17252/Learning But Good

Learning But Good
Date of Scene:	23 February 2024
Location:	Star City Coffee
Synopsis:	Through a mutual, Helena meets River, a young woman who's looking to be a little more accomplished in her life. The two bond over coffee.
Cast of Characters:	River Banks, Helena Bertinelli

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River Banks has posed:
    They'd agreed to meet for a coffee and suss each other out. Their mutual out of communication for the moment, River had told her would-be tutor that she'd be wearing a cowboy hat.

    And so she was. It was over her face as tilted her tall chair back a little bit against a handy wall. She was wearing a denim jacket with the 'puffy llama fur' liner, a short skirt and second-hand cowboy boots that may need a re-soleing soon.

    She's already got a coffee ('coffee, large, two shots es-pressah') purchased on a gift card in front of her, along with a small pile of pastries.

    A highschool kid is trying to angle his phone for an upskirt shot at the goading of his friends.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
When Jason Todd had talked to her about possibly tutoring a friend of his, Helena was willing but wanted a chance to meet River herself. Having arranged for that first meeting to be low key so they could just talk, Helena arrives right at the agreeed on time.

She is wearing ripped jeans and a purple button up blouse tucked into the jeans in front. She pauses near the table of boys as she walks past. "Good morning... gentlemen." Resting her hand heavily on the culprit's shoulder, she leaned down to whisper in his ear. What she says is heard only by him but it is apparent he got the message as the color drains from his face.

Brown eyes regard look to the other boys at the table. Speaking only a little louder so they could also hear, they squirm in their seats uncomfortably. Then she smiles and resumes walking toward River's table.

"Hi... River? I'm Helena." She offers a warm smile.

River Banks has posed:
    The boy with the phone immediately, after being chastized in probably the most decent and innocent of manners, gets up and walks out, without even finishing his drink or eating his sandwich.

    The other boys immediately fall upon them like pack scavengers.

    "Mmmhrm?" River blinks a moment, and then she pushes up her hat and sits up straight with a THUMP of her chair on the floor.

    "Miss Helena! Hello, hi, g'mornin', ma'am." she states haltingly, at first trying to hide her deep south tang, but... nothing doing.

    She pulls her jacket a little more forward.

    "Apologies, been goin' all day. But ah -- yeah! My friend Jason 'cided that I might be able ta get some help from you."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli smiles. "Good morning. You don't need to apologize. We all do what we need to to get through the day."

"Let me go get my order and we can talk about what you're hoping to accomplish and see how I can help you get there."

With a quick trip to the barista, she returns with a cappucino and a single shot of esspresso beside it. Settling into a chair she smiles again, "Jason didn't tell me a lot but I understand you have a brother you look after as well. Taking care of family is the most important thing. Unfortunately it also means our personal hopes and goals tend to fall to the back burner." Pausing to sip at the esspresso, "What are your hopes for working together? Do you want to go to college or university? Just earn your GED? More?"

River Banks has posed:
    "Ah, yeah. He's good though, he's at Gotham Academy on scholarship 'cause he's hundred-fifty-watt bright. Me? I'm a sixty-watt at best." River states with a wry grin, and she rubs her shoulder a moment.

    "I dunno if college is in my reach right now. There's a lot goin' on..." She pauses, and breathes out. "I'm not even sure I CAN do the GED tests, but... I've gotta have good expectations of myself if I expect my brother to grow up good 'n' right n' all. Right?"

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli listens with interest. "That's great that your brother is at the Academy. Kids keep getting smarter, younger these days." Sipping at her drink again, she shakes her head, "You can go as far as you want to go. It all starts with the decision to begin, though, River. You absolutely can get your GED. And more if that's what you decide you want. If I'm not able to help you with something, I know a number of other teachers who also offer tutoring that could take you farther."

Spreading her hands openly she smiles, "So maybe we just start with focusing on getting you up to speed so you can test for your GED. After that we can take a breath and see what else you might want to accomplish?"

River Banks has posed:
    "Yeah... I'm real proud of him. He's workin' hard an' his teachers say he's a delight in class, just needs... some work on his social skills..." she tails off a moment, her cheeks turning a bit pink before she clears her throat.

    "An' that sounds like a sensible plan." River replies, lifting her cup and taking a long sip that may indicate that it's no longer a hot coffee.

    "So... you a teacher at a school?" she inquires, her eyebrows lifting up. "Mr. Jason didn' give much in the way of information 'bout you. I suspect mighta been the same in my direction." she gives a smile to Helena.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli smiles as River talks about her brother. "Well social skills can be learned too" she offers. "Most boys could use a few more of them." She decidedly does not look toward the other table.

"Yes, that's right. I've been an English teacher for the Gotham School District. With my schedule I'm currently working as a substitute where needed. But because of that I'm also available more than I would be otherwise. I'm sure we'll be able to find times that work to get together."

Then she laughs, "You call him Mr. Jason. It sounds like he's an old man. Grumpy, yes. Old? Not quite yet" she jokes.

"But no I didn't get a lot of details about you. Really only that you're trying to take care of your brother and get a hand up so you both can have a better life. That's really all I need to know. I don't do hand outs. You're going to have to work hard. But you're going to find learning is addictive. The more you understand the more you want to know." She smiles and stops to switch to her cappucino.

"If there's anything you want me to know I'm happy to listen but it isn't necessary. If you'd like to know more about me, I don't mind telling you some."

River Banks has posed:
    "Oh, well, I mean, he's older than me. A little bit. An' I was taught to respect men an' women older than me. Mister Last Name if they're way older than me, Mister first name if we're near equals. So you'd be Miss Helena -uuuunnllleeesss you don't wanna be called that on account of it makes *you* feel old. I respect what people wanna be called. Just need to know what to call 'em cause y'know. Identity an' everythin'." River stumbles a little bit, her ears turning a little pink.

    "Also tell my lil' brother to call him Mr. Jason 'cause respect. Where we're from anyways..." she trails off and breathes out. "So ah... yeah. Had to exit school after eighth grade. My step-dad 'cided that he wanted my help with workin', so as soon as report cards were good he took me out 'a school. Was s'posed to see that I had home schoolin' but we moved so much that couldn't be tracked for no truancy. But I ain't 'fraid of hard work." she shrugs "Could say I thrive on it."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli grins a bit at the explanation of respect. "I can understand that. It's a good practice, of course. You can just call me Helena. I don't mind. If you call me Miss.. I'm going to feel like an old cat lady or something." She pauses and glowers, "I've got a few decades before that happens."

Listening to the details about her younger life, Helena gets serious and nods. "It's okay. We can work from that. I'll have you do a few baseline tests so I can establish where to begin." Sipping at her drink again, she smiles, "As for myself.." she shrugs. "My childhood wasn't entirely ideal." Glancing to River, she admits, "Being the daughter of a Mafia Don will do that. But... My parents were killed when I was younger and I was moved to live with my uncle's family in Sicily and was educated there. After university I came back to Gotham because I wanted to do something positive in the city. Becoming a teacher.. just seemed the right fit. I love working with the kids. Even the difficult ones."

River Banks has posed:
    "Dunno Helena, you don't look like the cat-lady type." River gives a shrug of a shoulder, and she leans back and listens quietly, sipping her lukewarm black coffee-espresso drink and when Helena got to Daughter of a Mafia Don, she pauses, and appears to choke. She grabs a napkin off the side and brings it to her face and then just stares a moment at Helena.

    "Oh lord, ma'am I am so sorry. God. That must'a been --" she trails off, and her expressions softens.

    "You gotta lot of fortitude to come through that. And then be a teacher. You must be an amazin' lady, Helena."