xp_logs | Log: Crystal and Monet

Crystal calls Monet about her behaviour on Laurie's journal the other day. Backdated to the 5th.

Crystal placed her food on a table and sat in a chair at the mostly empty table. It was fairly late for dinner, but she'd had a paper she wanted to finish, and it wouldn't do to set a time to meet someone and be late.

Monet didn't usually frequent the dining hall but sometimes life just conspired with no time to go out and buy something and it wasn't as though she could ever be bothered to cook. Carrying her meal over to Crystal, she smiled. "Heya. Whatcha doing?"

"I am waiting for Forge," Crystal said, glancing up at Monet. "He should be here in about ten minutes."

Monet grinned. "Awesome. You and Forge are a really cute couple." She settled herself at the table next to Crystal. "How are you? I haven't really had a chance to chat for a while."

"Thank you," Crystal replied, keeping a neutral tone to her voice. "I am fine."

She didn't sound that happy. Rather, she seemed...reserved or something. Monet frowned slightly. "Are you sure? You seem kind of... You and Forge haven't had a fight, have you?"

"What?" Crystal stared at Monet for a moment. Where had that thought come from? "No, Monet; Forge and I have not had a fight. We have also managed to avoid being poisoned or put into a telepathic coma."

"Oh, good! So, is something up or is this just you being..." Monet waved a hand vaguely "you?"

Crystal's eyes narrowed slightly. "We have also managed to avoid acting like children on the journals and we have not repeatedly insulted any of the students," she told Monet, wondering whether or not the other woman would understand what she was saying.

Oh. "I wasn't acting like a child, precisely. It's just... Laurie should be to old to go in for idiotic practical jokes like that. They're never funny. The sooner she realises that all she's doing is looking like a dickhead, the better."

"Be that as it may, there is a proper way to go about informing her of this fact," Crystal replied. "Insulting her and calling her names is not the correct way. Has Laurie been acting immature lately? Yes. Will being extremely rude to her on the journals help the situation? No. I am not quite sure what it is with the way people around here have been treating others lately, especially the students."

"I wasn't that rude. I was just telling her the truth. I'm sorry you took it the wrong way. She didn't really seem to," Monet said. "As for the rest of it, maybe you should try to set up something to change the way people are acting, since it bothers you so much. I mean, the students' behaviour probably goes against their code of conduct. Could you call them on it?"

Crystal shook her head. "No, it was rude. Do you really know how Laurie took it, Monet? For most people, it is easy to portray yourself on the journals as thinking or feeling something that does not represent the reality of the situation. As for the code of conduct, it is my personal opinion that quite often the way the students, staff members, and guests behave is not appropriate, but this is not my school, and I neither make nor enforce the rules. The headmaster and headmistress read the same journals I do, and if they prefer to ignore what is happening or make light of it, there is little that I can do other than speaking to specific people on a case-by-case basis unless I wish to question their judgment to their faces."

Monet sighed. "No, I don't actually know how Laurie took it, but, at the end of the day, I really don't care. I don't know her much at all, so her feelings don't actually have the slightest impact on my life. Maybe, if I get to know her, I'll care, but I really don't, right now." Turning to Crystal's other comment, she said, "Well, you're a staff member. If it bothers you, talk to them about it in the staff meeting. Maybe just keep it to the students' behavior at first. Isn't it, like, cyber bullying when they do that sort of thing? I read something about it, once."

Crystal's eyebrows rose slightly. "Monet. I do not know a lot about everyone on the school's journal system, whether they live at the mansion or not, and I might not be particularly interested in their day to day activities, but that does not mean that I will go out of my way to be rude to them. I might not care about someone on a personal basis, but that does not mean that I should speak to them in a callous manner or add to the stress and pain they already feel. Also, yes, I am a staff member, but when I joined the staff it was made clear to me that things here happen a certain way and that is simply how they are."

"But I'm not going out of my way to be rude. I'm just ... God, do you know how much effort it actually takes to remember to Be Polite And Watch What You Say? It's just too much trouble." She paused, thinking. "Maybe it's that you're interesting and funny and awesome, so I like you but I can take or leave half the other people here. Y'know, it really sucks that they're taking so little of what you said on board."

Again, Crystal shook her head. "It is not hard for me to remember to be polite. There is also a difference between speaking to someone in person and responding to someone on the journals. While it might be rude to ignore a statement spoken directly to you, no one forces you to type a long, impolite response to anyone, including a student. You can choose to not respond, or perhaps you can complain about the person in a private e-mail or even the special journal set up for the graduates. You do not have to act like a child yourself."

"I wasn't acting like a child! She was, but I wasn't. But, fine, I promise that next time, I won't do this in public. Happy?" Will you stop going on about it now? Monet took a couple of bites of pasta and chewed thoughtfully. Honestly, she had better things to do than this.

Crystal was sure she would be a lot happier right now if Monet would go away and leave her alone, but she was not about to say that to her. "I will hold you to that promise," Crystal told Monet, then smiled as she caught sight of someone with whom she would much rather hold a conversation. "Forge is here."

"Awesome." Monet smiled cheerfully and eyed her nearly empty plate. "I'm about done, so I guess I'll see you later? In San Diego, maybe, if you're coming?"

Crystal nodded. "Yes, I will be coming to San Diego." She'd said so on Terry's post before Monet had decided to go, hadn't she?

'I'll see you there, then." Monet smiled and gave Crystal a little wave.