The weekend for Ariel had been seemingly uneventful. Work was work, her father was his usual self, and her talk with Kavi… well, it had gone kinda smoothly. She had stayed out of the house as much as she could, but eventually, she had to speak to her father. She woke up Monday morning getting ready for school. It appeared that Trillian had already had left the house, thank the gods. The assembly was a bore. A stupid, unnecessary bore. No doubt the fist fight bit was aimed at her in some aspect. Homecoming had been a train wreck, but shouldn’t they have held this assembly before the dance? Teachers had the best of timing.
Ariel was making her way down the hall towards the lunchroom when Mrs. Chamberlain herself approacher her. “Ms. Grey. I believe we have some business to attend to regarding homecoming. Follow me, please.” With no need to argue, Ariel simply rolled her eyes and followed the older woman as told. “Don’t worry, darling,” Mrs. Chamberlain said. “I’ve already taken the liberty of calling your father. He should be here any moment.”
Don’t worry???
Ariel wasn’t worried until that moment. Granted she knew her father was going to be called in for the meeting regarding her breaking Kavis nose, but the assembly had shoved that fact to the back of her mind. What if Kavis parents wanted to press charges? What if her father flipped in front of everyone? What if - what if -...
Ariel felt her breaths quicken, her chest tightening. There was no need to panic, it was going to be okay. Everything was going to be fine. Nothing was going to happen. She repeated those lines to herself over and over as she made her way to the principal's office - and for a moment they worked. Right up until the moment she walked into the room, Kavi and his father were sitting on one side of the room, her father, looking as pissed off as ever, on the other.
Kavi offered Ariel a small wave, though Kai quickly kicked him on the side of his leg, glaring at him to quit that. They whispered amongst themselves until Mrs. Chamberlain sat across from them. This promptly shut up Kavi and actually made him sit upright. There were few people in this world he was deathly afraid of. One of them was sitting next to him and the other was sitting across from him. Even though his mind wasn’t quite sure where it wanted to focus on the fact that Ariel’s father was sitting no more than three feet from him. Whatever was going through that man’s head, Kavi was wary about directly looking at him. Whether or not what Nikki told him was the truth, it had been in the back of his mind since yesterday and that resulted in Kavi glaring at him somewhat.
As Mrs. Chamberlain coughed and pulled her chair closer to her desk, the sounds of the wheels softly rolling on the wooden floors, she demanded the attention of the parents and their children. “I thank you both for being here. I understand it was a bit sudden but I wanted to personally handle this. I usually hand this off to my Vice Principal, but seeing as how this one of the things I mentioned during today’s assembly, I wanted to handle it myself,” she stated to Kavi, Ariel, and their parents present.
“Well, my wife and myself have already grounded Kavi. Is he in trouble here? Because he’s the victim here. He was the one who got his nose punched in, not the other way around,” Kai stated rather honestly, his brown eyes darting to the young Grey girl and her father, the high-class lawyer.
“Yes. We are aware of how your son is the victim here, Mr. Parata. That is not the issue here. It’s your son’s actions leading up to it that we’re here to discuss.” Before she could get another word, an interruption came from the opposite end of the room.
“Honestly, there were no actions,” Ariel began. “There was a lot of stuff building up over the week--”
” We all know my daughter has the tendency to overreact,” Trillian said, shooting his daughter a glare that clearly stated for her to shut up. ” While I realize that punishment has to be dealt, I hope that you go lenient on Serafina. I must admit that I’m curious, as to what your son did to provoke such a reaction out of my daughter, Mr. Parata,” he finished, leaning back in the chair that he was seated in. Briefly making eye contact with Ariel. Yet another look that meant for her to keep quiet. One that stated not to speak unless spoken to.
The young woman shifted in her seat as well, leaning away from her father and more towards the side that Kavi was seated on. She became very aware of the fading bruise on her neck, nonchalantly adjusting her jacket to cover it.
His head didn’t shift to look directly at Ariel, but Kavi’s eyes did move slightly to see her move her jacket. He was trying his best not to directly gaze at her because of her father. Hearing how he spoke about Ariel really made him understand how the rumors got started. If they were true, this guy who spoke like how he described his own daughter was definitely capable of the same acts but in physical violence instead of verbal.
“I must admit I am perplexed about what led to Ariel punching Kavi as well,” Mrs. Chamberlain admitted, her eyes darting to Kavi and his father.
Just a moment after, Kavi found himself being looked at like he was under a microscope by everyone in the room -- everyone except Ariel, that is. “What? Dad, you know why. And Ariel, you know why as well,” he silently cursed, sighing. “Look, I get I fucked up--"
“I understand it’s tough, but try and remember you’re at school, Kavi,” Mrs. Chamberlain advised him.
“Right. Well, whatever the case, I know I messed up. I paid for it. My nose is busted and yeah, I just don’t get why this is such a big deal. I’m not angry at Ariel,” he said, this time looking directly at her, ignoring her father. “And I’m sure my dad or mom won’t be pressing any charges. So, again, what the hell is the problem here?” At that moment, Kavi found himself looking at Ariel’s father, his brown eyes staring down the older man.
“Your class has been… difficult. The actions at homecoming was something else, and the case between you and Ms. Greys is just one of many reasons for this meeting with your fathers.”
Trillian Grey returned Kavis gaze, unwavering, before turning back to his daughter. ” Well it seems as if I’m a little left out here. Why on earth did you break the Salvador boys nose, Serafina,” he asked sternly, sitting up so his elbows rested on his knees. ” I mean, you’ve had detention a few times, but never anything this serious. So tell me,” he said, his voice raising slightly, ” Why did you break Kavis nose?”
”He… h-he has…”
” He has what, Serafina. Just spit it out.”
Ariel pulled the sleeves of her jacket down into her palms, the young woman suddenly seeming more interested in the edges of her sleeves than anything else. ” Kavi has a reputation f-for being a b-bit of a sleaze, father. He two-timed me and another girl, and we both sort of overreacted, I guess,” she said, careful not to look at the man. She lifted her head, her face beginning to feel warm. All she wanted right now was to be out of this room - to just proceed with her normal school day as usual. ” I’ll accept whatever punishment you see fit, Mrs. Chamberlain. Can we please just get this over with so Kavi and I can go back to class please?”
It was clear to anyone that things were quite different (possibly stricter) for Ariel when it came to her father. Kai felt a little uneasy. Kavi sure as hell didn’t like the way Trillian was speaking to Ariel, not to mention repeatedly calling her Serafina. He just looked at his father who shared his son’s feelings but he was more fit to respond properly than how he knew his boy was about to.
“Is there anything else you want to talk to us about, Mrs. Chamberlain?” Kai asked her.
“Not at this moment. I do think, given what has happened, these two will be serving detention together. I feel it would be for the better. Maybe, with the time spent in a closed space, they will be able to reflect on their actions and might be able to move forward and be better students for it.” She informed the parents and their children. “I believe two weeks of after-school detention will suffice."
“I agree!” Kai smiled, then looked towards Trillian’s way. “What do you say, Mr. Grey? Instead of bringing the law into this and making things worse for our two kids, how about we just let the school handle it?” He asked him.
It was true that Trillian didn’t want the law involved, though if he had it his way, something else would have been done. Then again, in Mr. Grey's case, there was always an alternative method of punishment. With the adults seeming to come to a conclusion, Ariel felt her chest untighten just a bit. Trillian only nodded in agreement.
“Very well. Ariel, Kavi, you two may go to lunch. I still have a few things to discuss with your fathers,” Mrs. Chamberlain informed them, giving the teens that much-needed break from the jailhouse (as the kids called it).
Kavi felt a wave of relief pass through him and gave Principal Chamberlain a smiling nod as he left. “See ya later, pops!”