John
"Well- there must be something! If my room was selected for a search because one of the staff noticed the conversation, then there must've been something, right?" She didn't even need to pick apart the rules that were given to her. Why was she here in the first place then? Why did the lockpicks cause concern if she wasn't going to get not even a slap on the wrist?

Nodding along, Margarita definitely had 'work at Newton's Cradle' as one of her future career options, whatever the pay might be. This would be her home for the next few years, so she might as well return here a reformed woman, familiar with the place. That experience here had to count for something, and that best place would be here.

And Margarita couldn't help but adore Pernilla's amazing plant-covered hair, which now receded back until her original, white-and hazelnut hair were the only thing that stayed on the top of her head. At least now the 'flower' nickname made sense to her.

"Mr Graham? Well... Alright, I'll talk to him about something, I guess. I'm still not... I don't know about my future, ma'am. I haven't even talked to my parents for a while now. I'll take the classes on Monday, sure. Mrs. Pernilla, are you sure there's nothing else that's going to happen for now about me?"
Andrew
"You're being left off with a *Warning.* It's your first offense, it's a little thing, no one's hurt. It's alright."

Pernilla really wanted to hug Margarita. Poor girl, beat up until she couldn't expect anything else, until she could barely even imagine *Not* Being punished any more. Poor girl.

"It's alright, flower. You aren't being punished any more." She picked up the schedule, now completely filled in. "I'll type out some copies of this and get them on file. You'll get one too. In the meantime, why don't you go talk to Graham? He studied here too, when he was your age. He'll know a thing or two about getting a job here, I'm sure."

Pernilla stood up, went to the door, and held it open for Margarita. "I'll see you in class on Monday, mhm?"
John
"Oh... Okay, gotcha. Gotcha. I'll look for him later on today, or chat with him on the intranet, which I find amazing, by the way. I appreciate that a lot."

'There we go' She thought, feeling a sense of calm knowing that things were in order; an action followed by its consequence. Its perpetrator punished, albeit it's a tap on the wrist, if anything.

Was this what real life was like? Was life supposed to be not this harsh? Was it meant to be... Safe? One without constant danger?

With a school schedule taken care of on top of the initial issue plus some questions that kept her mind busy, Margarita felt at ease as she stood up after Mrs Pernilla, standing aside as she made her way to the heavy and finely-decorated door, swinging open gracefully. Pernilla stood aside with a soft, genuine smile on her aged face.

Seeing that there was almost nobody outside the doors or outside at the courtyard, or cameras to observe them, Margarita gave in to her inner urges and hugged Mrs Pernilla, the *One* Person so far in this concrete home that had remotely shown even a gram of care and concern towards her. Sure, Silas was a friend, but Mrs Pernilla felt like a parent more than anything. Her arms lengthened and coiled around the two of them like serpentines, the hug turning more into a comfortable wrap as the teenager felt... Safe, for the first time since... God knows when. She let her guard down for a while just to indulge in this short moment of hugging her counsellor. 

"Sorry, I- I got caught up." Her apology was both spoken and an action, Margarita embarrassingly stepping away as her noodle-like arms reeled back to her until she looked like a normally-proportioned human again.

"I... I should go, thanks again, *Signora* Pernilla. I'll see you on Monday."

This was a change. The first of many. And she welcomed it.
Andrew
Pernilla gently returned the hug without a word. It was a good sign, and an affirmation. She had helped someone, and that made all her efforts feel worth it.

"It's okay," She whispered, "It's okay. I'll see you on Monday."