A Tent's Worth (Jaina)

[Agilbert Fontaine]

Agilbert sent a notice to Ms. Gemini to meet him in his office. He hadn't specified what they were to talk about. He wanted to give her a chance to explain why her tent was still up by the river. In his opinion, it was unfair to the other students for her to have use of the tent until the spring when her camp out with other students could be arranged. He sat behind his desk with his fingers steepled before him as he awaited her arrival. He felt he was a fair man, so he wanted to hear directly from her before leveraging any 'punishment'. Chances were he would rule that she had to take the tent down for now, but that didn't mean she couldn't use it later in the year when the weather was more favorable.

[Jaina Gemini]

The summons had come just as she was leaving detention. Jaina quickly checked her watch, finally deciding to just send Gideon a note apologizing for missing supper and that she would see him at supper. Unfortunate, with their time so limited but one did not ignore a summons from the Headmaster - most especially not her, considering everything that had happened already this year.

Minutes later, when the secretary escorted her into the office, Jaina gave a brief glance over the room. She had never been in here before, in spite of the fact that she probably should have been on a number of occasions - at least once this year had things not gone so well after the fight with Roxy. The headmaster had been significantly fair in that situation and she had been determined not to interrupt on his busy schedule again. St. Roix had been an accident. He could ask Gideon, who would hopefully support her claim that she had not wanted to bring this to the man's attention. That she had been determined to bear it for however long necessary.

Could this have been about her detentions? She had attended every single one on time, never doing her work half-assed. She had only missed that one day of school and Healer Henspit had agreed with her decision to remain in bed. And if that was the problem, he certainly would have addressed it last week - not wait until the following week.

Unless he hadn't had the time. Fairly understandable.

Had her mother spoken with him? She said she had trusted Jaina to deal with it. The decision had been a foolish one because Jaina had never had any intentions of asking for such a big favor. Historically significant or not, there was no way that he was going to let her leave school for a day because of religious beliefs - First Amendment or not.

No, better not to offer information. It was one of the first rules she had learned as a child. Find out the point of the meeting and address it straightly, giving away nothing extraneous unless it was pertinent to the situation. Be polite, stand up straight, look the person in the eyes. Merlin knew she had enough experience in this situation.

She adopted a pleasant smile, moving to stand before the headmaster's desk. "Good evening, Headmaster Fontaine. You sent for me, sir?" 

[Agilbert Fontaine]

The room itself was full of bookcases that looked full enough to burst, with a large, locked cabinet sitting in the corner where his pensive rest, and he sat behind a large desk that housed a stack of parchment papers on one side and a stack of books on the other. Learning didn't end when you graduate had always been a favored motto of his. As the girl entered, he let his hands drop down in front of him. "Thank you Mrs. Stewbone," he said to his secretary with a nod before she left the room.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Gemini," he said as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs at the knee. "I have called upon you today to find out why you have re-erected your tent down by the river. I thought the arrangement for your use of it was solely for the purpose of having a camp out with other students?" he asked, his old but kind eyes watching her reaction.

[Jaina Gemini]

"Ah," she said, her smile never wavering. "Of course. I should have addressed this matter with you earlier. My apologies for neglecting my responsibility in this matter.

"Earlier this fall, I did take the students out to go camping. When Gideon Smith returned a few days later, disappointed at having missed the opportunity - as it was his idea in the first place - I felt sorry that he was forced to do so because of his accident. There were still leftovers from the earlier campout so we spent the evening roasting marshmallows while he told me about his time in the hospital. When we departed, due to wanting to return to my common room by curfew, I was forced to leave everything as it was - meaning the mess, the fireplace ashes, and the moved furniture.

"As my parents are granting me the use of the tent for the course of this year, I felt that it was my responsibility to see to its upkeep. It has been my intention to remove it from storage, set it up, and return everything to the way it should be as well as see to the washing dishes, sheets, and cleaning of the bathroom. On Friday afternoon, before returning to school for supper, I scouted out a relatively isolated area to set it up - somewhere that students would not easily stumble across it and think to use it for alternative purposes. I also applied a Disillusionment spell to ensure that would further reduce the chance of that happening. It was not my intent to return until the following day.

"On Saturday, after completing my detention, I headed straight there to clean, reorganize, and grab a few things that my mother informed me that she had put in there before sending it to me. In the process of cleaning, I lost track of time and - when I realized how far behind I was - it was just easier to jump in the shower out there where I would be guaranteed hot water and a very rare few moments of privacy. Due to my poor time management, I did not believe I had time to pull up stakes if you will, and simply left it where it was. I thought the spell would hide it securely enough until I could take it down on Sunday.

"That evening Gideon had asked if I would go out and look at the stars with him for an hour or so before he needed to head out on his Prefect patrols. As my knowledge in that area far surpasses his own and he seemed to have an interest in the subject, I agreed. Unfortunately, we had only been outside for a mere ten minutes before it began to rain. With the hopes that the weather would clear shortly, I realized that the tent was near where we had settled so we retreated there to wait for the rain to pass. As you know, it did not, however, and we were forced to race back to the castle forty-five minutes later in the pouring rain." She allowed her disappointment to show a little with this confession. It was hardly an act. They both had wanted to sit out under the stars and because of a stupid rainstorm, had been unable. 

"The following day, after lunch, I headed outside to deal with the situation. I will be brutally honest with you sir," she gave him a sheepish smile. "I had homework to do and both the common room and Quad were chaotic due to the races. Gideon and I have been spending our study time apart so that we may better concentrate and he informed me that he would be in the library today. It seems rather silly, I know Headmaster but first love...a bit distracting." Jaina blushed. "When I went in to clean out the fireplace before packing it up, the couch looked so comfy and it was peacefully quiet...And in the end, I got so much homework done before returning for supper." Jaina sighed, the apology shining in her eyes.

"Of course, I packed it up before returning to the castle last evening but it was my full intention to speak with you further about the matter when I could maybe find a very short timeslot in your busy schedule to speak with you about allowing me to occasionally use it on the weekends - and the weekends only. For studying and an occasional picnic, on the rare occasion that the dining hall food just doesn't appeal. Please understand sir; it was never my intention to take advantage of your generosity and for that, I am heartily sorry."

[Agilbert Fontaine]

He sat there, looking slightly amused, as Ms. Gemini went into her long-winded explanation. He nodded here and there, as she continued to give him a timestamped view of why the tent was still up. He considered what she said and what she was now asking for. "Ms. Gemini, I'm never too busy for my students. If you had come to me of your own will I would be able to consider your request in a favorable light. As it stands now, I'm afraid that I'll have students pitching tents all over the grounds if they were to realize you still have your tent up. This is a school, not a campground."

He leaned forward in his chair, "With that said, I find your original reasoning for pitching the tent to be admirable, willing to share something personal from your family to your family here. However, your continued use of it outside of that is not acceptable at this time. It comes down to not only a fairness issue but a safety issue as well. I can't have my students running for a tent when they should be running to the castle for safety."

"The grounds are not without their own hazards Ms. Gemini," he said before reaching up to stroke his beard thoughtfully. "I'm afraid that at this time I have to decline your request, at least until the Spring. Then you can retry having a camp out that Mr. Smith will, hopefully, not miss. That is my final decision." He looked at her with his kind eyes.

[Jaina Gemini]

"Of course, sir," Jaina agreed easily, shoving her disappointment down as deeply as she could, never allowing it to show on her face. So much for her plans this coming weekend.

Hazards...she'd seen the damn hazards around this place. She'd wandered the grounds often enough at different times of day and night to have seen at least half of them. She was definitely not going to make it to supper now. Jaina was going to be lucky if she made it to choir on time.

"Was there anything else, Headmaster?" She asked. 

[Agilbert Fontaine]

"No Ms. Gemini, that is all," he said, a certain sadness crossing his face. He hated to take it from her, but he couldn't ignore the issues with leaving it up. This was an institution of learning and she had to remember that. Now she would learn from the disappointment she surely must feel, just as Agilbert would learn from it. He didn't like denying his students, wanting to be popular with his students, like the hip grandpa, but sometimes it had to happen.

[Jaina Gemini]

"Then I will bid you good night and thank you for your time," she smiled sincerely and departed the room. Once outside, Jaina borrowed a piece of paper from Mrs. Stewbone. She scribbled the note for Gideon, sending it off with a flick of her wand before heading back downstairs. There was no way she could eat now so might as well use the time wisely. The way she felt right now, her company wouldn't be any good anyway. And when she could finally outrun her disappointment and anger (hopefully before curfew), she would be a great deal easier to deal with. So much for practicing music or doing homework tonight.