#AND HE KEEPS FUCKING CUE ING US AT THE WRONG MEASURE

[the-kneesbees]

"this sounds perfect you guys!" my entire section has not successfully played this piece once.

[darkwing-katy]

This has been a long, long, long week. For those of you interested, here is essentially what happened. Monday: I go to work. It's the one week that the school is fully closed so everyone can prep for the start of the new school year (which is exactly a week later, so this coming Monday). I get assigned to help this one teacher get her room ready. There is lots of heavy lifting. I spot Christian briefly and we share a wave. I sort through a crapton of books for the classroom and organize them by theme...sorta. Also there is lots of stapling and "is this straight?"ing. There is an all-staff luncheon and meeting that afternoon. I see Christian and decide to offer to give him a ride back to the school afterwards since I know he doesn't have a car. We sit at different tables because of assigned seating. I notice that even though his table was told they could get food, he goes to the back of the line and lets literally everyone else get their food before him. There are roughly forty people there, two of which are men, including him. This is a type of chivalry that I've never seen before in real life. Who is this guy? Where did he come from? I'm pretty sure he's secretly Leopold from "Kate and Leopold". As we are eating and waiting for the meeting to start, I keep looking at him, and I'm fairly certain he's glancing at me. One of the ladies at the front desk is seated next to him and turns and sees me. I smile and she laughs, then says something to him. He waves at me and she says something else, and I can read his lips as he replies, "Kate's cool." We smile some more. She laughs. I have to go to the bathroom when the meeting is over. Then I chicken out of waking back into the room to make sure he has a ride. Instead I sit in my car and wait for him to leave. He has a ride. Dammit Kate, why didn't you offer? I realize I don't know how to get back to the school from this place, so I decide to follow his ride. They end up going the wrong way and I have a moment of "HOLY SHIT THEY'RE GOING TO CVS TO GET STUFF AND I'M FOLLOWING THEM AND HE'S GONNA THINK I'M A STALKER AHHHHHHHH". Turns out they just went the wrong way. The girl who drove him texts me later to make sure I got home okay. I have somehow made a new friend. Apparently he was concerned about me since he knew I was following them. It's the start of a long week. I have decided to read all of Inkheart so I have an excuse to visit the library. Tuesday: I go back into the classroom. At one point I'm sitting at a table, cutting out waves. Christian pops his head in, possibly looking for someone else, possibly wanting to say hi to me. Who knows. We wave and say hi. I eat lunch with the girl who texted me yesterday. She's pretty cool. I have made a work friend. 10/10 was not expecting. I'm bummed that that's the only time I saw him, but realize that tomorrow is a day of meetings and surely, SURELY I will see him. Wednesday: the Day of Meetings. I have three meetings to attend. In between them I assemble four chairs and a table, and I'm so proud of myself for being able to follow instructions. Is this what adulting feels like? Is this why people buy furniture from IKEA? Is this why people build things? The first meeting is all about preschool stuff. It's fun. My boss is hilarious. The second meeting is after school staff. I go because I may or may not sub after school. Christian is there. The meeting is in the library. We smile and wave, and I contemplate sitting by him. But I'm too shy and I'm not that bold (at least when it comes to him) and I need to sit somewhere where I can read the instructor's lips. Alas. There is the occasional glancing at each other, and I make an effort to pay attention instead of daydreaming. Meeting number three (an IT info meeting that has two separate times we had to choose from) is the final meeting of the day, and the last thing on the agenda for that day. I am curious. Last week Christian asked me which session I was attending. I told him the 2-3pm. He said he signed up for the 1-2 session and he didn't think he could change it. He also thought the meeting was that week. So I've spent all day wondering if he did switch sessions. The clock is ticking. I resolve myself. "It doesn't mean anything. He just went to the other one. That's cool." Christian walks in. I am ecstatic. He waves and asks if he can sit by me. I tease him. "Didn't you tell me you were doing to the other one? I'm pretty sure you said that to me." "I never said that. I signed up for this one." Cue more grins and laughing. Then a very pregnant teacher comes in and he immediately offers his seat. I now have a teacher sitting between us. I am simultaneously impressed with his action and annoyed because I'm selfish and wanted to sit by him. Holy shit. Who is this man? Why is he so polite? WHERE DID HE COME FROM? Throughout the meeting we occasionally look at each other. Each time I feel like I'm blushing. Dammit, Kate, could you be any more obvious? Afterwards I go to the IT people and have them set up my work email on my phone. I see Christian talking to my new work friend and wonder if he's killing time, trying to wait for me. We nod at each other, he asks if everything's all good, I hold up Inkspell because i finished the first book and tell him I'm taking it. He laughs and says that's cool. This is all done via mouthing the words. The IT people are still messing with my phone. He leaves. I am kinda sad. He returns. I am amused. Also I'm still kinda reeling from the fact that he came to the session I said I was gonna be at and sat by me, even if only for a moment. This is a good indication that he is interested. The IT people are STILL dealing with my phone. He leaves, this time for good. I go to the library afterwards, hoping to say bye. He is talking to another teacher, and I can't keep killing time loitering like that. Reluctantly, I leave. He changed meetings for me. Holy shit, this might be a thing. Thursday: I see him once in the morning as I'm using the die-cutter in the library for bulletin board letters. I wonder if he saw/heard me singing to my Disney pandora. I'm fairly certain he didn't. I am both glad of this and disappointed of this. I finish the classroom I've been assigned and go to other classes in search of anyone who needs help. Another class needs letters. I volunteer to go to the library and cut them all out for them. They all seem to hate the die-cutter, so they are eager to let me do it. They don't know I have ulterior motivation. Insert maniacal laugh. I get there and play my music. Christian sees me and we wave and ask how it's going. Then he leaves. He probably has a meeting. I am kinda bummed, but I also know that I need to focus on being as helpful to the teachers as possible. We have one day left to get everything ready for open house. I stay late helping yet another classroom. Friday: It is here. The open house is tonight. Also my mother and my uncle are coming to visit me at work because they're curious. I am nervous but also excited. Mom knows about a Christian and I kinda want her to at least see him. I see him prior to their arrival and we chat for a bit about a painting project I offered to do for the library. He says Monday would be a good day to do it. My mom and my uncle arrive, along with my grandma. I was not aware that she was coming along. Holy shit, I hope she doesn't start telling everyone about her medical issues. Holy shit, she is. Grandma no. Grandma stop. We finally get to the library. Mom and I walk around. My stress level has risen and I'm regretting having my family come visit. I accidentally blurt out that she was fired from her librarian position without thinking about how inappropriate that was. Fucking hell, Kate. We leave the library and are trying to decide where to eat. I have almost got my grandma out the door when my mom points out a wagon. My grandma wants this wagon. She drags my uncle over to look at the wagon. I look at my mom. "Her hand was on the door. Why did you do that? Why would you say that?" Mom is clearly regretting her comment. Christian comes around the corner to talk to me. I tell him to save the Animorphs books for me and I'll come get them after lunch. He says he will. We chat for a minute, the three of us, and then my uncle finally gets my grandma away from the wagon. Christian bids us farewell and returns from whence he came. When mom gets into the backseat with me, she leans over and mutters, "He came out looking for you to talk to you. That's a clear sign. He likes you." I feel as if the family stress was worth it just to hear my mom say that she's positive he's into me. Now we know. We eat a delicious lunch and they drop me back off. I help with balloons (there is a hilarious incident involving helium), then I go to the library to get more books since we have 45 minutes to kill. Another teacher has taking the other animorph books. I am slightly mad at her. How dare she. I then help Christian go through the box of books to trash, and we and another girl make fun conversation. I realize I need to get back to the other building, so I walk with them to the trash bin out back. I tell them I gotta go to the other building and say byes and I'll see you later. Then I walk away, all the while throwing my closed umbrella in the air and catching it epically. I turn once more to say bye. Christian comments on my impressive umbrella catching skills. For good measure, I toss it up again and catch it. He laughs. I feel validated. After open house ends, I impulsively go back to the library. Maybe I can ask if he wants to get a coffee. Goodness knows I could use one. But I don't know how to ask if he wants to get a coffee. It's stupid. It's coffee. Why can't I say this. Why can I be so bold about some things and so shy about others. Fucking hell. We end up talking with a mom of a teacher. I learn that he wears contacts. Somehow the mental image of him wearing glasses is adorable to me and I need to see this in reality asap. I try to kill time when he walks away. It is raining, so I have an excuse. When he comes back, however, he has on his backpack and seems in a rush. There is car waiting for him. Oh. Well, there went that plan. He said bye and "Have a good weekend!" I say, "you too! Bye!" Then I leave. As I watch "Mamma Mia" with my mom, my aunt, and my cousins, I briefly entertain the notion of asking him out by singing "Take A Chance". I won't, but I'm amused by the mental scenario of what that would look like. I come home and type all this up. Holy crapoli I typed a lot. I am so tired. It has been a long week. I need to sleep. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll dream about him wearing glasses.