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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Line of Sight - 3. Chapter 3

Prompt #187: “Please, tell me that time is wrong, or I am in so much trouble!”

“Please, tell me that time is wrong, or I am in so much trouble!”

Murray cocked his head to the side and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I probably had considering I was talking to the dog and actually asking him a question like I expected an answer. I shook my head and locked Murray in his kennel and sprinted out the door. I nearly fell on my ass as my feet hit the light coating of snow on the porch but managed to stay on my feet. I couldn't afford any delays; I had less than fifteen minutes to get to Jake’s school for my parent-teacher meeting.

It took longer to get to Jake’s school than usual because of the roads. There was easily six inches of snow and it took every ounce of skill I had to keep the truck on the road. At one point I even had to shift into four wheel drive, but I did finally pull into the visitor’s parking lot with seconds to spare. I heard the lunch bell which also signaled the end of Jake’s school day and climbed out of the truck and rushed inside. I had to stop and check in at the office and was relieved to see Jamie’s name on the visitor’s log. Visitor’s badge in hand I headed to Jake’s classroom only to see Jake wrapped in his mom’s arms when I got close.

“I see you made it back in one piece.” I stepped closed and wrapped both Jamie and Jake in a hug. I was so glad we had been able to remain close friends after our divorce. Her hair, the same color as Jake’s, brushed my chin and I stepped back.

“I did. I’m guessing Murray is in your truck?” She set Jake down, but took his hand in hers.

“Actually,” I grimaced, “I was running late and didn’t have time to get his kennel and stuff in the truck. I must have set the alarm on my phone wrong.” I felt bad, but there wasn’t much I could do about it now. It was either make it to the school on time or show up with Murray.

“Not a problem. We’re actually meeting Paul for lunch and then I can swing by your place and pick him up.” Jamie smiled up at me and I knew she really wasn’t upset about it. “Besides, it might actually be better this way. We can have a minute to talk and you can fill me in on what Mr. Cutler wanted to talk about.”

“Sounds great.” I crouched down and gave Jake another hug. “Be good, I love you.”

“Love you, Daddy.” I kissed his cheek and watched him walk away with Jamie. The time Jake got to spend with his mom was good for both of them and I just wished they could see each other more. Jake usually spent one night a weekend with Paul, even when Jamie was gone, but Jake needed some just him and mom time. Once they turned the corner I stepped into Jake’s classroom and came face to face with Mr. Cutler.

“Mr. McKenna, thank you for coming in to see me.” Tony Cutler stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Thank you for calling, Mr. Cutler.” I took his hand in mine and tried to ignore the warmth that shot up my arm.

“Please, call me Tony.” Tony smiled and I felt that smile clear down to my toes.

It took me a moment to realize I still grasped his hand with mine and I forced myself to let go.

“Only if you call me Brad. You said there was something you needed to speak with me about regarding Jake. I hope everything is okay.”

I released his hand and followed as he led the way further into the classroom. He grabbed a chair against the wall and set it on the other side of his desk and motioned me to take a seat. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what he wanted to talk to me about.

“I believe it is, but I did want to talk to you about some of Jake’s recent behavior.” Jake’s teacher moved around his desk and sat down.

“His behavior?” I had never had any major behavioral problems with Jake and it was a bit concerning that they apparently were at school. “Why type of behavior?”

“It hasn’t been anything major, but over the last couple of months, he hasn’t participated in our show and tell days at all. I know that probably doesn’t sound like much, but the suddenness of it concerned me.”

“What do you mean he hasn’t been participating? I always make sure he has a toy or something for show and tell days.” This was certainly news to me and I wished he had called me before now. Though the timing of it, a couple months, told me it probably started around the time Dave had walked out of our lives.

“Have there been any major changes in his life recently? I know from talking with you previously that you had only recently become his primary caregiver, but can you think of anything else that might have been affecting him?” Tony sounded so earnest and I found myself nodding before I could even think about it. Jake’s teacher had known I was gay because when Dave still lived with us he would occasionally pick up Jake from school.

“Actually, a couple of months ago Dave moved out.” I probably wouldn’t have normally just blurted it out like that, but one thing I liked about Jake’s teacher was that he had never seemed to judge me for having a man for a partner. He’d always been friendly with both me and Dave. Something flickered in Tony’s eyes at that news but it was so fleeting that I must have imagined it. “About that same time, Jamie started going out of town more often so he didn’t get as much time with his mom.”

“It would certainly make sense if he had formed a relationship with Dave. He probably felt like he had been abandoned, by both his mom and Dave.” Tony leaned back slightly in his chair and I tried to ignore the way that the fabric of his shirt stretched across his chest.

I mentally shook myself out of my thoughts. It had been so much easier when Dave had been in the picture to ignore the fact that I was physically attracted to Jake’s teacher. He was out of bounds anyways and I wasn’t here to drool over him. I was here to talk about Jake and that needed to be my focus.

“I appreciate you calling me to let me know, but I do wish you had called me before now.” It was the truth. If Jake had been having issues for months, why was I just now hearing about it?

“I’m sorry that I didn’t. I had actually planned to call you for this meeting a couple weeks ago, but I’ve been out on bereavement after the death of my dad.” Tony’s voice was laced with pain and there was a slight hitch in his voice.

“I’m sorry to hear that, I know how hard that is.” It was true, I’d lost my own dad a couple years ago and I could clearly remember how difficult it had been to move past his death.

“Thank you, it has been, but I’m trying to move forward.” Tony gave a small smile, but it was easy to see that his heart wasn’t in it. “Though I know you didn’t come here to hear about me. The reason I called you now is because when I got back, I had noticed a complete change in Jake.”

“I’m hoping that’s a good thing.” I really did, but the tone of Tony’s voice didn’t sound like it was.

“It would be, but he’s kind of gone the completely other direction. He’s become disruptive to the rest of the class.”

I opened my mouth to speak but he held up his hand and I fell silent. Apparently he still had more to say and a part of me wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to hear it.

“It’s nothing completely bad, but he’s constantly talking about his new puppy to his classmates. I fully understand the excitement of a new pet, but I really can’t let it go on.”

I couldn’t stop the sigh. I had known he was excited about the puppy but I wasn’t sure how to keep him from talking about it at school. Hopefully Jamie would have an idea about how to keep him from disrupting class because I was drawing a blank. This was new territory for me and I wasn’t really sure what the best route would be to solve the issue.

“I can have a talk with him, but other than that I don’t really know how I can stop him from talking about Murray.”

“Actually, I’ve given it a bit of thought and I think our best course of action would be to bring Murray to show and tell on Monday. I’ve already cleared it with the principal, provided you’re willing to bring Murray when you bring Jake to school and stay until after show and tell so that you can take him home.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged, when were you thinking?” It wouldn’t be hard to stay at the school for an hour or so and if it would help Jake then I was more than willing.

“I’m thinking sooner rather than later.” Tony leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk, his fingers laced together as he smiled at me. “I was thinking that this coming Monday would be the perfect time.”

“That’s doable.” I tried to ignore the way his hair fell into his eyes when he leaned forward. I didn’t know why I was suddenly noticing all these things about my son’s teacher. It was certainly something I’d have to think about once I was home. A glance at the clock told me that I probably needed to get home to meet with Jamie, but I was strangely reluctant to leave.

“Perfect.” Tony stood and I followed suit. “I appreciate you being willing to come in on such short notice. My afternoon class will be here soon, so unless you have any questions I’ll let you get home.”

“I think I’m good.” I knew I needed to leave, but I was dragging it out as long as I could. After a minute of silence I couldn’t put it off any longer and held out my hand. I tried to ignore the shivers that went up my spine at the contact of his hand in mine and after a moment I released my grip. “I guess I’ll be seeing you on Monday then. Thank you for calling me.”

“You are very welcome. I’ll see you on Monday.”

I turned away and walked out of the classroom and back to the office to hand in my visitor’s badge. I was looking strangely forward to the time I’d spend in Jake’s class on Monday. It wasn’t because of Jake’s teacher, or so I told myself. Repeatedly. Maybe if I told myself enough I would actually start to believe it.

It's kind of hard to find first line prompts that fit with this specific story. I'm trying my hardest, but if you have an idea for a "first-line" for the monday show and tell or an upcoming chapter, please leave it in your review or in the discussion forum. I will try and use as many of them as I can throughout this story!!! Also, if you notice any mistakes, please let me know! I tried to catch them, but I'm sure I missed one or two!
Copyright © 2014 Renee Stevens; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

Great chapter. I'm happy that Brad and Jaime kept a friendly relationship after the divorce. Monday morning show and tell should be interesting hehe.

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I'm looking forward to next week's show and tell. Jake will have Daddy there as well

as Murray, so it'll be more like a dad and puppy show! Should be fun. I hope Tony's

single...

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On 05/05/2013 12:48 AM, Daithi said:
Great chapter. I'm happy that Brad and Jaime kept a friendly relationship after the divorce. Monday morning show and tell should be interesting hehe.
Thank you Daithi! I'm glad that you enjoyed this chapter. It was a little longer than the previous ones, almost double, but I really didn't want to end it smack dab in the middle of the parent teacher conference. And yes, it really should be :)
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On 05/05/2013 04:40 AM, Stephen said:
I'm looking forward to next week's show and tell. Jake will have Daddy there as well

as Murray, so it'll be more like a dad and puppy show! Should be fun. I hope Tony's

single...

Thank you Stephen! I'm glad that you are enjoying it enough to be looking forward to the next installment. It should definitely be an interesting chapter next week. As far as Tony, you'll just have to wait and see :)
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For such a relatively small amount of words, the character development and story is clearly there! Your small snippets leave a better impression than some of the long drawn out stories I've read. Needless to say I'm hooked!

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On 05/05/2013 12:12 PM, said:
For such a relatively small amount of words, the character development and story is clearly there! Your small snippets leave a better impression than some of the long drawn out stories I've read. Needless to say I'm hooked!
Thank you Myiege! When I first decided to do this story, I was worried that no one would like it because of the shortness of the scenes/chapters. I'm so glad to see that's not the case!
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I had forgotten about your weekend update and when I saw it I got so excited. These little chapters always make my day. Looks like there is definite chemistry between the two. Tony's almost unnoticeable reaction to Brad's breakup and Brad's feeling of warmth with the handshake. Methinks is it fixing to get pretty interesting. I can't wait to see how you develop their relationship :)

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Loving these so far - each chapter is over fast but so well written with great details. Can't wait to bee more!

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Six inches of snow and there's still school?! lol And halfway there Brad decided to put it in four-wheel drive? I put my car in four-wheel drive the second I see the first snowflake. lol

 

Anyway...it's funny how Brad is noticing all these attractive things about Jake's teacher now. When he had Dave he probably pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind b/c he knew he was 'taken'. But now he's a free agent and Tony's attractiveness is hitting him big time. lol

 

I'm sure Monday with Murray (is that like Tuesdays with Morrie?), sorry, couldn't resist...I'm sure Monday with Murray will be interesting. Hopefully Murray behaves himself. lol Jake will be all over Murray and the other kids probably will also. That's the best show and tell! :)

 

I think Jake is acting out and constantly talking about Murray b/c he wants the attention of the other kids, maybe even Mr. Cutler. His mom is off on business trips (I'm assuming), and Dave (who was a big part of Jake's life), suddenly moves out. As Tony said, Jake had two people who he loved and counted on, leave. Granted, his mom didn't 'leave', but she's not around as often. So maybe he's looking for attention, from someone other than his dad, and this is the way he's getting it - by bragging about Murray. He gets his classmate's attention this way, and he also gets the attention of his teacher by being disruptive. Maybe Jake doesn't care what kind of attention he's getting - good or bad.

 

Great chapter Renee! I'm looking foward to Monday's show and tell! :2thumbs:

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On 05/06/2013 12:18 AM, joann414 said:
I had forgotten about your weekend update and when I saw it I got so excited. These little chapters always make my day. Looks like there is definite chemistry between the two. Tony's almost unnoticeable reaction to Brad's breakup and Brad's feeling of warmth with the handshake. Methinks is it fixing to get pretty interesting. I can't wait to see how you develop their relationship :)
Thanks Joann! So glad when I hear that readers are excited when they see a new update from me! That's one of the biggest plus sides with doing these shorties, I'm able to get one out every week. Don't forget the update that will be out this coming Saturday, it could prove to be interesting!
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On 05/08/2013 12:37 AM, Trebs said:
Loving these so far - each chapter is over fast but so well written with great details. Can't wait to bee more!
Thank you Robert!!! They are over fast, but they are so much fun to write. Hope you enjoy the next one as well!!
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On 05/10/2013 01:18 PM, Lisa said:
Six inches of snow and there's still school?! lol And halfway there Brad decided to put it in four-wheel drive? I put my car in four-wheel drive the second I see the first snowflake. lol

 

Anyway...it's funny how Brad is noticing all these attractive things about Jake's teacher now. When he had Dave he probably pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind b/c he knew he was 'taken'. But now he's a free agent and Tony's attractiveness is hitting him big time. lol

 

I'm sure Monday with Murray (is that like Tuesdays with Morrie?), sorry, couldn't resist...I'm sure Monday with Murray will be interesting. Hopefully Murray behaves himself. lol Jake will be all over Murray and the other kids probably will also. That's the best show and tell! :)

 

I think Jake is acting out and constantly talking about Murray b/c he wants the attention of the other kids, maybe even Mr. Cutler. His mom is off on business trips (I'm assuming), and Dave (who was a big part of Jake's life), suddenly moves out. As Tony said, Jake had two people who he loved and counted on, leave. Granted, his mom didn't 'leave', but she's not around as often. So maybe he's looking for attention, from someone other than his dad, and this is the way he's getting it - by bragging about Murray. He gets his classmate's attention this way, and he also gets the attention of his teacher by being disruptive. Maybe Jake doesn't care what kind of attention he's getting - good or bad.

 

Great chapter Renee! I'm looking foward to Monday's show and tell! :2thumbs:

Thanks for the review Lisa! And yes, six inches of snow and there is still school. During my two years of High School where I live, we only had ONE snow day and that was because over a foot of snow dropped in about two hours. They kept the majority of us at school and only bussed out those that lived a distance out, the rest of us they released after it was late enough we wouldn't have to make it up. It's a very common occurrence here and it takes A LOT for them to cancel school. Those used to driving in it here don't put it in 4-wheel drive until it's needed. Put it in too early and if we get stuck, we're stuck, because we're already in 4-wheel drive, lol.

 

Now for the rest of it, a lot of that I can't really answer without ruining some of the stuff that will be coming later, so as much as I hate to say "wait and see"... well... wait and see, lol. Look forward to hearing your future thoughts!

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Wow total rewrite from what I'd seen earlier. I so love Murray. I get the feeling his appearance has been a saving grace for both Brad and Jake. So we have an attractive teacher in the form of Tony. Well he is single and his ex seems to be handling his orientation well. So just what does the future hold here? Can't wait till your next little chapter.

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