a little of your time; valuca
luca-dangelo:
Lucaâs initial reaction to her touching him was to pull back, get away from herâ he wasnât a people person. Up in the ring was where he shined, where he felt the most himself. His wife had been the people person, whoâd handled overzealous managers and rude opponents, with just a bat of her eyes and quick wit. Just thinking about her made him want to ball up and never face the world againâ or worse; blow up and get the pain out, but that would only scare Rae, and the teacher sitting opposite him. So he kept quiet, using every bit of his strength to keep his voice level as he spoke next. âSheâs a good kid. Sheâs just hurting. And sheâs angry. With the world, with me. I havenât made it easy for her,â he admitted, hating himself for what heâd put his daughter through. ââDid the kid do something to her? Sheâs never hit anyone in her life, so if sheâs going around hitting someone, maybe the other kid needs to be dealt with too,â his voice going hard, doing a one-eighty himself, turning on the teacher, needing to protect his daughter. âDid you even catch why she got so upset in the first place? Or did you just decide she has the fucked up father and the dead mother, so she must be the problem, no questions asked?â Â
Valeria could feel the air around them change in a split second and readied herself for what she knew was to come. Sheâd been a teacher or teacherâs aid for the better part of eight year, she knew how parents reacted to accusations against their children. She didnât feel the usual anger she felt at being questioned at her job, she only felt an odd sadness at his worlds. Valeria would never pretend to understand what it was like loosing a mother or a spouse but she knew it had to be tough on Luca and Rae. âI agree, sheâs a good kid.â Rae was one of her favorite students, though she tried not to have favorites. âIâve talked to the other studentâs parents and theyâve promised to speak to her as well. I only ask that you do the same.âÂ
Her mouth almost fell open in shock at his last words, her eyebrows shooting up on her forehead at the mere thought of thinking such a thing. Glancing at the oblivious Rae she placed her hand on the desk in front of her and leaned forward. Blue eyes sharp and angry as she looked at the father sitting in front of her.  âYou will not come into my classroom and assume I am the type of teacher that doesnât bother to speak to her students, Mr. Dâangelo.â Her voice was a shushed whisper. âRae doesnât want to talk to me about anything not related to school work and I thought as her dad, youâd have a little more luck than me. Sorry if I assumed wrong.â Leaning back she took a second to compose herself before standing up and tilting her head towards the door. âNow if youâre done assuming things about my character and the way I do my job, Iâd ask that you leave and talk to your daughter.âÂ











