Bryce is kicked out of his home by his father. He goes to his girlfriend’s place, who opens her doors to him.
Rapunzel and her Servile Flynn Rider
Sophie wants to go as Rapunzel to a Halloween party, and she wants her boyfriend to match it with a Flynn Rider costume. Shaun concedes, in spite of himself.
Glass Shards and Rain
Pierce and Tati get involved on a car crash. As one bleeds out, there is nothing the other can do but to hope for the best.
Searching for a Star in the Night Sky
Professor McGregor falls in love with an Art student that has been coming around the observatory these days. Celine has her own agenda about being there.
It Is Easier for a Camel to Go Through the Eye of a Needle
Shaun passes away for reasons he does not quite remember. What he does remember, however, is that this is his fiancée, he is guilty about causing her grief, and of his religious education.
Guilt, Inaction and Loss
Andreas falls in love for the first time in many years, but does nothing about it out of fear and guilt. Until he finds himself with no other choice but drastic action.
Clothing to Share
Daphne steals a hoodie from her boyfriend’s. Bryce is completely fine with it.
Charles is not Pleased
Emily is getting much too close to Dean Monroe, and Charles is not pleased with this development.
Celine’s Not Nervous
Celine has to tell Charlie that she has got a job interview. She is not nervous. Not at all.
Reading Angst
Jace is aching from an away game. He asks his wife to read him something to take his mind off things.
Opening Up. A Bit Too Much.
After Pierce talks her ear out, Tati wakes up late for work.
Knowing You're the One for Me
Megan asks her husband when was the first time he knew she was the love of his life. Jace is happy to respond.
Getting Some Rest from the Senior Thesis
Daphne is staying over at Bryce’s, hoping to get some work done. He wants his due for the room and board.
Shootout at Candee
Tati and Pierce are on a night out. Something terrible happens.
Secret Relationship Blown
Chad does not want for people to know he is dating someone, but when someone makes a move on Barbara, he has other concerns.
In an Empty Bitterby Parking Lot
Bryce gets fired and is thrown into a withdrawal crisis. All that he needs right now is his girlfriend. If only she answered her phone...
Falling in Love Over Cigarettes and Bad Weather
Having his lover staying over with him at his secret haunt, Doug tries to quit smoking.
Second-Hand Jewellery
Sophie likes to play with Shaun’s rings when she is nervous. He has an idea for a gift.
A Forseen Consequence of Laissez-Faire
Daphne has something to tell Bryce. He reacts better than she expected.
Pranks and Horror Movies
Chad, who is definitively not scared of ghosts, watches a horror movie with his girlfriend. She has a wicked idea.
Mr. Arroyo's New Employee
Andreas hire a Sugardale University student, to whom he begins to develop some sort of a preference. Tension finally boils over one day after hours.
Dining Out in December
Bryce and Daphne go for a night out, but the venue is too busy. He lies and threatens their way in.
Maybe (Out Fri., Jan. 19th, 07:00 PM SAST)
In so many possibilities, Megan is sure that she loves Jace, but he does not love her back.
Caught with Pants Down (Out Thu., Sep. 12th, 07:00 PM SAST)
Jace calls Megan over, but naturally forgets about it. She catches him in a vulnerable position.
Summary: Having his lover staying over with him at his secret haunt, Doug tries to quit smoking.
Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.
Words: 1700
Notes: I love me some affairs and forbidden romance. I want to make this man fall to his knees in front of me.
“That’s it.” Doug spoke, standing and rubbing his hands over his face. “I need a cigarette.”
Quitting a bad habit is always harder than one might think. Sometimes, it is mostly about the ritual, it becomes an impulse to reach for the bottle, to stay up too late, to keep a lit cigarette burning between fingers.
Emily had been staying with her paramour, for lack of a better word, for a few days now. Her funding fell short, which meant that, while she had enough for tuition and her books, she did not have the money to pay for the dorms. She had run every scenario, run the math whether she can keep herself with a job or something, and she even asked her father, but nothing seemed enough.
The dean offered a temporary solution. He would not want to see her dropping out over such a thing, and so arranged for her to live at an apartment where he usually has “some time for himself”, as he puts it, while he does not manage to find a way to provide her with housing assistance.
As a sign of thanks, the college girl has been doing what she can: keeping the place organized, cooking for him whenever he called ahead to say he was coming, regaling him with pleasant conversation and, most importantly, helping him quit the nasty fixation that he had sustained over the years.
Things were not helped by the fact that this was an old habit to quit. Even in his time as a freshman at college, some twenty-five years ago, Doug was known to keep a pack of cigarettes hidden in the bottom of his drawers, sneaking drags out the window in the middle of the night. He had spent so many conversations clouded in smoke that his fingers twitched to flick imaginary ashes now that he was going without. It was one other of those things that he keeps for his own individuality, and he has a hard time letting those go, regardless of how much they can hurt himself and others.
However, his doctor had recently been very clear about the situation: either he would quit now, or prepare to have himself a heart attack in ten years’ time. He faltered, but Emily made the choice for him. It might not be her place, properly, but it feels like the right thing to do.
The man reached the entryway of the apartment, shrugging on his coat and grumbling under his breath about the miserable New England weather. The autumn is upon them, and the days had long turned cold, leaving them with a thick blanket of fallen leaves and rain, as well as the prospect of some early snowfall.
She hated the thought of him shivering outside alone just for the pleasure of the stale, crushed cigarette that sat in his last pack. She might not be able to change his mind away from it, but at least she can keep him company.
“Wait.” She called, scrambling from her seat. “I’ll come with you.”
Doug glanced over at her incredulously, fastening the buttons of his coat while he spoke, “Why would you want to do that? It’s dreadful outside.”
“Well, then, why would you want to do that? It’s dreadful outside.” She parroted, a teasing smirk on her face.
“Better cold than anxious.” He mutters. Then, on a higher tone of voice, “Go back inside. You’ll catch a cold.”
“I just wanted to keep you company, Doug.” She pointed at him playfully. “You’re not tired of me already, are you?”
The older man simpered in return, removing her coat from its hook and holding it in her direction.
“Never.” He muttered once again, looking away from her gaze.
Grinning proudly, Emily accepted his help in bundling up before she followed him out the door.
The first burst of icy wind took her breath away, making her gasp in pained surprise as she recalls what he had said not two minutes earlier: it is truly dreadful out there. He chuckled at her reaction, pursing his lips around the cigarette and lighting the other end.
“It’s fucking frigid out here…” He mumbled, blowing a puff of smoke into the air and shoving one hand into his pocket.
She nodded in agreement, swiping at the stray raindrops that had landed on her shoulders.
“It wouldn’t be so cold if you just stopped smoking.” She teased, but not missing an opportunity to drive her point. “We could be sitting under a pile of blankets with two cups of hot chocolate or something, enjoying the warmth of your apartment.”
Her breath fogged in the air, mirroring the smoke that filtered from his slightly chapped lips. She tittered at the resemblance between her breath and his, holding her coat tightly to her chest to block the harsh wind. Even in the middle of a snowstorm, she would be more than happy to join him outside, enjoying every moment with her phlegmatic counterpart.
He shook his head in derision, but still held up his free arm to pull her into his embrace. He told himself that he did not want for her to be cold, and this is why he felt an immediate urge to hold her. Not anything more complex than this, no bigger mess than the one they are already in.
“This is just replacing one bad habit with another.” He quipped, flicking ashes into the air. Feeling the urge to qualify his statement, he adds, “I’m sure my doctor wouldn’t be happy to know I gained ten pounds while I tried to quit smoking.”
Rolling her eyes, Emily crouched down to touch the brown leaves that had accumulated on the pavement, despite her making sure that it was cleared of them all just three days ago. Their trips outside had lessened throughout the past week or so, the result of gloomy weather and his diminishing cigarette stash, leaving his isolated stoop a blank canvas of damp foliage.
She watched as the rain dripped against the impermeable surface of her beaten leather gloves, and she wondered how long it would take to count the individual drops that fell from the sky at her feet. The weather is truly miserable today, so she wagers that it would demand quite a while.
With furrowed eyebrows and chattering teeth, Emily untangled herself from his embrace, walked to the tree and picked up a sharp rock from the ground. She raised the instrument and carved lines in the trunk, forming a small D.M. on it, with her own set of initials just under that.
Glancing up at Doug, she found him peering curiously at her work.
“What’s that for?” He asked, a pull on his lips while he balances the cigarette on the other end of it.
She shrugged, still tracing shapes into the tree, but not actually carving anything else. “I figure that, since we’re out here so often, we might as well claim this as our spot.”
The man hummed in contentment, thinking back on the countless times that she had followed him outside, no matter the weather or the hour on the clock. He had always been grateful for her presence, something that he had never honestly thought about anyone else, even if his appreciation went unspoken.
“It won’t be our spot for much longer.” He pointed out, taking a draw from his cigarette before finishing his thought. “There’s no point in sitting out here once I quit smoking.”
Returning to her endeavours, she realized that he made a good point. She traced a large heart around the two pairs of initials, finishing the drawing with a satisfied grin.
“Then we’ll just have to find a new spot.” She piped.
“Preferably somewhere warmer.” He interjected.
Emily nodded in agreement, standing to examine her work.
“Warm, or at least somewhere it doesn’t rain.” She said, rubbing her freezing hands together.
Doug tore his gaze away from her artistry, smiling fondly at the thought of having something special for just the two of them. No matter the reason, no matter the place, he finds that he wants her by his side, drawing hearts in available surfaces and disapproving of his bad habits.
Surely her presence was a drug of its own, a dependency that he could never hope to break. He trusted her more than anyone else he knew, and he fully trusted her with this secret of theirs that could very well end his career and his family for good. He trusts her enough to understand he can count on her, on good days and bad. Maybe she is the perfect remedy to replace his habit with something else.
Suddenly, he is taken by a sense of sadness. This is a secret, and would always be. He is not leaving his wife and his daughters, and he is certainly not quitting his job. Emily would never be anything other than his lover, someone he keeps on the side for fun, to stave off the stress of his daily life, regardless of how happy she makes him, regardless of how much, dare he say it, loves her.
He is afraid of saying out loud, in fears of breaking the gleeful spell they built for themselves in this apartment, but he suspects that she knows it. She is fine with it for now, but he also understands that she will want a proper relationship with someone, someday. As much as it will pain him, he will let her go, because, again, he might even love her, and he certainly wants her to be happy and fulfilled in life.
Their time is limited. Emily is not going to be with him forever, and he must treasure every moment that he manages to steal. Standing outside in the cold is certainly no way to do that.
He drew the last puff from his cigarette, no longer interested in the sickly-sweet nicotine that he had chased for so long. Snuffing the end against the wet stoop, Doug felt satisfied with the end of this era.
“Come on, baby.” He said, taking her freezing hands in his. “Maybe a hot beverage is a good idea after all.”
Summary: Emily is getting much too close to Dean Monroe, and Charles is not pleased with this development.
Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.
Words: 1000
Notes: Everyone seems to think Charlie’s the stalker these days, so let’s have at it.
Charles is not pleased.
Of all the men he carefully monitored, of all the people living in Sugardale, hell, of all the people in the fucking world, Emily just had to choose the man he absolutely cannot stand? There was literally no other choice? No-one? At all?
He is at a loss for words.
Part of him is rational about the whole ordeal, reasoning that perhaps he was just blind to her feelings all along. He is privy to keeping tabs on her at all times, but maybe he did not pay enough attention when she would be around faculty, and therefore he assumed she was out of risk. The rules that applied to him also applied to them, and therefore he was safe in his assumption that nothing would ever happen, regardless of Alecia’s foray into forbidden relationships.
Perchance, he had been much too zealous in his defence of her purity. He might have used nefarious methods, a disposition that would scare off anyone, and it is expected that she would seek help from someone. He hoped that this someone would be him, but it is still understandable how she went above him for help, as power begets security, and power is something that he lacks.
He must also admit that he was a bit too… Restrictive, when he decided on her circle of friends. He should not have pressured Blair into a breaking point, as then he would have an in, as much as a wild card as she is. Ruby could also be moulded into an acceptable presence, if he put some effort on it, or he could exercise some control over Trish, too. The crux of the matter is that even Jace Miller now seem like an acceptable choice.
Maybe this all was an oversight on his part. This is an outcome he would far prefer, in actuality, as he would have no one to blame but himself.
Besides, it is entirely possible that Emily could find something redeemable in Douglas Monroe, right? He is a well-liked man, there must be something that pleases people on his demeanour. Everyone has admirable qualities, someway, somewhere.
Who is he kidding? This is absolutely pathetic of him. Of course, Charles is not wrong in his actions. He knows that man, he knows what he is capable of, and all he does is with her welfare in mind. The dean certainly cannot boast such a well-intended care to anyone, let alone his side piece.
Doug must have had a hand to play in this. He always has, and he also has a sadistic glee in making him squirm. What fun would there be in just firing him? In just calling the corrupt police that runs this town? That is just boring. To have his work destroyed right in front of him, without him being able to even whimper in protest, that is more the bastard’s style.
Besides, Charles likes to think he knows Emily rather well. After all, aside from the connections at his fingertips, people and software which can find each and every detail about her within a few hours’ time, he is observant to a fault. He picks up on the little things without so much as a word on her part, he knows of her character, and it is clear as day that there is no possible way that such a girl could ever find that foul man attractive, in any sense of the word. Never. Not if he is honest.
So, to not be the slightest bit aware of her unwittingly attraction to Doug is frankly insulting. Surely, she is not skilled enough to hide your emotions that well. She has not been able to hide anything else, how come she would hide such a huge thing out of nowhere.
In front of Doug of all people, too! The man is dean because he has a way to deal with stupid and reckless teenagers, he knows how to put them in line and make them crack. If, at any point, she had been interested in that vile creature, she would have given plenty of signs due to the pressure in his presence alone. This must be a recent development, or they are playing with Charles, there is no other explanation.
Well, there is another explanation, but it feels even more uncomfortable than the idea that he has no control over the situation. The idea that Emily is being manipulated by that man.
It holds water, too. As much as Charles hates to admit it, Doug has a way with getting what he wants. He just wished this is not one of those times.
There is plenty of opportunity for Doug to coerce or trick her into this, and there is plenty of motive, too. It is not as if it has never happened before, it is not as if it would be the first time that he would abuse his privilege to get his dick wet, leaving a poor girl behind to deal with the fallout.
Charles has seen the way women and men alike grow flustered or fidgety when the dean so much as looks their way. He has seen the way Doug lures women into sinful places more often than anyone would care to admit, whether it is to draw information over a few drunken glasses of wine or something more unbecoming.
This is something Charles never dwells on much, because despite all his secrets, a day does not go by without someone praising Dean Monroe. Yet, despite his best efforts to keep her safe from harm’s way, she wandered right into Doug’s grasp when he was distracted.
Of all places Emily could end up at, this is one he cannot interfere. He cannot extricate her from the dean’s hold, no matter how much he may want it, and that is the most frustrating of it all.
Of all the men, of all the people in Sugardale, in the world…
We thought daddy was going to die in 2001. He was staggering around the house in his underwear, gasping in pain, his eyes hollow, his face slashed from shaving with an old-fashioned safety razor. He was eighty-two years old. We took him to a doctor, who said his spine was deteriorating, gave him pills, and suggested he pray. A few days later, Daddy fell at the mailbox, bounced his head on the pavement, and crawled up the driveway, scraping the skin off his knees before collapsing on the front steps. Mama sat in her recliner in front of the TV, worried and clueless, until a neighbor called an ambulance. The EMTs got Daddy propped up in his recliner. He refused to go with them. When I arrived, Daddy was gulping down whiskey. I called the ambulance back, and they took him to DeKalb Medical. Doctors found prostate cancer and operated. My sister and I cried, sure Daddy was in his last days.
Not everyone loves them. Dianne Ravitch, a former deputy secretary of education during the first Bush presidency, once led the charge in favor of high-stakes testing and “school choice.” Now, she is outspoken in her opposition. She says the three recent documentaries about charter schools buy into the myth that many of America’s gnawing problems can be blamed on public teachers and their unions—“not globalization or deindustrialization or poverty or our coarse popular culture or predatory financial practices.” Just teachers.
The high-stakes testing pushed by political and corporate leaders created the pressurized environment that was conducive to the Atlanta cheating scandal. Nobody should have cheated, of course. But educators are taking the full brunt of the blame for the scandal. Corporate leaders and politicians are calling all the shots even as some of them milk the system for billions of dollars.
Teachers do a lot more than teach. Depending on the situation, we are disciplinarians, psychologists, communicators, counselors, ersatz parents, and of course statisticians. We report to assistant principals, principals, and parents. We must continue our education through professional development. We are expected to be up to date on the latest technological innovations. We spend hundreds of dollars of our own money to stock our classrooms with everything from posters to pencils to tissues for runny noses. We are watched and written up.
When you blame teachers for the fates of poor students, you take the heat off government officials who have no earthly idea how to deal with poverty on a systemic level. And poverty impacts the lives of a vast majority of schoolchildren in Atlanta. The school system’s 2010 annual financial report says: “Three-fourths of APS students qualify for the federal free and reduced priced meals program, based on their family incomes that place them near the poverty line.”
Doug Monroe, How do you spell ‘gorgeous’? My experience with teaching poor kids
