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The Robber Bridegroom. ([info]letalegroom) wrote in [info]bellumlogs,
@ 2010-02-24 19:54:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:ichabod crane, npc

Who: Robber Bridegroom Derek Martin and Cole Evans.
What: He's come to interview an English teacher for Education Spotlights. Cole doesn't need to know the truth yet.
Where: At Cole's work office.
When: Today in the later afternoon, between classes.
Warnings: None, except for extensive lying.



Jason always had his own rules to everything in life. People weren't actually people, the easily conned shined like magical beacons, and he was still the alpha creature on top of the game. This, however, was all a new addendum to his rules. He required something more substantial than just himself knowing what he did was right, he was intelligent enough to know that for fuck's sake. He needed justification for his actions and if he didn't find a way to do so, then what was the point?

Perhaps it wasn't so bright to prepare himself to meet the man he wanted to get to know further in a public situation, but after he had seemingly broken the ties between Cole and his precious girlfriend then watched the two reunite regardless, Jason felt the time called for desperate measures to be taken. Because of his skills as a confidence man, all it took for him to slip into Cole's place of work was a nice suit, faked credentials, a recorder, and a clip board. The rest? Simple charm. With the right tools, anyone could pass themselves off as a minute reporter for the New York Times. The man calling himself Derek Martin was no exception today.

The receptionist pointed him to the chairs in the lobby and he sat down and waited while she made a call to Professor Cole's office. The English teacher. Bookish fellow. LOVES Shakespeare. That was all he got out of the receptionist before sitting down. Chatty, she was.


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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-25 04:28 am UTC (link)
Cole had a break between classes, which meant he was holed up in his office - which wasn't really an office, but it was good enough for him - to catch up on some marking. Between his date with Ileana and his happy hour excursion with Peter, his free time had pretty much gone down the drain. Essay time was coming up, and he needed to have a clean slate before he dealt with those and the added burden of exams a few weeks later.

When the receptionist called, he really didn't know what to expect, but being informed that there was a reporter waiting in the lobby wouldn't have been any of the possibilities.

He asked why, of course, and she told him that he was doing a piece for the New York Times - 'Education Spotlights or something' - and he, Mr. Evans, happened to be one of the teachers the man was interviewing.

Which meant that he had less than a few minutes to collect himself enough to be ready for an interview. For the New York Times, of all things. Christ. Cole managed to brush some stray crumbs off his shirt, straighten his tie, and make a half-hearted attempt at smoothing down his hair before heading to the lobby.

"Hello." He approached the man seated in one of the chairs with a smile, assuming the one with the clipboard was the reporter. "I'm Mr. Evans. It's nice to meet you."

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-25 05:21 am UTC (link)
"Mr. Evans." His smile was genuine, the name rolling around on the inside of his mouth. It wasn't perfect name, but he liked it all the same. Standing up, he held out his hand. "I'm Derek Martin, I work for the New York Times. Afraid I'm not one of the top dogs, but I'm hoping to get there. I trust you've been informed by Zach as to exactly why I'm here." Of course Mr. Evans hadn't. It was part of the plan.

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-25 05:26 am UTC (link)
"Mr. Martin. A pleasure to meet you, really." He shook the man's hand, doing a surprisingly good job of keeping his nervousness under control. He seemed friendly enough, not like some of those cutthroat reporters. Then again, he was just a teacher. It was hardly a story to make the headlines.

"Oh... no, I haven't. I'm sorry, but I just found out about it now." Cole kept smiling, but there was a hint of uncertainty. Shit, he hadn't missed the guy's call or something, had he?

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-25 07:06 am UTC (link)
The teacher was fairly nervous, but that was alright. He was used to such emotions, and he relaxed his smile to merely pleased, in an effort to placate him.

"You didn't get a call from a Zach Wise? Just great," he huffed, lightly smacking the side of his clipboard. "I'm really sorry about that, he was supposed to call and schedule. Could you spare a few minutes for an article I'm writing? I promise it won't take too much time away from your work."

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-25 07:18 am UTC (link)
Cole drew a complete blank on the name, and he turned towards the receptionist as if she might know, but she wasn't even paying attention - at least, she was pretending not to. "It's no problem. I don't have any classes for a while, so right now works perfectly."

The receptionist hadn't been too clear, but he figured Derek would just be asking typical questions about his lesson plans and classes. "We could go to my office, actually, if you'd prefer to do it somewhere with less of a chance of being interrupted by students?"

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-25 07:59 am UTC (link)
"Your office would be great, thanks." 'Derek' allowed Cole to lead the way, taking a quick look at his list of questions before launching right into things so as to get Cole up to speed, as they say.

"I'm in the process of writing an article for a series we've been working on called Education Spotlights. Specifically, we are focusing on highlighting teachers in the nearby area, along with how they are dealing with the current economic crises. Teachers were randomly chosen so we wouldn't come across as biased."

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-25 08:10 am UTC (link)
Cole navigated the halls with ease, responding to the occasional 'Hi, Mr. Evans' thrown out by students who regarded the reporter with barely veiled curiosity.

"Oh! That sounds pretty interesting." He didn't make much to begin with, but he was just thankful he had a job when countless others were losing theirs. "I'll do my best to answer your questions, Mr. Martin."

His 'office' was at the end of a relatively quiet hallway, a small room with a desk, computer, filing cabinet, and two chairs. Books were piled in odd places, and a pile of papers were scattered on the desk. "Sorry for the mess." He offered an apologetic smile, straightening the papers and books before gesturing to the chair across from his. "Please, have a seat."

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-26 07:12 am UTC (link)
Derek graciously took the seat offered, preparing himself for the interview that was soon to come. Well. The interview he himself tailored to his own needs but still appearing general enough not to rouse questions. It took all of his power not to reach over and bash the boy's head in, to make him just understand why he was truly here. NO. No. Not yet. Control.

"So I have to ask the simple obvious question of course: what got you into teaching, what made you decide to be a teacher?"

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-26 07:45 am UTC (link)
Cole offered a sheepish grin at the question, wondering if it would sound like something out of a bad movie if his answer was put into words. He'd told Ileana why he'd become a teacher and she hadn't thought it was cheesy, but that didn't mean everyone else would feel the same way.

"Well, I was a pretty quiet as a kid. You know, that student that never really says much and sort of sticks to himself? That was me. I had some good teachers, though, who went out of their way to bring me out of my shell. I guess they had an effect on me, because I wanted to do the same - not just make learning enjoyable, but to help the ones that some teachers tend to overlook." He laughed. "The fact that I'm a pretty huge fan of literature helped too."

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-26 09:27 am UTC (link)
Derek grinned. He was incredibly adorable, his cheeks pinchable. He chuckled at Cole's answer to his first question, scribbling the response onto his notebook. Regardless of the real purpose to why he was here, all answers were kept for safekeeping.

"I'm afraid I was the annoying kid who pushed others in the sand. "That is really noble, you know," he continued scribbling, lightly pushing the recorder closer to his targe his interviewee. "Great. Next question: can you give me a bit more about what your early life was like? Just to start rounding out the story," he smiled, knowing that it would take small nudges, the tiniest of the right words to get Cole to say everything he needed him to say. It was exactly what he needed.

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-26 09:43 am UTC (link)
"Noble? Well, I guess you could call it that." He shrugged, merely chuckling at the image of the reporter pushing kids like himself in the sand. Cole had dealt with his fair share of those types, but he also knew a lot of them changed completely once they reached adulthood.

"Sure." Some people had things to hide, but he wasn't one of them. His life was so average and uneventful that he didn't usually mind telling people about his past. "Well, I was raised in South Boston, and it was just my mother and I. We lived in an apartment above the shop she worked in, but the owner was a sweetheart, so as a kid I spent a lot of time down there just hanging out. She never minded." He only paused for a moment, grabbing a water bottle from the desk and taking a swig. "It wasn't exactly the best neighborhood, though - it was kind of rough and there weren't many kids around, so my mother didn't like me wandering around on my own. I guess that's how I discovered books - it's how I occupied myself when I was stuck inside."

Cole wasn't too sure how far Derek wanted him to go, age-wise. "My mom and I were close. She worked a lot, but I never felt neglected or anything."

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-27 04:16 am UTC (link)
Average and uneventful. Really. He liked that. They were the same whether Cole understood it or not, but not in the way Cole was thinking. The truth was, they were great, more amazing than the world gave them credit for. He knew this. However, it seemed dear Cole was so humble, he couldn't fathom his importance. Not yet, anyway.

"This is all great, Mr. Evans. Now why don't you run me through what a typical teaching day for you is like."

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-27 06:51 am UTC (link)
Overall Cole thought the interview was going fairly well, and he was glad Derek seemed to be one of the more easygoing reporters. "Sure. Well, I only teach English as of now, so I teach the eleventh grade in the morning and twelfth in the afternoon."

He had his lesson plans, of course, and even though he might deviate from it at times he usually followed it pretty closely. "My first class is at eight, so I'm usually here by about seven to go over my notes for the day and make any last minute additions. Essays are coming up for my students, so I try not to burden them with too much homework around this time. Right now we're covering Hamlet in my eleventh grade classes and 1984 in my twelfth grade ones. I assign certain chapters and acts the night before, so after they read them aloud in class we can have some discussion. Then I'll usually spend time talking about themes and characters - tying things together to provide an eventual in-depth look at the particular work."

He watched the man's face to gage whether he was going into too much detail or saying the right thing, but reading people wasn't his forte. "I take a break for lunch, obviously, before afternoon classes, and depending on the amount of marking I'll either head back to my building after my day is done or stick around and do some work."

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-27 07:45 am UTC (link)
Derek had a look of concentration on his face as he adjusted the recorder on the table, scribbling small notes around his questions and making checkmarks next to the ones he already asked. That was the thing about being an excellent liar: he didn't just look the part or say the right words, for today he was the part of the smooth reporter with an eye for the story and the hope to get to the top.

The smile never faded, merely curved and relaxed as the interview continued. "Well I hope it doesn't bother the missus--or mister! We don't judge," he cheekily grinned. "Now, we're only going to delve a little bit into politics to keep things current: How has the economic and budget cuts affected your school, your work, and what changes have you had to make to deal with it?"

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-27 08:08 am UTC (link)
"Oh--" Cole laughed, albeit a bit awkwardly. "I'm not married, actually. The only one affected by my occasionally erratic hours is, well, me."

He had to take a few moments to think about that. "I think after-school programs have taken the worst of it. A lot of students are dealing with one or both parents being out of work, which means they can't afford to be involved like they used to - not to mention the added stress at home takes a toll on their schoolwork. Concerning my classes, there are a few textbooks that I've decided to either downplay in my lessons or cut out entirely - the added cost just isn't what the students need right now. I think every teacher has to cope with the changes, while trying to keep perspective on the importance of education. It's hard when you have students whose grades are suffering because of the economy, but all we can do is provide a less stressful environment here without letting them give up completely."

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[info]letalegroom
2010-02-28 10:21 am UTC (link)
Liar. Derek's smile didn't even falter even if he was inwardly seething at Cole's false answer. He knew logically the most likely would answer wouldn't be the truth--Because of the girl's age, he had a feeling there wasn't going to be any sort of info about their connection but that wasn't the point. I'll fix that.

"Off the record, but that is a bunch of bull. If we keep screwing over the kids, then we're limiting our possibilities of the future," he asserted astutely. In truth, he didn't care about anything that didn't remotely pertain to himself. There were only three things that matter to himself. But that was on a need to know basis. "Back on the record, every effort to please both the public and the students is worth looking into at least if nothing else. Let's lighten things up a bit shall we?" He looked down toward the clipboard, editing information.

""What do a teacher like yourself do to unwind in your free time? I promise any answer will be anonymous to avoid forcing any teacher or professor to be held accountable. They are human after all am I right?" he smiled.

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-02-28 07:29 pm UTC (link)
Cole frowned slightly, since the last thing he would have said the teachers here were doing was screwing over the kids. Sure, there was the odd teacher who didn't care and let some kids fly under the radar when they should have done otherwise, but no system was perfect. He and the colleagues he knew were doing the best they could, considering they were technically at the bottom of the school board hierarchy. Still, he resisted the urge to answer, not wanting to get involved in some kind of argument.

"Yeah, we are human, despite some opinions that we're far from it." He smiled, even though he wasn't entirely convinced by the claim of anonymity. Not that he had to worry, since his life wasn't very eventful - although if he admitted to dating an eighteen-year-old, well, he was pretty sure any promise of anonymity would fly out the window. "Well, I can't speak for the others, but I find the best way to unwind is a night out with friends. It's nice to be with people who aren't necessarily teachers, for a change of conversation." What else did he do? He couldn't really be this boring. "There's a lot to do around here... sometimes just talking a walk around the city is good enough, or playing tourist for the day. I've been here a few months, but I still don't feel like I've seen everything."

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[info]letalegroom
2010-03-01 09:36 am UTC (link)
See, poor Cole had no idea on the reality of how hard he worked to make himself an accurate visage of a reporter. The slight tension, the irritation, that was all part of the plan. He had purposely spent some time with random reporters to get an idea of what they're like and the major importance of who they are is that they're ALWAYS trying to find a story...even when there isn't one. Hence the assurance of anonymity. If he hadn't mentioned that Cole might not have viewed him as a real reporter. That had to be as real as possible, even if it risked himself getting completely disliked by dear Cole.

"Well, I think we've got everything we need," he smiled, moving to a standing position and holding out his hand, card outstretched. "Here is my card. I may or may not be calling for a follow-up, it more depends on what my producer thinks. I appreciate the time taken out of your day, Mr. Evans. Pretty sure I know how to show myself out so you can get right back to your work day, thank you so much."

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[info]blackcatsrbad
2010-03-01 08:15 pm UTC (link)
Cole stood a moment after Derek did, slightly relieved that the interview was over - although it could have been worse, considering there hadn't been that many personal questions. "You're more than welcome. I hope I managed to give you a good story." He laughed, accepting the card and glancing at it briefly before placing it on his desk. "If you're sure... have a good day, Mr. Martin, and thank you."

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