everleighsmith

[everleighsmith]

"Oh they really have, we have a costume contest at the school each year and these kids that are in like fifth/sixth grade will come in with costumes that look like they belong on a movie set. One year this kid came in wearing a full Victorian gown and white body paint to look like a ghost from that era. It was honestly kind of freaky, but cool at the same time."

"i don't usually dress up," he shrugged. "maybe some vampire fangs or something while i'm handing out candy just so i can feel in the spirit of things but that's about it. when i was younger, i did dress up as wolverine, claws and all. that was probably my favorite. sorta feels like nowadays the costumes are much more elaborate."

[everleighsmith]

"They want to be an influencer because they see people like Addison Rae, or someone like that, blow up and they think they can do it. It's sad because we don't need more influencers in this world, unless they're actually going to influence a good change, you know?" She asked and smiled. "Oh I love that and I know, half of my class has birthdays in September and then there's a handful throughout the rest of the year and then March comes around and there's a lot of birthdays there too."

nadya huffed out a laugh, shaking her head, "it seems like all kids want these days is to be famous. i can't even count the amount of times i've heard a kid say they want to be an 'influencer' when they grow up even though i'm pretty sure they don't actually know what that means." she sighed quietly, reminded of the stack of orders she still had to finish, "actually, i get a lot of birthday cupcake orders within the first month or so after school starts back up. it's like every child was born in september."

[everleighsmith]

"Oh I fucking hate that term so much. Now they're calling each other chopped and all that other bullshit. I hate it." Everleigh laughed. "Yeah, I got really lucky. I know that but my parents always made sure that I knew that I was blessed."

A visible shiver went down Vik's spine at the mention of the dreaded app that occupied his students' brain the majority of the school year. "Yeah, I'm right there with you. It baffles me how much time they spend engaging with that shit. I really hate nagging them about it, but it gets out of hand too often for my liking," he vented with a furrowed brow, "Skibidi toilet is one of the terms officially banned from my classroom." He took in the information she gave him to paint a better picture of how she grew up. "Well then you were certainly raised with care, not just materially but morally," he acknowledged, his tone ladened with admiration and a hint of jealousy.

[everleighsmith]

"Ohhh I might have to check it out after school one day, or on a weekend." Everleigh said with a smile. "Okay that is just total bad ass of you to be honest."

"I believe there is a rock climbing studio somewhere around here, so you can always give it a shot. It may not be the exact same as climbing down a skyscraper, but close enough," she suggested with a slight smirk lifting the side of her mouth. "You can't be afraid when you're a firefighter. We literally run into the dangerous situations and risk our lives for others. If you get scared, you get nervous or freeze and you start making mistakes."

[everleighsmith]

"Something I have never done, but I've always wanted to try it." Everleigh admitted and nodded as she listened to CJ. "Smelling fear on someone is never good, especially when you're in a situation that you were in."

"It's just like rock climbing. Only you're going down instead of climbing up, but that's just semantics," CJ declared, waving the idea off like it was nothing. Of course it wasn't as easy as that, but she liked to make it seem that way. Made her look more badass. "Right? A few more minutes of waiting around could have been too late. And honestly, I could smell the fear off the probie, which is the name for the new guy by the way. I doubt he would have even managed going over the edge of the roof."

[everleighsmith]

"Sometimes I just like to suffer so I eat the sour candy." She admitted with a laugh and looked at him. "I don't even know yet. I always do something last minute. One year I was Gwen Stacey's Ghost Spider and I loved it so I might do that again if I can't think of anything." She laughed. "How about you?"

"sour stuff usually makes my jaw hurt, so i tend to stray away from it. sour skittles are pretty good, though," he admitted. "what about this year, are you dressing up or anything? i saw they're already putting out decorations to buy, so i guess it's time to start thinking about it. seems a little early to me, though."

[everleighsmith]

"Last year someone was failing because they hadn't turned in any projects or done any homework and their parents blamed me. I had called them, tried to schedule a meet up with them and did everything I could to try to help the student and the student didn't care. He told his parents he didn't need school because he was going to be famous." She shook her head. "Do you get a lot of orders before the start of the school year?"

"well, if you insist," she smiled, grateful for the excuse to rest for a few moments and get off her aching feet. coming out from behind the counter, she joined everleigh at one of the tables, already feeling the relief that came from sitting down. "yeah, you're right. for every asshole, there's at least ten nice customers. not a bad ratio when you look at it that way." she took her phone out of her apron, taking note of the time to make sure she wan't running too behind. "that's good, i've heard of way too many parents that constantly make excuses for their kids. never helps them in the long run."

[everleighsmith]

Task #1 - Who Am I?

who are the most important people in your life?

My parents

what does a typical day look like for you?

Grading papers, early mornings, late nights. A lot of coffee and energy drinks.

what is your favorite song and why?

The Climb by Miley Cyrus. It is so empowering and whenever I'm feeling down, or need a good cry, I listen to it.

what are your pet peeves?

People eating with their mouths open. It is so gross.

what is your greatest fear?

Going viral for the wrong thing. I know that sounds silly, but it seems like people can go viral at the drop of the hat, even for the smallest things, and I don't want that.

have you ever been in love?

Once and it didn't end well.

if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My height. I'd like to be like an inch taller.

when you think about your childhood, what's the first memory that comes to mind?

Ice skating with my parents and getting hot chocolate after.

do you have any tattoos?

I have two! One on my index finger that says "Tell me more" and a harp on the back of my neck.

what is your worst habit?

Biting my nails.

are you an early bird or a night owl?

An early bird.

when is the last time you cried?

Yesterday when I watched The Notebook.

do you believe in love at first sight?

Nope.

where do you want to be in 10 years?

Hopefully still here in Sappharie Cove, maybe settled down, I'll for sure have a dog or two.

have you ever broken a bone?

No, I almost did but I landed on soft snow instead of hard ice so I got really lucky when it happened.

if you could change one thing about yourself, what would you choose?

I already answered this, hehe.

what's the best gift you've ever received?

My Kindle. I love it so much.

if you could only watch one show for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

The originial Gossip Girl, that way if I feel like I'm having a bad day, I know Serena will be having a worse one and it'll make me feel better.

what's one thing you can't live without?

My cell phone. I know that is such a fucking cliche kind of answer, but it is my lifeline so I can call my parents and connect with people back home.

if you won the lottery tomorrow, what would your first purchase be?

A Chanel purse.

[everleighsmith]

"Milk chocolate is so good though, so I don't blame you. I used to love sour candy, like war heads and sour skittles were my favorite thing ever, but now I can only have a few because I used to eat them so often."

"i mostly have a major sweet tooth, but i do have a special affinity for anything with milk chocolate. every year, i always buy at least one extra bag of candy that i keep for myself. it's usually gone a few weeks later," he admitted, laughing. "it's a problem, i can admit it."

[everleighsmith]

"It's so much worse when a new trend on Tik Tok happens and it's close to the holidays becuse that is all they talk about, which I don't even know why children have Tik Tok, but that's a whole other issue that I don't even want to talk about right now." She shook her head and looked at him with a smile. "Thank you, they always instilled in me that I was very lucky to grow up as...not like wealthy, wealthy, but we never struggled, you know? They wanted to make sure I knew to always give back and volunteer and donate and do what I can to help those less fortunate and I try to keep it going when I can."

"Absolutely, it's just the lead up to the breaks that makes me break down," he admits with a weak chuckle, thinking of how rowdy his 7th graders get as the holidays near, not to mention the influx of grading he has to do. "Your parents sound awesome," he complimented, "I guess generosity runs in the family."

[everleighsmith]

"Come sit and talk, I mean, I am the only customer right now." Everleigh pointed out witha smile. She mostly wanted to get Nadya off her feet and for her friend to relax for at least a few minutes. "The assholes are going to be assholes any day, but at least the good outweigh the bad." She added with a smile. "It is, yeah and I haven't had to deal with too many parents who put the blame on teachers instead of their children if the child fails."

"an excellent philosophy to have," nadya agreed, shifting slightly on her feet. "i suppose so," she hummed, "though i'm sure i'll get a rude one or two before the day is over. people love to come right before close and complain that we're sold out of things." she shrugged in a 'what can you do?' sort of way. "it's always nice to have a job you love. makes it not feel so much like work."

[everleighsmith]

"Oh my goodness." Everleigh said and shook her head. "I give you, and all the firefighters, props because I am not brave enough to do any of that." She said. "Your captian should just be happy that you helped the guy off the literal ledge, and the probie, who I assume is like the new guy, will learn the ropes, eventually and he'll get there and not slow you or anyone down."

"Okay so, the guy is freaking out and the other firefighters are trying to talk him down off the literal ledge. And I am on the roof in my harness, getting ready to repel down. They sent me up with the probie and he was just all tangled up in his gear and taking way too long. So I just take off without him and go down the building taking the guy by surprise as I basically tackle him back into his apartment." As CJ finishes telling the story, she takes another swig of her beer. "My captain was all pissed that I left the probie behind but if I had waited on him, it would have been a disaster." @sapphirestarters

[everleighsmith]

"Breaks are important, doesn't matter the age, everyone desereves a vacation or some time off from work or school." She looked at him. "Though it does stink we have to wait until we're done with our work before we can have any fun." She joked. "They do both, to be honest, which I'm not going to complain about, because who doesn't like gifts? But I'm also glad that they help with the classroom and students too. I am very lucky."

"all they care about is holiday break, which hey, trust me, i get as a former child myself," he jokes, "but unlike them, i know how to save my excitement until after the responsibility period is over." vik raises his brows in admiration at the sound of her redirecting her gifts to her students. "that's very thoughtful, i hope your kids appreciate it. do your parents abide by your wishes or do they get you presents anyway?"

[everleighsmith]

"Yeah I had that same issue, and I know a lot of people struggle with that too so I wanted to make it a fun and easy day for the kids." She said. "Oh the candy is always a plus, is there a favorite candy you like or do you just have a massive sweet tooth?"

"nice of you to give them that option. i always hated when someone asked me to say a fun fact about myself; it was like my mind just suddenly went blank every time," he shrugged. "like, how is a fact fun, anyways?" he continued but managed to stop himself before going on a full blown tangent. "i mostly like it because of the candy but dressing up can be pretty fun, too."

[everleighsmith]

"Exactly, you should always treat yourself at least once a day." She said and paid and took the goodies. "Hectic is better than people being rude, right?" She nodded. "I am, yes. I love teaching so much."

"the true meaning of 'treat yourself'," she smiled as she rang everleigh up, handing her what she'd ordered. "no, thankfully the customers were all pretty nice today. just a bit hectic," nadya shrugged, leaning against the counter to give her aching back some relief. "oh right, that's starting soon. looking forward to it?"

[everleighsmith]

[everleighsmith]

OOC post; I can't log onto my Discord, but I'll be on tonight <3