"What do you mean, the elementary school isn't the only thing in town?!" The well-kept Principal exclaimed in shock, leaving her escort, the esteemed Mayor Libby, to figure out if she was kidding or not for an uncomfortable number of seconds.

"M-Mrs. Heartstrom, please." Libby stated, trying to gain control over himself again. "I don't know if you're serious or not, but how would we have children attending the school if there wasn't a town around it?" He hoped, nay, prayed, that Principal Heartstrom was kidding. "There's a Museum, multiple parks and playgrounds, the school..."

"Oh, gosh, of course I know that." Elizabeth Hearstrom replied, cutting the poor mayor a break. "You're as bad as the First-graders, at least I know I can be convincing while being ridiculous!" She grinned at the relieved Libby, giving him a reassuring wink. "That said, tell me more! It's been half a lifetime since I've lived in town, and I'm sure a lot has changed."

"Right, right!" Mayor Libby replied, trying to not be flustered in front of the new Principal. "Well, let's take a walk while we talk, then. I'm sure you've noticed the Town Hall," Libby stated, waving at the building the two are departing from. "It is, and we are, the backbone of the structure of the city. Things go through us, we make them happen, and then everyone is happy, or so we hope!" Libby explained, the pair walking the sidewalk in cool, spring air.

"We've made a very strong effort to try and make sure there's as much public, fresh-air recreation as we can possibly back into the town." Libby explained as they walk past not one playground but two, as well as a large public park. "There's an old saying about how the town raises the children, and we like to make sure there's enough safe, public space for people to get to know each other and have as much fun as possible, and it's one of our proudest assets! We like to boast how much our population loves the fresh air and playtime, no matter the age."

As the two continue on their walk, the next notable location they pass is a large, stone building that stretches at least the size of two of the parks. "We also have a bit of a local twist on our Museum, too. We had a much too large building for what exhibits we could get our hands on for the longest time, so after a long series of discussions and proposals, we now have a public submissions wing." Libby explained excitedly, clearly eager that the idea took hold and took off. "Anybody, no matter the age, experience, or anything of the sort, is free to submit their own artwork for public, full display. Nobody gets favorites, it's just straight, public exhibition."

As the museum trailed into the distance, there was only one building left that was important to the two: the school itself. "I don't think I need to tell you much about this building, right?" Libby asked, having relaxed in the presence of the friendly dragoness, finally.

"Please, I spent the entirity of yesterday playing on the playground, I think you should know!" Principal Heartstrom replied with a huff of... Could that possibly be indignance? "Though, I've been meaning to ask, what stopped the school from opening on time? I've heard a lot of stories, so I'd like to get the actual scoop."

"Ah, yes, that. We had some minor weather-related damages, roof needed a bit of fixing, playground
needed touching up, things like that." Libby explained as they walked a small circuit around the school.

"Yes, good touching up on that, the swings were just right." Elizabeth interrupted with the same indignant air she had a moment ago. Libby goes quiet for a moment, before she coughs. "Sorry, continue?"

"Right, as I was saying. We had a little bit of repairs to do, and that was okay. We had another inspection done after the little work that needed done, and it turns out there was a lot of environmental damage that we had totally missed. Wiring needed to be redone in a lot of the classrooms, there was mold in some of the walls, things like that. So, we decided that it would be best if we opened late, because we couldn't possibly have a bad rush job done." Libby explained as the pair reached the front of the school again, both of them turning to face it as Libby talked.

"And now we're only a month away from opening again." Principal Heartstrom added, hands in her pockets as she looked longingly at the school.

"Fortunately, the rest of the town doesn't shut down, so even when you're not at work, you've got everything else to do." Libby replied, putting an arm around the dragoness. "Don't be nervous."

"Nervous? Never. Just excited and unsure as to how to handle it. Utilizing my energy is difficult. Hence playground fun." Principal Heartstrom replied, rocking back on her heels. "I sleep well at night and get plenty done during the day. I'm charged and ready, if anything." She finally stated after a few seconds of silence. She turned to Libby, waving her arm. "Shall we go back to the Town Hall, then?"

"Yes, lets, I think we still had some paperwork to fill out?" Libby replied after listening to Elizabeth Hearstrom speak. They turned away and start walking away down the sidewalk, towards the town hall. "So, what was that about the swings...?"

"YES, Right! They're PERFECT, they don't even squeal when you swing too high up!" Elizabeth started to gush when prompted, "And they don't have that stupid plastic coating on the chains so you can twist them up and spin around...!"