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 Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 4:09 pm
Chris had dealt with his fair share of problem students in class before. Most of the time he'd tried to get them to quiet down, maybe try and help with their grades, but for the most part he had let them be. It wasn't his problem and certainly there were other teachers better equipped to deal with this than the college student who was just trying to get his teaching certification.
Then Heliodora happened and Chris had realized no one else was going to do it, and it was entirely up to him.
Recently Chris had his eye on Shiloh, who's grades in his class were... not great. Chris knew the signs and this time, instead of ignoring them, he was determined to help.
The bell rang, signaling the end of period, and Chris called out "Shiloh! Can I have a word with you?" He hoped he had gotten him before he got out the door.
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2016 4:52 pm
Oh thank ******** god. The bell ringing was music to his ears, sending Shiloh's shoes crashing to the ground with reckless abandon (they had, in fact, been pushing and prodding and messing with the seat in front of his). It wasn't that he was really in a hurry to get home—because he wasn't—but school wasn't really the greatest place ether. His keys locked to his belt loop, he had his bike outside to get to, and some fresh air to inhale.
Well, until someone called his name (and honestly, no one ever said two words or looked two ways at him). To his dismay, it wasn't in fact some classmate he could probably tell to ******** off, but the actual teacher himself. He bit the inside of his lip, blue-grey eyes turning hostile as students filed out around him.
Oh yes, his disdain was very obviously worn on his face as he slowly trudged over to Mr. Watts desk, hands quickly stuffing themselves into his pockets. Was it about his grades? It probably was. Maybe it was his homework—his other teachers always bitched about how he doodled all over him. Whatever it was, Shiloh would take it and be on his way.
"What?" he drawled, obviously disinterested.
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2016 6:03 pm
If Chris hadn't known that this was going to be a battle from the start, he might have been disappointed by Shiloh's reaction. But instead he simply kept a smile on his face, trying to look as friendly as possible without being too much. He really didn't want to have Shiloh leave before he could help.
"I've noticed your grades are low and I want to make you a deal, to help you out," Chris started, getting to the point of the matter quickly. He never liked it when teachers dragged on conversation and Chris himself was trying to make this as painless as possible. "I figure you want to graduate, so if you do a report for me on an animal, I'll give you a boost on your grades. It can be any animal you want."
He has a suspicion, if any of the papers that Shiloh turned in were any indication, it would be on turtles. If Shiloh took the report anyways and didn't completely disagree.
melancholies jazzhands i meant to do sae's first but this hit me more go figure
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2016 7:23 pm
Ah, so that's what this was about. He should have figured as much. Chris wasn't the first of his teachers to offer a last ditch extra credit assignment for his terrible grades. He figured that, in situations like these, he probably should agree to it even if he had no real intention on doing it or turning it in. At least, he had done that with all his other teachers, and they were at least momentarily placated. He was pretty sure some of them had already forgotten about it, or maybe just given up.
That was fine. Shiloh honestly expected that.
And he was pretty much expecting it from Mr. Watts too. Do a report on an animal? Christ, it sounded so easy. There were last ditch extra credit assignments, and then there was bullshit like this.
I figure you want to graduate; the thought just played over and over in his head. He just sort of shrugged, foot scuffing at the ground.
"Okay..." he said, not really meaning it, not really trying to mean it either. His bit his lip.
It was totally a moment of self weakness, a moment of that deep underlying self loathing that ate away at his gut, something that shouldn't have slipped but it did: "It uh, doesn't really matter y'know. I'll probably flunk anyway." Because fact was, even if he tried in this class, it still meant he had a whole slew of others he'd never catch up in.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 9:12 pm
Chris blinked in surprise at his last confession, smile softening into something more.. neutral. Not judgmental, just considerate, thoughtful. Shiloh definitely was more than Chris had thought and he wanted to know more. Reach out and ask him what exactly was bothering him. But that would scare him away so Chris went back to the topic at hand.
"You might," He shrugged, giving way to his admittance. "But it's not too late that you can try."
He drummed his fingers on his desk, quiet noise as continued. "Most of your teachers have probably already offered make up assignments, right?" He didn't wait for confirmation. "If they have, they don't think you're a lost cause. Hell, they just want to see if you want to bother. That's mostly what I wanted, to see if you want to try."
This was the tricky part now, to make his lecture seem not entirely pointless. "So I mean, it's not impossible to pull those grades up. It's extra work, sure, but it's there because we think you can pass. Or at least, I think you can. I'm also here to help, you know."
melancholies when you make s**t sad this is why i take 4 days to get back to you jfc also god can you not hate chris for his lecture please
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 9:48 pm
Shiloh sniffed. Then he blinked. Once, twice, three times. It was all silence on his part. Was this a lecture? He wanted to take it that way, goddamn teachers. Instead, he just settled for scuffing the edge of his foot against the floor.
"Yeah, they did, but they don't actually care I think." he caused more trouble than anything. He was pretty sure they were just getting paid to tell him those sorts of things. "It's just their job. S'what you're doin' too, right?"
Despite the accusation, his once acerbic voice had started to settle. It was quieter now, even, maybe a little sad. He nudged at the ground again, then shrugged. Then he shrugged again. Shiloh didn't want to fail, it was just hard to care... and he lacked a lot of motivation. And energy. And everything, really.
"S'like... a written report?" because if it was, then it was probably out the window. Shiloh would probably be decent in all of his classes given the effort, except English. "Or like... a powerpoint?" that still had writing, but would be a little easier. "I don't have a computer at home either way, so..." there he was looking at the ground again. Hard to make eye contact there, huh buddy?
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 6:57 pm
"I don't speak for the other teachers, but I'd like to think they do care. A little, at least," Chris tried, but he'd let the topic drop. It wasn't his place to speak for them, or speak over Shiloh.
"It is, but I care about more than just my job. Or my future job, at least, I am still in college." There was a weak smile there, an effort at looking a little more friendly. "I wouldn't be teaching if I didn't care about who I was teaching."
It seemed though that Shiloh had softened a little and Chris let the smile come back, just a little.
"It can be a powerpoint." Chris jumped on the idea, seeing that Shiloh obviously was going to give it a try. "I just want something on the evolution of whatever animal you pick, from it's start to now. Family tree and all that." He gave a hum at Shiloh's computer problem, fingers drumming on his desk again. The school's library had computers but they were older and slow, didn't run powerpoint that well. Word was a struggle for it too, even. He had an idea and it could be over the line.. but.
"I have... a laptop you could borrow," He offered, fingers stilling. It was worth a shot.
melancholies speed racer posts tonight
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2016 1:19 pm
Teachers were pretty predictable. It made them somewhat easier to talk to, if only because Shiloh could brace himself for all the same recycled verbiage they were forced to use. What he wasn't expecting was this.
"A-Are you serious?" he gawked, eyes widening. Shiloh might have been straight-faced the entire time, but that broke through to an almost childlike wonder, eyes sparkling in disbelief. "Like, your laptop?" Shiloh was all too familiar with the struggles and woes of the school computers himself. Between not having one at home and then only having these, he tended to avoid them all together. It definitely contributed to why his work rarely got finished, anyway.
"Like, not the schools; yours?" he was repeating himself, astonished and incredulous. It also made him feel kind of bad; he'd have to actually do it if he was borrowing his personal computer.
His mouth was gaped. For a second there was silence, and then Shiloh laughed. It wasn't a disrespectful one, but...
"You'd actually trust me of all people with a personal computer?" it seemed too good to be true. PeanutButterpies news at 8: local hooligan spotted with stolen electronics
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 10:45 pm
Chris nodded, not surprised at Shiloh's disbelief. He honestly couldn't even believe he was doing it but he wanted to try and Shiloh seemed like a good kid under it all. "Yeah, I am," He replied, an incredulous grin breaking though at Shiloh's gawking. "It is actually mine, I swear. I don't trust the school's computers."
Granted, his laptop was not used very much at the moment. His sister had granted him the gift of a desktop for finally being able to teach and he had copied most of everything to the desktop, along with an external drive. He still did treasure it though and giving it to Shiloh was definitely a huge step.
"Well," Chris started, "You come to class pretty often, I see you regularly. So I'm not concerned about you disappearing. The town is small enough that if it goes missing, I can probably find it or a replacement. And really, I just trust that you'll bring it back to me. You don't seem like the type to do anything with it."
melancholies later news: local teacher bails hooligan out of jail
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 1:51 pm
"I don't?" what gave him that impression? Sure, his brother was a angel when it came to school, but Shiloh was definitely the opposite; work rarely got turned in, sometimes he didn't bother to show up, he was almost constantly covered in bandages of some variety and his eyes betrayed the fact he didn't sleep at night. Granted, Chris wouldn't know that he spent it roaming the streets, and he wouldn't know why he didn't sleep, but the fact remained.
He didn't really look like your typical straight laced kind of guy. Mostly because he wasn't.
Anyway, the school comps were crappy, but why didn't he trust them? Weird. "I mean, I guess..." he was still kinda smiling with disbelief, but most of his amusement came from wow what a naive idiot more than anything. Mr. Watts still thought he could do something to help his students; goes to show how much of a new teacher he was.
"Alright, fine." he started messing with his hands, picking at his torn up cuticles, "I'll do it or something..." nonchalant, noncomittal, "It can be on turtles right?"
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 4:03 pm
Chris just nodded, a faint smile on his face. As bad as Shiloh looked, and despite his reservations, Shiloh was still a kid. He showed up to class (some kids just outright skipped most of the time) and drew turtles on his paper and didn't immediately try to discredit Chris.
He watched patiently though as Shiloh talked, smile blooming broader at the question. "It absolutely can, they're cool creatures aren't they?" He replied, rolling his chair back for a moment to dig through his bag. It was a college born habit to carry around the laptop along with his external drive, just in case he needed it, and he was glad he had it today.
The laptop acquired, he held it out to Shiloh. "Here it is," He said without preamble.
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 7:12 pm
The laptop now in his hands, Shiloh stared at it demanding answers. Unfortunately for him, the big electronic hunk in his hands had nothing to say for his questions.
"I—they—yeah, I mean, yeah." he bit his lip, trying not to go off. He failed. "They just! They're really great huh? Like, they're... really, they just—they love a good time, y'know? They got these shells..." oh wait, his hands were full, he couldn't do a reenactment. Dammit. Well whatever.
"Especially snapping turtles! Uh, I mean like—they just have neat rocky shells, and they're actually really friendly when they're still submerged in water, but lots of animals are that way. Also their tongues look like wormies, but it's just a trick." he was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he spoke, hugging the laptop to his chest while his eyes wandered wonderingly to the ceiling.
"Oh uh," he cut himself short, "...thanks Mr. Watts." it felt weird thanking him, and honestly it had slipped out before he could catch it, but he was letting him borrow the laptop. Maybe he was a little excited for the whole thing too. There wasn't any way in hell that this guy knew more about turtles than he did.
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 7:50 pm
The deluge of turtle information was one Chris wasn't expecting but he smiled through it, finding it surprising. Shiloh definitely liked turtles a lot more than Chris had expected and he found himself looking forward to the assignment he'd turn in.
"Really? That's actually pretty cool, I think I studied.. otters back in class?" His brow scrunched in thought for a second, trying to think back to his college classes, before shaking the memory away. His phone rang suddenly and he glanced towards it, an alarm proclaiming "check if you have scantron for quiz in class" scrawling across the screen before falling dark and quiet.
"Oh! I need to get going but you're welcome Shiloh," He replied quietly, starting to gather his things and put them in his bag. "Thanks for sticking around, see you tomorrow in class?"
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 8:09 pm
The second Chris looked away at his phone, Shiloh went straight to shoving the precious laptop into his backpack. He wasn't really sure if he'd use it at home—Ollie would probably call sleazy on him and say he stole it, among other things—but it might be nice to take to the library, or maybe a cafe or something. Either way.
"O-Oh uh, maybe. Probably not." he stuck his tongue out, backpack overflowing with a disorganized chaos of half finished homework and blank paper. He was trying to be gentle as he wedged the laptop in there, but it wasn't working all that well. It'd survive.
With that he turned on his heel, though he stopped by the door. Awkwardly and hastily, he stopped and turned around to offer a wave before taking off down the hallway. He has a bike with his name on it for real this time.
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