Chapter Text
Benjamin Krupp was, by his own estimation, a fairly normal man, and if there was anything that he wanted in his life, it was normalcy. Unfortunately, it seemed to be the one thing that was impossible for him to achieve. His job at Jerome Horwitz Elementary seemed to be less about the paperwork and supervisory roles of a principal, and more about putting out one fire after another. Usually metaphorically speaking, but sometimes literally.
He’d like to blame it all on George and Harold. It was the simplest option, and the one that was easiest to deal with. Giving the two troublemakers detention didn’t do much to curb their rebellious natures, but he could at least have the satisfaction of feeling like he was doing something to combat the issue.
The truth was, however, that George and Harold were only part of the problem. A big part, maybe, but not the whole. Because it seemed now that chaos was clinging to Ben everywhere he went, and that wasn’t something one could blame on a pair of fourth graders.
He considered this as he walked the halls of the school, passing by the classrooms of the two. Placing them in separate classrooms had helped with their in-class disruptions, but had done little to improve their grades, stop their pranking habits, or put an end to the whirlwind of disaster that they always seemed to end up in the middle of. In fact, if he really thought it over, the disasters had only increased since their separation, as the so-called villains that now frequented the school grounds caused far more property damage than George and Harold could ever dream of.
But really, he preferred not to think it over, because it required him to think about how the whole thing began, and that period of several days was hazy in his memory. In fact, it was right around that time that the strange lapses in his memory had started.
That was another part of the problem that couldn’t really be blamed on George and Harold. He had decided to blame it on stress instead. After all, his stress levels had definitely gone up ever since the attacks had started, even if he never seemed to be around to see them. (Or maybe he was around, and it was fear that was causing him to black out? He preferred not to think about it.)
But those were all things that were out of his control, as much as he hated to admit it. He decided to focus on what was in his control.
He passed the classrooms and headed towards the cafeteria. Lunchtime had come and gone, which meant that the lunchroom would be free of kids and he would have the chance to talk to his favorite person in the school. (His favorite person in this whole town, really. On the planet. In the universe.)
Edith had quickly abandoned whatever she had been doing the moment she saw him coming, and Ben told himself it was because he was her boss and she was a good employee. He actually did have to discuss some changes to the menu with her, but he also took the opportunity to watch the way she repeatedly brushed her hair out of her strikingly blue eyes, the bluest eyes he had ever seen and the prettiest ones, too.
They had only been dating for a few months now, but he was finally getting past the point where they were unbearably nervous and awkward about the whole thing. Of course they were still a little nervous and awkward, since Ben hadn’t been in the dating game for years (and judging by the way she talked and acted, neither had Edith), and the fact that they worked together and that Edith was his subordinate made things complicated in a way that scared Ben to no end. The whole thing was so new to him that it left him feeling perpetually off-balance.
Maybe some kinds of chaos were okay, though.
When he ran out of actual work-related things to talk about with her, however, the conversation quickly turned to what was really on his mind. “So I’ll see you Wednesday night, then?” he asked, trying not to sound too unsure of himself. It was only Monday, and he would definitely see her before then, but he couldn’t help bringing it up.
“If that still works for you,” Edith replied, ringing her gloved hands in knots, “I mean if you need to change the time I can–”
“No! No, it still works for me. I’m just, um, excited.” He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks at how silly he sounded.
It earned him a smile that reached all the way to her beautiful blue eyes. “Me too.”
He stood there for what was probably a moment too long before clearing his throat. “Well, I probably gotta get back…”
“Oh, of course!”
“See you later.”
“See you!”
He took the long route back to his office to give his face time to cool down. Yeah, maybe some kinds of chaos were okay.