Cherry Vanilla 9 + FOTD
Author: Marina
Story: Shifts universe (post-Shifts)
Challenge: Cherry Vanilla 9 (my reflection), FOTD (satori)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Fresh Blueberries (“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.” - Daniel J. Boorstin)
Word Count: 1,465
Rating: G
Summary: Eleazar has a lightbulb moment after hearing about Mariah’s parent-teacher conference.
Notes: Is my education student showing? I’ve been sitting on this since June (Shayna gave me the idea), and the fresh fruit/FOTD for today kind of fell into my lap and tied it all together. Follows this and this, and relates to Eleazar’s Peanut Butter.
Eleazar had one form left to review and sign when his phone rang. Of course, he muttered mentally, reaching for the receiver. “Eleazar Kopen.”
“Hey, Elie,” his sister’s voice greeted him, sounding weary and a little unhappy.
He frowned. “Oriana? Why are you calling me when you could just walk down the hall?”
“Because I’m not at the compound, genius. Didn’t Abraham tell you?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Okay then, sorry.” She exhaled. “Anyway, I was calling to ask what you want for dinner. I’m taking the twins out and I thought I’d bring you back something if you wanted.”
Eleazar tapped the end of his pen repeatedly on the page in front of him. This tidbit could mean any number of things, likely nothing good coupled with Oriana’s tone. “Did something happen?”
“Forget it for now,” she said quickly, just as he expected. “I’ll tell you when I get back. Do you want me to bring you anything or not?”
“Where are you eating?”
“That local burger joint the kids like.”
“No, I’ll eat here,” he said. He knew the place and loved the food when he could eat there, but he could not think of anything more distasteful than a lukewarm burger and soggy fries. “But if you want to pick up a pie on the way back, I won’t object.”
“Got it. Be there in a couple of hours, and you’d better not still be in your office when I get back.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m almost finished, never fear.”
“Good brother.” She hung up.
What on earth? Eleazar wondered, slowly letting the receiver drop back onto its cradle.
Oriana made him wait almost three hours for his answer. When he heard the familiar tapping on the door of his suite, he dropped the book he had been trying to concentrate on and sprang up to open it. “I thought you would return almost an hour ago,” he said, glancing pointedly to the wall clock behind her.
She grinned, though not as brightly as usual. “Were you worried about me?”
“How could I not be, after a call like that?”
“I love you, too.” She lifted the pie box she carried right up to his nose and wiggled it a little, and his mouth watered at the delicious fresh-baked crust and warm fruit smells wafting from it. “And I brought you a cherry pie from your favorite place, so I hope you won’t hold it against me.”
He decided not to press the point right away in favor of allowing her to serve the pie.
Oriana took it into the little kitchenette attached to the sitting room between their suites, cut them each a piece and poured two glasses of milk. Then they each took their own plate and glass to a little table in the sitting room and sat down. “Catherine called me around quarter to four,” she said then. “Apparently, she and Bill were called in for a parent-teacher conference regarding a picture Mariah drew for an assignment.”
Eleazar had been about to take a bite of pie, but thought better of it and laid his fork down. “What was the assignment?”
“She had to draw her immediate family.” Oriana reached for her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I’d better just show it to you. There are no words.”
He took it from her and unfolded it, recoiling a little when he spotted the bespectacled stick figure in the upper left corner. “Is that Abraham? On fire?”
She bit her lip and nodded. He could see the barely controlled mirth in her eyes, and his own began to widen as she continued the story. “Apparently Mariah kept insisting he was a bad man and that you should burn him.” She had barely finished her sentence when she burst into hysterical laughter, laying her head on the table. Eleazar laid the picture down and buried his face in his hands, unable to help a few partially horrified chuckles, even though he tried.
“I’m so sorry,” Oriana said, once she had calmed down enough to speak again. “You should’ve seen your face. And I couldn’t laugh in front of Catherine earlier, she was so upset.”
“Mariah said that to her teacher?”
“Yeah, she did.” She accepted the picture back and folded it up again. “Catherine and Bill told the teacher an abbreviated version of the story and covered it up by saying you worked in pyrotechnics.”
Eleazar shook his head and picked up his fork again. “As much as I sympathize with Mariah, that was not appropriate.”
“Oh, I’m not saying it was. I had a long talk with her and Josh at dinner. I think Josh will take this seriously and keep us from having to go through something similar with him, but it’s not impossible. He does agree with Mariah on pretty much everything, even though he’s more passive about it. And, well, I wouldn’t put it past ‘riah to do something like this again. Bill’s going to be checking their homework for a while.”
“Sensible decision.” He took a bite of his pie and chewed it slowly, enjoying the brief distraction from the unpleasant situation. “Should I talk to them?”
“No, I think they’ve already heard enough from me and their parents. Mariah also got a lecture from Mrs. Thompson, which must have been horribly confusing for her.” Oriana started on her piece as well. “I just thought you should know. Keep it in mind for the future.”
He snorted. “I will. Good grief. We probably should have seen this coming.”
“It puts a few things in perspective, doesn’t it?”
“What do you mean by that?”
She shrugged. “I was just thinking, on the way home, about Mother and Father keeping you homeschooled for so long. They were probably worried about exactly this kind of thing happening.”
Eleazar had not thought about his years of homeschooling in quite some time, and the reminder took him aback. “That’s true,” he murmured, sitting back in his chair. He still harbored a little resentment toward his parents, but in light of that day’s events, it no longer seemed fair. “I suppose I can’t really blame them now. I had a quicker temper than you did, back then. It’s no wonder they were afraid to let me out of their sight.”
“You couldn’t really control your powers, either,” Oriana pointed out, gesturing to him with her fork. “Our house should’ve burned down so many times.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” he said dryly. She smiled innocently and returned to eating.
He glanced at the folded paper next to her plate again. The longer he thought about it, the more it bothered him. He wondered if his parents had inadvertently saved him from a lifetime of frustration by keeping him at home until he was thirteen. Mariah’s situation was undoubtedly worse, because she was an empath and would spend her school years surrounded by people who did not know or understand it. Other magical children faced similar hardships, he was certain.
His next thought came to him unbidden: I could do something about that.
The sudden idea silenced every uncertainty he had had about his future over the past year. It had never occurred to him that he could go into education-he had spent most of his life preparing to take over the family business, only to see his aunt sell it to Wellingstone, Inc.-but it seemed right for him to do it now.
“I think I want to go back to university,” he said to his sister.
“For your doctorate?” she asked, without looking up.
“No. Eventually, maybe, but not now. I was thinking a Master’s in Education and a teaching credential.”
Oriana looked up, surprised, her face scrunching incredulously as she realized he was serious. “Are you a masochist? You already have a graduate degree.”
“Yes, in Business,” he said, “and you know how I feel about that. Think about it, Ori. Education is something I’ve always cared about, and I have the chance to go into a career I actually want for the first time in my life. Why shouldn’t I give it a try? I think we could really use some magical educators in our community.”
“Don’t look at me like you think I’m going to send you to the corner,” she retorted.
“You did ask me if I was a masochist.”
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “I don’t understand your fixation with school and I never have, but I guess it makes sense, for you. I wouldn’t be a teacher for anything.”
He laughed. “I doubt you’d be very good at it.”
“Damn straight.” She flashed him a grin and went back to her pie, and he followed her example with an amused shake of his head.
Story: Shifts universe (post-Shifts)
Challenge: Cherry Vanilla 9 (my reflection), FOTD (satori)
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Fresh Blueberries (“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.” - Daniel J. Boorstin)
Word Count: 1,465
Rating: G
Summary: Eleazar has a lightbulb moment after hearing about Mariah’s parent-teacher conference.
Notes: Is my education student showing? I’ve been sitting on this since June (Shayna gave me the idea), and the fresh fruit/FOTD for today kind of fell into my lap and tied it all together. Follows this and this, and relates to Eleazar’s Peanut Butter.
Eleazar had one form left to review and sign when his phone rang. Of course, he muttered mentally, reaching for the receiver. “Eleazar Kopen.”
“Hey, Elie,” his sister’s voice greeted him, sounding weary and a little unhappy.
He frowned. “Oriana? Why are you calling me when you could just walk down the hall?”
“Because I’m not at the compound, genius. Didn’t Abraham tell you?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Okay then, sorry.” She exhaled. “Anyway, I was calling to ask what you want for dinner. I’m taking the twins out and I thought I’d bring you back something if you wanted.”
Eleazar tapped the end of his pen repeatedly on the page in front of him. This tidbit could mean any number of things, likely nothing good coupled with Oriana’s tone. “Did something happen?”
“Forget it for now,” she said quickly, just as he expected. “I’ll tell you when I get back. Do you want me to bring you anything or not?”
“Where are you eating?”
“That local burger joint the kids like.”
“No, I’ll eat here,” he said. He knew the place and loved the food when he could eat there, but he could not think of anything more distasteful than a lukewarm burger and soggy fries. “But if you want to pick up a pie on the way back, I won’t object.”
“Got it. Be there in a couple of hours, and you’d better not still be in your office when I get back.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m almost finished, never fear.”
“Good brother.” She hung up.
What on earth? Eleazar wondered, slowly letting the receiver drop back onto its cradle.
Oriana made him wait almost three hours for his answer. When he heard the familiar tapping on the door of his suite, he dropped the book he had been trying to concentrate on and sprang up to open it. “I thought you would return almost an hour ago,” he said, glancing pointedly to the wall clock behind her.
She grinned, though not as brightly as usual. “Were you worried about me?”
“How could I not be, after a call like that?”
“I love you, too.” She lifted the pie box she carried right up to his nose and wiggled it a little, and his mouth watered at the delicious fresh-baked crust and warm fruit smells wafting from it. “And I brought you a cherry pie from your favorite place, so I hope you won’t hold it against me.”
He decided not to press the point right away in favor of allowing her to serve the pie.
Oriana took it into the little kitchenette attached to the sitting room between their suites, cut them each a piece and poured two glasses of milk. Then they each took their own plate and glass to a little table in the sitting room and sat down. “Catherine called me around quarter to four,” she said then. “Apparently, she and Bill were called in for a parent-teacher conference regarding a picture Mariah drew for an assignment.”
Eleazar had been about to take a bite of pie, but thought better of it and laid his fork down. “What was the assignment?”
“She had to draw her immediate family.” Oriana reached for her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I’d better just show it to you. There are no words.”
He took it from her and unfolded it, recoiling a little when he spotted the bespectacled stick figure in the upper left corner. “Is that Abraham? On fire?”
She bit her lip and nodded. He could see the barely controlled mirth in her eyes, and his own began to widen as she continued the story. “Apparently Mariah kept insisting he was a bad man and that you should burn him.” She had barely finished her sentence when she burst into hysterical laughter, laying her head on the table. Eleazar laid the picture down and buried his face in his hands, unable to help a few partially horrified chuckles, even though he tried.
“I’m so sorry,” Oriana said, once she had calmed down enough to speak again. “You should’ve seen your face. And I couldn’t laugh in front of Catherine earlier, she was so upset.”
“Mariah said that to her teacher?”
“Yeah, she did.” She accepted the picture back and folded it up again. “Catherine and Bill told the teacher an abbreviated version of the story and covered it up by saying you worked in pyrotechnics.”
Eleazar shook his head and picked up his fork again. “As much as I sympathize with Mariah, that was not appropriate.”
“Oh, I’m not saying it was. I had a long talk with her and Josh at dinner. I think Josh will take this seriously and keep us from having to go through something similar with him, but it’s not impossible. He does agree with Mariah on pretty much everything, even though he’s more passive about it. And, well, I wouldn’t put it past ‘riah to do something like this again. Bill’s going to be checking their homework for a while.”
“Sensible decision.” He took a bite of his pie and chewed it slowly, enjoying the brief distraction from the unpleasant situation. “Should I talk to them?”
“No, I think they’ve already heard enough from me and their parents. Mariah also got a lecture from Mrs. Thompson, which must have been horribly confusing for her.” Oriana started on her piece as well. “I just thought you should know. Keep it in mind for the future.”
He snorted. “I will. Good grief. We probably should have seen this coming.”
“It puts a few things in perspective, doesn’t it?”
“What do you mean by that?”
She shrugged. “I was just thinking, on the way home, about Mother and Father keeping you homeschooled for so long. They were probably worried about exactly this kind of thing happening.”
Eleazar had not thought about his years of homeschooling in quite some time, and the reminder took him aback. “That’s true,” he murmured, sitting back in his chair. He still harbored a little resentment toward his parents, but in light of that day’s events, it no longer seemed fair. “I suppose I can’t really blame them now. I had a quicker temper than you did, back then. It’s no wonder they were afraid to let me out of their sight.”
“You couldn’t really control your powers, either,” Oriana pointed out, gesturing to him with her fork. “Our house should’ve burned down so many times.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” he said dryly. She smiled innocently and returned to eating.
He glanced at the folded paper next to her plate again. The longer he thought about it, the more it bothered him. He wondered if his parents had inadvertently saved him from a lifetime of frustration by keeping him at home until he was thirteen. Mariah’s situation was undoubtedly worse, because she was an empath and would spend her school years surrounded by people who did not know or understand it. Other magical children faced similar hardships, he was certain.
His next thought came to him unbidden: I could do something about that.
The sudden idea silenced every uncertainty he had had about his future over the past year. It had never occurred to him that he could go into education-he had spent most of his life preparing to take over the family business, only to see his aunt sell it to Wellingstone, Inc.-but it seemed right for him to do it now.
“I think I want to go back to university,” he said to his sister.
“For your doctorate?” she asked, without looking up.
“No. Eventually, maybe, but not now. I was thinking a Master’s in Education and a teaching credential.”
Oriana looked up, surprised, her face scrunching incredulously as she realized he was serious. “Are you a masochist? You already have a graduate degree.”
“Yes, in Business,” he said, “and you know how I feel about that. Think about it, Ori. Education is something I’ve always cared about, and I have the chance to go into a career I actually want for the first time in my life. Why shouldn’t I give it a try? I think we could really use some magical educators in our community.”
“Don’t look at me like you think I’m going to send you to the corner,” she retorted.
“You did ask me if I was a masochist.”
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “I don’t understand your fixation with school and I never have, but I guess it makes sense, for you. I wouldn’t be a teacher for anything.”
He laughed. “I doubt you’d be very good at it.”
“Damn straight.” She flashed him a grin and went back to her pie, and he followed her example with an amused shake of his head.