“Yes, Mistress,” Alice said jokingly, before sinking her head and walking past the still silent children staring at the women. Tina scowled at Bette before following Alice.

***

Walking outside into the garden, Bette had several children watch her, with inquisitive eyes.  

“Hello, I’m Sarah,” and little girl said, sheepishly, sticking her arm out to shake hands with Bette.

Bette bent down, deciding to squat on her knees. “Hello, I’m Bette” she said shaking the little girl’s hand.

“You look pretty,” a little boy said, with enough confidence to walk up to Bette and Sarah. “I’m Oisin.”

“Oisin, thank you, I like your name by the way,” Bette said winking at the small boy. Bette introduced herself to some of the kids, before motioning to the pile of wooden pieces lying in a pile on the grass. “Right kids, I need to build this thing here, for the evil ice queen inside reports me to the heavens above.”

“Who’s the evil Ice Queen,” Sarah asked, somewhat confused.

“Oh right,” Bette, hopeful that the children wouldn’t take to the new nickname for a certain blonde.

Aaron interrupted Sarah and Bette, “She means Tina, you dummie. Tina’s the Ice Queen.”

“Well I wasn’t sure okay!!” Sarah shouted back at the boisterous Aaron, and hit him in the arm.

Bette, a little flustered by the sudden joke-turned-nickname-turned-child-fighting-ring, was lost as to what to do. But her instincts kicked in.

Tina just stepped out of the door, heading outside to check up on Bette after finishing her chat with Alice, saw what was happening.

Grabbing Aaron’s arm, before he could hit Sarah back, she calmed them down.

“Right, Aaron, you can’t hit Sarah, but you shouldn’t have called her a dummie, and Sarah you can’t just thump someone like that. People are going to call you mean things all through your life. Okay?”

The two kids, nodded silently.

“interesting coming from you,” Tina commented sideling up the brunette, “I didn’t know you were so anti-bullying.”

Before Bette could respond, the children had gathered in a mysterious circle around Tina. Together they started pointing and laughing at her, screaming, “Ice Queen, Ice Queen, Ice Queen.”

The brunette shrugged innocently. While Tina stood there, lost in bewilderment and disappointment.

Alice ran out of the office and announced nap time for the kids, pulling them out of the encroaching circle around Tina.

Once they were alone, an awkward silence settled around Bette and Tina.