School meeting

Note: I don't live in the US, so I really don't know much about their school system.

Part of the Ms Portman's speech to Tony and Pepper was taken verbatim from a Nursery School's site.

Thanks to Jake, who has a three-year-old and gave me some valuable advice!

It's deja vu for Tony Stark, when his son's Principal calls him for an urgent meeting.

"Tony," Pepper said, "Please, come sit down."

Tony, who had been standing by an open window, glanced over his shoulder. Sitting in front of Principal's Portman's desk, Pepper was looking at him in silent appeal. She even patted the chair next to her. But Tony was adamant about not sitting on one of those; they brought him too many memories -bad ones.

One look at the chairs and he'd made a beeline for the nearest window.

"Where's this damn Principal, anyway?" he asked. "Nine sharp, she said, and now -"

"Tony -"

"She's doing it on purpose," he said. "She's making us wait to break us down -" But he knew how paranoid that sounded, and so he looked out the window again. Children were playing out there, happy and carefree -his son among them.

Tony Jr., curls flying about, was running around, laughing and teasing his little pals.

A good little boy.

"He's a good kid," Tony said aloud.

"He is," Pepper said soothingly.

With his eyes still following his son, Tony said, "What kind of trouble can a four-year old get into, anyway?"

That's what they'd been asking themselves since they'd got a note from Tony Jr.'s teacher, requesting their presence at school. They still still had no answer to the question, but privately, Tony had a few ideas.

He hadn't said anything to Pepper -she was worried enough as it was- but the truth was, Tony's parents had been summoned to principals' offices all through his childhoold and well into his teen years. Looking back, he doubted his troublesome ways would have raised eyebrows now; he was just a mischievous, hyperfactive kid, the kind that would have been pumped full of Ritalin, had the drug existed at the time. But that was exactly what troubled him the most now; what if Tony Jr., had inherited his penchant for trouble? What if they decided that Ritalin was the answer?

Not that that was the worst that could happen.

"What if -" he said suddenly; "What if he's slow?"

Pepper sighed again. "Oh, Tony -"

"It could happen."

"If he is, then we'll help him."

Tony was placated.

For a moment.

"What if..." He started again. He turned to look at her. "What if he's too smart for his own good?"

Pepper smiled more warmly this time. "Then he'll grow up to be a mad genius like his father. What's so bad about that?" She patted the seat next to her again. "Come sit down. Miss Portman will be here any minute."

Right on cue, Principal Portman entered the room. A woman in her late thirties, she smiled warmly at Pepper. "Mrs. Stark, good morning. Thank you for being here." She went to her desk before she addressed Tony. "Good morning, Mr. Stark. Would you...?" She motioned him to take a seat.

"I'll stay here, if you don't mind."

"I believe you will be more comfortable here," Ms Portman said.

'You can believe whatever you want,' Tony thought, but wisely refrained from saying it aloud. He reluctantly moved away from the window, but that was his sole concesion. He didn't take a seat; instead, he leant on the bookcase closest to the Principal's desk.

"Hey, you're right. It's more comfortable here," he said. And there was another window there too -an unexpected bonus.

Ms Portman's smile never wavered, but from then on, she turned her attention to Pepper, even though her words were directed to both.

"Mr. And Mrs. Stark," she said, "As you know, Sunny Prairie School provides an environment where a sense of wonder can flourish and where order and predictability are balanced by flexibility and freedom to experiment -"

'Oh, boy', Tony thought. It was going to be one of those meetings. He sighed noisily, but the young Principal barely noticed. She was focused on Pepper, her manners oozing goodwill. 'Of course,' Tony thought sardonically; the school couldn't afford to antagonize a rich parent, no matter what their child did.

But what could a four-year-old boy do, for crying-out-loud?

'At least they didn't require Tony Jr. to be here'. Tony still remembered sitting on chairs just like those, flanked not by his parents (who were just too busy/uninterested to attend) but by his caretakers of the day, usually some rookie lawyers from Stark Industries who resented the shitty assignment and openly hated his rich boy guts, (which meant that no matter how neatly the teachers were handled, he was screwed anyway).

Tony tuned out those thoughts and turned his attention back to the Principal, who still hadn't gotten to the point.

"When we, as school authorities, require a parent's presence, it is to ensure that -"

"Oh, boy," Tony muttered, inadvertently loud enough for Pepper and the teacher to hear. There was a sudden silence in the room, and Tony looked around, only to find both women looking at him. Pepper was giving him her best, 'I-love-you-but-if-you-don't-behave-I'll-have-to-kill-you' look, while the Principal was eyeing him a bit warily. Billionaire parents could make or break the entire school system, and she couldn't afford to be openly confrontative.

Tony smiled magnanimously. "I'm sorry, Ms Portman; you were saying?"

"Thank you. As I was saying, our goal is to have every parent contribute their ideas to the -"

"Ok, look," Tony said abruptly; "You don't have to sugarcoat it, ok? You called us in -we already know that; we wouldn't be here, otherwise; so, why don't you just cut the crap and tell us what's going on?" Ok, the 'crap' word was uncalled for, so he added a belated, "Please?"

The Principal eyed him frostily. "Mr. Stark; if your presence is required elsewhere, then by all means, you may go."

"Well, that was pretty straightforward, at least," Tony muttered. "No, Ms Portman, I'm not leaving; I just want you to say -whatever you have to say."

"Well, as I -"

"I'm not about to dodge my responsiblities," Tony mumbled, again loud enough for them to hear.

"As I was saying, I -"

"He's a good kid -"

"Yes, he is, Mr. Stark; as I -"

"If he's in trouble, then we'll do anything to help." He noticed the silence again. Both Pepper and Miss Portman were looking at him. "What?"

Pepper gave him another look, then looked back at the Principal.

"Ms Portman, please; just tell us what happened."

The young woman took a deep breath.

"Mr. And Mrs. Stark. While Sunny Prairies prides itself on embracing every culture, it does not encourage the discussion of a number of subjects, especially those of a delicate nature."

The Starks were genuinely puzzled.

"Delicate nature?" Tony asked. "He's four! What delicate subjects can he be talking about?"

"In this case? Religion."

"Religion?" Pepper repeated.

"Which one?" This from Tony, who was familiar with the subject, having hundreds of employees from different nationalities, all requiring numerous days off to celebrate their religious festivities.

"Not one religion, Mr. Stark," Ms Portman said patiently. "What happened is this: On January 13th, Anthony entered into a discussion with Martine Balleau, a little girl from his class. It seems they were discussing God."

"God?"

"Yes."

"Why would a four-year-old..." Tony started, then paused when he saw Pepper squirm in her seat. "Pepper?"

"Well, hum..."

The Principal looked at her. "Have you discussed the subject with him, Mrs. Stark?"

"I might have," she stalled. Then, "Yes, I did."

"Oh." Tony frowned. "I didn't know that."

"I had to," Pepper said; "He was asking questions, and -" She hesitated. "And I want him to believe in a higher power," she finished defiantly.

Ms Portman smiled.

"I understand, Mrs. Stark. Considering your household arrangements," she added, pointedly glancing in Tony's direction; "I see why you would need to do that."

She and Pepper exhanged a look of complicity that didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" Tony frowned.

Pepper smiled.

"Tony, you're Iron Man; you're able to fly, you blast your oponents into submission... You're a god-like creature in the eyes of any child!"

"But that's not bad," Tony replied. "Is it?"

"It is if you're Iron Man's son," she said gently. "He needs to know about rules and discipline and -"

"Ok, ok," Tony said, raising a hand. "I understand. It's not like I'm an atheist; I say 'my God' whenever I get blasted by my enemies, you know. So, Ms Portman; my son believes in God; is that a problem to you?"

"It is not a problem in itself; it's what he said next. Anthony told Martine that God lives in your workshop, Mr. Stark."

Pepper looked up sharply at Tony. 'What did you do?' her eyes said.

"What, what?" Tony asked. "I didn't tell him He lives there. What did Tony say exactly, Ms Portman?"

"Anthony said that God lives there, and He knows everything, and He answers everybody's questions, and -" she cleared her throat. "He said God's name is JARVIS."

Pepper and Tony looked at each other and burst into laughs. Tony reached out a hand, and Pepper eagerly rose and went to him. They hugged each other in relief.

"Oh, that's a good one. JARVIS. Oh, God, this is so funny!"

"Oh, shit, yeah," Tonys said. "When JARVIS finds out -no," he countered. "We'd better not tell him anything. He thinks too highly of himself already!"

Principal Portman stared uncomprehendly at the Starks. She cleared her throat once and then again to get their attention, to no avail. She was about to call out to them and demand an explanation...

Then decided against it.

After all, it wasn't every day that parents ended up hugging and laughing in this office.

'Oh, what the hay', she thought to herself.

She smiled and sat back to enjoy the craziness of it all.

the end