To Embrace
Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow.
Chapter 2: Unzipped
The secretary glared through thick rimmed glasses and Thea couldn't resist but send the stern woman another winning smile as she continued to tap her perfectly manicured nails on the magazine table next to her. She really loved winding this judgmental, bitch up. The brunette tried to play nice in the beginning but as a semi-frequent visitor to this office she felt she had more than enough experience with Mrs. Oiler's unfriendly borderline rudeness to act in kind.
It was the start of her junior year and her first visit to Mr. Stanbarry's office was three months or so prior. To her mother's immense surprise Thea had more planned for her summer than parties and trips Coast City. The day after her miraculous awakening she made an appointment with her guidance councilor and set about getting herself into summer school classes. Now that was something she never thought she would do.
Her enemy coughed pointedly and furiously slammed down another sheet of paper in the outbox on her desk. Thea's nude lips pulled wider as the woman's face reddened. She never had any run in's with Mrs. Oiler when she was actually a teenager, which was most likely a good thing. If she had, Thea wouldn't have been surprised if she found herself expelled.
The door to Mr. Stanbarry's office opened and the short, paunchy man greeted her enthusiastically. "Ah, Ms. Queen good to see you, please come in, come in." Thea stood gracefully and ignored the only other person in the waiting room as she made her way into the office.
"Now," Mr. Stanbarry said as he closed the door and came to sit behind his desk. "What can we do for you today? Can't be in too much trouble, it's only the first day!" he joked.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes she managed a humoring laugh instead. "No, no. I thought that given the amount of credits I picked up this summer we could discuss how I could change my schedule for this semester and plan next semester's in order to graduate at the end of this year."
The balding man blinked in surprise. "Graduate?!"
"Yes, graduate," she repeated, feeling her jaw muscles tighten at the incredulous tone in the guidance counselor's voice.
"Oh, well, Ms. Queen given your academic history and current credits I'm not sure…" he trailed off as he clicked his mouse no doubt looking through her school files. "You would need to take on an incredibly heavy course load to make up for some, ah, classes you didn't excel in." He seemed to struggle to put her failures as polite as possible.
"Mr. Stanbarry," she called his attention back to her. "I know I have done poorly in the past. But surely the classes I took over the summer should make up for any of those that I have failed and then a few more."
The man nodded along with her words. "Yes, yes you have given yourself a bit of a head start coming into this year but the amount of courses you will need to take…" He scrolled through the screen he was looking at and made a few noises in the back of his throat. "I'll admit, it wouldn't be impossible, but it appears you have put off your physical education credits. You need at least one and a half to graduate." He muttered to himself for a bit. "You will need to take on a full schedule this semester plus one independent study on your own time."
"I can do that," she assured quickly, tasting victory was at hand.
"Your options for a physical education class are limited given you need to take two science courses with labs this semester. The hour you'll have available only has the freshman course you've already taken and advanced archery offered. You might be able to work out some sort of independent course."
A perfectly shaped eyebrow raised at that. Snorting indelicately she shook her head. Fate was laughing at her…or fucking with her. More likely it was the second. "I'll take advanced archery."
Mr. Stanbarry made another noise of concern and Thea felt the need to fiddle with something sharp. "Well, you see the course is for those who have taken the two prerequisites and given the safety concerns and liability-"
"I can assure you sir, I am experienced with a bow. Perhaps, I may attend today's class and show the instructor that I am more than capable?" Her tone was even and confident and was clear in the fact she wouldn't take no for an answer. She wasn't above using her name if she had to.
For what seemed to be the first time since she sat down, the man across from her looked her in the eye. "I can see you are very determined." He folded his hands in front of him and leaned in. "Ms. Queen your instructors over the summer had nothing but glowing words for your performance in their classes. As gratifying it is to see you so devoted to your studies I can't help but wonder why you've taken such a turn."
Irritation rose in Thea at the questioning of her motives. She swallowed it down and forced herself to be calm. Mr. Stanbarry wasn't the first person to notice her abrupt change in priorities but he was the first to question her about it. "I know this," she waved a hand, "graduating early, taking school seriously doesn't exactly match up with my reputation, but I will do this."
His face told her nothing of his thoughts. "I have no doubt that you will. But, I, well, I am concerned about why you are taking this on. With the work you did this summer you have put yourself back on track. You could have have two light years, perhaps take on some extra curriculars or look into college courses." Seeing her frustration at this continued line of questioning he added, "I'm simply concerned you are setting yourself up for a very stressful year."
Thea could see he was genuine and despite herself, she was surprised. She never made any meaningful connections with any of the teachers or school staff before, but Mr. Stanbarry clearly cared and felt comfortable enough to speak his mind, instead of yielding to whatever demands she had. Given that her last name was on an entire wing of the school it showed more guts than her initial impression said he was capable of possessing.
"Ah, being perfectly frank Ms. Queen what you have done this summer is nothing short of miraculous," he said, voice quavering at first. "I would hate to see you falter on this new path if you begin to struggle because you take on more than is advisable."
The brunette gave him a small, but true smile, the first she had ever shown him. "I appreciate the concern Mr. Stanbarry, I really do. But, you don't need to worry about me. I can handle the classes."
Though he didn't appear reassured he nodded anyway. "Well, our time is almost up. I'll print you off a copy of your new schedule, Mrs Oiler will have it. You won't be on the roster for any of them till tomorrow so I'll give you a note. It looks like Ms. Michaels is the archery instructor," he told her, looking back at his computer. "I'll send her an email as well. If she doesn't give her permission however, we will, ah, have to find another way."
Thea nodded. She was certain she would get her way. The bell for the next period rang and the junior stood, smoothing her skirt. "Thank you for helping me with this Mr. Stanbarry." The man nodded and excused her from the room. She picked up her new schedule sharing a last glare with the secretary from hell and checked to see where she was headed.
The day dragged. She was happy to see that she had two teachers she took classes from in the summer who weren't surprised by her appearance. During the second to last period she hurried from chemistry to the athletics building. She changed quickly into the sports uniform she had in her bag, ignoring the gaggle of freshman girls who were giggling in the locker room and made her way to the archery range. It was a part of the school she never stepped foot in before.
There was no one there so she went about setting up a target that wouldn't be a challenge for her, but would surely impress. Once finished she went to the bow rack. She read in the description of this class that the students who took the course were more than welcome to bring their own personal bows but school bows would be available. She decided there wasn't really a need to bring in her own as it would draw more attention.
"Ms. Queen?" A voice called stopping her from reaching for a standard recurve with no bells and whistles.
Thea turned to see a petite middle aged woman with an iron grey pony tale and stern face. "Ms. Michaels," she guessed.
The woman walked forward. "I got Mr. Stanbarry's email and I appreciate the position you are in. But, if I don't give the go ahead for you to be in this class that will be the end of it. The students who take this class usually go on to be part of the archery team. My time is taken up correcting technique and I rely on students to manage themselves."
The brunette could hear no judgment in the woman's tone and found that her words were fair. After all, she knew better than most how deadly a bow and arrow could be. "May I?" she asked waving a hand at the bows. She already had on one of the schools mediocre arm guards. The teacher gave her silent permission and Thea chose her bow and grabbed a stand full of arrows.
The female archer drew the bow back dry a few times to warm up her muscles and get a feel for the weight. She began the slow process of getting her fighting body back over the summer, but this was the first time she touched a bow since awakening. It was like slipping into a warm pool of water. This body never laid hands on her brother's favorite weapon, but it seemed to remember. Her breath synchronized with her arm and body, creating the beautiful quiet that settled her mind without fail. This was home.
She took her stance in front of the target. Absently she noted footsteps and Ms. Michaels began to speak before quieting, whatever she wanted to say taken back as Thea reached for an arrow. The string hummed as she fired repeatedly. She didn't fire as quickly as she could have. She didn't want to break any school records, but wanted to prove she would not be a liability in this class. By the time she shot all her arrows her arm muscles were fatiguing. She withheld her grimace. The draw wasn't even thirty-five pounds.
Some of the other students entered the range and were watching with interest. She noted some familiar faces but none of them were friends or even acquaintances. Ms. Michaels came closer and looked down the range to her target. Her face was emotionless but she nodded in approval. "You can stay for today. Collect your arrows, we won't be shooting until the latter half of the class."
Thea zoned out through the syllabus and safety lecture. Instead she chose to study her nails. The shooting chipped the blackened green color Unzipped. It was a favorite at the moment and reminded her of Green Arrow's outfit. Her mind jumped to her old suit. Perhaps a change in color was in order. Roy said red suited her before but she didn't care for the color as much anymore.
After the lecture Ms. Michaels did some technique demonstration before sending them off to practice. There were enough lanes and the class size was small enough that no one had to share. The not sixteen year old went through the shooting on auto pilot, but made sure not to show too much of her skill, focusing on quantity rather than accuracy. Her arm burned by the time the first bell rang. She hung back doing more than her fair share of the clean up. There were only three other girls in class and she didn't feel like socializing with them in the locker room.
"Ms. Queen," the teacher called. Thea walked over, confident that she more than proved herself capable. "This class obviously won't be a problem for you. In fact I think we both know you are beyond what I can teach you. Would you consider joining the archery team?"
Thea's ponytail swung. "No, I'm sorry, but I'm just not interested in competition." Skills like hers would be noted and she didn't want such a record once bow wielding vigilante's began to pop up around the city.
The shorter woman seemed disappointed but then came up with an offer Thea couldn't refuse. "You're missing a few P.E. credits correct? Well, how about you help out at practice and I could get you a quarter of a credit both semesters, you'll only have to take one P.E. class next semester." Surprised at the offer, Thea debated it for a moment and decided helping out shouldn't call too much attention to herself. Ms. Michaels told her when she would be expected and the brunette headed back to the locker rooms.
The last period of the day, calculus with Mr. Ackers, who Thea took another math class over the summer with flew by and the final bell rang signaling the end of the first day of what would hopefully be her final final year of high school.
Caught up in the mass of bodies flooding out the main doors Thea let herself be pushed along by the crowd. She caught sight of her driver in the pick up area before an arm was thrown across her shoulders. The not sixteen year old bit down hard at the instinct to remove said arm from her shoulders violently and looked up to see Bobby Miller.
"Haven't seen you for a while Queen," the floppy blonde haired teen said with what Thea once thought was a rather adorable smile. "We missed you over the summer."
"I've been busy," she returned shrugging off his arm and continuing on her path. She could see her driver, Park, an ex-marine eye the boy trying to get her attention.
"Wow Margo said you were blowing everyone off but-"
"You thought you'd be special?" she cut in not breaking her stride to look back at him.
"Bitch!" floated after her but the brunette just shook her head. She didn't have time to waste on people she once considered friends. Oliver was right the first time around when he said she hung with the wrong crowd. None of her so-called friends were around when things started to go bad for the Queen family.
She greeted Park, before getting into the car. "Home please," she requested as she settled in for the ride.
"Good first day?" Park asked, not taking his dark eyes off the road. The stocky man was her driver during the summer and unlike most of his fellows he preferred light conversation to silence while they were in the car together.
"As first days go it was more productive than most," she answered. "Any interesting gossip amongst the hens?" she teased. The drivers who almost always doubled as bodyguards, loved to chit chat like old women as they waited for the children of Starling City's elite.
She could see his lips twist up in the rearview mirror at her jab. "Nothing to write home about today," he answered. "That boy giving you trouble?"
Her hazel eyes rolled, "Not any I can't handle. I'm afraid I hurt his poor little teenage boy pride."
Park chuckled. "That's too bad, they're a sensitive breed, you should be more careful."
"I'll try to remember that next time," she promised with a rueful smile. "I am doing some stuff after school starting next week. I should be done around 5:30 every day."
The ex-marine nodded as they stopped at a red light. "Nice, that's when all the guys who have kids in sports turn up. I can get some inside information, maybe make a buck betting on high schoolers."
Thea laughed and shook her head. "I'm glad it will work out for the both of us. You don't mind getting home a bit later, or more importantly your wife won't mind?"
"Nope, her residency is in full swing and she's barely home as it is."
The drive continued as they both commiserated on busy schedules that didn't allow them to see their loved ones as often as they would like. When they arrived at Queen manor Park dropped her off at the front door and said goodbye for the day as his last duty was getting her home.
Once in the manor Thea made a B line for the kitchen and found Raisa working on icing one of her favorite treats, lemon bars. "Yum, what is the occasion?" The housekeeper who was so much more than that smiled warmly in greeting.
"I just thought it would be nice to have a treat after your first day. They just need an hour or so for the icing to set."
"But they're so good slightly gooey," Thea protested, her lips forming a pout.
"Later!" Raisa urged with a laugh. "How about I make some tea and you tell me about your first day at school while we wait."
Not managing words Thea nodded. After the Undertaking nearly all of the staff of Queen Manor were dismissed including Raisa. At the time she was too wrapped up in what was going on in her life to take notice but now being with Raisa again made the way she acted sting sharply.
After Oliver and her dad died her mom shut down unless she needed to make an appearance for QC. Moira could pull herself together long enough to put on a good show for the board, but she couldn't stand to talk with her daughter about the loss they shared. Raisa filled the silence that Thea was drowning in. She listened to her, held her, and was simply there in all the ways she needed. Thea wasn't able to tell Raisa how much that meant before. It was a mistake she wouldn't be repeating.
Raisa came back with the tea pot and cups and the not sixteen year old retrieved cream and sugar. Taking a seat at the counter Thea unzipped her backpack and pulled out her planner. "So my schedule's a bit crazy, but I think I'll be able to handle it."
A/N: So this chapter was pretty much new content focusing on what Thea was doing in school. We are exactly a year or so from Oliver's arrival.
