ROUND ONE: Unfilled and Overflow
ROUND ONE
OVERFLOW AND UNFILLED PROMPTS POST
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OVERFLOW AND UNFILLED PROMPTS POST
DO NOT post prompts here. This is NOT an active Round.
DO NOT post Fills or Updates here if they AREN'T for Round One prompts.
If you want to CONTINUE UPDATING a WIP:1) Make a new comment, copy the original prompt's Subject Line (add any pairings, kinks and warnings that may be missing) followed by ( Read more... )
Erik was making his fourth cup of coffee in the literature department’s pantry (weak coffee, if he must say, but he was too lazy to run to the coffee shop the university built last year in the main library) when Drs. Frost and MacTaggert cornered him.
“Good morning, Erik,” Dr. Frost greeted him as she reached for the box of chamomile tea.
Erik grunted something with g’s, hoping that would be enough.
“Good morning, Erik,” Dr. MacTaggert echoed with that chirpy voice of hers that Erik did not like hearing in the morning.
Erik turned to her, hoping that the slight quiver of his left eyebrow would suffice as a morning greeting.
“I received the letter you placed on my desk,” Dr. Frost began as she stirred creamer into her tea until it almost reached the color of milk. “About the sabbatical you were planning to take this year?”
“Uh, yes. I was hoping I could take a year off and focus my time on writing something. A book, perhaps.”
“That would be lovely,” Dr. MacTaggert and her bright, annoying, headache inducing voice. “It has been a while since your last collection of poetry.”
“Yes. Have you read the last?” Because I included something about having difficulty going through the rest of the day with hearing your voice so early in the morning, Moira, Erik thought.
“No, you wouldn’t believe how many things I have to read everyday, Erik. As much as I want to sit in the meadows and enjoy your poetry, I haven’t the time.”
“Oh, right,” Dr. Frost looked thoughtful. “Introduction to Creative Writing this term, isn’t it Moira? The one that’s offered for non-lit majors? I imagine you’d have a hard time.”
Erik cleared his throat and gave a fake little cough. “So, Emma, about that sabbatical. Will it be okay or are we going to be understaffed?”
“It will be okay,” Dr. Frost said airily. “We’ll have two new people on the lit team next year.”
“You’ve decided to hire Ms. Xavier?” Erik asked. He really hoped so-having Raven as a colleague will definitely increase the number of people he was genuinely interested in talking to at work. Dr. Frost was tolerable even if she would not stop harping on the analysis of the state of contemporary nonfiction in the country, and he had to admit that he disliked Dr. MacTaggert and her attempts to identify herself with the likes of Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, and Elaine Showalter. Bitch, please.
“She presented two very interesting syllabi that I believe the undergraduate classes will greatly benefit from. Imagine, teaching a literature course on comic books and Harry Peter! Even the non-lit majors will love that!”
“I think it’s Harry Potter,” Erik said his gentlest voice. Which, apparently, was not gentle enough as Dr. Frost’s cheeks pinked a little.
“Oh, I really don’t know what the young people are reading nowadays. It would be exciting to have someone as young as Ms. Xavier teaching in our department. As soon as she completes her master's, of course.”
Erik nodded, and he was aware that he probably looked like a proud parent. “Of course.”
“She’s one of your thesis students, right?” Dr. MacTaggert asked. Every time she spoke to him, Erik wondered if there was a surgical procedure that will bring her voice a couple of octaves down. If there were such a procedure in existence, Erik will donate the proceeds of his next book for it.
“Yes.”
“Ms. Xavier’s thesis defense will be in a few days,” Dr. Frost said. “I’m sure she’ll ace it, but it wouldn’t hurt for her mentor to be present during her big day.”
“Of course,” Erik answered and began to walk away. “I’ll just be at my cubicle if you need me.” He hoped they would not need him for the rest of the day.
“What about the other professor you were thinking of hiring?” Dr. MacTaggert asked Dr. Frost.
“Oh, you’ll like him, Moira. He has this English accent that makes even the likes of Paul Ricœr interesting. Actually, I think even Erik will like him.”
Erik flashed the two ladies a tight-lipped smile, but commented no further. I sincerely doubt that, he thought smugly.
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