it was another chaotic day at abbott elementary, and ava was in her office, legs propped up on her desk, scrolling through tiktok when her phone buzzed. it was a message from janine in the group chat, full of her usual enthusiasm. "don't forget, today's the big assembly! barbara's leading it, and we need all hands on deck!"
ava rolled her eyes and tossed her phone onto her desk. "ugh, i swear, janine treats every school event like it's the oscars," she muttered to herself. just as she was about to go back to her scrolling, barbara walked into her office, looking as put-together as ever.
"ava," barbara started, "i just wanted to remind you about the assembly. it's for the entire school, and we need you there to help keep things running smoothly."
ava looked at her, deadpan. "oh, i'm sure you've got it covered, barbara. i mean, between you and gregory, it's like a tag team of competence."
barbara folded her arms, her eyes narrowing slightly. "ava, this is important. the kids need structure and leadership."
"structure and leadership?" ava scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "girl, you're talking to the wrong person. but fine, i'll be there—if only to make sure janine doesn't start doing backflips on stage or something."
"thank you," barbara said, giving her a look that clearly said she was this close to giving up on her. she turned on her heel and left the office.
fast forward to the assembly, the gym was packed with students, all fidgeting and whispering to each other. the teachers were lined up at the front, barbara at the podium, calm and collected as always. janine was buzzing around like a bee, making sure every last detail was perfect, while gregory stood by with his usual stoic expression.
ava, on the other hand, sauntered in late, holding a starbucks cup and wearing sunglasses. she plopped down into a chair beside barbara.
"nice of you to join us," barbara said, not even bothering to look over.
"i'm here, aren't i?" ava replied, taking a sip of her drink. "besides, i'm just here for moral support. y'all are the ones with the 'structure and leadership,' remember?"
"ava, this is for the children. we need to set an example," barbara said, giving her a pointed look.
"oh, i'm setting an example," ava said, lounging back in her chair. "i'm showing these kids that you can be fabulous and unbothered at the same time."
the assembly began, with barbara introducing the event in her usual elegant, no-nonsense way. everything seemed to be going smoothly, until it was time for janine's part. she was supposed to present a new initiative the school was launching, but as soon as she stepped up to the mic, the microphone cut out.
"uh... hi, everyone!" janine said, her voice straining as she tried to project across the gym. "so, i just wanted to talk about—" she paused, tapping the mic, which let out an awful screeching sound.
ava, sitting back with her sunglasses on, didn't even flinch. "this is why i don't do live events," she muttered to barbara.
barbara sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "can someone please fix the microphone?" she called out to the staff.
meanwhile, janine was still awkwardly trying to salvage the situation. "i can just shout! um... so, as you all know, we're starting this new program where—"
ava stood up, sighing dramatically. "oh, janine, sweetie, sit down before you pull a muscle trying to yell like that." she strutted over to the front, yanked the mic cord out of the stand, and blew on it like an old nintendo cartridge. magically, the mic started working again.
"see?" ava said, tapping it once. "problem solved. it's called being a boss." she shot janine a look before strutting back to her seat, flipping her hair in the process.
"thanks, ava," janine said, looking slightly defeated but relieved that she could continue.
the rest of the assembly dragged on, with gregory giving a stiff speech about discipline and melissa recounting some funny story about her cousin's restaurant, which had the kids laughing. ava barely paid attention, scrolling through instagram and taking selfies from her seat.
finally, the assembly wrapped up, and barbara stood up to dismiss the students. "thank you all for your attention today. we hope you'll take what you've learned and—" she paused, looking at ava, who was still very much distracted. "ava?"
"huh? what?" ava looked up from her phone. "oh, yeah, you kids better behave or whatever. school rules and all that."
barbara shook her head, trying not to let her exasperation show. as the kids started filing out of the gym, she turned to ava. "do you ever think about how much easier things would be if you just... participated fully?"
ava raised an eyebrow. "participated fully? barbara, if i participated fully, y'all wouldn't know what to do with me. i'd take over this whole operation, and then where would you be? still running around like chickens while i'm sipping on starbucks."
barbara, refusing to rise to the bait, simply smiled. "one day, ava. one day you're going to have to put all that attitude to good use."
ava shrugged. "until then, i'll just keep being fabulous. someone's gotta balance out all the seriousness around here."
as she strutted out of the gym, barbara watched her go, shaking her head with a smile. "lord, give me patience," she whispered to herself.
back in her office, ava plopped down into her chair and picked up her phone, ready to get back to the important things—like her instagram feed.
