Clancy59

BTW, WHY did the Queen have to adopt Finley? Why is there no ‘natural-born’ prince? I get she’s Elven and he’s Nero, but why else?

Sweet freedom, made sweeter by being forbidden! Go for it, boys! Have fun! Stay safe! Get home before the changing of the guard!

Sounds like someone has a lot of folklore knowledge, but very little actual knowledge. This is already leading to fear, misconceptions and misunderstanding. Finley literally just arrived at Court. The Queen needs to arrange for some tutelage in the history/society/relations of the various member communities of their realm. FAST! Especially if she wants him to step into royal duties quickly.

Oh, this is an excellent start. I am looking forward to this one!

I had the same reaction. Sorry, but if I had done something like this, the first people I would have called after my husband (assuming he wasn’t waiting for me outside the door) would have been my parents! Adam claims to be close to his parents. This begs to differ. I don’t care if it’s a ‘guy’ thing, this blasé attitude. Something major like that, YOU CALL YOUR PARENTS AND FAMILY!

I keep remembering my 9th grade Algebra teacher, Mrs. Luchini. Every morning she would be at school an hour early and anyone who had problems with the homework could come in for tutoring, even if you had a different math teacher! Her classroom was usually 75-95% filled every morning at 7:30 am. I was one of her regulars. I finally got it enough to go on to the next classes. She even called me on a Sunday to tell me when my grades went to an A! She was one in a million. We found out that she lived near our high school and several of us would visit her regularly, at least until we left for college.

I can just see the happy grin on Devyn when Jason isn’t looking. He got his way! Now, just who is this other wolf? Do we have a suspicion? I really can’t think today.

Looks like he has a budding historian, if not a baby archaeologist! 🛖🗿🏰🕌📒🖊

You’re going to have to come up with some way to differentiate between the two Billy’s! I was getting confused there just before the diner! 😜 Loving the story. Can’t wait to see the coach’s and the other runners’ reactions when Billy runs with barely a reaction. Bring on the Gold!

You’re correct. I was very frustrated at times, and I was a specialist (I am a Librarian). As such, I didn’t deal with the grading like classroom teachers. But I certainly saw the effects on both them and the students and could see the results within my classes.

@Kev, see my note above. In high school, the problem is multiplied. Teachers don’t have 30 students. They usually have 130+ daily and only see them for an hour at a time. During this time, there is a lesson to be taught and explained, questions to be answered, assignments to be returned and commented on, new assignments to be handed out... If anyone is at all embarrassed or ashamed of their inability to understand something, they are unlikely to speak up in a class. These are teens. They are hyper-sensitive to criticism, especially from their peers. This teacher in this story DID NOTICE there is a problem. He went to the coach and discussed it with him because this could affect Jerry’s eligibility. Between the two of them, they convinced him to get the help of a tutor. Jerry is smart. He knows there is a problem. Deep down, he probably even knows what the problem is. He knows a tutor could save his hide, and his scholarship. His father does not appear to appreciate how a solid education can improve one’s life. Jerry does. He’s going to take every chance he can get to have a better life than his father. Adam has the time to focus on only Jerry, something the teacher does not, no matter how much he wants to be able to. There are 129 others who demand and deserve just as much attention. Adam is also not constrained by the curriculum. The off-the-cuff remark by his mother about relating the math to football was an ‘Aha!’ moment for Adam. Once he gets Jerry in the habit of thinking of the math in those terms, his job will be 75% done. The rest will be making sure the concepts are entrenched in his brain so he doesn’t even really have to think about what he has to do.

Teachers are VERY aware that students all learn differently. The problem is when you have 30+ active little bodies in front of you and are being pushed by parents, Administrators and the State to get everyone on the same, HIGHER level according to an arbitrary standardized test, there is no time available to allow for the creativity to capture those differentiations. Someone is bound to fall through the cracks. There simply isn’t enough time to catch them all yourself. It becomes 10x worse when there is no support from home. When I was student teaching, we had a little girl who was failing 2nd grade! One week, her mother accompanied her husband on his long-haul truck route, leaving the girl with Grandma. She got 100% on EVERYTHING that week. We were so proud of her and made a huge deal of her. She was so proud and excited. Then Mom came back. Everything went right back to the way it had been. Tutors serve a vital function in helping fill the gap. Some people have to pay for the service. That’s why those companies like Sylvan succeed.

Shoot. I just reread the ending where she turned to ashes. So much for that idea! 😡

Interesting. An Elemental female with evil designs. Is she the only one? Doubtful. The damage is too widespread. I’m surprised Brandon was able to get as much of a jump on her as he did. She must have thought she was untouchable as an Elemental and therefore underestimated his ability to physically attack her. Luckily, the guys came after him and were able to finish the job for him since it seems she was able to fight back. Now it’s up to Ethan to save Brandon. I hope her body is still there and they can get some information from it. Well, this story just took a 90 degree turn and hit warp speed! I can hardly wait for the next chapter!

It was all to the good. He was replaced by someone that, I think, the staff would kill to keep if someone tried to take away! When we came in to find him in place after Spring Break (we had no idea it was happening), I found an email from a colleague from the school where he had been a VP. She said they were all upset he was gone, but, having heard my stories, was happy we had him now and wished us the best. Instead of everyone being afraid of him, everyone was afraid of disappointing him, especially the kids. That’s hard to do with pre-teens!

I had a couple of principals who were control freaks. The last one who was was brought up on grievances by about half of the staff, including me. (The Union Rep said my written diary was the dam breaker that allowed everyone else to sign on. Before that, everyone was afraid of retribution.) By the time we got a new HR head, she couldn’t understand why someone with a file over an inch thick with complaints was still a principal. By Easter that year, he was on suspension. The following year, he lost his Admin license and had to go back to PE where I heard he was still terrorizing the kids. He was so bad, I refused to have either him or the VP, who was in his back pocket, do my eval. Instead, I had the guy in charge of my department city-wide. I passed with top marks.

Oops. I forgot to include Foreign Language! I can’t remember if it’s 1 or 2 credits, though. And somewhere in there, they fit in computer skills classes! It’s nuts!

LOL! I know I was! However, Ritchie gave her his ring to carry/wear. That’s kind of like a pre-engagement. 🥰 I also agree with the civics classes. I wish they were compulsory. Not to excuse the schools, but there are so many demands on them nowadays and states are requiring so many specific credits for graduation, I truly don’t know how to fit it into the curriculum. We really need it, especially with so many immigrant children who need to learn about their new country, as well as kids born here who have no clue how this country works because adults around them tell them the wrong things. Something else has to give. As it is, the kids only have room for 1-2 electives in the entire high school experience anymore. In our state, they need 4 English, 4 math, 3 history/Social, 4 science, 2 Fine Arts and 1 PE. That only leaves 2 credits for electives. No. Sorry. They upped graduation requirements a few years ago to 21 credits, so that gives them 3 electives. The problem is fitting it into the schedule. 🧐 Sorry for the rant. Education is a big topic with me. I taught for 35 years in all grades (K-12 because I am a specialist).

I live on the East Coast and grew up in the Midwest. I’ve never had to deal with the devastation from the fires of the West Coast. I’ve seen the images in the movies, on the news and in the papers and felt very sad for everyone involved, but it never hit me to a visceral level. Your description of the devastation and fear did that. I really felt as if I was riding along with the guys on that horrible side road. I just can’t imagine what I would actually do. I felt the fear rising and had to remind myself that I am safe in my home next to my husband with my dog curled up in my lap. (In a side note, I hope that cop who sent them down that side road loses his job and gets blacklisted. He almost cost the lives of the entire crew!) My admiration and respect for the people who can actually do that kind of work was already quite high, but it just sky-rocketed. Thank you for, not only an enjoyable story and visits with old friends, but, a masterful description of the horrendous conditions of the fires suffered by Australia and the West Coast.

He wiped Bobby out! 😆 Sounds like Abe will be a new factor in Bobby and Chaz’s lives. Just a small correction: An Antidote is a medicine given to counteract a poison or poison-like substance that a person has somehow consumed/been infected with/been bitten. For example, when a person is bitten by a rattlesnake, they are given an antidote to counteract the snake venom. An Anecdote is a short, often amusing, story told by someone while reminiscing about their past. Anecdotal stories are often used in the presentation of information as unconfirmed proof of something, like in legal cases, medical or educational issues. Somehow, I don’t think Chaz and Noah’s stories were so bad they needed antidotes!

3 beds with their own baths is not small! The living and dining spaces might be combined, but still... Is she being tasked with cooking, also? Are Chaz and/or Bobby going to be responsible for the shopping? If Rosa will be responsible for these, she will be earning her money! It is nice that she can bring Carlito with her (it sounds like he is around 3-4 years of age), so that will help her with child care costs. Luckily, Chaz likes kids and doesn’t think twice about having them around.

Yeah, but some people are naturally weak. Sorry to say, my brother is one of them. We were raised to be strong and resilient and not just be followers. Unfortunately, he always seemed to get involved with people, including his wife and her family, who were stronger-willed. The vast majority were fine and never took advantage. Unfortunately, the wife’s family is another story. It is heavily matriarchal and this is evident with every male who is involved with them, whether by birth or marriage.

OK. Now even I admit to being confused about Mark and his sister. What is their deal? Do they have such little faith in Bobby that he can succeed in college? Or is there another reason they want control over him. That’s what funding his college is boiling down to. “You will study what we say, and do what we tell you to do, or we will cut off your funding.” And they would have more control over him if he is just down the road instead of across the country. Bobby and his father need to confront them and find out what the big deal is. The sooner the better.

Loved it! Smiled through the entire thing! 🥰

This is also very true. Is Mark the older sibling? No. If Bobby is 18, Mom is probably the older one. It could be she had responsibility for her baby brother and has stars in her eyes regarding him. You’d think she would be more likely to see his foibles, if that was the case. 🙂