Private Finished You?

Sofia sat quietly in her office. A lot of her work ended up being paperwork, which wasn't too bad, honestly. Sofia enjoyed having a job with the school, working with its more troubled students and doing her best to help them out whenever they shuffled into her office. Being a guidance counselor was a good career choice. She was happy here. Sometimes, Caius would stop by and visit her when she wasn't busy. She was making a nice little life for herself here on the island.

She glanced down at the clock on her computer. The full moon was coming soon. Her wolf was restless lately. Once she finished up work here, she'd probably shift and take a run to try and get the wolf to settle down. She had made great strides in her control over her wolf, and was able to reason with the beast much better. Having Caius around more helped, too, but even when he wasn't there, she was doing just fine.

A light beep sprang from her computer. Email. She opened up the message and scanned it. A teacher was sending a student to her by the name of Riley Keegan. Hm. Sofia responded quickly to let her know that her office was open and thanked her for the update before setting up some paperwork for the incoming student.

Tags;; @Kait​

Sofia glanced up as an unexpectedly familiar face entered her office and they seemed to look at each other in confusion for a moment. The girl said her name, and it brought her back to reality. "Hello, Riley," she recovered, greeting the student with a kind smile. Funny, she should have recognized the name from the email, though when they'd met, she was pretty sure she hadn't gotten Riley's last name. She really was a troublesome child, wasn't she? Perhaps their previous experience was positive enough that they would get along, though.

"Please, you can call me Sofia. 'Miss North' makes me sound old," the woman laughed a little and gestured towards the couch that sat opposite of her desk. "Make yourself at home. I didn't expect to run into you here," though she supposed she probably should have expected it, considering Riley's spirited nature. The girl had this air about her that screamed 'trouble', but it didn't bother Sofia much. She knew that Riley didn't like the school for what they'd done to her parents, but Riley at least seemed to like Sofia a little...so perhaps this would work out.

Sofia glanced over the email from the teacher once more and gave a light chuckle. "Your antics never fail to amuse me, Riley," she briefly recalled finding a bunch of torn-up toilet paper in the guest bathroom after she'd brought the girl back to school, she'd found it funny. "I'd ask why you wrote what you did, but it seems pretty clear. It's difficult, what you've gone through. I'd like to know if there's anything I can do to make your life here...less miserable?" The girl was just lashing out, and it was understandable. With all of the changes she'd gone through, her parents being imprisoned...it couldn't be easy for a young girl.​

Sofia smiled and nodded in response, "Just got the job about a week or two ago now. I needed something more to do than just keep house for Caius." It had been a good choice, too. It was putting her skills from her previous life back to work in a way that was helping others.

She listened to Riley with patience and understanding, looking at the bracelet in question around Riley's wrist. Ah, it was one of those...power-suppressing things. She tilted her head and examined it quietly while Riley told her that she would only use her powers in dire situations. Sofia found that to be acceptable. Why not give the girl a chance?

The family bit...was a little bit more difficult for Sofia to help with. She could sympathize; Sofia missed her own family, too, but it wasn't safe for her to be seeing them anymore. She hummed quietly in thought and then turned to her computer and began to type something.

"I'll see what I can do about the bracelet. I trust you, Riley, and I'd be more than willing to give you a chance, so long as you promise not to do anything terribly destructive. I'll speak with the school and see if we can get you out of it. Please understand that I'm putting my neck out there for you a bit with this, I do hope that you'll use your powers wisely and sparingly should I be able to convince them to take the bracelet off."

"As for your parents...I can look into it, but from my work as a social worker in the past, I know that while your parents are imprisoned, they cannot have legal custody over you." Sofia considered for a long moment before saying slowly, "I can, however, offer you an alternative. I understand that you are in custody of the school at the moment, but if you'd like, I can find you a temporary legal guardian so that you can have a bit more freedom. It's something I have done in the past for some of the children I worked for; I became their guardian temporarily until things could be figured out. It's kind of like fostering. Is that something you'd be interested in?"​

At least she seemed happy about the bracelet part, but the adoption part was a little trickier. Sofia listened to the girl with a patient expression and nodded. "I understand. I'm not asking you to make a decision right away, but I want you to know about your options. I promise that I will look into your parents' case as much as I can, but I'm not sure if there's a whole lot that I can do."

"You can, of course, remain in legal custody of the school until your parents' case is overturned or until you eighteen, and then you'll likely be out on your own. My alternative offer will still stand until then; I would be happy to become a temporary legal guardian for you - yes, adoption - if you would like. It would likely give you more freedom during your time on the island. But it is a rather large decision to make. I don't expect you to make up your mind right now. Do think about it. I don't want you to feel like you are stuck here. As your guardian, I would be happy to take you to visit your parents while they are in jail, something I doubt the school will ever offer. I would also happily release you to them if and when they get out."

Sofia gave a soft sigh, "As for the matter at hand, I'd like you to do something for me, since I am doing something for you. In return for getting that bracelet off, please behave yourself in your classes from now on. Can we agree upon that at least?"​

Sofia's visage remained calm even as Riley suddenly exploded regarding her teacher. She turned her head to scan the email again, allowing for a brief silence to fill the room following the younger girl's shout. It was a tactic that Sofia used often when children decided to throw tantrums. Giving them a moment to think about what had just come out of their mouths tended to derail their baseless arguments.

"I know you don't like being here, Riley," she finally said in gentle, even tones. "But sometimes you have to make the best of a bad situation to keep yourself from feeling quite so miserable. I feel that you would have a somewhat easier time getting along with your teachers if you kept the arguments to a minimum. All of the staff here are only trying to help you succeed in life; I hardly think that Miss Nguyen hates you. She's just trying to do her job, and your apparent behavior in class is making it difficult for her to do that job." She didn't want to scold the girl, but there were lines here that Riley was getting close to crossing.

"I'd like to have you come in and see me at the end of each week for the next month. Think of it as your time to vent about all of the things you have problems with. This is an appropriate place for you to let out your frustrations, not in the classroom. Okay?"​