(A/N)- Thank you soso much for reviewing, everyone! Srsly keep doing it bc I have a job now - it's part time in retail, so I don't get many shifts, but because I finally have some kind of duty other than daily tasks, I feel compelled to work on my writing whenever I have free time, so the updates are likely to happen a lot quicker from here on in! ;p I know I can't promise anything, but in any case if stuff's not being posted, it's being worked on! I planned this thing out at least 4 times before settling on it, and I owe a lot to typicalRAinbow for letting me bounce ideas off of her and offering suggestions! This chapter wouldn't be here if not for her bc this episode was driving me bonkers! Okay so enjoy! :D This is written for the episode 'Old Hats and New Brooms'
- Old Qualms and New Beginnings-
Miss Gimlet, who had been simply a class tutor and counselor for the second years for the past ten years or so, had suddenly disappeared off to the Inner Hebrides, leaving the position of class tutor up for grabs.
"Who is to be the replacement second year tutor, Miss Cackle? We need a clear, firm decision here and now."
Miss Cackle looked sheepishly between her two candidates, Miss Drill and Miss Bat, who looked down at her with wide, expectant eyes like small children at Christmastime.
"Well, it is a rather tough decision to make … what do you think, Miss Hardbroom?"
"Oh, don't look at me. I have no part in this," Miss Hardbroom said matter-of-factly, rather amused at the situation.
"Isn't it obvious?" Imogen asked incredulously, "Miss Bat's been given a chance already; it's high time I was put in charge of something other than my classes."
"I deserve a second chance!" Davina declared, "I've more experience than you and I'm a witch to boot."
"Low blow, Davina," Constance reprimanded as she poured the tea for her colleagues.
"I thought you were having no part in this!" Davina shrilled as Imogen looked to her shoes in embarrassment, "Are you really going to side with the woman who rode her bike through the school this morning?"
"Really?" Constance asked incredulously, "As opposed to the witch who rode her broomstick through the corridors just minutes ago?"
"All right, Constance," Amelia soothed, "I've made a decision – now don't look at me like that!" she chided when Davina started to make puppy-dog eyes, "I've decided that for the time being, both of you should share the position of class tutor."
"Do you really think that's appropriate?" Constance asked uncertainly.
"Are you questioning my authority, Constance?" Amelia replied smoothly.
The deputy head sighed deeply, "Of course not, headmistress."
"Well then, let us have our tea and biscuits while the girls get settled, and Imogen - you and Davina can deliver the news to the second year girls together."
Constance sighed in exasperation at the prospect of how that might turn out, but made no comment. Davina tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned as the batty old witch handed over the sunglasses she had let her borrow, thanking her quietly.
Imogen watched, feeling rather hurt that Constance had so carelessly allowed the chanting mistress to borrow the sunglasses that she had meant for Constance to have … but she had no right to feel hurt. After all, Constance had the right to give them to whomever she wanted.
They locked eyes for a moment as Constance went to sit, but no words were exchanged.
Imogen, having nowhere else to sit, sat beside Constance, who tensed up at the sudden closeness of her colleague. Imogen noticed, but pretended not to, making sure to keep her knees turned so she didn't accidentally brush against her.
"So, Imogen, how was summer camp?" Davina asked politely, trying to be civil with her despite the current rivalry that had been unintentionally proposed between them.
"It was lovely, thank you," Imogen replied with a smile, "So nice to be teaching children without having to sort out grades in the end."
"And how is your boyfriend, Mr. Dubois?"
Imogen bit her lip, stirring her tea absentmindedly with her spoon, "He's … fine … he was rather busy most of the summer, so I didn't get to see him much …"
She could feel Constance's eyes burning into her as she stared down at her plate. She knew that Constance knew. When she had mentioned working at summer camp just moments ago, she failed to insert the words 'my boyfriend's' and she had done so on purpose, because she knew that without saying it, Constance would know that they'd broken up. This was because Imogen didn't know how to bring it up without saying it outright, and she knew that Constance wouldn't miss that little detail … however, now she found herself not wanting to face the fact in light of this new position having opened up. She didn't want to appear pitiful in Amelia's eyes. And she really didn't want to get into detail, not in front of Constance.
Luckily for her, Constance quickly changed the subject, "Did you all get the memo about Ethel Hallow?"
And immediately they all began to buzz with questions and comments regarding why a girl so young would even think about getting a magical makeover and how her father could ever allow such a thing.
Imogen spent most of the first day back trying to one-up Davina's extracurricular activities. The pair of them took turns with the girls and spent more time with them than form tutors usually would, in an attempt to show what they were capable of to Miss Cackle. This, however, only made the girls cross with them and there was a lot more moaning and groaning than usual. Imogen felt bad for making them go through this, and she herself was becoming rather exhausted. The following day, she put on her grey pantsuit – the same clothes she had worn initially to job interviews, including the interview she had for her current job. It was her only pair of professional clothing, and she hoped that it might leave a lasting impression on Miss Cackle. After all, presenting herself in it did get her the sports mistress job, even if she did wear casual clothes for most of the year.
It was, however, very stifling to wear, especially outdoors, for the castle hallways were always quite chilly even during the daytime hours. She was determined to suffer to keep up appearances, for once in her life.
Fortunately, this morning was nice and brisk, so she wasn't uncomfortable at all. In fact she was probably better off than her girls, who were all shivering a bit in their t-shirts and shorts.
"Come on now, girls!" she called out, "Five laps around the courtyard to wake your selves up, and then it's off to the sports shed to fetch the volleyballs.
She had just finished setting up the nets in the center of the yard, and she breathed a sigh of relief before retreating back to the shadows of the castle, determined to keep out of the sun as much as possible whilst she wore this thick suit.
She heard shouting and yelling from inside the castle – undoubtedly Miss Bat's first chanting class of the day. It was the first year girls, obviously, for they were all off-key and they probably weren't even sure of exactly what they were even saying. They sounded like children yelling in a courtyard, which is probably why Constance Hardbroom came storming out of the building at the very next moment.
"Miss Drill!" Constance shouted, stopping in her steps, momentarily taken aback by the blonde's professional garb this morning, "Would you please control your class! Miss Cackle and I—"
The taller woman looked about the courtyard at the third year girls, who were jogging silently on their fourth lap or so, and she shut her lips.
"Oh … I'm sorry … I could've sworn it was coming from out here …" she said, looking embarrassed.
"It's fine," Imogen assured with a reassuring smile as yells began to erupt from inside the castle again, "It's Davina's class."
She groaned in annoyance as she turned to leave, "I should've known. If you'll excuse me …"
Davina hit some high notes, and Imogen heard the sound of slate sliding against slate, and the next thing she knew, Constance had snatched her by the shoulders and pulled her aside, halfway against the wall of the castle as six slate tiles fell from the rooftop and hit the courtyard cobblestone, shattering into dust.
Heart hammering in her chest, Imogen looked up from the debris to meet Constance's brown eyes, which in turn fixed on hers. Imogen was too dazed to do or say anything, not even to thank her. It was such a close call … she was still trying to process what had just happened.
Constance seemed to think nothing of it as she quickly released her, stepping away as she grumbled under her breath.
"I've had it up to here with that woman …"
She turned before going back inside, pointing towards the girls, "Keep the girls away from the castle lest any more fall."
Imogen watched after her, absentmindedly waving her hand towards her pupils, "Girls …" she managed before shaking her head dazedly and clapping her hands, "Volleyball's cancelled for today, we're going for a walk in the forest instead."
After the fights that occurred between the first and second years regarding jewelry and other objects not typically allowed at Cackle's Academy, Miss Cackle had finally decided that Miss Hardbroom would be assigned form tutor to the second years, and that Miss Bat and Miss Drill would tutor the first years for half a term each. Miss Bat was to start immediately for the first half, unfortunately. She was in Miss Cackle's office, going over the class list. Miss Drill wanted to be there too, as she would be taking it over for Miss Bat in the middle of the term, but Miss Bat began to get shrill and started assuming that Miss Drill was trying to take over early, and so for the sake of Amelia's ears as well as her own, she exited the headmistress's office and retreated to the staffroom.
She opened the door to find Miss Hardbroom sitting amidst a pile of manila folders and paperwork, looking rather busy as she scribbled some notes and filed them away neatly. She looked up as Imogen entered, raising a skeptical brow.
"Aren't you supposed to be in Miss Cackle's office learning the ropes?"
"Davina had a hissy fit about my being there, so I left," Imogen explained, sitting at the end of the table at a safe distance from the witch's papers as she poured herself a cup of tea.
Constance sighed as she filled out some more paperwork, shaking her head, "You really should get back in there. You're only delaying the inevitable, once your turn to tutor them comes around you won't be properly prepared for it."
"I'm sure I can handle assigning extra-curricular activities and the occasional counseling." Imogen replied confidently.
"That's only half of it," Constance replied, suppressing an amused smirk.
"Really?" Imogen asked, confused, "Well … what's the other half?"
"You also need to keep an eye on the girls' grades, see where they need help, see that they attend study hours, offer counseling if needed, contact their parents if it gets to that … You will be required to have advisement with each of them separately at the end of each month. You would also have the duty of random room inspections as well as a mandatory one at the end of each month; see that the girls are keeping their rooms tidy."
Imogen looked a little blown away by all of this responsibility, but she sipped her tea instead, pretending to be nonchalant and keeping a straight face when it burned her lips, "Do you really think Davina is capable of all this?"
"Oh, I know for a fact that she isn't which is why you should be in Miss Cackle's office, going over what needs to be done. It is more than likely that you will have to take over sooner than you think." She replied seriously, "I give it a week."
"So much for supporting your fellow colleagues," Imogen remarked, folding her arms.
"It's nothing personal," Constance insisted, "Davina is who she is, and we all know her anxieties can't handle it."
"Then why did Miss Cackle—"
"Davina needs to be included. She's been given another chance; in the very least we could say that we tried."
Imogen nodded, looking to the table as Constance continued with her work, the only sound in the room was the scratching of her feather quill as she wrote. The sports mistress blew on her tea to cool it down as she leaned forward a bit, trying to make out what Constance was filling out from all the way across the table.
Constance noticed her peeping, and stopped, staring straight ahead for a moment, and closing her eyes with a sigh before looking over at the blonde.
"What is it now?" she asked exasperatedly.
"Nothing," Imogen replied innocently, sitting back in her chair.
Constance exhaled sharply, and patted the seat beside her with a roll of her eyes, "Come here."
Imogen smirked, and (probably too eagerly) sat down beside the witch and listened intently as Constance went over the papers with her.
(A/N)- So? What did you think? :D reviews please! Next is going straight into 'Alarms and Diversions'