Closed I Refuse to Stay the Same

[Rama Mowry]

Rama Mowry was very angry with her life right now. Her father was now working at her school, and now first years were calling her bullies, which she was not. She needed to see the school counselor, and she was probably going to drag her father into a session before she graduated. She stormed into the library and to the counselor's door and banged loudly. She did not care if it was a library. She felt like her world was crashing around her, and she needed help to make sense of it. It was a false sense of urgency that made her do rash things like this.

 

[Maria Madison]

With the new term starting, Maria had a lot to do. She didn't have any appointments lined up yet, but she was working on a schedule, setting up appointments to send out to the students she saw regularly, to see how the holidays had treated them and make sure they were settling back in at school alright. She was poring over her diary, checking names off a list and writing people in, before adding the details to appointment cards to send out, when her process was interrupted by the loudest sound she had heard anywhere near her office in a very long time. Jumping in her seat, Maria looked over at the door, startled. She quickly closed her diary and headed to the door, surprised to see a very upset looking girl on the other side. Maria certainly didn't have any appointments this afternoon, but she wasn't going to turn away someone in such a state. She opened her office door wider for the girl to come in. "Can I help you?"

 

[Rama Mowry]

As soon as the door opened, Rama walked in and sat on the couch. She crossed one leg over the other and placed her folded hands on her knees. She was very angry right now, but she did not know how to convey that to the woman. Rama was just very frustrated, and she found herself crying uncontrollably in her seat. Why was she like this? Why was her father doing this to her? How could he blindside her like this?! There were all these thoughts going through her head, and she just had no idea what to do.

 

[Maria Madison]

Maria hadn't been expecting such an emotional visit this afternoon, but she quickly pulled her thoughts together, closing the door behind the girl as she entered to give her some privacy. Her heart softened a little as the girl burst into tears and Maria moved quickly, with a couple of flicks of her wand setting the kettle boiling for tea, her quill and parchment ready to take notes for her, and sending the box of tissues on the coffee table gentle floating over to the sobbing girl's lap. Taking a seat across from her, Maria kept her tone reassuring as she spoke. "It's alright." She said gently, folding her hands in her lap. "Whatever's wrong, I'm here to help you. Can you tell me your name?" She asked, not wanting to push the girl for information. She would tell Maria what was wrong at her own pace.

 

[Rama Mowry]

Out of Character:

So sorry! School had to take priority for a little bit.

Rama found herself blowing her nose after taking a few tissues from the tissue box that floated toward her. She was a wreck right now, and she did not just break down like this normally. Normally, she was stronger than this. Rama used a new tissue to clean her eyes of most of her makeup, which she had ruined by bursting into tears. "My name is Rama Mowry. My father is the new Potions professor for upper years this year." she told the woman. She probably did not know who he was, but he was the reason that she was like this. He just couldn't do this to her!

 

[Maria Madison]

Out of Character:

No worries! School is important

Maria looked away while the girl sorted herself out, skimming through the notes on her desk to give the girl a moment of privacy while composing herself. Once she spoke though Maria looked over again at once, giving Rama her full attention. "I see." She said gently, as the quill hovering at her side began to take notes for her. "And you're not happy about that, I presume." Maria knew it could be complicated for kids to have their parents at school with them, knew that although they had discussed it before Maria applied for this job Charlie sometimes felt a little imposed upon, and it was something she did her best to avoid, giving her kids space at school unless they approached her directly. She would have to hear more about Rama's situation before being certain, though.

 

[Rama Mowry]

Rama nodded at the woman's statement. "My father wasn't really around that much because of his condition. There would be times where I would have to stay at my grandparents' for weeks at a time because my father doesn't handle his lycanthropy well. He hates it." she told the her. Rama never felt that her father being a werewolf bothered her, but it had effected her growing up a lot. She always found herself missing her father. "I mean, even though he wasn't always around, he still made sure to buy me a lot of things. Toys, books, and other things like that." she added. She did not think of it as an excuse, but that was what it really was.

 

[Maria Madison]

Maria listened as Rama went on, the quill hovering beside her scratching quick notes on its parchment. "That must have been difficult." Maria said gently, the picture of what was happening quickly coming together in her mind. "So I would imagine that him taking up a position of responsibility for other children now is causing some difficult emotions?" She asked, wondering what the best approach to the situation would be. It was clear already to Maria that it would do her well to speak to Professor Mowry about this, but she wanted to get a fuller picture from Rama first, and would definitely have to get the girl's permission before going to her father.

 

[Rama Mowry]

Rama half shrugged. She did not really know how she felt about her father taking care of other students better than he did her. Well, she didn't like it, but that was not really why she was angry. "I am more angry at the fact that he decided to infiltrate my area. School is kind of like my safe space, even though I hate it here." she told the woman. "Whenever my father and I are together, he's always telling me how I should be a better person. I shouldn't be so mean to people, but he is the same way! He's rude and doesn't like being bothered by those he feels are incompetent." she said. It didn't make sense to her how her father could be such a hypocrite.

 

[Maria Madison]

Maria nodded as she listened to Rama, crossing her ankles as the girl spoke. "That sounds frustrating." Maria said gently, trying to think of ways to handle this situation. "Having your dad expect you to grow up a specific way, but not give you an example." She hesitated, considering her next question carefully. "You don't have to answer this if it's a painful subject, but is your mother part of your life?" The question of school being a safe space for Rama was a more tricky one, as there wasn't really anything to be done about her father working here. "Do you think that your father didn't understand that school being a place for you was an important boundary?" She asked slowly, trying to build up her mental picture of Rama and her father, so she could better understand how to help ease the situation.

 

[Rama Mowry]

Rama thought the question about her mother was a bit random because she never thought about her mother. Her father also never talked about her mother at all. She didn't even know what the women looked like. Rama shook her head at the question. It wasn't a painful topic. It was just one she never thought it was something that had an affect on her behavior. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at the woman. "I mean clearly he did not know because he is here." she told her with a bit of an attitude. It was clear to her that her father did not know her at all. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just don't think my father really cares to get to know me, you know?" she asked calmly as she unfolded her arms and placed her hands in her lap.

 

[Maria Madison]

Maria nodded as she listened to Rama, trying to form a picture of the girl's family situation. "I wasn't sure if he didn't know, or was disregarding wishes you made known, but that makes sense." She said gently, not commenting on the girl's rudeness. As far as Maria was concerned, it was part of her job to absorb a bit of teenage attitude. She appreciated the apology, but was more interested in what Rama had to say about her problems. "That makes sense." She said gently. "That's a really difficult position to be in. Your father owes you better."