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The LutherCorp extension model was her idea, so Lena really has no one to blame for herself. And the outreach program is a good idea. Promoting STEM in National City schools, as well as those in bordering counties, is something that she will never regret. She just didn’t realize she’d have so much to do with it. Talking to children, performing science experiments, jumpstarting fundraisers…
While all that is good and dandy, she’d much rather send her scientists and marketers to do it. Especially all the overly sappy motivational speeches. Spending all day talking to group after group of children…. It’s probably her least favorite part of her job. So, she doesn’t make a habit of speaking at schools. Especially not elementaries.
By late afternoon, the kids are too restless, and she’s constantly telling some snot-faced kindergartner to scoot back from the makeshift stage. Half of the parents are already there for pickup, and the added audience usually just spends their time staring her down. But it’s… not always terrible. The kids show a lot more enthusiasm than the high schoolers she’s used to, and the science projects she shows them are always a lot more colorful. Not to mention the moms.
Now, if asked, she’d deny it, but she always revelled in the attention she got from her fellow adults. The teachers didn’t usually care, more excited about the reprieve from their children. But the parents… Some of them looked at her with envy. Some with admiration, or curiosity. And some, like the one staring at her right now, look at her with something that feels a lot like lust.
If Lena didn’t know better, she’d think that this woman was a teacher. The dorky glasses, the bright pink sweater, the colorful skirt - it’s practically screaming ‘Jess Day.’ But she’s holding a blue and red backpack in her arms, and a tiny black bomber jacket is draped over her shoulder.
Her eyes are furiously blue, glowing bright even from across the room, and Lena can hardly bear to switch her gaze from the woman, focusing on the thumb sucker in the front row.
“I need two volunteers for my next project. Who wants to hold the balloon?”
Sixty tiny hands shoot in the air, and Lena sighs. “Okay, green shirt. Come up here.”
The remaining twenty minutes tick by quickly, and soon enough, the kids are shouting a garbled thank you at the insistence of their teachers as the bell rings to end the school day. Lena claps her hands to dismiss them, and then she’s tasked with the breakdown of her mini science fair.
The blonde from earlier is glancing at her again, hand holding onto a young boy as he tries to run through the quickly-thinning crowd. He stops bouncing on the balls of his feet to unzip his backpack, and stuffs the jacket in with a whine. Lena smirks as the woman scolds him, pulling the jacket out just as quickly. Her phone falls to the floor as she does so, and a curse tumbles out of her mouth quietly. She blushes when she meets Lena’s eyes again, looking guilty.
Lena looks away from the pair, busying herself with throwing the elephant toothpaste in the bin. It isn’t long before a tot comes up to her, hands resting on the edge of the folding table as if he wants to flip it. But he doesn’t, seemingly content to just stare up at her with giant blue eyes, barely seen through the dark waves flopping into his face.
“Miss Wena? My mommy wants to ask about the summer,” he says, watching her movements with bated breath.
A few feet behind, the blonde woman stands watching the interaction, careful eyes waiting to swoop in at the first hint of danger. The boy is still trained on her, rising on the tips of his toes to see what she’s doing. His glasses slip down to the tip of his nose, and he pushes them up with a slender finger, frowning as he goes cross-eyed.
“Who’s your mommy?” Lena questions, smiling at the boy. He turns around to point at the woman as she waves, stepping forward.
“Hi. Kara Danvers,” she grins, holding her hand out for Lena to take (and dropping about three different things in the process). “And this - crap - this is Darby. We were interested in the science exploration camp this summer.”
It takes Lena about half a second to notice she’s not wearing a ring. “Lena Luthor.”
Kara giggles softly, nodding to the display. “I know.”
Lena really should be saying something else, but she can’t think about anything other than that smile. Or that hair. Or the strong hand that is still in hers. God, she’s beautiful. Like, superhumanly beautiful. It’s ridiculous. She should not be this flustered.
“Right,” she mutters, pulling her hand back and grabbing a bright purple brochure. “Well, the forms are right here. For K through fifth grade, it’s first come, first serve. Upper grades are assessed and taken in on a graded basis. I think there are a few spots left for our younger elementary full-time camp, and then the individual programs are listed in the brochure.”
“Great,” Kara stammers, staring at Lena blankly. “I’ll just… look through this, then. Nice meeting you.”
She turns to go, hand holding Darby’s in an effort to stop him from running off. She’s mostly successful, only losing hold of him once and quickly regaining control as she grasps the back of his shirt, papers crumpling in her hand.
“Hey, Kara,” Lena calls after the pair. She pulls a business card out of her pocket, and scribbles some digits on the back side, before crossing the room to hand it to the woman. The brunette almost feels bad about doing it, given the fact that Kara is carrying about ten other things in her hands. She just hopes that the woman won’t drop it in the parking lot.
The blonde whips around, glasses falling dangerously low as she does so. She pushes them up with a slender finger, frowning as she goes cross-eyed, and Lena has to resist the urge to laugh.
She presents the business card discreetly, as though there’s anyone left in the room to watch her, and flips it over to show the second phone number. “The camp information desk gets clogged a lot, especially so close to summer time. That’s my cell. If you ever want to… talk about the programs in depth, or have any questions… Feel free to give me a call.”
Darby takes the card from her hand, dark curls falling into his eyes as he traces the numbers with his fingers before he meets her eyes again.. Lena feels something akin to affection for the little boy as he grins at her, before looking to his mother.
Kara smiles shyly at her, ducking her head at the last minute in an effort to hide the blush forming, and squeezes Darby’s hand. “Will do, Lena Luthor.”