A Duel of Wits, Part Three

Part Three of A Duel of Wits.

I finally was able to get internet access when I had my computer. Hoorah for taking the laptop down to campus and getting wi-fi at the library!!! So, here you go and I hope you enjoy this. =)

Part One // Part Two

Rated: G

Candace could have kicked herself in the shins for being that wrong. Nearly four and a half hours later, she walked into the staff break room with the sandwich she’d just purchased from the cafeteria. The rest of her morning had been unusually uneventful, other than having to warn Katie Myst and Ronald Flinn to stop talking during class. Come to think of it, even Emiko Takahashi had been more than well-behaved during class. As she entered the lounge, she spotted Shaun Ackerman conversing with Laura Clarkson and Hugh Avery in hushed tones. Not far away, Josiah Alton, the once biology teacher and now administrator, ate his lunch – a cup of soup – in determined silence.

Upon seeing Candace, Josiah motioned over towards her. Relieved to not feel compelled to enter into whatever gossip Laura was spreading, Candace took the seat next to Alton. After a moment of silence, she began to eat her lunch.

“Did you hear what Takahashi’s been planning?” The question from Josiah came as Candace took the first bite of her sandwich. The slightly older administrator smiled. “Go ahead and finish before you answer.”

It took a moment for Candace to swallow the bite she’d just taken. “I take it that you’ve talked to Peter about it?” When Josiah nodded, Candace continued, her voice indignant. “He’s just about the most selfish, arrogant jerk who’s ever lived and I don’t think he cares about anyone else, even that brat of a daughter of his!” In all truth, her heart ached for Emiko, but she refused to admit that aloud. The sophomore caused way more problems in classes than any other student.

Josiah set his soup spoon down and frowned slightly. “Have you talked to Sharpe yet?” There was a short pause. “He has just as much experience and rank as Shaun does and Peter seems to hold him in high esteem.”

Candace shook her head. “Peter said not to, so no.” The clipped tone of her voice told Alton that there was more to her words than she was saying. “And I don’t think he’ll be at the staff meeting later, either.” As succinctly as she could, she told Alton what had happened earlier.

“Unless Peter has something to say that Jedediah hasn’t heard before, I really doubt there’s any reason for him to attend the meeting, other than to help keep the peace.” A grim smirk played across Alton’s face and Candace noticed that Josiah was probably just about the only person she’d ever met who used Sharpe’s first name.

“To keep the peace,” Candace echoed. “If things go how I think they might, you’ll probably be the one doing most of that.” She glanced over at Hugh Avery, making eye contact with the pre-calculus teacher for a short moment before turning back to Alton. “You know most of the staff does not agree with either of us, but I doubt they would want the school closing, either.” She dropped the level of her voice down to a low whisper in an attempt to avoid being overheard. Avery glanced over in their direction, but continued in his own conversation.

Josiah nodded. “Becky already promised she’d support whatever decisions I made, provided that I do everything in my power to keep Maplewood operating and I already know where you stand on this... and where Shaun does.” He took a moment to glance over at Ackerman. “Hugh’s likely to go along with whatever Amy decides, as is Laura, though she’s a bit more easily persuaded.”

“And Takahashi’s damn good at getting people to like him.” Bile rose up in Candace’s throat and Avery turned to glance over at them. “And to listen to what he has to say.” She didn’t feel the need to explain herself... both she and Josiah had known Tetsuya since he had been a student of theirs and he’d changed very little over the years. In fact, Candace firmly held the belief that few people truly changed through the years, particularly those after a person graduated high school.

“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Josiah replied. “With the exceptions of us, Hugh, Shaun, Jedediah, Helen, Lynn, Anthony and Jason, we have a pretty young staff here. Amy’s still young, but she has a good head on her shoulders, as does Julia. I trust them to make the right decision for the students.” His smirk turned into a frown and he glanced towards Laura once more. She was still talking to Ackerman. Hugh Avery was nowhere to be seen and Alton assumed he left the staff lounge. “The rest... well, I’m not so sure.” He took another few bites of soup. “But it’ll all work out in the end, I suppose.”

“How can you be sure?” Much to Josiah’s chagrin, this question did not come from Candace Pruitt. While Alton and Candace had been speaking in hushed tones, Sharpe had entered the staff lounge and was now standing directly behind where Josiah sat. Hugh Avery took the empty seat on the opposite side of Candace.

“I just know,” Josiah glanced up to make eye contact with Sharpe. “Call it a result of faith; call it wishful thinking; call it whatever you want, but I just know everything will somehow work out. Even if it’s not in the way we expect.” He motioned for Sharpe to take a seat and the Latin teacher obliged and sat down. “How long have you been standing there, anyways?”

“Approximately ten minutes, which was sufficient time for me to know the entire contents of your conversation,” Sharpe admitted after a moment. “I walked in just after Candace mentioned Miss Takahashi.”

“So it’s true then?” Hugh Avery had turned towards Candace, choosing to engage her in conversation instead of actively listen to Sharpe make up a good excuse for eavesdropping. He was sure he’d hear about it later. “Tetsuya’s really trying to close the school down?”

Candace narrowed her eyes at the teacher who had once been one of her students. “Yes, but you’d better keep that voice of yours down,” she hissed. Years of teaching had made her far more imposing as an authority figure; anywhere else she probably would not be heeded, due to her small stature. “Peter doesn’t want anyone to know yet, not even the heads or the senior faculty members.”

Avery frowned. “So I guess I’d better pretend this never happened, eh?” Only the slight twinkle in his blue eyes contradicted his apparent seriousness towards the situation.

Candace gave one brief nod. “Josiah and I are the only ones who should,” here she emphasised this word, “know. However, both you and Sharpe and only God knows who all else do. So you’d best shut that mouth of yours, Avery.” It was rare for Candace to call any of the teachers – other than Sharpe – by surname only.

Sharpe nodded at what Josiah said. “I apologise, but as you know, I have sufficient motivation to be concerned, given the situation and who is involved,” his voice was lower than Candace’s voice had been earlier. “As should everyone else.” He paused for a moment and glanced around the room, his dark eyes settling their attention on the clock. “If you will excuse me, I have a few last-minute preparations I must make before class this afternoon. I must make my apologies that I shall be late to the meeting this afternoon, but Peter should start without me.” With that, he took his leave and exited the lounge.

The older teacher frowned. The scientific part of him was so curious to find out what prior engagements Sharpe had after school that would cause him to miss such an important meeting, but his common sense told him it was a bad idea to ask. If it was meant to be, he’d find out. But first, he had to get through the rest of the afternoon, including an appointment with Amy to meet the new IT manager for the school district.

tbc

A Duel of Wits, Part Two

Go read Part One if you haven't already done so. This is a continuation of the same storyline.

Characters: Sharpe, Michael, Emiko, Fellowship, Candace Pruitt, Peter Screwtape
Rated: G

“What was that all about?” The quiet query came from Tyler Martin and the tall African American boy sat back in his chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the black countertop. However, before Michael could answer, Sharpe re-entered the room, followed by an older-looking woman. There was a frown on her face and she was speaking in hushed tones to Sharpe.

“Yes, I am aware of that, Candace,” Sharpe’s voice was equally as quiet and Michael had to strain his ears to pick up even that much of their conversation over the sounds of Katie Myst talking excitedly to Kiran Shasthri, the latter choosing to ignore the perky cheerleader. “You must also remember that I have personal business to which to attend this afternoon.” Absently, he removed a small object from his pocket, gave it one glance and returned it to its original position.

Candace was frowning, her already thin lips pulled into a line. “Not that again, I hope.” Though she was at least a head shorter than Sharpe, her presence was imposing, especially as she glared at him through her spectacles, which were pushed down on the bridge of her nose. “Peter will not be pleased and that will not be beneficial for anyone involved.” She paid little attention to any of the students who were in the classroom, especially since most of them had gone back to their normal activities of passing notes and exchanging answers to the homework for Ackerman’s history class.

Sharpe nodded. “I understand, but I have obligations at four o’clock this afternoon.”

“What time will they be done?” Candace tapped her foot against the tiled floor a few times, an old habit of hers that she’d picked up from her roommate at university. Or maybe Priya had picked the habit up from her; Candace didn’t know and right now, it was not important.

The younger of the two shrugged. “I do not know,” he replied simply, his dark glance circling around the room before returning to Candace. “But as a teacher, I have given students my word that I will be present if I am needed.” There was an awkward pause and he turned back to face some of his homeroom students, making eye contact for a brief moment with Emiko Takahashi. “They need me more than Peter does. Now, if you will excuse me, we can talk about this later.” With that, he crossed over to the front of the room, leaving Candace standing near the door in the back.

The older woman frowned slightly, then walked out of the room, shaking her head. Getting Sharpe– and many of the other younger teachers– to come to these meetings was just about as bad as giving Saami (her cat) a bath. But this meeting was something that was absolutely necessary if they were ever going to resolve their differences and figure out how to save the school. A small muscle near the corner of her mouth twitched. Perhaps Maplewood was not meant to be saved, even by her. As Candace thought about it, it made her sad; the further she walked from the small classroom that Sharpe held his classes in, the more she realised that this might be the end of everything. All that she had worked for all these years might come crashing down, just because some of her co-workers were too immature to swallow their pride and just cooperate with one another. No, she could not let that happen. She would not.

Her resolve steadily increased and firmed itself until she walked into the building that held the offices. She searched her memory in an attempt to figure out why Peter was calling this assembly. Did it have something to do with the school board meeting that she had missed the week before? She knew something must have been said– by Testuya Takahashi, no doubt– and the teacher frowned to herself. Tetsuya had been one of her students back when he was in high school and the chemistry teacher was even the least bit surprised to find that the man had not changed. Before, he was the president of the Student Council; now, a politician who had much power over the school board of Maplewood Academy.

With each passing second, she could feel her heart pound in her chest. She had gone to meet Peter several times before, so why was today any different? She reached out to knock on the door, but it was already part-way open.

“Come in, Candace,” a nasal voice sounded from inside. The voice unmistakably belonged to Peter Screwtape, the principal of Maplewood Academy. “There’s some things we need to talk about before the staff meeting.”

Candace let herself into the rather spacious office that Peter had claimed for himself as soon as Mark Wheeler had vacated his position. “You know I had family obligations the night of the board meeting,” she began, but before she could continue, Peter held up his hand. After a few moments of standing near the doorway, Candace entered the room and took a seat, sitting perfectly upright in her chair. “But I hope that Mr. Takahashi hasn’t gotten his head turned upside-down yet.”

The corners of Peter’s lips turned up the smirk that Candace knew all too well. “Basically, yes,” he admitted. “You know how Tetsuya is, though. I seem to recall you mentioning that he was in your class when he was still a kid.”

The chemistry teacher nodded. She had been teaching at Maplewood for over a quarter of a century and she’d seen her fair share of students pass through the halls, easily learn the rules to name chemical compounds and several tricks to solving the mathematical problems associated with the physical sciences, but fail to learn what she’d termed as the important lessons of high school. “More stubborn than the rest of us put together,” Candace offered. Perhaps Peter didn’t need Sharpe, but Candace felt she did. The younger man always knew how to stand up to the principal.

Peter tilted his head downwards and it was a full minute and a half until he made eye contact with Candace again. “Candace, you must not tell any of the other teachers about this until the meeting, but Takahashi wants the school to close down.” As soon as those words came from Peter’s mouth, Candace paled. There was no possible way this day could get worse, was there?

tbc

Character List: Once Upon an AU

So, there are quite a few characters in Once Upon an Alternate Universe, so I thought I should organise a list and show them to you, along with a bit of connection so that you can know who's who when you're reading.

There are more students, family and staff members (as well as other characters) in this story, but here is a bit of an outline of a few important ones.

Just a brief note about student alliances...
Fellowship: Fully dubbed as the "fellowship of misfits" by Evan Saunders, this group includes Saunders, Tyler Martin, Michael Liu, Scott and Samantha Adams, Marie Wilson and most recently, Kiran Shasthri.
Comrades: Unofficial name (again, given by Saunders) for the group that follows Emiko Takahashi around. Emiko Takahashi, Tatiana Valdez, Katie Myst, Ricardo Martinez, Ron Flinn. There are more...

Maplewood Students, circa 2005
Michael Liu: A fairly level-headed sophomore at Maplewood Academy. Provides a voice of reason for his friends. Member of the Fellowship.
Samantha Adams: One of Michael's two best friends who would do just about anything to help one of her friends if they needed her. One of the best students in their sophomore class. Fellowship.
Scott Adams: Samantha's younger twin brother whose plans (or lack thereof) get him and his friends into a whole lot of trouble sometimes. Fellowship.
Evan Saunders: Future class valedictorian at Maplewood Academy. Though bossy at times, he generally means well. Fellowship... and the one who gave them their name. Often just called by his last name.
Tyler Martin: Athlete and all-around nice guy. He and Saunders are best friends. Known for being one of the few Christians on Maplewood's athletic teams. Also a member of the Fellowship.
Marie Wilson: A fairly quiet friend of Samantha's whose aspirations are to work with special needs students. Fellowship.
Kiran Shasthri: The exchange student living at the Liu's house for the semester. Outspoken about what she belives, but sincere. Newest member of the Fellowship.
Emiko Takahashi: Archrival of the Fellowship (especially Evan Saunders). Slightly spoiled daughter of Tetsuya Takahashi. Knows Hideaki Sato from Japanese school. Comrade.
Katie Myst: Close acquaintance of Emiko Takahashi. Blonde cheerleader. Peppy past the point of annoyance and seems to have something particularly against Samantha. Comrade.
Tatiana Valdez: Emiko's sidekick who is always seen with her. Enjoys gossipping.
Victoria Chapel: Evan Saunders' girlfriend who is very involved in music and theater. On good terms with almost everyone. No alliance.
Julianna Miller: Shaun Ackerman's niece and a close friend to Katie Myst. Was dating Scott Adams for a few months during their freshmen year.
Hideaki Sato: Transfer student to Maplewood Academy who happens to know Emiko Takahashi from Japanese school.
Kyle Wilson: Marie's older brother who is in eleventh grade. Plays sports and is a close friend (and fellow Christian Athlete) to Tyler Martin. Has been dating Kathryn Saunders for over a year.
Kathryn Saunders: Evan's older sister who enjoys cheerleading. Is dating Kyle Wilson. Gets along with Katie Myst, but thinks that the situations that Katie gets herself into are immature.

Staff Members at Maplewood, circa 2005
Jedediah Sharpe: Former chemistry teacher at Maplewood. Graduated Maplewood in 1988. Now teaches Latin and AP chemistry. Tough taskmaster and difficult man to get along with and tends to be disliked by most of his students. Runs the Chess Club and Forum Philosophorum.
Candace Pruitt: Chemistry teacher at Maplewood. She has been teaching there since at least 1980. Strict, but fair. Helps out running the chess club.
Shaun Ackerman: History teacher at Maplewood and a Maplewood graduate in 1987. Outspokenly Catholic, highly energetic and loved by almost all of his students. Uncle to Julianna Miller.
Peter Screwtape: Principal of Maplewood Academy who has been working there since 1995. Named after two of CS Lewis' characters.
Hugh Avery: Former physics and now math teacher at Maplewood. Graduated in 1983. One of the few teachers who gets along well with Sharpe. Hosts Operation Numbers, the math club.
Josiah Alton: Administrator at Maplewood and former biology teacher. He has been teaching there nearly as long as Candace Pruitt has and they are close friends. Surrogate father to Sharpe. Father to Jennie Alton.
Laura Clarkson: Young biology teacher at Maplewood who recently moved from Texas to California. Talkative.
Anthony Wilson: Physics teacher at Maplewood. Single father to Kyle, Marie and their three younger siblings. Hosts the Film club. Enjoys having a lot of fun with his students. Addicted to movies and coffee.
Aislynn Celeste: The young math teacher at Maplewood who graduated from Northpointe in 2001. Older cousin to Keith Chandler.
Seven McAllistair: The IT worker for several of the local private schools. Recent college graduate. Expert with computers and anything technical.
Amy Kerrington: Technology teacher at Maplewood. Works closely with Seven McAllistair whenever he comes to the school.
Rem Argentium: A young history teacher. Enjoys art and is quite good at it. Younger brother to Seneca Argentium and a graduate of Northpointe. Former classmate of Aislynn Celeste. Quiet.

Family Members
Jonathan and Mei-lani Liu: Michael's parents who are hosting Kiran Shasthri for the semester. Jonathan graduated from Maplewood in 1985.
Tetsuya Takahashi: Emiko's father and a local politician. Maplewood graduate in 1988. Archrival of Sharpe.
Jennie Alton: Eldest daughter to Josiah and Sherry Alton. Mentor to Marie Wilson. She is working on getting her master's degree so she can work with special needs students.
Priya Shasthri: Kiran's aunt who is a professor of physics at a local university. She was Sharpe's university advisor.
Stephanie Rei: Emiko's mother. Divorced from Tetsuya Takahashi. Mother to Hana Rei. Lives in the UK with her younger daughter.
Seneca Argentium: Rem's slightly older sister who does research at Nicholae Kwaitkowski Labs, Inc.

Other Characters
Ming-yue Tam: Kiran's best friend from back home at Melanthios.
Nate Winters: Scott and Samantha's cousin who also attends Melanthios and is a good friend of Kiran's. Enjoys playing with fire and technical stuff.
Keith Chandler: Chess champion from Northpointe Academy and younger cousin to Aislynn Celeste.
Hana Rei: Emiko's younger and estranged sister who lives in the UK and attends Alcantha. She is genuine and sincere. Her best friend is Callisto Verity.
Callisto Verity: Hana's best friend and the chess champion from Alcantha. Enjoys getting into arguments and is very competitive. Thirteen-years-old.
Donovan Isaacs: A slightly crazy student at Alcantha who is the same age as the Fellowship. He goes to church with Hana's family on a regular basis.
Sophia McAllistair: Cousin to Seven McAllistair and the same age as Nate Winters. Lives just outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her family.

Quick Update

I've just decided that I have a new pet character: Professor Shasthri. I would really like to figure out more about her, but I'm not sure how I will go about doing that. I also want to continue writing an interaction between her and Sharpe, as they play off of each other quite nicely. But Sharpe is being stubborn and not letting me write him at the moment, so that may be easier said than done.

Yes, I realize it has been almost two weeks since I last wrote here, but I haven't had much of a muse as far as writing goes and I've decided that it's not worth forcing myself to write anything of consequence at the moment.

Write more?

I have discovered that I really need to write more, specifically from Snapshots, chapter six. I really need to figure out exactly what happens to Priya Shasthri and how that affects Sharpe and Michael and the conversation they have. I need to figure out if Priya would take Michael home... that is how he would get back home that night because Sharpe doesn't really drive (he doesn't have a car) and it's too late for Michael to walk home (silly thing called curfew that they have).

But it'll have to wait until the end of the chapter to decide because Priya's explanation is going to take awhile. I think I shall go take some time to write now, especially now that I do not have to worry about classes and all of that this week!

Character Feature: Sharpe

Just to let you know, I will be finishing this when I am able to type more proficiently, which may or may not be anytime soon. I was going to release this on Thursday, which would be Sharpe's thirty-ninth birthday, but I decided to release what I had earlier.

This picture was drawn by leedom111. The artwork
belongs to her, not to me.

Full Name: Jedediah Victor Sharpe
Date of Birth: February 19, 1970
Birth Family: Gabriel (father), Amanda (mother), Michael Hosea (older brother)
Adopted Family: Josiah and Sherry Alton, Jennie and Mandie (younger sisters)
Place of Birth: New Jersey, USA
Place of Residence: Riverdale, CA. A small apartment (313B Janus Avenue) close to RHS.

High School: Maplewood Academy
Year of Graduation: 1988
Extracurricular Activities: Interscholastic Chess Team, Students Assisting Teachers (SAT)
Faculty Advisor: Candace Pruitt

University: Silicon Valley Institute of Higher Learning (in San Jose, CA)
Years Attended: Fall 1988-Spring 1994
Academic Degrees: BS in Chemistry, Minors in Biology and Physics, Masters in Chemistry
Faculty Advisor: Priya Shasthri, PhD
Extracurricular Activities: Research, Tutoring underdivision students

Former Jobs Held: Research Associate at Kwaitkowski Laboratories International
Current Employment: Chemistry teacher at Riverdale High School, head of the science department, homeroom instructor
Current Employer: Peter Screwtape
Extracurricular Activities Led: Forum Philosophorum (aka Debate Club) with Shaun Ackerman, Interscholastic Chess Team with Candace Pruitt

Series Connections: Maplewood, Riverdale
Allies: Candace Pruitt, Josiah Alton (despite disagreeing most of the time), Jennie Alton, Jonathan Liu, Shaun Ackerman, Hugh Avery, Amy Kerrington
Enemies: Tetsuya Takahashi, Kiyoshi Sato, Laura Clarkson, Peter Screwtape
It's Complicated: Michael Liu, Emiko Takahashi

Stories:
Snapshots Through Time: Chapter One: The Leather Book; Chapter Three: A History Lesson; Chapter Four: Sharpe's Dark Secret; Chapter Five: The Eleventh Hour
Maplewood Chronicles: Making the Squad; Maplewood Chronicles 2; Seeking Solace
University Days: Just Alright
Riverdale and Beyond: A Christmas to Remember; A Good Idea; Substitute Teacher; A Sophomore Saga; Annoyance; Jellyfish; The Dance; Bombing?; Just Another Ordinary Day

Character Connections:
Tetsuya Takahashi: Tetsuya Takahashi and Sharpe went to school together. They were in the same homeroom when they were students at Maplewood (Snapshots, ch1) and were both part of the Interscholastic Chess team (Snapshots, ch5). Sometime during the first month of school, Sharpe made a snide comment at Tetsuya's expense. Takahashi retaliated and things only got worse from there. They have never gotten along with one another and they will never get along with each other, either. However, at the end of their senior year, something of a most curious nature happened. On their day of graduation, Sharpe slipped an old chess piece into Takahashi's hand with a short note. Since then, they have been civil to one another, but barely so. It is only a matter of time until things explode in their faces and something very bad happens.
Candace Pruitt: Candace was Sharpe's high school chemistry teacher and the person who originally recommended him for the SAT program (see above). She was also the faculty sponsor for the chess team. Although strict, Candace has a good understanding of people and she is willing to take chances in order to get the job done. This has saved Sharpe on a number of occasions, most notably when she hired him as the physical sciences teacher at RHS for the 2000-2001 school year. Their relationship mostly consists of mutual respect mixed with a bit of annoyance.
Shaun Ackerman: If you didn't already know this, Shaun Ackerman is the history teacher at RHS and is incredibly religious. He and Sharpe have been acquainted with one another since high school because Shaun graduated in 1987. Shaun also co-runs the Debate Club with Sharpe; having two people who are extremely polarized in opposite directions may not have been the best choice on Candace's part when she asked both of them to be staff advisors. They seem to interact in a similar manner as Captain Picard and Q (on Star Trek: TNG) do. Despite all of this, there is a mutual respect. When Shaun is killed at the beginning of Once Upon an Alternate Universe, Sharpe is both upset and regretful.
Laura Clarkson: Sharpe and Laura have a love-hate relationship taken to the extreme. She's the biology teacher at RHS and originally from Texas. He is her boss and they are both able to figure out every possible way to irk the other. She finds out he is afraid of jellyfish when he is helping her prepare for one of her labs and she (innocently) asks him if he wants to go to the staff Valentine's Day party.
Hugh Avery:
Jennie Alton:
Jonathan Liu:
Hideaki Sato:
Michael Liu:
Emiko Takahashi:
Kiyoshi Sato:
Rose McGonigall: Rose was probably Sharpe's only close friend in high school.
Peter Screwtape:
Priya Shasthri:

Background:

Personality:

Physical Appearance:

to be finished at a later date

Brief Comments on Previous Piece

I noticed a few things when I was writing the piece I shared. These are in no particular order.

• Sharpe clips the end of his sentences short when he's annoyed. Michael also does this on a number of occasions, particularly with the twins.
• Sharpe breaks the promise he made to himself. Not just once, but twice. In canon. The first time is in A Christmas to Remember. Second time is when the fellowship et al is all grown up... well, they're in university.
• The Altons live on Chestnut Avenue, which is the same street that the Liu family, the Adams family and the Johnsons live on.
• Sharpe dislikes his middle name, but he hates his first name.
• I kind of skipped through most of Sharpe's background in an attempt to get the story idea finished.
• There seems to be a common idea of "explaining things" in what I write.
• I really like naming my fictional characters after people... well sometimes. A lot of them share names with other literary characters (I should make an entry about names sometime).
• I don't edit for continuity or making sense when I write things late at night.
• I also noticed I listen to certain music when I am writing different characters.
  

But yeah. Now I need to go back and edit that piece for continuity and stylistics. Bleh. And work on chapter six of Snapshots, which has been started. I ended up deciding to go watch Star Wars last night with friends instead of writing (and then I came back and wrote half a page), so it was all good.

Just Alright - A Brief Writing Piece

I just got an idea for a scene between Sharpe and Dr. Shasthri, so I think I am going to try to write at least some. I don't know how good it will be, but here goes...

MPAA Rating: G
Word Count: 1682
Characters: Priya Shasthri, Sharpe, others by mention
Summary: Takes place right after this... Sharpe has an interesting conversation with one of his professors.
Warnings: Controversial content by the name of religion. Either deal with it or don't read it.

The teenager glanced up, still keeping his hands folded tightly, his fingers almost white from lack of circulation. He had not meant to stay this late, but he had no family... at least none that would be worried about him or wonder why he wasn't at home. Sure, it was the day before Thanksgiving and almost everyone else on campus had gone home for the long weekend, but despite the Altons' kindness and hospitality, their small house on Chestnut Avenue still didn't feel like home to him. It never had.

"Victor?" Dr. Shasthri leaned over next to the teenager. Despite the fact that the boy's student identification read an entirely different name, Priya Shasthri knew quite well that when someone requested to be called something, it was a wise idea to comply. She knew Sharpe went by his middle name... and had since at least the beginning of his freshman year. The professor seriously doubted whether anyone other than a few of the faculty members and the teenager's family even knew his first name. "Listen, I don't want to disturb you, but don't you have anywhere to go?" Even she had something to do tomorrow; she had signed up on the volunteer list to help feed homeless people when their pastor had passed it around the church congregation.

Sharpe's dark eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I have a paper for Frasier's toxicology class that I am going to finish writing tomorrow." He had already done nearly all the research for that project; now all that was left was writing the eight-paged paper, something he had chosen to put off all semester.

Priya frowned and shifted her weight to a more comfortable position, letting her shoulder bag drop to the ground. Inside, she was carrying the weight equivalent of at least three text books. Something told her that prying was a bad idea around Sharpe; the university sophomore had been more than secretive over the past year that she had gotten to know him. But like anyone else, she was curious. "Do you not have anywhere to go? Doesn't your family live nearby or anything?" She could have kicked herself in the shins for that comment; as soon as she had spoken, Sharpe's face paled to the color of parchment.

The teenager bit the end of his tongue, almost hard enough to draw blood. Yes, his family did live near... well, as much as he could call them family. "Not particularly," he lied. The Altons had chosen to go down to San Diego for the break; they had left that morning and were now in southern California, visiting people Sharpe had only met once and honestly could care less about.

Dr. Shasthri sat down on the linoleum floor, thankful she had chosen to wear jeans to work that day instead of a skirt. There was so much she understood, yet so much she had no idea about at all. For a long moment, she studied the quiet student who had proved himself to be an enigma. She had been told that she was good at reading people and she decided to put this theory to practice. As she looked into his dark eyes, he glanced away, resortng to counting the speckled dots on the floor. Her glance followed down to his hands. Scars. Somehow, this didn't surprise her much. There was a short pause. "Well, you're more than welcome to come and join us. We're helping serve homeless people at the church."

Sharpe stood up with such quickness that surprised Professor Shasthri. She had never seen anyone who was not an athlete move so quickly. She watched as Sharpe recoiled into the shadows that were provided by the stairwell. "No!" This was spoken with more force than he had ever used around an authority figure before, other than perhaps Alton. Josiah Alton had heard him yell before, but few other adults had. The back of his fist hit the wall just hard enough to cause redness. There would probably be a bruise there tomorrow.

"I..." The professor was nearly speechless. She knew not everyone at the school was religious - in fact, she was one of three professors in the greater sciences department who held Judeo-Christian beliefs - but she had never imagined anyone getting so upset at the mention of a church. "I'm sorry." Those were the first words that came out of her mouth. "I didn't mean any offense." Priya thought for a moment. She had taken a lot of flack from her co-workers whenever the subject of religion came up. As if being both a woman and an ethnic minority in the sciences wasn't enough. The professor had learned not to take offense at anything that was said.

"I don't take any offense, but I can't." There was a certain aspect to Sharpe's voice that Priya had never heard before. Normally, the sophomore was quiet and his reactions were measured and composed carefully. He hadn't been inside a church building since before he graduated high school... not even on Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday. Especially not Christmas Eve. He could not go back. Not now or ever again. He had promised himself never to set foot in a church building as long as he lived and the young man intended on following through. A promise was a promise, even if it was only to yourself, right?

Dr. Shasthri glanced over at him, but decided not to press... for information or otherwise. If Sharpe was going to tell her what was going on, it would have to be his own choice, not her pressuring him to do anything. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

Sharpe nodded. "Fine. Just perfect." Sarcasm was dripping from his voice and Professor Shasthri caught that and frowned, her thin lips drawing together. Sharpe moved forward slightly and clasped his hands behind his back.

Before she could stop herself, Professor Shasthri decided to take a chance and ask a question that she would probably regret later. "You don't like anything that has to do with religion, do you?" Her question was innocent enough and her voice, non-accusing. It was the same tone she frequently used in the classroom or talking individually with her students.

"Religion is stupid." As the three-word response came, Priya couldn't have been more surprised. She was used to him being far more eloquent or at least less blunt. However, she had to agree with him... to a certain extent. Religion for the sake of religion - as she had pointed out so often to Lewis from the philosophy department, with whom she enjoyed long talks over coffee - was pointless.

Although common sense told her not to, she decided to press. Part of her inner core told her that she was closer to getting the young student to talk than anyone else had been, but Shasthri knew she would have to tread carefully. Amongst the general population, topics including religion were deemed as controversial at best. Even though she and Frank had talked extensively on the subject, both were respectful adults, capable of civil conversation, despite not always agreeing on any particular subject. "Perhaps it is..." These words were more of a muse to herself and a ploy to get Sharpe to explain his comment. "But surely anyone who dislikes religion must have a reason." As a scientist, she held to the philosophy of having some reason for every decision she made, no matter whether her reasons were logically oriented or not.

Sharpe was quiet for a long moment and his long fingers ran along one of his scars on his right hand and up his arm a few inches. "I don't hate religion. I hate Him." The last word he spoke was emphasized and the teenager nodded towards the ceiling. Sharpe's voice had lost its previously present sarcasm.

Dr. Shasthri glanced up at Sharpe. For the past several minutes, he had been standing and she, sitting. She nodded towards him and he sat down, leveling her with his dark gaze. Priya was quiet for a long moment. "If you don't mind me asking," there was a short pause as she studied him and she leaned forward, supporting herself with her hand, "please do explain." Not only had she assumed he was non-religious, but she was aware that at least one of the other faculty members was under the impression that Sharpe was an atheist. It didn't bother her one bit, but something in her said that there was more to him than what met the eye. Such was the way with everyone.

"Explain what?"

She knew she should have been expecting a question in return. She had seen this strategy before, mostly in students who preferred not to talk about a certain subject. They would ask questions in response to questions or try to change the subject; some were better at it than others were. "Your esteemed philosophy professor seems to think that you are an atheist." She was speaking of none other than Dr. Lewis.

Sharpe's eyes narrowed so much that he looked like he was squinting at something. "That is illogical." His lips drew together into a thin frown and he sunk to the floor, leaning his back up against the brick wall. "It's impossible to be angry at someone if you don't believe that person even exists." In the back of his mind, he was pretty sure there was a God somewhere, but he was sincerely doubtful that God was anywhere near caring. His life had taught him that this was most likely the case.

Dr. Shasthri nodded. She was about to say something, but she stopped herself as she caught a glimpse of something shiny in Sharpe's eye. Maybe it was the way the light from the lamp post outside was hitting his face, but she doubted it. "Are you alright?" She almost reached out to put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but decided against it.

Sharpe shrugged. "I will be." He was always alright. Never great, rarely horrible. Just alright. He always would be.

NB: Yes, Frank Lewis is named partially after one of my favourite all-time authors... and after one of the characters he wrote. But these characters belong to me, despite whatever namesakes they might have. And the Altons live on Chestnut Avenue, too (same street that the Lius live on... and the Adamses and the Johnsons).
Another interesting thing to note is that Kiran makes a similar comment about one of her teachers... that their "esteemed science professor will have her corpse as the next anatomy specimen" if she left school without permission.

Dead Characters?

Well... let us hope that none of my fictional characters wind up dead before the end of Snapshots. No seriously... with Sharpe surrounded by one person whom he doesn't like and having the other person in the room be the only person who can make him feel incompetent... well, let's just hope that no one dies. And I'm planning to work in a flashback between Sharpe and Takahashi. Yes, another one of those... only this one would beg the question of what the chess piece means.

Yes, in case you hadn't figured out (or I haven't told you - haha), chess has an important theme in Snapshots... and in just about whatever else I write. And Takahashi has one of the chess pieces... so does one of my characters who is very much dead.

Also, Dr. Shasthri has the rare ability to make Sharpe feel incompetent. I think this is probably something going back to when he was a student at university, seeing as how she was one of his professors. Not that she deliberately makes him feel stupid...

Substitute Teacher, Part I

In Snapshots (chapter one), I make the reference that Sharpe was out of school and missed a staff meeting. Here's what happened on the day he was sick...

MPAA Rating: Mild PG for language
Characters: Sharpe, Alton, later on this will include the usual culprits surrounding RHS including staff and students alike...
Word Count: 699
Summary: Right before Snapshots Through Time, Sharpe is forced to stay home sick and chaos ensues as there is a different substitute for each class. There's also the issue of the staff meeting after school...

Sharpe tried to stand up but only a moment later he was sitting back down, the tips of his fingers resting gently on the side of his head. The side of his head was throbbing and if he did not lie down, it would only get worse. He should be leaving for school in less than ten minutes, but the thirty-some-odd-year-old man sincerely doubted he would make it in today. He bit his tongue slightly in an attempt to concentrate better and figure out the last time he had been absent from classes. It had only happened a few times since his university days; the chemistry teacher did not get sick easily and nor was he one to stay home if he knew he was not contagious.

“Damn.” Sharpe leaned back and fell onto the bed, letting his head hit the mound of floppy pillows he had set up. He had no choice other than to call Josiah Alton and request a substitute teacher be sent in. In all the years he had been teaching at the school, he had only been absent a grand total of twice. Once was an incident involving a close acquaintance from high school and the other time, Josiah Alton had insisted upon him staying home. Unless he was contagious or somehow a danger to other people, Sharpe adamantly refused to get someone else to teach his classes.

In his mind, few people were competent enough. Surely Josiah Alton would be able to handle the material, as would Laura Clarkson, but could either of them keep his classes in order the way he did? Likewise, Hugh Avery had a firm grasp on the thermodynamic principles he was covering in his sophomore chemistry class... and he could supervise the AP lab. The few people who Sharpe viewed as able to discipline his classes would likely not understand the subject material; he put some level of trust in Shaun Ackerman to keep classes in order. There was a strong doubt in Sharpe’s mind that the history teacher knew about enthaply and entropy and how to explain that to a bunch of sophomores and juniors.

He managed to sit up enough to reach for the phone and dialed the Josiah Alton’s cell phone number. When he placed the phone within a few inches of his ear, he was greeted with Josiah’s warm, but level voice. “What’s going on?” Josiah seemed surprised to be receiving a call from Sharpe.

“Could you find a substitute for me?” Sharpe would have spoken more formally and completed his thought, but he was having a hard enough time thinking right then; he did not see it necessary to maintain his usual sense of dignity. Around him, the dim lights in his apartment flickered a couple of times and he made a mental note to have them fixed as soon as he could manage to climb up on the ladder. As if that would be happening any time soon.

“Sure. Everything alright over there?” There was a certain pause in Josiah’s voice that conveyed his concern. He knew it was unlike Sharpe to miss school for anything; the current chemistry teacher had been like that even as a teenager.

“Fine.” Sharpe clipped his answer into a one-word response; to anyone who had met him before, it would be blatantly obvious he was lying, but right now, he could hardly care.

On the other side of the line, Josiah scribbled a quick note down on a piece of paper and frowned. “If you’re sure...” With his other hand, he stroked his salt-and-pepper colored beard a few times. He knew Jedediah wasn’t likely to take care of himself very well; after all, he and Sherry had raised Sharpe from the time he was fourteen onwards. “If you need anything, call Sherry. And I mean it.” Alton found that his sentences were truncated also. After that thought, Alton hung up the phone.

Sharpe set the phone down on the receiver and climbed back into bed, rubbing his left temple. It would be best if he could rest; he could already tell that today would be a very long day.

Brief Snapshots Update

So, I've worked on continuing on Snapshots. I decided to combine chapters five and six into one chapter because they're both short and they flow together with only a few quick edits. I finished the chapter and hopefully I'll get it typed up and edited so that it makes sense.

Yes, it will be rated between PG and PG-13 for one of the flashback sequences. Everything else is pretty mild as far as rating would be concerned, so that's a relief. I'm really excited to be working on this again because in this chapter (and in the next one), you find out a lot about what Sharpe was like when he was younger.

Which means I need to write another side piece with him and Dr. Shasthri first, just to see how they interact and their history. I was walking around campus earlier tonight because I needed to think (big novelty there, eh?) and a scene kept playing through my head. Sharpe was talking with (or yelling at?) someone, so maybe I'll just write that scene. That someone could have easily been one of two people and one of those is Priya Shasthri. The other person it could have been is Alton, but I doubt it. I don't think Sharpe would get upset enough to yell at Alton.

But I need to re-write the prologue sequence I drafted awhile back and work that into one of the flashbacks (which earns it at least a PG rating). And I also found out something interesting about Tetsuya Takahashi. He and Sharpe were on the Interscholastic Chess Team together in high school for at least a little while... or that's what Sharpe says.

More Snapshots Updates

So not only does Dr. Shasthri come into Snapshots, but other previously AU characters come into her encounters, as well. Like Seneca Argentium, who is a research assistant at the labs owned by Nicholae Kwaitkowski. Seneca's... interesting... for lack of something better to call her. Sharpe used to work at one of Kwaitkowski's research labs before he was fired, so that's the connection... and now Seneca works there and she's the one who helps Dr. Shasthri. Not that she was there when Sharpe was, but she is very much involved in the gossip that happens around the workplace.

I've also established the residence Dr. Shasthri goes to... and who lives there. I'm happy about that because I've sent Dr. Shasthri there and she just arrived, so we'll see how that encounter actually pans out when it gets written. Luckily, she isn't super-suspicious about people or this wouldn't work. I love writing new characters because you can manipulate them to do whatever you want until they start to get personalities of their own.

Major change of topic here... as far as Once Upon an AU goes, I still want to know what Ackerman knows! Obviously he knows something that will upset Peter's regime at RHS (and that's what gets him killed), but I really want to know what that something is!

Snapshots Update

I finally figured out where I think I want to go with Snapshots and it's great because it'll tie into the chess story I've been playing with in the back of my mind for quite some time.

Chess is kind of a recurring theme throughout my stories. Hideaki Sato is known online as the black rook, Sharpe was the Interscholastic Chess Champion for three (out of four) years in high school and it's quite often that the fellowship members are seen playing chess while hanging out. Usually it's Michael and Evan... and sometimes Tyler. It's also stated that Hideaki teaches Emiko how to play chess.

So that got me thinking... how do I bring this theme into Snapshots? This morning, I came up with a logical answer and it answers two of my questions at once! The other question was (of course) what is Dr. Shasthri doing at Sharpe's apartment at some unearthly hour?

I figured that the only reasonable answer was that she needed him for some reason. Most likely, he had requested something from her before he graduated and left university. I decided to run with this idea... with no thoughts as to what he had asked her for. This morning, I got my answer: a chess piece.

When he was a student at Maplewood, Sharpe bought a used chess set at a garage sale. A few of the pieces were missing when he originally bought it, amongst them a white queen. Somehow, Dr. Shasthri is able to find the person who sold Sharpe the chess set (something I don't want to reveal until later, as major spoilers are contained within) and he was able to find some of the missing pieces. Originally, only the white queen and two black pawns were missing, but I am changing that so it was the white queen, a black pawn and one of the black rooks.

So she is able to get this and the man is fairly reasonable. He claims he would deliver it himself, but he doesn't remember to whom he sold the set or how to contact said person when Dr. Shasthri tells him. Now that she has the piece Sharpe requested, she's tried to hunt him down. He doesn't leave a forwarding address or anything when he leaves university, so she has to go see where he applied for work and then contact them. By some amazing coincidence, she talks to her niece on the telephone and Kiran gives her the necessary information she's been missing all along: where Sharpe works. From that, she is able to find out where he lives fairly easily.

And thus she shows up at his apartment at an unearthly hour. She would have come earlier, but she was hosting dinner and a movie for some of her chemistry and physics students.

Now I know and all is good with the world. Okay, not really, but Snapshots is back on. I also happen to know who gets which chess piece, so that should be fun to work with. As to be expected, Takahashi still holds the white king; that wouldn't change. I've modified it around a little bit according to what happens in Once Upon an AU and some of the other brief stuff I've written since originally thinking of the idea. ^_^

Sharpe's Relationships - Adults

These are just a few of the relationships Sharpe has... I just felt like outlining a few for you guys. Hopefully you already know who these characters are, but I provided brief notes on who's who. All these characters are adults during the RHS-timeline; maybe in another entry I'll look through various interactions with students.

Candace Pruitt: Candace was Sharpe’s high school chemistry teacher and she’s now the vice principal at RHS, where Sharpe teaches chemistry.
The relationship between Candace and Sharpe went from being the typical “faculty member being fed up with student” mixed with a little bit of respect to more of a friendship between equals. Candace was originally the one who got Sharpe involved in the SAT (students assisting teachers) program at Maplewood and she was the one who pulled a few strings to get Peter to hire him, despite his less than satisfactory record.

Jennie Alton: Jennie is Sharpe’s “little sister”. She works part-time at Maplewood and is a continuing studies student in the evening.
Jennie and Sharpe have an extremely close relationship and she knows more about him than probably anyone else does. He refers to her as his sister (and she calls him “her brother”), even though they are not biologically related. Their friendship is closer than that of Sharpe and Mandie.

Laura Clarkson: Laura is the biology teacher who is originally from Texas. She appears to have a crush on Sharpe, which he doesn’t return.
Laura and Sharpe really have a love-hate relationship. He hired her because they needed a biology teacher who was at least halfway competent (Josiah Alton was moving to administration) and Laura has always been curious about Sharpe. Somewhere along the line, the curiosity turned into a one-sided romance. I’m still not sure what’s going on there; it’s a storyline that I really haven’t explored much yet.

Shaun Ackerman: Shaun is the PhD. history teacher at RHS who especially enjoys causing controversy in his classrooms. He graduated from Maplewood in 1987.
Interactions between Ackerman and Sharpe are, if nothing else, fun to write. They are also incredibly difficult because they interact like Captain Picard and Q from Star Trek TNG do. Not only do they co-run the Debate Club (that must be interesting), but my suspicion is that they knew each other when they were students at Maplewood. Ackerman is incredibly religious and Sharpe is... not.

Hugh Avery: Hugh is the math teacher (and former physics teacher) who is friendly and personable. He graduated from Maplewood in 1983.
Hugh Avery is friends with everyone on the staff team, but he’s one of the few staff members who actually chooses to interact with Sharpe (versus a forced interaction). He and Sharpe became friends during the 2000-2001 school year and since then, they have been playing a series of (harmless) practical jokes on one another. Not that anyone would believe Avery if he said anything...

Jonathan Liu: Jon is Michael’s dad who graduated Maplewood in 1985 and is a pastor at the local church.
Jon sort of served as a casual mentor to Sharpe while they were in high school (during Sharpe’s freshman year). In essence, they lost contact for several years (more of this is detailed in Snapshots), but now that Michael is a student in Sharpe’s homeroom...

Tetsuya Takahashi: Sharpe’s former classmate, now a local politician and a member of the school board.
I should dedicate an entire entry to what’s happened between Sharpe and Takahashi, but in short, they went to school together. They were in the same homeroom. Sharpe made a snide remark at Takahashi’s expense and Takahashi took offence; things just escalated from there. Now, they are coldly civil to one another and Emiko Takahashi is in Sharpe’s homeroom so things are about to get interesting again...

Aislynn Celeste: Aislynn is the graduate student who works with Hugh Avery in the after school math program, Operation Numbers.
Aislynn and Sharpe confuse one another... they're both a lot more alike than either knows and yet they won't be finding that out the easy way. I'm really looking forward to writing more interactions between them because Aislynn's curious as anything about other people (naturally this extends to Sharpe) and Sharpe is puzzled by Aislynn, especially after observing how she interacts with Hugh Avery.

Prompt 139: The Halls Were Silent

Creative Writing Prompts
Prompt 139: The Halls Were Silent
Character: Dr. Priya Shasthri
MPAA Rating: G
Word Count: 273
Timeline: circa 1990

The hallway was silent. Any other time, she would have been thankful, but today, it was just odd. Though it was the day before Thanksgiving, Priya Shasthri was in her office, trying to finish grading the exam she gave her quantum chemistry students yesterday, it still threw her off to see no one in the entire building. Usually, students or other faculty members were milling in the halls or finishing up projects in the library, especially so close to final exams. The professor shook her head with a smile as she slipped her coat on over her clothes and turned off the lights in her office. Despite not having any family nearby, six o’clock on the evening before Thanksgiving was late enough to go home. As she locked the door to her office, she thought she heard a sound coming from the opposite end of the corridor.

That was odd. An anomaly... and anomalies were interesting to a scientist. One should have expected the building to be completely empty, but apparently it wasn’t and upon reaching the south end door, the thirty-six-year-old professor frowned slightly. So this was what the noise was. She arched an eyebrow slightly as she approached the student and simply stood in the hall for several moments, observing and not saying a thing. Quiet sniffles came from down below and she simply waited, standing there. She had nowhere to go and it was pretty obvious to her that she might be there for awhile. Perhaps she was thankful she’d stayed late tonight rather than going home to grade the exams. Despite what things appeared, the hallway was not silent.

tbc

Minor Character Focus: Priya Shasthri

Briefly... a little bit about a minor character.

Name: Priya Shasthri, PhD
DOB: April 23, 1954 (shares a birthday with Max Planck, obviously not the year, though!)
Occupation: Professor of Physical Chemistry
Relations: Aunt (paternal) to Kiran Shasthri
Generation Classification: Zero. She's the around the same age as Candace Pruitt, Josiah Alton, et al.
Characteristics: As a person, she's very caring about those she knows, albeit a little distant at times. If you get close to her, she can be pretty emotional. She's strict about the rules, works hard and tends to stay late. As a professor, she is notorious for having difficult exams.
Physical Appearance: She looks quite a bit like her niece, Kiran, except she's quite a bit taller.
NB: She hasn't appeared in any stories as of yet. She is, however, destined to make an appearance in the Once Upon an Alternate Universe piece I'm working on plotting... She's been mentioned by Sharpe as the professor he had for thermodynamics. She was also his faculty advisor while he was a student at university.

Her first mentioned appearance was in Snapshots, chapter five, in a flashback sequence. I'm still in the process of writing it (that's why it's not uploaded yet). I'd love to go more into her character because I think she could become interesting to write, especially if Kiran finds out that Sharpe had her aunt as a professor while he was a student. That could potentially serve as an interesting conversation...