Ah, But Another Request (Student Dean Interview)

[Kevala Katashi]

Really? Another application, and this time for a position she had not even been really advertising for? What was it with people these days? Did they not think that she had everything covered? Did they think that she was just going to let things fall to the wayside and watch the school crumble around her? It was irritating at best, though as a woman in a position of power, she knew (hated, but knew) that she had to at least hear everyone out on matters such as this. It was her duty (however stupid it might have been) to give everyone the reasonable doubt on such matters and perhaps, just perhaps, let them "show her the light" in matters she was otherwise blinded too.

So, she had thumbed through the application, and as with Mr. Warden, had avoided reading this Mr. McKenzie's file in order to allow herself an otherwise unbiased opinion of the man. It was only fair right? First impressions were everything with Kevala, and there was no reason to have that tainted due to outside information that could potentially hold no bearing on the matter at hand. In this case, the position of Student Dean.

A little grin curling on her lips as thoughts raced through her mind of what she could do with such a title, not for herself mind you...but for the school.

You are so full of crap and you know it.

"Oh shush. I was just musing."

Well, I do have to admit some of those idea's were rather entertaining.

"Yes, hence why I thought of them."

A little chuckle resounding in the back of her throat as she leaned back in her chair, her hand rifling through a stack of papers, mostly ones containing information about the new pillars as well as the headmaster himself. Kevala always did like to stay on top of things in the way of information, never paid to be caught with your pants down...or something like that.

Whatever the case, she was dressed in her more "formal" attire today, seeing as how she had an interview to conduct. A pair of black slacks that were custom tailored to fit her rather petite yet curvaceous figure, and a white button up blouse, with the first three buttons undone. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun at the back of her head, a few stray locks spilling down around her face. Lucky for Mr. McKenzie...Kevala liked to play dress up, or else this would be one strike against him already.

Dropping the papers on her desk to fidget with the metal cuffs that were firmly locked about her wrists, just idly biding her time until he arrived. Ever aware of the clock and just how lat it was growing to be. She had told him to be here at 4 PM, on the dot, and when she said something, she usually meant it.

[Alistair Warden]

Alistair wasn't too keen on being on time anymore these days in fact he'd been handed a very rough piece of meat on his plate at the present. However that didn't deter nor hinder his attempts to fulfill his duties. He was a tad late, mostly on purpose he wasn't afraid of setting Kevala off but rather make himself stand out even if it were a little bit askew. The woman had already hated him for that little incident but he think he had scored a few points to ensure his position for the mean time at least until he could prove that much further that he deserved to be here. A man proved his worth by the actions he made.

"Pardon my lateness, I was held up."

That much wasn't a lie as the small man motioned to the nearest chair that was left open not making eye contact with anyone else in the room but Kevala instead he'd simply prep himself upright and shuffle his palms into folded positions and straightened up to listen to why he was called here exactly.

"Proceed, don't hold back on my account."

Alistair would say rather cheerfully looking about attentively to get some sort of response.

[william]

And arrive at exactly 4PM sharp Liam would, right on the dot. Just because he was born and raised on a farm in Ireland, did not mean he did not know how to be on time, if anything, he knew how important timing was. On the farm, timing meant the difference between having a successful growing season, or a failed growing season. Stopping in front of the Superintendent's office door, he would lean his Irish fighting stick against his leg and adjust his black tie and straighten out his black blazer.

Taking hold of his stick once more, despite having absolutely no need for one, he would rap his knuckles on the door politely, to indicate he had arrived, before opening the door and stepping into the office, closing the door behind him, as he stepped up to her desk and offered his only free hand out for a handshake.

"Good afternoon to ye, Mrs. Badoer, it is a pleasure to meet ye."

[Kevala Katashi]

Tick....Tock...Tick...Tock...

The demon in here mind purring softly as the second hand wound down to the final moments, eyes glancing toward the clock and then away, rather bored already and dying to go home. Her feet hurt, she was tired, and albeit a little cranky. Though when there finally came a knock at her door, those icy hues shifted toward it. "Come in." Spoken casually enough, knowing there was no real threat out there, or else Carmine would have been all over it. No, it was her appointment, or so it should have been.

As the young man entered, her brow would raise slightly, noting his appearance and then stick that he carried. What on Earth was it with men and sticks? Over compensation?

That would be my best guess.

A little mental snicker even as she extended her hand to shake. She wasn't so paranoid that she could not allow for such formal pleasantries, though she did have to force the smile that curled onto her lips, and she did have to make sure and keep the irritation out of her tone. "Mr. McKenzie I presume...Pleasure to meet you."

To be honest, it wasn't entirely this guy's fault that she was being rather bitchy, it had been a slow growing process to happen over the past few months, ever since Mischa had left with Aiden to Italy. You don't just cut Kevala off from sex like that, it does things....bad things. Not to mention, her inner five year old was rather sulky over the fact that she couldn't go home and pout to Mischa about her bad day and be babied....After 15 years of it, she kinda required it to be a happy Kev. So yeah, not his fault.

Releasing his hand though, she would turn her attention to one of the chairs, motioning toward it. "Please have a seat." A little nod given before the door would again open, this time Mr. Warden walking in and apologizing for his tardiness, the slightest narrowing of her eyes...him and his fireworks. Oh! That man! "Quite alright. I understand you have quite a few duties as of late." A smile given, even if she was watching him now, rather cautiously. Though eventually attention would shift back to Mr. McKenzie. "So, application for Student Dean hmm? Now tell me. Why do you feel this school needs a Student Dean? Have things been so bad as to suggest that either myself or Mr. Warden here have been lacking in our duties?"

Straight to the point, a hint of irritation at the end of her words, despite that smooth southern accent that so thickly laced her tone.

[william]

Stepping into the office after being given permission to enter, Liam would quietly shut the door behind him with a soft click, his Irish fighting stick was not meant for over compensation in any way, he had it with him all the time simply because he wanted to, despite not needing it any time soon. Shaking Kevala's hand with a firm grip, he'd nod his head slightly in acknowledgment.

"Aye, that'd be me, but the pleasure is all mine."

Releasing her hand as he felt her release his, he'd nod once more and take the seat she had motioned to, folding one leg over the other and interlacing his fingers together, resting his hands on top of his knee. Hearing the door open, Liam would turn his head slightly to look behind him, the Headmaster himself entering and apologizing for being late. Turning his head back to Kevala, he was unfazed by the hint of irritation at the end of her words.

"Quite the opposite Mrs. Badoer. Both ye and Mr. Warden are doing a bloody good job with handling yer duties, which is also the reason why I feel a Student Dean is needed. Ye both have your duties to attend to, ye can't just drop everything yer doing just to play duty patrol to the students. Granted, that's what the Pillars are for, but even they can't be everywhere at once, they have to study and go to class too.

Let me put it this way, Mrs. Badoer: Ye have a ratio of thousands of students to seven, eight enforcers, and more and more students are enrolling into the school with each passing day. I'd think ye, Mr. Warden, and the teachers would have more important things to do with yer time than have to deal with some punks that think fighting is the only way to settle things, while yer Pillars are off dealing with more punks somewhere else in the school, and yer teachers are forced to pause a class to deal with some punks having a brawl outside their classroom."

Quite the mouthful, but for now, that's all Liam would say. If Kevala needed more explanations out of him, he'd gladly oblige.

[Alistair Warden]

Alistair raised a brow a bit surprised at the fact that she was letting him be for that matter but shook it off momentarily before progressing onwards with the subject at hand. He was afterall listening and saving his comments for later when the time beckoned for his input on the matter. Personally Alistair didn't see the need for a Student Dean it was just another mouth to feed, another authority to direct comments/statements to obstructing the freedom of things and creating a complicated beuracracy of the entire system. That and it was a matter of elaborating his control over the matter, if he had to keep too many people in the loop nothing would go as planned. That matter of controlled chaos all bubkiss.

All the same he kept his hands folded to hear out the teacher elaborate on the extent of his need to fill a position that didn't necessarily exist. Ali heard words like "can't be everywhere at once" and punks about the school" he was making the school out to be an authoritarian control state. The man made a humored laugh, those plump cheeks glowing a red hue with the audacity of them.

"Mr. Mckenzie, do you intend to suggest that by any means the inclusion of another party will put to rest all outbursts of violence?"

Alistair's tone rather sarcastic at the remark, he couldn't count a time when the public were put down by means of insurmoutable odds, in fact he was a strong prodginator of the ideals that such a thing didn't exist, that humanity had no limitations only such that they set on themselves.

"I have yet to meet my pillars yet but I do believe them to be fully capable of their duties, hence is the appeal of a highly competetive position. Being everywhere has its downsides as much as being nowhere. The key is to be in the right places."

Alistair kept his meanings namely secrative for the present something about believing in making tactical positioning rather than blatant ones.

[Kevala Katashi]

Oh, she listened, and though she knew that perhaps there was a train of logic she was not following, due to her own, unique way of thinking, she tried her best to map out his train of thought in her own head. Yet each and every time she seemed to come up shy of really understanding where he was coming from.

A moment of thought needed to process exactly what it was he was saying, and rather thankful that Mr. Warden took the moment to speak up, giving her time to reflect on her own words. Since well, to be quite honest, if she didn't think before she opened her mouth, Gods only knew what would come out. Only when the Headmaster was done speaking would she in turn shift her attention back to Mr. McKenzie and tilt her head ever so slightly, finding it needed, that in that moment, she rise upward from her current position and sit forward, her arms folding together upon her desk as she reached out and grasped a silver framed photograph, one that held a picture of her Mischa. A little, genuine and heartfelt smile gracing her lips for a moment as her thumb traced over the glass, and in turn, the picture within.

Then, with a little sigh, and enough of a moments silence given to the current situation, she would glance back up toward Mr. McKenzie. "Am I to believe that you are Superman? Or what was that other one? The Flash?" Years of living with Mischa paying off in this moment. "That you are capable of doing what we cannot, being in all places at one time? I mean, to hear you talk, you would be able to stop a fight that broke out in college building A....and at the very same instant stop another that broke out here on the fourth floor of the high school..."

She fell silent though her words had not suggested that she was done by any means. Turning the photograph around to show to the two men, more specifically to Mr. McKenzie, she would tap it lightly, signaling to the picture inside the frame. "You see this woman? My wife. Remarkable woman. Managed to raise two kids, keep house, run her business and keep up with me. She was incapable of being in more than one place at once, and yet somehow, through all the chaos, and believe me when I say there was chaos in our family, she managed to hold it all together. Even now, across the world in another country, she is holding this family together. So if you wish to convince me that there is a need for yet another authoritative figure in this school, you are going to need more than ratios and percentages. One does not thrive in chaos basing everything upon statistics and loose implications of what could or should be done. Passion, drive, determination, commitment...These are things that you need in a hostile environment such as this...Not to mention a slight thing called knowledge. Knowledge to not openly, or even indirectly insult your employer while in her office, on a day where her sexual frustration level is at a fifty on a scale of one to ten."

Oh, she knew she didn't have to throw in that last part. But it was always fun to see how they handled something being thrown at them they didn't expect. Perhaps Mr. Warden chose to do so in a more physical manner...Kevala, it was more words and timed chaos that proved to get her by all these years.

[william]

"In a perfect world Mr. Warden, that would be the ideal outcome, but as ye and I know, this world is far from perfect. It won't completely put down all outbursts of violence, but it would curb it to an easier handled amount."

Far from unfazed by the sarcastic tone in Alistair's voice, Liam was rather at ease, partly because he knew even if he failed to convince the panel of judges before him, he had very little to lose, but quite a bit to gain. The man may have found humor in Liam's words and did not believe a Student Dean was necessary, but plan or not, some things were best taken care of with more than just a small group.

"Aye, and I'm not trying to put down the abilities of yer Pillars to fulfill their duties, but they are after all, Mr. Warden, students firsts, enforcers second. To lose out on the chance to gain more knowledge just to break up a fight would be a shame. Being in the key places is a good thing, yes, but having the ability to back up your words when ye are there doesn't hurt either."

Turning his attention to Mrs. Badoer, Liam couldn't help but chuckle to himself, even as his face remained calm and cool as a cucumber.

"If I were, Mrs. Badoer, I truly doubt I would be here right now, speaking to ye and Mr. Warden. No one can be everywhere, that much is true, but at the very least, ye'd have someone that could be where yer Pillars aren't."

Taking a glance at the framed picture, Liam couldn't help but be reminded of his own mother, a remarkable woman herself. Not only did she take care of Liam's grandfather, father, Liam, and herself, she also did the cleaning, shopping, and cooking, and even had some time to make some clothes when she could.

"Ye have my sympathies Mrs. Badoer, perhaps I should've chosen a better day to have this interview with ye. You married quite the keeper though, impressive. However Mrs. Badoer, I will be frank, no one wants to have to come out of their office just to investigate a noisy disturbance caused by students that perhaps had nothing better to do, and have to break up said disturbance. There are surely more important matters ye and Mr. Warden have to deal with at present, and in the future, that ye would spend yer time on.

I don't know how ye and Mr. Warden deal with matters and get past them, but for me, I've dealt with matters by considering the situation, and choosing the best course of action that has little repercussions on myself, and the environment around me. Everything ye listed, I've had to use in my past, whether it was stopping a fight, or working my ass off to make a day's wages. Passion; passion to work as hard as ye can, knowing it will pay off in the end. Drive; drive to make every season the best it can be. Determination; determination to never give up, no matter what gets thrown yer way. Commitment; commitment to trudge onwards, putting blood and sweat into it.

Knowledge... knowledge of the best time to act, and when to not act. In this case, it is best to know to just sit down and keep my mouth shut. Both of ye are important figures in this school, but titles mean nothing to students. Ye can talk to them till the cows come home, but unless ye actually take action, they won't listen to a word ye say. I've seen it before, and it wasn't until action was taken, did they finally listen. Perhaps a Student Dean is not necessary, I don't know what ye both are thinking, but physically enforcing what is said, is what I think.

Anyways, I am only here to teach and do my job, if part of my job includes being an actual enforcer and giving the teachers more time to teach and not have to stop mid-way just to break up a disturbance, give yer Pillars more chances to learn, and lessen both yer duties by one, then more power to ye. If ye choose not to, nothing I can do, I've made my case, it's yer choice, plain and simple."

[Alistair Warden]

Alistair couldn't contain the instantaneous expression that coursed through his body the instant that Kevala had mentioned a wife he'd actually turn his head to take a glance at the picture frame noting the attractive female in its contents and present a very quick double take notably so and having no shame in the manner as his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets coming to admire the distinct things he'd passed up when first analysing Kevala's room.

For one he hadn't been behind his desk, and for two he didn't realize that his boss was a lesbian. Alistair's mouth would remain open still pondering how he'd missed that taking her for the elusive tease sort but not the eternal tease for guys. It was really a shame that this all captured Alistair's attention more than Mr. Mckensie's speech on the etiquitte of a perfectly functioning system but all the same it had distracted him well enough into the naughty parts finding himself rather illicitly drawn before shaking his head like a batch of scrambled eggs.

"I'm sorry, I must have.... I mean AH-Choo."

Good cover Ali, ol' boy.