Not So Delicate ||18+

Brooklyn ~5~

"There's something called a period, sweetheart. Use it." Prof. Everest groaned, frustrated. We had established that after class, for an hour, he would "tutor" me. Even though I didn't really need it.

"It just doesn't sound right." I say defensively, crossing my arms over my chest. He paused for a second before continuing to pace up and down in front of me.

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't sound right. What does matter is that it's grammatically correct." He sighed, crossing his own arms and leaning against his desk. "We've only got five more minutes. You can pack up now."

I put away my things and zip up my book bag, staying in my chair, and spacing out. I could feel the prof staring at me, no doubt thinking I'm insane. Sometimes it felt so good to be spaced out, not wanting to space back in.

"Miss Elisa." He spoke softly, making me hum in response. "Come back to earth." He chuckled, I blinked at looked at him. "A penny for your thoughts?"

"It's fine. Just.. thinking." I mumble, he walked up to me and leaned his hip on my table, looking down at me.

"Let me think with you." He said with a small smile. I sighed softly and nodded, fiddling with my pen.

"I'm graduating in a few weeks... I have no clue what I'm gonna do." I say lowly, a little ashamed at my lack of organization. "I mean, who goes to university, takes out their degree, then have no idea what they're going to do with their life." I groan softly.

"I do." He whispered, smiling cheekily. I quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'm 28. Still basically a child in a world of grownups. I graduated when I was 24. For a whole year, I lived with my brothers unemployed because I regretted taking my degree in Literature linguistics and English. But then I embraced it. I looked for jobs that had to do with my skill of expertise and here I am."

"Yeah, but you lived with your brothers. I live alone... that's a lie, my friend lives with me but he has his own place. I'm the one that's busting my backside trying to pay off my debt." I groan, realizing just how screwed over I was.

"How about this, sweetheart. I'll ask around for any jobs opening up. Anything to do with Art. Then I'll contact you. You have three weeks to look around and find something you like. A tip, look for something in your range of skill, then upgrade." He said, standing straight and going back to his desk. I picked up my things, thanked him, and then left.

~~

"Well if it isn't the Brooklyn Elisa." Myra exclaimed, hugging me when I got close enough. Myra was one of my high school friends who became a teacher of acrobatics. She taught kids of every age and she was damn good at it.

"The one and only." I grinned, pulling away. She linked her arm in mine and dragged me towards the gym bars. She called everyone's attention and introduced me, making me hide my face slightly.

"Hey, so what brought you in today?" She asked, dragging me away again. We were walking around the huge gym while talking.

"Finals week is coming up soon. And after that is my last week of Uni. As much as I love working at CAS, I need a higher-paying job. I know you have connections everywhere- I'm not asking you to get me a job for free, but just give me suggestions.." I tell her, she chuckled and shook her head.

"Brooke, I think there's an opening in one of the departments here..." She said, turning to face me. A huge grin spread across her face. "You won't be a teacher of course, but there's an office upstairs that has art options. From photography to sculpting. You'd do great here."

"Are you sure this isn't just you trying to get me to work with you?" I joke, she grinned and tilted her head.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. If you give me a second, I'll call Ronald and ask him if he's down to interview you tomorrow. Of course, you won't get the job yet until you graduate, but you'll be put on the waitlist." She said, pulling out her phone. I nod in understanding and give her space to make the call.

I was an Art major. Which meant I would be able to get any job to do with art. I just hoped it wasn't painting. I suck at that.

I walked around the large gym, remembering my elementary days.

"Come on Brooke! You can do it!" My classmates cheered as I stood on the high beam, breathing heavily and nervous to make the next move.

"I can't! I'm scared..." I whimpered, about to move off of the beam. The teacher walked over with a smile, holding my little hand.

"Come on, darling. You can do it. You are a strong νεαρη κυρία" She grinned, nodding her head. I bit my cheek and nodded back, standing straight and getting into position. [Young Lady]

"Know how to do it?" A little voice asked me, I looked down at her, blinking out of my memory.

"How to do what, princess?" I smiled, crouching down to her level. She smiled bashfully and pointed at the trapeze set. I thinned my lips into a line, holding back the chuckle. "I can actually. It was my favorite one to do when I was younger."

"You used to do this?" She asked with wide eyes. Her eyes reminded me of someone but I couldn't recall who.

"Yeah, I did. But I'm nowhere near as good as you." I say dramatically, making her giggle. I heard my name called from behind me. I stood up and looked over my shoulder, Myra waving me over. "I've gotta go, it was nice to meet you, princess."

I head towards Myra, looking at her nervously. She grinned at me and nodded.

"There are options. You can work in the Photography department, interior design, or the paint department." She smiled, tucking her phone away. I sighed in relief, my shoulders relaxing a bit more. "Tomorrow at 4 pm is your interview."

My shoulders tense again. "How about 5? I'm busy at 4..." I mumble, feeling defeated. She cringed slightly and shook her head.

"No can do, Ronald is a very punctual guy, it's 4 or nothing. I'm sorry B, that's all I can do." She said sadly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I nod softly and thank her. We parted ways and I left the building. I went back to my apartment, expecting to hear Milo's music, or tripping over him aggressively singing on the floor. Except it was dead quiet.

Milo wasn't here, leaving the small space so quiet I could hear my thoughts as if it were a second person talking to me.

I wasn't worried about not getting the job. I was worried about how I would tell Prof. Everest that I couldn't do tutoring tomorrow along with telling my boss at CAS that I won't be clocking in tomorrow night.

I grabbed my phone and called Jen, the manager of CAS.

"Hey B, what's up?" She asked into the phone, I could tell it was on speaker from the loud noises of the dogs barking in the background.

"Hey, listen. Tomorrow I can't come in..." I say nervously, clenching my eyes shut at her sigh. "I know, I already missed yesterday and today. But I promise you that I'll be back and working after tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will be your third day missed. I'm afraid you'll have to talk to the boss man. I can get you his email-" She cursed lowly, scolding the parrots in the background for screaming.

"It's fine, I have it. Thank you anyway. Good luck." I chuckled, she groaned softly and bid me adieu before hanging up. Leaving me alone with my thoughts again.

After 20 minutes of rewriting the same paragraph over and over again, I finally sent the email to Mr. Archer. Informing him of my no-work days and when I'll be back. After a long and excruciating 40 minutes, my laptop chimed with his email.

"Dearest Brooklyn, Let this be the last time. I will not pardon this behavior constantly. I do hope you get things settled. Don't make me regret excusing you. ~C"

I couldn't help but smile at the last sentence, feeling a weird sense flow through every vein in my body. I mentally scolded myself for being weird. It sounded more like a threat than anything else. However, I didn't exactly mind it.

Now the only thing I had to do was talk to Prof. Everest.