#scratch and jotter

[ohtumbly]

Top Object Summit (TOS): A Tumblr Novel Object 'Show'

Day 2

The objects woke up from the campsite the next morning. Every member of the two teams gathered around each other and checked if everyone's here.

The Land Team

Birthday Card

Buoy

Cash Register

Encyclopedia

Lapis

Nut

Orange Pop

Potato

Reflector

Sugar Cube

Yo-yo

The Sky Team

Dime

Ice Cream

Jelly

Jotter Book

Lamp

Magnifying Glass

Microwave

Nine of Hearts

Skiffle Board

Tape

Zipper

Chilly's hat popped out in the middle of the snow and then came the rest of his body.

"Get up everyone! Get yourselves a good meal while I set up the next challenge."

So the objects had a not-too pleasant meal of plain processed food from cans and packaging. They were bland and weren't too filling, that even a few of them ate the food objects.

"I should have gave them something better." Chilly thought to itself.

Magnifying Glass looked at them with a sour face. "Eww...Why did you eat our friends?"

"These food are all we had and they weren't that good." Jotter Book replied in return, with his hands full of jelly. "We had no other choice."

Magnifying Glass approached Chilly and stared into its coal eyes.

"Chilly, what do we do with dead contestants?"

"Okay, just watch me."

Chilly the snowman sculpted the dead objects made of snow and then tapped them with his twig arms. The snow sculptures turned into the objects brought back to life and in tip-top condition.

Chilly went off to prepare the next challenge with the objects away.

The afternoon has come in and the contest was set. Chilly returned to gather the objects there.

"Alright contestants, I've set up the next contest, so come out and follow me."

They went a little higher up the mountain to a snowy slope with lots of trees.

"Here we are. This challenge needs a lot of teamwork, and one log."

"The first part is to cut down your team's tree and slide down the slope on it. When you get to the frigid lake down there, make some paddles out of this log but leave some of it for your team to get on. The last part before the finish line is a deep pit of snow. Cut the log into slices to get across the pit and get all your members to cross the finish."

"The team that failed to finish before the other will be up for elimination tonight."

"So y'all ready everyone?"

The objects slowly picked up their saws and carving tools as they stared at Chilly with a straight face.

"Now get logging!"

The contestants have set off running to the trees.

The two teams began cutting the trees, rocking their saws back and forth as the bark gets stripped off and the trees turned thinner and thinner.

Minutes later, The Sky Team's tree was the first to fell. Jelly who climbed up the tree to cut it, was a poor victim of a last moment before death.

"Wait, no- AAAAH!"

And with a sugary splat, Jelly hit the snow and was smashed under the tree.

Dime got covered in grape jelly. She just sighed and got on with the challenge.

The objects all got on the log while Tape has ran off to find Chilly and bring Jelly back to life.

And so they did.

"Hurry everyone, the other team has already cut their tree!" Tape shouted, running back to the log with Jelly.

The tree cut by The Land Team fell on Nut.

"Haha, these guys can't stay away from falling trees." Chilly laughed watching the madness unfold.

Lapis counted for every member of the team. "Where's Nut?"

Nut pushed the fallen tree up with his strong arms, his iron body with barely any scratches.

The Sky Team has gone off with Tape stuck onto the back of the log. The Land Team was getting everyone on the log.

"We don't have much space." Says Cash Register. "Sugar Cube, I need you in my drawer."

And with all of The Land Team on the log, they slid down the slope.

"The Sky Team reached the end of the slope and here they are! The cold lake."

"We should cut this log into something like a canoe." Suggested Tape. "The log couldn't fit us and the ride was uncomfortable."

"No problem ya'mate." Skiffle Board responded. "I'm good at making canoes."

Nine of Hearts cuts a piece of their log into a double-sided paddle with her magic while the other members turned what's left of the log into a canoe fit for the entire team.

"Why do we cut this to a canal?" Asked Magnifying Glass.

The Land Team arrived into the scene.

"You can turn the log into all the paddles you want. I can float across the water." Said Buoy with a boost of confidence.

"Would you feel cold?" Asked Lapis.

So The Land Team cuts most of the log into paddles for every member while keeping the rest for half of the team. The other half hopped onto Buoy and they crossed the lake.

"Yeah Lapis, i-it's c-c-cold," Buoy stuttered floating on the cold lake, "...b-but we can make it."

"The other team is far at the end of the lake!" Shouted Birthday Card, looking at what's ahead while paddling on the log.

The Land Team paddled faster and the gap between the two teams were closing in.

"Here comes The Land Team!"

Soon, the two teams had reached the snow pit. The Sky Team has cut the canoe into pieces to hop across, but the gaps in the canoe made them sink in the deep snow. Lamp, sank into the snow with the piece of canoe she's standing on.

"Lamp! Get out of here!" The team shouted at her.

When Lamp went back to the first end of the snow pit, the other team members tried pulling her out.

Dime, however, pushed Microwave into the snow pit. She grapped Jotter Book, hopped on Lamp's lampshade, then onto Microwave, threw Jotter Book into the snow pit, hopped onto his back and reached the other side.

"Dime! You can't treat our teammates as disposable tools." Said Ice Cream. "That's not nice."

"We're objects." Dime replied with a sheepish grin. "We have a purpose for uses."

"We have to pull Lamp, Microwave and Jotter Book out of the snow!" Magnifying Glass added on.

The members of The Sky Team continued to pull them out of the snow pit. Nine of Hearts tried to get Jotter Book out of the snow with her magic but he was too far away for her. It leaves an open chance for The Land Team to get to the finish without having to use their log.

"Look! We can use them to get to the other side of the snow pit!" Suggested Reflector with her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah. Let's do it." Said Cash Register, and Sugar Cube popped out of his drawer.

"I'll stick with using the logs." Orange Pop countered.

"While The Sky Team was still trying to pull their team members out, The Land Team went on hopping over their heads and across the line. Orange Pop has stuck with using the log."

The Sky Team has finally pulled out Lamp and Microwave when Tape found Orange Pop laying out paddles.

"Look! We'll cross this part of the pit to get Jotter Book out!"

So Tape got on the logs. Orange Pop heard the sound of footsteps and looked behind. He kicked the paddle Tape was on away from the others.

"Hey!" Tape shouted as she was about to fall.

"And Orange Pop made it! The Land Team has all of its members at finish line first. The Sky Team will have one of its members leaving."

"The Land Team will advance up the mountain for now."

"Thanks Chilly." Reflector winked, as the moonlight shone on her and back.

Vote for one of the members of The Sky Team to be eliminated from competition. Poll in the reblogs below:

(You can tell me who you voted for in the replies)

[pensandpencils-etc]

traveler notebook and accessories: scratch and jotter

pens: rifle paper co.

super mom keychain, notepad and card: rifle paper co.

canvas pouch: papersource

‘rosa’ meal planning notepad and personalized stationery: rifle paper co.

circus card: papersource

desk sign: papersource

pencil set: alice pleasance

[scratch-n-jotter]

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[hopscotchandlemon]

Grazed Knuckles

Imagine you are Gibbs’ child and you get suspended from school for fighting.

Following your dad into the squad room, you kept your head down. You could feel the eyes of Tony, Ziva and Tim on you as your dad instructed you to sit at the desk beside Tim. No one spoke, the look on your dad’s face was enough to put even Tony off from asking the obvious questions. Reaching into your bag, you get your books out and start making it look like you are working. Your dad answers his phone before heading up the stairs towards the Director’s office. As soon as he is out of sight, you looks up and the three special agents are observing you.

‘Well Junior, what have you done?’ Tony asks?

Keeping your head down, you colour in the margins of your jotter, you were too angry to talk about what had happened. You knew they were looking for the clues and coming up with their own answers

‘Is that a bruise on your face, (y/n)? And grazes on your knuckles?’ Ziva asked softly.

Remaining silent, you shrugged.

‘You don’t strike me as the fighting type, Junior. I guess you are a Gibbs though…’ Tony mused.

‘Grab your gear,’ you heard your dad bark at the assembled agents.

He stood in front of your desk. You carried on pretending to work.

‘(Y/N), go see Ducky, get those injuries looked at,’ he didn’t sound angry, more disappointed and in your eyes, that was worse.

You nodded and slunk of to the stairs down to autopsy. Ducky was clearly expecting you, waiting for you by the doors.

‘My dear (Y/N) what has happened to you?’

You attempted to smile at him but didn’t quite pull it off. Putting an arm around you, he led you over to his desk and made you sit. You knew as well as he did that your injuries, while dramatic, did not warrant medical attention. Ducky strode off and came back with a cup of tea in a delicate china cup. You smiled as he handed it to you. Ducky had long been your agony uncle and someone you could tell your woes to. He took a seat next to you and put his own cup on the desk next to him.

‘Your father tells me you’ve been in a fight,’ Ducky’s voice is soft and reassuring, no hint of judgement. You hang your head, not able to answer.

‘I’d say, given that you are clearly too angry to talk about this, that there is another side to this story. What are your other injuries?’

Reluctantly, you showed him the bruises that were forming on your back and stomach. He noted the bruises and scratches to your forearms as you put your shirt back on.

‘You’ve taken quite a beating. It must have been a ferocious fight,’ he pondered. Your silence bought and end to the conversation.

As Ducky instructed you how to care for your injuries, something he had done since you were little. He also offered you some pain relief but you refused. He joked about you being like your father. You drank your tea and when you’d finished, you’d thanked him and returned to your desk.

Tim was the first one back to the squad room. The others wouldn’t be back for a little while he told you. He smiled and gave you a warm look. He was the one person on the team you felt for of an affinity with. If anything, you were more like Tim than anyone, even your own father. You were quiet, bookish and more likely to be in the library than anywhere else.

‘Wanna go get some lunch?’ he asked.

‘Dunno if I’m allowed,’ you offered.

Tim smiled. ‘I checked. You’re allowed. Grab your coat.’

You were many things. Stupid was not one of them. You knew Tim had been told by your dad to talk to you. He knew if you wouldn’t talk to Ducky, then Tim was a safe bet. But what had happened at school, it still made you feel an anger you didn’t know what to do with. So while you talked with Tim, you’d skirted around the events of that morning. By the time you returned to the office, Tony and Ziva were back but there was still no sign of your dad.

‘That bruise is really starting to come out now,’ Ziva observed as she walked up to your desk.

‘Those look like defensive marks on your arms, (y/n),’ Tony added, now standing next to Ziva.

‘And there is no way you would have swung the first punch,’ Tim was now stood alongside his team mates.

You looked up at the three of them. ‘So you’re all ganging up on me now?’

‘We are trained investigators; we look at evidence. Spill Junior.’ Tony was looking at you with a smirk.

‘There’s nothing to tell. Got caught fighting, got suspended.’

‘I do not believe you,’ Ziva narrowed her eyes as she looked at you.

Ok, we’ll humour you. Where was the fight? In the canteen?’ Tim asked walking back to his desk.

‘No, outside the sports block,’

‘Another anomaly of this case if of course that Gibbs hasn’t balled you out yet,’ Tony pondered.

You huffed. ‘Well that’s probably coming when we get home.’

‘I think you’d be scrubbing the drains in autopsy if he thought you’d done anything wrong,’ Tony laughed.

‘Ha got it!’ Tim announced.

Everyone got up to look at the screen. Tim had accessed the CCTV from the school and was playing the footage. He heard the elevator ping. On seeing Gibbs exiting, he paused the footage.

‘Think you’re going to want to see this Boss,’ he called out.

Your dad stood next to you. You couldn’t bring yourself to look as the recording of you being jumped by 3 much older kids played on the screen. The others watched as you were dragged to the ground and kicked. Two of the kids had run away as you’d got yourself up and landed a punch in the face of the remaining attacker, causing them to fall to the floor. A teacher then comes in to view, having witnessed only the punch you had thrown and had dragged you away. As the recording finishes, you can feel your dad’s eyes on you.

‘(Y/N), why didn’t you tell me this? Why did you let them suspend you when all you did was defend yourself?’ Your dad’s voice is mostly calm but there is a hint on anger there too.

By now, the tears are rolling down your face. ‘I did tell them dad. I even asked them to look at the cameras but they said they weren’t working. The kid I punched? Their parents have friends in the right places. Nothing ever happens to them. It was all their words against mine.’

By now your dad has you in a bear hug, gently kissing your hair. He gets why you’ve been so angry, especially as feels that anger too. How dare these 3 entitled punks do that to you. He was, however, proud of the fact you’d gotten up after being beaten to throw a punch that managed to land someone much bigger than you on the floor. That was definitely his influence shining through.

‘McGee, get that evidence on to a tape or disk or something. (Y/n) come with me, we’re going to see your Principal.’

[naralanis]

hey nara! first off, I absolutely adore your blog and your writing, Perhaps is on my comfort fics list that I pull out whenever I’m having a bad time. I also happen to be a fan of your pen instagram and I was wondering if you had any suggestions on some fountain pens for beginners? I recently bought a “Pilot MR Retro Pop” that I really enjoy but I think I’m ready to branch off a bit. Do you have any tips with practicing with fountain pens you’d be willing to share? As much as I try, my handwriting never looks as nice as I want it to with mine. No pressure to respond if not, just wanted to stop by and let you know how much I enjoy your content! Hope you have a pleasant rest of your day/night!

Oh goodness, you’re talking about fic AND fountain pens in the same ask? Stop, stop, I’m already married!

First off, thanks for reading; I’m so glad Perhaps is there for you when ya need it, it makes me really happy to hear. Seriously warms my heart!

As far as fountain pens go... ANON I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO TALK ABOUT I AM SO SORRY THIS WILL BE SUCH A LONG RIDE so I’m going to put it under the cut sorry sorry sorry in this essay I will

Hooray for the Pilot MR (or Metro, here in the US), it’s an AMAZING little pen, and if you’re calling it the MR, chances are you got it with an international standard converter, you lucky, lucky duck. I’m happy you’re enjoying it, as far as beginner pens go, this one is an excellent choice.

When you say “branching out”, this can mean one of two things. It can mean you want to branch out to other brands but a similar price range, or that you’re ready for a ‘next level’ pen. I’ll try to cover both! (I’ll link some of these models to the Goulet Pens website, but feel free to look for them elsewhere--I just really like Goulet’s very thorough descriptions)

If you’re looking to explore other pen models in the MR’s price range, there’s a metric ton of  options! Sticking with Pilot, you can try the Explorer-- a completely different, more streamlined pen than the MR, but if you’re used to the nib on your pen, you have a better idea of what to expect with it. There’s also the Kakuno, which is cheaper, but very cute with its little smiley face nibs haha

Another Japanese pen you can try: the Platinum Plaisir. Aluminum body, but do remember that Platinum nibs generally give a little more feedback than Pilot’s, which are some of the smoothest Japanese-made nibs I’ve ever seen.

You can also try the Diplomat Magnum -- it’s a a great little pen, and I love mine. Keep in mind, it is very lightweight, especially compared to the MR’s metal body, but to me that makes it great for long writing sessions. The nib is completely different--it will write a little wider, a little wetter than the MR (and any other Japanese-made pen), but it’s slightly springy and awesome to write with. Plus, it has an ink window so you can keep track of your ink!

Other options in this price range: the Jinhao 8802 (Shell or Rosewood, and the most bang for your buck imo as far as cheap fountain pens go), the Jinhao x750 or x450 (these are heavier, but they look great!), the TWISBI GO (a teeny, amazing little pen with a spring-loaded piston filling mechanism), and a Kaweco Sport (another pocket-pen, German-made, so the nib will write a little wetter/wider generally) or the Perkeo.

Now, if you’d like to push your price range a little further (only a little! I promise not to break the bank!), you cannot go wrong with Lamy.I am a self-admitted Lamy fangirl, so I may be a little biased, buuuut... it is what it is, their pens are great, they’re easy to disassemble for cleaning (I go totally nuts over it and even disassemble the converters, which you absolutely don’t need to do), and their nibs are SO EASILY INTERCHANGEABLE!

You can pick up a Lamy Safari for fairly cheap nowadays (and ever cheaper look-alikes, which I will never endorse but also will not judge anyone for buying), and they come in so many colours (the O.G. 1980 colours were also just reissued!), they’re like my Pokemon because I want to catch ‘em all.

For a little more, you can get yourself a Lamy AL-Star--the same design of the Safari, but this time in aluminum, which makes it look super cool (but also prone to scratches if you’re the kind of person that puts your pen in your pocket with your keys... that’s... definitely not me...), so keep that in mind.

You can also pick yourself up a Lamy Logo, for a couple more bucks. A completely different design, but still great, particularly if you like slimmer pens.

The nibs on ALL the Lamy models (even the more expensive ones like the Studio or the Scala or even the Dialog) are interchangeable! Even the gold nib on the Dialog! The only exception is the Lamy 2000 (which is probably one of the best pens out there period, and certainly an amazing first-gold-nib pen).

The one thing that absolutely kills me about the cheaper Lamy pens is that, for the most part, none of them come with a converter--you have to buy it separately. Which is fine, it’s not super expensive, and it is widely available, but COME ON, LAMY, JUST GIMME.

If you’d like to try a cool-looking pen with a CRAZY ink capacity and a nifty piston-filling mechanism, look no further than the TWISBI ECO. I have one of these (green, obv), and I love it. Never tires me out, and I stg mine never. dries. out. I don’t know what witchcraft is involved, but it’s an amazing pen for long writing sessions.

Finally, if you’d like to try another Japanese-made pen that is a little more expensive than the Pilot MR or the Platinum Plaisir, there’s the Sailor Compass 1911. This is one of the cheapest Sailor pens I know of, and a good introduction to the brand. Keep in mind that, like Platinum, Sailor nibs will give more feedback than the Pilot you’re used to!

If you would like to push your budget even further, here are some options for fountain pens under $100 (I know, big jump, but it’s good to see what’s out there to you can compare!) from JetPens.

There are a million other brands out there that you can look at. Sheaffer makes great, very cheap and fun beginner pens (including a whole Star Wars Line! They’re adorable!). Hong Dian has a ton of pens that look sleek as hell (like the Forest Series) and they’re all like under 20 bucks. Kaco is another one that makes surprisingly good pens! Parker is also an option, with the Jotter, which is a classic-looking pen. There’s Conklin and Monteverde (which have a ton of fountain pens in a wide range of prices, but I’ve had bad luck with their nibs, so I would suggest you do some independent research on those!), as well as Noodler’s if you’d like to go crazy with some flex nibs! The fountain pen rabbit hole is bottomless. Welcome :D

As far as handwriting goes, I’m afraid I don’t have much more to say besides practice, practice, practice. I learned cursive as a child, but never got into calligraphy, really. Even today, I only just dabble, but whenever I see something I like, I usually just like to try and replicate it. Very often I’ll see a video on Instagram and go Oh my god, how the hell did they write that G, I’ve got to try that and then what follows is me going through page after page on a Rhodia pad trying to imitate them. I like janinescribbles and aidanbernal on Instagram, they’re like handwriting goals--check them out!

A lot of the time, we’re looking for more line variation to make our handwriting look prettier--that’s usually what you see in that fancy, old-timey Spencerian cursive, or even copperplate calligraphy. Unfortunately, you won’t get that with just a regular fountain pen, but there is good news!

There are a TON of different nibs out there. Stub nibs, fude nibs, flex nibs, obliques, cursive italic -- you can even get your pen ground by a professional nibmeister to fit your specifications. There are calligraphy pens (like the Lamy Joy) or pen sets (Kaweco has a Perkeo Calligraphy set, and I believe Sailor has one of their own as well). You can even check out the Pilot Parallel set -- the whole thing is like the price of a Lamy AL-Star, you just won’t do regular writing with it; it’s pretty specifically a calligraphy/lettering set. There are even flex pens in the market (though none of them are as flexy as those old, vintage gold nibs) like the Noodler’s Nib Creaper, Ahab, and Triple Tail or the Conklins with their Omniflex nib (which has been problematic in the past, but I’ve heard good things recently). It’s a whole other rabbit hole!

But honestly, don’t sweat the handwriting too much. Just write a few lines every day, try new things, and get lost for eternity on some Instagram tags!

I think this is a long enough post as it is, so I’ll stop there! SORRY. HOPE IT HELPS!

[chimmyboii]

Nice Guy - Part 2

Paring: Chanyeol x reader (Previous Baekhyun x reader)

Summary: After finding out her boyfriend, Baekhyun had cheated on her at a party, Y/N goes into meltdown. Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s best friend, decides he can’t stand watching the girl completely fall apart because of his best friend and decides to befriend her.

AN: Here’s part 2! hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you guys think!! :)) I have realised i seem to bully Baekhyun alot in my fics - sorry Baekhyun! lol its not intentional i promise!!! 

Warning: sexual harassment - it’s not detailed much but i don’t want to trigger anyone! 

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

When I wake up, I feel sick with dread. Part of me wishes it was a dream, that Baekhyun was still mine and that everything that happened was just an awful nightmare. But reality kicks in when I walk through the school doors and spot said brown haired boy making out with a blonde against the lockers. Abruptly, I stop and clench my phone tightly in my hands, blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay. The students around them appear unbothered until they see me standing there, watching them. Each and every one of them stare at me with pity filled eyes. I sigh and advert my eyes, focusing straight ahead of me, aiming to get to my locker. The quicker the day begins, the quicker I can go home and hide. As I open the red door of my locker, I hear a squeal of pain and shouts, peering around the door, I gasp.

“Lisa!” I shriek, slamming the doors shut and sprinting to the scene. A crowd has formed and are chanting; ‘fight, fight, fight!’ I push pass them. Lisa has her hand wrapped around the blonde girls’ hair, pulling at it. The both of them are screaming at each other, blondie clawing at Lisa’s arms causing red scratches to appear. I reach out and grab Lisa’s arm, just in time, stopping her from slapping the blonde across the face. “Oh my God! Lisa, stop!” I try my best to hold Lisa back from the blonde, but the fiery redhead girl is relentless as she continues to pull at the blonde shirt, sharp nails also leaving marks along the girls’ skin. The blonde pushes at Lisa who knocks back into me causing me to let out a groan, my grip on Lisa withdraws.

��You bitch!” Lisa screams, pouncing at her. Just then, long arms wrap themselves around Lisa’s waist lifting her up and carrying her away. Chanyeol remains unbothered as Lisa pounds at his arms, struggling in his grip.

“LET ME GO!” She yells. The crowd begins to leave now that the fight is over, its then I spot Baekhyun who appeared to be missing the entire fight. He is by his locker, causally pulling out his jotters and textbook for his class, completely unfazed by what just happened. I turn to the blonde and look at her; her hair is a mess and makeup completely smudge. She looks at Baekhyun and begins to cry, probably expecting him to defend her or comfort her. She turns back to me, lips wobbling and suddenly I see myself in her. Just an innocent girl led on by his charm – except I count her lucky as she didn’t waste three years with him.

“And you wonder why I dumped his ass,” I say casually, “trust me, your better without him.” And with that I walked in the same direction Chanyeol went. He had led Lisa to the football pitch outside, I can see them through the window. As soon as I go outside, I can hear Lisa’s rage, her voice is echoing between the school building. I slowly make my way to them, still trying to wrap my head around all of this. It’s like Baekhyun’s a different guy, a stranger, like I didn’t know him at all.  

“What an absolute dickhead!” Lisa yells, Chanyeol says nothing and takes a seat on the bench, letting her rant. She begins to pace in front of him. “They only split up yesterday and he’s already moved on!” Once again, Chanyeol is silent so Lisa carries on. “Am I the only person who cares? Literally, nobody gives two fucks that Baekhyun is making out with that girl only a day after splitting up with his long-term girlfriend, who I might add he cheated on!” Chanyeol reaches into his bag and pulls out a water bottle and hands it to Lisa, she takes it wordlessly and takes a sip before continuing. “If it was the other way around and it was Y/N that was making out with some guy, she would have been called a slut or worse!”

“Still doesn’t give you a reason to attack the girl though,” I interrupt, Lisa turns to me and shrugs, handing Chanyeol his bottle back.

“That little bitch deserved it,” I shake my head.

“How?”

“Well for one she blamed you for Baekhyun cheating. She literally had the balls to say that you were too boring for him and that’s why he went elsewhere!” I sigh and take a seat next to Chanyeol.

“Still you shouldn’t have hit her – although I appreciate the gesture, I don’t want you getting in trouble.” The day hadn’t even started yet and already I felt drained. Chanyeol turns to me, his brown eyes study me for a moment.

“How you feeling?” I don’t have a proper answer, so I shrug.

It’s quiet between us until I break it.

“I wish I could hurt him, like he hurt me,” I confess, finally admitting my rage. Lisa and Chanyeol turn to me. Chanyeol’s gaze is concerned and worried, Lisa’s gaze is one of understanding – having been through a similar break up herself.  

“Maybe you can,” Lisa mutters, I look at her. Her eyes are far away, a sign she is planning something.

“How?” Lisa shrugs and I groan at her.

“Give me a minute woman! I’m thinking, perfection takes time!” I shake my head at her.

Chanyeol shifts in his seat. “I don’t think it’s a good idea you know, getting your own back on him,” I look at him with curious eyes, his hands run along his jeans three times – he’s nervous. I nod at him to continue. “At the moment you feel angry and betrayed, and you have every right to! But I-I don’t think you should give into the idea of revenge, cos what are you going to do after the revenge is over? You’ll probably feel even more hurt.” I consider his words until Lisa begins to speak.

“Yeah but you heard her Chanyeol, she wants to hurt him! She needs this, don’t you?” Lisa looks at me and I slowly nod. I do want to hurt Baekhyun, but I also don’t. It’s hard to turn off your emotion for someone you’ve cared about for so long. Lisa turns to Chanyeol. “You’re having that party on Friday, right? The stupid football one?”

Chanyeol pouts. “It’s not stupid, but yes. Why?” Lisa ignores the question and smirks at me.

“Baekhyun won’t be expecting you at that party now that you guys have split up. So, what I propose is: you get dolled up, attend the party, make out with a few guys, make him jealous, so that when he comes crawling back to you when he realises what he’s missing, and then kick him where the sun don’t shine!” I hear Chanyeol snort from beside me, causing Lisa to glare at him.

“What? Don’t like my plan?” Chanyeol gulps under her gaze and turns looks at me wearily.

“Well…” he starts, “speaking from a guy’s point of view, a guy will only be jealous about a girl making out with other guys and such if he-”

“Cares about her,” I cut him off, Chanyeol winces.

“Shit, Y/N, I’m sorry!” I shake my head and smile sadly at him.

“Don’t be Chanyeol, I need to accept it. And you’re right, that plan won’t work for many reasons not just that.” Lisa’s shoulders fall and a pout appears on her lips.

“This isn’t a chick flick, Lisa,” I snort, “I’m just plain, you know, average,” I shrug, and I hear Chanyeol make noise of protest. Heat raises on my cheeks, but I ignore him and carry on. “Fuck sake, Baekhyun is – was my first boyfriend and I was lucky I even got someone like him. And like Chanyeol said, Baekhyun doesn’t care about me.” I take a deep breath and confess, “But I don’t hate the idea.” Lisa brightens.

“It’s just wishful thinking, me hurting Baekhyun,” I start and Lisa nods. “But it angers me how quick he moved on. It’s like the last three years didn’t exist for him.” I stand up, causing Chanyeol to jump beside me. The anger I felt when I saw that video and this morning when he was kissing that girl, appeared again. “You know when he stopped me at the stairs yesterday, I generally thought that he did care for me. And that’s why he chased after me, but now that I think about it. He probably did that to save his reputation but now he realises its fucked so he may as well show everybody what he really is: a cheating scumbag!”

I look at Chanyeol. “So, I’m going to your party this Friday,” I confirm. “Fuck Baekhyun! I’m going to have few drinks, dance for a bit. I don’t need him, ” I growl out and Chanyeol frantically nods.

“WOO!” Lisa cheers, “that’s the spirit.” I look at my watch and realise the bell must have rung about 15 minutes ago. I had a free period this morning, so I wasn’t too bothered but I looked at Chanyeol and Lisa.

“Don’t you guys have class?” Lisa’s eyes widen but then she calms.

“Meh, I’m failing physics anyway!” I let out a laugh and Chanyeol does the same.  

“I have PE but it’s okay, I have practice after school so I wouldn’t have missed much,” Chanyeol says and I nod. In the end Chanyeol follows me to the library whilst Lisa makes her way to physics – which takes a lot of persuading from me.

-

It’s on Thursday when I start to feel the loneliness without Baekhyun. I had received the results of my test – the one I had to study for when Baekhyun was out fingering another girl. I had passed, a massive 70%. Although, I feel proud of myself, having no one to share it with puts a damper on the feeling. It’s then when I remember Chanyeol’s number, opening my phone I stare at it for about 20 minutes before I press the number. It begins ringing and my heart suddenly begins to beat rapidly, throat beings to dry and I almost hang up when a groggy voice greets me.

“Hello?” I almost squeal and throw my phone away.

“Did I wake you? I’m so sorry!” I yelp, I look at my wall clock and see it is half nine and I want to bang my head against the wall behind me. Chanyeol sleepily chuckles.

“No, I was just napping.”

“Shit I’m sorry, I’ll let you go back to sleep,” I pull my phone away, about to press the red icon when Chanyeol voice stops me.

“Wait! It’s okay, I told you to call me whenever. So, what’s up?” I shrug, forgetting he can’t see me.

“I don’t know I feel lonely, I guess,” I confess and Chanyeol hums. “I also passed my test, the re-sit one – you probably don’t know what I’m talking about,” I ramble, forgetting he’s not Baekhyun and that we weren’t really friends back then.

“The maths one?” I freeze, how the fuck does he know?

“Yeah, how did you know?” Chanyeol yawns over the receiver.

“I remember you ranting about how you’ll never use this in real life. I also told Baekhyun to wish you good luck from me, but I guess he forgot,” my heart warms at that.

“No, he didn’t,” I reveal quietly, “Thanks though, that means a lot.” We’re quiet for a bit before I decided to ask Chanyeol a question that’s been bugging me.

“Hey Chanyeol?” He mutter’s back a quiet ‘yeah?’ “Why weren’t we friends? Like you didn’t talk to me much, I’m just wondering was there a reason?” Chanyeol coughs suddenly and I know I’ve made it awkward, but I couldn’t help my curiosity.

“I’m not really sure,” he starts, “I guess I felt you didn’t want to be friends with me – or the guys. You used to just sit with us because of Baekhyun, no offence Y/N, but you only ever spoke to Baekhyun when you were at the table,” I wince, knowing it was the truth but can’t say the truth didn’t hurt. “I did think you were nice though, just kinda wished you would have made an attempt to communicate with the rest of us,”

“I guess I get awkward around new people,” I admit, “I get nervous and don’t know how to start a conversation, sometimes I can’t tell if someone’s joking with me. I did want to talk to you guys, but I didn’t know how. You all had your own inside jokes and stories; I felt a little left out. So, I just stuck to what I know and that was Baekhyun,” I was disappointed in myself, I’ll be honest. I didn’t try and get to know the rest which is probably why they didn’t care that Baekhyun cheated on me.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up.” Chanyeol scolds, “You can get to know me now, w-well if you want to that is,” I giggle lightly.

“I do Chanyeol,” I let the smile I had been holding back appear.

Since the breakup on Monday, I have felt all sorts of emotions, the most emotions I have felt my whole eighteen years on this planet. But talking to Chanyeol on the phone right now, all those emotions fade, and I feel like I’m at peace. It’s nice. Chanyeol and I continue to chat about our classes, my hatred for maths and his love for music. We chat and chat until Chanyeol brings up the party tomorrow night.

“Are you sure you still want to go?” He asks and I sigh. “It’s not that I don’t want you there, I do!” Chanyeol quickly squeaks and I laugh.

“I know Chanyeol. I do kind of want to go but at the same time not. I’m kind of scared,” I swallow, the thought of actually catching Baekhyun with another girl physically in front of me, like in the video, makes me sick to the stomach.

“I’ll make sure Baekhyun stays away from you,” I softly laugh.

“I don’t think that’s possible, Chanyeol. It is a party,” Chanyeol groans as he realises this himself. “I’ll be okay, or I’ll try to be,” I look at the time and realise it’s almost midnight.

“Shit! I better let you go to sleep, you’ve got the big game tomorrow,” Chanyeol moans and then lets out a yawn.

“Don’t remind me!” He whines and I snort.

“You’ll be fine, your amazing at football!”

“Yeah?” He asks and I softly mutter a ‘yeah’ in return. We fall silent for a moment before I say goodnight and wish him good luck.

“Sweet dreams, Y/N,” And with that I hang up with flustered cheeks.

I turn off my lamp and place my phone on the table beside me. As I lay there staring at my ceiling, I feel calm, my thoughts aren’t racing like that had been recently and for once my thoughts aren’t about Baekhyun. But the tall pointed eared guy that I had just befriend recently.

- I am freaking the fuck out! It’s the night of the party and I have no idea what to wear, I’m acting like it’s the first time I’ve been to one of Chanyeol’s parties when in fact I have. Chanyeol pretty much hosts a party nearly every single Friday – his parents are always working out of town, leaving the place to Chanyeol and his older sister but she’s in university now, leaving Chanyeol to do what he wants. After the game Chanyeol invites the players back to his to celebrate their win or get pissed and forget about their defeat – either way it’s just an excuse for a drinking session. Now, it’s tradition.  

When I first started dating Baekhyun, I was adamite that I would never attend one of these parties, I had a fear that I would be spiked. But with plenty of persuading from Baekhyun, I actually went. I spent all night by Baekhyun side, taking small sips of the wine he’d giving me – trying to hard not to wince at the taste. Then, we’d spent all night fooling around with each other.

Pulling out my phone, I send a text to Lisa to make sure she’s attending the party. I look at the outfit I have chosen, a black jumpsuit that’s a bit low cut at the cleavage. I got it on sale and have never worn it but decided tonight I should. First party as a single girl again after all. My phone pings, quickly grabbing it and unlocking it, I see the message from Lisa.

Lisa: Yeah do u want me to meet u?

Me: Yes pleaseeee!!!!

Lisa: Okayyy ;p lol I’ll meet yours we’ll share a cab

I quickly send an ‘okay’ before starting to get ready. Just as I was finishing my hair, I heard my Mum call on me from down the stairs. Quickly, I turned everything off in my room and put on my shoes, I went down the stairs. Lisa was chatting away with Mum when I came down the stairs. Lisa wolf whistled as she saw me, and I rolled my eyes at her.

“Jeez, if I didn’t like men, I’d be all over you!” She comments making my Mum laugh and I gap at her.

“Lisa!” I scold, tugging her to the front door when I hear a horn go off. I shout a quick bye to Mum before climbing into the black cab.

Chanyeol’s place was crowded and it was making me feel a bit uneasy, Lisa held my hand tightly noticing my nerves. She tugged me into the kitchen and nodded to the bottle of Vodka that sat on the cabinet. I shrugged, eyes searching for him. Lisa sighs as she hands me the cup.

“Stop looking for him,” she tells me, “You’re here to have fun and forget him, remember?” I nod and take a gulp of the drink. I nearly spit it out.

“Fuck sake Lisa, what did you do pour the full bottle in here?” Lisa just giggles and clinks our cups together.

“Let’s get pissed!” She sings before gulping down her drink, I roll my eyes and do the same.

-

A few hours later and I’m hammered, completely wasted. I sway slightly as I enter the hallway, my eyes are heavy as I search for Lisa. She left a few moments ago – well I think it was moments ago, to the toilet. She hasn’t come back yet.

“LISAAAA!” I sing, pushing past people and come to the stair way. I spot him at top, chatting to a small redhead. I glare at him, feeling white anger raise within me until I’m shouting at him.

“Hey!” Baekhyun looks down and his eyes widen. “Oh! You look surprised to see me Baekhyunie! Didn’t think I’d go to party without you, well here I am!” I climb onto the first step, hiccupping and pointing my finger at him. “YOU! You are nothing but a coward!” Baekhyun mutters something to the girl before he comes storming down the stairs. He grabs my arm and drags me to the kitchen; I whine in protest and try to pull him off me.

“Get off me, you fucking twat!” I growl but he ignores me, he slams the kitchen door shut, then he lets go. He stalks over to the cupboards and open it, taking out a glass. Then, he goes to the sink and turn on the tap, letting it run for a second before thrusting the glass under it and filling it up. He hands it to me, I push it away, spilling it slightly.

“Drink it, Y/N,” he commands, his voice cold. I shake my head and he groans, pushing the glass into my face. My hand flies up and smacks it away, knocking it completely out Baekhyun’s hand. The glass smashes on the floor with a loud crash.

“WHEYHEY!” Someone shouts from outside the kitchen – sounding like Jongdae. I back myself away from him, Baekhyun curses and glares at me.

“Don’t look at me like that!” I slur, crossing my arms. “I don’t want it; I don’t want anything from you. You’re a fucking coward Byun Baekhyun!” Baekhyun says nothing, just staring at with his puppy eyes. And suddenly I don’t feel angry, just sad, again. “I told you I loved you and you went and fucked some other girl!” Baekhyun sighs and makes a move to leave the kitchen, I hurry and grab his arm, tugging him back.

“You can’t even own up to it!” I yell, pulling him around to face me. His face is blank, just staring at me. I feel hopeless, confused. Once again, I take a step back from him, I turn to the counter and grab a bottle that was lying there. It was red wine; I open it and take a large gulp. Baekhyun sighs my name but I ignore him and drink more.

“You’re going to give yourself alcohol poison,” I scoff and turn around.

“And why the fuck do you care?” Baekhyun frowns.

“I do care about you, Y/N,” I let out a bitter laugh.

“No, you fucking don’t! If you cared about me, you wouldn’t have gone with that girl last Friday. If you seriously cared, you wouldn’t have moved on so quickly!” A tear slides down my cheek, I point at it. “This is what caring looks like, Baekhyun.” I sniff, taking another sip from the bottle. “And I’m tired of caring for you, it’s exhausting and pointless.” With that I push passed him and back into the crowded living room.

I danced around the living room, took shots with Sehun – who seemed to appear from thin air! I think he’s a magician. The living room has become stuffy, my hair is sticking to the back of my neck, so I leave to the hallway. I lean against the wall, feeling drowsy.

“You alright?” a voice calls out; I look up with blurry eyes and see a guy leaning against the staircase. I nod, letting out a giggle. He smirks before making his way over to me, he has a cup in his hand, he offers some to me and I shake my head.

“I’m drunk enough,” I say, yawning. His smirk widens. “Being drunk is kinda fun though, until you get sleepy,” I giggle, and he nods taking a swig of his drink.

“You’re a pretty cute drunk,” he comments, and I let out a laugh. He leans forward, placing his lips near my cheek. “Pretty sexy as well,” I scoff, placing a hand on his chest.

“No, I’m not!” I snigger, he just nods before bending down, placing his cup on the floor. Both hands place themselves on my waist, he leans down and softly pecks the side of my lips.

“You are, you’re so sexy,” He whispers before kissing me. At first, I’m shocked but then I don’t know, I give in and let him kiss me. It was weird, his lips were chapped, and he tasted like a weird combination of beer and curry. It was when his hand started to move towards my breast that I realised I didn’t want sex. That i didn’t want him. I was too tired, too drunk for that. I pulled away, his lips trailed along my cheek and down my neck.

“No, no, no. I don’t want sex,” I slur out, pushing at him weakly. He just chuckles but continues to tug at me, his hand groping harshly at my breast. “I said no!” I push harder but he doesn’t let up.

“Hey, she said no!” the guy was pulled from me, and it finally hit me what was about to happen. I look up and see Chanyeol glare at him, the guy just laughs and turns back to me.

“Why don’t you piss off pal?” The guy says, but Chanyeol grips his shoulder, refusing to let him tower over me once again. My legs being to shake as the panic began to take place. I move to the side, almost falling over as I try to get away from his grip. As I was moving, I missed the swing of the guys right hand until it was too late. The guy punched Chanyeol in the nose, knocking him back into the staircase. Chanyeol let out a moan, gripping his face. I scream, attracting the attention of the others. Quickly, the rest of the boys arrive, Jongin and Sehun make a bee line for the guy dragging him out the front door. Kyungsoo, Yixing, Minseok and Junmyeon latch onto Chanyeol and lead him up the stairs to the bathroom.

A hand grips my shoulder, I scream and scramble away until I see the orange hair of my best friend. I launched myself into her arms, sobbing.

“Ssssh, it’s okay, Y/N,” Lisa soothes, but I shake my head.

“I was so scared; he wouldn’t let go. Chanyeol h-h-had to stop him!” I wail and suddenly, I’m pulling out of Lisa’s grip and practical crawl up the stairs. “I have to see him!” I yell down to Lisa. I get to the bathroom and see Chanyeol on the toilet pan, blood streaming down from his nose and his bottom lip is bust. Yixing kneels down and begins to clean the wound by his lip, Kyungsoo and Junmyeon stand by the sink. I let out a loud sob, hand covering my mouth. All eyes turn to me. Kyungsoo is first in action, marching towards me.

“Get out of here, Y/N!” he growls at me and I shake my head rapidly.

“Kyungsoo, leave her!” Chanyeol snaps, “This isn’t her fault,” Kyungsoo turns around and shoots Chanyeol a glare – but unlike the times in the canteen, Chanyeol doesn’t turn away frightened. He stares long and hard. Chanyeol looks at Yixing and Junmyeon and nods, indicating them to go. Both of them nod, leaving the room and tugging Kyungsoo along with them. Chanyeol reaches out his hand, I stumble to him sobbing. I grab his face and smoosh it against my breast, hugging him tightly. He chuckles slightly.

“Jesus, Y/N I’m alright,” I shake my head and continue to cry into his dark hair. He runs a hand along my back, trying to soothe me. Pulling back, I look at his face, his perfect face is all bloody and cut, my lips wobble again. Chanyeol’s thumb wipes the tear from my cheek and smiles weakly at me. “I’ll be alright, Y/N.” A knock on the door interrupts us, I turn and see Baekhyun standing there. He looks at the two of us for a moment before he eyes Chanyeol’s injuries.

“You alright man?” he asks and Chanyeol just nods. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol look at each for a moment, having a silent conversation with their eyes before Baekhyun nods and leaves us alone again. I plop myself onto Chanyeol’s lap, circling my arms around his neck, holding him tightly to me. Chanyeol let out a surprise sound as I did this, but I ignored him, feeling tired once again.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter against his chest, “I didn’t mean to get so drunk, I-I just wanted to let loose but then I saw Baekhyun and drank more!” I rambled, Chanyeol doesn’t say anything. We sit there in silence, I listen to his breathing, his heartbeat which beats quickly under my ear. It soothes me, almost putting me to sleep. I feel Chanyeol put his hands underneath my knees, picking me up easily. I lean my head in the crook of his neck.

“Where are we going?” I mumble, snuggling further into his neck.

“To my room, you can stay there tonight,” I nod. I feel Chanyeol lower me gently onto his bed, when he goes to withdraw, I grip onto him tightly. Not wanting him to leave. “I have to go, Y/N,” I whine, tugging to me.

“I don’t want you to go, please,” I beg, looking up at him. He stands there unsure before giving in, he climbs on the bed next to me. Both of us are facing each other, watching each other silently.

“Tell me something,” I whisper and Chanyeol pouts.

“Like what?” I hum, shrugging slightly but my body feels heavy. I force my eyes to stay open so I can look at him some more. His nose has stopped bleeding, the blood his dried on his cupid bow. The cut on his lip has swelled slightly, making his lips look puffier.

“Anything, just something,”

“I had a crush on you,” Chanyeol confesses, he looks away from me shyly. My heart flutters and I couldn’t stop the goofy smile on my face.

“Really?” he nods still not looking at me. “You never said anything!” I whine, poking at his arm childishly – a reminder that I’m still drunk. Chanyeol finally looks at me and smiles sadly.

“Technically, I did,” he confirms, nodding to himself, “I sent Baekhyun to talk to you, to find out what you liked, your interests and then I was going to ask you out on a date but uhhh…things changed,” Quickly, I sat up causing the room to spin. I may be drunk, but I still have brain.

“Oh my God!” I gasp, piecing the picture together. “So, all those notes Baekhyun sent me, they were from you?” Chanyeol just nodded. Before Baekhyun and I started dating – before I got to know Baekhyun, he used to pass me these notes in class that used to say things like ‘you look beautiful today’, and at the time I thought it was Baekhyun, considering how much he used to flirt with me. Jesus! Some friend he is!

I look at Chanyeol, eyes growing wet.

“Don’t you start crying again!” Chanyeol tuts, “You didn’t know, Y/N,”

“I know but you had to watch me with him, it must have sucked balls!” I whine and Chanyeol shakes his head in amusement before tugging me back down, lying beside him again.

“It did for a while, but you were happy, so I learned to deal with it. I knew you didn’t like me like that anyway, you barely knew me,” I sigh, grabbing onto his hand tightly.

“Still a dick move from Baekhyun, though. What kind of friend does that?” Chanyeol once again just shrugs. My eyes being to close over and this time I can’t fight it. I feel Chanyeol move closer, putting his arm around my waist.

“Sweet dreams, Y/N,” I hear him whisper before I drift off completely.

[creativechris]

Day 6: Week 2 Begins 👨‍🏫

And after a very quick weekend, I’m already past my first day of the second week. Where is the time going!? 

Preparation

I started the day off by learning how to photocopy a booklet so that it prints double sided and adds staples! What kind of witchcraft is this!!?? I had no idea this was even possible. There were a lot of steps to remember so I wouldn’t call myself an expert quite yet but a worthwhile experience regardless. 

I also talked through the behaviour management policy as well as the child protection procedure for the setting. 

I also went through a template I had prepared for a literacy lesson on writing letters and my supporting teacher gave me some advice on how I could improve my template as he believed it may be too easy for some of the children in the class. 

Me and my supporting teacher also looked out glitter for a lesson on handwashing that I would run later in the day. As a result, I found out where the school craft cupboard is. 

Maths

First up was Maths! The children were moving on to dividing by 8. The lesson began by the children revising multiples of 8 and also working what dividing sums can be supported with this knowledge. I have been trying to get the children to use their timestables knowledge rather than counting cubes during my lessons and from what I saw today, this is a great strategy for just that.

I was asked to focus on a table of children who had been identified as students finding difficulty with the work on some days. This didn’t show on this activity however. Having the reminder of their 8 times tables, seemed to help these students work out the work with little to no help from me and I was mainly there for reassurance. It was lovely to see them so engaged as they were really proud they could do the work. 

One thing I have learned is the last question on textbook pages are incredibly difficult and troublesome to explain. I chose not to explain it as this could confuse all the knowledge the children had gained this lesson. My supporting teacher said this was the right move as this last question can sometimes bring confidence down among pupils as it is so demanding. 

Reading

For reading, I had the same group as last week. I asked each child to read a page of the reading book and then discussed their reading target with them. Some targets included: “being more expressive”, “being more fluent”, “learning not to rush” and “being loud and clear”. The children all achieved their target as they all worked really hard and it was evident the children were considering what their target was while reading. 

We then got out the show-me boards and I read out some comprehension questions to them. Some questions only took about 1 minute for children to think up the answer while some lasted for 2. I separated the children into teams to do this. Since the book was about planes and flying we had team names such as “The Aviators”, “The Planes”, “The Gliders”, “The Aerodynamics” and “The Pioneers”. The children seemed to really enjoy it! :)

Coding

After that, it was time to move on to coding. The supporting teacher took the lead on this one. He explained to the children how to get two sprites to interact with one another. It was quite a complicated task but the booklet we had photocopied this morning was really good at breaking it down and explaining how it could be done. 

I helped the children power up their Chromebooks and log in to Scratch. I also helped them with trickier bits such as adding a “broadcast” block multiple times. Just as the children were starting to get the difficult part of the activity, the lesson came to an end and it was time for lunch. I’m excited to see how the children will get on with the next few parts of the activity next time. 

Health and Wellbeing

And this is where the glitter comes in. I first asked the children to settle down and face me to show they were listening. After that, I asked “does anyone know why we actually wash our hands?” Many children correctly answered, “because we need to wash the germs off our hands”. I explained they were correct and then moved on to showing how easy it is for germs to spread. I dipped my hand in a bowl of water and glitter and as you can expect, my hand was soon covered in the stuff. I then asked “okay who wants some of my germs?”. I chose someone to shake hands with and then they chose someone to shake hands with and then it happened again once more. I explained how easy it is for germs to travel from one place to the other. 

I then moved on to telling the children the procedure for washing hands effectively. I explained that you wet your hands first, add soap, rub your hands together ensuring all parts of the hand are washed before rinsing the soap off and drying your hands. I explained that singing the “Happy Birthday to you” song twice was  a great way of making sure you are washing your hands for the right amount of time.

I then asked the children to design a poster on what they had just learned. The children seemed really engaged throughout. 

My supporting teacher suggested showing some posters to the class as a plenary. So I did! I asked around 2-3 people to come and explain their poster to the class. I made sure I praised the children for their hard work and for doing their best. 

Writing Feedback

The last lesson involved the children discussing each other’s robot story they started writing last week. The children found it difficult to stay on task so I circulated round the room to try to keep the children focused and engaged. It was great to see such meaningful feedback from the children.

Finishing up and preparing

After the children had left, me and my supporting teacher took the writing jotters in and marked them. It was great to read the stories and see how individual the children are. I was surprised that I was able to guess who had wrote each one just by the way they wrote or the words they used. I got through about 7 in 20 minutes so it’s a clear that marking this type of work takes time but I valued the experience as now I know what sort of things you may add when marking such as spelling mistakes, capital letters and full stops. 

———————————————————————————————————–

What did I learn?

How to use some features of the photocopier

The school’s child protection procedure as well as the behaviour policy

Where the craft cupboard is in the school

The last question in a Maths textbook isn’t always the best option if you feel it is a troublesome concept to interpret at this stage

How to code a conversation on Scratch as well as how to teach it

Strategies for teaching handwashing

How to mark creative writing

Tomorrow…

Prepare to run a writing lesson for starting a letter

Focus on communication skills in the classroom and make notes

Focus on questioning in the classroom and make notes

Plan my second literacy lesson

Plan my music lesson for Thursday

- Christopher

[hymn2000]

Freeze - MCU AU Fanfic - C22

Previous chapter(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Story synopsis:- When a burst gas main destroys everything and leaves Peter with nothing, the Stark’s take him in. Thrown together by necessity, they then need to try to keep it together and build a new life. Devastated by loss, Peter doesn’t make things easy for them, and Loki and Tony struggle with their own grief and the responsibility of having someone completely dependant on them.

Chapter description:- Peter’s anger gets the better of him

Story warnings/themes: character death, hurt/comfort, trauma, grief, depression/mental health issues, bullying, corporal punishment

Relationships: Frostiron (Loki x Tony) (romantic), Tony and Peter (platonic), Loki and Peter (platonic)

From the same AU as Called To Be A Rock

Chapter 22 - What You Looking At?

-

Discharge papers signed, they walked out of the hospital. Once they reached the car, Tony gave Peter a hard pat on the bottom.

“You’re a smart kid, but you really lack common sense sometimes” he frowned. “You could have done yourself permanent damage”

Peter didn’t say anything, and climbed in the car. He looked down at his bandaged hand. The anaesthetic was wearing off and it was starting to throb. Tony climbed in on the drivers side. He looked at Peter’s hand, and at Peter himself.

“I trust you won’t go putting your hand through any more pictures any time soon”

Peter folded his arms over his chest.

“I’m not the one you should be angry at” he grumbled.

Tony sighed heavily. “Put your belt on”

-

“And we’ll only be making it right, 'cause we'll never be wrong, together we can take it to the end of the line, your love is like a shadow on me all of the time”

“I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark, we're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks”

Peter pushed between them. “I really need you tonight, forever's gonna start tonight-!”

May grabbed hold of him, pulling him back.

“Leave them alone!”

“Why? They think it’s funny”

He was right: Tony and Loki were both laughing at him.

“It’s just a bit of fun” Loki said. wiping under his eye with his thumb. “Why don’t you choose the next one?”

Peter picked up the MP3 player. May looked over his shoulder.

“Don’t pick something stupid”

“Oh, please do!” Tony said. “It’s funnier when it’s stupid”

May sighed, taking the MP3 from Peter. “Well, if it’s stupid you want...”

Peter’s face lit up as the song started. He jumped at Loki, grabbing his hands.

“You know this one!”

Loki laughed, pulling May up from her seat and forcing her to join them. Tony laughed too, taking May’s hands so Peter had Loki to himself. Peter grinned up at Loki, word-perfect in his miming, somehow still managing to look great when he was messing about. He was happy - maybe that was it. Tony was enjoying himself too, and as much as she might not admit it, May was too. She kept looking over at Loki, laughing at him, admiring him... These were the times Peter loved best - when they were all being silly and happy, and comfortable doing it. Peter loved showing off and playing with Loki, and mirroring each others almost-dancing was perfect.

“I swear sometimes that man is out to get me!”

-

Peter looked up. He hadn’t realised he’d nodded off, and he felt weird. He went off to Tony’s room and pushed the door open.

“Peter! Don’t you know how to knock?!” Tony snapped, furiously scrubbing the tears from his face. “What do you want?”

“Well, nothing, not if you’re gonna be like that” Peter scowled, turning on his heel.

“Peter? Hey, hold up” Tony rushed after him, grabbing him by the shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap”

“You’ve been crying again” Peter said, looking him up and down. “I think we need to forget about him”

“What?! Peter! Don’t say things like that!”

“Well, why not?! He doesn’t care about us! He wouldn’t’ve stopped writing if he cared! He wouldn’t have even walked out in the first place!!”

“He does care! He’s just...”

“He’s just what?! I hate him! I hope he never comes back!”

“You don’t mean that”

Peter growled. “How would you know what I mean? We’re better off without him. He’s never gonna come back, and I’m glad of it! He’s horrible and he’s upset you and he doesn’t even care!”

“Peter, what’s gotten into you?? It’s three o’ clock in the morning”

“So? You know what I’m saying is true! I don’t get it! Why do you still love him? And why did she like him so much?!”

Tony put his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “You need to calm down”

“Why should I?! I hate him! He could’ve had his pick of anyone, so why did he have to choose May?! She was too good for him! I hate him, I hate him!” Peter shook Tony’s hands off, knuckling his eyes. “You can’t even deny it. I read more of that diary; I know what kind of filthy stuff you used to get up to. I hate him! He’s just using you, he was using her too! He’s nothing but a selfish little slut!”

There was a horrible silence. Tony closed his eyes for the count of ten, and then looked at Peter.

“I’m in half a mind to wash your mouth out with soap” he said. “You need to calm down and go back to bed”

“But-!”

“One more word” Tony said. “One more word, and I will be scrubbing your tongue with a bar of carbolic, do you understand?”

Peter did understand, but he didn’t like it. “Why are you picking on me all of a sudden? Fuck! It’s not fair! It’s not my fault you married a fucking slapper-”

-

Peter pushed a chair up under the door handle to barricade it. Tony had followed through on his threat, and it had been utterly disgusting. But Peter supposed it had been effective, because now he never wanted to say a word to that man every again. How long the effect would last was another matter entirely.

-

Peter woke up to Tony banging on his bedroom door, and was forced to get out of bed and move the chair so he could open it.

“Oh good, you’re up. Get a move on, sweetheart”

Peter glared at him. “I’m not going”

“Uh, yes you are” Tony said. “You had half a day off yesterday, and there’s no reason for you to miss any more lessons”

“I said, I’m not going”

“And I said you are” Tony said, scooting round him and finding his satchel. “Did you do your homework last night?”

“I didn’t have any”

“Right. Are you having breakfast with Macy again today?”

“I’m not going to school”

“Yes, you are. Now stop being silly and get ready” 

Peter shook his head and sat down on the bed. 

“Peter, so help me, if you don’t get yourself ready, then I’ll do it for you” 

“Fine!” Peter shouted, standing up and pushing him towards the door. “But when I come home all bloody and bruised, it’s gonna be all your fault!”

-

“Oh Peter, what happened to your hand?” Millie asked.

A picture fell off the wall, Peter wrote. Well, it wasn’t a lie. Not exactly.

“Oh dear, does it still hurt?” she touched his bandages gently. 

“Poor Peter” Flo said, giving him a hug. “You’re not having much luck this week, are you?”

Peter leant against her. Somehow he was glad he’d lost the fight at home this morning. It was good to be around friends. 

All three girls made a big fuss of him, even more so than usual, and even Malaki braved the girls and came over to give him a hug. Peter couldn’t stay angry at the world, not with these four on his side. It felt like everything was ok - for now, at least.

-

Peter sat in the kitchen doing his homework. They’d been asked to start drafting their ‘My Family’ autobiographies, but Peter was ignoring that one. He’d hidden the slip in the back of his jotter where Tony wouldn’t think to look. 

“Hey kid”

Peter ignored him. 

“Hey, don’t ignore me” Tony sighed. “Where’s your phone?”

Peter stayed quiet.

“Peter! I said, where’s your phone?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“Don’t speak to me like that! Give me your phone”

“Why should I?”

“Because I said so! Stop being a pest and just do as you’re told”

“Leave me alone! I’m busy!”

Tony sighed, grabbing hold of him and feeling in the pocket of his hoodie. Peter snapped, hitting out and shoving him.

“Get off!”

“Hey, stop that!” Tony said, his voice cold. He’d managed to get his phone, and Peter tried to snatch it back. “Oi! Sit back down”

“Give it back!” 

“No. Now sit back and finish your homework”

Peter didn’t. He jumped at Tony and wrestled his mobile back out of his hands. Tony wasn’t best pleased. He inspected the scratches on his hand and glowered at him.

“Now, there’s no need for such violence” he said. “Give me your phone”

“NO!”

Tony gave up. “Oh, fine, then! I was considering doing you a favour, but if you’re going to be such a brat, I can see it’d just be a waste of time. Go to your room”

“I’m doing my homework!”

“Well, go and do it in your room”

“No way! It’s either doing my homework or going to my room; not both. So make a choice”

“Don’t you try to barter with me, young man!”

Peter rolled his eyes, and Tony grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

“You are driving me insane! Go to your room!”

He released the boy. Peter huffed and stormed out of the room. He slammed his bedroom door behind him, and just to be annoying, plugged his MP3 into the speakers and turned the volume up high.

-

As predicted, there was soon a banging on his bedroom door. 

“Peter! Turn that down!”

Peter turned it up, if only to be defiant. Tony didn’t appreciate this. He pushed the door open and turned off the speakers.

“Hey!”

“You’re just being difficult for the sake of it now” Tony frowned, unplugging the speakers and tucking them under his arm.

“Hey, those are mine!”

“Consider them confiscated. You can have them back when you learn to behave yourself”

“That’s not fair!!”

“It’s not raining either”

- 

Peter stayed in his room for a bit, but the longer he was alone, the angrier he got, and he soon went off to track down Tony.

“I thought I sent you to your room”

“You did”

“So why are you stood there, then? Are you here to apologise?”

“I’ve got nothing to apologise for” he said, sitting down heavily.

Tony sighed deeply, closing his laptop. “Kid, give me a break. I’ve got enough to deal with without you making it even more difficult. Please, won’t you just behave yourself for five minutes? I need to work”

“What about tea?”

“After the way you’ve behaved, I don’t think you deserve it”

Peter narrowed his eyes at him. “I’ll ring Li and tell her you’re starving me”

Tony opened his laptop again. “Don’t try to blackmail me, kiddo”

Peter watched him. He didn’t know why he was acting like this - but then, nothing had made much sense since the accident, least of all his feelings. He felt like being difficult. He took Tony’s laptop, scrolling through the spreadsheets.

“Hey, give that back!” Tony snapped.

“I’m just looking!” Peter said, hanging on to it. 

“Peter, I’m not in the mood for your idiocy. I have stuff to do. Now give it back”

“I wanna see what you’re doing”

Tony wrenched the laptop out of his hands. “I’ll show you. So this launch-”

“I don’t care about the launch” Peter said, pretending to yawn. “Can’t we do some proper work”

“This is proper work” Tony said, frowning at him. 

He looked at Peter, at the way he was acting, and in that moment, he really hated him.

“Well, it’s boring. Can’t you take a break? I wanna go out”

“You’re not going out” Tony said. “It’s a school night”

“So?”

“So, you need to get to bed at a reasonable time”

Peter rolled his eyes, making another grab for the laptop. 

“Oi!” Tony snapped, swatting at him. “I’m trying to work. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“No” Peter said. “I mean, I would, if you hadn’t confiscated my speakers, and if you’d said yes to me going to Millie’s. But you have, and you didn’t, so I don’t”

Tony gave him an exasperated look, and tried hard to focus on his work. Peter watched him for a moment.

“Can I have some rose lemonade?”

“It’s Loki’s”

“So? He’s not here, is he? It’s not like we’ll ever see him again, so it’s not like he’s gonna miss it” he stood up, and Tony grabbed hold of his wrist.

“Don’t you dare”

Peter huffed and sat back down. “You’re a fool for thinking he’s gonna come back”

Tony closed his eyes and started counting. One, two, three, four-

“I reckon he’s found someone else now”

“Peter, I swear to god-” 

“What? This means you can get back with Pepper if you like. Or one of the other thousands of girls you’ve shagged”

“Peter, if you don’t shut up-”

“Moving on might be a good idea, y’know”

“Peter! You’re going to earn yourself a good old-fashioned smacked backside if you don’t give it a rest”

Peter went quiet. Tony dared breathe out.

“I’m right though”

Tony snapped. “Right, that’s it-!”

-

As soon as Peter started crying, Tony suddenly felt absolutely awful. 90% of him wanted to hug him close and kiss his face and say he was sorry and that he didn’t deserve it and that he would never do anything like that ever again. But 10% of him knew that Peter had been naughty and rude and had been trying his luck and needed to be disciplined and put in his place. And the 10% won.

“If you’re going to continue to behave so atrociously, you’ll continue to be punished for it. There’s no excuse for the way you’ve been acting recently. Now go to your room. I don’t want to hear so much as a squeak from you until morning”

Peter went without argument, crying into his hands, and once he was gone, Tony flopped down on the sofa. Acting parent was exhausting. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could cope with this.

*

[islamfakrul]

Top 10 Best business writing books [2022]

Top 10 Best business writing books [2022]

1. HBR Guide to Better Business Writing (HBR Guide Series) Buy On Amazon 2. Writing That Works; How to Communicate Effectively In Business Buy On Amazon Collins Reference 3. Premium Pu Leather Pocket Memo Book Note Pads Holder Jotter Organizer Business Writing Pad Flip Note Cover with 8 Digit Calculator, A7 Size 30 Sheets White Paper Narrow Ruled Memo Scratch Pads and Pen Buy On Amazon The…

[scratch-n-jotter]

Hi all 👋⠀ ⠀ For those who don’t me, I’m Leona - head stationery addict at Scratch & Jotter. ⠀ ⠀ I adore stationery, but I absolutely love the feeling of opening a new notebook or planner - with all the hope and possibility that lies within. ⠀ ⠀ I also love how capable I feel when my workspace and desk is arranged and I have my favourite tools for best productivity. ⠀ ⠀ I started Scratch & Jotter in 2015 because I want to help others create that feeling through beautiful and functional stationery. ⠀ ⠀ It’s so lovely to meet you. X ⠀ 📸 and styling by the amazing Alex from @lxocreativestudio at @mercieventspace⠀ #fridayintroduction #stationery #stationeryaddict #stationerylove #entrepreneur #creativelifehappylife #creatives#planneraddict #plannerlove #workspacegoals #interiordesign #interiors #lmbdwbrisbane #lmbdw #creativedirector #interiorstyle #onmydesk #desklove #deskgoals #smallbusinessau #graphicdesign #designer #entrepreneurlife #creativewriting #flatlayoftheday #organised⠀ #stationeryshop #stationeryfinds https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKzt5hgw8W/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1i360qjakwg85

[allaboutraye]

Writer interview

I was tagged by @palmetto-blue 1) What made you start writing for the first time? This is easy. I shared a room with my younger sister from almost the day she was brought home from the hospital. She never blinking stopped crying, so I took to babbling garbled stories to her. I wrote the first one down in ‘charming’ kiddy script when I was about five or six. When I was 10 I was given my mum’s old typewriter – we’re talking the manual sort with a sticky shift key and sharp edges that weighs an absolute tonne – and I started typing stuff when I wasn’t writing stories in the back of school jotters (my brother, sister and friends would all bring me old science exercise books and say that they’d ripped out all their notes but could I write them a story about something or other. I just never stopped. 2) If you could only write about the ocean, the forest, or the desert for the rest of your life, which one would you pick? That’s probably the easiest question ever (for me). Definitely the beach. I live by the sea and find that it is the most changeable landscape, often I think it reflects my moods perfectly, dark, murky and stormy when I am stressed, and calm, clear turquoise at others. It’s a beautiful thing and a source of much inspiration. 3) Would you ever write a memoir? Good grief, no! My life is so boring that it wouldn’t fill up 10 pages. 4) Do you like writing by hand, or writing with a computer? I started off really old school, and a lot of my notes are still made that way. I have written entire chapters of fanfic and original fic alike in a notebook which I will then type up and edit as I go. I also recently picked up a manual typewriter, and that’s another way I like to write, the sound is quite comforting (to me, my cat hates it). 5) Would you rather be popular among many readers, or unpopular, but loved by critics? Critics don’t make a person money! Sounds really materialistic, but if I were a published author and my bank balance depended on sales the critics would be of absolutely no use to me whatsoever. I also love reviews, and my fanfic readers, a review makes me happy when it’s from someone who loves my work, but they aren’t critics, they are the people who read my stuff because they want to, not because they’re getting paid to pull it to pieces. 6) Do you listen to music while you write? What is the best writing music? I find music with words is a massive distraction for me. I use something like Coffeetivity to motivate me. I have discovered that the sound of a coffee shop (when I am not actually in one) is a way of drowning out all the sounds that I don’t want to hear (mostly my own negativity/doubt) and I can get a lot more done. I used to write while listening to Peer Gynt (Grieg) on full volume when I was growing up – it made sure that my brother and sister didn’t annoy me!

7) Do people you’ve met find their way into your writing? Nope. When I first started writing (30+ years ago) I used to include characteristics of people I knew in my stories, but it was hard to separate them from the real deal and I ended up having to change so much that they weren’t really the person I knew anymore. Eventually I realised that it was much easier creating people from scratch. Tagging: If you want to do this, go ahead, I would love to hear about your writing habits and what makes you tick.

[emmastudies]

If you’re a stationery lover there is no doubt that you’re always looking for new places to shop because you can never have enough notebooks or pens! Buying stationery gives us all an illusion of productivity and who isn’t willing to pay for that? I’ve compiled a list of stores I’ve come across and think deserve sharing! Just to note some of these do have physical stores or only ship to certain places. I’ve tried to find out their shipping policy but be sure to double check. Anyways, here is a list of all the stores (I’ve * my faves). 

Stationery stores 

Appointed (worldwide shipping)

Amazon (international websites)

Bando (worldwide shipping)

Bloom Daily Planners (US only)

Blue Sky Planner (US only)

Bricksxcastle (worldwide shipping) (get 10% off using ‘emma10′)

Cobbery (worldwide shipping)

Daiso (US only)

Day Designer (US and Canada only)

Ella Iconic (worldwide shipping)

Emily Ley* (worldwide shipping)

Erin Condren (worldwide shipping)

Fox and Star (worldwide shipping)

Frank Stationery (worldwide shipping)

Glam and Paper (worldwide shipping)

The Happiness Planner (worldwide shipping)

Inky Co (Australian and New Zealand only)

Jet Pens* (worldwide shipping)

Jo & Jody (ships to most countries)

Jot It Down* (worldwide shipping)

Kate Spade (ships to some countries)

Kawaii Pen Shop (worldwide shipping)

Kikki K* (worldwide shipping)

Knock Knock (worldwide shipping)

Leuchtturm 1917 (ships to most countries)

Little Paper Lane (Australia only)

Makadai (worldwide shipping)

Meggies (UK only)

Mi Goals (worldwide shipping)

Mochi Things (worldwide shipping)

Moleskine (international websites)

Mossery* (worldwide shipping)

Muji* (international websites)

Notemaker (ships to most countries)

Officeworks* (Australia only)

Orenda (Australia only)

Paperchase (ships to some countries + US website)

Papier D’amour (Australia + New Zealand only)

Paperdorable (worldwide shipping)

Passion Planner (worldwide shipping)

Pepperpot (worldwide shipping)

Personal Planner (worldwide shipping)

Plum Paper (ships to most countries)

Poketo (worldwide shipping)

Public Supply (worldwide shipping)

Quill London (worldwide shipping)

Raven Press Co (worldwide shipping ex. Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, or Carribbean states)

Rifle Paper Co (worldwide shipping)

Ryman (UK only)

Scratch & Jotter (Australia only)

SalteaWashi* (worldwide shipping) (get 5% off with ‘emma5′)

Sessa Vee (worldwide shipping)

StationeryStoreCo* (worldwide shipping)

Staples* (international websites)

Studio Stationery (worldwide shipping)

Smiggle (worldwide shipping)

Sugar Paper (worldwide shipping)

Tabiyo Shop (international shipping)

Target (international websites)

The Paper Stone (worldwide shipping)

Tokyo Pen Shop (ships to some countries)

Typo (worldwide shipping)

Up & Atem (worldwide shipping)

Urban Outfitters (ships to most countries)

WHSmith (UK only)

Etsy stores

EmmaStudies***** obviously my favourite?!? (all instant downloads so goes anywhere!)

Fox and Fallow (worldwide shipping)

Karma Paper Co (ships to US and Canada - international on request)

Letter Love Designs (worldwide shipping)

Little Papeterie (worldwide shipping)

Made to Plan (worldwide shipping)

Moon Lume* (worldwide shipping)

Plan Bright Planners (worldwide shipping)

SHP Planners (worldwide shipping)

She Plans (worldwide shipping)

Simply Notebooks (worldwide shipping)

Sugar and Type (worldwide shipping)

Posy Paper (worldwide shipping)

Purple Trail (ships to some countries)

If you’ve got a store you’d like to recommend, don’t hesitate to message me! Hope you like this post and find some cool new stores to shop at x

[creativechris]

Day 5: My First Observation 😱

Preparation Time

I was terrified about running a numeracy lesson but I was prepared with what I felt was a good lesson. The day started by me preparing all the materials I needed and writing questions on the board. 

My supporting teacher went through some behaviour management strategies. This involved Class Dojo’s point system. He explained that the children in his class take really well to points being awarded for hard work (rather than finished work). He put emphasis on positive reinforcement of behaviour rather than ensuring negative behaviour is punished only. He also explained using the quiet area is a good way to manage behaviour.

PE

Specialists from Active Schools had come in to see the P4s and teach them about Boccia. This is a paralympic sport that involves using your arms and throwing mainly. For this reason, the children completed most of the stations sitting down. It was great to see and the children enjoyed it very much. 

Numeracy

I wasn’t nearly as scared as I thought I would be. When the children came back from PE, I sat on the teacher’s chair and called out, “Who’s sitting like the best?” and within minutes the children were sitting down quietly and listening to what I had to say. I shared the learning intention and the success criteria. I then went through the questions and asked the children to talk to their shoulder partner before putting their hand up. The children seemed really engaged and seemed to be understanding what I was teaching. This is definitely eased my nerves seeing the children so interested. I then sent off the first two groups to hand out jotters and textbooks before going to their desk to work on a page from the textbook. I worked with the other group who were further ahead in their dividing ability and then sent them off on their task. I circulated the room helping where I could and from what I could see, the children were understanding the work. Thank goodness! All of a sudden, it wasn’t so scary and it began to feel natural. I stopped the class midway through the activity so they could peer assess each other’s work. I gathered each group one last time and asked the children to spot the wrong answer on the board to strengthen their understanding. I then 5 minutes before the bell had two children collect jotters and two children to collect the textbooks. By the time the children were back at the board sitting down, the bell rang and I got the children to line up and then... it was done. My supporting teacher explained that he was happy with how the lesson went and now I could relax as I had completed my first observation. One child even said “Best Maths Lesson EVER!” which was lovely. I think he said that because the class hadn’t really been taught by me before and not because of the lesson itself. Either way, I am really happy with how it went and I feel I am likely to use this lesson again in future. 

Writing

It was my first time seeing a writing lesson in action. The children planned out a robot coming to school story in their jotters using a mindmap. Half way through the children started writing. I helped the children stay motivated by reading their story and being eager to find out what happens next which encouraged them to keep writing so I could see the rest of the story. 

Spelling

It was also my first time seeing a spelling lesson in action. The children were set a task that involved them writing out spelling pyramids. 

Throughout the lesson, the teacher gathered groups of the children around the board to go through spelling words with the show-me boards.

Coding with Scratch

The day ended with the children going back to their projects on Scratch and completing their animated name.

Finishing Up and Preparing

My supporting teacher went through my observation with me. The feedback was very positive and I couldn’t believe it had gone so well. His only feedback was use more AifL strategies and incorporate ICT in the next lesson. 

We also marked the Maths jotters using the textbook answer book. My supporting teacher took one group and I took the other. Before my supporting teacher could start marking, he was told to come and check something. I was able to finish all of my pile of jotters. I wasn’t sure how long the teacher was going to be so I took the risk of marking his pile also. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not but when he came back he seemed pleased that I hadn’t wasted time and took the initiative to mark his pile also. 

———————————————————————————————————–

What did I learn?

Being observed isn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be

Behaviour management strategies (e.g. Dojo and quiet area)

How to structure a Maths lesson

What a primary 4 writing lesson could look like

What a spelling lesson involves

How to mark children’s work (and how long it takes)

- Christopher

[foodsniffr]

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[sammacduffy-blog]

My Dad’s Notebooks

I recently came across my dad’s old journals. They do not resemble the notebooks talks about in his writings. I’ve found the notebooks and have secured them.

The reasons that I’m transcribing his journals is simple, he’s going missing. I need help finding him.

Anyways, here it goes:

Hello there. I’m not sure what you are expecting to find here. Hell, I’m not sure what I’ll be writing here. I already write so much in those damned notebooks. I use the word “damned” in a quite literal sense. You’ll under

Anyways, I wanted to leave something for my family. I’ve been going through a lot lately and figured that getting my thoughts out on normal paper would be a hell of a lot better than the alternative… I’m sorry, I must sound confusing. I hope that the further you read, the more it will make sense.

Where should I start? From the beginning? Sure, why not. Every story has a beginning.

I was raised a typical military brat. Spent time over in Europe and a multitude of states. My dad worked with the Air Force in Strategic Air Command. All I knew about his job what that is was classified. He once tried explaining it to me like this:

“Well, it’s like going to work every day and trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle. However, the picture is a solid color and other people keep adding more pieces or hiding them from you.”

I didn’t see him much. The only way in knew he was home was by the presence of his duffel bags. He had one packed for an out-of-country deployment and one for an in-country TDY. If both bags were by the door, I knew he was home.

Mom did her best to keep up with my brother and me. It didn’t help that she also worked a classified job, just on the DoD Civilian side of things. At least we were able to see her at nights and on weekends.

During the week days, my brother would go to day care and I would go to the base’s youth center. I was a little awkward and mostly kept to myself. I didn’t really fit any “normal” stereotype. After awhile, I got use to being alone. It got to the point that I started to worry my parents. I enjoyed being alone so much that it seemed normal to me. My parents said that I should have been spending time with kids on my own age and enjoying the very few family functions we had.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my family. I just didn’t want to be around them.

Before my lack of social skills became too much of a problem, my dad was medically discharged from the Air Force and we moved back to my parent’s hometown. The thought was that our family down there would be able to “instill the traditional southern hospitality” in me and I would become “normal.”

Given the type of people that frequent this website, I know that you’ll find that humorous. Just finish laughing and I’ll type ahead. Heaven knows that I’m not going anywhere.

So, to appease my parents and keep from being hackled to death by my family, I became “normal.” There was a trade off, however. It seemed to be an unspoken agreement between my parents and me. I would act “normal” out in public and around my extended family and then I was allowed my alone time when we were at our house.

After the second week of being in their hometown, my mom bought me a little back notebook. She thought that I should be able to at least get my thoughts out of my head and express myself in some form.

We settled into a routine of me going to school and having a social life with friends. My parents pretended that everything was fine and I would steal away into my room every sparing moment that I could and fill notebooks full of rants, short stories, and general thoughts.

I felt comfortable writing. Just something about the pen and paper. The ink and paper didn’t judge. My favorite combination was a classic, lined Molekine hard cover journal and a Parker Jotter pen. I wrote so much that a callus developed on the side of my middle finger. Each of my writing sessions would leave my hand cramped and aching, and I loved it.

I eventually graduated high school and didn’t follow the normal crowd to university. Instead, I chose to go into public service. I went to a community college and obtained my EMT-Basic certificate and license. I worked my way up to being a Paramedic and actually enjoyed my job.

I bet you’re scratching your head. Yeah, a little more information will help.

My dad was a fire medic for our hometown before he enlisted in the Air Force. Because he went into the National Guard and not active duty straight away, they made his civilian job his military job. When it was apparent that my parents couldn’t afford a family on a firefighter’s salary, dad when active duty and we were shipped to Europe. During his transition back to the states, he was moved to SAC.

The few conversations that I did have with him, he had always talked about enjoying the fire department and wishing that he had never left.

With that, I followed in my father’s foot steps. But, I didn’t stop at just being a paramedic. I obtained my flight medic certification and when through a Tactical Combat Casualty Care course. I spent time attached to my county’s Sheriff S.W.A.T. Team. I worked with an anti-human trafficking group. I became a Critical Stress Incident Debriefer. The certifications I earned goes on for days.

It’s no secret that we see some bad things in the field and the list of fucked-up shit that I’ve seen is long and extensive.

So, for your benefit, beloved reader, I will not go into detail. Those are my demons to deal with.

Every chance I get, I put another demon into one of my precious notebooks. My hand screams with pain every time I write. It’s almost as if I can feel the pain leaving my body through the ink of my pen. The gratification of seeing that ink forever trapped on those pages is indescribable.

I do my best to keep my notebooks from my family. The atrocities that fill those pages makes the devil smile with delight. Sometimes, I can even hear him whisper over my shoulder to let the demons out.

“Oh, how beautiful if would be…” he would start. “It’s very simple and you know it.” My hands would run over the covers of my notebooks, feeling each one of them begging to be let out. His whispers would grow sweeter and more enticing each time he spoke.

Then, I would see a reflection of myself. An evil grin playing on my lips. I would snap out of it and leave my office.

My office is not very big. I live in a four bed room house and it’s the smaller of the rooms. I installed a lock on the door to keep the curious temptations of my wife and kids in check. I bought a small second hand desk and shelves. Each shelf is filled with my precious notebooks. Their spines smile at me every time I walk in the room. At last count, I had two-thousand and fifty-seven notebooks.

I do what I feel like every dutiful father and husband should. I provide for my family. I make time for my girls and wife. But, when they are all in bed, I head to my office. My wife knows where I go. She knows that if I walk into my office with a bad attitude, I always come out feeling better.

I have a routine when I enter my office. I unlock the door, step inside, shut and lock my door, and stand there in the darkness for no more than ninety seconds. It becomes too unbearable if I stay in the dark any longer. After turning on the light, I make my way to my coffee maker and make a large cup of coffee. Once it has brewed and coffee in hand, I walk over to the book shelf that holds my empty notebooks and select one. It isn’t a random choice, while all of my notebooks look that same, each notebook is different. I run my fingers over the spines and pick the one that calls to me that day. I sit down at my desk and pull out my pen. I take a sip of coffee and start to write.

My writing isn’t elegant or beautiful. It’s harsh and heavy-handed. When I start, the pages of the notebook are slowly filled. The pages make a satisfyingly crackle when I turn to write on the next page. As each page passes, the writing becomes faster. There is not change to my handwriting, my writing just becomes faster and faster. There are no breaks and I don’t go back to read them. When I finally close my notebook and slide the elastic band over the cover, my hand is aching and he is whispering in my ear. You see, the coffee isn’t for me. I just make sure the taste is suitable for him. Once I am able to stand, I take my notebook over to the shelves of full notebooks and slide it into its proper place. There is no origination to my notebooks, each one just tells me where to place it.

I wipe out the used coffee mug, place it next to the coffee maker, and unlock my door. Just before I step out of the door, I hear him say, “See you tomorrow night.”

It wasn’t a normal routine. But, it was one that allowed for my family to live happily enough. There where times that I was not able to write in my notebooks and my family could tell. One time, I tried for about a week and was almost put on anti-depressants as a result. At that point, my wife encouraged me to write every night that I was at home. My parents, however, still thought that it was unhealthy. I wish they would have just left everything alone. Things would definitely be better if they had.

I remember that day very clearly. I had gotten off of shift that morning and had taken my girls to see their aunt. My dad was suppose to get off of work a little after noon and meet us at their house so we could all spend some time together before Aunt Pam left to go back home.

Mom asked me to call dad to make sure that he knew to come home instead of going to his doctor’s appointment. (We rescheduled it for the next week.) Dad said, “Ok.” And we went back to talking like nothing was wrong.

You can see where this is going.

Last trigger warning. It’s about to get graphic.

When I couldn’t get a hold of dad and he didn’t show up for dinner, I went to his office to check on him. My heart sank as I turned the corner and saw his truck sitting in the empty parking lot. He wouldn’t answer the door and very time I called, I could hear his phone ring.

I called 911 and gave them my spill. Luckily I knew the dispatcher and the responding fire department. We were able to use a halligan tool to open the side door and we made entry.

I was the first one to find him. He was lying in the floor of the bathroom with his belt around his neck. I’ve seen too many dead bodies to know. The ashen skin, the cyanosis around his lips, and swollen tongue, I knew he had passed. All I could do was stand there, knowing that there was absolutely nothing I could do. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. I felt the a pair of arms wrap around me and then I was being led out of the building by my colleagues.

I sat on the bumper of the rescue truck. My face buried in my hands. No matter how hard I not to let them, the tears escaped. There wasn’t a person on scene that I didn’t know. I was brought water, offered a consoling word or two, and hugged. After what seemed an eternity, I was able to compose myself long enough to talk with a deputy and answer his questions.

After a while the dark humor took over and it was as if I were just on another scene with my co-workers. Of course, I had to step away a time or two, just to compose myself and then walk back. It was during one of my walks back that I noticed it. A set of eyes just beyond the edge of light. It was far enough back into the shadows that I couldn’t quite make out the shape, but I knew exactly what it was. It was at that time that I felt a slight touch on my should and a whisper in my ear.

“He read one.” His voice jeered. “Oh, how beautiful it was.” I couldn’t see him, but I knew that he was smiling.”

“Now is not the time to be playing fucking games.” I said in a low tone. All fear from me had gone. Nothing but anger and hatred were guiding my words.

I felt his hand move from my shoulder, almost as a startle. It was then that I realized that this was the first time that I had actually spoken to him.

“No games.” He said. All evidence of him being startled was nonexistent. “I’m only speaking truth. Go look in his office chair.”

Without saying another word to him, I walked up to the deputy and asked to look at my dad’s office chair. The deputy walked with me into dad’s office and using a gloved hand, we pushed the chair back. There is was, sitting as he said it would be.

“Anything relevant?” The deputy asked.

“Not sure. You mind?” I asked, gesturing to the notebook. The deputy shook his head and I opened the notebook. It was completely empty.

His voice returned to my ear, “Your door is no longer locked.”

[ellieplume83]

Advert or honest opinion? Australia cracks down on social media influencers

Australian woman Sarah Harrison has made a business out of being Little Miss Melbourne.

She started a blog in 2011 documenting her life in her new home city and now has  about 18,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

What started out as a hobby now makes Harrison money, with businesses like KFit and Scratch & Jotter working with her on featuring their products. 

Harrison is an “influencer”, one of a growing number of celebrities, bloggers and popular social media users who businesses look to for product promotion. 

from Ellie NZ Rss http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/89873462/Advert-or-honest-opinion-Australia-cracks-down-on-social-media-influencers

from Ellie's Blog https://ellieplume83.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/advert-or-honest-opinion-australia-cracks-down-on-social-media-influencers/