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Post by marc on Aug 11, 2011 22:47:43 GMT 10
Grading papers was no fun. No fun at all. In fact, he’d rather... learn French. Learn French or die. Probably die. That would have been worse then grading papers. Especially Math papers. Were they still called papers? Okay, Math tests then. Grading maths tests was hell and Marco just did not want to do it anymore. What choice did he have though? They were apart of the job. Cursed. He was the one who had set the blasted test. Who’d he think he was, marching into class and announcing happily that they’d have a pop quiz? Plum forgetting that he was the one who’d actually have to mark the silly thing. And there he was thinking he was so clever for even adding bonus questions. Ha. What a fool he was. Next lesson his freshman students were doing nothing, and he was going to bring his guitar and sing them a song about Pythagorean theorem. There. Lesson plan done and dusted. Groaning, he looked down at the next paper in his pile. Ohh.
He knew who that student was. Considering how early in the term was (again, why the pop-quizz De Luca? Huh? Why? You just made your students and yourself miserable..), that was an achievement. She was an animated little blondie who sat next to another blonde girl. Was it just him, or did blonde’s tend to gravitate towards each other? Anyway, his point was, he knew her name because in the first class she and her little friend had walked into the room, giggling like sunshine twins on uppers, and spent most of the lesson discussion about who’d they’d rather ‘do’; a glittery vampire who, from what he could gather, stalked girls, or some wolf boy. To start with, he was shocked girls that age spoke like that, and secondly, it was disrupting his lesson.
When Marco had pulled them up on talking, the first blonde blinked her innocent eyes at him, and said ‘but Mr. De Luca, I was only trying to explain to her fractions and percentages. Like, if she was in a room with fifty other girls, she’d have a one in five chance of doing Edward, because she’s ten percent hotter than most other girls..’ Marco hadn’t been able to keep a straight face. In fact, even now, remembering it, he was chuckling away to himself. She was indeed a fire-cracker. He liked that in a student. Besides, by not blowing his top at her comment, De Luca had earned some respect, and now blondie paid attention in class. Or well, at least, she didn’t talk through his lessons, which was nice.
Marco always seemed to be walking a fine-line between teacher and buddy with his students. It worked for him, but the dean of the school often had some issues with it. Still, they hadn’t fired him yet so he must have been doing something right. Still, even if he liked the girl, it didn’t mean he wanted to grade her paper. Casting his eyes around, The man looked for something that would serve as a good distraction. It was then that he remembered. Kumquat! His darling wife had packed him a kumquat for lunch, which he hadn’t eaten yet. And boy did he love kumquats. It was like ‘OOH YEAH, KAMQUAT, YEAHH’ when he bit into one. Heavenly. Springing excitedly back from his desk, Marco opened the draw that housed his lunch. Humming to himself.
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Post by felicity on Aug 15, 2011 18:48:55 GMT 10
She was terrible. There was absolutely nothing that could be done about it. The girl had completely bombed out. At this rate, she was never going to get famous. Ever. Fame was important to her. At least, she thought it was important to her. One day, her daddy would be gone and she would have to find herself a nice rich husband to pay for everything. She knew better than anyone that in order to find a nice rich husband, one first had to become famous. For this certain girl, acting seemed like the easiest way to achieve this fame. But now she was never going to achieve that dream. She had completely failed and no one would ever notice her again. She would never get an agent, she would never get any more auditions and she would simply never live a long and happy life. Instead she was doomed to work a hard job and mess up her beautiful hair and dirty her beautiful clothes. Wait. The way she was going, she would not even be getting beautiful clothes. She would have no money after all.
Melodramatic. An exaggerator. That is exactly what Felicity Saunders is. Even as she walked along the corridors of the main school building there was an air about her that simply screamed out load her true nature. It was after hours and the whole school seemed to have been abandoned. Even the teachers, excluding the drama staff, had left for their lovely homes. “I should be at home right now,” the brunette murmured to herself as she walked down the corridor. She wanted to go home and cry to her beautiful dog. Secret knew all of her deepest and darkest fears and insecurities. This one would have to be added to the book. Her dog would help her out. But she needed a way to get another audition. Flick simply had to be the lead in the school play. If she wasn’t she would simply die. Besides, she needed to attract the attention of some of the nicer looking boys in their year, and even the seniors. The only way to do that was to be noticed. She knew that her friends would support her, they always did. The girl made a pact with herself to call Blair as soon as she got home. That girl would certainly know what to do.
As Felicity walked past one of the rooms she noticed a sound emanating from it. Smiling, she turned on her heels and peered into the room. There she could see one of the male staff humming softly to himself and reaching into his desk draw. Noticing that the room was empty save him, she smiled and walked casually into the room. “Mr De Luca,” she sighed in her usual exaggerated tone. “Oh thank goodness you’re here. I need you to do something.” Now it had started. The poor maths teacher would have no way of shutting the girl up until she had finished her rant. “See, I just had an audition but I did terribly, at least I think I did. Now what I need you to do is go to the drama department and ask them if they can give me a second shot. See, I really need to get the lead role because if I don’t I’ll never get an agent, and then I’ll never get a good acting career and then I’ll never become famous and then I’ll never get a rich husband and then I’ll never be able to buy new shoes again! Do you know how horrible it will be? You have to help me Mr D. You simply have to!”
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Post by marc on Aug 18, 2011 6:35:53 GMT 10
The sudden interruption startled Marco. To be perfectly honest, he hadn’t expected anyone else to be around. Especially not a student. Weren’t they the first ones to rush on home as soon as the bell rang? At least, when he was in school that had been the case. Things surely couldn’t have changed that much could they? I mean.. he wasn’t that old. He didn’t feel that old by any rate, and that was what mattered. He felt he was rather relatable for these young kids. Some people told him he had an inability to grow up, however he just didn’t see it like that. It was a way of connecting with his students. If he turned into an old fuddy-duddy, the kids would just write him off like every other teacher. And they wouldn’t open up to him at all. You can’t really have a positive effect on someone if they were closed off to you, now could you?
Stopping mid action, Marco ditched the idea of getting his fruit. It would have been rude to eat in front of the student. And besides, it was more just a distraction anyway. Now that Felicity Saunders was flouncing her way into the room, he had a distraction anyway. What was it with that girl? She and her little group of friends always seemed to flounce everywhere; like the owned the school. Well, maybe they did own the school. Marco had noticed that the foursome did command a certain amount of attention from their peers. He’d never really understood the social pyramid of the school though. Especially when things seemed to change so rapidly. One minute this girl was on-top, then her jock boyfriend dumps her and she’s nothing. Last week that guy was teased, but he threw a rad party now he’s king. Really, it was just a headache to try and follow. The kids knew what was what though.
Smiling brightly at the girl, he opened his mouth to greet the student. However before he could actually say anything, Felicity had launched into her reasons for seeking him out. The man settled into his seat as she spoke. Watching her with a slightly raised eyebrow. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he should be amused, or feel sorry for her. On the one hand, what she was saying was completely ludicrous about needing a man to be rich and buy shoes. However, she seemed rather upset about doing a bad audition and even if her reasons were strange to the man, he still felt bad that she was upset. Clicking his tongue a few times, the man tried to work out the best way to tackle her problem. “Felicity..” He started gently, getting up. He felt odd sitting while she was standing. “I think maybe it would be best if you ask. It would show that you are really committed to being in the show. I will of course be prepared to back you up if need be.”
He frowned a little, leaning against his desk. “But kiddo. One bad audition isn’t going to ruin the rest of your life you know..” He gave her a smile that he hoped would make her feel better. Though he knew enough to know that when girls (and women) were really worked up, a simple smile was never really going to cut it. “You are a really smart girl. And so talented. You can do whatever you set your mind to. And buy as many shoes as you like, and well.. Truth be told you don’t need a man for that.” He gave her a small wink before continuing. “I like to think my wife needs me, but really.. I just need her. You women could rule the world without men. Us though? We need you women to do anything.”
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Post by felicity on Aug 21, 2011 13:02:51 GMT 10
The teenager looked over at the teacher with an almost pleading expression. She was about to speak again when Mr De Luca started in. Of course, as he spoke, Felicity’s expression fell. He wasn’t going to help her. Looks like she would have to take matters into her own hands. She needed to get that lead role. She had to get another audition. But the teachers were always so strict about these things. Of course, the drama department knew her. They would have known that today’s audition simply wasn’t her. They would have known that she was having an off day wouldn’t they? Would they? What if they didn’t? What if they had no idea and they gave the lead role to someone with absolutely no acting talent whatsoever?
De Luca had a great smile. Had anyone ever told him that? Certainly his wife would have pointed it out to him. Of course, he was not the best looking teacher. There were a few others that would give him a run for his money. Flick was getting distracted. Now was no time to be thinking about the hotness rating of various teachers at her school. Tuning back in she listened again to what the teacher was telling her. He had some valuable insights, she had to admit. But of course, she had just wanted to rant a bit; she was not in the mood for a lecture or anything. Her mother gave her enough of those. The amount of times she heard her mother complain for her being so materialistic was simply astounding. The older woman just did not understand that she had to do certain things in order to maintain her spot atop the high school social ladder. And if that was not enough, she often had to make sure her friends stayed up there with her. Of course, Blair was no worry about that. Sometimes there were just secrets floating around the group that could not be shared or they would all fall into oblivion.
“I suppose you’re right Mr De Luca,” she murmured, perching herself atop the nearest desk. She swung her legs backwards and forwards, watching her teacher carefully. “But I mean, I just really wanted to get the lead. So I guess I will ask them, but you’d better back me up Mr D.” Flick smiled over at the older man, feeling slightly happier than before. “That may be true Mr D, but I’m sure a rich husband certainly helps. I heard actors don’t get paid much anyway. So I’m going to need someone who can help with that. And I’m sure your wife needs you just as much. A relationship is a two way street Mr D.” Grinning at him she wondered where her wise comment had come from. She did not recall herself being so smart. She would have to tell the girls about that.
Of course, she would have to wait. She had remembered something, something not good. It was Friday, which meant tomorrow was Saturday. Saturday was not good. Her parents were going out with them which meant she was stuck with him. Sighing she looked over at the teacher again. Perhaps he had some more insight on this one. “Hey Mr D? What do you do when people force you to be friends with someone but you really don’t like them, and they really don’t like you? But no matter how much you tell those people, they just won’t drop it?”
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Post by marc on Aug 23, 2011 23:21:35 GMT 10
It probably was a good thing Flick didn’t voice her opinion on the hotness rating of the teachers. Marco had enough of an ego to consider himself one of the hottest teachers in the school. Well, male teachers anyway. It would bruise his ego to be told he had some healthy competition. He’d want to know which teachers, and why they were hotter. Then he’d have all these questions on how to make himself more attractive. Of course, none of that was appropriate to discuss with a student. His first instinct was to go ask Mimi. However he couldn’t do that anymore could he? He’d ended that and it just wouldn’t be polite to go up to your ex fling and ask them about why the students didn’t find you the hottest. In fact, he shouldn’t even really care about them finding him hot at all. Marco shouldn’t care about a lot of things, but he never got the memo.
Marco chuckled gently. She was right. Relationships were a two way street. Since when did the students get so smart? Wasn’t he supposed to be the one offering gems of wisdom and not the other way around? Marco considered the student with a raised eyebrow. She really was intelligent. She could do anything she wanted. That was his whole point with the not needing a man. He hadn’t meant that all relationships were one way- just that she would be fine with or without a guy in her life. Though, he saw that a lot as a teacher. Most of the young girls seemed almost obsessed with needing a boyfriend. Did that change as they grew up? He hoped so. Because it was sad if that was actually how women in today’s society really thought. He didn’t understand women enough to know for sure if that was the way it was, but he hoped for the sake of his daughter that it wasn’t.
Cocking his head, Marco considered her next problem. She was being forced to spend time with someone she didn’t like? Hmm. Well, it seemed clear to Marco that it was her parents that were doing the forcing. Who else could it be? I mean, Felicity didn’t seem like the type of girl who would let her friends push her around. In fact, she seemed like the one that would do the pushing. Not that he thought she would. Just that she seemed to have a lot of influence over her peers. Anyway, that had nothing to do with her situation. Shaking his head, Marco returned his thoughts to what she was actually saying. What would he do in that situation. Heh. That wasn’t helpful. If his wife wanted him to see someone he didn’t like he’d probably end up caving to her. “Well, have you tried talking to whomever it is that is forcing you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean honestly talked to them? Try and explain exactly how you feel and why you feel that way?” He gave a small shrug. “If that doesn’t work, I’d suggest trying to find some common ground with the person. Unless they put you in harm, it can’t be all that bad. I mean, if the people forcing you see that you’re actually making some effort they might see that you actually have real reasons not to want to spend time with the person.” He offered her a warm smile. “I have to ask.. This person isn’t likely to hurt you are they?” He knew it probably wasn’t the case, but he’d feel bad if he didn’t ask then the girl actually got hurt from the situation. It was the right, teachery thing to do. You know, care of duty and all that good stuff.
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Post by felicity on Sept 11, 2011 19:13:02 GMT 10
Felicity slipped herself onto the nearest desk and swung her legs back and forth, all the while listening to the teacher speak. He had some valuable insight into the matter and she found it quite helpful. Of course, when did she ever take advice from anyone? The only person she ever listened to was Blair, and even then she spent half the time ignoring the blonde girl. Flick just liked to do her own thing, she certainly did not bother to stop and think about other people. If they got hurt along the way, so what? It was the way she had always been, self-centred and unaware that the people around her even had feelings. Perhaps she would never change, but there was always hope. Her middle was, after all, Hope. Her parents must have named her that for a reason right?
Sighing, the brunette frowned. “Of course I’ve tried talking to them Mr D. I’ve tried at least a thousand times.” Flick paused. “Wait, maybe yelling at them in hysterics doesn’t count… I mean, I tried the kicking and screaming thing, when I was five and this first happened. But since then I’ve just kind of tried to avoid the whole situation. I mean, I know my parents do so much for me and everything but they could just leave us two kids at home while they go out. I don’t understand why they keep forcing us together.” Giving another overdramatic sigh, she shook her head. It was rather confusing. Most of the time it was the four parents who went out to dinner alone. Why couldn’t they leave Jackson at the Fray house and Flick at the Saunders place? It made no sense to the girl whatsoever. Except, she realised that they were trying to set the two up. The families probably both thought it would be brilliant if she and Jackson got married and had kids and blah blah blah. She didn’t care. She did not want to marry Jackson. Ever.
Hurting her? Why would Mr De Luca ask that kind of question? Did he honestly think her parents were stupid enough to try and fix her up with some psycho? Okay, so maybe they were. But that was beside the point. Shaking her head slowly, her look became slightly puzzled. “No. Of course not Mr D. Have you met Jackson Fray? He wouldn’t hurt a fly. I mean, he doesn’t have the balls to do anything like that. In fact, he doesn’t really have the balls to do anything even mildly interesting. That's probably why he gets on my nerves. He needs to rebel or something, live a little, have sex, get drunk, that kind of thing.” Pausing, she gave an apologetic smile to the teacher. “Guess I probably shouldn’t say stuff like that to a teacher. Whoops.” Flick gave off a small laugh, trying to draw attention away from what she had said. She assumed, however, that the teacher was smart enough to have realised that nearly all teenagers were getting drunk and having sex most weekends, especially her crowd. This would probably come as no surprise to him, but she just wanted to make sure.
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Post by marc on Sept 29, 2011 23:13:43 GMT 10
Marco raised an eyebrow. Was this what he had to look forward to? His gorgeous little Claire-bear growing into a teenager who would only communicate with him by screaming? He’d heard from a lot of people that had teenage girls that they could be very hard o deal with, and he’d seen a hint of that in the students he taught. Still though, he found it really hard to believe that his little girl would end up like that. Most parents told themselves that though, didn’t they? Whenever they heard horror stories about children they always told themselves that there was no way it could ever happen to their child. Parents were so good at denial- some even denying they had a problem child when it was so obvious to everyone else around them. Claire was a good kid, though.. right? He wasn’t already in denial was he? Of course not.
Picking up a pen idly from his desk, Marco started to twist it in his fingers. He couldn’t help it really. He was a fiddler, and had never been great at sitting still. Fiddling with a pen was probably one of the least distracting things he could be doing. He didn’t want Felicity to think he wasn’t listening to her, or that he didn’t care about her problem. He did care. Marco cared about all of his students. Smiling a little, he shook his head and curbed his instinct to laugh. “I don’t think anything with the word hysterical in it counts as really talking.” He told her gently. He had to feel just a little bit sorry for her parents, as he could actually imagine the girl all but screaming at her parents for making her see this person she seemed so set on disliking. “They probably have their reasons. Which is why you should try rationally talking to them. They may even tell you those reasons.”
The man raised an eyebrow at the student as she mentioned Jackson. Marco actually knew him. Well, knew him in the sense that he taught him maths but really, the guy seemed nice. Which, as it turned out, seemed to be the girl’s issue with him. Marco couldn’t help but smirk at this. To be honest, he probably wasn’t the best at giving advice in this situation since he had been the dangerous element girls wanted in his younger days. Hell, he was in a rock band. That was like a one way ticket too sexy. “While it may seem cool and hot and what not.. Let me tell you from personal experience, it’s not always as good as it seems to be.” Putting down the pen, he takes a step towards Felicity. “Why don’t you give him a chance? He may just surprise you..”
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