Easy As Killing Little Furry Things.
by Bonzi >^^<
part:320

I was eating my sandwich catching up on some marking when Pippa called through. "Tom wants to see you."

"Any idea what about?"

"He didn't say but he is a little exercised about something."

"What time does he want me?"

"Like yesterday!"

"I have a tutorial in half an hour."

"The mood he is in, I think you'd better get here pronto."

"Oh, wonder why?" I shook my head. I put the pen down and picked up my bag."

Three or four minutes later I strolled into Pippa's office, "I'm here."

"Go straight in," she said nodding at his door.

I knocked and entered, "You wanted me?"

"Yes, come in and sit down," he was reading something and didn't even look up.

I sat feeling a little uneasy.

He looked up at me and he didn't look very happy about something. "I have just had a most interesting lunch with the Dean."

I now knew what this was about. I blushed.

"He tells me you went to see him and made all sorts of threats."

I wanted to interrupt, but had a feeling this would not help, so I kept quiet.

"Is this true?"

"Which part?" I asked feeling a mixture of embarrassment and shame.

"All of it you, silly woman." He sounded very angry.

"I explained that you were important to this university as was the mammal survey project."

"He said you threatened him, is that true?"

"I told him that if you left, so would I."

"Why did you go and see him?"

"You told me they were trying to get rid of you. I wanted to defend you." I now felt tears in my eyes.

"I do not need a slip of a girl defending me, I am quite big enough and ugly enough to defend myself. I fight my own battles."

"I'm sorry, I wanted to help."

"You have put me in a very difficult position."

"I'll resign, if that's what you want."

"It isn't what I want."

"It's what Andrews wants though isn't it?"

"He is very disappointed in you. He thought you had more sense. You do not make threats to the Dean."

"I'll finish my marking and clear out my stuff." I stood up to leave, tears were streaming down my face.

"Sit down, I'll tell you when you can go."

I sat down again feeling very foolish and hurt.

"You mentioned a tutorial, who with?" He asked and I managed to mumble the name of the student, whereupon he told Pippa to reschedule it and to bring in two teas.

"I'm very disappointed with you, Cathy, I thought you had more sense."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled sobbing, this really felt like my father giving me a dressing down.

"It's not me you need to apologise to, It's Dr Andrews."

"If that's what you want me to do."

"What I want doesn't matter, it's what you need to do if you want to stay here. You do want to stay?"

I nodded.

"This is such an uncharacteristic thing for you to do. Normally, you stop troubles not cause them."

"I thought they wanted shot of you," I sobbed, hoping it was coherent enough for him to understand.

"I think I misled you, I'm getting old and stupid...ah, here's the tea, thank you Pippa, that's all." He waited for her to leave before he continued. "Look, there's been a terrible misunderstanding, which is probably my fault. You have gone off like a cruise missile without knowing your target and now we have to try and rebuild the mess."

I nodded and sipped my tea trying not to let the fluid running from my eyes and nose go into the cup.

"As long as Andrews is here, your chances of promotion are zilch, which is a pity as you have great potential. Sadly, he's a year younger than me. You may have to move one day."

I nodded and sniffed in one movement.

"I need you on this project, I also need you to keep breeding dormice and cooking my dinner. I suspect some students would also add a few other things. Now finish your tea, clean up your face and go and see Andrews. Let him gloat and have his say, just apologise and do not react under any circumstances. Take your punishment like a ma..the lady you really are. Then come back and see me."

I nodded left my cup half full of tea on his desk and went out to the loo. It didn't matter what I did, it was obvious I'd been crying. So I washed my face with cold water and went off to the Dean's office.

He was on the phone and I was kept waiting about five of the longest minutes of my life. Finally, as my stomach finished its wash cycle and began to spin, I was told to enter.

It's painful for me to recall, so I'll keep it brief. I apologised and he stamped all over me. After changing his shoes several times and kicking me until he was out of breath, I was dismissed. I stood there and took it all without a murmur.

I went back to Tom's and Pippa told me he was on the phone. I waited.

"You alright?" she asked me.

I nodded, I was still very close to tears, and in no mood to explain myself.

Tom came out and called me in, making a 'T' sign with his hands to Pippa.

"I've spoken to Dr Andrews and he said you accepted his reprimand. I have managed to keep all of this off your record, but at a cost of you not pissing him off again, understand?"

I nodded and mumbled my thanks.

"You get more like my bloody daughter everyday, go off half-cocked, Cathy, what am I going to do with you?"

"I'm sorry."

"If you say that once more I'll shoot you. Right, go off and play with your jerbils and come back at half four, we have to go and see Stella, remember?"

"What about my marking?"

"You are not marking assignments after all this, you'd only have to do them again later. Go and stroke Spike, or whatever you call that dorweiler thing you have in the lab, go on, out of here, you're shrinking my carpet."

I did as I was told, actually all I wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep and maybe never wake up. How could I ever undo what I had stupidly done? I felt so ashamed of myself. Go to see Stella? Oh boy, what a delight that would be in this frame of mind.

"I found myself down the labs and holding Spike, feeding her hazelnuts, we were out of brazils. She was huge, it wouldn't be long now. I heard the door open and one of the technicians came in carrying a pile of metal plates. I watched them waver in his hands and several fell to the floor with a crash. Spike froze, then a moment later she jumped down the front of my blouse and wet herself! It was going to be one of those days.