Chapter Text
Jane took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Came a muffled voice.
Jane pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into the well-lit office. She sighed as she took in the scene in front of her: the principle was behind his desk with his elbows resting on the desk in front of him. There was a computer to the right, and a stack of papers in front of him. Her gaze shifted to the two teens sitting in front of the desk, who were both clearly scuffed up. The smaller of the two had a few bruises forming on her face. Her black pigtails had been pulled loose, and the top few buttons of her white button down and tie had come undone. The girl's feet didn't even touch the floor as she swung them back and forth, her hands tucked beneath her thighs. The other teen was clearly in worse shape. Her tie was missing, the shirt was unbuttoned far below where Jane expected, one of her shoes was missing, and her ombre pink hair was going in every direction. Both the girls’ blazers were also missing. Jane forced a smile and walked towards the desk. "Mr. Naiety, I'm so sorry I'm late. What seems to be the trouble?"
"It wasn't my fault!" Anne piped up, her pigtails swinging into her face, but was quickly silenced with a glare from Jane.
"Ms. Seymour, thank you for coming in on such short notice. As you are currently the legal guardian of Ms. Boleyn and Ms. Howard, we unfortunately had to call you to deal with this." The principal took a deep breath. "Both girls were caught fighting with another student in the cafeteria today. As you know, Statuary Prep has strict rules about fighting, as well as uniform regulations." At that last bit, he shot a sharp look at Katherine.
Jane furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean? You mentioned a scuffle on the phone, but not anything about Katherine's uniform."
"Skirt was too high, tie was missing, shirt was unbuttoned far enough to--"
Jane held up a hand. "I understand."
Mr. Naiety met her eyes. "Ms. Seymour, this is Ms. Howard's fifth violation this quarter. This is the third instance of these two getting into a fight. They are both suspended for a week. And Ms. Howard shall have an extra week of detention for the dress code violations."
Katherine's head snapped to the side, then back at the principal. Jane could see the comprehension dawning that they had both gotten in trouble this time. Please, please please, stay silent, Kitty. Jane silently begged. Unfortunately, the teen didn't appear to hear the message.
She tilted her head and smiled widely. "This is all just a misunderstanding." She mused, standing slowly and making her way around the desk, "Let's...talk. We can work this out, right?"
The principal suddenly stood, startling Katherine. "Enough! If this happens one more time, you will be facing expulsion!" The man turned to Jane. "Get them out of here. Since midterms are coming up, I am willing to shorten the expulsion to four days for Anne, and one week for Katherine, so they have time to prepare for exams. If this happens again, I will not be so lenient. Dismissed."
Jane nodded quickly, tugging both girls out of there as quickly as possible. "I understand. Thank you, sir."