P squared

Posted on Thu Sep 26th, 2024 @ 20:29 by Phoebe Hunter & Tom Albridge & Penny Gardner

Chapter: Besieged
Location: Teachers Lounge
Timeline: 28th January 1993
1836 words - 3.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Since arriving Penny had rarely sought the refuge of the teachers lounge, but today was a day she needed it. With everything in the news, the kids had been full of uncomfortable questions. The whole morning had been about trying to keep them focused on the work, while also helping them process the world they had found themselves in. She was exhausted, and she sorely needed some company and a cup of tea. Upon entering she looked around to see if anyone else was there.

Phoebe looked up and smiled at the woman who entered the room. They had vaguely met when Claire had given her a tour and she had heard the student talking about a new teacher who had joined mid-term but they had not had the chance to catch up and talk themselves. "Hello, Ms Gardner right? Penny?"

Penny smiled and then came to sit near the woman, giving a small sigh as she was able to rest her feet a moment. "Hi, yes! That's me." A look of horror then flocked over the tall woman's face as she realised she had forgotten this friendly woman's name. There had been so many new faces and information to take in on the tour, that she had completely blanked on the redhead's name. "Ah... I'm so sorry. I'm afraid I'm terrible with names, but you're the history teacher right?"

"Phoebe." The woman said nodding. "I do teach history and I am impressed that you remembered that. On my whirlwind whistle-stop tour, I met far too many people and went to many places it took me a week to remember my way properly to my classroom, rooms and other things." Phoebe assured smiling as she rose from her seat where she had been marking a quiz she had given the younger students to gauge where they were roughly at the mid point of the school year. "Tea?" She wondered thinking she knew the layout better than the woman to make a pot.

“Oh I have very much been getting lost still.” Penny laughed, relieved she was not the only one who struggled in their first week. “And yes please, black no sugar.” She was actually very much gagging for a cup.

“That’s a very pretty name. How long have you been at Avalon for Phoebe?”

"Thank you. I like it enough to not have changed it." She grinned as she waited for the kettle to boil. "Since September. So I am pretty new." Phoebe assured. She always felt new compared to all the people who seemed to have a shared history of creating the place compared to her who had come in to lead the secret protectors.

"Oh another newbie! That's great, we can both look confused when the others share a big inside joke." Penny said with a grin and a friendly wink. "How do you like it so far? You managed to find your feet yet or are you still getting lost in the corridors like me?" She then kicked her shoes off and folded her legs under her in the chair. Experience had taught her when you had a moment to yourself, you should make the most of it in a school environment. Whether that was to have the comfiest break, or try and do all the extra tasks that landed with a teacher it didn't matter, Penny always leaned into the moment like it was a good joke.

"I would not class myself as new now but they have all been wonderful." Pheobe could not say that anyone has big inside jokes. Pheobe was most likely if her role in the knights ever came out would be the one that they were the most surprised at. She smiled to herself as the kettle finished boiling and she set about fixing the 2 cups. "I love this place and cannot imagine being anywhere else right now." It was not often that Pheobe felt like that anywhere it had been why she had shifted around so much with MI-13.

“Yeah? That’s nice to hear. It does seem nice. Although I must admit I have never been around so many mutants before.” Penny still found herself wanting to hide whenever she gave of a faint pulse of light, something she no doubt would lose in time. “Where did you live before you came here?”

"London," Phoebe answered quickly. "So been around a lot of mutants since my childhood." It was one of the things that she loved about first her aunt's hippie nature and then growing up with her Foster Father they were among mutants. She paused for a moment as she realised it might be why she liked Claire as she reminded her of her aunt.

Penny brightened slightly, happy to have at least one small thing in common with her new colleague. “Oh another southerner. Should have known by the accent. That must have been good growing up around others. Do you miss it ever? We are a long way from London so must be difficult to visit often.” She felt a small sting of her own homesickness, but she knew from the past few days, that it would be fleeting.

"There are a few of us around," Phoebe assured, not everyone was an American refugee which made her giggle internally as she had given up her American citizenship many years ago. Britain had made her and she countered herself as a Londoner after over a decade of living there. "I do sometimes but then I get up on the cold mornings and see the mist across the loch and smile. This is the best job I have ever had."

"It is nothing to do with me then?" A voice asked coming in. Tom Albridge was a known figure around the school having come in after the Halloween incident to assist more with the boundary protection but the man kept to himself a lot of the time.

"Nope, but it is nice to be working with you again. Tom meet Penny, Penny meet Tom if you have not had the chance to meet yet." Phoebe introduced adding another mug to her collection.

Penny waved from her comfy armchair. “No, we haven’t had the pleasure yet but it’s nice to meet you Tom. Penny Gardener, the new Drama teacher.” Penny then grinned at Phoebe, touched by the woman’s obvious enjoyment of the surrounding landscape and her work here. “It is a pretty spectacular place to be, I keep thinking I’m going to meet a ghost in the hallway or find a secret passageway.” She took a sip of her tea and then smiled at the two of them.

“So you both met before?”

Pheobe turned away at the mention of a secret passageway and smiled to herself. It was amusing in that it was so true, it was possible as some of the students had discovered. "We have at University," Pheobe assured bringing out the mugs on a tray. "He was going to get himself into trouble and I stopped it."

"I might have thought it was a grand idea to move ... a lot of earth and she convinced me that I had a lot more to offer the universe and to complete my degree," Tom said fondly at the woman. "But once I left University I went travelling and worked in a few different places before I came back with attitudes changing."

“Ah I see, personal growth is always to be commended!” Penny smiled at the two and took another sip of her drink. “So what do you both get up to when the last class is over for the day and you’ve done all your marking?”

"I run and read," Phoebe commented thinking that the dark nights and mornings were certainly hampering the running aspect of her training and routine. She enjoyed being outside instead of running inside, it always felt better.

"Oh I barely have time to do anything at the moment other than climb into bed. Been helping William with the grounds and tilling the Earth. I should get some extra cookies or something for that. Merci." He said the last part thoughtfully to himself as he picked up his cup of tea and took a sip.

"What you reading at the moment?" Penny asked Phoebe before glancing over to the window at the said grounds. "Well you have been doing a great job, place is very impressive. Can't imagine it's easy work Tom, alhough not sure I have met William yet, I'm still at the getting lost if I don't concentrate stage."

"You would know," Tom and Phoebe said together before the woman indicated the man could continue. "You would know if you met William. Tall, longest hair, very gruff and Scottish." Tom explained. "It's mostly his work I only do it for fun," The man assured quickly. William was the one who did it by hand, Tom just did it with a thought.

Penny laughed and smiled between the two other teachers. “Tall, gruff and Scottish, I will be sure to keep an eye out when I am taking my next walk around the grounds.” She then glanced to a window. “Well weather permitting. Scottish winter is different to Kent winter.” As she said that she tugged her cardigan around her body tighter. “Going to be knitting all the scarves and blankets at this rate.”

"You get used to it eventually but certainly different from down south." Phoebe nodded. London would be raining but warmer than the highlands that was for sure. They had gotten through the worst of the winter and there was only a little more snow due. "At least there is decent snow and it's not slushy. I don't miss much from down there."

"Not even..."

"No." Phoebe did not even need to know what ever was going to come out of his mouth to know that she did not miss it.

Penny quirked an eyebrow at that last reaction, but chose not to pry, at least not the first time they were meeting. “I think I’ll miss the Summer fruit picking but it’s beautiful up here. Feels clean and fresh.”

Tom shook his head quickly and just smiled. It would all become clear eventually but for now it could rest.

“Cannot say I’ve done much fruit picking.” He admitted rubbing his face and frowned at the stubble there now. He watched the two women for a moment before the redhead let out a longing sigh.

“Mmm I could do with something like fruit,” Phoebe said decidedly. She had an idea and now she could not stop thinking about it. “I will excuse myself and go find some fruit.” She admitted. “Pleasure to meet you, you Penny.”

Penny checked her own watch at Phoebe’s farewell. “Oh yes, I should probably get back to my classroom and crack in with organising the props and costumes. It was nice to meet you both, thanks for the company.”