mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

His expression was entirely too excited at the mention of social media notoriety. "Do you really think? I'm always so jealous of teachers who go viral and suddenly have swarms of people sending them supplies.... the budget this year is slim, I could do with some strangers online buying crayons in bulk for us."

Her question inspires a pause as he considers how truthful he wanted to be in the midst of a casual drink and not a formal parent-principal meeting. The way his lips quirked at the corners, a knowing smile just begging to take over, gives away his answer, though. "I mean.... he wasn't directly involved. But I may have seen him playing lookout when I was finishing up lunch duty." It had been painfully suspicious but Mateo had been happy to let him off with a few good-natured taunts and an order to get back to class.

"No, if he'd been really involved it absolutely would've been superglue they used."

"Do you even have to ask?" Delilah's eyebrow rose over her glass, paused halfway to her mouth. "Clearly the answer is TikTok. I wouldn't be surprised if you find you've gone viral by the morning."

She was really only half kidding, having witnessed firsthand just what harebrained schemes and pranks were being cultivated both for and by the youth of this generation.

It was this thought that fueled her next question, though she wasn't sure she truly wanted to know the answer.

"Please just tell me it wasn't my devious fifth grader leading the charge on this?" It'd felt like just yesterday Delilah and Rafael had been called to the office to discuss Theo's black market slime ring he'd been running at recess. That, at least, had taken some entrepreneurship.

Was she a bad parent to be disappointed at the prospect that this too had been his doing--not because it was wrong (which it was), but because she knew deep down it truly just wasn't his best work?

Though, depending on his answer, Mateo might think her a bad parent, anyways.

@mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

"Yes, it's like my brain chemistry shifted when I moved back.... I seemed so much more responsible and in control of things in Arizona...." Though, if he were really honest with himself, he'd been operating on auto-pilot whilst living near his sister, just trying to make everyone around him believe that he were someone who could be responsible for a child and his students. He'd never quite believed the act himself, but it had convinced his peers well enough.

"Nah, I think they'll be great. I mean, as long as they get all the devious tendencies out now, then think of all the brain power they'll have to end world hunger or cure cancer! I think I'm doing them a favor by letting them prank me.... they need an outlet for their mischief." Yeah, that was it. He was practically a paragon of virtue!

"God, don't remind me. I got food poisoning from those chicken skewers he all but forced us all to try." His hand laid over his stomach as though even the mention made him nauseous. "They're good, I think! The students adjusted quickly... I mean, who the principal is doesn't really affect their day-to-day. The teachers are all still hesitant, but I get it. I'm the new boss, it's a lot of uncertainty."

Leo had been far from a saint when he was his students' age, which made it hard for him to actually stay mad at them even if they were really pushing his limits. He'd seen some of his coworkers crumble under the everyday stressors of working with kids, and he understood that to a certain extent, but he also knew that they were mostly just looking for a reaction. If he didn't give them the one they wanted, they usually got bored and backed off. (Also, Leo thought he had thicker skin than a lot of his coworkers, but he wasn't going to say that part aloud.)

"A magnetic field works too, though. I did immediately feel a little more manic when I moved here, so you might be onto something. Whatever it is, these kids are just built different. It's a little scary, actually. They're gonna take over the world someday."

"How's everything going over there otherwise, though? I don't think I've seen you since that thing... the superintendent's cookout thing."

@mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

"Oh, I've absolutely done worse. But not until I had access to pranking funds so.... high school." Having a car had greatly improved his range of pranks as well. Still, Mateo had to admire the kids for starting so young. "Right, like as an authority figure I'm livid, but as a teacher and mentor? Kind of proud."

Gavin's smile prompted both a laugh and a faint flush of Mateo's cheeks. "It was Elmer's glue! That shit never hardens.... it just loosely pastes things together." His words were filtered through stifled bits of laughter, though, at the other man's concern for his pride (or curiosity as to the lengths of his embarrassment.... Mateo chose to favor the former). "I did, but honestly it was worse once I stood: I should've just rolled my office chair into the staff bathroom."

“ I think we all have our moments growing up where we act like rebels or troublemakers but I feel like a lot of the stuff I would do was a lot less intense “ Gavin noted. He honestly was kind of a terror when he was younger. It was because of the fact he’d been in and out of foster homes till the Carrigans adopted him but he did grow out of it. Or at least he hoped he had. “ it definitely took way less planing so I give them a lot of credit for their ingenuity “

“ you didn’t feel it hardening? “ he asked surprises before smiling a bit at the image. “ yeah that would have been my huge clue. I have some polite students but the frequent and that polite. Not often. Please tell me you got up before it hardened ?” @mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

"For a ten year old, dude? It's diabolical!" The extent of Mateo's pranking at that age had been calling the first number he landed on in the phonebook and asking if their refrigerator was running.... an embarrassingly archaic method in comparison. "I mean, thank god they wouldn't know where to find super glue. It's not like I keep a spare pair of pants in my office, I would've had to call you to come bail me out." And if Santi had seen him stuck to his chair, no way Teo would've ever lived it down.

"Of course I do, the three of them took turns coming up with excuses to come into my office so they could see if I'd noticed yet.... rookie move, but I get the excitement of wanting to see how your victim reacts. Maybe I'll give them some pointers when they're in detention next week."

@santiagodeleons

"You really think that's devious?" Santiago queries after Mateo paints the whole picture -- an amusing one at that -- but it barely had anything on the kind of mischief they used to get up when running around Aurora Bay unsupervised as teenagers. "If it was super glue, I'd be inclined to agree."

( His mother, ever his personal defender, had made a catchphrase of saying Santiago wasn't trouble it just found him back then. )

"Have you any ideas who the hilarious menace is behind it?"

@mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

His brows were still furrowed as she spoke, trying to follow her story to logically connect the dots as to how his life from Arizona had somehow followed him home. "Your brother.... right, I think I remember you mentioning that he'd moved out this way." But the fact that he'd relocated to Mateo's hometown had somehow slipped his memory. "That's.... so weird, that we would both be here!" He finally broke into a warm smile, stepping forward to bridge the distance between them.

"Please, only my students are allowed to call me Mr. Cordova— Mateo, at least. I think we're well enough acquainted." Which is putting it mildly, but then again they'd never gotten around to putting any sort of a label on the few dates and flirty exchanges they'd shared. "Well, it just felt like time to move back home. My mom's here, and she wanted to spend more time with Lily... I really only moved there so my sisters could help me out, but I seem to have gotten the hang of this single-parent thing, so it seemed like the perfect time to venture out on my own."

Having the man turn around and in fact be Mateo made her head spin a little bit. Mateo had been her....well, not her ex-boyfriend, but her ex-something. Flirting and dating and the potential for maybe more, but it all fizzled out with their real lives (and their 'children') got in the way and took precedence over a romantic life. But now...

Snapping out of it, Valeria shook her head a bit to clear it before she finally smiled at him and even took a little step closer. "I-I live here now. My little sisters graduated high school and both got into school away from Arizona, so without them there needing me....I finally left. My brother Asher is here. I got here a few months ago." She'd told him about all her siblings before and how she's pretty much raised them all- and mentioned how her brother just up and left years ago, so she kind of hoped he remembered it all. "And you? What brought you here, Mister Cordova?"

[mateoxcordova]

There were a lot of things about parenthood that Mateo hadn't been prepared for, which was to be expected considering the circumstances under which he'd become the parent to a little girl who shared none of his genetics..... but the most offensive thing people had failed to warn him about was the stress that came with cooking dinner for a picky eater. Lilian had always been picky, of course, but it made his weekly grocery trips all the more stressful, which was probably why it took a few beats for him to realize that he was being spoken to.

"Sorry?" His gaze moved from the shelf of boxed pasta he was staring at (one of three back-up meals he kept stocked just in case), though when he followed the sound of the voice back to the face it belonged to he had to do a double take.

"Val— Valeria? What're you doing here?? Not the store, I mean I assume you're here for the same reason as the rest of us but— Aurora Bay, what're you doing here?" @thevaleriaxortiz

closed - @mateoxcordova

where - choose ur own adventure xo

Valeria had been in Aurora Bay for about six months now and she finally felt like she'd gotten the hang of life here, finally felt at home here. She did admittedly miss Arizona though, missed a few people who'd been in her life (excluding her father) even if she genuinely felt better off here. And maybe it was all the thoughts of Arizona and her past and the people in her past, but when she looked ahead and saw a very familiar face, Valeria quite literally stumbled and stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening just slightly because there was no way that was him...and no way he was here....

Right?

Swallowing, Valeria hesitantly made her way over, her heart in her throat as she got closer. "Matty?"

[mateoxcordova]

"No, see, don't tell me that." Of course, Mateo was well aware of just how terrifyingly clever boys could grow to be. Not only because he'd been one himself, but because his first year teaching had been an English class full of high school seniors..... a harrowing year that had sent him running for the comfort of pre-pubescent innocence.

There was something comforting, though, in knowing that the children in Aurora Bay were still being children. "I had a theory for a long time that maybe there was some magnetic field altering their brain chemistry, but something in the water makes.... so much more sense." Given Leo's warning, he couldn't help but groan in anticipation — though the grin stretched across his face took a bit of the edge off his complaint. "Trust me, my hand is going through every doorway and on every chair before I proceed for the next month at least." @leomlarson

"Oh, dude, trust me — they just get smarter and smarter about it as they get older," Leo said, shaking his head, torn between fondness and exasperation. His students were imps, every last one of them, and it didn't help that he was an art teacher and had a plethora of things in his classroom that they could use to fuck with him.

He took a swallow of his beer. "There's gotta be something in the water here that just makes the kids grow up looking to get themselves into some shit. One of mine just pulled that TikTok prank where you put saran wrap in a doorway — I walked into it, fell straight on my ass. Video was on the internet five seconds later. Hopefully he wasn't the older brother of one of your kids, but if he was then you might wanna start sticking a hand through doorways first for the next few weeks."

@mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

To be frank, Mateo was still working out how to be a principal and connect with his peers. He'd always been the teacher who organized events and while it had been a hit when he was one of them, it was significantly more difficult to convince the teachers that a drink with their boss could be fun. Still, her presence was a success in his book, even if he could feel her uncertainty.

"Oh, no, I would never assume as much. I think it's just a genetic trait boys have, actually. Like they're hardwired to come up with ways to get on your nerves...." he trailed off, lost in the thought of how those same boys had laughed the first time he gave them their detention slips. "No, everytime I stop by your class they're all perfectly behaved. They really adore you." @katrinaxbeauford

Going out drinking with the new principal wasn't exactly the greatest idea, but he'd put out the offer and Katrina would have felt rude to say no. So she was just going to have one drink, and it was barely alcoholic at that. Still, it would be nice to get to know him a little.

"You're right--- that did not happen to me today." She mused, a little sheepishly. "I swear, I had nothing to do with teaching them anything of the sort." Which was true. Katrina wasn't that type of person. @mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

"Right? I mean, I was known for pulling a few pranks in grade school, but nothing that required the planning this did." Although, to be fair, it wasn't terribly difficult to pull one over on Mateo: he had a knack for being a little too trusting, and while he'd never considered himself gullible, he certainly fave people the benefit of the doubt to a fault.

"Okay, see, that's actually the embarrassing part." Though he'd already begun laughing, recalling the memory. "It took about five minutes of different kids popping their heads in asking how I was doing with this stupid grin on their faces. There I was, ass in glue thinking, 'Wow, so polite this afternoon!'.... humiliating. Brilliant, but humiliating." @gavin-carrigan

Gavin mostly dealt with college level students that just wanted to undermine his lectures and tell him he was old. This was a whole other beast when he heard mateos comment. He didn’t know which one he preferred, but settling on the glue because that took some planning and ingenuity at least.

“ I would have the same problem. That’s pretty clever. At what point did you realize things had gone wrong?” @mateoxcordova

[mateoxcordova]

She's always had terrible timing, as far as Mateo can remember, because Gia's voice second, louder request for the bill falls right in the lull of his conversation. Of course, it's not as though he's surprised he'd find her here. Old habits die hard, it seems. He excuses himself politely before sliding off of his stool and crossing down to the end of the bar where Gia's unsubtly trying to angle herself out of his line of sight. "Oh, so you are still alive and well. I was starting to wonder, since you haven't responded to any of my texts or emails for the past five years." He can tell by the defensive stance of her shoulders that she's surprised to have run into him, indicating that she hadn't even read the last email (which stings a little). "You can't avoid me forever, Gia. Well, especially not now that I live in the area again."

She'd spotted him immediately, actually, not by catching a lucky glance of him in her peripheral but rather by sound. Even five years later, it's a voice so familiar that it takes no time at all for her to pinpoint the person sitting a few stools away from her at the very same bar. All at once, the questions start flooding in: how, when, why? But it's Gia's flight instinct that swiftly wins out over her desire for answers.

"Hi—" Trying to get the bartender's attention is not easy, but she's determined now more than ever— "Could I just get the bill, please?" She tries to keep her voice low until the bartender forces her to repeat her question, drawing a flush to her cheeks as she desperately tries to avoid looking to her right. Please, please, please let her pay and escape before he notices her presence.

[mateoxcordova]

starter status: open ( @aurorabaystarter ) — feel free to assume connections!

location: four leaf pub

Nostalgia had been assaulting him in waves ever since pulling back into the city limits of Aurora Bay, but no where is it stronger than when he's at the Four Leaf Pub. The establishment itself is notorious for remaining the same over the years, and never has Mateo been more grateful than he is now. Even the smell is familiar, and the company's not to bad either.

"Well, at least you didn't get glued to your office chair today: I mean, they were fifth graders so it was just Elmer's glue and I could get right back up, but still. Where did these kids learn to be so devious? It was almost difficult to punish them because I was just so impressed."

[mateoxcordova]

As per usual, Mateo is all but rendered speechless by her kindness, but he reaches out to take the gift nonetheless. "As per usual, this was wholly unnecessary and yet incredibly thoughtful, Ann. Besides, it's not as though I did anything for you that you wouldn't have done for me or anyone else ten times over."

Tucking the present beneath his arm, his weight shifts as he reaches out to rest a palm on her shoulder gently. "How's work been? Are you getting re-acclimated alright?"

For: @aurorabaystarter Where: Anywhere tbh

Ann had put everything aside since the funeral, she had taken a month off and now she just needed to remember how to function without her husband. There were several people she wanted to thank in town, and it started here, she really did have something for everyone for being so supportive. "Ah, finally, here you go, this is for you!" She said, handing over a wrapped present.

[mateoxcordova]

He can't quite share in her misery: he'd spent most of his life in Aurora Bay, after all. Even having only been back for a few weeks, muscle memory kicked in on his way most places. Still, he's gotten turned around enough to maintain a healthy distrust of his own navigational skills. "If it makes you feel better, I lived here for almost thirty years without knowing where some things are around town. Comparatively, you're doing really well!"

Still, Mateo refuses to let a small setback ruin anyone's evening. "You made it to the most important place in town, though. And that's well worth a celebratory drink or five. Next round on me?"

Open starter: @aurorabaystarter Location: Four Leaf Pub

"I think nothing beats being new, I got lost...lost, then I almost lost my phone, it's been a rough day." Claudia said out loud to the other that was nearby, taking a long sip of her drink. "But hey, at least it's not a huge city like LA or New York. God I can only imagine the type of shit I would be in."

[mateoxcordova]

Welcome to Aurora Bay, [MATEO CORDOVA]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [OSCAR ISAAC]. You must be the [FORTY-ONE] year old [PRINCIPAL AT AURORA BAY ELEMENTARY]. Word is you’re [OPTIMISTIC] but can also be a bit [INDECISIVE] and your favorite song is [I’M LIKE A BIRD BY NELLY FURTADO]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [SEABROOK QUARTERS]. I’m sure you’ll love it! [kend, twenty-eight, est, she/her]

full name: mateo amoros cordova

age: forty-one

pronouns & gender: he/him, cismale

sexual orientation: bisexual

hometown: aurora bay, california

star sign: aquarius

occupation: principal at aurora bay elementary

(+) cheerful, patient, optimistic

(-) idealistic, immature, nosey

time in aurora bay: since childhood, save the last five years in arizona

neighborhood: seabrook quarters

tw: abuse, car accident, death, parental loss

history

hailing all the way from aurora bay, it's my golden boy's homecoming y'all !!!!

born to alegria mariposa cordova and manuel fidel morales, teo is the baby of the family with two older sisters to keep him in line and trust me when i say he needed it 🥲

very much a wild child, mateo was never short on friends and never short on entertainment !! he was always dubbed the 'easy one'— despite his inclination toward goofing off, teo liked school and he did well in it. and while he'd always had a knack for speaking out of turn, nine times out of ten he found he could talk himself back out of the situation just as quickly.

but the picturesque, jack-of-all-trades persona he'd perfected by the age of five served as a safeguard against the anxiety and fear his home-life produced

manuel morales had never wanted children, much less three, and by the time mateo was born his weariness had turned to bitterness that he barely masked in public. verbal blows were doled out equally amongst his wife and children, but mateo endured the worst of it and was the only one to ever take a physical blow (albeit most times in defense of his mother).

always a little too chatty, too sensitive, too loud, too much like his sisters.... there seemed to be nothing that mateo could do to please his father but god if he didn't try. each skill mastered in the hopes that it might impress him, every sport imaginable on the roster in the hopes that he'd come to a game but instead he came home at the age of 16 to find his father's truck gone and his side of the closet empty

which was for the best, as far as anyone else in his family is concerned, but does nothing to quell the perfectionist daddy complex teo's been harboring ever since

STILL without the ticking time-bomb things seemed to get better !!! his sisters both went off to college and, as the golden child, teo stayed home to take care of his mother but he'd never really minded !! he'd known from a young age he wanted to teach and the local college had an education program so once his degrees had been tucked into the manila folder his mother kept all important documents in (per her insistence) he took a position teaching third grade at the local elementary school

he'd cultivated a really solid group of friends around town that almost made up for the inherent anxiety and loneliness he was still masking. better yet, staying in aurora bay felt like it meant never growing up which had developed into a fear of his after seeing the way age and responsibility warped his father.

unfortunately he wasn't given much of a choice in the matter !! it's been five years since the accident that claimed two of his best friends, but mateo still has nightmares where he gets the call from the hospital. even worse, he can still see the image of their daughter, lilian, so small in the hospital bed with bruises and cuts from shattered glass covering her arms. teo was fairly sure of what his role would be in their absence: he was meant to bring levity. to be the relief that people turned to when reality was too much to bear. a role he anticipated he'd do fairly well in !!

what he did not anticipate was that his friends had imagined a different role for him: the role of father in their absence. with neither having much family to speak of, they had named mateo and another of their close friends as their daughter's guardian. and while the thought of adulthood and specifically fatherhood were points of contention for him, teo had known there was no way he could refuse

it became very apparent, though, that he was the only one who felt this way !!! while mateo was willing to sacrifice the life he'd imagined, the other guardian -- who he'd always considered a dear friend to both him and their departed friends -- refused. he spent weeks trying to get her to see reason, to see why they owed it to their friends to come through, but to no avail and eventually he was named lilian's sole guardian

which, of course, he smiled about !! how could he not when he'd always adored children and had always wanted children of his own... despite the gnawing anxiety and grief he refused to process, mateo genuinely greeted his new role of fatherhood with open arms. of course, with his mother's age and his lack of expertise in being an adult (at thirty-six no less) he thought it best to move closer to his sisters in arizona, knowing that he needed some support system, even if it weren't the one he'd thought he'd have in aurora bay.

but five years later he's BACK baby and with a fancy new title as principal to boot !!! as much as they had been thriving in arizona, teo couldn't shake the feeling that lilian deserved to be raised where her parents had been. there just felt like too much about them he couldn't explain to her without being where they had walked and talked and laughed together

more selfishly (though he'd never admit it) mateo's very much come to terms with how difficult parenting is, let alone solo. like most things, he's mastered it quite well but it's come at a price. the loneliness that had started to set in became unbearable, and he missed the carefree feeling being home had given him so it seemed like a win-win !!! but slotting back into his old life isn't quite as easy as he'd expected. not to mention being home is stirring up all sorts of memories and feelings.... good and bad.

potential connections

locals !!! teo was born and raised in the area and he's only been gone for the past five years so he's still pretty familiar with people around town so gimme all the reconnects for him !! whether they were casual friends or classmates or he used to frequent where they work i'm open for all of it

he does have a tighter-knit group of friends that's been together since college (some of them have probably known each other since birth but they didn't become a ~ crew ~ until their university days) -- probably like 5 or 6 other people i may or may not post a wanted connections for it !! remains 2 b seen

would also love for him to have someone who fills him in on all the local gossip/what happened while he was gone bc he r e f u s e s to be out of the loop on juicy intel !!!!

other parents !!!! now that he doesn't have his sisters to talk to about the woes of potty training or trying to get lily to eat vegetables (they're limiting him to one facetime call a week 😓) he's desperate for someone else to talk to or he's gonna lose it xnjfkl;ewja he's also the principal of the elementary school so parents of his students ofc will be familiar with his face too bc he stands outside the front of the school for every morning drop off and afternoon pickup

that said also teachers !!!!! teo's actually a little tougher of a boss than you'd think him to be (not THAT much tougher but like.... a little), but always in the name of making the teachers he's supervising b e t t e r. but he's definitely had teachers who don't like him so open to all kinds of connections here !!!

he was also v much in the dating scene (i mean look at him) so exes, former flings/fwb, one-night stands, maybe even a serious relationship from high school 👀

that said he hasn't dated since he got custody of lilian SO my man is rusty.... but he's ready to jump back in !! now that he's got a built in babysitter (thank u grandma xoxo) he's ready to get back into the swing of things so casual dates, blind dates, speed dates - he's there

as nice as he is, teo can also be.... a lot so enemies are more than welcome too !! and he's as loyal as they come so any enemy of his friends is an enemy to him too >(

would love to maybe have a rival that he had growing up bc my man is COMPETITIVE !!!

@aurorabayaesthetic

[mateoxcordova]

OSCAR ISAAC as JONATHAN SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE 1.01 INNOCENCE AND PANIC

[mateoxcordova]

OSCAR ISAAC - BRIONI SPRING 2024 AD CAMPAIGN