Giselle Duell
May 09, 2023 4:55 PM
Is this how it must be? [Selina] by Giselle Duell
It was time to face facts. She had failed. Giselle stood in front of the Deputy-Headmistress' office door, full well knowing what she had to do, but dreading it. It was the only proper thing for her to do at this point, plus it would save Selina some trouble. It was the least she could do at this point.After she had summoned up her last dregs of courage, Giselle knocked on the door and entered when invited. Without preamble, before her determination evaporated, she strode to her boss' desk and placed a sheet of paper on it. "It… it's my resignation." Her voice faltered, "I'm sorry."
Giselle took a breath, and then continued. "You gave me the responsibility to mentor Xavier, and I failed." The future before her was a swirling, chaotic mess. It lent her no guidance, so all she could do was this. "Sometime soon, people will want answers and to be assured their children are safe." Her voice dropped, "You will be able to tell them that the problem has been dealt with."
She really didn't want to leave. She didn't want to fail. But, it was to late now. The time at Sonora had been the happiest she could remember since they had all moved to Greece together. Selina couldn't keep her around though. She was just a liability.
2
Giselle Duell
Is this how it must be? [Selina]
1517
1
5
Selina Skies
May 11, 2023 7:19 AM
Uh, no actually? by Selina Skies
Selina was expecting to have some conversations with Giselle. Some professional, some personal. Selina would need to go over the steps that had led to this situation, and she would need to check in on the effects on the staff Involved. She had told the staff as a whole what had happened, but softened with the fact that they would be treating it as an accident until proven otherwise, and that Xavier appeared not to have done himself lasting physical damage. The emphasis on the second to last word suggested they still had a long way to go in other areas…She didn’t need to be Giselle in order to predict that she would be having a hard time with it. It was a horrible situation for all concerned, and one that came with its fair share of guilt. There were factors such as Giselle’s age, her stage in her teaching career, and her own insecurities that were likely to magnify that.
However, she didn’t quite expect the automatic extreme that Giselle took it to.
“I remember asking you to mentor Xavier in the art of divination. Which, last time I checked, he was making exceptional progress with. Perhaps not in how well he listens, nor how well he… balances himself. But I do not remember making you responsible for Xavier’s wandwork, which has been wildly out of control, nor his personal well-being, which… ditto, and which are major pieces in what happened. I know it’s all interconnected,” she acknowledged, quite sure Giselle wouldn’t be convinced by dividing the student up into neatly labelled little boxes. They all had to be responsible for the development of the whole student—to teach them not only their spells, but how to be productive, functional little people, especially with the amount of time they spent away from home. “We’re all responsible for all students.
“Sit down,” she invited, because she expected this conversation could take a while longer than Giselle had anticipated.
“People, as a whole, should not come swarming for answers, because Xavier’s medical conditions are his own business. As for Xavier’s own parents, I certainly would never tell them that firing one of my staff would solve the problem, as that simply isn’t true, and won’t resolve any of their son’s many, many issues. Xavier is a complicated, traumatised boy who prefers to bury his problems or look for easy short cuts when solving them, none of which has been caused by you, and none of which can be easily fixed by you, or by changing from you to someone else. You were also right, the many, many times you told us there was something dark coming, and it was connected with his home life. The medication he’s been abusing was his mother’s, which he stole from her over the holidays. They’re currently blaming themselves far more than they blame anyone at the school.
“As for Xavier, he is awake, and feeling guilty and embarrassed and scared by his mistake. He knows he messed up. He will be properly screened by a mental health professional, but all signs point to someone who is very glad to be alive, and who didn’t mean for this to happen.
“We will be investigating. We will be taking this seriously and trying to do better to look after him going forward. But that’s likely to be on the shoulders of mental health professionals, along with very many people within the school. Not just you.
“I know this is hard on everyone. I understand if working with a student like Xavier stresses you out. There are many, many options available, including providing you with more support, or outsourcing elements of his training. If it’s too much, and you don’t want to be here, I wouldn’t want to pressure you to stay against your will, but I am not looking for a scapegoat.”
13
Selina Skies
Uh, no actually?
26
0
5