fandomhigh | Construction 101; First Period, Friday [06/22].

When the kids got to the site that morning, they'd find Amaya already on the scaffolding for the unfinished roof, sitting on the edge and waving for them to join her. "Come on up!" she called down. "I got donuts and coffee! An' don't forget your hard hats."

Not that they'd need them today, she assumed, but just in case.

When they got to the top of the scaffolding, wide enough to comfortably fit all of them, she patted the board and handed over a thermos and a mug to the closest students. "Have a seat, grab a snack,, today's our last day for this semester, so it'll be an easy one. Today, we're covering the time honored tradition of a lunch break on a construction site, which usually entails just sitting around and talkin', because taking a good break on jobs like these is important. When you're tired or hungry or thirsty, you get sloppy, and no one likes that.

"So let's just enjoy the nice day and the hard work you've all done, because you've done a really great job. Now, obviously, there's still a lot more to do, so there's a continuation of the workshop in the second half of the summer, and it'd be real nice to see all your faces again, and I will say this: you guys got all the hard stuff, and I'm really proud of all the fine work you've done. Today's a good time to talk a little about what you've learned, ask any lingering questions you might have, or if there's anything in particular that wasn't covered that you would have liked to have known more about. Or just enjoy the donuts and bask in the glory of all your hard work. This here wouldn't be here without you guys. I don't know about you, but that's always been one of the best feelings for me, to just take a second, step back, look at what you've made and think, 'Well, zounds, I did pretty damn good job!"

She grinned, lifting up her mug in a salute. "So cheers, guys. You done great."

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"What did you think you'd be doing?" Tip asked.

The answer probably involved dead people.

Surprisingly, no!

"By now I kind of figured I would have broken my thumb with a hammer or something," Norman admitted. "My dad can't even change a lightbulb without someone getting hurt. What if that ran in the family?"

". . . Poor depth perception?"

"Accident prone," Norman clarified. "I think he sees things just fine. But he gets distracted easily."

"He doesn't see ghosts though, right?" Tip asked. "Maybe that's what makes him so distracted. He knows on some level how much he's missing out."

"That could be it," Norman said, if maybe a bit dubiously. "I don't think he was jealous back when he used to yell at me for talking to Grandma, though."

"Why else would he decide he needs to yell at you for it, then?"

"Because he was scared," Norman said, shrugging. "Of me. Or... for me, I guess, if you ask Mom. I don't know. I didn't care for it either way."

"Yeah, from your end it sucks no matter what he might be feeling behind it," Tip said. "I bet there's some jealousy in there anyway. I mean, you're talking to his mom. He hasn't gotten to do that in years."

Norman smiled faintly.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to know what she has to say, half the time. She calls him a jackass a lot."

"He does," Tip said. "She's his mom. I know they're not all wonderful, but even if they were a little bit close, he misses her."

That made sense. Norman chewed on his lip a little, and then gave a small huff of a laugh.

"Yeah," he allowed. "I guess so. And once he got his head around it, he did do a lot more trying. Asking me if she's there. Saying hi to her, sometimes even in the right direction..."

"You totally judge people for not being able to see the ghosts," Tip said. She didn't sound accusatory at all, just bemused. "Especially him. You know it's not fair but you can't help it, can you."

"I don't..." Norman sighed, and then shook his head. "Not most people. Not people here. But the ones who judged me first? Yeah. The ones who called me a freak, then suddenly wanted to make nice with me hours after pointing guns at my face and threatening to burn me alive? I judge them a lot."

He couldn't help it.

"Of course you do. Just like I judge people for being dumb. It's not their fault that they don't think like I do. And it doesn't make me feel good. But . . . it's what we do. As, like, people."

"I'm glad to be here," Norman admitted after a pause. "It's... it's exhausting being so angry at people for wanting to be my friend, now that it's finally okay to be."

"While here, you can just make friends without all the baggage."

"Ones who don't care either way if I can see the dead," Norman agreed. "It makes a big difference."

"The weirdest thing you can be around here is normal," Tip said. "You've really got to appreciate a place like that."

"It's kind of growing on me," Norman admitted. "Being more or less normal by comparison, I mean. I think I missed that."

Construction 101; First Period, Friday [06/22].

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