series fic ; in another life ; a drop makes a ripple
Title: A drop makes a ripple
Author: session416
Rating: G
Character(s): Mal, River, Jayne
Word Count: 984
Notes: after These changing times
Other parts in this alter'verse can be found in story-chronology here.
"Mr. Reynolds?"
Malcolm folded his hands on his desk and looked over his narrow rectangular lenses at the scruffy unkempt boy who'd chosen the furthest seat from him in an almost empty classroom.
"Yes, Mr. Cobb?"
"Mind if I smoke?"
"Generally? No, but I promise that you'll be seeing me next week iff'in you do." He cast a thin-lipped smile that lacked humour and fished for his clipboard to take attendance. It was more out of ritual than anything, seeing as the usual suspect was accounted for. Jayne wasn't a bad kid- hell, the kid grew up in his old stomping grounds, which was a ways from here. But Jayne... he just wasn't the book-reading-school type.
Mal's specialty was chemistry, generally, but he'd gotten saddled with detention duty indefinitely. Now if he'd only thought not to comment when Principal Washburne's husband started playing funny with that diorama… but, really, a grown man playing with toy dinosaurs is begging for some kind of attention he ain't getting elsewhere.
And then, she knocked. A timid knock on the doorframe, nothing but a hand to start. Mal looked down at his attendance sheet.
"Miss Tam, I presume?" He pushed away from his desk, rolling back on his chair, clipboard in hand, as though he were comparing her to her name. She stepped in, holding her backpack by the straps in front of her. Jayne was chuckling in the background, and Mal turned on him, "Hey Jayne, your lips are moving. Might want to see to that."
"But you gotta know who that is! That's #3's kid sister!"
River didn't like that: "His name is Simon."
"-- And your daddy's Govn'r Gabe, your mama's Regan, and if you don’t mind me saying she has got a rack like--"
"Jayne, I may not have the authority invested, but with Miss Tam here as my only witness, I imagine that I could get away with…" he thoughtfully stroked his tie with one hand, "At least a smack upside your head. Now, shut it." Jayne slouched back down into his seat, while Mal gestured to the slew of empties in the front row. "Miss Tam?"
"River." She held her bag firmly from the straps, sinking into a seat in the second row. She was now smackdab in the middle of the room, but she was sure to put three rows between her and Jayne. "My name is River."
"I know." Mal shook the clipboard demonstratively. That, and well, Jayne was right- everybody knew who she was, which meant it might be an interesting Saturday after all. No mistaking her uniform was prim and pressed- nothing less from the governor's daughter. But she wasn't like the other girls around... she had knicks and scrapes, her hair didn't carbon a magazine, and she didn't seem especially concerned with sitting like a lady.
Mal cleared his throat and took his seat. He reached into his briefcase to fetch some paper and pencils, and sucked a breath through his teeth at the sudden sound of movement. When he sat back upright, Jayne was sitting in the front row, turned around and facing River.
"I heard you knocked two of prissy-Serra's teeth out."
River crossed her legs then and turned towards the window.
"Jayne."
"-- I heard her best friend Kay had to come between y'all and got her uniform all torn up'n- hey! Ow! You can't do this to me! There's laws! And rights! I have rights!"
Jayne was big for his age, especially when he acted like a baby. He'd barely even pinched the boy's ear. "Now if you can get those with a side of brains, we might have something to discuss." Mal had the pencils and paper in hand, and set down a few sheets on River's desk. He stepped over her foot, which was now blocking the aisle, and walked to the back of the class, where Jayne had retreated.
"Y'know I ain't gonna write nothin'."
"And if you write as well as you speak, I count myself fortunate." Mal slapped down the paper and pencil on Jayne's desk. He gave him a curt nod and turned back around. He knew Jayne was making faces behind his back, but having had the boy in the same grade for two years, this was all old news. Third time's a charm, he supposed. It'd be a wonder how he stayed enrolled but damned if he wasn't the best quarterback and wrestler the school's ever seen.
Passing River's desk, she looked up at him guiltily. If he'd guess, it had something to do with the fresh bite marks on the fresh new pencil he just gave her. He merely raised an eyebrow, tallied it as an honest loss. "You're new, so I'll do the whole nine for you today." Jayne made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a bodily function. "Be careful now, Jayne, or I'm gonna start thinking you like the quality time." The young man snorted and shifted noisily in his seat. "You've been assigned three hours of detention this morning--"
"Hah!"
Mal shot Jayne a warning look. "-- which is probably more than plenty of time for you to write a few hundred words about why you're here."
"Genius pro'lly won't need a hundred." Jayne muttered in the back.
"Why Jayne, that could've been mistaken for a compliment."
"My mama didn't raise no heathen."
"I don't doubt it." River still looked a mite lost in her element, and Mal wasn't one for special treatment, but he made an exception. "I've met his mama a bunch of times, you might imagine, and she is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet on this Earth. How she produced that--" he indicated Jayne "-- is a wonder that will never cease." He made sure his back was to Jayne when he offered the girl a smile something Mal-ish.
Making his way back to his desk, he sat down. He pushed his glasses up his noise some, before pulling back his sleeve to check his watch against the clock on the wall. "Detention has officially commenced. You may begin writing your essay, Miss River." He was about to reach down for something to do in his briefcase, when he saw Jayne fishing around for something in his pockets. "And Jayne?" At his name, his hands shot up like he was under arrest. "Seeing as we've got a guest today, no spitballs cross the table, mm'kay?"
"Aye aye, Capt'n." Jayne offered a salute before spitting a loogy straight up and catching it.
Just another Saturday detention in Serenity Valley.
***
Author: session416
Rating: G
Character(s): Mal, River, Jayne
Word Count: 984
Notes: after These changing times
Other parts in this alter'verse can be found in story-chronology here.
"Mr. Reynolds?"
Malcolm folded his hands on his desk and looked over his narrow rectangular lenses at the scruffy unkempt boy who'd chosen the furthest seat from him in an almost empty classroom.
"Yes, Mr. Cobb?"
"Mind if I smoke?"
"Generally? No, but I promise that you'll be seeing me next week iff'in you do." He cast a thin-lipped smile that lacked humour and fished for his clipboard to take attendance. It was more out of ritual than anything, seeing as the usual suspect was accounted for. Jayne wasn't a bad kid- hell, the kid grew up in his old stomping grounds, which was a ways from here. But Jayne... he just wasn't the book-reading-school type.
Mal's specialty was chemistry, generally, but he'd gotten saddled with detention duty indefinitely. Now if he'd only thought not to comment when Principal Washburne's husband started playing funny with that diorama… but, really, a grown man playing with toy dinosaurs is begging for some kind of attention he ain't getting elsewhere.
And then, she knocked. A timid knock on the doorframe, nothing but a hand to start. Mal looked down at his attendance sheet.
"Miss Tam, I presume?" He pushed away from his desk, rolling back on his chair, clipboard in hand, as though he were comparing her to her name. She stepped in, holding her backpack by the straps in front of her. Jayne was chuckling in the background, and Mal turned on him, "Hey Jayne, your lips are moving. Might want to see to that."
"But you gotta know who that is! That's #3's kid sister!"
River didn't like that: "His name is Simon."
"-- And your daddy's Govn'r Gabe, your mama's Regan, and if you don’t mind me saying she has got a rack like--"
"Jayne, I may not have the authority invested, but with Miss Tam here as my only witness, I imagine that I could get away with…" he thoughtfully stroked his tie with one hand, "At least a smack upside your head. Now, shut it." Jayne slouched back down into his seat, while Mal gestured to the slew of empties in the front row. "Miss Tam?"
"River." She held her bag firmly from the straps, sinking into a seat in the second row. She was now smackdab in the middle of the room, but she was sure to put three rows between her and Jayne. "My name is River."
"I know." Mal shook the clipboard demonstratively. That, and well, Jayne was right- everybody knew who she was, which meant it might be an interesting Saturday after all. No mistaking her uniform was prim and pressed- nothing less from the governor's daughter. But she wasn't like the other girls around... she had knicks and scrapes, her hair didn't carbon a magazine, and she didn't seem especially concerned with sitting like a lady.
Mal cleared his throat and took his seat. He reached into his briefcase to fetch some paper and pencils, and sucked a breath through his teeth at the sudden sound of movement. When he sat back upright, Jayne was sitting in the front row, turned around and facing River.
"I heard you knocked two of prissy-Serra's teeth out."
River crossed her legs then and turned towards the window.
"Jayne."
"-- I heard her best friend Kay had to come between y'all and got her uniform all torn up'n- hey! Ow! You can't do this to me! There's laws! And rights! I have rights!"
Jayne was big for his age, especially when he acted like a baby. He'd barely even pinched the boy's ear. "Now if you can get those with a side of brains, we might have something to discuss." Mal had the pencils and paper in hand, and set down a few sheets on River's desk. He stepped over her foot, which was now blocking the aisle, and walked to the back of the class, where Jayne had retreated.
"Y'know I ain't gonna write nothin'."
"And if you write as well as you speak, I count myself fortunate." Mal slapped down the paper and pencil on Jayne's desk. He gave him a curt nod and turned back around. He knew Jayne was making faces behind his back, but having had the boy in the same grade for two years, this was all old news. Third time's a charm, he supposed. It'd be a wonder how he stayed enrolled but damned if he wasn't the best quarterback and wrestler the school's ever seen.
Passing River's desk, she looked up at him guiltily. If he'd guess, it had something to do with the fresh bite marks on the fresh new pencil he just gave her. He merely raised an eyebrow, tallied it as an honest loss. "You're new, so I'll do the whole nine for you today." Jayne made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a bodily function. "Be careful now, Jayne, or I'm gonna start thinking you like the quality time." The young man snorted and shifted noisily in his seat. "You've been assigned three hours of detention this morning--"
"Hah!"
Mal shot Jayne a warning look. "-- which is probably more than plenty of time for you to write a few hundred words about why you're here."
"Genius pro'lly won't need a hundred." Jayne muttered in the back.
"Why Jayne, that could've been mistaken for a compliment."
"My mama didn't raise no heathen."
"I don't doubt it." River still looked a mite lost in her element, and Mal wasn't one for special treatment, but he made an exception. "I've met his mama a bunch of times, you might imagine, and she is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet on this Earth. How she produced that--" he indicated Jayne "-- is a wonder that will never cease." He made sure his back was to Jayne when he offered the girl a smile something Mal-ish.
Making his way back to his desk, he sat down. He pushed his glasses up his noise some, before pulling back his sleeve to check his watch against the clock on the wall. "Detention has officially commenced. You may begin writing your essay, Miss River." He was about to reach down for something to do in his briefcase, when he saw Jayne fishing around for something in his pockets. "And Jayne?" At his name, his hands shot up like he was under arrest. "Seeing as we've got a guest today, no spitballs cross the table, mm'kay?"
"Aye aye, Capt'n." Jayne offered a salute before spitting a loogy straight up and catching it.
Just another Saturday detention in Serenity Valley.
***