Title: Game On
Fandom: Adventure World
Rating: G
Word Count: 3732
Notes: You *asked* for a High School AU, right? Man, this setting is perfect for it :V Thanks to my fellow Adventure World peeps for ideas and inspiration, and curtana for a quick beta :)
Summary: Everyone gets detention.


Game On!

"She started it!"

It was almost inevitable that Tzesira Rhob was pulled into Principal Montagu's office after the morning practice. The girl's rugby team looked to be having a phenomenal season, if only they could just learn to get along any better. Eyeing the sullen girl seated before her sternly, Monti sighed. Tzesira's lip was swollen, and a nice dark bruise was blooming on her upper arm, and from what she'd heard the other girl looked just as bad or worse. "Talking back to you does not constitute 'starting it'. I understand you girls have some rivalries to work out since Nashira transferred to Union, but this is your only warning. I'm giving you both a week's detention, and if I hear of any more fighting, I'll suspend you both, and you won't be playing any more sports."

The girl's face went through a permutation of emotions from angry to worried, and back around again, trying very hard not to swear in front of her principal the way she did on the field. "But that's what I'm here for!"

"Yes," Monti answered severely, "That's exactly why I said it."

She sent the girl off on her way, suppressing another sigh as she saw the seats outside her office filling up as she waved in Tzesira's opponent. "Please take a seat."

"Yes, ma'am." The other girl was holding an icepack to her eye and had one of her wrists wrapped up in an ace bandage, but she looked contrite as she settled herself into the hard wooden chair across from Monti. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to cause any trouble." She hesitated a moment, but continued when Monti nodded for her to go on. "Everyone else has been really welcoming, but she's just so aggressive and pushy, and I don't even really know what will set her off..."

"Well, you have to keep in mind that where she's from, they practically see sports as a form of warfare. I don't think she's ever figured out how to turn that off." She gave a sympathetic look as Nashira mulled that over. "I know it's tricky, but talk to the other girls. Do you really think they'd be friends with someone who was just a straight up bully?"

"No," she answered after a thoughtful moment. "I don't know if I have them all figured out yet, but I think you’re right about that. So, what's the damage, then?"

"One week of detention, and a suspension and no more sports if it happens again. I know it sounds harsh, but I think you'll agree it's a pretty good incentive."

Nashira looked grim. "Yes ma'am." She glanced back towards the door, left open just a crack for propriety's sake. "Is that going to stand for all the team?"

Had she seen Delona out there too? Well at last Alia was staying out of trouble so far this week. She suppressed another sigh – it was going to be a long day.

"It will," she said firmly, "so spread that around to the rest of them, and get on to your class."

When she stepped out of her office a minute after Nashira left, she felt like she was looking at some kind of Breakfast Club re-enactment. Delona Kingfisher was there, accounting for about a quarter of the girl's rugby team along with the other two girls she's already seen. Rounding out the heavy bias of jocks were both Roscoe Scrye and Aleyn Harrowden, head of the school's robotics and chemistry clubs respectively. Their joint projects had gotten them in trouble before, and Monti was not encouraged to see a paw of Sparky, the robotic version of the school mascot Roscoe had been working on sticking out of the boy's overly-large knapsack. The in-crowd was represented by the senior class president, Vedran Callais, who was chatting quietly with a distraught seeming Kallista Sinsinger. She was a new transfer student as well, who'd been homeschooled by her parents until she'd been taken away by CPS. Despite her troubled home, though, she'd managed to make friends fairly quickly, and even joined the cheerleading squad. The last person crowding in to the little room outside her office was Warryn Shortcloak, who was a frequent visitor and flashed an almost apologetic smile while the others all froze guiltily. "Next," she ordered brusquely, hoping she wouldn't sound overly resigned.

Delona stood up, and Roscoe and Aleyn stood to follow before her secretary ordered them to keep their seats for now. Monti reseated herself behind her desk while Delona conscientiously closed the door until it was just cracked again, and then took her seat, pushing her green-dyed dreadlocks out of her face.

"So, I expect I'm about to hear quite the story, but what exactly have you been sent in for?"

"Technically for fighting," she answered after a brief moment to collect her thoughts. "Mostly I tried to see that there was no actual fighting, but still, we did manage to cause a fairly large commotion."

Monti nodded, settling herself in and wishing she had some tea to help her get through the rest of the afternoon. There wasn't a chance in hell she was going to get to the pile of paperwork that was waiting for her attention. "Alright, let's hear it."

"Well," she began, looking as collected and poised as ever, as though she wasn't fazed at all by having been called in to the principal's office. "I don't actually know the full story – you'll have to get that from Roscoe and Aleyn. When I came in to the picture, they were being threatened by...Vorus? One of those guys who's always hanging around Mr. Raddock's workroom, anyway." Monti made a face at the name, but Delona continued. "Now, to be fair, he did seem to have something spilled on his shirt that smelled a little unpleasant, but he was also threatening some fellow students – one with his own robot – so I stepped in and disarmed him." She paused again, with another reflective look. "I suppose I may have been inclined to further discourage him from such behaviour, but Mr. Raddock sent us three to see you and Vorus home to get changed."

"Well, Delona, first let me say that I admire your instincts to step in and protect your fellows, it's very noble. However, you know perfectly well that the proper course of action is to find a teacher or another adult with appropriate authority. To top it off, I've already had two of your rugby teammates in here this morning, and I've given them an ultimatum about fighting that is going to apply to all the girls, yourself included, so even if I might be inclined to go more lenient, now is not the time for me to do that."

Now the girl scowled slightly. It was a little unfair, perhaps, but her hands were going to be tied soon enough if Raddock was involved. Hopefully Delona would understand that. She nodded at least, which was encouraging, and Monti went on to explain her sentence and no-fighting clause that the entire team would soon be facing. The girl looked more resigned than petulant by the end of it, at least.

"Yes, Principal Montagu," she agreed. "I hope this does what you want it to."

"So do I, Delona. Now, you'd better have those boys sent in next – I've already heard your side of things, and I want to see what they have to say for themselves."

Roscoe and Aleyn were both seniors, but with Roscoe you wouldn't know it if it wasn't for his height. Aleyn was tall himself, but the other boy towered over almost everyone at the school already, the staff included. There wasn't much else to him though – both boys looked like they'd been stretched out on a rack and starved. At the moment he was clutching his oversized bag tightly, and Monti could see the robot dog squirming around inside. He and Aleyn shared a nervous look, and Roscoe barely took time to sit where indicated before blurting out his side of the story.

"I just wanted to make Sparky more like a real dog, and Aleyn said he'd help with the fluids, and then Vorus grabbed him, but he was scared so, really it wasn't Sparky's fault..." By this point the little robot had wormed its way out of Roscoe's bag and was sitting at its maker's feet, crooked tail wagging, looking up at Monti with a fair approximation of puppy dog eyes. She held up a hand.

"Wait.... You built a robot puppy....that pees on people?"

Roscoe nodded enthusiastically. Aleyn, by contrast, looked completely embarrassed.

"It was supposed to be a defense thing, um, if he got stolen, or something," he mumbled sheepishly, shrinking a little under Monti's stern gaze. "So we could trace who did it, just in case of, like, a rival school or something...."

"We were just taking him for a walk to test the function, it isn't our fault that Vorus picked him up like that, and then he was going to break him..."

At this point, Roscoe's voice began to waver dangerously, and Monti held up her hands, hoping to stave off any tears. "Alright boys, alright. It's not Sparky's fault." Roscoe looked relieved, but Aleyn still seemed uncertain. "But you both should know better! If you want to use any of the chemicals outside of the lab, you're supposed to run it by Mrs. Nettle first, and I know she'd have brought it to me if you had. Especially if it there is any chance of any other students getting exposed." She cut off any interruptions from the boys with another sharp look. "Those are the rules! I'm going to have to give you both some time in detention – if nothing else, it should keep Raddock off your backs. And don't you worry about Vorus, I'll make sure he gets his punishment too." The boy was a regular troublemaker, and with his record things had progressed beyond a few days of being kept after school.

"...Is Sparky in trouble too," Roscoe enquired in a small voice.

She couldn’t resist quirking a smile. "Not this time – but if I hear anything about him and any fluid other than water, it may be a different story, okay?"

Somehow, his "Yes, Miss Montagu" managed to sounds both relieved and contrite. She saw the boys out and surveyed the pickings, shaking her head again. Well at least one of these was bound to be straight forward. She beckoned for Warryn to follow her. He tugged down the front of his ridiculous leather jacket, gave a cool look to the other students, sauntered in to her office and took his customary seat.

Warryn was the type who cultivated an aura of mystery to maintain some distance from his fellows. He wore black leather and t-shirts for death metal bands she was sure he'd never actually listened to. He rode a black motorcycle that he'd painted to have red claw marks running down one side, and a smiling mouth full of pointed teeth on the front. He was trying to grow out a mustache, but wasn't having much more luck than any other high schooler convinced that facial hair was a mark of true maturity. In short, he was working hard to sell the image of a dangerous outcast loner, but Monti wasn't buying it. It might have had something to do with how he politely settled in to his seat once the door was mostly closed again, instead of scowling and slouching like the actual problem students. It might also have had to do with the fact that she knew he was a straight 'A' student despite some of his bad habits. She'd tried to talk to his parents about it but hadn't been able to make any headway in that department.

"Skipping class again?"

"Yeah... We were just going over the same stuff we did last week, and I've already read ahead anyway."

Warryn wasn't really a badass. Warryn was as clever as Roscoe or Aleyn, he'd just learned to hide it. He was smart, short (Monti sympathized on that point), and ginger-haired, all things that might have earned a strike against him from students not even as small minded and cruel as Vorus, but the combination could have been fatal. So he'd learned to cover it up with image. Monti was pretty sure he spent the mass amounts of time he spent in detention getting ahead on all his homework.

"I'll give you the standard this time, Warryn – looks like you're going to be having quite a bit of company this week. But I can only keep doing this for so long before your teachers are going to insist on harsher punishments."

He sighed resignedly. "I'll figure something out."

"You know, not all your classmates are that bad – you could try making friends instead of keeping yourself apart, and you might find it works out better for you that way."

"I don't know ma'am, I'll take my chances."

"Well, you'll be having lots of company in detention this week, and with a fairly good bunch, all told, so maybe keep it in mind, okay."

"Yes ma'am," he answered, slipping back off the chair. He didn't sound very convinced, but Monti hoped the week ahead might prove good for him.

Once she saw him out, there were only two students remaining in the waiting room – Vedran and Kallista. They had been talking, and both looked up when her door opened again. Kallista looked terrified, and Vedran gave her an encouraging smile. She hadn't been at Union High very long, and this was her first time being sent to the office. It was probably terrifying, and Monti took pity, calling her in next rather than leaving her to stew alone.

The tall, leggy redhead looked continued to look worried as she folded herself into the chair in front of Monti's desk, biting her lip. "I'm sorry, Principal Montagu, I didn't mean to miss second period! I just lost track of time..."

"Lost track of time doing what, exactly?"

The girl grinned widely for a moment before some stray thought seemed to catch up with her, and she blushed almost as bright as her hair. "Ummm, well, see, I have a free first period, and I was having breakfast with Brenn, and then just we were having a really good time, and I just wasn't watching the clock...."

"Brenn? Brenn Aelindar?" Kallista nodded. Ahh, well then. Brenn wasn't a student at Union, but Monti knew all about him already. In theory he attended one of the local private schools, but he seemed to have a lot more friends at Union than there, and was constantly getting them in trouble. It was pretty clear just what kind of trouble this pair was getting in to. She had a speech prepared for this kind of thing normally, but Kallista's upbringing made things a little more complicated, and she decided it might be best to refer her to one of the guidance counsellors instead. In the meantime, putting her in detention would help keep her away from his influence. And as she'd told Warryn, the mix of students she was sending that way today, their recent behaviour notwithstanding, might be a good influence on her. Kallista was already friends with some of the rugby girls. "Well. Whatever ...distractions Mr. Aelindar may provide are no excuse for neglecting your education, especially when you already have so much to catch up on. I'm afraid I'm going to have to assign you some days in detention, to help that sink in."

Kallista looked terrified, so Monti smiled at her sympathetically. "Don't worry, it won't be so bad. A lot of your friends will be there, even – I've had a busy morning."

"But... but I don't want to get in trouble, at home..."

"Oh, Kallista..." She stood, coming around the desk to give the girl a hug. "Your parents can't do anything to you now, so don't you worry about them. And I know the people at the girl's home, they'll understand. You have to face your punishment when you break the rules here, but they're not going to make you suffer for it at home as well. They trust me to know what's best for you, and I hope you'll trust me too. I am going to make you an appointment to talk to Mr. Crayne, okay?"

The girl eventually pulled out of the hug, sniffing bravely and nodding. "Okay..."

"Alright then – I think you've missed enough class for today though, don't you? So you'd better get going." She gave her an affectionate pat and sent her off, calling in who she hoped would be the last student of the morning.

As soon as he was seated before her, his cool composure started to fade, and she could tell how worried he was. Well no wonder – it wasn't good for the class president to get sent down to the principal's office after all. It also wasn't typical. He was usually a pretty good student (she knew he'd gotten in to a number of scrapes with Brenn himself, but mostly managed to keep them outside of school), and on top of that he was well enough liked by most of the staff that they tried to spare him the embarrassment. Whatever he'd done, then, was probably something pretty major. "Alright, Mr. Callais, let's hear it."

"Ah... We were having a debate in social studies, and I kind of made some people ... the entire opposing team... cry. Ahh... also Mrs. Sarasset." He hung his head for a moment before looking up at her anxiously. "I said I was sorry – I don't even remember what I said, but she said I was being unnecessarily vicious in my rebuttal, and disruptive to the class."

Well, that was quite a feat, but everyone seemed to agree that Vedran had a future in politics, either because or despite his father's position. Still, there was no doubt that a scene like what he'd described was disruptive to the other students' learning. Monti considered asking what the debate had been about, but decided that in the end it didn't really matter, especially if he didn't remember what he'd said. "I imagine it must have been," she replied mildly. "You have a fast tongue, Vedran, and a sharp mind, and you need to be mindful of when it is and isn't appropriate to combine them. I know you look at some important issues in that class, but you need to keep things respectful, especially in assigned debates where the arguments may not even reflect the views of the students."

"Am I going to get detention then?" He sounded almost as worried as Kallista.

"I'm afraid so. One week. Think you can handle it?"

His face fell. "Oh man, Jacinthe is going to kill me..."

Monti shook her head. It was telling that he wasn't more concerned about his father's reaction, but then there were rumours that he was only with the younger girl because of family pressures and expectations in the first place. "Well, Jacinthe isn't going to be there. I don't make a habit of letting other students bother those who are being kept after school."

Vedran nodded, looking, perhaps somewhat worryingly, a little relieved. "Yes, Principal Montagu."

Monti saw him out and sat back down at her desk to consider where to dive in to the mountain of paperwork now that she'd dealt with the morning problems. She was just reaching for a file, when she heard sharp voices outside her door, and a loud knocking.

"Come in," she called. Moments later, Agyness Cziernos, captain of the girl's rugby team, was taking a seat in the chair across from her while her secretary gave her an apologetic look from the doorway.

"She insisted on seeing you, Monti."

"It's alright, Ray," she reassured him, and he nodded, leaving the door partially ajar as he left. "Now, what's this about, Agy?"

"Principal Montagu," she began, her voice as determined as her look, "I want you to give me detention."

Monti blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, you have a big chunk of my team already. I know we've been having some personality conflicts. I'm hoping that I can use this as a chance to work those out, but they're not going to do it on their own, ma'am. "

"So you want to have detention with them? Well I can't just send you there for no reason, and I really hope, if you've heard about what's happened, that you aren't considering getting in to any fights!"

"No, ma'am, I hope to see that none of the other girls are either." She smiled a little, a hint of uncertainty showing. "But I am skipping class right now. I'm getting notes from Thruik though, and I told Mr. Kircher."

Monti had to smile in return. "This is a pretty unorthodox approach, Agy."

"I know, ma'am, but the team is really important to me. I know if we can work together, we'll be unstoppable this season."

"Well, alright then. I'll stick you in with the other three. It's going to be pretty crowded in there though, so it might be harder to finagle them all together."

Agyness beamed. "Thank you, Principal Montagu! I won't let you down!"

That afternoon after classes, the nine students gathered together in Mrs. Nettle's classroom, peering around at each other curiously, waiting for someone else to be the first to ask the obvious question. Aleyn did the honours, glancing across the aisle at Vedran, and blushing slightly as he addressed the class president. "So... what are you in for?"

They went around the room, sharing their various stories. They weren't all friends maybe, but they'd all seen each other around enough to know who was who. Once all the details were shared, they fell into another brief silence before Delona piped up again. "Well, I've never had detention before, so what do we do now? Just sit quietly?"

"That's generally the idea," Warryn replied, pulling a book out and leaning back in his chair.

"Or....." Roscoe looked around the group with an excited smile, pulling out a copy of the rules for his favourite tabletop game. "I have an idea for what we could do...."