[advent 08] december ten
Oh man, guys, my entire novel sucks hardcore. Also, I got no writing done today because I was too tired to think. Anyway, as promised, today and tomorrow are novel excerpts. In re-reading to find an excerpt, I gotta say, some of this dialogue is good, even if the novel itself kind of sucks. These dudes are good at talking, guys.
Anyway. This takes place about a week after the start of the novel. Alan has just started at Beaumont, as have Laura and Ryan, and he's just getting used to his surroundings, meeting his new colleagues and neighbors, and trying to get his life back on track. Spoiler alert: he will be trying to get his life back on track right through the first 55k. It's sort of back on track where I am working on it now. Or it will be for the next few weeks. OH ALAN.
So, here we go. Alan's second week at Beaumont.
***
advent - day ten
original - in which alan makes a "friend" and finds the copy room.
***
Navigating Beaumont was a little trickier than Alan had imagined. Sharing an office with Doug helped, because he was always willing to lend a hand and give directions that were only occasionally a joke, but Doug couldn't follow him everywhere and the halls were taking some getting used to. The numbers on the doors were hard to see and they were all identical. Some hallways had the numbers slightly out of order, and in others, it wasn't clear until halfway down the hall which side was odd and which side was even. It was hard to begin with, and it didn't help that some of the staff were doing their best to make it harder.
"...and at the end of the hall, turn right," Hank Silverman was saying. He was in the middle of a rapid fire list of directions that Alan was entirely sure was accurate. It was his third day teaching, and he really was marginally sure that copy room in the Butler building was on the first floor. There was no one else in the lounge to verify it, though, and he could live without the condescending looks that Hank kept throwing his way when he made obvious mistakes. "Go up that flight up stairs to the third floor and at the end of that hallway--"
The door opened and Alan silently thanked the powers that be. He considered thanking them again when he saw who had come to his aid.
"Hey," Dan said, heading straight to the coffee maker. "What's up?"
"I'm just giving the new guy directions to the Butler copy room," Hank said with a slightly sinister smile.
"Real directions?" Dan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Of course," Hank said.
"Is it on the third floor?" Alan asked.
Dan rolled his eyes and slid the carafe back into the coffee maker. "Ignore him. He's being a jackass. I'll walk you over there."
"Oh, come on!" Hank nearly shouted. "You were doing the same thing to Carter the other day! You thought it was funny then!"
"I changed my mind," Dan said, heading towards the door. He threw a sly smile at Alan. "Different circumstances. C'mon, Al--"
"Don't call me Al," Alan said automatically. "Alan, please."
"Whatever you say, Al," Dan said, and Alan scowled at him, but couldn't help but feel touched. Dan was obviously interested enough to mess around with him. "It's my free period. It's not like I have anything better to do with my time."
"I thought we were going to look at Sloane's MySpace in your office!" Hank protested.
"As I said," Dan said, shooting a glare at Hank, "it's not like I have anything better to do with my time."
Alan suddenly wondered if he was getting in the middle of something that it would be better for him to stay away from. "It's okay," he said, rubbing the back of his neck absently, "I mean, I'm sure I could find it on my own if you have plans."
"Nah, then you'd just be stuck wandering around aimlessly for hours. I'm sure Allison would be pissed if we found your emaciated corpse in some storage closet three weeks from now, and she's hell to deal with when she's pissed. Better to just show you where you're going." He smiled again, that same off-kilter lopsided smile from the faculty meeting, and Alan couldn't help but smile back.
"If you insist," he said, and ignored Hank's dark look as he followed Dan out into the hallway. The door closed behind them, and Alan felt some of the tension melt out of his shoulders.
"Seriously, ignore Hank," Dan said. "Not just about directions, but about everything."
"I'm not..." Alan said slowly. "I mean... he doesn't seem to like me much and it's not because... I mean, you're not--"
"Hank is as straight as they come," Dan assured him. "He just doesn't have any other friends and tends to get territorial. Also, I like how you assumed there was something going on that could possibly upset him if we were dating."
Alan felt his ears heat up. "Not to be presumptuous," he said weakly. "I just mean--"
"Nah, it's cool," Dan said dismissively. "If I were flirting with me, I would want to tap that, too."
Managing to regain his equilibrium, Alan said, "Well, there's nothing wrong with a little self-love now and then."
"I'm resisting the urge to say 'That's what she said,' but, frankly, it's overwhelming and I don't know if I'm going to make it," Dan said. "Pop culture dictates that it's the correct response, and I'm highly susceptible to outside pressure."
"That's what she said," Alan said, giving Dan a smirk of his own. Dan burst out laughing.
"Well played, Alan Pratchett. Well played. I think you've officially passed a test I didn't even realize I was giving you," Dan managed to say, once his laughter had died down. They were crossing the grass to the entrance to the Butler Building and Alan was feeling pretty good about himself. He hadn't seriously flirted with anyone in... god, eight years?...and it wasn't something he had been good at to begin with. It felt refreshing, but certainly strange. A part of his brain was still insisting that this was akin to cheating, and his chest ached a little. He hoped that would pass with time. He needed to stop feeling like he was just waiting for Danny to get back from an extended business trip, and maybe flirting with someone new would be the cure he was looking for.
"Well, I'm glad I've gotten your approval," Alan said. He held open the door to the building and let Dan go ahead of him. Dan was in the same black sweater and slacks from Friday, or at least very similar ones. At least he looked good in black.
"The copy room is all the way down this hallway on the right," Dan said, pointing to the bend in the hallway. "It's the last door down that hall."
"Thanks," Alan said. "Maybe I'll remember that this time."
"Paper's in the cabinets in the closet," Dan added. "For some reason, it's locked, but the code is 1-2-3-4-5. I've gotta go argue with Sunita about getting my kids into the library this afternoon."
"Sounds like fun," Alan said, grinning. "I'll see you around."
"Count on it," Dan assured him.
Alan watched Dan disappear into the library. He continued to watch as the doors slammed shut, standing in the hallway until he heard the tell-tale click of heels pounding down the staircase.
"Oh, wonderful!" a French-accented voice said, dripping with frustration and sarcasm. "Someone who's as lost as I am."
Laura Carter's long blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun. Instead of the jeans and rumpled button down shirt she had been wearing the past two times he had seen her, she was wearing a knee-length black dress and calf-high boots. She did not look pleased.
"Did you get directions from Hank Silverman?" Alan asked.
"Is he the weasel-y looking one?"
"Yeah, he tried to get me, too," Alan said. "Dan showed me how to get there. It's just down this way."
"Is it really down this way, or he is just fucking with us as well?" she asked.
"I'm pretty sure it is down this way," Alan said, "if only because I'm pretty sure we're flirting and he probably doesn't want me to seek revenge this early into it."
"Some men like that sort of thing," she said. "Ryan in particular seems to enjoy having his ass kicked."
"Still," Alan said, taking Laura's bitter deadpan as a cue not to start laughing, "I think we're pretty safe. Down the hallway to the right, through the door, the paper is locked in the cabinet."
"Locked?" Laura said. "What is this, some sort of hazing?"
"No, no," Alan said. "Dan gave me the code. It's okay."
Laura shook her head, but followed him down the hallway. The copy room was exactly where Dan said it would be, and it was also empty. The code to the storage closet worked, and it was fully stocked with paper and not the spring snacks that Alan had half expected. He let Laura make her copies first, settling down at the spare desk shoved into the corner.
"So what brings you to Beaumont?" he asked once Laura had closed the machine and stood back to wait.
"Work," she said absently.
"Well, I mean, what were you doing before?" She glanced at him sharply. "Middle school, high school, college?" he supplied. "Private? Public?"
"Oh!" She relaxed a little, and muttered something to herself in French. "Oh, of course. I taught English in France," she said. She paused. "That's how I met Ryan. He was teaching English too. In college. About ten years ago."
Something about her manner seemed wooden and odd, but she relaxed after a moment, and Alan dismissed it. "That sounds wonderful," he said. "I've never been to France, actually. My ex and I kept saying we were going to go--my dad's ladyfriend has a house somewhere in the south of France and she was always encouraging my siblings and me to make use of it."
"Do you know where?" she asked.
"Not off the top of my head," he admitted, frowning. "I could ask my dad."
"Oh, it's not that important," Laura insisted. "If you think of it, but don't make a special call on my account. What about you? Where are you from?"
"Here," Alan said. "Well, New York, actually, but about forty-five minutes from here. About twelve years of public school, middle and high school, and a year at a private high school."
"And you teach one of the sciences, yes?" she asked, turning back to take her copies out of the tray. Alan took her place, running off his worksheets for the rest of the week.
"Chemistry," he said.
"I was never one for science," she admitted. "What brought you to Beaumont? Were you unhappy where you were?"
"Yeah," Alan said, not looking up from the rumbling copy maker. "You could say that. It's funny, I was actually just beginning a job search when the Beaumont opening came up online. I guess I lucked out."
"That's how you found out about it?" Laura asked. "On the internet?"
"Yes," Alan said. "Thank god. I couldn't have taken another full semester where I was." He turned around, chewing on his lower lip. It was a rather odd line of questioning. He wondered if there was some sort of cultural divide that he didn't know about. "Anyway, I'm here now and so are you. Are you and your husband enjoying yourselves so far?"
The look that passed over Laura's face couldn't be called anything other than a grimace.
"Ryan is enjoying himself immensely. Of course, Ryan always enjoys himself when I am out of my element. But I'm adjusting. This is radically different than my last job."
Definitely the cultural divide.
"It gets easier, I promise," Alan assured her. "These kids are so brilliant... I know it's overwhelming at first, but I think the fact that they enjoy themselves so much is more than worth the added challenge."
"That's good to know," Laura said. She gathered all of her copies together. "It was lovely to speak to you, Alan. I look forward to seeing you around."
"You too!" Alan said. "I live up in 4D. I don't have a lot of furniture yet, but feel free to stop by whenever you want, both of you. I'm trying to actually cultivate a social life for the first time in a year and a half, and it helps to have friends."
"We would love to," Laura said. "I'll see you."
Anyway. This takes place about a week after the start of the novel. Alan has just started at Beaumont, as have Laura and Ryan, and he's just getting used to his surroundings, meeting his new colleagues and neighbors, and trying to get his life back on track. Spoiler alert: he will be trying to get his life back on track right through the first 55k. It's sort of back on track where I am working on it now. Or it will be for the next few weeks. OH ALAN.
So, here we go. Alan's second week at Beaumont.
***
advent - day ten
original - in which alan makes a "friend" and finds the copy room.
***
Navigating Beaumont was a little trickier than Alan had imagined. Sharing an office with Doug helped, because he was always willing to lend a hand and give directions that were only occasionally a joke, but Doug couldn't follow him everywhere and the halls were taking some getting used to. The numbers on the doors were hard to see and they were all identical. Some hallways had the numbers slightly out of order, and in others, it wasn't clear until halfway down the hall which side was odd and which side was even. It was hard to begin with, and it didn't help that some of the staff were doing their best to make it harder.
"...and at the end of the hall, turn right," Hank Silverman was saying. He was in the middle of a rapid fire list of directions that Alan was entirely sure was accurate. It was his third day teaching, and he really was marginally sure that copy room in the Butler building was on the first floor. There was no one else in the lounge to verify it, though, and he could live without the condescending looks that Hank kept throwing his way when he made obvious mistakes. "Go up that flight up stairs to the third floor and at the end of that hallway--"
The door opened and Alan silently thanked the powers that be. He considered thanking them again when he saw who had come to his aid.
"Hey," Dan said, heading straight to the coffee maker. "What's up?"
"I'm just giving the new guy directions to the Butler copy room," Hank said with a slightly sinister smile.
"Real directions?" Dan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Of course," Hank said.
"Is it on the third floor?" Alan asked.
Dan rolled his eyes and slid the carafe back into the coffee maker. "Ignore him. He's being a jackass. I'll walk you over there."
"Oh, come on!" Hank nearly shouted. "You were doing the same thing to Carter the other day! You thought it was funny then!"
"I changed my mind," Dan said, heading towards the door. He threw a sly smile at Alan. "Different circumstances. C'mon, Al--"
"Don't call me Al," Alan said automatically. "Alan, please."
"Whatever you say, Al," Dan said, and Alan scowled at him, but couldn't help but feel touched. Dan was obviously interested enough to mess around with him. "It's my free period. It's not like I have anything better to do with my time."
"I thought we were going to look at Sloane's MySpace in your office!" Hank protested.
"As I said," Dan said, shooting a glare at Hank, "it's not like I have anything better to do with my time."
Alan suddenly wondered if he was getting in the middle of something that it would be better for him to stay away from. "It's okay," he said, rubbing the back of his neck absently, "I mean, I'm sure I could find it on my own if you have plans."
"Nah, then you'd just be stuck wandering around aimlessly for hours. I'm sure Allison would be pissed if we found your emaciated corpse in some storage closet three weeks from now, and she's hell to deal with when she's pissed. Better to just show you where you're going." He smiled again, that same off-kilter lopsided smile from the faculty meeting, and Alan couldn't help but smile back.
"If you insist," he said, and ignored Hank's dark look as he followed Dan out into the hallway. The door closed behind them, and Alan felt some of the tension melt out of his shoulders.
"Seriously, ignore Hank," Dan said. "Not just about directions, but about everything."
"I'm not..." Alan said slowly. "I mean... he doesn't seem to like me much and it's not because... I mean, you're not--"
"Hank is as straight as they come," Dan assured him. "He just doesn't have any other friends and tends to get territorial. Also, I like how you assumed there was something going on that could possibly upset him if we were dating."
Alan felt his ears heat up. "Not to be presumptuous," he said weakly. "I just mean--"
"Nah, it's cool," Dan said dismissively. "If I were flirting with me, I would want to tap that, too."
Managing to regain his equilibrium, Alan said, "Well, there's nothing wrong with a little self-love now and then."
"I'm resisting the urge to say 'That's what she said,' but, frankly, it's overwhelming and I don't know if I'm going to make it," Dan said. "Pop culture dictates that it's the correct response, and I'm highly susceptible to outside pressure."
"That's what she said," Alan said, giving Dan a smirk of his own. Dan burst out laughing.
"Well played, Alan Pratchett. Well played. I think you've officially passed a test I didn't even realize I was giving you," Dan managed to say, once his laughter had died down. They were crossing the grass to the entrance to the Butler Building and Alan was feeling pretty good about himself. He hadn't seriously flirted with anyone in... god, eight years?...and it wasn't something he had been good at to begin with. It felt refreshing, but certainly strange. A part of his brain was still insisting that this was akin to cheating, and his chest ached a little. He hoped that would pass with time. He needed to stop feeling like he was just waiting for Danny to get back from an extended business trip, and maybe flirting with someone new would be the cure he was looking for.
"Well, I'm glad I've gotten your approval," Alan said. He held open the door to the building and let Dan go ahead of him. Dan was in the same black sweater and slacks from Friday, or at least very similar ones. At least he looked good in black.
"The copy room is all the way down this hallway on the right," Dan said, pointing to the bend in the hallway. "It's the last door down that hall."
"Thanks," Alan said. "Maybe I'll remember that this time."
"Paper's in the cabinets in the closet," Dan added. "For some reason, it's locked, but the code is 1-2-3-4-5. I've gotta go argue with Sunita about getting my kids into the library this afternoon."
"Sounds like fun," Alan said, grinning. "I'll see you around."
"Count on it," Dan assured him.
Alan watched Dan disappear into the library. He continued to watch as the doors slammed shut, standing in the hallway until he heard the tell-tale click of heels pounding down the staircase.
"Oh, wonderful!" a French-accented voice said, dripping with frustration and sarcasm. "Someone who's as lost as I am."
Laura Carter's long blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun. Instead of the jeans and rumpled button down shirt she had been wearing the past two times he had seen her, she was wearing a knee-length black dress and calf-high boots. She did not look pleased.
"Did you get directions from Hank Silverman?" Alan asked.
"Is he the weasel-y looking one?"
"Yeah, he tried to get me, too," Alan said. "Dan showed me how to get there. It's just down this way."
"Is it really down this way, or he is just fucking with us as well?" she asked.
"I'm pretty sure it is down this way," Alan said, "if only because I'm pretty sure we're flirting and he probably doesn't want me to seek revenge this early into it."
"Some men like that sort of thing," she said. "Ryan in particular seems to enjoy having his ass kicked."
"Still," Alan said, taking Laura's bitter deadpan as a cue not to start laughing, "I think we're pretty safe. Down the hallway to the right, through the door, the paper is locked in the cabinet."
"Locked?" Laura said. "What is this, some sort of hazing?"
"No, no," Alan said. "Dan gave me the code. It's okay."
Laura shook her head, but followed him down the hallway. The copy room was exactly where Dan said it would be, and it was also empty. The code to the storage closet worked, and it was fully stocked with paper and not the spring snacks that Alan had half expected. He let Laura make her copies first, settling down at the spare desk shoved into the corner.
"So what brings you to Beaumont?" he asked once Laura had closed the machine and stood back to wait.
"Work," she said absently.
"Well, I mean, what were you doing before?" She glanced at him sharply. "Middle school, high school, college?" he supplied. "Private? Public?"
"Oh!" She relaxed a little, and muttered something to herself in French. "Oh, of course. I taught English in France," she said. She paused. "That's how I met Ryan. He was teaching English too. In college. About ten years ago."
Something about her manner seemed wooden and odd, but she relaxed after a moment, and Alan dismissed it. "That sounds wonderful," he said. "I've never been to France, actually. My ex and I kept saying we were going to go--my dad's ladyfriend has a house somewhere in the south of France and she was always encouraging my siblings and me to make use of it."
"Do you know where?" she asked.
"Not off the top of my head," he admitted, frowning. "I could ask my dad."
"Oh, it's not that important," Laura insisted. "If you think of it, but don't make a special call on my account. What about you? Where are you from?"
"Here," Alan said. "Well, New York, actually, but about forty-five minutes from here. About twelve years of public school, middle and high school, and a year at a private high school."
"And you teach one of the sciences, yes?" she asked, turning back to take her copies out of the tray. Alan took her place, running off his worksheets for the rest of the week.
"Chemistry," he said.
"I was never one for science," she admitted. "What brought you to Beaumont? Were you unhappy where you were?"
"Yeah," Alan said, not looking up from the rumbling copy maker. "You could say that. It's funny, I was actually just beginning a job search when the Beaumont opening came up online. I guess I lucked out."
"That's how you found out about it?" Laura asked. "On the internet?"
"Yes," Alan said. "Thank god. I couldn't have taken another full semester where I was." He turned around, chewing on his lower lip. It was a rather odd line of questioning. He wondered if there was some sort of cultural divide that he didn't know about. "Anyway, I'm here now and so are you. Are you and your husband enjoying yourselves so far?"
The look that passed over Laura's face couldn't be called anything other than a grimace.
"Ryan is enjoying himself immensely. Of course, Ryan always enjoys himself when I am out of my element. But I'm adjusting. This is radically different than my last job."
Definitely the cultural divide.
"It gets easier, I promise," Alan assured her. "These kids are so brilliant... I know it's overwhelming at first, but I think the fact that they enjoy themselves so much is more than worth the added challenge."
"That's good to know," Laura said. She gathered all of her copies together. "It was lovely to speak to you, Alan. I look forward to seeing you around."
"You too!" Alan said. "I live up in 4D. I don't have a lot of furniture yet, but feel free to stop by whenever you want, both of you. I'm trying to actually cultivate a social life for the first time in a year and a half, and it helps to have friends."
"We would love to," Laura said. "I'll see you."