As Deep as Any Blade

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina stormed out of the cafeteria, forcing herself to keep her face straight and dry until she managed to slip out of the door. From there, she stood briefly, caught in her indecision. She could head back to her house, and hope that no one would notice her red face and let her just escape away into her room, or she could try the same luck in the barn. But neither of those seemed probably, and almost of their own accord, Sina's feet began to carry her in the direction of the trails. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but Khalid's words had cut her, deeper than she ever wanted to let him know. To wish Derecho dead, to her, was almost the same as wishing her dead, and that wasn't something she could take lightly.

She was almost unaware of Derecho trotting alongside, keeping pace with her despite her quickened stride. They reached the green hill trails without encountering another person, and Sina turned towards the meadows with the passing thought that hiding against the edge of the meadow would render her almost as well-hidden as possible, even if anyone was passing by. When she had reached the meadow, she made it a few yards from the trails before she broke down, crumpling against a tree and hugging Derecho to her, hiding her face in the dog's fur in an attempt to muffle her sobs.

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

Trying to get addresses switched over with the credit card company, the bank, insurance and telling all their friends and relatives was a headache. Ever since the accident, Gail took on most of the responsibility of keeping them afloat and everything organized. Right now, it felt like they were scraping by with pennies to spare until the school year started and money started rolling in again. The check engine light in her Suburban was on, but they just didn't have the money to get it fixed. Grocery shopping was carefully budgeted, and any savings were mostly depleted. The best Gail could do was pray her car would start when she needed it and not break down in the middle of the road.

She left a note for Rod saying that she was taking a walk and would be back later. Between getting lesson plans ready and dealing with life, she needed a break. Not a vacation, that was too much of a fantasy, but an hour or two of not worrying about money or work. Gail considered taking Rabbit for a hack, but he needed a day off. It was a bit much to ask a horse to work seven days a week. She let herself get lost in fantasies of her youth while she walked along the trail. Those days, she wished she could grow up and being independent. Now, she yearned for the days of being a child free of worry about debt and holding down a job.

The soft sound of someone crying caught her attention. Gail didn't see anyone, but usually upset people didn't cry in the open. Her maternal instincts took over, and she followed to sound just off the trail. Maybe she wasn't a counselor, but it was impossible to not care about the well-being of those around her. When Gail finally found the girl hugging her dog, she knelt down nearby with an expression of genuine compassion and concern.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you want a hug?"

[Sina Aleardi]

It felt good to just release the pent-up tension and worry that Sina felt, both from her encounter previously as well as about the next few weeks. Her life was in slight turbulence again, not quite real tumult, but she was still in a transition between methods, and she couldn't help but worry about that, in addition to what she'd just experienced in the cafeteria... And the small, unwelcome voice in her head that whispered that it was her fault, that she'd almost caused a boy to get a concussion, although a mean portion of her brain fired back that someone so hateful probably deserved it. Might make him more civil.

That thought made Sina draw up, feeling even more ashamed of that than of anything else previously. However, she didn't have a chance to berate herself before she heard a voice, and blinked up, pulling her face out of Derecho's fur and running the sleeve of her jacket across her face in an attempt to wipe away the worst of the tears, although she was already shaking her head at the offer of a hug. What kind of monster was she, wishing injury on another person? “Everything, it feels like.” She kept her arms wrapped around Derecho, although she turned to face the woman who had found her. Perhaps the trails hadn't been an ideal hiding spot after all. Although she didn't know who this woman was. And perhaps it was better not to tell her that she'd gotten into a shouting match with another student just yet. Wouldn't want to cast a bad impression, “I'm sorry for disrupting your walk. I just needed to let it all out, I had a bit of a verbal altercation over dinner.” That was putting it lightly, but it was the best she could admit to without knowing to whom she was speaking. It could be the principal, for all Sina knew of the woman.

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

As much as Gail wanted to reach over and offer some physical comfort to the girl, she held back. Not everyone liked hugs, especially from people they didn't know. Rod still stiffened like a board whenever her family tried to hug him, and they were family. Gail wanted to be a mother to the students without judgement.

"You have nothing to apologize for. If you want to talk, I'll listen."

Gail kept her voice soft and assuring. She had no idea what happened to bring this girl to tears, but it was obviously something serious. Part of her wished everyone could get along, but the reality was that not every student had compatible personalities. They all came from different backgrounds and home situations. As for the apparent shouting match, Gail didn't care who started it. She didn't care who got the last word in, only that now, one of the parties was clearly affected by what was said.

"I'm just the jumping instructor, not an official counselor. Dogs are great listeners and love no matter what a lot like horses. Whatever happened, I know things look bleak now, but you've got a best friend who will never abandon you, judge you, or hate you. Look, I'm not asking you to trust me or anything, and if you want me to leave, just say so, but if you do want to get this weight off your shoulders, I won't think any less of you, and whatever you say is just between us."

So she was rambling a bit. Gail offered a friendly smile and did her best to come off as less than a scary adult. She meant every word she said and thought the girl was truly blessed to have a dog for a friend. But as great a dogs are, the couldn't talk back in English. That's what people were for.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina blinked away the last of the wetness that was clinging to her eyelashes before she turned to listen to the woman, who was introducing herself. So, not the principal, then. Nor someone that she would ever see in a professional capacity, since she didn't jump. “Der's a good listener, he's not too great on giving advice, though.” She ran her hands down the dog's side, sliding over the familiar pack before she reached fur again, “And he's the whole reason I'm in this mess right now.” She didn't know why she felt the need to talk about what had happened, but perhaps it was a good thing that this teacher had found her. It was easier to consider spilling her guts to someone she wouldn't have to face in lessons than to someone she knew.

Finally, after a moment of thinking, Sina shrugged, “I was eating dinner in the cafeteria, Der was laying under the table,” she paused, and added as an aside, knowing that not everyone was aware of the whole service dog thing, and her arms could easily have covered the patches, “He's my service dog. Anyway, he was lying there and a student came up to sit at the same table, across from me. We'd been in the same class before, Art, so I didn't mention Derecho, because I figured he would realize it. It's not like I can hide him in Art class.”

She paused, trying to remember exactly what had happened, and realized that she couldn't, “I don't know why he ducked under the table, but all of a sudden he was down there, and then he'd knocked his head and was scrambling to get away from Der. I went over to see if he was alright, since he'd knocked his head, but pretty much all I got from him was that he hated dogs, and that he wished that Der would drop dead.” She could feel the tears welling up again as she repeated the phrase, but rubbed her jacket across her face again and blinked, trying to stop herself, “With how often Derecho's saved my life even in the past two years, that would be like wishing me dead.”

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

Gail kept her mouth shut as much as she wanted to talk. The girl needed someone to listen, not interrupt. The woman never experienced much bullying growing up, though some of the richer girls at the barn liked to flaunt their status in front of her. Horse shows forced her education to be primarily online, so classroom experiences were almost none. Her husband was better versed in the school systems, and Gail intended on consulting him about the best course of action. From Sina's story, it was clear that the other student violated the rules on bullying and harassment. His verbal thread caused emotional distress, and if the girl didn't feel safe going to class, then that would interfere with her ability to learn. Naturally, she was curious as to his version of the story, but Gail kept that thought to herself.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear something so awful particularly from another student. I'm sure he has a reason for hating dogs, but there is absolutely no excuse for threatening Derecho, and by proxy, you. He broke school rules. I also want you to know that whatever he said to you, he's alone in those opinions. Service dogs are guardian angels come to earth, and they are such a blessing, wouldn't you agree?"

If the girl was interested in reporting the incident, Gail was willing to help her every step of the way. It would help to know the name of the offender, but that might be seen as prying for information. Gail wanted her to be safe first and not have to worry about any further harm coming to her.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina nodded at the woman's words, “He seems to be very traditional.” She didn't want to say more than that, because she still wasn't sure about making it obvious whom she had had this issue with, but from his clothes half of the time, Sina wasn't surprised. She was just surprised by his choice of sitting by her knowing that she had the dog. “Yes, Derecho looks after me well.” She ran a hand over the dog's head, then looked back down at the ground, “Thank you for stopping. I think it's helped me, just talking about it.”

The worry, and anger, had been more of a heat-of-the-moment thing, but now that the adrenaline had left her body, Sina felt drained, “I don't want to hold you up any longer. I think I'll head back to my dorm room, if you don't mind.” She just wanted to go to sleep now, although she knew she had some things to do before she could do that. She rose from her sitting position, dropping Derecho's leash to brush the assorted detritus off of her pants, “I don't think I even caught your name, Ms.?” She had been told that the woman was the jumping teacher, but that didn't ring any bells for her, and she'd rather thank the woman by name.

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

Traditional or not, Gail didn't think that was any excuse. "No problem. I get the feeling that you're a strong girl, and even the strongest of us need to talk things out sometimes." Rod sometimes talked about the importance of a good teacher outside the classroom. She wanted to be the sort of instructor students looked up to. The sun was sinking lower into the sky casting long shadows. The short winter days were never as enjoyable as the long summer ones.

She nodded assent to the girl's wishes. Home didn't sound like such a bad idea, either. At least it was warmer inside, and she needed to come up with dinner plans. The cafeteria was okay for lunch or a quuck breakfast, but Gail preferred eating with her husband away from all the students. To say nothing of the fact that only she knew how to poach eggs just the way she liked them.

"Mrs. Sorenson-Faulkner. And I don't think I caught yours either." Despite the inevitable turnover of students from year to year, the woman still liked being able to put names to faces. That and the school wasn't huge. The chances of them running into each other again was fairly high. She stood up as well and gestured for Sina to go first. For the girl's sake, Gail hoped that whoever was bothering her didn't try to persist. These were teenagers, so a couple disagreements between students were expected, but as a school, it was also supposed to be a safe environment for learning.