All jokes and complaints aside, David really did love his job. It hadn't been his first, or even his second choice, but due to a stipulation from Arthur upon his late release from Frye island, it was what he had chose as a "traditional" means of earning his money. And it made him feel important, in a small way. Of course he knew not every kid he crossed paths with would become an Ethel Merman or, Patrick Stewart or Neil Simon. It simply wasn't possible. However, if he couldn't be acting all the time, teaching was perfectly acceptable.
But still, liking one's career choice was simply not enough to make grading quizzes a palatable pastime for a Saturday night. Especially when the other option was an evening of piano bar karaoke with a kindred spirit. A kindred spirit who provided a huge ego boost thanks to the secret crush that David had picked up on over the summer during Shakespeare in the Park. It was cute really. But entirely one sided, which was alright. It still inflated his ego, and didn't do anyone harm. Besides, despite hardly being older than David's newly discovered daughter, Ariel could be considered a friend. And a worthy competitor. And if pride was for the weak, David was the weakest.
Since Ariel had hopped the subway, David had opted for a taxi. Normally he walked nearly anywhere he hadn't deemed "too far", which depended on the day, his mood, the weather and what he was wearing, but if he wasn't going to make the other man wait too long, taxi it would have to be. He arrived not long after his companion and made a beeline for the bar, out of havit, but thankfully, it also happened to be where Ariel was seated. He slid onto a brstool himself, " Been here long?"