Office Hours, Saturday, 10/3

[tyler_gone]

Tyler was in his office, and more than a little curious about what this year's crop of parents might be like.

He'd fill the time until anybody showed up by trying to read the xkcd archives.

Comments

[gothamlights.livejournal.com]

Barbara paused in the doorway to ask, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Durden?"

[tyler_gone]

"That would be me," Tyler said, glancing away from his screen. "You're ... one of the guests?"

[gothamlights.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I'm Dinah Lance's guardian," she confirmed. "Barbara Gordon. I'd thought to check in on how she's coming along in her classes, since that is the usual purpose of these events," she said with a wry grin. "Much as I'm sure the kids wish otherwise. You're teaching her science class, right?"

[tyler_gone]

"I am," Tyler said. "Dinah's doing pretty well. She always seems to enjoy the experiments, at least."

[gothamlights.livejournal.com]

Good God in heaven. "Experiments? She hasn't blown anything up yet, I'm guessing, or we would've gotten a bill."

[tyler_gone]

Tyler laughed. "She hasn't blown anything up she wasn't supposed to," he corrected lightly. "We'll do some work with explosives later in the term/."

[gothamlights.livejournal.com]

Explosives. In a high school science class. Full of teenagers. Barbara wouldn't question his sanity, but she said, "Well, I hope the school has good insurance." Then she hastened to clarify. "Don't get me wrong, Dinah's not destructive by any means, but she's very. Enthusiastic."

[itwaslogical.livejournal.com]

"Mr. Durden?" Amanda checked, smiling from the door.

[tyler_gone]

"I am," Tyler acknowledged. She was a little older than him, but very pretty, so she got a smile. "Are you a guest?"

[itwaslogical.livejournal.com]

"I am. Amanda Grayson, I'm Spock's mother," she said, coming forward with her hand out to shake his. "How is he doing in your class? He said he was enjoying it, even if it's not what he's used to."

[tyler_gone]

"Nice to meet you, Amanda," Tyler said. "And Spock is brilliant at the hard science stuff. He gets a little .... fuzzy when we're being looser."

He cocked his head. "You do not look much like him, I have to say."

[itwaslogical.livejournal.com]

"Fuzzy how? Uncomfortable?" Amanda checked, then nodded, used to this and unphased. "Yes, Spock looks much more like his father. The Vulcan physical genes were much more dominant in him than the human ones were."

[tyler_gone]

"Uncomfortable," Tyler confirmed. "If he doesn't think a class exercise makes sense, he gives me this look like I've lost my mind."

He nodded at the rest of what she said. "Oh, okay. He hadn't mentioned" -- vague waving of the hands -- "any of that."

[myname-isalice.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Alice said, striding in. "I hear you have K-Mart in class?"

[tyler_gone]

"I do," Tyler grinned. "You're her ... older sister? Guardian?"

[myname-isalice.livejournal.com]

"Guardian, I guess," Alice said. "Alice." She sat down, feeling a little edgey about not being armed. "How's the kid doing?"

[tyler_gone]

"Hi, Alice. She seems like she's having fun in class," Tyler said, and cracked a smile. "Especially anytime we do anything that could be turned into a weapon."

[myname-isalice.livejournal.com]

"Now that's a balanced education," Alice said. "You do a lot of that?"

[tyler_gone]

Tyler shrugged. "Depends on the class. Usually we do at least Moltov cocktails and nitroglycerin. One term I did cannons out of trees," he said. "... you aren't freaked?"

[smokin-guardian.livejournal.com]

"You're 'Tyler-sensei'?" Asuma asked, leaning against the doorway, an unlit cigarette in one hand. "More recently 'Mr. Durden', I'm guessing?"

[tyler_gone]

"... yeah," Tyler said, on his guard. "Tyler's fine. And you -- aren't Ino's dad. He came last time."

[smokin-guardian.livejournal.com]

"He got called off on a mission," Asuma said, sizing up the man. "I'm Sarutobi Asuma--Ino's squad commander."

[tyler_gone]

"Asuma," Tyler said, rising enough to offer his hand for the man to shake if he wanted. "She's mentioned you. Pleasure to meet you."

He was assessing Asuma, too, and debating what the man wanted to hear about Ino's activities.

[smokin-guardian.livejournal.com]

He was a tall man on the bulky side of trim--all of it pure muscle.

"You too," he said easily, noting the man's demeanour. "Mentioned me, hmmm?" Good to know. "What's the girl been up to?"

Blunt Asuma was blunt.

[tyler_gone]

"... are things getting worse at home or something?"

This was Tyler's way of saying he thought she was probably in the process of some kind of slow-motion breakdown.