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“Olivia,” Loki knocks lightly on the door, shifting on his feet as he eyed the keep out sign pinned to it. Sighing, he knocks again and pushes the door open, his eyes immediately finding the lump of a person and sheets on the bed, “It's time to get up. The early bird catches the worm. Come on,”The lump shifted and the top of Olivia's head poked out from the foot of the bed with a groan and a sleepy mumble of “I'm up.” she pushes her matted black hair from her face with another tired groan. And Loki waited by the door until she swung her socked feet over the side of the bed and slunk out of her room past him with a yawn and into the bathroom.Loki closes her bedroom door and trotted down the stairs and back into the kitchen to set up her breakfast. He knows she stayed up late to finish her homework, he knows that she is tired, but he can't allow her to miss the bus again this morning. He can't be driving her to school when he's supposed to be driving himself to work.He sighs as he pours pancake mix into the hot pot that sizzled upon contact. He watches it as it slowly cooked over a low heat. Moments later, Olivia runs down the stairs and skates into the kitchen -- almost falling, but she righted herself just in time -- she was grinning like she was the happiest child in the world as she sat down at the kitchen table. Loki raises his eyebrows at her, he flipped the pancake in the frying pan. “Good dreams, then?”Olivia shakes her head and Loki placed three pancakes on a plate and rests it in front of her along with her favorite syrup and a small bowl of diced fruits. When he finished cooking the last batch of pancakes, Loki sits at the table with his own plate of pancakes and fruits.Olivia picks up the pitcher of orange juice and poured herself some. “We get a new history teacher today... we're excited but sad that Mrs. Murphy had to retire, she was the best.” Her beautiful smile drops slightly and a certain saddens comes to her blue eyes that Loki immediately recognized.Loki nods, sipping on a mug of coffee and occasionally, he'd pick at his pancakes. This morning was slow and sluggish, as it always was when this time of the year swung by. He tried his best to move through the day as normally as he could, but it was hard to waddle in the darkness with no light to guide him.He lost his light... well, part of it, with Olivia being here was just what he needed to carry him on because he has her to live for. But the other part? It had flicked and died the day his wife did.Two years ago, today. Siygn was his everything and she was stolen from him at the end of a gun from a late night trip to the store he should've gone on himself."Can't I stay at home today?" Olivia asked suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts.Loki's dark eyebrows draw together as his daughter's words finally register in his mind, he rose an eyebrow, his lips forming a thin line. "Don't you have that important math class today?"The young girl shrugs and picks up her orange juice to sip at it, "It's not that important.. " she mumbles into the glass."It is important, Mr. Campbell called to tell me you've been falling behind as of late." Loki says, putting his mug down, "School is important, I want you to understand that.""But I really don't want to go in today...can't you just call in sick for me? And I won't ask you for anything for the entire month!" She pleads, and Loki could see in her eyes that she honestly did not want to go. He understood why of course, he more than understood. But there was no one he can call on to watch her for the day, and he'll be gone until late in the evening, he didn't trust her home all by herself."Olivia." Loki warns, "Take some advice from me, you'll never get what you want."Olivia groans and slumps down into her chair, "Fine." She then proceeds to quickly eat her breakfast before going back upstairs to get ready. Loki sighs loudly and runs a hand through his hair. He busied himself with cleaning up after himself and Olivia before packing her lunch and a few snacks into her bag. When she came down fully dressed, she still seemed upset with Loki. She drops her book bag in the entrance hallway before coming back to the kitchen."You're not going to stay upset with me all day are you?" Loki asks, watching her as she took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. She looks at him before rolling her eyes, "No, I can't... I have no one else to talk to around here and you're my best friend..." Olivia smiles lightly before moving to hug her father. Loki chuckles and wraps his arms around her shoulders before pressing a kiss to her damp hair.The two were broken apart by the sound of the bus stopping outside and Olivia pulls away with a smile. "Are you picking me up after school?""I've nothing better to do," Loki says, and Olivia grabs her lunch bag and book bag, "See you later Dad,""See you," Loki studies her as she grabbed her bag and gave him one last wave before heading out to the bus. He knew she could be quite troublesome around this time of the year, and he probably should've kept her home. Last year he had to get her from school because she started a fight with Victoria Gale. The last thing he needs today is trouble.::Y/n takes a nervous breath and fixes the files on her desk for the fifth time this morning. She looks over the attendance sheet and worries at her bottom lip with her teeth. Five minutes to the bell and she'd be meeting her new class today. This is her first batch of twelve-year-olds, and she was nervous. So she decided to keep things simple today; introductions, a bit of teaching here and there and just trying to get to know her new students. Mrs. Murphy guaranteed that the students of this class were the best, Y/n hoped they were as well behaved and hardworking as she promised.The bell rang loudly in the hallway, and knowing that the children would be here any moment, Y/n stood and straightened out her white blouse and dusted the imaginary dust from her black pencil skirt. She wanted to make sure that she looked okay; a good first impression goes a long way.The door opens and students piled in, chattering and laughing as they moved to their seats. Once they were all settled and seated and the Principal gave his morning announcements, Y/n smiles brightly at her class."Hello everyone," she says, her smile widening at the positive responses when everyone said hello back. "I'm Miss L/n and I'll be teaching you History,"After telling the class a bit about herself, she picks up the attendance sheet. "Alright, I'll call your names, just say 'present', alright?... Alex Corpus?"After going through twenty names, it was only then she realized that a student wasn't present. "Olivia Laufeyson?"Y/n calls lightly, looking around the class, her eyes finding the empty chair at the back of the class near the window. She hums to herself, about to put the child as absent when the door on her left opened. The hall monitor, Mr. Jefferson was holding a dark-haired girl by her upper arm, "Sorry to interrupt...I found this one walking in the opposite direction of her morning class. Just thought I'd bring her here for you."The girl, who Y/n guessed was Olivia pulls her arm away from Mr. Jefferson. "I could've found my way just fine thank you. I told you I forgot something in my locker." her blue eyes send a glare at Mr. Jefferson and he glared back."Uh..." Y/n began, "That's alright, you can take your seat, Olivia," she watches the girl carefully as she walked to her seat and sat down. She sunk into her chair and stared out the window, actively ignoring everything. Y/n sighs, she was expecting a troublemaker at some point. "Right then, let's begin."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Y/n sat in the teacher's lounge, nibbling into her sandwich as she tapped the end of her pen against the crossword puzzle she was trying to finish. She would sit with the other teachers there and get acquainted, but she was content in her solitude and she was just fine being alone with her thoughts. Not like there was much to think about though, she already knew what she was going to do with her next class."How's it going, Y/n?"The voice pulled Y/n from the work she was doing, and she looked up to find the Science teacher, Augustus Stilles, smiling at her. She smiles back, Augustus was a man around her age, she had met him twice before, once when she came in the week before to get herself settled and earlier this day at the morning assembly.He was decent enough, and Y/n didn't mind his company."Hi, everything's fine," she answers, brushing back loose strands of her hair behind her ear. His smile didn't waver and he tilted his head to the chair opposite her, it took a moment for Y/n to realize that he was asking to sit."Oh! Of course, go ahead."He muttered his thanks and sat, unwrapping a sandwich of his own, his grey eyes regarding her curiously. "How's classes? The kids treating you alright?" He asks, biting into his sandwich."Oh the children are wonderful,"Augustus lets out a soft laugh, "Wait till they get used to you, they're quite the trouble makers," he leans back into his chair, "And you've got a few in your class as well,"Y/n's mind immediately went to Olivia Laufeyson and her little show this morning, but she didn't let it bother her, because just like adults, kids have problems too."Well, I think they're fine so far," Y/n smiles, going back to her puzzle and her contented silence as Augustus said nothing more on the matter. After lunch, Y/n was surprised at how fast the day was flying by. She did a few things to pass the time: she cleaned up her desk, cleaned the white board that sat on the wall behind her and she picked up any lingering paper left by the children around the class. She was shocked really, history isn't the most exciting subject, and twelve year olds have a tendency to lose focus on things they don't care for much. Y/n tried to make the classes as engaging as possible; she managed to keep their interests. She was trying her best to make sure each class kept up with each other despite having quite a few fast learners.Olivia was one of them, throughout the class this morning, even though the child had barely been paying her any mind, she knew intelligence when she saw it. Perhaps she was shy, and refused to raise her hand even though she knew the right answer. Y/n knows what it's like to be that shy kid in the back of the class, keeping to herself was how she moved along in life, but she won't allow Olivia Laufeyson to waste her potential by keeping on the outside looking in.As a teacher, it was her job to push her students, let them be the best they can be.Satisfied with her work and no longer lost in her thoughts, Y/n casted a glance around the room, making sure that everything was in order before her next class came in. She walks to the door, seemingly drawn to it for no apparent reason, she opens it and steps out, watching the students get ready to go to their first afternoon classes. Y/n stands by the open door, her eyes finding the end of the hall where a large group of students had begun to linger and their voices traveled towards her. It was typical to see this type of commotion when something particularly bad was going to happen, and Y/n had a feeling she knew exactly what it was. The woman abandoned her spot at the open door and walked towards the horde of students who got more loud by the moment.Y/n made her way through the crowd, the students parting when they noticed it was a teacher involving herself."I said to leave her alone, Adams."A voice catches Y/n's attention as she made her way to the centre of the bunch of students. It was hard to get through with mostly everyone trying to see what was happening."I will when she grows up." Another voice replies to the first, "Your mom's dead; no one cares Laufeyson."Y/n made it through just when Olivia Laufeyson threw herself at a brunette boy with a scream, slipping past the blond boy who was attempting to hold her back. She and the brunette boy fell together and landed on the floor with a thud. Olivia managed to punch the child across his face twice before Y/n stepped in, the blond boy moved at the same time, grabbing the raging girl around her middle and pulling her off the boy who was on the ground cradling a bleeding nose."Hey!" Y/n shouts, getting between Olivia and the boy. The child prove herself hard to handle as she struggled to get out of the grip of the boy who held her still."Get up, Adams."Y/n turns around to see Augustus pulling the injured boy off the ground with a firm grip on his arm. "I'm sure you all have classes to get to." He says sternly, looking around at the other students, who immediately scrambled away.He looks past Y/n, watching the other two students, "Office, now." "So can either of you explain to me what happened there before I call your parents?"Y/n watched Augustus interrogate Olivia and her friend, who's name was Seth, with crossed arms. They sat outside the principal's office, waiting for him to arrive while the school nurse attended to Jesse Adams two chairs away from them.Olivia remained silent, and Seth gave Augustus an apologetic look, the boy bounced his leg nervously, his eyebrows furrowing. "Well, you see...Mr. Stilles...Jesse started it. If he hadn't been bothering 'Livia they wouldn't gave fought in the first place." He explains, looking at Y/n briefly.Y/n had heard well what Jesse Adams had said, he had crossed one hell of a line, and if she was being truthful, he deserved what he got. She may not have known that the child had lost her mother, but she's pretty sure the girl didn't need to be reminded.She watches Olivia quietly, noticing the girl was staring at her hands that sat in her lap, clinging tightly to the other, still refusing to speak. She hears Augustus' sigh and her eyes found his. He tilted his head before walking a little way up the hall, out of earshot of the children and nurse, and Y/n followed."You're probably confused right now," Augustus says, scratching at his cheek.Y/n couldn't help the shrug of her shoulders, "Fights happen all the time,""Its not Olivia's fault, and no one is going to blame her, she still has a hard time adjusting..."Y/n looks over her shoulder at the children, seeing Olivia laying her head on Seth's shoulder, they seemed to be having a quiet conversation. She looks back at Augustus, her eyebrows drawing together and she silently asked him to explain with a wave of her hand."She lost her mother, two years ago, today."
Oh.
Her attitude today makes more sense now.
"That's terrible," Y/n says, an ache settling in her heart. Her mother was still alive and well, and she couldn't bare the thought of losing her, she couldn't imagine what it was like for Olivia.Eventually, the principal came, and Y/n decided to stay a bit longer, knowing the principal would want to hear about what she saw. Even though it wasn't much of anything, she was the first teacher there. Augustus ended up leaving soon after he said his bit, he did have a class to get to after all, and so did Y/n, so she tried to make her exploration as quick as possible."Sorry you had to see this mess on your first day," the principal says, pressing his lips into a firm line as he casted a disapproving glance at the three children who sat in his office. "Its okay, honestly," Y/n gave the dark skinned man a tight smile, and a wave of her hand. "These things happen,"The principal told her she was free to leave while he called the children's parents, and she did, but she couldn't help the pitying glance she sent a certain child's way.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"How are you feeling today, Loki?" Loki watches his brother carefully, unable to stop the sigh from escaping his parted lips. He's fine, and he'll always be fine. He understands his brother's well placed concern, of course, with today being the day that it was, but he wished the peaceful silence they had going just now had stayed a little while longer. "Must you ask that every time?" Loki questions, and Thor let out a chuckle and dipped his head in a nod. "Yes, because I care for you, and I know you're not as okay as you make yourself think," Thor gives him a knowing look that almost made Loki roll his eyes. When he had agreed to spend his lunch hour with Thor, he was hoping that him or his wellbeing would not become a topic of interest, but alas, here they are. He assured his brother that yes, he's okay, and found a moment to change the subject. "How was the meeting this morning?" He asks, cracking open a chilled bottle of water to take a drink from. "Everything went as planned, Stark wanted to speak with you personally, though," Thor says, scratching at his bearded cheek with a grimace. Loki raises an eyebrow, "Whatever for?" "I'm not entirely sure...he said it was --" Thor's words were cut short as the phone rang out loudly, Loki sighs and Thor leaned back into his chair. "Lauren," he answers, sounding way harsher than he had intended, but his assistant was used to his tone by now and betrayed no emotion as she spoke to him. "Mr. Laufeyson, your daughter's principal is on the line for you, should I send the call through?" Loki's eyebrows furrow, he was certain nothing was going to go wrong today, unless the principal is calling to tell him that Olivia wasn't well, this had better be good. "Yes, send it through," The line went silent for a moment, while Lauren transferred the call. Loki glanced at Thor who was watching him carefully, and his brother offered a shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe she's ill?" He says, with a small smile, but both men knew that that, was far from the truth. "Good Afternoon, Mr. Abbott," Loki addresses politely, it wasn't often Loki had to speak to the principal of Olivia's school, as the girl gave no trouble. It was always today, since two years ago, Loki received this call, he couldn't even count it as a surprise; he was expecting it. "Mr. Laufeyson, Good day to you. I know you're a very busy man, but I believe this call was expected." The man's voice held a serious tone which Loki didn't miss, and he sighed, shaking his head. "Of course," He says, "She's been fighting again, hasn't she?" It was a question Loki didn't have to ask. "Yes, she would've caused more serious damage to Jesse Adams hadn't my teachers stepped in at the right time." Mr. Abbott says, "And your nephew as well," Thor sat up in his chair at that, no doubt Seth was trying to keep his cousin under control, as he promised to look out for Olivia. He wasn't negatively involved, so Thor had nothing to worry about. "I'll be there presently." Loki says, and not long after ended the call. The man sighs, leaning back into his chair, staring she the documents on his desk in front of him. He still had a few of them to go through, and they were a lot of important documents, too. He still had matters at hand to deal with as well, but alas, his daughter will always be his top priority. "Do you want me to go in your stead?" Thor asks, still watching his brother with poorly veiled concern. Loki shook his head and raised a hand dismissively, "It's fine, thank you." He says, pushing back his chair and standing. He grabs the keys to his car from the table and the jacket of his suit from the back of his chair. He caught Thor's near silent chuckle as he shrugged the article of clothing on and raised an eyebrow in question. "What's so funny?" "I did tell you that Hela would be a bad influence on her, she's getting herself into trouble at every turn," Loki narrowed his eyes at the mention of their older sister, who had gotten herself into way more trouble than even he had in her youth. And now that he thought about it, he honestly regretted sending Olivia to her for that weekend. Thor and Loki exited his office, and with promise to finish their discussion when he returned, Loki left his brother to his own devices and made his way to the elevator at the end of the hall. :: Loki shielded his eyes from the bright sting of the mid afternoon sun as he came out of his car. He stared up at the school building for a moment before stepping into the shadows it casted, he walked slowly up the stairs and through the doors that were painted white. The walk down the halls he'd grown familiar with after his many visits was a quiet one, with all the students in class with their teachers in front of them, Loki had expected no less. Loki always hated stepping inside a school setting, as the things he's left behind would always crawl their way into his mind. He was always on the outside looking in, an outcast amongst the people he could barely call friends. Loki was pulled harshly from his thoughts as he rounded the corner and right into someone. Loki looks down at her as she stumbled backwards from the collusion, and he quickly grabbed her arms to steady her. "Shoot! I am so sorry," She apologizes quickly, and Loki released his hold on her arms as though he'd been burnt. He nods his head and dismissed her apology with a tight lipped smile, "It's fine," it was his fault really, had he been looking where he was going, they wouldn't have crossed paths in the first place. Loki left it there and stepped aside, allowing them both room to walk on their way. He continues his walk, only to stop again when the woman called to him. "Excuse me," Loki turns at her small voice, and he shouldn't have considering he had important matters to get to. She wrung her hands in front of her in a nervous gesture for a moment before speaking, "Are you Olivia Laufeyson's father?" Loki raises an eyebrow, and then narrowed his eyes, he deduced then that she was most likely one of the teachers that stepped into the fight earlier. "I am, why?" "I'm her history teacher," she explained, her voice bolder now, "And I know how parents could be sometimes, so don't be too hard on her; it wasn't her fault," her nerves still showed, however, as she gently tugged on the long sleeve of her white blouse. The woman offered no more words as she turned and carried on, taking the soft clicks of her heels and herself off to wherever she was heading. Loki stared after her until she went down a hall further up the one he was left standing in and then some. He shook his head and continued his walk to the principal's office, ignoring the sound of something or the other being paged over the school speakers. When he got there he was greeted by the sight of Jesse Adams' both parents, looking perfectly upset sitting next to their son, who held a bloody rag to his nose and Olivia and Seth sitting two seats away, quietly conversing. As soon as he neared, Jesse's father rose to his feet, holding his head high to appear taller than he was, though he was no where near Loki's height. The man's nostrils flare and his face reddened as he stared Loki down. "You." The man seethes, jabbing a finger at Loki's chest, his face was almost as red as the tee shirt he donned, "that little brat of yours need to learn how to control herself, she--" "Choose your next words carefully," Loki says calmly, the man seemed off-put by Loki's calm demeanor, and stepped back. He wasn't going to take anyone talking about his daughter that way, especially knowing that she didn't fight without reason. The man opened his mouth to say something again, when the door to the principal's office opened. "Gentlemen," Mr Abbott calls, catching both men's attention, he steps outside the room, and motioned a hand towards the open door, "If you please." The man steps away, not without giving Loki a hard stare. The two of them step into the office, leaving the children and Jesse's mother outside. The office wasn't large: in front of a glass window was a dark oak desk, three chairs in front of it and one behind where Mr. Abbott sits. On one side of the room was file cabinets that no doubt held school records and documented events, and framed picture of past achievements lined the walls. Mr. Abbott goes around the table, sighing as he sat, he intertwined his fingers and rested his clasped hands on the polished desk. Loki sat, feeling uncomfortable in the chair, as Jesse Adams father sat in the one next to him. "Now, I had one of my teachers paged to come in and relay their accounts of the events, as sometimes, children can be misleading." He gave Adams senior a knowing look, rolling up the sleeves of his crisp blue shirt up to his elbows, "As far as I am aware, Jesse Adams was in the wrong, and he had no right provoking Olivia." "In the -- I don't see her out there with a bloody nose!" Jesse's father says, his voice raising, "she attacked him." "This isn't the first time we've had problems with Jesse, Frank. And I would appreciate it if you'd lower your voice." Mr Abbott snaps, his hazel eyes glaring at the man who now shrank back into his chair with a huff and a suck of his teeth. Loki stared at him for a moment, choosing to remain silent and listen to all parts to see what truths came from the lies. "I've chosen not to suspend either of the students, considering it's the end of the term and they have a lot of work to cover, but, I believe a very stern talking to is in order." Mr Abbott says, again, pointing a hard gaze at Frank and then he turned to Loki, "I understand Olivia's position, and I know it's been hard for her, but please, this can't become a regular occurrence, she'd get into more trouble than she bargains for." Loki nods his head, "Olivia knows well to behave when she needs to, and I appreciate your concern. I will have a talk with her," Again. A quiet knock raps against the door and it opened soon after. Loki wasn't in the least surprised to see the woman he bumped into earlier. She steps into the room and stands near the door, her y/c eyes locked with his for a moment before they flickered to Mr. Abbott. "Miss L/n, good of you to join us," The woman smiles and gave a short nod of her head, "Of course," The principal motions to the empty chair next to Loki, and she moves to sit down, and of course, Loki didn't miss how Frank Adams' eyes followed the woman's every move. Such a shame his wife sat outside, but even if she were here, Loki doesn't think she'd notice. "Can you just, explain to these gentlemen what happened this afternoon?" He asks, shifting in his seat as he addressed her. "Well, I hadn't seen much of what caused them to start arguing, but I did hear what started the fight. Jesse had said some terrible things to Olivia and it was completely uncalled for." "Lets not forget who attack who here." Frank spoke, looking around Loki to see the woman, who's fair features morphed into a scowl and a harsh glare darkened her eyes. "I'm sorry, but Jesse crossed a line and he..." She stops herself short and closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back into the chair, "He had no right saying what he said to Olivia." Loki turned to her then, "And what exactly did he say?" The woman glances at him, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip for a moment, "I don't think..." "It's alright, Miss L/n," Mr Abbott says, and nodded his head for her to continue. Loki, with his curiosity piqued, watches her carefully, already knowing he was not going to like the answer she gave. "He said that her mother is dead and no one cares," As soon as the words left her mouth, Loki's hand clenched into a fist and his head turned so fast to watch Frank he could've gotten whiplash. He stared at the man with murder in his eyes, but the man refused to meet his gaze. How dare he? And he had the nerve to call his child a brat? "Now you see, why I said that Jesse was in the wrong." Mr Abbott says, his calm voice was a hard contrast to Loki's anger. "And I'm in my right mind to have him sent home for a couple of days for that comment. Like as I said, it's the end of the term, but I will keep an eye on Jesse personally." After the small meeting concluded, Mr Abbott thanked Loki for coming and apologized for Jesse's behavior. It really should have been his parents' voicing that, but Loki allowed that to settle in the back of his mind to let his anger dissolve because if he thought on it he might kill someone. Frank Adams grumbled and groused as he told his wife the outcome of the brief meeting, taking in quiet tones, while his wife did nothing but glare Loki's way. Not that he cared. The principal allowed him to take Olivia out of school, along with Seth after the boy practically begged him with puppy dog eyes. After the children gathered their things, they were making their way to the car park outside when Loki heard the soft clicks of heels behind him. He sent Olivia and Seth off to the car while he turned and faced Olivia's history teacher. She offered a small smile to him when she neared, "Sorry, I just wanted to know how Olivia was doing..." Loki glances at his daughter standing next to his car with her cousin, her dark hair shielding her face, "She hadn't spoken a word, she'll be alright though," he says, looking back to the woman, who was watching Olivia as well. She nods her head slightly, her eyes finding his again, "I'm sorry, too." Loki's eyebrows draw together, this was the second time she's apologized to him today, and he wasn't sure what she was apologizing for this time. "My condolences," she gave him a sad smile and once again, she turned and walked away.