Office of Professor Simran Sandhu As you enter Professor Sandhu's office, the first thing you may notice is that it only just barely falls short of being a fully fledged library. Books and magazines on every imaginable intersection between Astronomy and Magic line the shelves, some bearing familiar names such as Georg Joachim von Rheticus and Marion Burbage. It seems almost impossible that one person can have read them all, especially since not all of them were written in English. Should you attempt to take a book from this valuable collection without permission, alarms will go off, alerting Professor Sandhu, and your hands will turn red. There will also be consequences. The room is lit entirely by natural light in the daytime, but at night and in the winter months, mason jars of bluebell flames illuminate the space. It almost definitely smells of apple pie, but that is most likely due to the scented candle burning at the desk. Not far from the three-wicked candle stand two photo frames. The first is of herself, her husband, taken not long before he passed, and their son. She is hardly recognisable at first glance -- this photo is close to forty years old, but she wasn't born in her mid-80s. The second photo is much more recent, a picnic with the four generations of Sandhu women, the youngest of whom is taking a nap in Simran's arms. A door to the south side leads into the Innovation Lounge. |
Quote:
Only she didn’t head for the classroom. She headed for her Professor’s office, which was why she was slightly surprised when she found out she had managed to beat Professor Sandhu. Whoops. Nina turned slowly, her neck slowly sinking into her shoulders as she faced her Professor. Um. Okay. She turned back and reached for the doorknob, entering the office space without a word. She wasn’t really in the mood to speak. A mood, which, changed almost entirely when she was me with an entire library. The Slytherin’s eyes grew triple their size as she scanned the shelves from left to right. While she was still standing only a few inches from the doorway, she was still able to read most of the words written across their spines. This was incredible. There were so many questions she wanted to ask and so many volumes she wanted to read. The distraction was almost enough to make her forget what she was doing here in the first place. Almost. But not quite. |
Quote:
Simran hummed a little to herself as she entered her office, shutting the door behind her and making her way over to the desk. She was about three steps in when she noticed that a certain Miss Castillo was staring at her collection of titles. Chuckling, she made her way back to the girl and nudged her towards the desk. "Sit down, dear," she said, and once the younger had gotten moving, resumed her way to the desk. "Would you like some tea?" Once at the desk, she settled into her chair and wiggled slightly to get comfortable. Then picking up a small ream of parchment paper, she straightened it and held it across the table. "This is the work you have submitted this week," she said, wiggling the ream of parchment a little for emphasis, the bright green O on the top right corner glinting in the light of the bluebell flames. "You bring up a lot of interesting points, Miss Castillo. Points that would have been so fun to discuss in lessons." "Is there a reason you don't enjoy speaking up in class, dear?" Actually, maybe tea would be a good idea. This seemed like a conversation best had over tea. "It's worrying to see such a bright student look so uneasy in a classroom." |
Quote:
Not that any of this mattered any more, however, as her current placement within a Professor’s classroom was probably doing the exact thing she had been avoiding from the beginning. So much for fresh starts. Her eyes quickly moved away from the books as her attention moved back to her Professor. The Slytherin began to move forward towards one of the seats, though every step felt heavy as if her feet were weighed down by concrete blocks. ”No thank you,” she shook her head, politely declining the offer. Tea would prolong the process she was hoping to speed through. There was no need to sit comfortably, as she wanted to leave as soon as possible. Though she sat in the comfortable chair, she felt anything but. Her back remained stiff, and it was only when she drew herself closer to properly make out the bright ‘O’ that she smiled softly. She only allowed the smile to appear for a few short seconds, before swapping it out for a neutral look. Um. Nina shrugged in response to the question, taking a moment to consider her answer before opening her mouth to reply. ”I’d rather listen to others,” was ultimately what she chose to say, as it was honest. There was something about Professor Sandhu’s eyes that made Nina feel guilty. It was as if she was sitting across from her very own abuelita (grandmother). |
Quote:
But speaking of students, this one didn't want tea. Simran's face fell, just for a moment, and the woman seemed truly offended. But it was all so fast that Nina might quite possibly have imagined it, and she quickly returned to normal. Of course it was normal not to want tea. The fact that her granddaughter loved tea so much that she named her own child after a blend had absolutely nothing to do with Simran, of course not. No reason to be upset here. Ah, the soft smile of success. Simran had never had that smile, but Rishi had, as well as several of her colleagues she would have suspected would be Ravenclaws, had they not been Muggles. She, on the other hand, was more prone to jumping up and down in unrestrained glee, and screaming "I DID IT" at the top of her lungs. They were difficult to suppress in the presence of students but the urge still remained every time she saw the flicker of understanding in a child's eye. Gryffindor problems. "Have you considered that, perhaps, others would like to listen to you?" she asked gently, her smile worried as she noticed the smile the young Slytherin wore fade back into an expression that betrayed nothing. "Not just me, but your classmates could benefit from hearing alternative points of view and other ways to argue things." Wait. "Is there something bothering you, dear? Problems with your peers or at home?" Although children with problems at home often seemed excessively relieved to be back at school. But everyone reacted differently to things, so the 'usual' had no business in her office. None whatsoever. |
Quote:
Nina took notice of her Professor's disappointment, despite how quickly the look had left her features. She felt guilty for a few short moments, again feeling rather strange and uncomfortable sitting across from the woman who reminded her of family. Still, she stood by her choice to deny the offering. Tea would mean prolonging the conversation and Nina had every intention to make this meeting to go by as quickly as humanly possible. Nina shrugged in response to the first question, it felt rhetorical and didn't really need an answer, did it? If anything it was a leading question, one that assumed a specific answer. Perhaps her classmates would like to listen to her, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't want them to. That was her choice and no one could convince her otherwise, that much she knew. Besides, she wasn't the only one who chose to remain quiet during a lesson. It wasn't fair that she had been singled out! Plenty of people chose not to answer questions. The second question, however, stirred a reaction from the young Sytherin. Her eyes opened widely as she began shaking her head. "No," her response tumbled out of her mouth rather hurriedly. Things weren't great at home at the moment, but it wasn't anything traumatizing. She'd be fine. Her parents would be fine. And.... At school? Sure the dormitory wasn't exactly a friendly place, and she didn't have very many friends. But she didn't need a Professor to know that, it would simply make matters WORSE. "Everything is fine, Professor, can I please go?" Her head was starting to spin. |
Quote:
She would never make the mistake she made with Brian Woods again. And there it was, what she'd been worried about. The defensive "I'm fine" that she'd seen all too often. Oxford was a place of great stress, and it could be almost as difficult to watch as it was to bear. She'd been on both sides - she knew. Hogwarts really needed a therapist. "You can go right after you tell me what's bothering you," she said at last, firm. "Would you like some tea?" It seemed polite to offer again, seeing as it was now possible they would be there a while. |
Quote:
Nina Castillo may not have been fine, but it was no one else's business! Professor Sandhu's tone made Nina feel very small. The Slytherin even visibly shrunk in her chair. "Nothing is bothering me, Professor," she tried again. Her voice sounding far more confident than she actually felt. She didn't want to talk to a Professor about any of this. It wasn't fair. Again she shook her head to deny the offer of tea. She didn't want tea and she didn't want to have this conversation. |
Quote:
Was she budging? No. "Nothing at all?" she said, and the disappointment wasn't entirely feigned. No, not quite. "Well, if the academic workload isn't enough, I suppose I have been under-assigning work. Worry not! I've got dozens of worksheets on every subtopic you could imagine!" She hadn't considered it until just that moment, but OWL-preparation did begin in fourth year! This way she could halve the workload of fifth-year revision work, but she'd just make this threat seem one-sided. For now. The fifth years still needed the worksheets, but whether this current group of fourth years needed it next term remained to be seen. Oh, if it was appropriate to cackle, she would! |
Quote:
But her eyes must have opened ten-fold with what the Astronomy Professor said next. What was with it with Professors and offering more assignments? It was as if they were trying to make their students unhappy. Nina frowned a little bit, though she nodded obediently. She didn't want extra work, but if it would mean that her Professor would get off her case and leave her alone, then she could make a sacrifice. |
Quote:
But of course she couldn't admit that out loud. And she wasn't going to increase the workload to the level of impossibility, but it was a useful threat to make. "Very well, then," she said finally, heaving a sigh. "I really do need you to speak up in class, though, Miss Castillo," she said, standing. "It affects your participation grade, and I can't give you the O on your finals without it." That, at least, was a threat that wasn't empty. She could leave now, if she wanted. Leave a poor old lady, who was just concerned for her wellbeing, to her tea and loneliness. |
Quote:
"Hiya, Professor" And into her office, she goes with a smile. Or maybe office wasn't the proper word since the library would work also. Circe there was a lot of book in here. She stopped close her desk turning a full 360 to see everything since yeah she didn't make it a habit to come in these offices unless it was for detention or something. "Have you read all of these" Gesturing to all the books and stuff. Please say no because if you did Eloise would question how old you are |
Quote:
.... Her participation grade? Her breath faltered for a moment, caught in surprise. She hadn't known that her grade could be effected by lack of classroom participation. And.... She did want the O on her final believe it or not. She wanted to receive high marks because she did want to amount to something despite everything she portrayed to the world. The simple threat had struck a chord. She didn't know what to do. But she wasn't going to sit here and explore the possibilities in front of her Professor. She needed to think. She needed to sit down and decide whether jeopardizing everything was worth it. It felt worth it. But her finals. Those really mattered at the end of the day. With some hesitance, the Slytherin rose from the seat. Her voice was far less confident than she hoped it would be as she spoke, "I understand. Thank you, Professor," she was ready to walk out now. There was a lot she needed to think about. |
Quote:
"Most," she smiled, shrugging one shoulder. "The rest were gifts from snotty academics whose books I'd honestly rather not read. And some of them are in Latin, which was never my best subject." Quote:
Simran gave the girl a cursory look, before nodding. "My pleasure, dear," she said, rising to her own feet. "Have a good evening, and close the door on your way out." She still had things to do, like looking wistfully at the pictures on her desk. No letters coming in meant that she was missing her weekly updates on her great-granddaughter, which was no fun at all. |
Quote:
"Did they know you aren't the greatest at latin" Now that sounds like a gift Eloise would give. Give a complete book in a language you arent good in and the other person is not mean enough to well not accept it. See perfect. |
Quote:
"I try not to let it slip," she said very seriously, in response to the Slytherin's question. "I just make them feel bad for making academia inaccessible instead. It has an 80% success rate." Though, now that she brought it up, it did make a good troll gift. Maybe she'd get Amrita a book on How To Quit Your Job in French. |
All times are GMT. The time now is 11:17 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.3.2 © 2009, Crawlability, Inc.
Site designed by Richard Harris Design