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Post by skyeknight on Mar 9, 2024 23:54:28 GMT
"You can't scare an entire generation into giving up their leftovers," John said. "Why not threaten the brats with community service at soup kitchen or something?"
John wasn't unsympathetic to the cause. He just... didn't see how the fear was a sustainable reason to keep the kids from trashing the stuff they didn't eat or didn't like. At least at a soup kitchen, they would learn why people needed the food they would have otherwise thrown away. They would see people who had that firsthand effect.
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 10, 2024 0:09:04 GMT
“Because the last time I did, I was ratted out to parents. Apparently, the child was so” his bony fingers bounced air quotes “ ‘traumatized’, that he told parents, who told administration and so on.”
Yes, the kid did the community service like Jack had asked. However, home life was a new issue, Especially when families were rich. Children nowadays were on a wide spectrum between overly coddled or not getting attention. Some children - high schoolers of all children - couldn’t take the word ‘no’.
“Believe me, I would want them to see that. But I also can’t risk losing my job.”
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 10, 2024 0:43:26 GMT
John raised a brow. Children who acted like that were usually the snot nosed brats that needed a dose of reality. John usually tended to beat those kids up - when he was a kid himself. It was frowned upon now when he was an adult. A grown man couldn't take a teenager under the bleachers and challenge him to a fist fight.
"You might not want to risk your job, but I don't care."
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 10, 2024 1:02:51 GMT
“Then you take on the leftover wasters. I’ll make my rounds.”
Jack folded his hands behind his back and began weaving through the tables. He had never seen John in action with the students, and not only would it give him a break from the lunch duty, it would let him see how the infamous “drunkard” handled kids. With Ms. Byleth gone, there had been an increase in slots for teachers to fill. Jack was more than willing, but he was at the end of his rope.
“Mr. Hueros?” A student raised his hand. “Can I use the restroom?”
Jack looked at the clock. Ten minutes until passing period. Well, it’d save the kid trouble at having to go during instruction time. “Yes,” he answered. As the kid scurried off, Hack saw a student getting ready to make another leave. Friendly reminders never hurt. “Be sure you pick up all your trash before leaving. Mr. Constantine can take your leftovers.”
A girl nearby stifled her giggle. “You mean Captain Morgan? He doesn’t teach us anything! What’s he going to do? Drown our leftovers in alcohol?”
The challenge was obvious. But Jack didn’t pick up the gauntlet. Instead, he walked away, looking around at the other tables. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 10, 2024 1:14:03 GMT
A student tried to toss their unopened milk carton into the trash, like a basketball shot. John caught it and then smirked at the little brat. The kid took a step back, not expecting the look on John's face. For his part, Constantine actually relished the shock on their faces. No one expected the school drunk to step up for once. But too many times John had gone to bed hungry as a child.
"Do it again," he said, "And I'll see you in a special detention assignment. Tell all your mates the same thing."
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 11, 2024 0:07:05 GMT
Just as Jack finished using his decaying touch to help a student open a stubborn plastic over the silverware, he heard a definite loud thunk in the direction of the trash cans. He inclined a head over. He didn’t hear much, but he did hear John instilling the fear of God in the student that tried to turn lunch time into PE. Jack returned to his post nearby.
“Well done,” he said sincerely,
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Post by skyeknight on Mar 11, 2024 2:42:01 GMT
John gently set the milk down with the collected 'scraps'. Those would have fed him for a few solid days when he was a brat like them. He didn't like to be reminded of those bad times. It made him long for a drink. His flask was empty. He knew it. It hollowly clanged against his chest. He needed a drink. He didn't want to think about this.
"Yeah, well, I'm used to being the bad guy," John replied.
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Post by zuyuri on Mar 11, 2024 3:14:49 GMT
“With looks like mine, you tend to get that label from time to time.”
He couldn’t help the way he had appeared. His father had the same skeletal appearance, and his mother was as pale as they could come. He still remembered the fear in people’s eyes when they first saw him. But the minute he showed off that being a living skeleton had its perks, people’s fears, for the most part, lifted.
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