* crawling on your knees, [ashley]

Nell wasn’t very startled when she heard the voice, as she wasn’t easily perturbed, so she merely looked up with a smile already on her face. Because honestly, it was rare when she wasn’t smiling. Even when she was feeling upset, she liked to make sure that other people were happy. She took in the sight of the girl, who didn't appear to be a parent or a child. Certainly a teenager. ”Oh, it’s no problem,” Nell said, her voice sincere as she brushed a strand of brown hair out of her matching eyes. A slight chill overcame her from the contact of her wet hand, but she still felt no desire to put her sweater back on. ”Come on in. I'm just finishing cleaning up” The lights were still on even though other classrooms had already been abandoned, but it wasn’t so late that the Earth girl would be forced to kick out this new arrival. Nell usually didn’t like forcing any of her work on others, but the girl had offered and she said that she was looking for a job. She looks a little young. She brushed off this thought for the time being as she said, ”Sure. You can help me dry off the toys, if you like. What kind of questions do you have?” They were pretty much finished their heated soak and she figured that since the girl had some questions, they could talk while working together. Nell took out a firetruck after saying as much, taking the paper towel out of the dispenser to dry them off as well as she could.

The girl was adorable, honestly, and it was probably the way she seemed to eager. Plus, Nell liked anyone younger than her. Well, she liked everyone in general until they gave her a reason not to like them. ”Sounds like you’re pretty experienced,” she said as she placed the firetruck on the counter. ”Unfortunately, I’m not the teacher so I can't be of much service. I’m Nell Shepherd, Ms. Kustack’s aide.” She wasn’t really the one to speak to when it came to getting a job, but she did like to help people out. A lot. It was part of the reason she’d been a good bartender before coming here—customer service was a forte. It was still strange to consider how different her last job was compared to where she worked now. She tilted her head as she put her hand back in the hot water, sifting around for another toy while considering the girl. “How old are you?” She appeared to be in her early teens, as far as Nell could tell. It was always hard to pinpoint ages, but it was generally easy to separate middle schoolers from high schoolers and the such.

Nell, being the outgoing and friendly person she was, wouldn’t mind talking to the redhead, whatever the circumstances. After all, she couldn’t help but be curious about her. It was a natural thing for the Earth student. Plus, the girl really did look young, so it intrigued Nell as to why she had taken an interest in children. Usually teenagers couldn’t stand the little kiddies. At least, as far as she’d seen. She mostly had her friends and interactions with their younger siblings to go off of. However, she was familiar with the relationship between siblings—underneath the fighting and the hair-pulling and the name-calling, there’s love.

Pumping soap from the side of the sink, Nell arched an eyebrow at her companion. ”Babysitting?” That would make sense. Nell hadn’t babysat all that much, speaking honestly, but that coincided with the whole ‘haven’t been really living for too long’ deal. ”She left a little while ago.” She was slowly becoming pretty good friends with the older woman, but she still didn’t know too much about what the teacher did in her own free time. ”You can speak to her tomorrow, if you like.” Ms. Kustack may have been crabby sometimes, but she could deal with a classroom full of rowdy children, so she could certainly speak to Ashley about a job.

Nell tilted her head in consideration as she continued to go about her business. Ashley was definitely too young to work there. It would be hard for her to even find a job anywhere else, but there were some places that hired so young. ”Well, I suppose you could come in and play for the children,” she said, feeling much too soft to turn down this girl so quickly. ”I can’t make any promises, but maybe if you come in tomorrow I can talk to Ms. Kustack. I don’t think we’d be able to pay you, and we’d still have to do a background check, but if you still want to do it…” She shrugged her shoulders, signaling that even though her prospects weren’t too bright, there was a small chance that Ashley could still work around children. It would look good on college applications and all that. ”Of course, if you’d rather be paid, I don’t think that’s the best for you…” Her expression was honestly apologetic. It really did suck.

Nell knew the legal age for babysitting to be thirteen, and Ashley had told her that she was only fifteen years old and had been babysitting for five years. Which meant that she was lying about the fact that she was legally babysitting. This wouldn’t have been too big a concern except for the fact that Ashley was looking to work there, and it’s strike number one to be lying to someone who was trying to help you out. So maybe the Earth student was being a little hypocritical—she lied about everything when she got her first job at Corrosion—but when someone was supposed to be working with kids, there was a lot more you have to be worried about. ”So you’ve been babysitting legally for five years,” Nell said, hoping the girl would understand what she was getting at. Nell would be a lot more merciful if Ashley owned up then. ”I’d say around seven in the morning before the kids come in.” Ms. Kustack was a morning person, besides, so it would be better to do that then. Even though Nell was having doubts since it was shifty to lie about something like that.

Nell nodded and said, ”Yeah, the kids like music. They’ve made their own maracas.” She nodded to a bin next to the windows that held their little arts and crafts projects. Kids definitely liked music, that was something she knew was common among kids. She and her sister had grown up in a rather musical household. ”Age is also an important matter,” Nell pointed out to the redhead when she mentioned parents knowing her name. ”Do you have a liscense from the Red Cross? That is something else that’s pretty necessary.” Babysitting liscenses were helpful, after you took classes. ”A CPR liscense, too.” The girl had her heart in the right place, that much was clear, but unfortunately society wouldn’t be so accepting. Nell wiped off her hands and said, ”You could wipe down the tables. There might be some paint left over. Wipes are over there.” Nell nodded to the table where she’d left them. It helped get work done quickly, so why not let Ashley help out?

Nell felt better when Ashley told her that she’d been working with kids for five years. ”Ah, that makes sense,” she said, glad that she didn’t have to worry about the girl. She seemed very kind. Well, anyone could handle kids must have been kind. Her friend had claimed that she’d never be able to work in a daycare cause she might end up throttling a child. Nell couldn’t really understand, but that was because she’s Nell, and her tolerence levels were very high. Even still, while Nell usually gave people the benefit of the doubt, she had to be extra careful because these were children she was dealing with. It was a good thing that she wasn’t in charge of seeing if Ashley could come in at any time. ”Are your parents around to give you any recommendations?” It woud be good to have her parents vouch for her and all that good stuff. Plus, for her age, it might also be a requirement. Nell had been hired at eighteen, so she didn’t know.

The Earth girl nodded when she said what she could play. ”I’m sure the kids would like that. I don’t think we have anyone coming in right now.” If she tried, she could be rather good at playing instruments, she thought. If she trained her voice, she could be good. It was something in her blood. However, she knew minimal piano and was interested in playing the sax. She’d always sung, not very well, but to put her sister back to sleep when she woke up in the middle of the night sweating, screaming. She’d also picked up opera airs from her mother, which she often found herself whispering under her breath when doing some form of work. ”Well, tomorrow morning, then,” Nell said with a smile as she re-adjusted her hair and made sure everything was straightened up on the desk. ”That’s when we’ll actually figure out if you can work or not. Your fate is in Ms. Kustack’s hand.” Her tone was dramatic, but it was obvious she was joking since that wasn’t literally the case. ”Are you doing anything else tomorrow? If you’re lucky they might let you stay that day. Of course, background checks need to be run and all those technicalities if you’re allowed.” There was a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes’ involved with this, because Nell wasn’t entirely sure herself.

Nell behaved very professionally, something that she had acquired when working in Corossion. It could be considered impressive for someone who had limited human contact her entire lfe, but she’d always been a friendly and outgoing person. Perhaps that was why she always felt a tug whenever she snuck out of her hosue and saw all the life outside. Professionalism was just something that came to her easily, which she was glad for because it did come in handy. It was almost as if she came package ready for the real world—her father had always told her being bilingual would be of great use. ”Most likely,” she told Ashley. ”Again, can’t be too sure. They like to be careful around here.” Can’t just let anyone walk through the doors to be around the children. Urine tests were needed along with the background check, and everyone was very careful. Of course, it seemed like much to simply come in and sing to the kids, but it was a necessity.

Lifting her eyebrow she said, ”Burnt up?” She laughed. ”Rest assured, I don’t believe any of the children are pyromaniacs.” Then again, she thought of her seven-year-old self, when she burned the origami paper cranes in a wastebasket. That was different, that wasn’t just a part of being a childhood, even though it was a part of her childhood. ”She’s real friendly, just a little rough around the edges. A bit of a temper, too, but since she deals with little rugrats all day…I’m sure you’re nothing in comparison.” Nell sure she was helping in the temper aspect, since she took care of the children when they got rowdy. Her temper was basically non-existent. Ashey’s next question did not faze her. ”I go to the Academy, up in the mountains.” Mortals knew about the Academy, after all, so it wouldn’t be a danger if Nell said that she went to the Academy for “Gifted”. She just obviously couldn’t say what kind of gifts the students have. If the girl asked her, it would be very easy to invent a lie. ”You?”

Nell nodded, leaning back in the teachers chair as she counted out index cards. She didn’t explain why she went to a gifted school. After all, Nell didn’t consider herself to be truly ‘gifted’. If asked, she would say that she was good with english and philosophy, what she was majoring in, but she wouldn’t be able to elaborate. Even though she believed it would have been a better explanation if she told Ashey that she was indeed an elemental. Nell didn’t think of herself as very talented, as deserving of anything that she got. She was thankful for everything, as people who came from a background like her were, but because of her beginnings, she didn’t really think she deserved a lot of what she got. She was better though, Nell thought. Sometimes she felt like she was honestly a good person, but then she remembered the things she had done and didn’t feel so good anymore.

It shocked her to hear that the girl was also from the Academy. "Small world." It certainly seemed that way, since it was a pretty big city and elementals weren't too common. Then again, this was the place to find them. ”Sure, I mean…” Nell shrugged, looked askance for a second, thinking along the lines of Ashley. ”I wasn’t actually planning to head back to school since I have an apartment, but I could if you want help.” It wouldn’t be putting her out in any way, after all. Sure, it’d be nice to bathe, but she could do so in the dorms. She wondered what element Ashley was in, but knew it wasn’t the best place to tak. ”I guess we’re finished here, so you wanna head up? I can drive you since I’m guessing you don’t have a liscense.” She was fifteen, after all, and the Academy was a ways off. It was in the mountains, not a very easy place to get to.