Takes place during Origins Part 1
"Boys, what's going on?"
Ivan quickly pipped up with a scowl still firmly set in his face. "Kim's bugging me and I told him to stop it already!"
"I'm just teasing him." Countered Kim with a confident smirk on his face. "He's got a crush and isn't saying anything to her."
"Kim," Caline calmly called out, pre-emptily interrupting Ivan before he could get into another verbal (or physical) fight with the jock. "What you see as teasing is a form of bullying; Ivan has clearly asked you to stop and doesn't want to talk about it. Pursuing the topic the way you are doing it is wrong."
"What!?" Kim practically shouted. To be honest his reaction seemed… a bit extreme in Caline's opinion. But then, she didn't really know Kim (or any of her students; it was only the first day after all). Perhaps this was normal for him?
"I'm not-" Cutting himself off Kim's head quickly whipped from Caline to Ivan. "I didn't mean to bully you! I was just teasing, honest. I didn't realize you were taking it so seriously and I'm sorry, I won't do it again, promise."
Appearing just as startled as Caline (maybe he didn't know Kim that well either?), Ivan blinked a few times before replying with a quick "It's okay."
With a frown on her face Caline spoke up. "No, Ivan, what Kim did was not okay. Even though he acknowledged his mistake, brushing it all aside by saying it's okay isn't right. Instead, say something more along the lines of 'I accept your apology.' It lets the person, in this case Kim, know that while they made a mistake before that was hurtful, you are willing to accept their apology." She placed her hand gently on Ivan's shoulder as she looked him in the eyes. "And, this is very important, you do not have to forgive Kim, or anyone, right after they say sorry. Forgiveness is, after all, an acknowledgement of letting go of your hurt and being ready to move on in your relationship with the other person. Sometimes that takes time and that's more than okay. Do you both understand?"
"Yes Miss Bustier." The boys chorused and, before Caline could say another word, Ivan turned to Kim.
"I accept your apology." Ivan told the jock in his quiet yet firm voice. "And you're forgiven. I know you didn't really mean it. Just, next time…"
Kim nodded. "Yeah man, I get it. Next time I'll try to listen when you tell me to drop it."
"Alright," Caline turned to Kim. "Now Kim, I'll let you off with a warning this time but if I see you doing something like this again you'll get a detention. Understand?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Now run along you two, it's time for lunch."
A.N. A long awaited chapter; several people requested this one and here it is! I had to reach out to a teacher (thank you Casamora for your help with this) because I, being a rule-abiding student who lived in a bubble, have no recollection of how punishments work in school settings. For those who are wondering, warning are the first step, not trips to the principal's office. Woopsies for the chapter involving the purse incident; please just assume that for that chapter Miss Bustier had tried warnings and detentions and whatnot with Chloe in the past and it didn't work okay?
I would apologize for skipping last weekend's update but I took the weekend (my usual update time) for personal leave to celebrate my birthday! :D
