]

It was just the right thing to do, T. Is it okay to go in or do you wanna stay out here?

[continuousgroaning]

Mmm, I like sitting outside. [Tina stretches her legs, looking a little sad- well, sadder than she normally does, given that she has a case of Resting Sad Face. She figures she might as well get it out of the way and blurts:]

... I found out that someone I know killed someone. During the whole clone thing. And he's such a good guy, I'm having trouble reconciling that, and it's confusing and it's making me feel and act weird.

[h2no]

Me too.

[he sits next to her, his ass barely on the porch before she says what's wrong.]

He killed someone during the clone thing? Ah, I'm sorry, T. It might've been in self-defense...

[continuousgroaning]

It WAS to defend another person... a kid. Which isn't a bad thing. So why am I so bothered by it?

[h2no]

Well... takin' a life, even in self-defense is a pretty big thing. It can be hard to understand emotionally, even if logically you can see why it was done.

[he draws his legs up to his chest. really, it disturbs him too, but he can't show that.]

Don't feel bad for how you feel. You can't just accept everything straight off, especially when it's morally grey like this.

[continuousgroaning]

[She smiles quietly at that, stroking Mightyena's fur.]

Yeah. I guess I need to just give myself time to work through it, right? And maybe stop lashing out because I'm feeling confused. I can't change what happened, but I can change how I deal with it.

[h2no]

[he pats her shoulder, grinning.]

You're a smart kid, Tina. You got this on lock.

[archie leans back, watching mightyena as it leans into tina for the pets.]

But how you reacted wasn't bad, ya know. It's a lot to take in for me too, and no offence, but you're a kid. I can't imagine how confused you must be.

[continuousgroaning]

[And Tina buries her face in that fur for a moment before she replies.]

Confused and scared and... angry. Like, I keep wondering, why me? Out of all people to be brought to this world, why ME? I'm not a superhero. I don't cause trouble. I'm going to feel bad for getting detention for the next week, at least. So why bring me here then hit me with... all of this?

[h2no]

[archie is quiet for a moment and it's clear in how his voice breaks ever so slightly that he feels the same way, far more than he's showing.]

I thi-think we all figure that. I don't think there's rhyme or reason to it, T. You're not being punished and you're not expected to overextend yourself... this was just an accident that we're collateral in.

[...and also in his suddenly cynnical outlook.]

[continuousgroaning]

Yeah... I guess that makes the most sense. That it wasn't just a matter of picking and choosing, we all just... got unlucky. [She sighs.] Most of the time I'm pretty okay with being here, but then something like this happens, something I have no experience in dealing with... I'm afraid it's going to ruin relationships.

[h2no]

It's like you said; you don't have experience. You can't be expected to get it right.

[he squeezes her shoulder again.]

How... do you feel about him? Do you want to cut off your relationship?

[continuousgroaning]

Yeah... I just wish this kind of thing was something I didn't HAVE to get used to. But I guess that's naive of me to think.

[She shakes her head.]

No. Because he's been a really great friend to me. He even said he wanted to protect me from having to experience this kind of thing, that I should just forget about it and not worry. Which I appreciate, even if I can't forget.

[h2no]

A little. [he agrees with a small sigh. she does have a point; this sort of thing is far beyond a thirteen-year-old, but at the same time she now doesn't have a choice.] But you're here and ya can't avoid it.

[he takes his hand off her shoulder, balancing his chin on his fist.]

Yeah, I don't think you should do that. He obviously means well but... I guess they do it differently where he comes from.

[continuousgroaning]

And wishing isn't going to change things. So I have to try and learn to deal with it.

[She nods.]

So I don't think he really grasps why I'm so upset. Or maybe he does, but it doesn't bother him in the same way it does me. He's long since learned to handle it in ways I haven't been able to.

[h2no]

Just... don't forget you're allowed to slip up, T. You ain't perfect. No-one is, if you find it hard to accept and deal with, that's fine. You're allowed to feel that.

[archie is still impressed with how tina is handling it, but he can't not be worried. she can't beat herself up if she doesn't do it perfectly.]

I think you might be right-- on the second count.

[continuousgroaning]

[She smiles softly at that. It sounded like something her dad would say- and not being perfect is something she has to keep in mind.]

Yeah. And I need to give myself room to deal with it, too. I just want to fix things right away.

[She then nods slowly.]

That's been a bit of a hard lesson for me to learn. That not everyone comes from a world like I do. And had a good life like I did.

[h2no]

I think anyone would want to.

[mightyena boofs slightly as in agreement.]

What's the plan for the rest of the day? You gonna apologise for bein' rude to your teacher?

[continuousgroaning]

I think I'll wait til after the detentions are over... just so it doesn't look like I want to wiggle out of punishment.

[She then laughs as she remembers:]

I had a bunch of people offer to come bust me out. It makes me smile that total strangers are willing to do that for me.

[h2no]

Good point.

[even that makes archie smile. it's nice that she's made such an impression here, though not surprising. tina is a really good kid.]

I'll come with you if you want... an' I'm not surprised, T. You're real smart and nice.