Broken Lullaby ▷ Tony Stark | ✓

44 - THE PRESENTATION

IT WAS THE DAY OF REMY'S PRESENTATION. Birdie had taken a day off from work to go, and Tony had promised to record it for Rhodey, who hadn't been invited but was incredibly invested in the boy's success and overall performance.

"I want to support my nephew," Rhodey had pressed, forcing Tony to wear a clip-on camera to record the moment, "I would like to meet him at some point, Tony."

"He's already lost most of his respect for me, so why not," Tony had sighed, and with a final smile towards the man, had left the facility, making his way over to the Walsh residence to pick up Birdie.

The woman in question had been quite panicked for her son, double and triple checking to make sure he had everything; Remy didn't have the best track record when presenting in front of people, his natural habit of speaking incredibly fast tended to frustrate most people.

"This'll be fine," Tony said, when he walked into the home to find Birdie watching the cooking channel in an effort to calm down.

"I'm worried," she sighed, turning off the TV and falling into Tony, her arms crossed over her chest.

"He'll be fine," Tony said, hugging her and rubbing her back, "Don't worry so much, you couldn't do the project for him, and he's worked as hard as he could. BUDDY doesn't seem to be worried, so I think he'll be fine."

"You're putting your faith in a robot?" Birdie asked, nevertheless calling the aforementioned robot from Remy's room, as he was also asked to be at the presentation.

"He knows the kid pretty well," Tony reasoned, "And are all the kids inviting all their families?" He asked solely because he knew that Jayne had also been invited, Wilma and Treshelle being over at Ethan's class, so they were unable to watch the presentation.

"I heard one of his classmates has over twelve people coming," BUDDY interjected, the three making their way to the car, and Tony shrugged; in comparison, Remy had invited a good number of people.

"Do you know anything about his presentation?" Birdie asked the both of them, silently asking Tony if he wanted to drive, the man shaking his head, despite feeling the need to—there was an entire backstory to that that he and Nicky were dealing with—climbing into the passenger seat.

"I do," BUDDY replied, "But I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"That sounds ominous coming from you," Tony commented, Birdie heading off towards the school, "Should we be worried?"

BUDDY shrugged, thinking for a moment. "Maybe."

º º º

Parking was atrocious and Tony truly began to see what kind of a person Birdie really was, staring at her as she cursed and complained, mumbling to herself about the lack of parking and criticizing some of the others' parking.

"—I mean, with all their judgement of everyone else, you'd think they'd know how to park," the woman ranted as they made their way onto the grounds and into the building, walking down the hall to Remy's classroom, following the signs, despite already knowing where they were going.

Tony opted not to say anything, slightly terrified, making sure BUDDY wasn't drawing too much attention, though maybe he was drawing enough attention as is. He just nodded towards all the people, giving them pursed smiles and small waves.

The two stepped inside, the noise of the room immediately hitting them, all the parents chatting and looking at some of the kids' work that was posted along the room. There were designated seats for all the families, it was all very organized, though Birdie could already tell that there were going to end up being problems.