JC whistled a tune-less song as he walked from one end of his office to the other at an idle pace. His head, tilted downwards, studied the paper in his hand. Every now and then he'd give his head a shake, moving his long hair out of his face. Not that he really needed to see, he'd read the letter sent to him many times now. In fact, he knew he had it memorized but he liked to dissect the problems laid out before him, line by line, turning them over in his head as he attempted to formulate a response and a fix to the issue.

Of course, it was test scores. When he'd inherited the problems of Laurel View High School, testing was one of the biggest causes for concern brought across his desk. To say that the most recent scores weren't good was an understatement. Laurel View had a target on its back, as it were, and he had to find a way to turn things around. He didn't mind it too much; he liked taking things apart, seeing how they worked, and putting it back together in a new way. In fact, he'd been an engineer before going into the school system called to him; all he did every day was deconstruct and put out little fires before they erupted. And Laurel View's scoring, or lack thereof, was just another fire to put out.

"You're still here?" JC stopped his pacing and looked towards the door where Ms. Collins leaned against the doorframe. Her jacket was folded over her forearm and her brown leather bag barley hung onto her raised shoulder. "I know you have a passion to turn this school around, but I think living here is a bit extreme."

JC chuckled at her light ribbing and set the paper down on his desk. "I was just thinking about how to improve test scores."

Ms. Collins adjusted her tortoise shell glasses, pushing them further up her nose. They made her round eyes appear larger, if that were possible. Every time he looked at her she reminded him of some nanny from a children's book; her hair was always pulled back into a tight bun, sometimes a pencil would be stuck up there (that she would then spend twenty minutes trying to find), her lips were always painted a bright red, softened creases appeared in the corners of her eyes when she smiled, and somehow she smelled like she lived in an apple pie. "I put a few brochures for tutoring services on your desk."

"I know, but I'm considering the budget." JC leaned against his desk, crossing one ankle over the other. He picked up a bright orange yo-yo and began to fling it down towards the ground only to snap it back up a second later with ease. "I need to look into which service is more advantageous. Or, on the other hand, it's cheaper to create a tutoring group with some of the students to help their peers."

Ms. Collins lips pursed. "You're speaking as if students here would want to take on that extra work."

JC shrugged. "Some might."

"Josh-"

"JC, please," he said with an easygoing smile, knowing full well that she wouldn't use his preferred name. He didn't press it much; she was old enough to be his mother and he knew she had enough bite to put him in his place if need be. He'd seen the way she could cut her eyes at students from beneath her lashes when they were being too loud or disrespectful as they sat outside his office waiting for him to be available to meet with them. They fell in line fast when Ms. Collins was the secretary for the day.

"I know these students," Ms. Collins continued, "I know that a lot of them build their schooling around the sports they're playing. And I know that a lot of people who would need this tutoring are those on sports teams. Getting them into the tutoring sessions is one thing, having them be tutored by their peers is another." She shook her head. "Not to mention keeping them on track and not being distracted, plus having them stay here around their parents' work schedules." JC nodded. Of course these were things he considered himself but, he felt that it could be a good solution. What better way to get other students to absorb the material needed when it was taught by someone else from their peer group rather than droned on from a teacher? Still, JC kept quiet, continuing to throw the yo-yo down and yank it back up. "I just don't see how it's feasible."

"It would keep us below our budget," JC stated.

Ms. Collins' head tilted, and her eyes lifted upwards as they always did when she thought. "Yes, yes, I see that. But those from the tutoring programs would be trained." It was JC's turn to think it over; he hummed at the realization. "How about we table it for the day. It's getting late." She motioned to the clock on the wall that jabbed two hands at the time, 5:47 pm. "Shouldn't you be out raising hell or whatever it is you young men do?"

JC laughed. "Those days are long behind me, Ms. Collins."

"Good. I don't want to have to hear about you landing in jail on the morning news."

"I don't plan on following in the previous principal's footsteps that closely, believe me." Especially not with the way Principal Sanders went down in flames.

He started out as an esteemed member of the community: always ready to act as a substitute teacher if the need arose, personally handled and oversaw every teacher interview to fill vacancies, and sometimes even rolled up his own sleeves to fix issues around the school. The school was his responsibility that he took seriously.

And then they found out that he took it too seriously when it was discovered he held parties at his house for seniors to drink and smoke away from their parents' prying eyes, among other instances Principal Sanders turned a blind eye to and let them get away with. The parties led to him forming close relationships with the seniors, one in particular, and in the span of one night the police found and arrested him for misuse of school funds, providing alcohol to minors, driving while intoxicated, public indecency, and statutory rape. The light shining on him up on his pedestal went out faster than someone could blink and JC found the position wide open when he was looking for a change.

"I can only hope," Ms. Collins said, her lips forming a tight smile. Her eyes shifted past him to the sight outside his open blinds and she clicked her tongue. "Poor child. She's still here?"

JC followed her gaze to see a girl sitting on the school's front stoop. Her curly hair was pulled down into two pigtails and every now and then she'd glance at the pink g shock watch on her wrist, look up and down the street, and heave a sigh. He'd noticed her sitting there since the school bell rang signaling the end of the day hours ago. He thought she'd been picked up by now, though obviously he was wrong.

"Who is she?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Olivia Carson," Ms. Collins said with barely a pause. "She's a freshman. Sweet girl, quiet, though smart as a whip. She created the rocket club here, the one that James supervises."

"James?" JC repeated. He blinked a few times and then it clicked. "Oh, you mean Lance." The social studies teacher, Lance Bass was a loud and proud space nerd, so he called himself. It didn't surprise JC in the slightest that he would be tapped in to help.

"Yes Mr. Bass says she has a great interest in astronomy. Her mother, though?" Ms. Collins clicked her tongue and then lowered her voice. "Her mother is one tricky woman to get ahold of. And when she does show up...well, let's just say you'll know her when she decides to show her face." She straightened up and reached behind her head to pat her bun, as she always did after delivering a bit of gossip; as if she were checking that she wasn't going to be set on fire for speaking with loose lips. She blinked, pulled a pencil out of her hair, and then tossed it into the wastebasket by the door. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be out in a moment. Head on home, Ms. Collins. I'll lock up."

Ms. Collins nodded. "Have a good night, Josh."

He put on a smile. "Thank you, you too."

Her heels clacked on the scuffed linoleum outside his office, the shine from the first day worn away due to the many office visits from vendors, troubled students, and other staff members. JC threw and caught the yo-yo a few more times and peered out the window again. Olivia now sat on the arm of the stoop, leaning against the slanted incline, hands drumming on her stomach, staring straight up at the sky.

JC set his yo-yo back on his desk and went though his end of the day routine: checked his e-mail, moved a few to folders to deal with later and left the important ones in his inbox, shuffled some papers from his IN box to his OUT box, grabbed his bag, checked his pockets for his keys and wallet, marked the day off his Picasso wall calendar, turned off the lamps, and closed and locked his door. As always, he paused to see the engraving of his name on the plate hanging by his door: Principal Chasez. It still sent a buzz through him.

He made his way through the halls, waving at a few of the janitorial staff that was still behind, telling them to leave by six or else (jokingly, of course), and made it to the front door. He pushed against the metal bar on the door and stepped out into the muggy night air. Immediately he swatted away a few of the bugs that rushed at him.

Olivia lifted her head from the stoop, glanced at him, then at her watch, sighed, and then laid back down. JC slowed his descent of the stairs, head cocked to the side, and approached her. "Your carriage about to turn into a pumpkin?"

"What?" Olivia lifted her head again, her thick eyebrows crinkling. She brought her hand up to her face to shield from the amber glow of the setting sun. "Pumpkin?"

"Yeah. You know...Cinderella?" JC offered. Olivia continued to stare at him blankly, or so he guessed with her squinted eyes. "The Disney princess?" Olivia shook her head, her lips pressing together. He spied little dimples sinking into her cheeks before they disappeared completely. "Guess you're not a Disney fan, huh?" She shook her head again, still quiet. Ms. Collins wasn't joking, he mused. "Spend more time watching the light show then?"

"Huh?" Olivia sat up completely. It was then JC noticed the smattering of freckles across her nose and the bright pink braces lining her teeth. A hole stretched in the collar of her shirt.

"Space." He pointed upwards, as if reminding her where it was. "Ms. Collins tells me you're the one who brought a rocket club to the school."

"Oh, yeah." Olivia nodded, tucking some hair behind her ear. "It's cool." She glanced down at her watch, looked up and down the street, and bit her lower lip. "I like Mr. Bass," she said as an afterthought, her eyes on the road. "He's nice."

"You got a good teacher to supervise," JC said.

"Yeah. He knows a lot." Olivia's eyes shifted over to his face and her shoulders rounded as she leaned forward, bringing her knees up to her chest to loop her arms around them. Her fingers tugged on a few frayed bits of elastic in her droopy, gray-tinged socks. "He says he went to space training."

"Really?" JC's eyebrows lifted and he set his bag down, crossing her arms, securing his hands near his pits. "I never knew that."

Olivia nodded her head rapidly and he spotted a sparkle in her eye and, before his eyes, she bloomed: a glow seemed to shine from within her and she sat up straighter, turning towards him. "In Russia! He went all the way to Russia for it. He...he said he did it all in...he did it all six months." She spoke so fast she stumbled over her words a little. "That's a lot to cram into six months. He's an actual cosmonaut!"

"Don't you mean astronaut?"

"No, Principal Chasez, cosmonaut," Olivia replied, shaking her head rapidly. "It's a Russian astronaut."

"Oh, excuse me!" JC said, holding up his hand. "I didn't realize I was speaking to an expert." His eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled. "You seem to know a lot about space. You like space?"

"I love space," Olivia said and then she blinked, the light in her eyes dimmed a little and she shrugged a shoulder. "I mean...it's cool. I like the meteor showers and stuff. We can't see a lot down here but when they come around it's..." Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. The sound of a car down the street made her sit up, perked to attention, waiting. It drove on by. JC watched her, carefully, feeling a strange twist in his gut. "Nevermind."

"No, what were you going to say? When the meteor shower comes around?" JC pressed, speaking softly.

She rubbed the tip of her beat up Chucks against the ground; its laces were browned and torn, barely fitting through the eyelets. When she finally spoke, her words were directed at the ground but she peered up at him from beneath her lashes, "It's...it's like the galaxy is raining. And it's so pretty." A flush appeared on her cheeks and she turned away from him. Looked at her watch. Again.

JC rubbed a hand over his lips. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"My, um, my mom." Olivia began to tug on the end of one of her ponytails. "She's...she's on her way. She's just running late."

"Well, do you know how much longer she'll be? You shouldn't be out here waiting alone."

"No, she's...she's coming. She's on her way, really." She flashed a brief, pink smile that faded like an extinguished flame as she leaned over and looked up the street again.

JC pressed his lips together and focused on the niggle in the back of his mind that something wasn't right. What was it that Ms. Collins had said? When she does show up...well, let's just say you'll know her when she decides to show her face. His lips pulled down into a frown. Olivia couldn't be older than fourteen, he guessed due to the pre-teen roundness that still clung to her cheeks. How often did Mrs. Carson not show up for Ms. Collins to utter something like that, JC wondered. And, more importantly, how did he not know about this? How many times had she sat around the school, alone, waiting for her mother to arrive? A fire burned in his stomach and he made a mental note to schedule an appointment with Mrs. Carson as soon as possible.

"Well...I'm not in a rush to get home," JC said, settling himself down on a stair. "I could wait with you."

Olivia's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, um...no. Thank you. You don't need to. And, besides, my mom says I shouldn't talk to strangers."

"I'm your principal, I'm not really a stranger," JC pointed out, choosing not to mention that she had spoken to him before just fine, before the topic of her mother came up again. He mentally put that away. "But, you're right, you should know a few things about me since I know you like space, right? Well, my name is Joshua, but I prefer JC. I like to play basketball, my favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip, and I'm a big fan of Stevie Wonder."

Olivia looked at him as if he grew a second head. "You play basketball?"

JC laughed a good, hearty laugh at her incredulous question and the way she looked him up and down. "Yeah. I don't just sit around my office all day. I have interests outside of school." She didn't say anything, just continued to tug on her hair. "But nothing like your interest in space. How about you call your mother on the payphone, see where she is for sure. I'll wait here and if she doesn't come in twenty minutes, I can drive you home. Okay, Olivia?"

Nodding, Olivia got off the stoop and picked up her burnt orange Jansport backpack, keychains and Tamagotchis swinging from the zippers. He dug into his bag and pulled out a worn copy of a book, riffling through the pages, stopping only when she approached him, her fingers clutching onto a backpack strap. "How do you know my name?"

He looked up at her and shrugged. "I know all my students, Olivia." Well, in truth, he didn't know her before. But now, after this afternoon, something told him that he needed to know her. Know all of them. Now more than ever.

She stared at him, unblinking, as if trying to see right through him. He cleared his throat, tugged at the collar of his shirt, and focused back on his book. "Vee." She spoke so suddenly he wasn't aware she'd said anything at first. It wasn't until he felt that particular burning sensation on his neck, that he was being watched, that informed him.

He looked up again. "What?"

"Vee," she repeated, holding his gaze. "My friends call me Vee."

"Oh." He set the book down and held out his hand and offered up a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, Vee."

Vee gently took his hand and gave it a shake. She smiled in return; the dying sunlight bounced off her braces, making it appear like stardust settled in the spaces between.