Xandrya

Between Lessons & Lies

The room had been entirely quiet for some time up until the bell rang. Giselle was startled from her thoughts; a recurring event in her case. She looked over at Daniels who looked as amused as someone who had to be in the same room as 30 children, and honestly, she couldn't blame him.

Some moments later the door opened and children began to fill the classroom. A number of them flashed her a certain look, a look that begged, "Who is he and what is he doing here?" The young woman simply smiled, watching some of them still red-faced from gym class.

"Welcome back. As you can see, we have a guest for the rest of the day—"

"Is he your boyfriend?" Marla chimed in, interrupting her. There were a number of "oohs" that followed as they teased her, all very typical given their age. But that didn't mean that she was off the hook. Giselle felt her face growing a little warm, hoping to God it would pass unnoticed.

"No, he isn't. Mr. Daniels is here to observe for a while, and not just today. But other than having him present, he won't interrupt our class in any way, and that means we continue as normal. Understood?"

Most of the kids agreed, verbally or with a quick nod.

Giselle couldn't complain. This year she'd been gifted with a good group, a hell of an improvement from her class a few years prior. "All right, time to take out your notebooks."

Between Lessons & Lies

"Oh..."

Somehow it hadn't clicked in for her before. Admittedly, her preconceived notions about her father suddenly showing up at the school had made Giselle overlook the very important details such as Daniels turning into her shadow. He wouldn't be in some car on the side of the street or waiting just around the corner for her...he would be much closer than that.

"Well, good thing my father only hires the best..." That was mostly true, that and the fact that Giselle didn't know what else to say in the moment. "But, can you give me a moment?"

Giselle rushed back into the office to see Mr. Miller. She first had to clear the news with him about Daniels as she couldn't say she's ever come across the situation before, and she certainly didn't want to overstep her boundaries. However, once she was allowed into his office and let him know her concerns, he offered a nod and a smile.

"I know, your father already brought it up with me. It's fine."

"Right, well, thank you again."

And just like that, she was back out in the hallway. "Now that that's settled, I hope you enjoy being stared down by 30 something preteens all dying to know who you are and what you're doing in the classroom.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬

I would like to see this happen. Going for the friend role.

Between Lessons & Lies

The face of mild disgust was visible to anyone who just so happened to be looking at her as her father closed the gap between them for a hug.

Darling daughter.

He couldn't come off as any more fake even if he tried.

"See you soon," was her only reply, short and simple and unlike her words, something she hoped wouldn't happen. The Senator made for the exit and she waited until there was no trace of him or his agents. Giselle looked at Daniels, then down at his hand before taking the bag he was offering.

"Painful, wasn't it?" she smiled for the first time since receiving the news she was wanted in the front office. At that point, Megan returned back to her desk behind the counter, having noticed the office was no longer occupied by a number of men in suits. She busied herself by making a phone call. Mr. Miller also walked back into his office, shutting the door behind him after a brief nod in their direction.

"Walk with me," She motioned for Daniels to follow her. Giselle walked them out of the office and once they were both in the hall, she pointed to her classroom. "See that classroom three doors down? It's mine. I'm either there or at the teacher's lounge," she then pointed down the hallway to the last door on the right. "Easy enough, right?

Between Lessons & Lies

A brief smile was offered as Giselle pocketed the note and placed the pen back on the principal's desk.

"The kids are out by three, and most of the time I leave maybe a few minutes after. Today I have to do a quick run for groceries and go find that other phone, but I'll head home right after that."

That didn't sit right with her. It was easy to tell someone to continue to go about their day as if there weren't strangers out there looking to end her life because a senator they didn't particularly like just so happened to be her father. She looked at the clock again. "I should get back to class; I'll reach out if I need anything."

Giselle headed for the door, pulling it open it enough for him to get through as well. The rather unfortunate surprise of her father still being there nearly made her sigh in disappointment, but she caught herself before he turned to look at her, the grip on the doorknob turning her knuckles white. Daniels exited the room and she followed suit, closing the door behind her.

She cleared her throat and gazed at her father.

"Well, thank you for hiring him." Giselle watched her tone, keeping it low and professional. She noticed Megan walking away, likely pretending to work as to not be involved in the conversation. "I'm confident he'll do a fine job. We took a few minutes to go over some stuff but I believe we're all set."

Between Lessons & Lies

A moment of silence, then her shoulders visibly relaxed. "Well, you're right about that. I can't tell you the number of times that I've been blindsided by one of his little stunts...but you've put it eloquently enough to where you almost had me convinced he truly does care about me." Giselle smirked, finding humor in a statement that years ago would have left her in tears at the very thought. Thought time, as well as her unwavering resilience, helped her navigate through those darker times, especially with the absence of her mother, and now, thankfully, she didn't suffer due to the lack of emotional attachment

Giselle looked at the clock behind him near the ceiling, noting the time. "I'm sure I have a million and one more questions to ask, but they'll come to me in time. For now, I'm going to follow my same routine," Giselle added matter-of-factly. That much would not be up for debate, despite whether it made his job harder or not. If it didn't, good. If it did...it wasn't her problem. Clearly he knew what he was doing anyway. "Typically I get up, make my breakfast, come to work, then after work is where my routine ends. I could end up at the grocery store, the gym, home...you get it."

Of course he did; that was his job.

There were some voices outside, maybe a parent visiting. Her head turned to the door as if expecting it to open, but there was no interruption. She looked back at him, calm and attentive, refusing to betray any hint of what was going on in his mind. That was a good thing, and she felt confident he'd get the job done flawlessly, even though they only met minutes ago.

"I'm sure my father has given you my contact information already, where I live...the works." Giselle turned around, looking for a sticky note and a pen from the desk for him to write down his number. "I'm going to get another phone for now, something temporary. If these people made such a bold claim, God knows whether they have already gained access to my devices. If you happen to have a faraday bag, I'll take it. If not, I'm sure one of the agents has one in their vehicle."

More voices outside, the typical back-and-forth one hears in the front office of a school. "Here, write down your number and I'll save it on the new phone," Giselle stepped towards him to hand him the note and pen.

Between Lessons & Lies

"Okay," Giselle whispered with a nod that was barely visible. Her arms were crossed in front of her, acting as a shield from both the predicament she found herself in and her father. Yes, her father. The same man responsible for a number of things going horribly wrong in her life. 

"...campaigning should be over and done with in a matter of weeks..."

His words etched in her mind. They often did, actually, more often than she would have liked. Of course he would bring up his campaign; that was his number one priority after all. Giselle swallowed hard, then brought her arms down to her sides. God she couldn't stand them... Not the individuals standing feet away from her, but all of them collectively as a whole.

"Give us the room, please," she turned to her father, her voice suddenly carrying more authority than she'd intended, "I'd like to talk to Mr. Daniels."

Giselle stood aside to let them each file out one by one. Maybe her father would give her the great pleasure of leaving the school then, but it wasn't in his nature to do anything to make her life better. She walked behind the last man and closed the door behind him, turning to Daniels. 

"So," she began, walking over to the principal's desk and leaning against it, her hands on the edge supporting her on either side. "Either this threat is serious enough that my father is bypassing typical protocol of assigning me a special detail and hiring outside help instead or, something else is going on. If I'm not being moved elsewhere for my safety, then what can you do that those agents can't? I'd understand if you were Delta Force, but..."

She was being slightly overbearing, sure, but this particular situation seemed unique.

Between Lessons & Lies

"Uh, me?"

The news came as a bit of a shock for Giselle, though it was a terribly cliche stunt in politics to threaten a politician's family member instead of them. But something about the news seemed off, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly that was. Giselle eyed her newly-appointed bodyguard, looking him up and down before holding his gaze for a moment. "So what do they want? I mean, they threatened my life but what do they expect in return, money? Your resignation?" She turned her attention to her father once more.

Giselle thought up the only two options that would make sense, at least to her.

In a matter of moments, the office began to feel a little hot, warmer than she was used to, though the young woman figured it was all the bodies stuffed in such a confined space. "I trust your team is working on it?" She asked the rather redundant question. "Am I being moved or do I keep the routine of coming to work everyday? Are my kids safe? Can you designate a team for the school?"

The question was directed at both her father and Mr. Daniels. Giselle and her father had had their differences in the past, and that was the understatement of the century, but she trusted him to not let the ones responsible for this harm her.

Between Lessons & Lies

The half-smile from Giselle likely passed for the same level of gratitude her father displayed but without the overly enthusiastic charade. "Thank you, Mr. Miller, we'll be brief." She took the lead and walked past his band of agents, noticing one that wasn't dressed up in a suit like the rest of them. It was slightly amusing thinking about the man getting written up for failing to get to the dry cleaners on time, an exaggerated scenario playing in her head like a movie.

Giselle stood by the door and waited for her father to walk inside the office. She met the eyes of one of the agents for a second; his face expressionless and robotic, and then she closed the door.

As soon as you walked inside the principal's office, you would notice a rather typical set-up. Mr. Miller's desk was off to the right, his swivel chair practically backed up against the wall. The black cushion would at least make the long days somewhat comfortable. There were two chairs on the opposite side of the desk for visitors, placed at a slight angle and matching the same dark wood tone of the furniture. On the opposite wall, a bookshelf stood tall filled with books and various other miscellaneous items, similar material as his desk and chairs. Next to it was a large, light gray file cabinet, likely filled with students' information, amongst other things. And in the middle and directly across from them was a window with the blinds partly drawn, the view outside being of the street in front of the school.

"So, what's the matter?" Giselle finally asked, curious as to what her father needed to tell her so badly that they were both now standing in her principal's office. A sudden, dark thought crossed her mind. "Is grandma okay?"

This time around, her concern was as real as she was letting on.

Between Lessons & Lies

She closed the door behind her and made her way to her desk, unwrapping a Snickers bar she had grabbed from the vending machine in the teacher's lounge. Not the healthiest of snacks, but it was what she was craving at the moment. Giselle made a note to find a way to counter such a high sugar intake later, but for now, she'd enjoy the chocolate bar for a moment. The kids were gone, some to art class and others to music or gym, and all she had to do was grade a number of papers by the end of the week. She took out her phone and was scrolling social media for maybe a minute before it went off.

"Hello?"

Megan described the reason for the call, and Giselle's face dropped. She let her arm fall down to rest on the desk with the chocolate in hand, chewing for a moment. Just what was so very important that it couldn't have waited until she was out of work? Were the numbers that low? Did an ex lover come forward crying abuse in an attempt to smear her father's campaign? Because the majority of the interactions between the both of them was just that. Complaints about his job, his image... Needless to say, Giselle was quite bitter about it all, but she stopped trying to ask him to be a better father years ago. Now she treated him as something along the lines of a distant relative.

"Very important, huh? Okay, I'll be there. Thanks Megan."

The walk to the front office was brief as her classroom was relatively close. She had finished the Snickers in class before walking out, and nearly ran into a student rushing to the restroom. "Slow down," she warned, more out of habit than anything else. When the young woman opened the door to the front office, she was met by her father surrounded by his typical entourage. "Is everything all right? Giselle asked as a formality and not so much out of concern, though her tone and face remained neutral enough.