Office Hours

[adminus]

[Compared to the other two, Oswald is much more difficult to get time with. He only appears on school grounds on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Nonetheless if you're determined... he can be found. Most of that time is spent hovering around the Faculty Office. It's almost like the Entrance Exam made him anxious of just walking around freely or something...]

Comments

[adminus]

I see. In that case, I see no other course of action.

In the interest of the safety of your fellow Apprentices and our staff, for the next week, you'll be prohibited from the consumption of alcohol. At that time I will assess the situation again and determine whether or not it's suitable to release your restriction.

...unless you'd like to tell me there was a greater cause for the incident that bears the responsibility?

[donotlick]

[ ....Fuck. That would be Bad for a guy who's as dependent on booze as he is. Realistically. Does Do you realize what you're doing here, Todd? But Hank isn't going to actually fess up, that would get way too many people involved. ]

Nope. I cried about my son to Connor, finished off the rest of my booze and... [ He sighs. ] You know all about us, right? I was drunk. I'm. My coping mechanisms are shit.

[ Code for, he's suicidal? ]

I went to Han because my drunk ass thought it would kill me.

[ God, it really does feel like he's in the principal's office. He wouldn't fess up if he wasn't, y'know, actually afraid to die. ]

If it's... any consolation. I told Connor to hold onto my booze from now on. So that shit won't be happening again, one way or another. But asking me to go cold turkey is, uh... I mean, it's not gonna be great. Which is probably why you're doing it, huh?

[adminus]

It may be unfortunate for you now, but it will benefit everyone in the long run, yourself included.

Should you need someone during that time, you're welcome to call on me.

Here's my number.

[Did... did you just... get Oswald's personal phone number??? Yes you did.]

I'll have Megumi update your tablet to be able to use the calling function. After all, I'm not trying to make your life here more difficult. I'm just trying to protect the staff and our Apprentices.

[donotlick]

[ What the fuck, Hale. That's so weird. Hank takes his number and pockets it. This seems like a pretty big fucking deal. ]

You seriously telling me I can just call you if I feel like crawling outta my skin?

[ You'll have to forgive him for the disbelief, Toddswald. ]

...Thanks, I guess. I, uh. [ It is so weird to have to say this. Threat of death sure is something. ] I know I have a problem. This was kind of a wake up call for me.

[ This is weirdly way nicer than he expected?? ]

[adminus]

Yes, I am.

[1000% Truthfully.]

I'm certain that Han never would have mentioned it to me if he didn't believe it was in your best interests. So I will do my best to give you the tools to achieve success.

[donotlick]

...Why? If you don't mind me askin'. I mean, no offense, but nobody's got a single nice thing to say about you, dude.

[ Hank stares. ]

I mean, not gonna lie, it could get ugly. You seriously wanna deal with that?

[ Hank knows Han didn't mention it (unless Han is in love with Oswald?? uh) but okay, guy. Okay. ]

This place ain't exactly rehab. Unless you've got some weird PhD you ain't told anyone about.

[adminus]

No one would blame you for questioning it.

But likewise, every organization has to have that person who does the things that no one else wants to do. I'm not here to be your enemy, but likewise-- compared to the people around me, I won't be surprised when people consider me as such.

I knew exactly what I was getting into. And I've been doing dirty work for a long time.

[donotlick]

Seriously? Running therapy for an addict sounds pretty fucking far from killing people.

[ I'm sorry. ]

I mean, who the hell would sign up for this?

[adminus]

And yet I’ve done both.

[So maybe he’s a harder read than people have taken him for?]

That is, unfortunately, exactly the problem. And so here we are.

[donotlick]

[ Buddy, that's weird. ]

Well, shit. Here we are.

[ What does he even say to that. ]

Thanks for the, uh. Thanks for the offer, I guess. And y'know, for not killing me.

[ Hank pats the folded up number in his pocket. ]

Maybe I'll give you a ring. Hope you don't mind late calls.

[ Because even if you do, Hank will call you. ]

[adminus]

You're an Apprentice. I assure you we value your lives more than you might believe.

[He chuckles.]

Not at all. I'm a bit of an insomniac myself.

[donotlick]

You got a fucking weird way of showing it, Hale.

[ Easy to see why Todd is the man in charge, though. He could charm the scales off a snake, playing so nice like this. ]

Good to know.

[ He pauses. ]

One last thing. Have you been talking to Connor?

[adminus]

I apologize, but sometimes it’s easier to be hated than to chase after everyone’s approval.

[At least this he doesn’t seem willing to budge on.]

...we’ve spoken once, yes. Not many people work so hard to track me down. And yet he managed.

[donotlick]

That's a choice, sure.

[ Hank shrugs. If Hale wants to run things like that, it's on him. ]

Yeah, he's real insistent like that. Once he latches on, he just won't let go.

[ He's good like that. But that isn't why Hank brought him up. ]

Anyway, I might be shit, but Connor's a good kid. I told him to watch my back, so he will. This won't happen again, long as he's alive.