Office Hours, Monday, 4/6

[tyler_gone]

Three hot showers, half a bottle of whiskey, an exhausting gym workout, and ten hours of fitful sleep after he had come out of the closet recovered from (un)life as a zombie, Tyler was back to his routine.

... he was in his office, anyhow. That counted. So what if he was mostly stupidly staring into space and trying not to think?

The door was open. Tyler wasn't into confined spaces just then.

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[intraspective]

"Tyler-sensei," she carolled, leaning in the open door and looking tired and in need of a shower but otherwise okay. "Can you explain why Ghanima-sensei says everyone ought to have learnt 'bout overthrowing evil in the last week?"

Yes, she could've asked Ghanima-sensei that. But Ino liked Tyler-sensei better. Teenage girl bias.

[tyler_gone]

"Ino. You went away and zombies invaded," Tyler said, in a voice laced with sarcasm. "You missed a fun time."

[intraspective]

"Well," she said, contemplating that. "Does that mean I'm, like, a anti-zombie spell or something? Which is kinda depressing 'cause zombies sound a bit neat. Like, a convention of bands?" Maybe he didn't like the music? Or maybe Ino was just tired.

Ino was thinking more along the lines of the zombies at the bar.

[tyler_gone]

"They tried to kill us all," Tyler said, so flat it might be hard to tell if he was kidding or not. "They bit me and I spent three days trying to kill people and eat their brains. I think the defense squad almost set the school on fire to get rid of them."

A beat. "You really didn't talk to anybody during Ghanima's class, did you?"

[intraspective]

"Oh." Well. "At least it wasn't permanent?"

Ino had no idea.

"Nope," she said, with a shrug. "It was a movie day, Ghanima-sensei was grumpy, so I kinda spent the period doodling in one of my notebooks and eating the fruit she had out. People were, like, all tired and stuff, and I figured explanations might take more than a quick note."

[tyler_gone]

"We got lucky," Tyler said. "Again."

He swiveled a little in his chair. "You'd probably have better luck getting details out of someone who spent the attack thinking about something more complicated than who had the tastiest brains."

[intraspective]

She shrugged a bit. "Fandom doesn't much do permanent." Two years here and Ino found it hard to worry about anything real ever happening. "It's always bad-awful then awesome-fix." Except for nightmares, but Ino didn't have that issue much. "Which, obviously, is totally a good thing." Though it wasn't much help in pounding any empathy home...

"That's revolting," she said, "though I'll make note of it, and remember to go pester someone." Once she got some sleep. "I'm going to take a wild guess then and assume I didn't miss much of class on Thursday?"

He looked kinda crappy. She could be a totally normal sort of annoyance for him. See, she was just going to wander in and flop down on a chair, totally uninvited. And glance around. "You ought to have flowers."

[tyler_gone]

"Y'know, I talked to Nathan last night and I don't think class came up," Tyler said thoughtfully. "You're probably right. No point teaching anything if half the class is dead and the other half wants to shoot things."

He raised an eyebrow. "Flowers?"

[intraspective]

"Shooting things would've rocked, though I can't complain 'bout my mission either so, whatever. Excellent. I'll maybe check with Algren-sensei just in case, but hopefully nothing."

"Flowers," she said, nodding her head. "You can make a statement with them. Not just, like, frilly girlie statements either. I can say 'go away, never talk to me again' with flowers, so. And they're good for you."

Make you happy. Ino was clever enough not to say that, even while tired.

[tyler_gone]

"I'll tell you what, Ino," Tyler said shrewdly. "You choose flowers that say 'go away, you're wasting my time' for my office, and I'll display them until they turn brown."

He actually liked most of the people who came to visit him. It just couldn't hurt to have a little secret message.

[intraspective]

She beamed at him.

"Lucky! And I work at the flower shop tomorrow!" Now she had a goal.

A beat.

"But I'm not wasting your time, just so you know," Ino informed him. "I'm totally only doing what you told me to last week."

[tyler_gone]

Tyler shook his head. "You're taking me away from very important teacher business," he said solemnly.

You know, for his one (.5, if you considered how much work Nathan did) whole class every week.

[intraspective]

"But that's a good thing," she said, eyes wide and ingenuous. "Otherwise you'd be finding more things for me to do."

[tyler_gone]

"I haven't been keeping you busy much lately, have I?" Tyler mused. "I need to think of something to make you do for the final."

A beat. "After you get me flowers, of course."

[intraspective]

"I've been busy lately," she defended herself, as if she'd had anything to do with the lack of him giving her work. She had been. In being a teenage girl and taking everything the wrong way. "But totally can do stuff for the final. I still love the Queen Bee shirt."

Ino's ego adored it. Shush.

"And, of course, flowers. Did you want them hand delivered, or through the shop's delivery?"

[tyler_gone]

"Just bring them to class Thursday," Tyler, who really didn't care, decided. "Unless that would look too much like kissing ass for you, in which case delivery service is fine."

[intraspective]

Ino was tempted to write a ridiculous love note now and have the flowers delivered that way. It would totally serve him right. Or something.

Or maybe it'd just make her laugh. That was an idea.

"Anybody but Cal accuses me of that and they get their ass kicked," she said, shrugging. "So I'll do whatever I want, I guess, even if you have to shove me in detention for it." Mmmmm, casual violence.

[tyler_gone]

"I would challenge you to design a flower arrangement I'd have to put you in detention over, but we both know you'd do it."

[intraspective]

Ino's considering silence on that suggestion was a good hint that he was right on the mark there.

"...though I might have to tell you what the flowers meant for that to happen," she said thoughtfully, "which means, really, I could probably sneak things past anyway... unless we went with what the flowers look like but that might raise more questions for you than me, right?"

[tyler_gone]

"I'd rather not have anything in my office that made it look like I was time-sharing with a crazy woman," Tyler told her. "But you know what? Do what you feel like. I'm kind of curious what you can say with flowers, anyhow."

[intraspective]

She grinned at him merrily.

"Totally knew there's a reason why you're my favourite teacher," she said, bouncing a bit. Ino was going to spend all day on this project tomorrow. "I'll try to go easy on the crazy woman thing, though I make no promises."

[tyler_gone]

"I can't wait to see what you come up with."

For the first time since Wednesday. Tyler felt like his old self.

[intraspective]

She laughed, wriggling out of the chair. "You totally won't be disappointed."

A beat.

"Now that I've got a happy-fun mission, should I leave you to your totally important teacherly things?"

[tyler_gone]

"I will get back to my very important teacherly program of trying not to think about what rotting flesh tastes like, thank you." There was a tiny smile, even though it wasn't actually funny.

[intraspective]

She sighed.

"Eat some chocolate." Duh. "It's a mild way to boost your spirits you know, 'cause of what's in it." She was actually telling the truth, even as she headed for the door.