Feathers of Topaz
Title: Feathers of Topaz
Rating: PG
Prompt: Extortion
Word Count: 1917
Warnings: Mentions of bullying
Summary: Dean's appalled at what the result of the four girls attacking Liesel is. There are two solutions in his mind: put her in another school or get her out of her grade and into the next. Deaf!Dean Verse
Dean was utterly livid. He had long ago learned how to hide his emotions and right now, he was on the verge of snapping. The girls who had thrown dirt and rocks at Liesel were getting a proverbial slap on the wrist. Losing recess for a week seemed very minor in his opinion, considering what they did. The girls didn't even have to apologize for what their actions. He had the overwhelming urge to pull Liesel out of her school and send her to another one next August.
He let himself into the house, still in a foul mood.
“Anyone home?” He called out, coming out of the laundry room and into the kitchen, managing to smile bravely. It wasn't Liesel's fault that all the girls' who should be punished to the fullest extent of the school disciplinary regimen had parents who wielded more power than he could hope to have at the school. At least in the third grade. They made some of those USOC judges look like angels.
“Hi, Dad!” Liesel appeared out of nowhere and gave him a hug.
“Oh, someone's in a good mood.” He pulled back so he could talk to her. “Good day at school?”
“It was all right.” She shrugged. “I'm just glad you're home, that's all.”
“It's good to be home.” He ruffled her hair. “Homework done?”
“Yes. I already had dinner. Grandpa and I finished off the leftover meatloaf.” She smiled tiredly. “We left you some mashed potatoes.”
“Thanks.” He went over the fridge and took out a few containers of leftovers, setting them on the counter. “Where is your grandpa?”
“Down in the basement. With all the tornadoes in Oklahoma lately, he wants to make sure it's safe down there.” She shrugged. “This is after he checked all the batteries in the bed shaker alarms.”
“And for good reason.” Michael Coulter came out of the laundry room and gave his granddaughter's ponytail a tug. “Two of them needed to be changed.”
Dean chuckled and shook his head. “Lis, could you leave me and your grandpa to talk for a bit?”
“Sure.” Liesel picked up Leroux from where was standing in the kitchen doorway and disappeared.
He wasn't surprised when his dad came over and gave him a one armed hug. “The meeting was that bad, was it?”
“Those girls are losing five recesses, that's it. They don't even have to apologize.”
“That is horse shit.” Michael shook his head. “What's wrong with those people? If someone pulled that at Kilbridge, your mother would give them in-school suspension and they'd be cleaning the chalk and wipe-off boards until the end of the year.”
“This isn't Kilbridge.” Dean busied himself for a moment putting food on a plate and shutting the microwave with what he knew was a slam. “Those girls have parents who - for lack of a better term - are more involved in the running of that school.”
“You're a better parent than all of them.” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. It'd been terrible to go to the school last Friday to pick up Liesel. Her cheek had been bleeding and her face, hair and uniform had been covered in dust and dirt. She had been doing her very best not to cry and he was proud of her for that, but honestly, he had wanted to march down to the third grade classrooms and demand the responsible party apologize right then and there. “There's nothing you can do?”
“Not that I am aware of. I am seriously considering switching Lis's school, even if it means switching churches.” Dean got his dinner out of the microwave.
“You could always threaten to sue.” He said it only in jest, but something in Dean's face changed. “Don't even think about it... they...”
“I know. But those girls shouldn't get away with what they did.” He sat down at the island and held his head in his hands. He drew in a breath when his dad came over and put a hand on his back. He turned his head to the side to look at the man.
“I need to get home. Are you going to be all right?” Michael's face was solemn and concerned.
“We'll be fine. Don't worry, I'm too tired to do much of anything anyway.” He squeezed his father's hand. “Thanks.”
“You're welcome.” Michael patted him on the back once more and then left him alone.
Dean stabbed at the vegetables on his plate, wishing that he could fix this. He couldn't remember people being this cruel when he was in third grade. Then again, his tenure in third grade had been about a month and a half before he was in fourth. He hadn't really skipped grades as he had caught up with other kids and then started to pass them. Liesel's near perfect scores on the skills test proved she was ahead of the game in terms of learning. She already read on a seventh grade level - although he wouldn't let her read any books meant for seventh graders.
The idea came to him almost instantly. He set his fork down and went upstairs. Liesel was sitting in her room, reading. He knocked once and she looked up. “Yes, dad?”
“Liesel, I know we were planning on going to camp at Kilbridge this summer.” He paused. “What would you think about going to fourth grade instead?”
“How?” She gave him a confused look. “You can't do fourth grade in three months.”
Dean shook his head. “You just need to pick up the math, science and social studies skills. The summer school program should be enough for you to do it.”
“I can't go to Kilbridge Dad.” Her cheeks went pink. “That's a school for deaf kids. I'm not deaf.”
“Fine. Then I'll borrow the text books and me, grandpa and Mr. Cas can teach you at home.” He thought for a moment.
“Why should I do fourth grade stuff this summer? I'll in fourth grade in a few months anyway.” She looked completely confused.
“Because I know you're smart enough to go into fifth grade in August.” Dean gave her a proud look. “It will be a lot of hard work, you understand.”
“Everyone will make fun of me because I'll be so little.” Liesel's shoulders slumped. “It'll be worse than where I am now.”
“You don't know that.” He took her hands in his. “You just happen to be one of the bravest girls in the world and I know you can do it.”
“I'd be the youngest person in my class.” She bit her lip. “And the smallest.”
“Yes, and when they find out how fast you can run and how many books you've read, is it really going to matter?” Dean smoothed her hair down. “Besides, you have the whole summer to work up some lovely Romanian retorts.”
She giggled and pulled her hands away, covering her mouth with them.
“Oh, so she can laugh.” He kissed the top of her head. “I'm going to go finish my dinner. How about you think it over. We don't have to make any decisions tonight.”
“Okay.” She leaned forward and gave him a hug.
He returned it and went back downstairs. Granted, sending Liesel into fifth grade to get away from one kind of bully and have her possibly face new ones didn't sound to appealing to him - but deep down, he didn't think the kids currently in fourth grade would be interested in tormenting the smallest person in the class. Fifth graders were usually worried about other things - like themselves.
*
“Mr. Coulter, while I will admit that your daughter is more than capable of handling the fifth grade curriculum, I do not feel that psychologically she can...” Mr. Jennings, the principal at Holy Family started to say.
“Liesel is capable of a lot more than you believe she is.” Dean interjected the man’s remarks. “I believe there is a greater risk to her psychological development by leaving her where she is.”
“I understand that you're upset about the incident last week, and...” The man folded his hands on his desk, his expression unreadable. “I do not blame you for wanting...”
“This school has a zero tolerance policy against bullying. It prides itself on that.” Dean knew that the only way he was going to get through to this man was to go straight for his throat - or in this case, the reputation. “What happened to Liesel is inexcusable. What is a further insult is the minimal punishment her attackers received.”
“Well, yes...” He blanched slightly. “I want you to understand...”
“I understand that you are more interested in what parents with more time and more money can do for this school than protecting the students who do not have that luxury.” Dean felt a tiny bit of satisfaction at the look on the man's face. Like he'd punched him. “And what I need you to understand is that I have something those women don't have. Friends who are influential outside of this school.”
“Are you making threats, Mr. Coulter? That is...”
“You wouldn't dare.” Dean's eyes narrowed. “I can have assault charges brought against all four of those girls, their parents and yourself before tomorrow morning.”
“You're being unreasonable.” The man was nearly white. “I am sorry, Mr. Coulter, but it would not do any good and you would be wasting money...”
“My request is not unreasonable.” He lifted his chin. “Liesel is perfectly able to do fifth grade work. My parents and I can get her caught up with the subjects over the summer. If you feel she needs to pass a skills test, Kilbridge Academy can provide that if necessary.” He was thankful his mother was already on board with this idea.
“What, exactly, makes you believe she would be better off in fifth grade rather than fourth?” The man was trying to find an excuse - or push him into saying something he shouldn't.
“Do we really want another incident like last week?” Dean said, as frankly as he was able to. “I assure you, I think Liesel would be better off away from her tormentors than remaining with them. Not to mention it will get her and myself out of this school one year sooner. Surely you don't want to have events like last week happening for five more years, do you?”
“No.” The man said, his expression half resolved, half annoyed. “You do have a point.”
*
In the end, Dean found out that he hadn't needed to threaten Mr. Jennings at all. While he had been certain that what had happened with Liesel was an isolated incident, an even worse case of bullying had occurred in the six and seventh grades. The sort that caused six students to get expelled and Mr. Jennings to get fired. He was even more shocked when the new principal at Holy Family turned out to be Jessica Moore-Brown, the girl Sam had dated for a few years in college.
Why Sam broke up with that woman Dean would never understand.
She was also more than happy to let Liesel skip fourth grade and go into the fifth.
Rating: PG
Prompt: Extortion
Word Count: 1917
Warnings: Mentions of bullying
Summary: Dean's appalled at what the result of the four girls attacking Liesel is. There are two solutions in his mind: put her in another school or get her out of her grade and into the next. Deaf!Dean Verse
Dean was utterly livid. He had long ago learned how to hide his emotions and right now, he was on the verge of snapping. The girls who had thrown dirt and rocks at Liesel were getting a proverbial slap on the wrist. Losing recess for a week seemed very minor in his opinion, considering what they did. The girls didn't even have to apologize for what their actions. He had the overwhelming urge to pull Liesel out of her school and send her to another one next August.
He let himself into the house, still in a foul mood.
“Anyone home?” He called out, coming out of the laundry room and into the kitchen, managing to smile bravely. It wasn't Liesel's fault that all the girls' who should be punished to the fullest extent of the school disciplinary regimen had parents who wielded more power than he could hope to have at the school. At least in the third grade. They made some of those USOC judges look like angels.
“Hi, Dad!” Liesel appeared out of nowhere and gave him a hug.
“Oh, someone's in a good mood.” He pulled back so he could talk to her. “Good day at school?”
“It was all right.” She shrugged. “I'm just glad you're home, that's all.”
“It's good to be home.” He ruffled her hair. “Homework done?”
“Yes. I already had dinner. Grandpa and I finished off the leftover meatloaf.” She smiled tiredly. “We left you some mashed potatoes.”
“Thanks.” He went over the fridge and took out a few containers of leftovers, setting them on the counter. “Where is your grandpa?”
“Down in the basement. With all the tornadoes in Oklahoma lately, he wants to make sure it's safe down there.” She shrugged. “This is after he checked all the batteries in the bed shaker alarms.”
“And for good reason.” Michael Coulter came out of the laundry room and gave his granddaughter's ponytail a tug. “Two of them needed to be changed.”
Dean chuckled and shook his head. “Lis, could you leave me and your grandpa to talk for a bit?”
“Sure.” Liesel picked up Leroux from where was standing in the kitchen doorway and disappeared.
He wasn't surprised when his dad came over and gave him a one armed hug. “The meeting was that bad, was it?”
“Those girls are losing five recesses, that's it. They don't even have to apologize.”
“That is horse shit.” Michael shook his head. “What's wrong with those people? If someone pulled that at Kilbridge, your mother would give them in-school suspension and they'd be cleaning the chalk and wipe-off boards until the end of the year.”
“This isn't Kilbridge.” Dean busied himself for a moment putting food on a plate and shutting the microwave with what he knew was a slam. “Those girls have parents who - for lack of a better term - are more involved in the running of that school.”
“You're a better parent than all of them.” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. It'd been terrible to go to the school last Friday to pick up Liesel. Her cheek had been bleeding and her face, hair and uniform had been covered in dust and dirt. She had been doing her very best not to cry and he was proud of her for that, but honestly, he had wanted to march down to the third grade classrooms and demand the responsible party apologize right then and there. “There's nothing you can do?”
“Not that I am aware of. I am seriously considering switching Lis's school, even if it means switching churches.” Dean got his dinner out of the microwave.
“You could always threaten to sue.” He said it only in jest, but something in Dean's face changed. “Don't even think about it... they...”
“I know. But those girls shouldn't get away with what they did.” He sat down at the island and held his head in his hands. He drew in a breath when his dad came over and put a hand on his back. He turned his head to the side to look at the man.
“I need to get home. Are you going to be all right?” Michael's face was solemn and concerned.
“We'll be fine. Don't worry, I'm too tired to do much of anything anyway.” He squeezed his father's hand. “Thanks.”
“You're welcome.” Michael patted him on the back once more and then left him alone.
Dean stabbed at the vegetables on his plate, wishing that he could fix this. He couldn't remember people being this cruel when he was in third grade. Then again, his tenure in third grade had been about a month and a half before he was in fourth. He hadn't really skipped grades as he had caught up with other kids and then started to pass them. Liesel's near perfect scores on the skills test proved she was ahead of the game in terms of learning. She already read on a seventh grade level - although he wouldn't let her read any books meant for seventh graders.
The idea came to him almost instantly. He set his fork down and went upstairs. Liesel was sitting in her room, reading. He knocked once and she looked up. “Yes, dad?”
“Liesel, I know we were planning on going to camp at Kilbridge this summer.” He paused. “What would you think about going to fourth grade instead?”
“How?” She gave him a confused look. “You can't do fourth grade in three months.”
Dean shook his head. “You just need to pick up the math, science and social studies skills. The summer school program should be enough for you to do it.”
“I can't go to Kilbridge Dad.” Her cheeks went pink. “That's a school for deaf kids. I'm not deaf.”
“Fine. Then I'll borrow the text books and me, grandpa and Mr. Cas can teach you at home.” He thought for a moment.
“Why should I do fourth grade stuff this summer? I'll in fourth grade in a few months anyway.” She looked completely confused.
“Because I know you're smart enough to go into fifth grade in August.” Dean gave her a proud look. “It will be a lot of hard work, you understand.”
“Everyone will make fun of me because I'll be so little.” Liesel's shoulders slumped. “It'll be worse than where I am now.”
“You don't know that.” He took her hands in his. “You just happen to be one of the bravest girls in the world and I know you can do it.”
“I'd be the youngest person in my class.” She bit her lip. “And the smallest.”
“Yes, and when they find out how fast you can run and how many books you've read, is it really going to matter?” Dean smoothed her hair down. “Besides, you have the whole summer to work up some lovely Romanian retorts.”
She giggled and pulled her hands away, covering her mouth with them.
“Oh, so she can laugh.” He kissed the top of her head. “I'm going to go finish my dinner. How about you think it over. We don't have to make any decisions tonight.”
“Okay.” She leaned forward and gave him a hug.
He returned it and went back downstairs. Granted, sending Liesel into fifth grade to get away from one kind of bully and have her possibly face new ones didn't sound to appealing to him - but deep down, he didn't think the kids currently in fourth grade would be interested in tormenting the smallest person in the class. Fifth graders were usually worried about other things - like themselves.
*
“Mr. Coulter, while I will admit that your daughter is more than capable of handling the fifth grade curriculum, I do not feel that psychologically she can...” Mr. Jennings, the principal at Holy Family started to say.
“Liesel is capable of a lot more than you believe she is.” Dean interjected the man’s remarks. “I believe there is a greater risk to her psychological development by leaving her where she is.”
“I understand that you're upset about the incident last week, and...” The man folded his hands on his desk, his expression unreadable. “I do not blame you for wanting...”
“This school has a zero tolerance policy against bullying. It prides itself on that.” Dean knew that the only way he was going to get through to this man was to go straight for his throat - or in this case, the reputation. “What happened to Liesel is inexcusable. What is a further insult is the minimal punishment her attackers received.”
“Well, yes...” He blanched slightly. “I want you to understand...”
“I understand that you are more interested in what parents with more time and more money can do for this school than protecting the students who do not have that luxury.” Dean felt a tiny bit of satisfaction at the look on the man's face. Like he'd punched him. “And what I need you to understand is that I have something those women don't have. Friends who are influential outside of this school.”
“Are you making threats, Mr. Coulter? That is...”
“You wouldn't dare.” Dean's eyes narrowed. “I can have assault charges brought against all four of those girls, their parents and yourself before tomorrow morning.”
“You're being unreasonable.” The man was nearly white. “I am sorry, Mr. Coulter, but it would not do any good and you would be wasting money...”
“My request is not unreasonable.” He lifted his chin. “Liesel is perfectly able to do fifth grade work. My parents and I can get her caught up with the subjects over the summer. If you feel she needs to pass a skills test, Kilbridge Academy can provide that if necessary.” He was thankful his mother was already on board with this idea.
“What, exactly, makes you believe she would be better off in fifth grade rather than fourth?” The man was trying to find an excuse - or push him into saying something he shouldn't.
“Do we really want another incident like last week?” Dean said, as frankly as he was able to. “I assure you, I think Liesel would be better off away from her tormentors than remaining with them. Not to mention it will get her and myself out of this school one year sooner. Surely you don't want to have events like last week happening for five more years, do you?”
“No.” The man said, his expression half resolved, half annoyed. “You do have a point.”
*
In the end, Dean found out that he hadn't needed to threaten Mr. Jennings at all. While he had been certain that what had happened with Liesel was an isolated incident, an even worse case of bullying had occurred in the six and seventh grades. The sort that caused six students to get expelled and Mr. Jennings to get fired. He was even more shocked when the new principal at Holy Family turned out to be Jessica Moore-Brown, the girl Sam had dated for a few years in college.
Why Sam broke up with that woman Dean would never understand.
She was also more than happy to let Liesel skip fourth grade and go into the fifth.