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It was a usual day at Tee Ching Gradeschool. A mediocre day at most, for a mediocre school in the middle of the city. Classes just ended for the day, and children are going home one by one.
Samatha Coach, Sam for short, is a teacher in this institution. She handles a class called 5-B. However, she isn’t limited to the 5th Grade, and teaches other grade levels Mathematics as well.
All the kids are lovely in 5-B, as lovely as they can be for kids their age. She isn’t the type to pick favorites but, one kid in particular, Trucy Wright, is one of the most delightful of the bunch.
When asked in teacher-parent meetings, she would always describe Trucy as a lively, wonderful child. Trucy transferred barely a year ago in the middle of the year. She adjusted fairly quickly and is quite the social butterfly, amusing students and staff alike with her magic skills. It was as if the kid was born a performer, instantly captivating everyone in her reach. She can tell that the kid will be reaching great heights someday.
Sometimes, she would hear all about the kid’s shows. Sam personally never got the chance to see one just yet. In those early days, it made her a little concerned for a child this little to ‘work’. It’s not unheard of to have child prodigies working out there, but having two children at home, she couldn’t help but feel so.
When she raised this worry to her father, her worries quelled down a little. Her father seemed to genuinely care about his daughter, trying the best he can to support her dreams but also let her be the child that she is. Mr. Wright had a name that sounded familiar, but she chose not to look too much into it. All that mattered is that the girl is very much loved at home, and that’s her duty to know as a teacher.
A teacher is there not only to educate, but protect the children. Which led her to the situation right now, an unfamiliar man picking up Trucy Wright after school.
This man has an interesting outfit, for certain. He wears frills around his neck, and wears a red suit paired with a black waistcoat. He gives off the vibe of an important person, with good looks to match with his clothes, but that doesn’t matter to Sam at all. A duty is a duty, no matter who the opponent is.
Trucy’s father never informed her of such an event, as normally, he would be picking her up or sending her off on her own. So when this strange man started approaching the girl, Sam immediately stepped in.
“Excuse me sir, can I ask for your identification?” Sam slides in between the distance of the man and Trucy.
The man seems a bit taken aback for a moment, before clearing his throat and speaking.
“I am Miles Edgeworth, a prosecutor in law.” Mr. Edgeworth says with a blank face. That name sounds familiar as well, but Sam couldn’t quite put a finger to it.
Behind her, Sam could hear Trucy snicker. So is he a familiar face after all?
“Identification, sir. The card that shows that you can pick this child up. It’s protocol for our school in order to prevent kidnappings.” Sam explains, Mr. Edgeworth’s eyebrows only deepened in response.
“...It appears I wasn’t informed of such a thing.” Mr. Edgeworth says after a slight pause. “Give me a moment, I have to give Wright a call.” He turns around, searching his contact list.
As the phone beeps, Sam uses this as the opportunity to ask Trucy about the man.
“Trucy, do you know Mr. Edgeworth?” Sam asks as gently as she can.
“I know him very well, Ms. Sam. I think my daddy sent him to pick me up today.” Trucy nods.
“Oh, is that so? Well, we have to remind your daddy that you can’t be picked up by just anyone.” Sam says in reply.
The phone finally stops ringing, with a familiar voice on the other end. Sam couldn’t help but overhear the conversation, as the phone was quite loud.
“Have you picked up Trucy from school yet? My shift isn’t over, so you can just reheat the boxed lasagna from the fridge.”
“I am not giving her boxed lasagna, Wright. Have you ever heard of this word called ‘nutrition'?’” Mr. Edgeworth seems to roll his eyes over this, and they sound a lot closer than Sam originally thought. Beside her, Trucy isn’t reacting to the conversation, like she’s used to them talking like this.
“Fine, drive thru then. She likes chicken nuggets, give her two boxes of that with fries. A sundae too, she likes dipping her fries in it.”
“That doesn’t sound better than boxed lasagna in the slightest. I’m not giving her greasy fast food. What are you even feeding this child?” Mr. Edgeworth pinches the bridge of his nose, and Sam has a feeling he has a habit of doing such a thing around Trucy’s father.
“Can she hear me?” Mr. Wright asks, before a reply even comes, he continues. “Hey, Truce, Edgeworth says no nuggets.”
Trucy suddenly disappears and reappears to Mr. Edgeworth’s side leaving Sam standing on her own. Trucy’s height reaches up to his waist, and Sam is reminded of how tall the man really is.
“Can we have chicken nuggets? Pleaseee? I’ve been really good in school today, you can ask Ms. Sam all about it.” Trucy’s eyes seem to sparkle in her pleading.
Mr. Edgeworth did not budge an inch, his eyebrows furrowing even more. For someone so used to reading body language as her job, Sam is having a hard time figuring out his reaction to most things so far.
“It’s working! Keep it up and you’ll get nuggets in no time.” Mr. Wright chuckles out loud, even if he has no way to tell that it did work. It seems like there is not just familiarity, but history as well.
Mr. Edgeworth’s expression soured even further. He closes his eyes for a moment before starting to speak once more. Sam has a feeling that he looks done with Mr. Wright.
“I called you today as per school protocol, I needed an identification card. I wasn’t informed of such a thing.” Mr. Edgeworth finally talks about it. Sam snaps out of her reverie and remembers what the call was really about. She was just taken aback of the domesticness of all of it, that’s all.
“Oh, that? Can’t they just look into records? You’re listed as an emergency contact. Wouldn’t that be enough?”
Mr. Edgeworth turns to Sam, an eyebrow raising as if asking if that was possible.
“I’ll have to check the records,” Sam nods, “but it could be allowed with the guardian’s consent. However, I do not advise you to make this a habit. If you need to pick up Trucy Wright in the unforeseen future, you would need to have an identification card.”
“You got this, yeah? I gotta go now, don’t forget to feed Trucy dinner.”
“I would not forget to—” Mr. Edgeworth sounds a little offended, but the phone only beeped back, signaling the dropped call.
Mr. Edgeworth lets out a frustrated sigh.
“As per protocol, please follow me to verify if you’re listed as her emergency contact.” Sam says and starts walking to the office.
“Verily.” Mr. Edgeworth says and follows silently, with Trucy tailing them both towards their destination.
—
After confirming his identity, Sam gives Mr. Edgeworth his very own identification card. He stuffs it inside his coat in quick motion.
“We will be taking our leave.” Mr. Edgeworth bows as Trucy waves goodbye. “...I have someone to buy nuggets for in the meantime.” He glances at Trucy and his expression slightly softens for a quick second. He turns around and starts walking towards the parking lot.
“Yay!” Trucy cheers. “You’re the best!” She shrieks, holding Mr. Edgeworth’s hand as they walk farther and farther away. In this view, they're the perfect picture of father and daughter.
“More than your father?” Mr. Edgeworth replies in turn, almost in a playful tone.
“Hmmm, will you be buying extra fries? I’ll think real hard then.”
Sam watches as they fade out of view, hopping into a fancy car and driving off.
Sam is still a little puzzled on the mystery of Mr. Edgeworth’s relationship with the Wrights, but it’s ultimately beyond her pay grade.
However…
Sam did hear that Trucy had another father that taught her magic. However, Mr. Edgeworth doesn't seem like the type.
Hmm…
He seems like a good stepfather to the kid. She looks forward to seeing him again.