Sorry this one took awhile, I'm heading back to school tomorrow so everything's been pretty hectic! I hope you like this one!
April 2021
Allie Booth smiled sheepishly as her parents walked into the headmistress' office, looking vaguely worried as they sat down on either side of their daughter.
"Ah, Director Booth and Dr. Brennan, I'm glad you were able to make it. As I mentioned on the phone Alodia was sent to my office for being disrespectful to her teacher." Headmistress Klein said, setting her hands primly in front of her.
"What exactly did she do?" Brennan asked, sounding almost skeptical.
"Her class was given the following writing prompt, 'Imagine you are a fly on the wall observing your own life. Being as descriptive as possible, please describe what a normal day is like in your house.' The prompt was supposed to take the entire class period, but Alodia's response took less than five minutes."
"I don't see how that's disrespectful," Booth interrupted, slipping into alpha male mode in case his daughter's intelligence was being attacked.
"It isn't. Her response was, 'Flies are not sentient enough to provide commentary on their surroundings. In fact, they really can't see much of anything. Was this a trick question?'"
Booth looked at Allie with his eyebrows raised, while Brennan continued to look confused, "I don't understand, was it a trick question?" She asked, looking to Booth for the answer.
"No, Bones, it's like the saying, you know 'a fly on the wall'? It's used to describe an unseen observer." Booth explained patiently, a small smile on his lips. Some things just never changed.
"It's about voyeurism?"
"No, it's like the fly's an anthropologist, Bones, observing the culture without influencing it."
"Okay, I understand," Brennan responded. She turned to Allie, "Did you realize that the question was not literal?"
Allie looked down at her lap, she could never seem to lie to her mother, "Yes." She admitted with a heavy sigh.
"When Alodia was asked to re-write her prompt, she said that the question should be revised and her answer was perfectly acceptable. That's how she ended up here." The headmistress said.
"Well, technically the question was misleading," Brennan defended.
"What I don't understand," Booth said, looking directly at Allie, "is why, if you understood the question, you would give the answer you did."
"I agree," Brennan added, disappointed that Booth came up with the question before her. Motive was his forte, though. "What was your reasoning?"
Allie rolled her eyes, wishing that her parents weren't two of the best investigators in the country. "Harry was about to fight the basilisk, I had to see what happened."
"Hold on, you used logic to finish an assignment more quickly in order to read a book?" Booth asked, amused, "You are so your mother's child." He shook his head, letting out a small laugh.
"Agent Booth, this situation is not funny. You cannot encourage your daughter to defy authority figures."
"Allie didn't 'defy' anyone, she just used her head. How many other fourth graders would come up with that? Or used the word 'sentient' properly?" Booth chuckled again, "I think she should get points for creativity."
"She refused to re-write her paper when she was asked," the headmistress replied angrily.
"Why should she have to? Technically her answer was valid." Brennan pointed out. "Why should she re-write her answer just to make the teacher she outsmarted feel better? Do we really pay twenty thousand dollars a year to an institution that forbids creative thinking?"
Allie and Booth both hid smiles as Brennan reamed the headmistress until the woman was stuttering out apologies.
"Now," Brennan huffed as she finished her rant, "do you have any other complaints against my daughter?"
"No, Dr. Brennan," the headmistress answered, looking embarrassed. "Thank you for your time."
"You're the best mom!" Allie cried as soon as they exited the office. She threw her arms around her mother's waist, and Brennan pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I've got to get back to class, see you guys later." She called as she ran off.
"Have a good afternoon, sweetheart," Brennan said as Booth called, "Bye, Allie-bug," and wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"I love you Bones," he declared, "I love the way you always fight for what's right instead of allowing your beliefs to be swept aside."
"I love you too, Booth. I love how you defend our family, no matter the circumstance." She answered, pulling him in for a kiss, which ended quickly when they remembered they were in an elementary school.
"Do you want to play hockey this afternoon, Booth?" Brennan asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively as they climbed into their car.
"You mean hooky, Bones. I would love to go home and play hooky with you. Do you want me to prove just how much I love you? You know, that whole rant you gave the headmistress was very hot…"