#or that one english essay i got the highest score in the class when i literally hadn't even read the fucking book it was on

[hella1975]

ive got an essay due at 3pm tomorrow and ive not even looked at it i am so so unserious about my degree and by the grace of some higher being i somehow keep managing to crawl through it's actually getting a bit funny

[milo-is-rambling]

Who was gonna tell me that reading is fun sometimes

[gilbertscurls]

Classroom Competition ➵ Matt Sturniolo

synopsis: two rival English teachers, you and Matt, challenge each other to an end-of-year competition to see whose class will come out on top.

You stood at the front of your classroom, flipping through the stack of essays your students had turned in earlier that week. The air was thick with the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and the quiet hum of focused minds. Your students were finishing a timed writing exercise, and you could already tell from the intensity in their eyes that they were giving it their all.

A small smile tugged at the corner of your lips. Your class was doing great this semester. They were engaged, improving their writing skills daily, and, most importantly, they were enjoying the material. You had spent weeks perfecting your lesson plans, making sure they were creative and challenging. But in the back of your mind, there was always one nagging thought.

Matthew.

Your fellow English teacher—and academic rival.

Victoria had been teaching at Somerville High for two years now, and ever since you and Matt had both started in the same semester, a silent, unspoken competition had brewed between you. You both taught sophomore English, and though you never directly confronted each other about it, there was a clear rivalry between you to see who could get the highest test scores, who could make reading Shakespeare fun, and who could inspire their students the most.

It wasn’t that Matt was a bad teacher. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was too good. Charismatic, engaging, and with an ability to make even the most mundane literature seem exciting, he was loved by students and teachers alike. His reputation for getting the highest standardized test scores among his classes wasn’t lost on you either.

But you weren’t about to let him overshadow you.

The bell rang, and your students handed in their essays on the way out. You were just gathering your things when the door to your classroom swung open. Speak of the devil.

“Y/N,” Matt greeted you with a casual smirk, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. “You busy?”

You looked up, narrowing your eyes. “What do you want, Matt?”

“I just thought I’d swing by and see how your class is doing,” he said, his voice smooth. “You know, make sure everything’s running smoothly on this side of the English department.”

You rolled your eyes, picking up the stack of essays. “My class is doing just fine, thank you.”

“Of course they are,” he said, pushing off the doorframe and stepping into the room. He glanced around, taking in your meticulously organized classroom. “I’m sure you’re drilling those essays into them like always.”

You bristled at the jab but kept your tone light. “Maybe, but at least my students know how to structure an argument properly. I’ve heard yours are still struggling with thesis statements.”

Matt chuckled, clearly not offended. “Oh, they’ve got it down. But I prefer to focus on more… Creative approaches to writing. You know, things that get students to think outside the box.”

“Right,” you said, leaning back against your desk. “And that’s why your students are always scrambling the day before exams, right?”

He shot you a look, but his smile never wavered. “Hey, it works for them.”

You had this same back-and-forth at least once a week. It wasn’t mean-spirited, but there was definitely an underlying tension in your conversations. And today, you were determined to win this round.

“Speaking of exams,” you said casually, “did you see the test scores from last week’s assessment?”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “I did. Pretty solid across the board. How about yours?”

You grinned. “Best in the department.”

For the first time, Matt’s smirk faltered just slightly, and it was all the satisfaction you needed.

“Congrats,” he said, a little less cocky now. “Guess I’ll have to step up my game.”

“Guess so,” you said sweetly.

He crossed his arms, clearly not ready to back down entirely. “Well, if we’re being competitive, how about we up the stakes?”

You eyed him warily. “What kind of stakes?”

“An end-of-year competition,” he suggested, leaning against one of the student desks. “Your class versus mine. Whoever gets the highest overall grade average wins.”

You raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly does the winner get?”

Matt thought for a moment, then his grin returned. “Bragging rights. For the whole summer. And…” he paused for dramatic effect, “the loser has to buy the winner coffee every morning for a week.”

You crossed your arms, biting your lip as you considered the offer. It was a ridiculous bet, but there was something thrilling about it. And if you were being honest with yourself, you liked the competition with Matt. It kept you on your toes, made you push yourself harder. Plus, the thought of beating him, once and for all, was too tempting to resist.

“Deal,” you said, stepping forward and offering your hand.

Matt’s smile widened as he took it. “Deal.”

The rest of the semester flew by, and true to your word, both you and Matt ramped up your efforts to make your classes the best they could be. You spent countless hours refining your lesson plans, coming up with creative writing prompts, and working one-on-one with students who needed extra help. You weren’t just teaching to win the bet—you genuinely cared about your students’ success—but knowing that you had a competition with Matt made you push even harder.

On the other side of the hallway, Matt was doing the same. He organized debate competitions, hosted creative writing workshops, and even incorporated poetry slams into his curriculum. His students adored him, and he had a way of making literature come alive in a way that was different from your more structured approach.

By the time the end of the year rolled around, both teachers were anxiously awaiting the results. Final grades were submitted, and the last week of classes was a blur of goodbyes and final projects.

You were standing in the teacher’s lounge, tapping your foot impatiently as you waited for the principal to post the final grade averages. Matt stood beside you, leaning casually against the wall, looking far too relaxed for your liking.

“Nervous?” he asked, glancing over at you.

“Not at all,” you lied, crossing your arms. “Just ready to win.”

Matt chuckled. “We’ll see about that.”

The principal finally walked in, holding the final grade reports. She posted the averages for each class on the board, and you felt your heart race as you scanned the numbers. Your class had done incredibly well, but so had Matt’s.

It was close. Really close.

In the end, Matt’s class edged yours out by a mere half a percentage point.

You let out a frustrated sigh, crossing your arms as Matt grinned triumphantly beside you.

“Looks like I’ll be expecting that coffee next week,” he said, his tone dripping with smugness.

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help the small smile tugging at your lips. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t let it go to your head.”

Matt chuckled, stepping closer, his voice softening just a little. “You know, this whole rivalry thing—it’s fun.”

You glanced up at him, your heart doing an unexpected little flip. “Yeah. It is.”

For a moment, you stood there, the usual tension between you shifting into something else—something that felt less like competition and more like connection.

“So, what’s next?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

Matt grinned. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

And as you walked away, you couldn’t help but wonder if this competition of yours was just beginning—only now, the stakes felt a little higher.

tag list: @stuwniolo, @sturnobsessedwh0re, @matts-myloverboy, @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut, @lizzymacdonald06, @asherrisrandom

[fizzigigsimmer]

Ahem.

Imagine Billy’s first spring show at the academy being Frankenstein. He and Steve are still in their rival stage and Steve is gloating because he got the part of Victor, who is technically the lead. Billy’s pissed because they were both good but he thinks he did better at his audition. No he doesn’t think it, he knows it.

This is total bullshit and obvious favoritism. He wants to just pack his bags and walk out, only he hasn’t hated the last couple of months the way he thought he would. His classes are challenging and it’s been nice not having to hide his books or pretend like he doesn’t give a shit about his grades without his dad looming over him. And fuck, yeah, he’ll admit it, he’s not sure if he’s ready to give up dancing again.

Being able to practice every day with Argyle & Eddie who almost feel like friends now, learning from teachers who really know their stuff and who can push him to be better - he’s not ready to walk away from it. Which burns. Because he doesn’t want to need this place more than he wants it; and that’s what drives him into Mrs. Harrington’s office, calling her out for her Nepo Casting. He all but dares her to admit that he was better and therefore should have gotten the part as Victor.

He’s speechless when she agrees with him - about the audition. Not about the part.

“I don’t need to tell you you’re good Billy. You already know it. You’ve scored the highest on every exam this term.”

“So then why -”

“Because this is a school, Billy, and while some competition between students is to be expected you shouldn’t mistake this for one. This place is meant to prepare you for the world first, but more specifically to teach you to be an artist within it. Our job as your teachers is not to hand out parts based on how you score on a sheet, but on how you might grow. I gave you that role because you bring something to it that few of your fellow students can, and I believe there is much you can learn from it. Likewise, the part of Victor will challenge Steve technically as well as mentally. When I approved the curriculum for this term I’ll admit I wasn’t confident that reading the novel in English would sufficiently teach him anything about the pitfalls of pride and hubris -”

Billy snorts. Because if Harrington manages to write a thoughtful essay on Frankenstein’s themes without Wheeler spoon feeding it to him he’ll eat his hat. Mrs. Harrington’s eyes dance like she read his mind and shrugs.

“I was never much of a reader either. Dance has always spoken to me in a language that is easier to understand.” She smiles at him, tenderly, with that same look in her eye that Billy’s mom always had when she talked about dance. It’s a look he sees every day now reflected in the eyes of so many almost friends. Still. It’s not fair. Steve gets the lead because he’s an arrogant prick and mommy hopes playing out the demise of another stuck up asshole will teach him to play nice with the other kids, and Billy just has to take it?

“It’s not fair.” he challenges, and Mrs. H. sighs a little, her smile fading as her expression settles into something more serious. Final.

“You did very well Billy. But no. Victor is not the role you should have.” She says, closing the door on any further argument with one of her direct unblinking stares. “I’m confident you’ll do very well as the creature, and that the rest of this term will be an education for you.”

She doesn’t say as much but Billy doesn’t need anyone to tell him the conversation is over. For better or for worse he’s Frankinstien’s creature and he’s going to have to put up with Steve, Tommy and Jason giving him shit until the show is over. As he leaves the madame’s office he vows to himself then and there that he’s going to outshine Steve on that stage and make him eat every word. Victor isn’t even the true protagonist of that story anyway, and Billy’s going to show them all why.

[ekkoh]

15 Questions and 15 Mutuals

literally LOSING MY MIND that i was tagged in this 😭 thank you @outer-edges

Were you named after anyone?

no, but my older brother told me i was named after a vacuum cleaner brand and i believed that for a couple years. 💀

When was the last time you cried?

today!! i cried over the end of nimona. one thing you should know about me is that children’s animated movies are constantly destroying me. (see: puss in boots 2, both spiderverse movies, the sea beast, fantastic mr. fox, i can keep going—)

Do you have kids?

nope! no nieces or nephews either. idk what i’m gonna do when i become an aunt bc i don’t know how to talk to kids. 😭 i feel like kristen stewart in that snl duolingo for kids sketch.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

not online but i feel like A LOT in person. maybe too much.

What's the first thing you notice about people?

this is weird but… hair color? where i live, natural brunettes are dwindling because everyone’s dying their hair blonde. 😭 whenever i meet a natural brunette in the wild i always feel an instant kinship. we are bonded for life. we can never dye our hair.

What's your eye color?

blue!! i’m irrationally proud of it because my entire family has brown eyes. i’m cool. i’m ~different.~

Scary movies or happy endings?

HAPPY ENDINGS!!!! this is because i don’t watch scary movies, ever. any movie that is slightly “scary” is off-limits bc i am a huge coward. i can’t even watch the nightmare before christmas.💀

Any special talents?

i’m really good at hitting all the best rides at disneyland without waiting in lines longer than 15 minutes. it’s an art form that i’ve mastered.

Where were you born?

CALIFORNIA!!!! (california gurls we’re unforgettable)

What are your hobbies?

i love creating incredibly specific playlists for incredibly specific emotions. i collect pins!! one of my prized possessions is a limited edition tangled pin. i also like to write fic, although real ones know i only write it in my head because i’m always disappointed by my skill when i actually type it out. 💀

Have any pets?

an orange cat named winston! not from new girl, i just thought it was a cute name. he is my light and my life, and yes, he is dumb.

What sports did you play/have you played?

i did jazz and hip-hop as a kid, i was a cheerleader (backspot) for one year lol, and i played volleyball (middle) for two years. i sucked at everything. i’m not athletic. 😭😭

How tall are you?

my government height is 5’6.5” but i like to tell people 5’7” because it’s a neater number. 💀 my height is actually one thing about me that i love. i’m on the tall side but not super tall, y’know? great for concerts. i can see the stage but i’m not feeling guilty bc i don’t block other people’s views.

Favorite subject in school?

ENGLISH NATION RISE UP!! i was the kind of girl that everyone hated in english class bc i was always commenting in discussions. also, not to brag (i’m bragging) but i always got the highest scores on essays.

Dream job?

this sounds stupid bc i literally worked at a dinosaur museum and then quit because it sucked but. i want to be a museum tour guide because i love teaching people about things i’m obsessed with. not a dinosaur guide though. i hate dinosaurs. (sorry to the dinosaur kids)

no pressure tag @sotvtaughtmehowtofeel (if you’ve already done this i am so sorry don’t look at me i would be so embarrassed)

[guessimabasicnerdgirlnow]

English class in high school was wild

I had English lessons since kindergarten in my first school, but then it closed and I went to a school that only had English classes in middle school. I studied with a bunch of rich kids that had private lessons, though, so everyone knew everything we were learning about, and most of tests were just filling in the blanks with the verb in the right tense, so I memorized all the irregular verbs and I did fine, despite having no idea what any of that actually meant

Then in high school I went to a different school in which you could choose between English and Spanish. Spanish started from zero, while English had different levels and you did a test to figure out what level you were. If you scored below the minimum level for your grade, you had to take Spanish instead

I remember I was terrified. And also in this new school you actually had to write short essays in English and speak only in English the whole class, or so they said, which were both things I had never done before

(I chose English instead of Spanish because Spanish would be completely new to me, and I’m told it’s harder)

But something magical happened. In the long vacations before high school started, I got into a video game. Like most games at the time, it was only available in English. But I needed to play it, and then I needed to watch and read the additional material, and I later got a tumblr account and started roleplaying and later reading fanfic. I ended up being placed on the highest level, with mostly other kids that either had private lessons or like me played a lot of video game (and there was even one kid that had lived abroad!)

The teachers we had in the two first years were incredibly chill and lessons went fast because most of us (including me, somehow) already knew the subject, and we had a lot of free time. So we watched movies. A bunch of movies. Musicals, romcoms, horror, you name it. And though we were watching them to “practice English”, we often used ptbr subs. We watched The Runaways, about a 70s band and full of drugs and lesbians, in a military school lol (the teacher rightfully skipped the sex scene)

Third year was all about standardized tests. Everyone of all levels joined in one class and the teacher was like “so, you still don’t know any English. Here are some tricks to pretend you do.”

I also joined the English drama club, which isn’t as cool as the drama clubs in the US I see on tv (or in the musical fandom), but it was lovely even so. I wanted to practice speaking, and I did, though I am still bad at pronouncing words

I did get a toefl certificate when I studied abroad (it was in Japan but my classes were in English). Usually people take at least some time of private lessons for it, but the teacher there evaluated me and said I was ready for the actual test. All thanks to video game (and the teachers I had in school all my life, of course, but I didn’t really care to put enough effort to actually learn before the video game, and the rps, and the fics… not to mention the rps and just talking to people made me write and having to write and speak seems to be the best way to learn a language. It’s very hard for a class to give me the same sense of “I have to use this to communicate” when my teachers and classmates all speak my language) (also, to be fair, I just wanted to go to Japan in the first place because of that video game. The same game is the reason I chose my current occupation. I am autistic after all)

[keanureevesisbae]

Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat - Epilogue

Summary: Veterinarian Olivia Tran has zero time for bullshit. After becoming a mom at age twenty three, the one thing she wants is a good life for her daughter Vanessa. Her ex didn’t want anything to do with her nor the baby and she decided that man are officially banned out of her life. But then she meets Henry Cavill at her clinic and her ban slowly starts to crumble apart. Henry on the other hand is looking for one thing: a family. And when he meets Olivia Tran, he finds just that.

Henry Cavill x Olivia Tran (ofc)

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 4.1k

A/N: This will be Vanessa’s pov

Masterlist // Previous chapter //

9 years later

Name: Vanessa Tran-Cavill

Subject: English

Teacher: Mrs. Allen

Grade: 100/100 — Vanessa, you are such a talented writer. You raised the bar for every other essay I’m going to read in my entire career left as an English teacher. You have such a wonderful role model in your life. Please cherish your family for the rest of your life!

The one who taught me everything - an essay about Olivia Tran-Cavill, the greatest inspiration for me.

I was raised by the toughest woman alive. I know that a lot of kids say that about their mom, but allow me to explain why Olivia Tran-Cavill is the toughest woman I know in my life.

Her boyfriend left her when she told him she was pregnant with me, her own family (meaning her parents and her two brothers) practically disowned her, and on top of that she just started a job as a freshly minted veterinarian.

If I were in her shoes, I’d be terrified, struck by multiple breakdowns on a daily basis, but not my mom. She raised me all by herself, barely having a break or a moment of her own. I was her number one priority. She told me to be kind, to be honest and polite: personality traits that provide me with the best today and for all the days to come in the future.

There was only one thing that I desperately wanted and that was a family. I wanted a dad like the kids in my class. I wanted grandparents. I wanted aunts and uncles. I wanted to have little siblings, because I knew that I would be a great big sister.

Unfortunately that wasn’t in the stars for me and my mom told me that. It takes a brave woman to say to her young child: ‘Your real dad doesn’t want you. Your grandparents kicked me out the second they found out I was pregnant with you. Your uncles never spoke to me again.’

It hurt obviously. There were people walking around here that shared DNA with me, that were family, but they made it pretty clear that they didn’t want me nor my mother. To this day they still haven’t reached out and they honestly don’t know what they are missing out on. At least, that is what my mom always tells me.

But my mom always told me that family wasn’t all about sharing DNA, it was about finding people that you want in your life. You can choose who your family is.

Despite that wonderful piece of advice that I definitely took to heart, I continued to make her a drawing every single day. My mom and I inside our house and outside there is a man with a dog, waiting to be allowed into our life.

Waiting to become a dad.

My dad.

One day my mom was on call and had to go to the clinic at night. She took me with her and that’s the day we met Henry and his dog Kal. Little did we all know that at that exact moment, our lives drastically changed.

Henry was more of a dad in the first hour that I had met him, then my real dad was in my entire life. For the first time in life, I had a dad figure. A man who cared not only about me, but also about my mom.

Being with Henry never drastically changed my mom. She was still the bad ass mom I always had, but it did softened her up. It made her relaxed. Henry gave her what she deserved all those years of raising me by herself. Letting someone take care of her too. There is only so much a six year old could give back to a powerhouse like her mom, but there is so much more a man like Henry Cavill can give her.

He provided us with a family. A grandma, a granddad and four lovely uncles.

And for that I have to thank my mom. She allowed Henry into her life, thus into my life and gave us six amazing Cavill family members, who cared about us and loved us up to this day.

Now, I admire her every single day. The way she takes care of not only me, but also my three sisters, is something I feel like I can never live up to. Whenever some of us walk into the room, her face lights up and she drops everything to give us her full attention.

And for that I am so incredibly thankful. She taught me so much. How to love, how to catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and she taught me that it is okay to be scared, but that it should never stop you from pursuing what you want to achieve.

I know my mom was scared when she got pregnant and was dropped by all the people she thought she could trust and rely on, but it never stopped her from pursuing what she wanted: to be a great mother and an excellent veterinarian. Knowing that, I’m going to try to be the best version of myself, though I know damn well that I can never be as amazing as her.

For me, my mom is the most influential person in my life and I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world.

≫≫≪≪

With my freshly graded essay, I walk towards my locker. This is such a great way to end the week. I worked my ass off on this essay and the fact that mrs. Allen gave me the full hundred out of hundred points is unbelievable. She never gives people higher than ninety points probably. I feel like I’m the first student in her entire career to score the highest grade possible.

‘There she is.’ I look up to see Trey walking up to me, already undoing his tie. He always tells me that he hates that thing with a passion and while I suggest he uses a clip on tie (like half the school does), he keeps on wearing the regular one. I think it’s so he can continue to bitch about it. ‘You’re going to Jimmy’s party tonight, right?’

I shake my head. ‘I’m sorry, Trey, I can’t. I have plans with my family.’

‘The entire family?’ he asks, as he leans against the row of lockers besides mine.

‘Yes, the entire family.’

‘And there is absolutely no change at all that you can ditch them?’

I can’t stop my chuckle. Usually I go out on Friday, especially if Trey invites me, but right now I really can’t go. ‘It’s important,’ I say to him. I see him fake pouting, causing me to roll my eyes. ‘Come on, don’t pout. Jimmy has parties every two weeks. I’ll be at the next one.’

Trey grins. ‘I’ll hold you to that, V. Tell your mom I said hi and also say that to your dad, because I’m afraid he’ll kick my ass next time he sees me. Oh, and say hi to your sisters, will you?’

A few weeks ago Trey came over to my place, because we were going to do algebra homework together (and because we wanted to spend time together). Dad was ready to embarrass the shit out of me (I think he has been waiting for this moment since he adopted me to be honest—he seemed to well prepared), but mom swooped right in and Trey felt instantly at ease. Ever since then, he asks me how she is doing when I see him at school.

I know it’s tough for Trey. He wasn’t raised with a mother, since she passed away during his birth, but her three brothers raised him. He loves them dearly and because of that, he can handle my dad’s antics just fine. However it’s nice for him to have a motherly figure in his life, since his uncles never dated (they would get along well with my uncles) and my mom is the right person for that.

After that algebra homework moment we had, he has been coming over a lot more often and just a few days ago, I saw him giving my mom a hug. When I asked her about it, she told me that he always likes it when he is here and it turns out, that he told her all about growing up with only his uncles and how she feels like a mom figure to him. I like how he is welcomed into my family. My sisters are absolutely smitten with him and they love it when I bring him over, since they wished I was a boy, so they could have a brother.

It’s always nice to know that your sisters love you for who you are.

‘You know, you can come over too,’ I say, not wanting Trey to leave. ‘If you want to of course.’

‘Are you sure?’ he asks, but he already has a telling smile on his face. ‘I just don’t want to intrude an important event.’

‘You won’t,’ I laugh. ‘It’s been ten years since my dad officially adopted me. We’re going to celebrate at my grandparents’ place. My uncles will be there, my aunt, nephews and my sisters.’

Trey smiles. ‘Well, if you invite me.’

I close my locker and say: ‘We are going to celebrate this whole weekend, but you can only stay today if you want to, so you won’t miss Jimmy’s party.’

‘I don’t really care about Jimmy’s party,’ Trey admits. ‘I only wanted to spend time with you.’

It’s obvious that we have a crush on each other, it’s just that I’m afraid of committing. He doesn’t seem to mind though, that pull my hand back when he wants to hold it and that we haven’t kissed, though we’ve been on a few dates.

‘So,’ Trey says as we walk out of the school, ‘your dad adopted you ten years ago.’

I nod. ‘Yeah, he made me an official Cavill from that day. If I’m being completely honest, I never thought I’d have a dad. I always thought that it was going to be me, my mom and my pleads for a dad. For such a long time I thought it was enough, though deep down I wanted a dad, but sometimes it’s just not meant for everyone, right?’

Trey nods. ‘Right.’

‘I still remember the day we met him and Kal,’ I say. ‘And I just knew that I wanted that man as my father. I was six and though I need saw my mom with a man, I just knew that they were meant for each other, you know. We were standing around the examination table, because Kal was sick and I thought to myself that this was the man that not only I wanted in my life, but my mom needed as well.’

Trey’s fingers brush against mine and I hold onto his hand, for the first time in the weeks that we are circling around each other.

I think back to the times where it was just my mom and I. She was so strong for all those years of raising me, telling me the painful truth about my biological dad, my grandparents and uncles from her side of the family, arranging all different sorts of shifts at the animal clinic and bringing me to work when necessary.

I admire my mother and the way she carefully picked out a man that was worthy of becoming my dad, of adopting me and giving me his last name. I had been Vanessa Tran for so many years, but becoming Vanessa Tran-Cavill, had been such a blessing and for the first time in seven years, I had a dad, someone who cared about me.

Someone who loved me.

And right now, I have seen how much he loved my mom, me and my sisters. I admired the way dad took care of us, while still having an acting career. He played in seven movies since I met him and five of those were being filmed here in the UK, since he didn’t want to leave us for too long.

He posts about us on Instagram sometimes, but always disables the comments. A lot of people know that I’m his daughter, but they mostly find out when we’ve known each other for a while.

Trey and I get out of the bus, but I stop him, before we walk off to my grandparents’ house. ‘I just want to prepare you. I have four nosey uncles and a granddad who just starts to talk, not knowing when to stop.’

‘It’s nothing I can’t handle,’ he laughs. ‘Remember, I grew up with three uncles and their friends. This will be peanuts.’

I smile. ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ I squeeze his hand. ‘Trey, before we go into the backyard, I have to admit something.’

‘I like you too,’ he says. ‘And I don’t mind taking it slow.’

My eyes widen. ‘How did you know I was going to say that?’

‘You’re predictable, Tran.’ Trey smiles and I roll my eyes. ‘It’s honestly no big deal. I really like you and your family and though I feel comfortable enough to go at my pace, I don’t want to force you into stuff.’ He gives me a squeeze back in my hand. ‘Your pace and no one else’s.’ He pulls me to him and wraps me up in a tight hug. I feel his chin on top of my head and I let out a sigh, before I close my eyes, nuzzling my face in his chest. This feels nice, I could get used to this.

I pull back a little, to carefully press a kiss on his jaw. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ I say, pulling him with me to the gate at the back of the yard. Together we walk into the backyard and I see everyone is already there. Uncles Piers, Niki and Charlie are standing near the barbecue, as my nine year old sister Elodie is poking Charlie in his sides. Belle has wrapped her arms around uncle Simon’s neck, giving him tons of kisses. Belle’s two year old son Hugh is trying to kick the ball, but he misses and falls flat on his bum. He waddles over to Belle, who is currently expecting another boy in four months.

My five year old sisters Chloe and Heather are the first to notice me. ‘Vanessa!’ they scream in unison, rushing towards me and wrapping their arms around my waist. ‘We missed you.’

‘I missed you guys too,’ I chuckle.

‘And you brought Trey!’ Chloe notices, jumping in his arms. ‘You are staying here for the barbecue?’

‘Of course,’ Trey says with a smile. ‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world, munchkin.’

Everyone looks up and gives me hugs and introduce themselves to Trey if they haven’t met him already. Grandpa Colin gives me a big hug and slips fifty pounds not only in my hand, but also in Trey’s hand. ‘So you can take her out on a date, young man,’ he tells Trey.

When we walk over to my parents, Trey says: ‘Damn, I get fifty pounds for showing up here. Should I tell your grandad when my birthday is?’

‘Don’t,’ I say sternly, pinching his side.

Kal licks my hand and I scratch him on top of his head. He is not fat anymore (as if my mother would allow that). He is also not as active as he used to be when I met him, but he is still the most loyal and biggest sweetheart in the world, always taking care of me and my sisters.

My mom holds out her arms and Trey doesn’t hesitate for a minute to be engulfed in her arms. Dad wraps his arms around my waist and bumps his nose against my cheek. Elodie, Chloe and Heather often wonder why we do that, but it’s our thing and it’ll always be our thing. ‘There you are, sunshine,’ he says.

‘It’s a special day today,’ I say. ‘You have any regrets?’

He scoffs. ‘Are you kidding me? As if I could have regrets.’

‘You still have the receipt?’

He laughs. ‘Like I would ever use that.’ He gives me a kiss on my cheek and says: ‘You brought your boyfriend with you, I see.’

Normally I’d protest against his antics, but now… I actually don’t mind. I quite like it actually. I like the idea of Trey being my boyfriend. ‘Well, yeah.’

Dad gives me a big kiss, before he places me on my feet again. Trey wipes his hands clean on his jeans, before he extends his hand to my dad. I don’t quite know what happens after that, because mom pulls me into a hug. Though I’m seventeen now and my mom is reaching the forty already, she barely aged.

It’s admirable, really. After she gave birth to Elodie and she lost that much blood, it was the scariest experience in my life. I thought, with the way everyone was looking at each other when dad called, my mom would die. It took her six months to recover and I helped out the best I could, but I knew that asking for another sibling too soon, wouldn’t help. Four years after she had Elodie, she became pregnant with twins and after that she did not want more kids. Ideally she wanted three, I remember her saying that to dad, but now she had four and though she loved it, it was enough.

‘How was school?’ mom asks.

‘It was great. I got my English essay back.’

‘Oh really? How did you do?’

‘I’ll tell you in a minute.’

Mom tilts her head when she looks at Henry and Trey, who seem to hit it off actually. ‘You chose a good one,’ she tells me. ‘So proud of you, sweetheart.’ Mom wraps her arm around my waist and gives me a kiss. ‘Oh no, mom!’ she yells to grandma Marianne. ‘Wait, don’t carry everything.’ Mom rushes off to the kitchen and I can’t hide my smile.

I’m happy that all these people are my family. From the looks of Trey, he actually is a bit nervous. I walk up to him and my dad and wrap my arm around his hips. He is tense, but wraps his arm around my shoulders. ‘You’re not bugging him, are you, dad?’

‘No, of course not,’ he says, but I cock my eyebrow, causing him to say: ‘Just asking him what he will do with that fifty pound your grandpa gave him.’

Of course my dad noticed that.

He excuses himself, walking up to the barbecue, lifting up Elodie in the process. I look up at Trey and I ask: ‘I thought you said this would be peanuts?’

‘It will be peanuts,’ he tells me. ‘Just have to warm up a bit.’ He smiles, pearly white teeth framed by his full lips. ‘This definitely helps.’

‘Okay, love birds,’ uncle Niki yells, ‘come on. We’re getting ready to eat.’

I feel a blush creep up on my cheeks, but despite that, I still chuckle. He laces his fingers through mine, as we walk to the big table in the backyard under the parasol. ‘I just want to say one thing,’ grandma Marianne says, ‘and that is that I want to thank my son for overfeeding his dog, so he met the greatest veterinarian of all times, who—together with her oldest daughter—brought so much joy and happiness into the family.’

‘Mom, it has been ten years!’ dad says. ‘Please, let it go. I’m not overfeeding Kal anymore.’

It has been an ongoing joke, every time my dad gives Kal a little snack, at least one of the entire Cavill Clan says something along the lines of that we have to hide the other snacks.

‘But anyways,’ grandma says, ‘I am so happy that now we are this big and happy family. It’s all I really wanted.’

Everyone takes a deep breath, because we all realize that it could’ve gone so differently. I clear my throat and say: ‘I got my English essay back and got myself a hundred out of a hundred points.’

‘Shut up!’ uncle Piers says. ‘You got a perfect score? When was the last time something like that happened with us?’

‘None of you boys ever got a perfect score,’ grandpa Colin says. He sometimes can’t remember how to use the remote, what my sisters or my name is, but this he knows.

‘Anyways,’ I say, ‘it does have something to do with what happened ten years ago. I mean, becoming officially a Cavill has been the greatest thing ever. I watched my life do a complete one eighty and though I have to thank my dad for that, there is one woman who absolutely changed my life and is such a wonderful role model for not only me, but also my sisters, that I decided to write my essay about my mom.’

Mom’s eyes widen, before she scrunches up her nose. ‘Why?’

This is such a typical reaction from her, so I cannot stop my laugh. ‘Because mom, you are amazing. Everything that I have, started with you. Everything I understand, I do, I think about, is because of the way you took care of me and raised me. I know that I tell you this a lot, but mom, I love you so so much and everything you did for me, it’s so admirable. I owe so much to you.’

Mom clears her throat. ‘Oh sweetie,’ she mumbles. ‘You don’t owe me anything.’

‘You did so well, mom,’ I whisper. ‘I’m so lucky to have been raised by you.’

She grabs my hand and gives me a loving squeeze. ‘Sweetheart, could you come with me for a second?’

The two of us walk inside of the house, as we hear conversation strike up behind us. The second we are out of sight, she wraps her arms around me. This is what she always does, not wanting to cry in front of the other Cavills, always going to a secluded place. ‘I love you, Vanessa,’ she whispers. ‘I think I’ve done a pretty good job with you.’

I can’t help but laugh. ‘You did an excellent job, mom. You are honestly the biggest power house I’ve ever met.’

‘Could you imagine what would’ve happened if Belle was able to baby sit you?’ mom asks. ‘Because you, my love, charmed yourself a way into your father’s heart.’

I chuckle. ‘I kinda did, didn’t I?’

Mom smiles, as she holds tightly onto my hands. ‘I know you always thank me for giving you the family you always wanted, but remember: if you weren’t so instantly in love with your dad, I don’t know if I had given it a shot to be honest.’

That is such a weird thought, I think to myself. I always stop myself when I want to think about the ‘what ifs’ and my entire family never really brought it up. Maybe when I was younger, but never with me. But what if indeed I were to stay over at Belle’s place, I would’ve never known that Henry was there probably. Imagine the life that we would’ve had. Maybe I had given my biological father Wesley a chance and then I didn’t have my three wonderful sisters.

‘What are you two doing here? Poor Trey is being questioned by Niki, Charlie and grandpa and the old man is not holding back.’ My dad walks in and though he has reached the ripe age of forty eight, he is still the tall and bulked up man that I met in the examination room. He is still the man that loved me like I was his own.

‘Just thanking my daughter for being such a lovely girl, who charmed her way into your heart.’

‘Oh, you sure did,’ dad says with a smile. ‘My lovely sunshine, I love you so much and I can’t believe it’s been more than ten years since I met you and your mom.’ He wraps his arms around us and says: ‘Though I still feel the fear of Kal vomiting on the carpet with blood, I am so grateful that you picked up and the other clinics didn’t.’ He presses a kiss on my mom’s forehead.

‘Dad, when did you realize you were in love with mom?’

‘Well, I told myself that I shouldn’t have a crush on someone that I barely knew,’ dad says, ‘but I can tell you that deep down in my heart I knew that this beautiful woman stole my heart the second she said the seven words that I’ll never forget. Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat.’

≫≫≪≪

Bonus instagram posts:

Elodie and Vanessa

Elodie with Olivia

Pregnant with twins!

Pre teen Vanessa showing Henry that he is an actual boomer

Chloe and Heather

Vanessa as a teenager

Elodie as a teenager

Chloe and Heather as teenagers

A/N: soooo this is the end of this wonderful story, though I wish this would go on forever. Thank you so much to all the people who have been reading this, leaving lovely comments. Thanks to this story I gained so many new followers. I never expected it to blow up like this haha. Not to self promote but will do anyway, but please check out my other works if you haven’t already (and if you want to of course, I’m not going to force you to read my other fics) and of course I’ll be back with other fun projects, that I obviously will announce like usual 🤗

[cyberwolfwrites-fanfiction]

a family's bond - chapter one

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/29878746/chapters/73527165)

words: 6630

summary:

"I hate it here," Peter whispered.

"I know," said Harley tiredly. They were curled up on the top bunk of their bunk bed together. They craved genuine physical affection after too many months of being touch-starved or physically hurt—there was no in-between—and being on the top bunk meant that they were harder to reach.

Dan was in his bedroom down the hall snoring off the alcohol. He'd gotten rejected for the promotion he'd been working towards for the past year and he'd drowned his sorrows in a bar somewhere before coming home to take out his frustration on them. He'd been too drunk and uncoordinated to cause any lasting harm—or harm that should have obviously still been there a day later—but the encounter had shaken them, Peter especially.

He'd come from a loving home, but in the matter of minutes both of his remaining family members had bled out in front of him and he'd been tossed in the system. He wasn't used to the harsh cruelties of the world—though he'd gotten a taste of it when he was four and eight, respectively—and it had left him reeling.

"I wish we could just... leave," Peter mumbled.

"Me, too."

Peter's fingers drummed against his desk in boredom as he looked out the window. The skies were clear, as they usually were during late winter in New York, and he boredly watched as a bird jumped across a small tree branch before taking to the skies. His eyes left the bird to linger on the distant skyscrapers of Manhattan. He could just about spot Stark Tower in the distance, and even half-way blocked by other smaller buildings, it still managed to appear tall and imposing.

The Tower had gotten yet another remodel, this time as a result of the Avengers's "civil war" as the media dubbed it half a year ago (though Peter had a feeling it had to do with the incident during Homecoming and Harley agreed with him), and it was once again sporting the Stark name on it instead of the stylized Avengers "A." It now stood as Stark Industries's headquarters, and despite the events that happened the last time he'd visited a major science and tech company, Peter hoped that Mr Harrington somehow scored a field trip there for the Academic Decathlon team.

After all, Mr Harrington had somehow managed to get a field trip to Oscorp, which was only a tier or two below SI.

(If you had asked him two years ago, Peter probably would've said that Oscorp's biochemical engineering and progress on limb regeneration made them equal with Stark Industries’s green energy and neurological prosthesis engineering (though Harley would've disagreed since he was the more techy type of the two), but he kind of changed his mind after the whole got-bit-by-a-spider-and-nearly-died episode. And even though he and Harley became Spider-Man out of it, he was a little bitter. That and the whole Green Goblin fiasco a month or so ago. He and Harley both got pretty hurt in that one…)

The back of Peter's neck buzzed slightly and he caught a glimpse of Harley tossing a small crumbled ball at him. Peter looked up at his foster brother, who nodded subtly in Mrs Warren's direction. As teachers often did, she was looking around to make sure that everyone was doing their classwork. Just as Mrs Warren turned in his and Harley's direction, Peter picked up his pencil and filled in a question on his worksheet. There was a slight prickling on the back of his neck, telling him that Mrs Warren was looking at him, but it faded swiftly after she looked away.

The worksheet was on something that Peter had more than enough knowledge on—pendulums—due to his "job" as Spider-Man. He was out there six times a week (three days a week as well as three nights) and he often did pendulum swings for fun. The worksheet was boring, but Peter continued to fill it in because he knew that Mrs Warren would comment on it otherwise. He, along with Harley, had skipped more than a few classes when they first started out as Spider-Man, and not to mention simply not paying attention in class, and that had led to some trust issues and disappointment amongst their teachers.

After a few more minutes—and a completed worksheet which led to Peter staring at the skyline again—Harley nudged Peter's foot again. When he looked over, Harley tapped on his old watch and Peter glanced up at the clock, letting out a sigh of relief. There were only a few more minutes left of class.

Harley, easily spotting his relief, quirked his lips up in a slight smirk. Peter rolled his eyes. He was bored and wanted to get out of school already, so what? It wasn't as if Harley wasn't itching to get out, as well. He knew as well as anyone that his foster brother would rather be outside (even in the cold) than sitting in a classroom. It was too bad that they weren't even halfway through the school day. Peter had Spanish next class—which wouldn't be too difficult as Aunt May had taught him Italian and Spanish wasn't too far off from it—and then lunch, but there were four more classes after that before school got out for the day.

A minute before class was due to end, Mrs Warren gathered everyone's attention. "Bell's going to ring everyone so whatever you didn't finish is due on Monday," she informed them all. Peter huffed a breath of amusement as more than a few people let out relieved sighs. He knew that this was AP Physics and all, but this stuff was easy.

Though they knew it was coming, both Peter and Harley cringed when the bell rang loudly with a nasally buzzing sound. Where the bell had been an annoyance before his spider bite, it was now almost painful. Their senses were dialled up to eleven and they often got sensory overloads, which they had to work through since they couldn't miss any school, and the bell was one of the highest annoyances there were.

As he started to put away his stuff to leave, Mrs Warren called out, "Peter, Harley, can you two hang back for a few moments?"

Peter hunched in slightly on himself as Flash sniggered on his way out the door. He couldn't help the way his hands trembled slightly. Were he and Harley in trouble? The last time they skipped had been a few weeks ago, they were careful about that now, so she couldn't be worried about their attendances, could she? And they've been on top of their homework ever since they got their patrols levelled out. Where Peter patrolled during the day, Harley patrolled during the night, giving them both ample time to do their homework.

"Yeah, sure," Harley answered Mrs Warren for them both, his southern accent completely gone. Harley had been in the city since he was twelve, he was sixteen now, and he'd had enough time to completely smother any bit of southern drawl he'd had. He'd been bullied for it, Harley had told Peter when he first caught Harley slipping, and so he did his best to hide it.

Doing his best to calm his nerves, Peter shoved his Physics binder into his beaten backpack. He'd lost his older one during patrol and Ned had been kind enough to lend him an old one of his. Peter had gotten into trouble after that since all of his homework, including an English essay, had been in it. There was no reason to be nervous, Peter tried to tell himself. It was just Mrs Warren! She was a good teacher, a fun one, and she was kind enough to not call on him often, not forcing him to speak.

Peter rarely ever spoke freely much these days since his aunt and uncle's murder and the trauma he experienced in foster care, the only people he truly spoke to being Harley or Ned, and sometimes a word here or there for MJ (they were mostly apologies for stupid things). He tended to stay quiet unless he was talking to Harley alone or if he was on patrol; the rest of the time he didn't talk.

It was a common coping mechanism for him, and it wasn't new.

When his parents had died when he was four, Peter had stopped talking. It had taken some (read: a lot) coaxing from May, Ben, and his therapist, and some dance classes, to get him to start speaking again. It had happened again when he was around eight when Skip had—when he'd had Skip as a babysitter and he—well, when Skip was his babysitter. Ned, who'd he'd befriended at the time because he didn't bully him and didn't force him to talk, had been the one to get him to talk that time.

He'd slipped back into the habit when May and Ben died two years ago. His foster homes hadn't cared—in fact, they loved not having a mouthy kid—but some of his teachers hadn't been that accepting. They'd given him some leeway due to his twice-over-orphan-ness, but he'd still needed to do presentations and answer questions. He'd tried but most of the time he just couldn't force the words out. The words got stuck in his throat. It wasn't until he'd met Harley the summer before freshman year did he manage to work up the courage to speak. He still didn't talk that much in public, and he didn't speak much at home, but Harley had managed to break down his walls to the point where he could speak to teachers if needed.

(There was also Spider-Man, but when he was Spider-Man he wasn't Peter, the nerdy orphan, he was a bad-ass crime-fighting hero, and a chatterbox. Spider-Man talked where Peter didn't. That's how it worked and he was comfortable with that.)

Taking a breath to calm himself, and reminding himself that Harley wouldn't leave him, Peter stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Everyone was out of the classroom at this point beside him, Harley, and Mrs Warren, and Peter knew that it was Mrs Warren's break so no one should be coming in for anything. It both relieved him—because if he and Harley had done something wrong and were getting in trouble, then no one would be there to see the epic scolding they were about to get, Peter knew that personally—and worried him—because if they weren't in trouble, then what did Mrs Warren need to talk to them about, and in private, too?

"Are we in trouble?" Harley asked in his usual quiet voice. Mrs Warren looked up with a kind smile that had Peter relaxing marginally.

"No boys, you're not in trouble this time," she said. "I actually wanted to ask for your opinion on something." Peter's brow furrowed and he exchanged a puzzled look with Harley. Mrs Warren pulled open a drawer in her desk and she pulled out a packet of some kind, handing it to Peter who was the closest of the two. He glanced down at it with Harley peering over his shoulder—the jerk had the gall to be taller than him—and blinked stupidly at the logo on the top left of the page.

"Stark Industries?" Harley blurted as Peter stared at the packet in surprise.

Mrs Warren was beaming at them. "Yes," she said. "Stark Industries is holding a competition at their company as a sort of entrance exam for high school interns. Every STEM school in the area received five forms each to pick for a student and I was wondering if you two were interested? You're both very intelligent, and despite the troubles you've had recently," Peter was chagrined at the mention of their recent dip in attendance and their grades, especially paired with Mrs Warren's stern look, "I believe you two have the chance to win the competition together."

"Wait, two?" Harley said, "as in both of us, and together? Is that even allowed? And ma'am, there's only one packet here and you said only five students per school were chosen."

Mrs Warren's answer was to pull out another packet from her desk. "Yes, both of you, Mr Keener. Two people are allowed to team up, and despite the poor attendance and the missing assignments both of you had a few months ago, you both made up the work and you're grades and GPA are some of the highest of your year. And I know for a fact that you two are capable of the work Stark Industries is looking for. I've spoken with your STEM teachers and you two are bored in class. And Mr Hapgood went as far as to show me the projects you two are working on in shop class. Your projects are very intuitive and creative, even your potato gun, Harley."

Peter felt a blush creep up his ears at the praise, it'd been a while since anyone had genuinely complimented him, and Harley grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks, Mrs Warren," Harley said. Peter nodded to show that he felt the same and he ducked his head at Mrs Warren's amused grin.

Peter flipped through his own packet, eyes skimming the information on the contest, before he looked at the last page with the permission form on it. His lips turned down slightly at the edges. They needed a parent's or guardian's permission to enter the competition and Peter wasn't sure if their faster father, Dan, would allow them to participate. They already had to beg him to continue Academic Decathlon a few months ago, and he'd forced them to quit their other extracurriculars (band and robotics club for Peter and the soccer team and robotics for Harley) because of their absences and the steep drop in grades got him in trouble with their social workers. And even if Dan allowed them to participate, there was no way that they would be able to afford materials to even create something of their own.

Harley must've been thinking the same thing because he asked, "Do we have to buy the materials ourselves?"

Mrs Warren, who knew their home situations and that they couldn't afford brand new, expensive materials like the rest of their classmates, nodded sympathetically. "I'm afraid that the school won't be able to provide either of you with materials because then the school would have to be able to provide every student participating with materials, and the school doesn't have enough funds to cover everyone's projects and provide the materials used in our tech classes. However, students will be allowed to use the workshop's tools and anything bought in bulk—like wiring or screws, for example—and the computer labs for coding."

That was better than nothing, Peter thought. Harley's lips thinned, Peter was sure he was thinking on the glass half empty side rather than the glass half full, and he nodded.

"Now, you two don't have to say yes right away," said Mrs Warren. "Take some time, talk amongst yourselves, talk with your foster parents, figure things out. The competition is in a little more than a month—not long, I know, but a part of SI's competition is making a fully working project in a limited space of time—but knowing you two, you should have enough time to whip something up. I do need an answer by the end of next week, though, okay?" They both nodded. "Good, now let me get you two some passes so you can get to class."

Mrs Warren swiftly filled out some hall passes for them and they were on their way.

Peter and Harley walked slowly down the hall, both preoccupied with their own thoughts. Peter flipped back to the front of the packed he'd been given and he read the information a little slower. Just like Mrs Warren said, the competition was for high school students at STEM schools, and that specialists and other people at SI would more or less be grading their project—their idea, presentation, and how well executed the idea was—for a chance to become an intern at the company. There was also a bit about how SI would sponsor and-or donate to the schools where the interns were chosen from, which was intimidating to think about because that meant that Mrs Warren thought they were worth representing the whole of Midtown to Stark Industries for future interns to be chosen from. He swiftly shelved that thought and read the rest of the paper. Oh! The internship was paid, too. That was nice and would help a lot. Still, he came back to the same thought earlier.

"Do you think Dan will let us compete?" he murmured. He didn't bother speaking at a normal level; Harley had the same enhanced senses he had, which meant that he'd be able to hear him whisper from all the way across the school.

Harley frowned at his own packet. "I honestly don't know," he said. "Dan hasn't been stressed lately and we've been careful to keep our grades up so he hasn't gotten any more worrying calls from the social workers. I'm more worried about the fact that we won't be able to buy anything brand new. I know we've got some money saved up from helping around the neighbourhood and our part-time jobs, but we're saving that for stuff we need like extra food and first aid supplies."

"Dumpster diving, then?" Peter suggested quietly. "Not like we haven't done it before."

Harley snorted. Almost everything they owned (or created) was thrifted or pulled from dumpsters. Their laptops, their phones, an old tablet that they'd neglected because they've been so busy making up work and doing homework and patrolling, and even some clothes. Even their webshooters were made from stuff out of dumpsters, their wires coming from broken DVD players and various other parts coming from lighters and other trash that they'd found.

"Look at the schools competing," Harley pointed out, gesturing to a section on the form. "These are all schools, most of them being private schools, where a lot of rich kids go to. Hell, this is a school for rich kids and the only reason we got in was because of that entrance exam we took and they made a special case because we both got the highest grades and we're orphans. Everyone competing will have the money for expensive parts and we'll be entering with literal trash."

"Doesn't matter anyway," Peter muttered, shoulders slumping. "Not like Dan'll let us compete."

Harley whirled around in front of him, stopping him in place by clasping both hands on his shoulders. Instead of flinching away from the movement, Peter leaned into the steady hands of his foster brother. He and Harley had been together for a year and a half, they'd been in similar shitty situations, and they felt like they were brothers in all but name and blood.

"Chin up, Parker," Harley said reassuringly, tipping Peter's head up with a slight nudge to his chin. "We've been good little boys and Dan doesn't have to know that materials won't be provided. Quindi smettila di preoccuparti, capisci?"

Peter smiled slightly at the casual use of Italian. He'd grown up speaking it with Aunt May and it was a way to remind him of her. Harley had overheard him speaking to himself in it while doing homework not long after they met and he had all but demanded that Peter teach him it. Peter, after a little prodding, had agreed to do so. He surprisingly loved teaching Harley how to speak his aunt's native tongue; there wasn't much to do in a small apartment and pointing out the names of everyday things to Harley got his mind off of things. Harley had slowly but surely picked up the language, probably out of boredom and daily use, and he often spoke to Peter in it. He wasn't completely fluent in it yet, especially since Peter's lessons faded when their workload picked up, but he'd no doubt realized that Peter calmed when he heard the language.

"Si, I understand," Peter murmured. Harley clapped him on the shoulder before steering Peter in the direction of his next class and Peter said, "Ci vediamo a pranzo con Ned e MJ."

It only took a second or two for Harley to translate and he smiled. "Yeah, see you at lunch," he confirmed. He saluted Peter before spinning on his heel and heading back down the hall to his class.

Just as Harley rounded the corner, someone from behind him said, "Señor Parker, as much as I admire your ability to speak Italian, this is Spanish and you're late." Peter jumped slightly and spun to face his Spanish teacher.

"Lo siento, Señor," Peter apologised quietly, easily switching from Italian and English to Spanish. "I got held up in Physics."

Señor Mendez merely raised a brow, took his hall pass, and waved him to his seat. With his enhanced hearing, Peter could hear Harley snickering to himself at Señor Mendez's comment.

***

"You're so mean," Peter huffed as he plopped down next to Harley, his lunch tray clattering against the table. Harley merely smirked at him, easily knowing what he was talking about.

"What'd he do?" Ned asked.

"He got caught speaking Italian with me in the halls when he was supposed to be in Spanish," Harley told him.

"You two didn't try to skip again, did you?" MJ said from a few seats away from them, looking up from her book, which was on the Black Dahlia murder. Harley scoffed in offence.

"No," he huffed. "We got held back in Physics. Mrs Warren wanted to talk to us about something."

"What for? You guys didn't get in trouble, did you?" Ned said in worry. He didn't know that they were Spider-Man but he was aware that they got in trouble a few months ago for skipping school a lot and not turning in any assigned homework. He hadn't been able to wiggle any information out of Peter, who he'd known longer than Harley, and Harley was better at keeping secrets or lying, not that Peter wasn't getting up there in skill.

Harley fished through his backpack for the permission form, slapping it on the lunch table for Ned and MJ to read. Ned gasped. "You're getting an internship at Stark Industries!?" he squealed, causing a few heads to turn their way.

Peter shushed Ned loudly. "No! It's a competition for an internship," he said, tapping the title of the document, which read Stark Industries Internship Competition.

"Oh…"

MJ just rolled her eyes at them, refocusing on her book.

"Basically," Harley began to explain, putting his form back in his bag, "a bunch of these STEM schools were given five forms each to give to five students to compete. We each have to make a project to present to the 'esteemed heads' and specialists at Stark Industries. They'll be grading how it works and stuff and they'll decide who gets an internship."

"That's so cool! What about Peter?" Ned asked, turning to glance at Peter. "Did he get a form, too?"

"Mine's in my bag," Peter said after swallowing a bite of his food. Ned grinned widely at them.

"Out of five of the forms, both of you got one? OMG, guys, that's so cool!" Ned was loud again but Peter didn't bother shushing him this time, despite the attention on them. He was grinning at Ned, who'd been one of his best friends for years, because his friend was so excited for them. In fact, Ned was all genuine. He didn't even look remotely jealous or upset that they'd been chosen over him.

"You're not upset?" Peter asked suddenly, voice quiet. "That you didn't get one?"

"Well, I'm jealous, yeah. I mean, both of you guys are going to be interns at Stark Industries!" He ignored Harley's correction that they were going to get the chance to be interns at Stark Industries, that they weren't already interns. "Like you get to work with some of the best minds and you might even get to see Tony Stark! Iron Man! How could I not be jealous?"

"But you're not… mad?" Peter was nervous. He didn't want Ned to be mad at him for getting picked over for a chance at winning an internship at Stark Industries. Ned was super smart and he'd idolized Tony Stark just as much as he did, though Peter had to admit that Ned idolized the Avengers, the superheroes, more than Tony Stark and his company itself.

"No! You've always been better at that stuff than me, you know that. All I do is code and make robots. Stark Industries makes, like, medical equipment and stuff. And dudes, when you start your internship, tell me all about it! I want to live vicariously through you."

Harley chuckled. "Ned, we don't even have an idea yet."

"Well, what about a drone?" Ned suggested. "Even though Stark Industries doesn't sell the military weapons anymore, they still provide them and the police with other types of tech. You could make a small drone for search and rescue missions?"

"It would have to have some extra stuff on it," Harley mused. "SI is already working on drones. What about something with a thermal camera or some type of scanner? The military could use drones to search for landmines, couldn't they?"

"If I was you guys, I'd be tempted to make R2D2," said Ned.

Peter smiled slightly at the idea of making something from Star Wars. His mind whirled with different types of things they could build for the competition before an old idea flickered through his mind. He rifled through his backpack and pulled out two notebooks, a new one he'd gotten recently and one that was for ideas like his webshooters or robots rather than schoolwork. He hadn't been able to come up with any ideas during Spanish, he'd been too worried about the fact that Dan might not even let them complete, but Ned and Harley had sparked an old idea he'd had. He flipped through the pages, looking for the idea that he'd come up with a few months ago when he and Harley first became Spider-Man and one of them got really injured without the other knowing.

Ned and Harley had stopped talking when he'd pulled out his notebook and began flipping through it. Without bothering to tell his friend and foster brother what he was doing, Peter began to scribble in his notebook, occasionally glancing over his old notes to make sure he was writing down the correct information.

Harley leaned over to read the scribbles as Peter began to jot down ideas and a few chemical compounds. It didn't take Harley long to make sense of his notes.

“A pressure sensor?” he asked.

Peter nodded, and after glancing at Ned—who was watching him idly, used to his idea frenzies—and MJ who was ignoring them—said, “I came up with the idea a while ago. It's a sensor to detect injuries based on different pressure ratios. It could be used in clothes or something. Could also probably send the information remotely with a program, maybe."

Harley blinked in surprise, easily realizing that he was thinking of a Spider-Man suit that could detect what injuries they had, as well as tell the other what injuries they gained. Peter knew it was something that Harley would like, because while Harley didn't hide injuries from Peter, Peter didn’t want to worry Harley and so he hid when he was hurt. It usually backfired on him, though, since Harley could see through him easily, but Peter still tried to hide his injuries. But with a suit that could detect injuries and also transmit them remotely? Harley wouldn't even have to try and get Peter to tell him he was hurt, he would know immediately.

“I like this idea,” Harley declared, making Peter snort. Harley pulled Peter's notes over to him and read them over. “Would something like this work, though?”

"The sensors are easy to make," Peter murmured, "and we have that old tablet and free run of the computer labs. We're both pretty good at coding, so that would work."

“We can’t just show up at a competition with a multimeter if sensors are this easy to make,” said Harley with a frown. His eyes flicked over Peter's notes before lingering on a chemical compound he wrote down. "What's this?"

Peter tapped a section of notes, specifically the word Cloth??? that was circled, and made a hand motion—it was the one they used for shooting webs, though to anyone else it would look like he was signing "I love you" with his hand down. Harley's lips formed an O.

"You're going to try and make cloth out of them?" Harley asked, making Peter nod. "Make sure they don't dissolve then." Peter winced at the thought of their project dissolving mid-presentation and made a note to add a stabilizer to the mixture. He would have to end up testing various amounts of stabilizer, along with different amounts of chemicals, to make sure that the cloth would hold up.

The rest of the school day was spent with Peter and Harley swapping notes on what they wanted to do for the project in their shared classes or when they passed in the halls. Harley was already working on the coding for the app and ideas on how to fix the tablet they had. They would probably have to go dumpster diving or go to pawn shops for parts, though. Peter was scribbling down various chemical compounds as they came to mind, all of them based around his web formula. He would have to find a way to get the chemicals; half of them weren't cheap or available on their own and he didn't feel comfortable stealing that much from the school. He had a make-shift chemistry lab in an abandoned building where he and Harley had originally practised Spider-Manning (and still did, sparring was fun), but he would have to still buy various cleaners to separate some of the chemicals needed.

As it was Friday, Dan got home from work early, so Peter and Harley didn't have any time to set up their makeshift lab. They'd stashed a lot of their Spider-Man stuff there, along with a lot of the electronics and tools they had gotten from thrift stores or dumpster diving. There was no room in Dan's apartment to store anything—and the man didn't want any of their junk lying around—and they had no access to the roof unless they wanted to use their spider-powers, which they both agreed was a dumb idea to use in broad daylight. Due to Dan getting off work early, Peter and Harley also couldn't patrol during the day, so they ended up doing their homework, discussing their ideas a little, and doing chores.

Out of all of their chores, Peter disliked cooking the most. Cooking reminded him too much of May and Ben; Ben had been the chef of the house, and he'd taught Peter how to cook, and May had been a terrible cook. She'd often burn the noodles she tried to boil for her mother's Carbonara. But it had been endearing and something he loved about her. However, as Harley didn't know how to cook anything past PB&J (Peter was slowly teaching him when they had free time before Dan got home), he had to make the dinner tonight.

He didn't bemoan this chore, it beat cleaning the bathroom, and he instead made the best damn spaghetti he'd made in a while to butter Dan up. While Peter was nervous about telling Dan about the competition, Harley had argued that it was best to tell Dan about it tonight. The man should be in a decent mood—because he was never in a good mood—since he had work off tomorrow.

They were just finishing cleaning up and setting the table when they heard Dan walking down the hall. He wasn't a very quiet walker, instead his steps were loud and echoed in the apartment, and the sound of them instinctively had Peter's heart speeding up. Dan was an average man—he was five-ten, probably weighed around a hundred and sixty pounds, and he had dirty-blonde hair and boring brown eyes—and there was theoretically nothing intimidating or threatening about him.

But, there was this thing about Dan—he wasn't nice.

Oh, he could play nice for the neighbours or for their social workers, but he certainly wasn't nice to them. They'd live with Dan long enough (a year and a half), that they'd experienced almost every single emotion that the man could express. And most of that was hate or anger. And violence. Violence towards them.

Peter could remember numerous times where a beating had started with loud, thumping footsteps.

"Calmati," murmured Harley under his breath, taking the wet pot that Peter was rinsing off before he'd frozen. Peter let out a slightly shaky breath before taking in some slow calming ones. The doorknob rattled before twisting open, revealing Dan. Peter's eyes followed Dan as he moved throughout the apartment, kicking off his shoes and loosening his tie, hanging up his coat on the coat rack.

Peter took his eyes off Dan and put away the pots and pans he'd used, keeping tabs on the man with his ears. Dan came out of his room after a few minutes and stood near the table.

"What's for dinner?" he said gruffly, sitting in his usual seat.

"Spaghetti and garlic bread, sir," Harley answered politely, his voice quiet. Dan liked the quiet and so dinner was the only time to talk to him. He tended to work a lot of overtime, probably in hopes of getting a promotion at work, and so he was often tired when he got home. Peter and Harley had to be quiet when moving around for school and after dinner, since that was the only time Dan got to relax; it was that or aggravate Dan, which led to getting punished. They'd only made that mistake a few times.

"Smells good," said Dan grudgingly, plating himself some.

"Thank you," Peter thanked him. Usually, he wouldn't talk at all during dinner, but he figured being polite should give him some points. Dan just grunted. When plating their own food, Peter and Harley made sure not to give themselves too much. Their metabolisms ran much higher than they'd done before, meaning that they had to eat more to stay healthy, but if they started to eat more than expected, then Dan would get suspicious and-or grouchy that they were "eating him out of his house." Both of them had lived with foster parents who didn't want to waste money feeding them much and so they took what they could get without complaining. They used their spare money to buy protein bars and those kept them full-enough.

Dinner was quiet for the most part. The only sounds were the sounds of them eating, their forks scraping across their plates, and the downstairs neighbours fighting like they usually did. They were a few floors down so Dan couldn't hear them, but Peter and Harley could. Peter couldn't tell if the relationship was abused, though, since they went from screaming at each other to acting lovey-dovey within hours.

When Dan was sharing signs of finishing his dinner, Peter and Harley shared a swift glance.

"Sir?" Harley said, setting down his fork. Peter did the same and brought his hands to his lap, fiddling with his hoodie sleeves nervously. He watched from beneath his lashes as Dan looked at Harley and grunted, which Harley took that as permission to speak. "Our Physics teacher held us back in class today and—"

"You didn't skip or anything did you?" Dan said harshly with narrowed eyes. "You remember what I said would happen if you got in trouble again, right?"

"Yes, I remember, but we didn't do anything wrong!" Harley rushed to say. "In fact, our teacher actually held us back to tell us that our grades are so good that we've got an internship opportunity."

"An internship," Dan deadpanned, setting down his fork and giving them his attention. Peter wasn't sure if having Dan's full attention on them was good or not. He hoped "good."

"Yes, sir," Harley said, bobbing his head. "The top STEM schools in New York were given permission slips for a competition at Stark Industries. The competition takes place next month and depending on what you make and what the specialists at the company say, you could end up with an internship. Sir."

"It's a competition?" Dan said with a frown. "Not an actual internship? And you two want to compete?" Peter kept his expression neutral when Dan sent a glance his way, but his fingers tightened around his sleeves.

"S-Sir," Peter jumped in to help Harley. "E-Each school was only given five forms. Since Stark Industries will sponsor the schools who they choose the interns from, the schools will pick only the, um, best students?" Peter winced slightly at his wording but continued speaking despite the slight shaking of his voice. "S-Sir, Harley and I both got forms. W-We're some of the best students in our grade, w-we wouldn't have been chosen to represent Midtown if we, uh, weren't capable?"

Dan's lips thinned as he thought. "What… is this competition, exactly?"

"Each student is supposed to create and make a prototype of working tech, sir," said Harley, taking Dan's attention of Peter. "It's the same type of thing we're doing in shop class so it wouldn't be too difficult. The school is allowing us to use their computer labs and materials after school—" There was no need to tell him what those materials were, exactly. "—and we'd still be able to do our chores and homework. We'd just have to stay at school for an extra hour or two to work on our project in order to get it done for the competition."

"When is the competition?"

"In a month, sir. Transportation to Stark Industries is provided." That was a lie but there was no reason to tell Dan that they had the extra money to pay for a sub across the city. Or the fact that their project would be small enough that they could just swing to the Tower if they needed to.

"Both of you are competing?"

"Yes, but we're allowed to work on the same project and enter it together," Harley clarified.

"And this internship, how many hours after school would you be gone? I can't have your grades dropping and making me look bad."

"Only a few hours a week, I think," Harley said. "We could probably ask, but I don't think the workload would be too much since we're only high school students and they know we go to demanding STEM schools."

Dan was silent for a few moments. Peter resisted the urge to fidget, instead choosing to dig his nails into his arm to distract him. Below him, Mr and Mrs Fights-A-Lot were getting into another row that Peter was sure would either end up in one of them storming out to the bar or in hot, passionate, cringe-inducing sex. He'd rather it be the former rather than the latter since there was only so much sex sounds that he could listen to without it making him want to curl up in a ball, vomit, or both. He just hoped that he was asleep before it happened, if it happened.

Dan let out a gusty sigh, making Peter jump. "Well?" he demanded. "Are there permission forms or something?"

"Oh, uh, I-I'll go get them, sir," Peter stammered out, stumbling to his feet. He ran into the edge of the table in his haste to get out of the room and tensed in preparation for a reprimand that never happened. Peter and Harley had put their forms on their shared desk just in case Dan allowed them to compete, so he was back in the kitchen not twenty seconds after he'd left. He also provided a pen and Dan signed off on both forms with a glance to make sure what he was signing was actually a form for an internship and not something else.

Not long after, Peter and Harley cleaned the dirty dishes before being dismissed to their room for the night.

Peter laid up in the top bunk of the bunk bed, staring up at the watermarked ceiling, his through whirling loudly through his mind. He couldn't believe that Dan was actually allowing them to compete. Now all they had to do was actually make their project and they only had a month to do it! What if it wasn't good enough? What if it wasn't original? What if someone made a better working one? What if it didn't work?

And, what if they won?

[study-van]

hey! do you have any tips for getting into jhu for international students?

I don’t think there is a sure way of getting into top universities not gonna lie, especially if you are an international student who wants financial aid. One thing that I am sure that probably put me above most Turkish applicants was the fact that I attended their summer school and had the highest score in my course that I could get. I think giving an overview of my stats might be more helpful for you...(With these same stats I was also able to get accepted to other top institutions so I think it’s a pretty neat overview)

SAT: 1500+ (on the higher end)

GPA: 97.21(9th), 97.01(10th), 97.02(11th), 98.4(12th)

Languages: Turkish (native), English (Toefl 112), French (C1, when I applied), Japanese (N3)

I also passed 4 sat subjects and got 750+ from all of them. My school doesn’t offer any AP classes bc it’s a french school but I did take the exams individually.

So onto my extracurriculars and how I spent my free time.

I was part of our schools English drama club for my last three years and did MUN in 9th grade (winning one best delegate award). With the English drama club we've performed plays every year and I mainly got the leading roles, we also attended a theater activity thing in London. I also helped out at our school’s permaculture club pretty regularly because my friend was the president. In my senior year, I was also in the graduation committee which basically organized everything related to senior year (from t-shirts to our now cancelled prom). I was also briefly in school’s choir and helped organize this years student art fair for the teaching staff. Lastly, I was a mentor in the mentor/mentee program which was to help underclassmen specifically preps to better adapt to school. Outside of school, I was a volunteer at two organizations one concerning the environment (since I was 12), the other helps out kids with leukemia (since I was 15/16). I was pretty active in both of them mainly did work related to raising awareness. I also occasionally wrote articles for an online magazine. I have also been playing the violin for nearly 10 years and have completed all the levels of Royal Academy, I can also play the piano and the guitar albeit not to the level of my violin...(I am definitely forgetting some stuff here but I really don’t want to pull up my entire cv sdjsjdh)

For my breaks, during my prep year’s summer I went to a language school for a month in Rouen while staying with a French host family to further my French. At the end of ninth grade, I attended University of Toronto’s summer course for a month and after returning I did a monitoring internship next to a pediatrician. Tenth grade’s summer, I attended JHU’s summer school with a course related to hospitals and finished it with an A+, plus a constant pen mail friendship with a prof at the med school. Next winter, I took a first-aid course in Koc University. That summer, I first did an internship at a local hospital next to a neurosurgeon for a week, then attended Koc University’s “24h Med School” program, which was only open to one or two students from specific high schools, after that I attended Harvard summer school taking a course about evolutionary biology/medicine, and ended it with getting a recommendation from a faculty member. The next fall, I did an another internship at an another local hospital monitoring their surgical department. (Again I think I forgot some more trivial stuff but these are the big boys)

The last part of the application and probably where you can set yourself apart from rest of the brilliant applicants is the essays. My main essay in common app was about escape rooms while connecting that to my passion about cryptology and how that affects the way I perceive the world (honestly one of my finest essays) that I worked on for nearly all summer. Then there are school specific ones so for Stanford, I think I wrote 11 or 10 essays some only 50 word, some over 150 words. Hopkins only wanted one 300-400 words essay about a time you collaborated since it is a part of Hopkins’ culture. I wrote about my time in their summer camp again highlighting why they were my top pick and how I was able to handle their academic environment without getting overly competitive and actually working with my peers. (For our quizzes and in class notes, we basically opened one google doc where everyone put their notes and we had these study sessions all together, pretty neat).

Hopefully, this gives you an idea on what you need. If you’ve further questions, please do dm me or send an another ask!!

[missmeikakuna]

So, Apparently, I Find Fairies Hot Chapter 8 [END]

Rated: T

Fandom: Original Fiction

Relationship type: Male/Male

Description: You know those movies and TV shows in which an effeminate gay character has a crush on the popular jock? Strike that, reverse it.

Daniel is technically popular at school but fades into the crowd. After an injury at footy (Australian football) practice, he is forced to focus on improving his grades, starting with English. Luckily, the new kid in school knows a lot about Shakespeare and is willing to tutor him. Now if only this new guy wasn’t so attractive.

CONTENT WARNING: Homophobic slurs are used. Also, there are some sexual references but nothing too graphic.

Chapter 8: This is pretty gay

Daniel found Eddie sitting against the wall of the school gym and joined him, a marked essay in his hand.

‘I owe you one,’ he told him.

Eddie snatched the essay and looked at the score. ‘Impressive. Next time I’ll make sure you get an A, then for the exam, you’re getting an A+. Got it?’

Daniel smirked. ‘Yes, Mr Ironpoe. So anyway, You still up for tonight?’

‘Yep. We’re not going to fight over this game, are we?’

‘Why? You a Bomber now? You said last week you were a Demon-’

‘They suck this season.’

‘You can’t just change your mind every week. You’ve got to pick a side.’

Eddie snickered at him. ‘That’s rich, coming from you.’ He laughed even more at Daniel’s confused face.

The meaning of Eddie’s words eventually dawned on Daniel, who added to the laughter and lightly nudged him.

‘Hey, only I can say stuff like that. Check your privilege.’

The PE teacher blew her whistle. ‘Okay, guys. Today’s Beep Test day.’ Everyone groaned. Eddie took a few deep breaths. The Beep Test. His mortal enemy. His highest score was 4/8, the second lowest among the boys in his class.

Daniel put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Eddie nodded and the two stood up.

They stretched their arms and legs before standing next to each other in the line, waiting for the announcer on the CD to quit explaining how it worked and finish the damn countdown.

The first beep started. Eddie kept falling behind Daniel, who got to the other end quickly, but seeing Daniel do so well lit a fire under him. He kept running as the beeps became faster and faster, long after he started feeling sick. His vision got blurry but he continued running. Eventually, he stopped hearing the squeak of sneakers coming into contact with the wooden floor and could only hear the beeps that started sounding less like a guide to him and more like funeral bells.

Eventually he was an inch away from making it to the end line when the beep sounded. He ran a little past the line like Daniel had suggested to help himself feel less sick. It only helped a little. 

‘Ed, 6/9,’ the PE teacher said. Joy rose up Eddie’s body instead of bile. After writing his score down, he leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the ground, picking up his bottle and gulping the water like a baby feeding on milk.

He watched Daniel, who got a 13/8, one beep below James. Daniel pushed away the initial anger coiling around his body and gave James a high five.

Eddie congratulated Daniel and told him his score.

Daniel wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him close. He let go after a second, causing Eddie to fight the urge to pout.

‘Impressive. Next time you’ll get an 8/3 and by the time you graduate your score will be a 10/2.’

Eddie lightly slapped his shoulder. ‘As if I could do that.’

Daniel put his arm around Eddie’s shoulders. ‘Even if I say please?’

Some of the other students started cooing the couple. Daniel’s shoulders rose, but they returned to normal when Eddie kissed his cheek.

After school, they met up in the city and headed to the MCG.

Daniel turned out to be a loud cheerer, or at least he was in front of Eddie. Eddie hardly paid attention to the game, focusing on the giant, almost magical smile on Daniel’s lips. He looked like a fairy who’d been released from his cage.

[rhubarbplants]

Students and everyone else should understand the different ways their brains work so they can understand what kinds of study habits or productivity techniques will work for them personally. In this essay I will...

Talk about my own issues with having a low PSI, and what that might look like for other people.

I sometimes feel like it’s impossible to get the ideas in my head out into the real world, and that it takes an extra moment to understand new topics my teacher is introducing. This is because I have a low processing speed. The processing speed index or PSI is a part of an intelligence scale that ties in to IQ tests. When I took it I got ‘gifted’ scores for all of my categories except PSI. So I had a high Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Visual Spatial Index (VSI), Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI), and Working Memory Index (WMI). So basically my brain is functioning at a very high level. There is a catch.

My brain can’t keep up with my brain.

No seriously, my PSI is so low that I feel like my ideas are never the same out loud as they are in my head. Even this. I love to write and read but the English language doesn’t seem to have enough words for me, or at least not the right ones. Because my highest and lowest scores are so far apart (literally 50 points) the level at which I can actually function in the real world is actually much more average.

PSI has a lot to do with concentration, short term memory, and the ability to register and react to visual stimuli.

Low PSI also affects you ability to react as quickly. So in class when your teacher is having a class discussion people with low PSI scores might not interact as much because they need to take the time to process all the information. It's not that we don’t understand or don't want to participate but that our time is better spent mulling over the information then spitting out our thoughts.

Also a big gap between intelligence and processing speed can make you feel like you are not as smart as the people around you. You might tend to be a perfectionist and feel like the things to make/do/write/say will never be quite right. That unfortunately will probably never change because our languages just don’t accommodate what's going on inside our brains. Luckily this means you will do better on tests or assignments where you have time to think things over and edit over and over.

Low PSI has also affected my ADHD, making concentrating and contributing even harder. But I have found that when I do have something to say, and a way to say it, I realize I really do understand what’s going on.

If you want to read more check this out: https://nspt4kids.com/parenting/understanding-the-wechsler-intelligence-scale-for-children-fifth-edition-wisc-v/

[ibuproffie]

hello all! i took my third and final sat on august 25th, for privacy reasons, i will not share my exact scores, but they are in the range for the colleges i am applying to, so i am satisfied with them. here’s my guide to getting the sat score of your dreams; best of luck x

sat breakdown:

evidence based reading section: like act reading but a little more challenging (65 minutes, 52 questions, 5 passages) 

evidence based writing section: exactly the same as act writing and language (35 minutes, 44 questions) 

math (no calculator): don’t stress tm abt this section, it’s actually easier than math w calculator, main issue (for me at least) is timing (25 minutes, 20 questions) 

math (calculator): more complex math, goes up to basic trig and geometry (55 minutes, 38 questions) both math sections have grid-in questions in which you have to write in your answer rather than select a multiple choice option

writing (optional): analyze a piece of writing in an essay, a bit more challenging than act writing (50 minutes) 

highest score: 1600

lowest score: 400

general info:

the sat is made by the college board, who also make the ap exams. so if you’ve ever taken an ap exam, you have a college board account. if not, you’ll have to make one. it’s fairly easy to do. 

make sure your password is something you can easily remember. if possible, set it so your computer remembers it. 

you can later send your scores to colleges using your college board account. 

when signing up to take an sat, make sure that you print out your admission ticket early rather than late. also make sure you have clear directions to your testing center if you’ve never been there before. 

you will also be asked for an additional proof of id. if you take the sat through a talent search program, this will be provided for you. otherwise, bring drivers’ id, passport, or an sat id form. (the sat id form is kind of a pain to fill out, so i would strongly recommend you bring one of the other ids i mentioned.) 

if you’re a senior planning to submit your sat score to colleges, make sure you’ll get your sat scores back before you apply. for this reason, it’s better to schedule a summer test over an autumn test. 

cramming the night before probably won’t improve your score. if you have to study at all the night before, do your best section and look over math formulas. (they won’t give you arc length and that’s almost always on the test.) 

bring a snack! a hungry brain will not improve matters!

check to make sure your calculator is approved by college board. most are, but you never know. 

you can opt to take sat writing on test day if you found out a college you’re interested in requires a writing score. but lots of top schools don’t require sat w writing (all the schools i’m currently applying to are top 50 and none of them require a writing score). you only really need to take it if you have ivy league/uc ambitions. 

ways to take the sat:

self study: this method is what most people do. they do practice tests online or through khan academy, or buy an sat prep book and do practice questions. this method is pretty solid, but you have to be disciplined to do it effectively. if you know you can’t motivate yourself to study, this is probably not the move. 

sat classes/tutoring: if you have the money to do this, or if you can find free classes, this method is also fairly effective. if you know you can’t be trusted to study by yourself, this is probably the best way to study.

blind testing: this is where you take the test without studying at all. you may want to do this for your first sat, but it is not recommended you do this for any sat after, unless you’re some sort of test-taking god (but if you are, why are you reading this post?) 

are prep books worth it?

yes and no. it really depends on the prep book. 

i’ve always used the princeton review books. they’re pretty high quality and the questions are a lot like the ones on the sat. they tend to focus more on “tricks” then how to, like, do the questions though, which bothers me a little bit. 

college board makes its own sat review guides, which are also fairly reputable. they have former sat tests in them, which can be helpful. however many real tests have already been released by college board online and are thus free. 

kaplan also makes pretty good review material. imo kaplan tests are harder than actual sat tests. kaplan is also less focused on “tricks.” which i found more helpful than princeton review’s methods. 

the tea on tutoring:

the summer before my junior year i took a kaplan course to prep for the sat. i got a lot out of it, personally. they gave us tips for taking the test at a much faster pace, and i brought my score up by 100 points. 

that being said, tutoring is def not necessary for success. the course was p expensive, and it was also a lot of work to keep up with. if you’re already pretty busy, you may not get a lot out of a class because it does take up time. 

if you have the time and money, i’d say a kaplan or other test-prep course could be worth it to you. if not, there are plenty of other, less expensive ways to prep for the test. 

for example, studying with a group of friends can play the same role as a kaplan class in that it will get you motivated (or shamed into) studying for the sat. 

other alternatives:

do not sleep on khan academy! if you don’t know what it is by now, it’s a free website with tons of helpful videos on just about any subject ( i especially recommend it for math and science.) they have sat prep material that has been verified by college board and you can customize a study schedule to your needs, and, if you log into your college board account, you can build a study plan that focuses on your weaknesses-based off your psat or your last sat. 

take the psat if you can before the sat. it’s formulated quite similarly to the sat, and if you do well on the psat you may be eligible for a national merit scholarship. 

staying motivated:

make a study schedule and stick to it. and be specific with it, so instead of saying “today i’m going to study sat math” say “today i’m going to review geometry topics and do fifteen practice problems.” 

don’t attempt to do too much in one day. you will almost certainly get burnt out if you take a full practice test every day or something. 

practice tests are helpful, but schedule them for days on which you literally have nothing else to do so you can time them properly (they are about four hours if you practice the essay as well.) 

write down every question you get wrong in a notebook, along with an explanation of how to get the correct answer. that way, before test day, you can flip through the notebook and quickly review what sorts of mistakes you tend to make so you can be extra vigilant on the real test. 

promise yourself rewards for good work! for example “if i get all the questions right today, i’ll buy myself a present.” 

the day before the test, if you have to study at all, practice the section of the test that is easiest to you. this will get you extra confident for the next day. 

i can’t afford the sat. what do i do?

fee waivers are available for the sat. see if you are eligible to get one. 

is my score good enough?

to answer this question, check the sat “middle 50%” range for the college or university you’re applying. do not look at the “average” sat score, as this is a less reliable indicator of the necessary score needed for acceptance to that college. 

if you are in between the scores in the middle 50% range or at the cutoff points for the middle 50% range, your score is very similar to the scores of people who were admitted. at the very least, your sat score will not keep you out of that college. 

if you’re above the scores at the top of the range, you have a good shot at getting admitted, potentially with some sort of scholarship money. 

if you’re below the scores at the bottom of the range, it will probably be harder for you to get in to that school. however, it is not totally impossible to get accepted, especially if you’re only ten or twenty points below the cutoff for the end of the range. 

colleges do not look at just test scores, contrary to popular belief. plenty of people get turned down from top schools with perfect sat scores. recognize that doing well helps, but it’s not everything. the sat is simply a measure of how well you can do on the sat. it is not a valid predictor of intelligence or even success in college and beyond. you are more than just a number. you are. i promise. 

superscoring:

chances are, if you’ve taken the test more than one time, your composite score has fluctuated a little bit. you might have done better in math on one test, but bombed english, yet when you took it a second time, your math score plummeted and your english score soared. so which score do you submit? 

most colleges, thankfully, won’t make you choose. you can now submit multiple tests, and your highest subscores across the board will be taken to create your all-time highest score. this practice is called superscoring. be sure to check the score policies for the colleges your interested in, as not all colleges superscore (cough cough: the uc schools) 

random sat tips that worked for me:

you know those reading questions where it asks you to answer a question and then the preceding question asks you to back it up with evidence? anyway, what i do for those is read the first question, and then, without looking at the answer choices, skip to the second question and select the evidence that answers it. only then do i answer the first question. 

learn the arc length formulas. tattoo them on your forehead. they WILL be on the math section. 

skip hard questions. they’re worth as many points as easy questions. bubble a random answer in and come back to them if you have time. 

remember there’s no guessing penalty, so it’s in your best interest to bubble all the questions. you’re better off guessing one letter for all your unknown questions rather than “christmas-treeing” it. the right answer is not always b or c, contrary to popular opinion so guess a or d if you’re bad ;) 

for english, the simplest answer is usually the best. 

[marystudies]

A LONG ASS LIST OF TIPS FOR HIGH SCHOOL: FRESHMAN TO SENIOR YEAR LETS GO

Disclaimer: This is just from my experience, so these might not all apply to you! 

Freshman Year

ok, ok, freshman year can be scary but don’t let that get to you

dont worry about upperclassmen being rude/teasing you 

it’ll most likely happen, but I’ve never seen an upperclassman tease a freshman with the intention to really hurt them

one day you’ll be them so dw

on the topic of upperclassmen, make some older friends!!! (through classes, sports, etc.) it’s so nice to have someone give you tips and help you through high school

dont expect your friend group to stay the same lol

BUT ITS A GOOD THING I PROMISE YOU

I was scared of changing my friend group, so even though I wasn’t being treated too well, it wasn’t until senior year when I really made a change and I wish I did it earlier

be open to meeting new people, everyone is scared just like you and looking for more friends

I don’t think its neccessary for freshman to become sUPER involved in clubs and all that but at least get a feel for whats out there

try out for a sport if you play one!

this goes for all of high school, not just freshman year, but I regret not being as involved as I could’ve been 

Go to school events like football games and dances! School spirit is considered weird in middle school but its cool in high school

take your classes seriously, your teachers are right - high school is much harder than middle school (but it’s not too bad if you stay organized!)

my freshman year GPA was my lowest like english really caught me off guard (properly formatted, 5 paragraph essays being 50% of your grade??? a concept.)

so my cumulative GPA was brought down

I think most freshman don’t have access to AP classes to boost your GPA or anything, but if you’re looking to push yourself take an honors class or 2! (if available)

Sophomore Year

wooohooo ur no longer a freshman

I’d take at least 1 AP class if you can

my sophomore year I took AP Human Geo - which I really loved, and it also wasn’t too hard

a lot of sophomores take AP World which is a BITCH of a class

BUT I wouldn’t recommend taking Honors World because you don’t get the GPA boost, you don’t get college credits (unless you take the AP Euro test or something), and it’s almost just as hard 

this is a bit random - but when you’re taking Algebra 2 (which was my sophomore year) PLS PAY ATTENTION math builds on itself don’t fuck yourself over

take the PSAT if you want (I honestly don’t remember if I took it freshman year too but eh), but seriously its not required

start thinking about college (I know it’s the last thing you want to do)

just little things like

when do I want to take the SAT/ACT?

would I like a small school or a big school?

What will I be able to put on my college applications?

like if you do community service through a club/church/etc then great!!! sports? YEs

can’t think of anything? Join a club! Try out for a sport (it’s not too late) Find something that interests you

you’re probably pretty situated socially now but never be afraid to get to know those classmates/”school friends” better! 

Junior Year

so junior year is commonly thought of as the hardest year of highschool

which is partially true (we’ll get there later)

but anyways, seriously buckle your seatbelt and get ready to work your ass off because THIS YEAR COUNTS, LADIES AND GENTS

Take AP classes if available

I took AP Psych (WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and Honors PreCalc (coming from regular Algebra 2)

Psych gave me college credit and a GPA boost

HPC gave me a GPA boost for UCs 

It was a bitCH of a class but it made AP calc a breeze 

If you haven’t started already, start prepping for SAT/ACT and then take them

tutoring is very helpful, but it can be expensive

I’ve seen studyblrs post about free prep through Kahn Academy and other stuff, so you might have to do a bit of digging but there are tons of resources out there

TAKE PRACTICE TESTS

take one of each first - then focus on the test you did better on 

one of my biggest regrets is taking SAT prep instead of ACT prep because my ACT (which I didn’t do specialized prep for) ended up equivalent to my SAT (which I did prep for)

the more you take em the better you get

Studyblr is gr8 for finding test taking tips

If you’re not happy with your score, just take it again! I only took each one once but most people improve their scores if they take it again

I recommend visiting a few universities when you’re on break! Get a feel for what you like and what you don’t like (size, location, public/private, etc) and what kind of school you could get accepted to

you don’t want to end up applying to a billion schools that you wouldn’t even want to go to

private schools like it when you express interest by visiting

so if you’re visiting, make sure you check in so you can be in their system 

END OF JUNIOR YEAR - ASK FOR LETTERS OF REC NOW! BY THE FIRST WEEK OF SENIOR YEAR A LOT OF TEACHERS ARE ALREADY TAKING ON TOO MANY LETTERS!

Senior Year (buckle up this section is the longest)

but YAY UR A SENIOR 

DO FUN SENIOR YEAR THINGS like my school has all kinds of events for seniors and it’s so great 

Remember when I said junior year is the hardest? Yeah well no... 1st semester senior year is SO MUCH WORSE ur in for a lot of fun

Ok seriously - don’t let senioritis get to you first semester

Still take challenging classes! Schools are looking for progression in difficulty

Those mid year transcripts REALLY DO MATTER! 

College apps, man

Make sure you’re communicating with your counselor to make sure you have everything ready and on track 

like file the FAFSA and CSS (used for lots of privates)

tbh I didn’t think it would help me a lot but it (the CSS) actually did so just do it even if you think you’ll get nothing

Ok so hopefully at this point you have a feel for what schools you are interested in

Things to consider: location, price, size, public/private, difficulty of the application, ranking, program/major you are applying to, campus, overall vibe

I didn’t do any interviews but maybe look into it

Don’t get too comfortable and set reasonable goals - apply to several safety schools, a few good options/could go either way schools, but also a few “reaches”

ESSAYS

I’m no college counselor, but don’t just wing your essays without having an adult/professional look over them

I got lucky - my mom is a professional writer so my family didn’t pay for a counselor

Do your research - you can find so much information about what schools are looking for in essays

If an essay is “optional” DO IT it’s really not optional lol

Keep in mind - these essays are nothing like what you’ve been taught. You don’t have to (and often SHOULDNT) write a 5 paragraph essay with topic sentences relating back to the thesis and evidence, etc. its much more free

think “What is the story I am going to tell?”

get creative - this is hard and takes some time

Think: How am I going to separate myself from thousands of applicants? What is a story that ONLY I can tell?

DO EARLY ACTION FOR AS MANY SCHOOLS AS POSSIBLE!!! 

such a relief to knowing you got in somewhere in like,,,, november

acceptance rates are higher for EA 

the order from highest to lowest is ED > EA > RD

Early Decision scares me (schools will say they give equal scholarship consideration but lol thats a lie) 

but if you have your heart set on a school go ahead

apply to other school just in case, you don’t want to get stuck starting all your apps when a lot of students have already turned them all in

Now that you’re done with applications (whew), the acceptances (and rejection) will start coming!! yay!

ok first for acceptances

those first acceptances are so cool like YAY YOU GOT INTO COLLEGE IM PROUD OF U

as soon as you get your first acceptances really start researching the school more and deciding if you’d REALLY want to go there or not

i know this is hard bc you haven't heard back from all your schools but it’ll make choosing a school so much easier

sadly, not all acceptances are happy tho

like I got accepted to my #1 school but they gave me no money so it was impossible to go

I was so emo for a couple days there

BUT! If you’re serious about it, try appealing for financial aid but keep your expectations low

ok now waitlists

these can be a bit nerve wracking

PLEASE apply for the waitlist right away

at some schools if you dont within a couple days, your application might get thrown out

aaaaand rejections

i dont have a lot to say about this but please dont be too hard on yourself

sometimes its just not meant to be and thats ok!

NOW PICKING A COLLEGE

def the most difficult and mentally draining part for me lol

make sure you really map out everything to consider

net cost (tuition, room & board, books, travel, personal expenses, etc.), size, location, etc.

I personally had this idea that I’d end up at a big school far from home but I’m going to a small school close to home and I’m still super excited!!! So make sure you give every school a second look 

APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS!

the essays aren’t usually too bad and sometimes you can just rework your college app essays

you can find them online, your school might have some (like PTA scholarships, band scholarships, etc.)

ok this is the time everyone really gets senioritis

i almost didn’t get senioritis at all lol just because slacking off stressed me out

but please be smart about it dont get rescinded 

and lastly have fun! high school really does fly by, it’ll be over before you know it

[agent-murica]

I hope you guys don’t mind if I talk for a moment about the award ceremony? Ok well, so I knew I was getting an award as they send out letters to let parents know they’re invited, but I had no idea how many.

When the Head of the English Department came up to announce the awards I knew this was likely the one subject I was going to get an award for, so when she started talking about the award for Excellence in Writing I stood straighter in my seat. But man did she roast me so hard. She started introducing me by bringing up this research paper I did last year on the subjugation of artificial intelligence in media (or the essay I called, ‘Please Don’t Hate Me for Being a Technosexual’ jokingly to myself) and I went ‘oh shit that’s me.’ But then she kept going, with a statement from my current APLit teacher, which started out fine but quickly developed into ‘OH SHIT NO’ when he applauded my talent in writing fanfiction. THIS MAN STRAIGHT UP GOT THE DEPARTMENT HEAD TO SAY THE WORD ‘FANFICTION’ IN FRONT OF MY ENTIRE SENIOR CLASS. I was dying on the inside.

And I thought, ok well that’s the only award I’m gonna get. But then I kept getting more.

The advisor of the theatrical troupe comes up to present the Theatrical Troupe Award, and I think, ‘oh the president of the club is going to get that award’ but then she starts describing how the person being awarded has painted sets and helped with costumes and I go, ‘holy shit, me?’ 

Then the social studies department went up, and I had a feeling that I would win an award for Achievements in Social Studies as my family is, well, history nerds. We even have a lot of artifacts that make learning more interactive. So it was nice to not disappoint my family by getting the award.

The next award shocked me because I didn’t expect to get an art award, as I have this friend that always gets it instead of me (he didn’t win an award and was upset all day despite not getting a letter sooooo...) but when they introduced the Excellence in Computer Graphics I was like, ‘oh?’ and when my art teacher ALSO decided to drag me within an inch of my life by reprimanding my habit of drawing on loose leaf I knew it had to be me. But little did I know that with that plaque I also got a brand new portfolio case, with a shit ton of art supplies. I’m talking a big ass drawing pad, a new marker set, a watercolor set, colored pencils, pastels, the works.

I also got a certificate for my regent's scores, along with six of my peers, but I already knew I was getting it. Still nice though.

But here’s the award that matters possibly the most to me.

I won the Principal’s Award for Excellence, which is one of the more prestigious awards from the sounds of it. The way our principal was introducing it by first saying that it was going to be awarded to the student who had the highest unweighted average, among other factors, and I just know everyone was thinking ‘oh perhaps the valedictorian’ but then she went on listing the achievements and brought up the theatrical troupe which narrowed down the candidates and I thought, ‘oh perhaps the president of the troupe’ but then she said artistic talents and I knew, ‘holy fuck, me?’

I will say why winning this award over my peers means a fucking lot to me.

I am half accelerated, half regents. My school pushes for students to be in accelerated and AP classes and that itself has spawned the most disgusting superiority complex in the students that I will possibly ever see. All accelerated kids think if you’re in all regents, you’re just plain dumb and don’t register on their radar.

But if you’re half accelerated, half regents? They think you’re practically scum. In their eyes, if you achieve or are awarded something, you don’t deserve it because you’re not really accelerated, it should go to someone more deserving.

For six years, I have been belittled, harassed, and talked about behind my back whenever I’ve won anything. Class ranks come out? I’d find out my score and excitedly tell my peers because I was proud of my achievement, only to hear the same thing over and over again.

“Oh don’t be too excited, when the grades are weighted you’re gonna fall. You’re just not in all accelerated it’s nothing personal.”

And that’d usually come from people who’d call me a friend, in a patronizing manner as if they were doing me a favor to not have my ‘hopes up’. But the people who weren’t really my friends? They’d talk shit about me, and how it’s not fair that I ranked so high, that I don’t deserve it. People would tell me that they’d say other nasty things too, but I’ve thankfully never heard those statements.

And yet, after all these years, weighted rank didn’t mean shit. Because I’m 10th out of 206, no one with the highest ‘weighted rank’ received an award, and after all these years of never feeling like what I was doing was good enough, my hard work has paid off.

Even today, they talked shit about me, saying the same damn things over and over as if they have no other reasoning to justify their jealousy. I apparently didn’t deserve to win this award because I’m not all accelerated.

So I’d just like to take a moment, to truly thank my school, for showing that you don’t need to be an all accelerated entitled asshole to win things. You can do your fucking best, you can try and have your efforts be rewarded, and you can be enough no matter your goddamn placement.

So yeah, this award and the others mean a lot to me. Because I’m half accelerated, half regents, and I’m a fucking dumbass nerd.

[junah09]

Road to my UK dream

There’s is no shortcut to success. Yes, this is cliche but true. When I passed the board examination for nurses in my country, it has been my dream to go to the UK in the future. And finally, that dream is turning into reality but of course, one at a time.

After I passed the interview from a hospital I’m applying for in April 2018, the journey to my UK dream started. 

IELTS: This is the very first step that an applicant who wants to go to the UK should take. It was not easy (well at least for me) because I am not a native English speaker. I learned English from school so taking this test is really challenging. For that, I enrolled in a review center offering classes in preparation for IELTS. It was difficult for me back then because I am working full time. I became pessimistic about taking the test, I felt that I lack preparation. But I really want to do this. 

On the day of the exam, I gathered all the confidence I have and remember the things I learned from my review sessions. In the Speaking part, you just have to really listen to the question tho it is okay to ask to repeat the question politely. I was told by my IELTS teacher not to repeat words for the your range in vocabulary is being tested. The Reading part was my weakness, good thing that I found out the secret. You just have to look for the similar expressions in the paragraph and the question. (Reading was the second highest mark I got.) For Listening, this is multitasking partly because you have to follow the question while listening to the audio recording, especially when there is a map and whatnot. Lastly, Writing!!! This part of the test is the struggle of every IELTS test taker. Part 1 of the writing test, you have to interpret a certain graph (bar,line,pie,etc), a map or a process, and you have to finish it within 20 minutes. As for the second part, that’s the essay type where you have 40 minutes to finish it. 

After 14 working days, I got the result of my IELTS. I was truly devastated because I was not able to meet the required score for writing. I got 6.5 while the other categories is 7 up. I told myself, “Okay. This is it. Maybe it was not meant for me”. Then I moved on and do the things I have to do day-to-day. I was not even thinking of taking the test again because I lack confidence and afraid to fail again. Then a good news happened...

In December 2018, the NMC announced that they will be accepting a score of 6.5 in the Writing category with an overall band score of 7 up! But the required score for the other categories will still be the same, no lower than 7. 

CBT:  This is a 120-minute computer-based-test. A multiple choice type questions. I advice test takers not to take NMC CBT for granted. Why? For the reason that questions here are based on the nursing practice in the UK. I heard that some candidates failed the exam because they based their answers in what they practice in their own country. But NMC cbt is quite different. I recommend The Royal Marsden Book 9th Edition (Professional Edition) as your source in preparing for the exam. 

NMC Application: Once you paid the application fee for NMC, it will show in their portal the documents you need to upload. There are also downloadable form or the bar coded forms you need send to NMC by courier after accomplishing it. There are instructions in the portal so you will not get confused. :)

Alright. As of writing, I just entered the decision queue in the NMC. I will be waiting for their decision letter. I will update this when my decision letter is given to me.

Pray. Pray. Pray. Nothing is impossible if you pray for what you want as long as God permits it. :)

[jayflrt]

akka 😭😭😭 hello!! how are you?? naur it's been so long that i forgot about you :( i had my preboards the last two weeks with no breaks so i had to study a lot!! literally after week 👋🏻

so akka how much did you get in your finals? and how was the paper actually, was it easy, medium or hard?? my papers were easy only if i had studied for them lmao. i actually didn't study much and i got all of my preboard one marks — math : 16/40, science 19/40, social : 11/40 (fyi. the passing mark is 14, so technically i failed in social studies 🤡) english : 31 and half/40 (and that's the highest in my pre board one!!) computers : 23/25 (i actually didn't expect to score top marks in my class) and finally hindi : 20/40 (i tried but expected less than 20 lol)

and tomorrow will be my last preboard 2 exam which is math and i haven't prepared it 🥲🥲 and then my last preboard, which is the third revision tests, they'll start from april 11 and end on april 19 :) so that's a lot of studying to do.

today was the best day because my english teacher appreciated me alot because she didn't find any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or strikings/cuttings in my paper and she was pretty surprised and so i was 😲 i'm hoping to do well in preboard 3 as well, so let's hope to get all 40's in my thrid preboard.

i didn't write my preboard one and two well, so i rlly need to get my ass off bed and just start studying and as for 2521 — idk wtf will happen this weekend and i'm freaking out cuz there's still 2 episodes left which will release this weekend and the fact that the drama genre changed from rom-com to melodrama (what is that?) i just can't wait to watch the last two episodes of 2521!!

and coming to my love — my brain is not functioning properly because idk whether he has feelings for me or just like me... but it's going pretty well because all we had was sneaking eye contacts and when i stood near him for the first time, like 15 cm away?? i guess?? i think his height is 178 cm to 180 cm, yup that's right!! according to my calculations :)

akka, by any chance you know hand cricket?? i sent him this video and texted him — you and who?? and he was like "the whole class" lol. that's true we all play hand cricket in class and get caught by our teachers and another conversation is that he type "hehe" which is so cute and i always tell that to my friends and they tease about it in snapchat — they go like "hehehehheheheh" and that's so damn hard to not to smile. tbh he's so cute 🥺✨ he's so precious :(

one more thing is that you rlly looked so pretty on your face reveal, i saw that!!! you were really pretty 🥰🥰🥰💛💛💛 like you looked like a tamilian lol. and did i ever say this to you that my man is also tamilian???? lmao...

so in conclusion, i just want you to answer. read this and then look away, so if you look away from your phone now and the first colour you see is the answer — see purple, that's a yes and if you see a blue it's a no and if you see a yellow, then it's a maybe. so akka — will we have a second chance...?

well i'm curious for the answer akka... so how was your weekend and how have you really been and btw how did you spend your time with you mom and sis?? drink lots of water and eat healthy food. ily and take care akka 🥰🥰

— 🦔

hihi 🦔 anon !! omg it has been a while, how have you been?? 🤧 i was wondering when you’d drop by but i realized that you were probably busy with exams !! 💗

i did pretty good !! i got As which is 90-100 here, but our scores are weighted based on the pluses and minuses so my A- (90-93) made my gpa go down a little 🤧 but i’m overall very very content bc i passed this writing requirement that i needed to graduate !! 🥰🌸 honestly a few of my classes were pretty hard but i think they would’ve been easier if i gave myself more time to prepare HAHAH i wrote like 5 essays that week and a lot of them were pretty long so it was just constant typing all day 😵‍💫 but oh my gosh congrats on your preboard scores !!! 🥳🥳 and you got the top score in your class for computers — that’s amazing !! 🤩

omg i’m assuming your math one is already done by the time i post this so how’d it go ?? :o and good luck in the next few weeks !! sounds rlly busy but you’ve got this 🥰💗 AND YES ALL 40S FOR YOUR NEXT PREBOARD !! 🤩🤩 english can be so tricky so that’s great that your teacher complimented you :’))

2125 changed to melodrama ?? :o omg i thought it would be lighthearted like weightlifting fairy HAHAH but basically it’s just rlly dramatic with its emotions rn ?? but i hope you like the next few episodes and its ending !! my friend and i are going to watch the penthouse together (although it’s going to be my third time watching it) 💖💖

oooh he’s been sneaking eye contact ?? 😌😌 maybe you can pick up on more signs and ask him if he feels anything in a month or so !! but omg that’s such a cute height difference 💕 also yesyes i know hand cricket !! HAHAH it’s always good when guys are fun texters 🥲 i told my friends this yesterday actually but i said it was ideal when a guy is interesting in person and isn’t a dry texter either

oh my goshhhh thank you so much 🥺🥺💖💖💖 i had no idea you saw it but thank you for such a sweet compliment !! 🤍🤍 also this is strange but that actually means a lot to hear that i look tamilian HAHAH and omgg he’s tamil LOLL 🤧

LMAODJJF THE FIRST COLOR I SAW WAS PINK but i suppose you can take it as purple bc it has purple stars on it 🥰🥰💜💜 but dw love you don’t need speculation, you got this on your own !!

but i’ve been well angel, tysm for asking !! ☺️💗 i had a great time at home with my family and got to eat a lot of good food :’)) and actually i have a little brother not sister !! ♡ but yesyes i got to unwind and spend a lot of time for myself and it was very relaxing 🌷🌷 i hope you’re taking time for yourself as well in the midst of your exams !! hope you’re doing well and take care 🥰🌸