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 Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:32 pm
Cody hoped Dari could ask for time off. He thought he'd like the place he'd picked for their camping trip. It wasn't too hot yet so it was still safe--and legal to have a campfire.
"I wish we didn't have to assign them. I want them to love learning. Not dread it." He continued to grade, pausing only to look at Dari. "I really appreciate this, love. Thank you."
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:39 pm
"Mm. I feel you. I try to not, when I can help it. I'm not sure which is worse, required papers or standardized testing." He thought on it a moment. "Nah, standardized testing."
He had never been a victim of it, but he knew all about it. Not everyone thought the same way, and assuming that they did was a terrible fault of the education system. He'd even done some research into his "alma mater" and wasn't sure he was very fond of human standardized education in general.
"Of course. I'll help whenever I can if you just want to send me a message." Once again he shot a smile across the table. It was fond and happy.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:54 pm
"I only do pop quizzes," Cody said. "Since my class is an elective, I don't have to do tests." Just godawful papers. "After spring break, we're supposed to be going to a museum as a field trip. You could volunteer to be a chaperone."
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:01 pm
His history class was an elective, and for all levels? It must be a special kind of history, not just the basic required classes.
"Could I?" he asked, "I thought that was all parents and teachers." Wouldn't it be kind of weird to bring your boyfriend on a school field trip? Wouldn't that raise a few brows on the board? You never knew in Arizona. Sometimes you had to be careful.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:06 pm
"You'd have to be okayed by the principal. And we'd have to be strictly professional." No acting like boyfriend's during that; he certainly didn't think his job was the right place to come out. Especially with Arizona being...Arizona.
"Do you want to do something later?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:12 pm
He shook his head. "You can bring me to the museum some other day."
It would be hard to act entirely profession around Cody and appropriate around the children. He got excited about nerdy things too, and he'd be bound to go on a rant about an exhibit or two, and that might not sit well with the principal, what with Dari being a stranger.
"Sure. We can do whatever you like. We'll celebrate the end of a paper-grading cycle."
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:22 pm
"Alright." It was probably for the best, actually. Cody wasn't sure he wouldn't be distracted by Dari.
"We could go out to dinner."
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:07 pm
"Sure," Dari agreed. "My treat, though. You almost spent all day alone grading papers. You deserve it." He smiled over to Cody again and the turned back to his papers. As long as he lived, he'd never forget these kids or their papers.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:20 pm
Maia was sorting through pictures she'd taken of Toby, Dari, Toby and her, and the three of them together, on her phone. She was deleting only the unrecognizable blurs when she paused. She'd brought pictures home from Oregon. Two, the only ones she'd had of her family.
"I want to show you something," she said, when She found Toby. She took his hand.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:22 pm
"Hm?" Toby let Maia take his hand and simply followed. He trusted her enough after all of this time to just go with her. What did she want to show him? He couldn't really think of anything in the house he hadn't already seen, and he didn't think she'd come from outside.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:33 pm
Maia led him upstairs. She opened a suitcase that had been unpacked, apart from two items. She offered them to Toby. "I found these last time I was in Oregon," she said.
"There's my mother," She pointed to the blonde in the first picture. "And my father," The man was much more severe in appearance. Too stiff, maybe due to the clothing? His hair was dark, almost black. The second picture had three people in It; it'd clearly taken several years after the first. The colors were brighter, and they were joined by-- "Me," Maia said, unnecessarily. She looked around six years old in the photo. "I couldn't find any more. I think these are the only two."
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:37 pm
Toby's face split into a grin. He took the second photo from her. Look at how cute she had been...! He'd never thought she'd have pictures of her family, even knowing something human had been going on in there. It was amazing to finally get to see their faces.
"You were adorable."
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:46 pm
Maia leaned up and kissed Toby's cheek. "Think so? I look a lot like mom," she said, looking at the picture. "Do you have pictures from when you were little?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:49 pm
"You do." Toby thought, for obvious reasons. The other man in the photo had not been a biological donor. It made sense. At least she didn't look anything like her biological father, really.
"Oh? Yeah. I do," he said, then looked up to her with an arched brow, "Mine are a little older, though..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:54 pm
"I want to see," Maia said. "Silly. You're a little older than me, so they'd have to be. I bet you were cute." They could go through old pictures together.
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