[mm] november random: "the cake is a lie!"
NOTE: Cassie is sky_andsea and is mine to use & abuse. :p
“Le gâteau est un mensonge!”
Vaughn tried hard not to laugh, but failed as a snort escaped him. “Le bon essai, mais c'est erroné.” He explained to his student and the rest of the class. “Who can tell me the correct phrase?”
As he expected, a single hand rose meekly, waiting for him to point her out.
“C'est un mensonge, Monsieur Vaughn.” Cassie Blake translated, her voice soft but clear.
“Tres bien, Madamoiselle Blake. ‘That is a lie,’ not ‘the cake is a lie.’”
The class broke into laughter just as the bell rang.
“Don’t forget the chapter quiz next Monday!” he called out over the sound of chairs scraping and backpacks being dragged. “Also, anyone still interested in the Secret Santa, sheet’s on the door! I’ll be assigning people December seventh!! Cassie Blake, see me before you leave!”
He waited for the throng to file out, feeling a little guilty as Cassie froze like a deer in headlights for an instant before gathering her things and coming to his desk.
“Something wrong, Mr. Vaughn?”
“No, it’s not, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare ya.” He apologized with a sheepish smile. “I just…wanted to ask you a question.”
“Me? Um…I mean, sure. Of course.” She stammered, shifting her backpack from one shoulder to the other. “What is it?”
“It’s…kind of silly.” He went on, feeling strangely lacking in awkwardness under her quiet blue gaze. “See, my…well, she’s not my daughter, but the girl I’m sort of looking after right now…”
“Leslie? You mentioned her once.”
“Yeah, Leslie. Well, she and this friend of hers, Molly…they have this crazy idea about the principal. That she’s…well…a bad witch.”
He was relieved when Cassie grinned, a smile that meant she understood.
“Um…I hope I’m not being rude, but I think Leslie’s just too young to...uh…swap a few of those letters around.”
Vaughn chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, exactly. Anyway, I told her I’d talk to you about some kind of special charm or crystal that they could use against her. If she was a witch, I mean.” He paused, frowning suspiciously. “She’s…not, is she?”
“No, sir. I mean, not that I know. I haven’t met her personally, but…my old school had a witch as the principal. A very bad witch. Principal Sylvester may be harsh? But she’s not doing any of the kind of stuff I’d expect a witch to do, good or bad.” She paused, biting her lower lip lightly with a thoughtful look.
“But…well, if you want to give her something? I…I think I could make something. Leslie had a birthday recently, didn’t she? It’d be like a present, something pretty. I have this charm I wanted to try…”
“What kind of charm?”
“Oh, it’s nothing big!” she replied hastily, eyes widening a little in embarrassment. “It’s just a protection charm that I think will work particularly well for her. I can use it with topaz, her birthstone. It protects hearts that are too open, and I know where I can get some in yellow for abundance and practicality. It won’t do anything enormous, just…help her stay safe and happy.”
Vaughn nodded, laying a friendly hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, I wasn’t worried about that, I’m just not used to this magic stuff. And I didn’t want to offend you by imposing on your beliefs just to satisfy a little girl’s whimsy or anything.”
“It’s really okay, Mr. Vaughn. I’m happy to help!”
“Thank you so much…oh, and can you make one for her friend, too? If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Sure thing! Do you know when she was born?”
“Um…not sure, but you can probably send a message to Leslie and find out. Her friend’s name is Molly, not sure of the last name.”
Cassie nodded with a shy smile. “I’ll do that…was there anything else?”
“Yeah: keep up the good work. You’re really improving.”
Glowing, Cassie looked ready to bounce out of her skin as she nodded and beat a hasty retreat, her step lighter than it had been when she walked into class.
Smiling to himself, Vaughn turned to the board and started erasing the verb conjugations he’d written up, getting ready for his next class.
Muse: Michael Vaughn
FandoM: ALIAS
Words: 700
“Le gâteau est un mensonge!”
Vaughn tried hard not to laugh, but failed as a snort escaped him. “Le bon essai, mais c'est erroné.” He explained to his student and the rest of the class. “Who can tell me the correct phrase?”
As he expected, a single hand rose meekly, waiting for him to point her out.
“C'est un mensonge, Monsieur Vaughn.” Cassie Blake translated, her voice soft but clear.
“Tres bien, Madamoiselle Blake. ‘That is a lie,’ not ‘the cake is a lie.’”
The class broke into laughter just as the bell rang.
“Don’t forget the chapter quiz next Monday!” he called out over the sound of chairs scraping and backpacks being dragged. “Also, anyone still interested in the Secret Santa, sheet’s on the door! I’ll be assigning people December seventh!! Cassie Blake, see me before you leave!”
He waited for the throng to file out, feeling a little guilty as Cassie froze like a deer in headlights for an instant before gathering her things and coming to his desk.
“Something wrong, Mr. Vaughn?”
“No, it’s not, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare ya.” He apologized with a sheepish smile. “I just…wanted to ask you a question.”
“Me? Um…I mean, sure. Of course.” She stammered, shifting her backpack from one shoulder to the other. “What is it?”
“It’s…kind of silly.” He went on, feeling strangely lacking in awkwardness under her quiet blue gaze. “See, my…well, she’s not my daughter, but the girl I’m sort of looking after right now…”
“Leslie? You mentioned her once.”
“Yeah, Leslie. Well, she and this friend of hers, Molly…they have this crazy idea about the principal. That she’s…well…a bad witch.”
He was relieved when Cassie grinned, a smile that meant she understood.
“Um…I hope I’m not being rude, but I think Leslie’s just too young to...uh…swap a few of those letters around.”
Vaughn chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, exactly. Anyway, I told her I’d talk to you about some kind of special charm or crystal that they could use against her. If she was a witch, I mean.” He paused, frowning suspiciously. “She’s…not, is she?”
“No, sir. I mean, not that I know. I haven’t met her personally, but…my old school had a witch as the principal. A very bad witch. Principal Sylvester may be harsh? But she’s not doing any of the kind of stuff I’d expect a witch to do, good or bad.” She paused, biting her lower lip lightly with a thoughtful look.
“But…well, if you want to give her something? I…I think I could make something. Leslie had a birthday recently, didn’t she? It’d be like a present, something pretty. I have this charm I wanted to try…”
“What kind of charm?”
“Oh, it’s nothing big!” she replied hastily, eyes widening a little in embarrassment. “It’s just a protection charm that I think will work particularly well for her. I can use it with topaz, her birthstone. It protects hearts that are too open, and I know where I can get some in yellow for abundance and practicality. It won’t do anything enormous, just…help her stay safe and happy.”
Vaughn nodded, laying a friendly hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, I wasn’t worried about that, I’m just not used to this magic stuff. And I didn’t want to offend you by imposing on your beliefs just to satisfy a little girl’s whimsy or anything.”
“It’s really okay, Mr. Vaughn. I’m happy to help!”
“Thank you so much…oh, and can you make one for her friend, too? If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Sure thing! Do you know when she was born?”
“Um…not sure, but you can probably send a message to Leslie and find out. Her friend’s name is Molly, not sure of the last name.”
Cassie nodded with a shy smile. “I’ll do that…was there anything else?”
“Yeah: keep up the good work. You’re really improving.”
Glowing, Cassie looked ready to bounce out of her skin as she nodded and beat a hasty retreat, her step lighter than it had been when she walked into class.
Smiling to himself, Vaughn turned to the board and started erasing the verb conjugations he’d written up, getting ready for his next class.
Muse: Michael Vaughn
FandoM: ALIAS
Words: 700