PTA III
[Trevante Rhodes x Reader]
Word Count: 2.2K
Summer had come and gone in the blink of an eye yet felt as long as finals week when you were earning your teaching degree. School ended last quarter with a clumsy splat seeing as the first wave of virus knocked everything out of order very quick. You stressed out running lessons to the school for kids to pick up and working with families with limited to no internet access pulled your patience to its thinnest layer.
So when all had officially finished, you had to take the time to yourself as best as you could. In a normal summer, you would plan a getaway to just about anywhere you hadn’t seen before and the more solo the better. Sipping something alcoholic in a warm climate with the Sun toasting your skin to its peak melanated beauty was all you would need to pack you full of endorphins that could last you into the next year.
But that wasn’t the plan now. Travel restrictions keep you from going out of town and you can’t even get a decent dinner anymore seeing as most restaurants are dine out only. The only silver lining you can muster is the mask mandates allowing you to keep from smiling at strangers in awkward politeness when they get in your way. It is a layer of protection for your sanity and solitude.
However that wasn’t the only silver lining you have from the summer. Mr. Rhodes, or Trevante as he has to still remind you, became very generous with his time with you outside of the classroom. As much as you try to keep things professional for your jobs sake, he won’t let you be for any little thing. Your email has message after message from him asking about simple math for everyday things that apparently Nemour needed refreshing on, followed by a ‘so how you been doing?’
Email 1
“Dear Ms. (Y/N), I am contacting you in regards to my son, Nemour. While in the grocery today, we came across a sale for oranges, 3lb. for $5. But then this other store has 5 lb. for $6. Now he is itching to know what price would be the better one to go for?”
Your response:
“Dear Mr. Rhodes, Although my primary concentration is History, you can tell Nemour that he should go for the second deal with 5lb.”
“Perfect, that’s why you’re the teacher! So...how’ve you been?”
Sometimes you reply, and sometimes you leave him on read, it depends on how conversational you feel. But as time progressed, you got excited to see his emails asking to remind him what the 3 branches of government are or what amendment means what? He even got you on video chat to discuss.
“What?! So slavery isn’t really abolished on that bullshit?” Trevante exclaims in awe.
You throw your hands up, aghast as if you just learned it yourself. “That’s the thing about American government. They will throw a loophole where you least expect it and throw a parade like the shit ain’t bout to pop out.”
“Damn! That’s like some Trojan horse shit honestly,” he shakes his head, taking a swig of his beer.
You snap your finger, “Exactly, my man, exactly! That’s why nobody can agree on anything worth a damn. There’s gonna be a clause somewhere that adds some shit that makes the whole thing rotten. But you didn’t hear it from me, so don’t let Nemour know I’m saying this kind of stuff.”
He twists his face in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I? My son got a right to know about what this country is founded on. Everyone does.”
“Yeah I know. Just...when topics like these pop up it’s difficult to keep it all…” your voice trails off as you search your bedroom for the words you are looking for.
“Politically Incorrect?” he offers.
You nod a little. “Kinda, yeah.”
He sets down his beer, sitting a little closer to the screen. “You shouldn’t have to worry about that. History is literally set in stone. If we didn’t have it, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves now.”
���Do we know what to do now though?” you ask in a higher pitch, squinting like you stepped in hot coals.
Trevante took a minute looking at you before dipping his head down to chuckle. You could hear the pounding baritone in his chest from your speakers.
“What? What’s that about?” you ask.
He sits up again, stroking his beard, “It’s cute when you make your face like that. That’s all.”
You roll your eyes, pulling your scarf further down your forehead to make up for slipping.
Trevante tuts at you. “I need a bucket or something to catch these compliments you keep throwing away that I toss at you. You don’t believe me or what?”
You give a very dignified look, “I believe I am beautiful. I just don’t believe in entertaining a parent, is all.”
Trevante sighs. “Summer don’t count (y/n). You’re not his teacher now so what’s the issue?”
You look off to the side and back at him. The crisp white t shirt he has on is obstructing more of the view of his body then you care for but the tightness at the sleeve around his bicep makes up for what you know is already there.
“Hello?” he says.
You blink a few times, crossing your arms. “Hm?”
“You go off into space a lot too. What’s on your mind when you do that?”
His arms around your waist that tightly bind you to his body as you inhale his sweet cologne that is perfectly distributed from his neck to chest.
You scratch your neck, and tell a half lie. “Oh, just this new school year.”
“See this is a perk of having a teacher friend. Fill me in, what’s up?”
“Well, all I have right now is that we are doing hybrid learning, so some classes at the school and some at home. Now the district just need to provide the materials for the kids to be able to do that. The internet, the laptop/tablets, and make sure we can all connect and no one is behind on lessons. And since I am on the front line, I have to get creative with the lesson plans and keep people on task and on time.”
Trevante nods. “Well me and Nemour are excited to see what you have for us next year, whatever it is.”
You smirk at the encouragement. “Thank you Tre, but I can’t guarantee we will be together for the next school year. That’s decided at random. Plus the grade he is in next year is the last one I teach.”
“Nah, we gonna be in there. If I have to sign a petition or boycott like these hot breathed whites out here not wearing masks, we will be in your class this fall.”
You bust out laughing at his determination. “Dang, Tre! Don’t go starting a ruckus up there cuz of me! He will still be taught well, whoever he has a teacher.”
He makes a cut it motion across his neck. “Nah, we only rock with the best and that’s you up there. I will make all the, what you call it? Ruckus? That shit! So I will be seeing you first day in the fall, ok?”
You feel heat spread over your skin from shyness. His brash attitude comes out and makes you feel like a superstar. “Ok, I’ll hold you to it. How’s Nemour doing anyway?”
Trevante nods, picking up his laptop as he changes rooms. “He is doing well, being a regular kid. Playing and doing his chores.”
You nod. “Great!”
He closes a door behind him as he lays the laptop down, you can tell he is laying across his bed on his stomach as he speaks.
“He has been asking me a lot more questions about police and like, if they stop me or him, what’s gonna happen and what do we do? Should we run away? Can we not live by cops, stuff like that.”
You heart breaks hearing this. “Wow, and this is coming from a child?”
He nods, resting his chin on his forearm. “It’s part my fault. I’m always looking at the news and if he sitting at the table eating breakfast or whatever, he’s gonna see it. I cut it off when they show bodycam footage though cuz that is nothing but toxic.”
“I can’t count how many times I had to see them replay that man dying in the street. And in front of people watching, they don’t care who is watching cuz what can you do? You can’t interfere or that’s a charge on you but he could’ve lived.”
Trevante looks spaced out for a second hearing this. “I know, and that’s why it’s hard explaining to Nemour what everything is about. I give him the basics though: Do what the officer says, don’t argue, and don’t get into shit that’s gonna get the cops called on you either. But it sounds played out to even say. What did everybody else do that’s dead now?”
“Nothing. Sleep in their bed, going to the store, jogging. Not a damn thing that warranted a bullet.”
Trevante gives a small shrug, looking sad like he is staring at his reflection in a pond. “Yeah, so he been grappling with that and that’s a lot for a kid his age. That’s why I want him to be your student still too cuz you’re one of the only Black teachers there and I honestly think he is uncomfortable with white people right now. We went to the store the other day and he calls himself protecting me saying if the man getting bread bothers me, he put on his little Timbs so he can stomp him for me.”
You gasp at the thought, giving a weak smile. “I mean, that would go viral for some child to curb stomp a big old white dude.”
Tre smiled some too. “I think Nemour was this close to saying ‘Don’t worry bout it sweetheart.’ I can’t let him look at no internet again.”
You put your foot up and say, “He finna give him that SPLAHH!”
Trevante laughs heartily, wiping his eyes, “You more hip than I thought too.”
“I had some wine earlier, so that might’ve helped.” You put a finger to your mouth and pull up the glass from the nightstand.
“Oh shit! So this is Turnt Teacher! Go head then, don’t let me stop you”
You wave him off. “You aren’t stopping anything. If nothing else, you keeping me going. All this house shit is working my last nerve, it’s nice to see a familiar face every once in a while.”
“I think so too. You’ve been a great addition to some weeknights this summer.”
You put a thumbs up as you sip your wine. “Are we still doing a movie tonight? I think it’s my turn to pick.”
Trevante curls up a lip. “Nah, I don’t think so.”
Your heart sank a little, already having queued up a selection to watch. “That’s ok, it is late.”
“Yeah, but really I wanna see you in person.”
Your body tensed at the invitation. Thinking over the last few months of chatting, he has warmed up to you as an individual, but you aren’t sure if that feeling can translate outside of a screen. Behind the camera it’s safe, you can be cute and mysterious but vulnerable and clumsy and it all comes up roses for him. In person, cute and mysterious can seem pretentious and vulnerable and clumsy could just be a weirdo geek to him.
“Well,” you start, “I would but...you know this...pandemic is just…”
“I know,” he says.
“...awful, right? So I just don’t think I can comfortably do that...now?”
Trevante thinks for a second. “We can stay within the parameters of the guidelines though right? Six feet, masks, no crowded space. If you want, we can do that. I just…” he sighs heavily, looking tired as he rubs his eyes, “...I have been getting stir crazy and you are the main one I have been keeping contact with outside of family, yet I only spent time in person on Valentine’s Day that one meeting we had. And you had a date later!”
You laugh at him, remembering their first meeting that could’ve been an email no doubt.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Do you wanna go out with me? Be honest!”
“Tre, I told you-”
“See? You even call me Tre now. We familiar right? I don’t usually have to beg like this but ma’am, you almost got me on bended knee!”
“Uh…” you start to feel bad but your mouth stops working under pressure.
“Six feet,” he reminds you. If nothing else, that makes you less inclined to want to go because what can you do? No kissing that’s for sure.
“I don’t want to confuse Nemour,” you rebuttal.
“He will be watched by a guardian, trust me. He won’t be cramping out grown folks business.”
You feel a flutter in your stomach that fuels your excitement. A plan to go out, with a man no less! This could turn the summer around or be a disaster on the horizon.
“Don’t overthink it. You’re a smart woman, but I don’t want you to overcalculate this. You wanna see me, I wanna see you. We’ll play it safe, and finally see each other in some natural light.”
You nod slowly, a smile creeps across your face as his argument finally sways you. “Ok, I’m in. Pick the time and place.”
Tag you!
@chaneajoyyy
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Cory Mulpepper Intro
☆ CORY MULPEPPER —
BASICS
★ BIRTH DATE / 13 August, 1960
★ BLOOD STATUS / Half-blood
★ PRONOUNS & IDENTITY / she/her; cis female
★ FACECLAIM / Sophie Simnett
ACADEMICS & ROOMING
★ PRIMARY SCHOOL / Cork Wizarding School, class of 1978
★ ACADEMIC PURSUITS / Natural sciences degree, Potions cohort
★ HOUSE & YEAR / Hufflepuff, second year
POINTS OF INTEREST
★ It had been established in 1106 and not much had changed in ways of Mr Mulpepper’s Apothecary except for its staff throughout the years. It stayed within the family and eventually reached the hands of Nikolas Mulpepper, an English botanist and potioneer, in the year of 1949. Outraged by the fellow apothecaries that littered the wizarding world, Nikolas condemned them all for their greed and their use of harmful practices. Since then, Mr Mulpepper’s Apothecary has been the most affordable apothecary to shop, with constant deals on cleaning solutions and performative draughts. And it’s no secret Nikolas is one to barter if a patron cannot afford the remedies they so dearly need. The shop has almost gone bankrupt multiple times and while Nikolas may pay the ultimate price by having to shut down his family’s century old shop, he would never go back on his ways. He’s always been loyal to the customer and have taught his two daughters the very same. It should come as no surprise that they’ve made a formal announcement -- that they do not approve of Selwyn’s squib vaccine.
★ Lydia, Nikolas’ wife, was born a squib. It positively broke his heart when the love of his life was unable to see her twin daughters start showing signs of magic themselves. But as Lydia had had a difficult upbringing because of her status in the wizarding world, Nikolas was just happy she’d finally found her peace. He told nothing but wonderful tales of his beautiful wife as bedtime stories to their daughters, who looked more and more like Lydia as the days passed by.
★ Born only minutes apart, it was safe to say the girls were inseparable from day one. This never, not once, got in the way of their individuality. Where one was brushing their teeth, the other one was using her toothbrush on the family dog’s teeth. Where one was doing arts and crafts, the other was using their scissors to give herself a new haircut. Two different sides of the same coin, essentially. They really became individuals upon attending Cork Wizardy College. They still shared a room, which wasn’t so different, until they began meeting friends of their own and attending different social gatherings. One would go to group palm readings, while the other went for live music shows. Even as time passed and distance began leaving its toll, the girls would still get together once a week with their favorite sweets and catch up on what boys or girls they were kissing.
★ Cory, the loud mouth she could be, was not placed into Gryffindor upon arriving at Hogwarts. But her quieter sister, Colleen, was, while she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Cory carried a chip on her shoulder about that one for a long time coming, wanting to be sorted where their father had gone. Where she’d idolized half her life. But no, Colleen got in where Cory hadn’t. Their weekly meetings were soon diminished, Cory saying she was too busy with the workload to catch up on any gossip. The most they spoke now were holidays back at home, where they put on a show for their father. To be perfectly clear, this wasn’t something Colleen had ever wanted, but for most of her life just like in birth, she followed Cory, Cory’s wants, Cory’s needs. They came first.
★ Cory usually spends her time half-assing a dozen things; painting, riding her skateboard, her school work in potions. But when it came to quidditch, she put in 110%. But as much as she put into the game, Cory rarely saw positive results coming back. In Primary, she’d gotten ejected from two games in row, which ultimately got her kicked off the team. She’d been too aggressive (and broken more bones than anyone) and needed to turn a new leaf, but when she had, upon joining Hufflepuff’s team, her efforts once again went unnoticed. This time she was denied from a summer quidditch camp. It seemed no matter what route she rode, she never chose the right one at the right time. It didn’t help that she was playing with and against peers that simply outshined her on the field. Dawn Withey was going to be the talk of Hogwarts when she landed herself on a fancy, popular, professional quidditch team, while Cory just barely scratched the surface. Her cynicism didn’t stop her from trying, though. With her third year coming up and a possible captainship, more is on the line than ever.
★ Thankfully, growing up, the girls never had to rely on looking for summer jobs. Their pops let them open and close the store on weekends for extra money. Cory was sure she could’ve gotten extra school credit towards her potions work for working in an apothecary. She’d have to pull that card if her grades ever dropped, she decided. One afternoon, the shop was buzzing with Christmas crowds, and the next second everybody was fleeing the scene. The Menagerie next door had apparently caught fire, smoke now billowing over into Mr Mulpepper’s Apothecary. Now, Cory couldn’t see much of what was happening once smoke grew thicker, but she knew a man had entered the shop. The man turned his wand on Cory, throwing Cory aside and knocking her right out until black was all she saw. When she awoke, alone in the shop, she knew that he had escaped with something in the commotion of it all. Cory had planned on going through inventory herself, but an item as rare as this, Mr. Mulpepper knew it was gone the second he returned to his shop. He immediately owled the DMLE. Cory’s yet to come forward with her statement of that afternoon, hardly believing anything truly happened as it all happened so quickly. The nightmares about it haven’t stopped.
TRAITS
✓ challenging; individualistic; responsive
✗ critical; self-conscious; reactive
extra shit
cory is on hufflepuff’s quidditch team, as a seeker! this is the one thing she never slacks off with and is always on time for. and im sure gives people a hard time if they’re not picking up the slack dlsfjasjf and it’s like SHUT UP CORY, YOU’RE NOT THE CAPTAIN. so any hufflepuff team connects hmu.
has a twiiin name colleen. cory is the “older” one. colleen’s gonna be an open bio if anyone has an itch 2 get silly wit me
is Dramatic af
is not totally full of hufflepuff pride and maybe gets points taken away every so often? oops. 19 years old and still actin’ up.
her about page is here
listens to a LOT of music. a lot of underground bands that people havent heard of allll the waaay to the huge names like rolling stones and the who. she’s never been to an actual, huge concert venue with a big band headlining. she’s only seen smaller shows here and there. despite that, doesnt own a whole lot of vinyl. cuz she really prefers the live experience better.
she would love a skateboard riding buddy for when the weather’s nicer!! and she paints only landscapes and oceans cuz she sucks at pretty much everything besides that. and always knows where the best party is happening. probably cant wait to have a low street house next year to throw her own parties.
opinionated for the fact that she just loves to hear herself talking
hmu for any relationships!! friendships, she is prone to enemies with her big mouth, she is bisexual AF so anything there, just anythaaaang <3
hmu for threads! it’s kinda a busy time so i get that <3 if not let’s plan stuff for when they get back to school :’ ) ty xoxo
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