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littleredroseonthevalley · 4 years

Text

Land of the Blind

Summary: Nathan is caugh on a DUI and is sentenced to comunity service. There, he meets someone who can change his life.

Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 5400

Notes: So, Natey-boy again. Who hasn’t gotten over him yet?

בשוק סמייא צווחין לעווירא סגי נהור

In the street of the blind, the one-eyed man is called the Guiding Light

*_*_*_*_*

"Nathan Sterling! Come over here, bro!" Beau Han bellowed, causing several heads in the party to turn, but he remained uncaring, as he went on to wave his bottle of beer as a half-hearted greeting.

Nathan sighed, shaking his head in frustration at the closest thing he could call as best friend. His boorish antics got old fast, and he had to take them for years now. However, it did not keep the young, blond man to slip into the seat next to him and grabbing a bottle of beer.

They had met in college, when they pledged the same fraternity. They both came from privileged upbringings, with the difference that Beau was nouveau riche, while Nathan was a Boston Brahmin. The Asian boy, because of that, submitted himself to be his faithful lapdog, and he did not care for the difference between that and “true friendship”.

"Anything fun going on around here?" Nathan asked, unamused.

Beau gave a casual shrug, before pulling a face. "No hot girls are allowed here, apparently."

He craned his neck then, as if looking for something. Nathan frowned, opening his mouth to question him when Beau beat him to it. "Eh, Nathan? Where's Becca? I thought she was your conquest for the week?"

Nathan flicked his finger dismissively, before downing the bottle of beer. The voluptuous girl was not bad-looking, on the contrary, but she really was just really bossy and nagging, and her name was tarnished since her parents divorced and cut her off, it was no fun.

Not to mention, she wanted commitment, too. She wanted to raise herself from the filth she was thrown in. It was a big no-no for Nathan. He did not, under any circumstances, do commitments. Anytime a girl seemed to imply that, she was out. Especially the social-climbers.

"She's old news already, Beau.” He responded, lazily. “I can't seem to find anyone else up to my standards."

"Your standards must be reaching heaven, my dear friend." Beau shook his head as he chugged his beer, before wiping the corner of his mouth to clean himself of the trail of white booze. "I'm pretty sure dear Katie would be glad to lecture you again."

Nathan sighed, shaking his head. Katie was the exact reason why he is so averse to commitment. She was his cousin’s wife, daughter of a fisherman from down at the harbour, and seemed to think they were a loving family just because they were around the same age. She firmly believed in love and that Tanner was her One and Only.

To him, it all sound either naïve or malicious. She knew he was cheating on her with the Emersons’ slag, Scarlett, but she took it because parting with the Sterling fortune was too much to bear. Not that she will ever really have to, having birthed a daughter already.

He almost scoffed at just the mere idea of fairy-tale love. Pick any marriage on his lineage, from the very day the first member of his family set foot in America hailing from Norway, and they would be a good example that love did not exist. Including Kate and Tanner’s.

“She can’t lecture me if she doesn’t know, and evidence shows it isn’t that hard to hide things from her. She is pretty stupid.”

"Damn, you're bad!" Beau chuckled heartily before pulling Nathan up from his seat, gesturing to the platform set up for the party. "Let's go dance, and maybe pick up some hot girls, yeah?"

The corner of Nathan's mouth lifted slightly. Yes, that was exactly what he needed.

"Yeah, you're on."

*_*_*_*_*

"Nathan, you honestly shouldn't… " Beau stopped in the middle of the sentence, hiccupping for probably the umpteenth time. "Drive the car in such a state. You might get into an accident."

"Shut up, Beau, unless you’d like to walk." Nathan threatened. He was sure that he could handle liquor well, Beau was totally underestimating him. "I'm pretty sure you're the one who needs help getting home. Whose party is this again? Elliott's? I'm sure he'll be glad to drive you home."

"Yes, see that horn over there?" Beau hiccupped again, before chuckling and pointing at the roof of the house. "It’s Elliott's!"

"Damn, Beau, you are drunk." Nathan shook his head. Beau really seem like a stupid teenager at times. He muffled a sigh. “Call yourself an Uber. I know you like to spite your mother.”

"No need. Beau's going home with me." A familiar voice stated from behind the said male's bulky form.

Nathan's eyes widen by the tiniest bit, before he recovered, trying not to laugh. Trying to make him jealous? With Han? How quaint. Too bad it would not work.

"Oh, alright then." Nathan said, grinning as he saw his friend's face morphed into one of horror's, but he paid him no heed. He was apparently still sober enough to realize what he was getting into. "Have a nice night, Claire."

Without another word, he silently washed his hands from Han before he slipped into his Ashton Martin and sped off. The adrenaline was coursing through his veins, most probably a side effect from the consumption of beer. It had actually been a while since he had gone home with a girl, and for this moment, this silence was actually rather nice and peaceful.

He took a deep breath before he relaxed against his comfortable leather seat.

The sirens of police cars suddenly broke him out of his reverie, and he immediately swerved to a stop in an unconscious move.

Ugh, Nathan, you moron! What did you stop for?

He suppressed his grumbles as he rolled down the window of his car to come face-to-face to Officer Silverhawk. He muttered a curse under his breath. Of all people... Of all days...

"Good evening, Officer Silverhawk." He greeted grudgingly.

"Yes, Nathan." She sounded displeased. "What're you doing out here that late at night? Is that alcohol? You reek of it!"

"No, of course not, ma’am." Nathan lied smoothly. "I wouldn't do such a dangerous, reckless thing."

“You certainly would.” She said, unbelieving. “Give me your keys. I’ll pull up your record.”

"Don’t get your panties on a twist, Officer Silverhawk." He muttered.

Officer Silverhawk looked up from scrolling through the records at the mention of her name, but Nathan waved his hand like it was nothing.

"Well, Nathan…" She said, sounding gruff. "It's not the first time you've been caught speeding. In fact, this is the fifteenth time, and there's another few which was after consuming alcohol."

Again, shit.

"Well, I'm afraid you'd have to go to the police with us. Don't worry, you will most likely just have to serve community service if it comes to that." Chief Silverhawk seemed to meant for her to sound reassuring.

However, she seemed smug and Nathan noted irritably that her upper lip seemed to twitch slightly at that comment.

Fuck was the only thought echoing through his mind. His parents were going to kill him.

*_*_*_*_*

“You are a disgrace, Mr. Sterling. You are a smudge on this town prideful tradition, and a shame to your surname.” Judge Rhodes said, sternly, from his bench. “I am very glad that I was able to shield my stepdaughter from the likes of you.”

Nathan used much of his willpower not to roll his eyes at that comment. Judge Rhodes was obsessed with his wife and stepdaughter, to the point it was nauseating.

The man congratulate himself into making a “safe” town for his family to live, as if he would ever be interested in Emily Harper. She was a very creepy character, and he is not alone in thinking that. Yes, she was his neighbour, but they just never interacted anymore.

He could remember that, before Queenie Harper married Dr. Rhodes, before even Evan Harper died of a heart attack, him and Emily would spend a lot of time together. Mrs. Harper would have him on their home to relieve his nannies, and the two kids would spend the Summer afternoons together.

Over Winter, while he was away in New Haven with his parents, however, Mr. Harper passed away and Queenie moved away with Emily to God knows where. They returned years later, when the old bat had already remarried, conveniently, with the new county judge.

Every time he sees her, which was actually quite rare, she would be wearing a long dress and she would be wearing a sunglass with Zigmund Ortega, if he remembered correctly, the felon son of their housemaid, or with either of her parents by her side.

“I would prefer to send you away for a month at the county jail. That ought to straighten you out. However, the laws of the state of Massachusetts do not allow me.” The judge continued, doling out the punishment. “Therefore, I hereby sentence you, Nathan Sterling, III, to ten weeks of community service. I really hope this would be of help to your behaviour."

The gavel went down, he was taken away from the courtroom to where his family was restlessly waiting, no doubt anxious to give him a piece of their mind. He almost wished that Rhodes had locked him away.

“A DUI, Nathan, honestly.” Lois Sterling, his mother, admonishes coldly. “Why don’t you just piss on your great-grandfather’s statue at main square while you’re on it, huh?”

He limits himself to a glare. His mother really knows how to make a bad situation worse just by standing in the room.

His father, in turn, merely sighed, patting Nathan's stiff shoulder. "Learn something there, son."

"Nathan, you're an idiot. I swear, you are!" Katie huffed, looking very much like an angry poodle dog. "But I really feel like something good may come out of this whole mess, so don't go messing things up."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you want, Cinderella."

All he got was an answering smack.

*_*_*_*_*

"Well, now what am I supposed to do?" Nathan asked, refraining from groaning as he looked at the peeling layers of wallpaper in the room of the orphanage.

The matron of the establishment narrowed her beady, black eyes at him, as if threatening him, before she pushed the grey bun on her head up higher. He stared at it for a moment, fascinated, before turning to face her. "I'm sorry, Ms..."

"Mrs. Higginbotham." She snapped, her lips twisting to a grimace. "You weren't listening."

"I'm sorry." He shuffled his feet and stared at them for a moment, trying to deceive her into thinking he was feeling guilty, which he obviously was not.

She released a sigh. "It's alright, boy."

Some people just were so easy to deceive. Most people, in fact, were easily thwarted by him. Call it a congenic trait.

The older woman motioned for the wall. "You need to peel of the wallpaper of this entire room before repainting it. A few older children will be coming in to help you out later, so don't worry about the workload."

He nodded.

She mimicked his movements, looking satisfied before leaving him with the appropriate tools.

He sighed, pulling his sleeves up and dreading the loss of a shirt. "Better get to work now, I guess."

"Hello!" A cheery voice disrupted his concentration, and he turned to face her after scraping off the last peeling layer of white from the ceiling.

What he saw was an assorted group of approximately thirteen-year-old teens standing there and looking at him. He fought back a grimace, before he raised his hand in an awkward wave.

"Uh, hi?"

"We heard you were here to serve your sentence." One of the boys blurted out.

The boy beside him smacked him.

"Not a sentence, Nicky. That's such an exaggeration!" He paused, before giving Nathan a curious look. "Or is it?"

"Alright, boys." A girl who was obviously the leader of the group of five stepped out, holding her palms up for silence. "Enough. We are here to help."

The two boys bowed their heads in resignation. "Sorry, Vanessa."

She nodded her head in satisfaction before turning her attention to the gaping Nathan. "What do you need help with, sir?"

"The scraping of wallpaper at the rest of the walls, I guess. I already did the ceiling. Then we can paint this room." He replied after recovering quickly. "And don't call me 'sir', please. It makes me sound old."

Vanessa grinned.

"Okay. Let's get to work then!"

This kid must be something to control them like that. Blonde curly hair, bright blue eyes, clearly a strong-willed kid. Had not been for the crude demeanour of her posture, one would say they were siblings. He found he rather liked her.

A few minutes after they started work, Nicky, if he remembered correctly, suddenly asked. "Brad, aren't you looking forward to the afternoon?"

The boy who smacked Nicky turned, his eyes bright as a cheeky smile surfaced, accidently scratching the wall with his tool in his carelessness, but he paid it no heed.

"Like, duh! Emmy is coming!"

"Emmy?" Nathan could not help himself from asking.

All eyes in the room turned to look at him, looking shocked before exclaiming in unison, "You don't know who's Emmy?"

“No, not really.” He responded.

“Emily Harper.” Vanessa supplied, helpfully. “She’s a voluntary teacher here. The kids that have been here the longest call her Emmy.”

“Oh! She’s my next-door neighbour.” He gasped in recognition. "Um, well, we’ve met, years ago, but we’re not close anymore. She's kind of... I don't know… "

He tried to untangle himself out of the situation, noticing how everyone seemed to stiffen at his words.

"You're one of those creeps who look down on her, right?" Nicky yelled, his face red with anger as he fisted his hands, stepping forward and looking as if he was about to hit him.

"Nicky." Vanessa's soft voice stopped him, and he bit his lip before muttering an apology.

"I'm sorry, Nathan, we're rather protective when it comes to Emily." She managed a smile. "I sure hope you aren't one of those who look down on her. She is a lovely person. She really brightens up our day."

He smiled back, unsure of what reply to give.

After that exchange, the room's atmosphere seemed to escalate to a freezing region, where everyone talked among themselves, occasionally only speaking to Nathan when they need to.

It seemed hours to him before Mrs. Higginbotham came, looking very pleased with their progress. "Well, you are almost done, ain't ya?"

All the teens nodded their heads eagerly, excluding Nathan.

"Well, I suppose you all can go for your break." She turned to leave before she angled her face back to face them once more, a twinkle in her eye. "By the way, Ms. Harper has arrived."

It was a moment after she left, before all the children threw down their tools and dashed out, pushing against each other as they stumbled along the corridor. Nathan blinked once in bewilderment, before he decided not to follow.

He continued working on his part of the room for a few more minutes, before his stomach growled. He bit the inside of his cheeks, before resigning. Now, he would have to find the canteen by himself.

How pathetic. Why did he have to stop his car when Officer Silverhawk signalled him to? Walsh would never let her come after him, anyways. There were so many better ways to spend his precious time, to the point he is willing to go work with his father.

Pulling the towel off his neck, he jumped down from the stool before trudging out of the room. The county orphanage could not be that big; he was sure of it. It should not be too hard to find the canteen.

He yawned, rubbing his eyes. This work really was exhausting.

As he walked down the hallway, commiserating with himself, a beautiful melody drifted to his ears then, and he immediately perked up. Someone was playing the violin, and that person was really good at it, too.

Unknowingly, his feet followed the source of the music, and he stopped in front of a door at last.

Placing his hand on the doorknob, he debated for a while whether he should go in or just leave it be. But the curiosity of knowing who was inside overwhelmed him, and he twisted the knob as softly as he could before he poked his head to the room.

A redhead with long, flowing curly hair tumbling down to her waist was on the middle of a mostly empty room, holding the instrument. She was wearing a white floral dress that reached over her knees. He watched, transfixed as her fingers danced over the strings, her eyes closed and her full lips in a concentrated pout.

"Nathan?" Mrs. Higginbotham's voice broke him out of his entranced stare.

The music abruptly got cut off and the girl turned to face him. His jaw almost fell to the ground.

"E-Emily?" He managed to get out.

She smiled a breath-taking smile, standing up from her seat, her eyes still closed as she tilted her head to the side for a moment.

"Hi, Nathan."

"Hi?" But it sounded more like a question. The beautiful girl playing the violin just now... Was actually Emily Harper? The ghost of Birchport? The bratty child of the county judge?

He swallowed, watching as her long, elegant fingers pressed against her full, red lips, looking embarrassed.

"Did you hear me play?" She asked, a soft stutter on her words.

"I did. It was beautiful." He breathed, still looking utterly entranced, his emerald green eyes lighting up as they stared at her.

Red coloured both her cheeks as she fidgeted even more, seeming to feel the weight of his stare. "Thank you, you’re too kind."

Suddenly, someone coughed in the room, and Nathan realized they were not alone. The entire roomful of teens and children and Mrs. Higginbotham were looking at him, seemingly in amusement and curiosity.

"New brother!" One of the younger kids squealed before clapping his hands together, looking very happy.

Nathan stared at them with a completely bewildered expression.

"Well, Nathan, how nice of you to join us." Mrs. Higginbotham said, motioning for him to take a seat and snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Thank you, Mrs. Higginbotham."

"Sorry, Nathan. I really thought you were one of those creeps who look down on Emmy." Nicky whispered to him from in front and Nathan tilted his head to the side. Why would anyone look down on her? She was beautiful, and she played such beautiful music.

Before he could ask, though, Emily had already picked up her instrument and placed on her neck, measuring the tempo for a new song. She seemed tense now, her fingers stiff. Was it because of his presence?

He wondered about it, before shaking it off. Impossible.

Her first note was slightly shaky, before it was followed by a firmer tone. As she continued on, her confidence began to grow and the music slowly crawled to a crescendo, her fingers flying over the strings.

He could not help but gape. She was the epitome of beauty and class. Maybe she would be deserving to be his next conquest.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Mrs. Higginbotham murmured from beside him.

He nodded, not speaking, transfixed by the song.

"You can't even tell that she's blind." She said softly and Nathan whirled to face her in shock.

"What?"

"Why, yes, Nathan. She's blind." She said, a little surprised. “I thought you knew. Most people in town do.”

“I… She wasn’t blind back when we were close.” He responded lamely.

Higginbotham tutted, lost in thought. “She did lose her sight, just after her father’s death.”

“How did it happen?” He asked, curiously.

“You’d do better asking her yourself.” She answered with a tone of finality.

That night, as he went out with Kassidy Marquez, his mind was elsewhere; thinking of a certain redhead with a lovely blush.

Soon, he broke off with a shocked and angry Kassidy, because he simply could not stand the heaviness in his heart.

*_*_*_*_*

Emily teaches music to the children at the orphanage, or at least tries to. Their music room was on the bare side, so their lessons are mostly consisted of her playing for them to hear. After every break she plays, she would tell the children the stories of her life, and Nathan would sometimes be one of the characters.

When she was feeling particularly wicked, she would tell some humiliating story of the two of them when they were kids, which would always finish with him red as a tomato and mumbling, “That’s so not what happened…”

She, however, never told them about the time she spent away from Birchport, curiously enough. She never told them how she lost her sigh, nor where she had been or what she had been doing. It was mysterious.

Every day, after clock out, Nathan would go home alone looking dazed, and Katie would be waiting for him on the foyer, just to pester him as always, wondering who the girl was.

She sure was not the only one wondering.

He stopped going out at night, he stopped dating different girls at the time. In a nutshell, he stopped doing everything like he would always do. Instead, he would always go to their library to play the piano when he had any free time.

There was a time he loved playing the piano. His mother had commanded him to chose an instrument, and he took to that. He even had quite a deal of talent, but on his Senior year in high school, Lois barred him from playing and at Hartford was impossible. By the time Summer came and he returned to Birchport, he had long forgot it.

The change of his personality within such a short period of time was shocking, to say the least. It was a pleasant one, though, of course.

He would always look out of his bedroom window, gazing beyond the gardens, wanting to see her, but he would never have the chance to. So, he had to wait every day until he reached the orphanage.

*_*_*_*_*

"Nathan, it's your last day of community service today, right?" Katie declared, over breakfast. "It must have been a long two months and a half."

He shook his head, but refrained from a snarky comment. Nathan had been more patient with his cousin by marriage these days. In fact, he had been more patient and mindful with just about everybody, with the notable exception of his mother.

Happy people want for everybody to be happy too, he reasoned. Since he felt more comfortable in Emily’s company, he stopped to be so cynical about everyone’s angle when talking to him, he became more trusting. He was even beginning to accept that Katie was just a good person, after all.

"It's not long at all." He murmured, the corner of his lips tugging up slightly. "Not long at all."

Nathan, Snr., stared, seeming shocked, but said nothing. An approving smile was on his face. They simply have to meet this miracle-worker.

Lois, in turn, glared at her son. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson, boy. The next time you pull out something like that, you won’t be getting off so easily.”

The young man shrugged and got up to his feet, leaving the house with no further words. He jumped into his car and drove as fast as he could to the orphanage, getting straight into work as soon as he arrived.

He watched her as he ran his errands, during every break of that week, watching the beautiful girl playing music that touched his very soul. He was captivated, he was entranced, and he was completely falling to the grace of it.

Not only to the violin, but to the girl playing it.

The slight furrow between her brows as she contemplated something; how she pressed her fingers against her lips when she was embarrassed; how her hands would wrang together when she was nervous; how she would bite her lip when she was frightened; how...

Fuck, how did he know these things?

He buried his head into the crook of his arm. It was the last day of his community service, and he was actually here, obsessing over a girl. A girl who barely knew him and would certainly hate to.

"Nathan?"

It was then, did he realize that Mrs. Higginbotham has been calling him for some time. She looked rather displeased. Again.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She smiled. "As I was saying, I've seen in your information that you're rather talented in the piano. Why don't you two play a piece together? As a farewell?"

"You're leaving?"

A slight furrow could be seen from his view and he smiled, though he knew she would not see it. She actually looked concerned. He almost laughed at the irony of Judge Rhode's words on his sentence. Well, it certainly backfired.

He nodded slowly, out of habit. "Well, yeah. It's my last day of community service."

“I’ll round up the kids, while you decide on a song.” The matron declared, excusing herself. “I’m sure it will be beautiful.”

A pause.

"So, would you like to play a duet with me?" He asked, his tone velvet and smooth.

He would not talk to her anymore after this. Perhaps he would, they were neighbours, but it did not seem likely. It would not be like it was now, in these hallowed rooms, away from their families and away from the prying eyes of the community.

As he spoke, he took big strides, reaching her quickly. He took her hands that were wrung together on her lap before taking one of them to his lips, pressing his lips against them gently. She blushed deep red.

He felt his crooked smile on his face. His real smile, the one born out of legitimate joy, that he almost forgot he had. He frowned at that thought, dismissing it away quickly.

"A duet, my Lady?"

"Sure…" She stammered, a blush still on her cheeks.

He sat on a bench and stretched his hands to play the old piano that the institution kept and he had tuned earlier that month.

There was a silence as they shifted to make themselves comfortable, before he blurted, “Where were you?”

“What?” She asked softly, in confusion.

“We were friends, Emily. It might have been long ago, but I remember that much. I left for New Haven after Labour Day one year, and when I came back in the Spring, you were gone.” He said, rather feverishly. “Then, as suddenly as you left, you came back, and now you are blind. What happened?”

The girl turned her face away, trying to hide the tint on her cheeks. “It was entirely too sudden. My dad died, and then we moved right away. I didn’t know until I heard the movers come into the house.”

“Why, Emily? What happened?” He insisted.

“My dad, he had a heart attack while driving. He hit a tree and died from the impact. I was on the car with him, and the glass shards from the windshield cut my eyes.” She explained. “The doctors in Boston said I wouldn’t be able to see anymore, so my mother moved us to New York, so I could attend a school for the blind.”

“I see.” He nodded, sober. “And Judge Rhodes?”

“My mother met him in New York. He is a good man, just a little overbearing. He thought it would be better to live in a small town, that it would be safer, so when I got into Boston Conservatory, they decided to relocate to Birchport for me to commute.” She finishes her story with a soft voice, barely perceptible.

“I see. Thank you for telling me.” He responded, a little ashamed of himself. He should not have pressured her that way.

“It’s okay, I’ve been meaning to, actually.” Emily said, smiling again. “I was honestly quite intimidated by you in the beginning. You seemed always so angry and frustrated.”

Nathan chuckled. “It’s because I was.”

“You’ve mellowed out since.” She concludes. “I’m glad. You have a nice voice when you’re happy. I like it.”

“I have a pretty voice…” Nathan teased. "I must be pretty hot, huh?"

She giggled softly. "Yeah. You seem to be, if I remember you right."

"You aren't the only girl who say that."

Her smile melted away then, and Nathan berated himself for saying such a thing.

“You’re very perceptible. I live in a house full of perfectly seeing people, and none of them identify what I think or feel.” He smiled sadly, trying to cover up his slip of the tongue.

“I’m sorry for that, Nathan. You shouldn’t be made feel this way.” She raises her hands to him. He picks them up and cradle them on his. “People are good in hiding emotions in their faces, but not on their voices, not on their bodies. If there is one good thing about being blind is that it is difficult to be lied to.”

They took a minute to enjoy each other’s bodily presence, one that was too soon interrupted by a loud cough from Mrs. Higginbotham. All the older teens behind her stifled their laughter, seeming to know what was going on.

"What piece then?" Nathan questioned, a smile seeming stuck on his face. He just could not stop smiling.

"How about Dvořák?" She offers. “The fourth duet.”

"I like it." He murmured, watching as she fumbled with the stacks of scores for a moment before pulling out the desired one.

"I hope you'd have no problem with it. Um, no, I'm not underestimating you, it's just..."

He laughed. "No worries, Emily. I can cope, and I know you're not."

He could not help the arrogance that slipped through, but it was him, after all. He was not called a piano prodigy for nothing. His thumb brushed her warm cheek casually before they turned to the score before them.

He counted softly under his breath before his fingers swept over the keys in a beautiful, enchanting dance. The soft, soothing melody filled the room, their music interacting beautifully on the dusty air, and a smile would surface on both Nathan's and Emily's face as a surge of electricity run through their veins.

"Beautiful piece, isn't it?" Emily whispered, almost too soft for him to hear as their fingers choreographed a breath-taking dance, without any rehearsals or practice. They felt whole.

"Yes." Nathan murmured, unable to stop the next sentence from slipping out. "More beautiful when it's played with you."

He knew that out of all the girls he had been with, she, Emily Harper, the ghost of Birchport, brought out the best in him. He did not need to look at her to know she was smiling a timid smile.

They struck a final chord and simultaneously turned to face each other; though Emmy could not see him, before breaking out into a joyful laughter. The people in the room started laughing too.

The younger children had no idea what was happening, but they joined in, clapping their hands and squealing, immersing themselves in the happy and light atmosphere.

The fingers that were once dancing over the keys were now interlaced with each other tightly.

He knew it then, as he swept a strand of brown hair away from her closed eyes, a beautiful smile on her face; that he wanted her to love him; that he wanted them to be together.

"Emily." He murmured, cupping her face gently in his hands, before he pressed a soft kiss against her full, pouty ones, watching as a familiar red coloured her cheeks.

"Yes?" She answered breathlessly.

He smiled. "I promise I’ll share my eyes with you, if you promise to always be with me."

He watched a tear escape from the corner of her closed eye, before leaning forward and capturing it with his finger.

“I promise.” She whispered.

The children cheered while Mrs. Higginbotham looked at them with a berating eye-stare, scolding them for the display, but she could not stop a soft smile from spreading across her face, either.

*_*_*_*_*

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#The Freshman #the junior #Nathan Sterling

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glee-dsm-events2 · 5 years

Photo

The Headmistress has graciously (and through a lot of teeth pulling, several threats to her trophy case and lack of additional options) allowed the school use of her private island and paradise resort (which is often for Cheerio retreats and was purchased after selling interviews to news reporters and syphoning of Glee funds and donations) for the Winter trip! As it is a private island, it will be left to the school to be on with staff coming in by boat to assist. There will also be daily trips/boat shuttles to Costa Rica a mere 30 minute boat ride away! We will be gone January 15th - January 20th.

RULES:

All students must be in their assigned rooms between 1am-6am daily.

There will be no drug use of any kind tolerated.

Alcohol can be consumed at the resort and on the mainland by all students who are 21 years in age. Any underage drinking is strictly prohibited.

Be respectful to all guards, staff, and other met on the mainland. You will represent the school on this trip - use your manners.

No one can go to the mainland alone - groups of 2 or more only with following the escort rule of the school. Boats will leave and return on the hour to go to the main land the students can use during free times.

ACCOMODATIONS

Students will be placed in groups in different cabins which are equipped with: a living area, 3 bedrooms (with a King bed, two queens, and two twins), 2 bathrooms, a patio to the beach, fire pit, and kitchenette. The cabins are furnished with TV, Bluray (with rentals available) streaming devices, and all major appliances.

Assignments:

Cabin 1 -

Grace Motta

Remy Hudson

Lucas Smythe

Elliott Anderson

Layla Schuester

Cabin 2 -

Nathan Lynn

Adam Sylvester

Jackson Schuester

Malakai Sylvester

Ryan Fabray-Lynn

Silas Lynn

Cabin 3 -

Sam Evans

Hunter Clarington

Blaine Evans

Sawyer Cohen-Chang

Lisette Gilbert

Cabin 4 -

Eric Anderson

Landon Corcoran

Jeff Sterling

Caleb Duval

Maverick Lynn

Shea Flanagan

Cabin 5 -

Mateo Lopez

Nick Duval

Jamie Beiste

Tobias Karofsky

Buchanan Wilde

Cabin 6 -

Gunner Clarington

Frankie Wilde

Noelle Adams

Jaelan Puckerman

Franco Hart

Cabin 7 -

Noah Duval

Bentley Jones

Ferdinand Abrams

Oliver Smythe

Lennon Corcoran

Quinn Fabray

Cabin 8 -

Esther Fabray

Deni Sterling

Catalina Lopez

Summer Evans

Clark Abrams

Cabin 9 -

Sebastian Smythe

Ryder Lynn

Archer Clarington

Beau Adams

Devon Chang

Cabin 10 -

Daniel Schuester

Kirin Rhodes

Eli Hummel

Skylar Evans

ITINIRARY -

The resort and island are filled with things to do! Swimming, snorkeling, parasailing, surfing, fishing, tennis courts, basketball courts, sandcastles, full workout center, indoor arcade, restaurant, bar, swim up bar, and horseback riding.

As stated before, there will be regular trips via boat to Costa Rico as well as scheduled outings. Things to do on the main land are tattoo shops, hair dressers, street shops/vendors, food vendors, D/s club, dance clubs, bars, restaurants, ziplines, waterfalls, parks, whitewater rafting, biking, golf, hot springs, kayaking and canoeing.

January 15th

Leave Ohio at 5am, arrive in Costa Rica at 1pm.

Resort day

January 16th

Resort Day

January 17th

1pm - Suspended Bridges of Monteverde and ziplining

5pm - return at resort

January 18th

9am - Tram across the Rainforest

11pm - Lunch at nearby restaurant

1pm - Canyoning

5pm - return to resort

January 19th -

Resort Day

January 20th -

Leave resort at 5am, arrive in Ohio at 1pm.

OOC -

So, same as always, if there are any plots to occur PLEASE run it by the admins first. Remember that there will be guards and staff will be around so if your character breaks a rule, a punishment will occur. Keep in mind, most of this will be F2F interactions, so there’s always a chance people will be seen/noticed/overheard etc. Any questions, hit us up. Also, those strike outs in the beginning are not IC knowledge but a fun HC J and I came up with that Sue absolutely has her own island that she bought from her own fundraising and skimming off the top of the Glee Club budget and that she usually only allows Cheerios there. She probably named it something mean towards Will, but we haven’t come up with it yet.

#gleedsmevent #event #winter trip #gleedsmwintertrip #winter break20

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jazzviewswithcjshearn · 5 years

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In depth live review: Pat Metheny Side Eye at Sony Hall, September 13, 2019

Pat Metheny Side Eye, Sony Hall, 9/13/19

Pat Metheny: acoustic, and electric guitars, orchestrionics, guitar synth; James Francies: acoustic piano, keyboards, electronics; Marcus Gilmore: drums.

Over the past few years guitarist Pat Metheny has been extending the tradition in jazz of mentoring young musicians on the band stand the way Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and currently, the way Wallace Roney, Herbie Hancock, Gary Burton and Chick Corea have done. It's a practice that is rarer and rarer in the music as some of the legends who have done so have passed on, and because the music got a boost in the 70's from academia, the kind of university of the street aspect of playing on the road has been minimized. The guitarist's Side Eye project premise is simple: play with young musicians who've grown up on his music that have caught his attention and see the ways in which they can approach his massive catalog. It is thoroughly in the tradition, albeit his own unique tradition and spawns from his invitation of young musicians to his New York home, and spending large amounts of time with a wide cross section of his own tunes. On the evening of September 13th at Sony Hall in New York City flanked by cameras for an NHK Japanese broadcast, the group, spurred on by an appreciative sold out audience played a continuous two and a half hours of inspired music making.

Indeed, the sort of all encompassing approach of including his entire catalog under one roof has been in play for quite a long time now. For the past several years with his current quartet featuring pianist Gwilym Simcock, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Antonio Sanchez, and on the final Japanese tour of the Pat Metheny Group with the core quartet, Metheny explored rarely played classics to the delight of audiences all over the world. Though the cast of musicians has rotated including Nate Smith, and Anwar Marshall, James Francies on keyboards and synth bass has remained a constant. With the trio of Francies and Marcus Gilmore on drums for the summer tour not only did he investigate gems from his book of more than 500 compositions, he expanded on them, and wrote new music that took the band's individual personalities to full effect without sacrificing the selfless whole of the superior musicianship on display.

James Francies has been rising quickly on the jazz scene with his Blue Note debut Flight. He is among a cadre of musicians helping bring younger audiences to jazz blending hip hop, R&B, soul and gospel influences along with Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge, Chris Dave and Unity Band/Unity Group alumnus Ben Williams. In Francies, not only has Metheny found an ideal partner that pianistically is a huge contrast to Hancock, Lyle Mays, Paul Bley, Brad Mehldau, and Simcock, but is equally fearless in presenting a borderless perspective to the music. Marcus Gilmore the 32 year old grandson of the legendary Roy Haynes, has logged valuable time with Chris Potter, Chick Corea's Vigil, and Vigelette trio, David Virelles, and Will Vinson. Like Francies he is deeply immersed not in only Metheny's universe but everything in the contemporary music scene.

As the lights gradually faded up on stage, the guitarist uncharacteristically, and energetically began the evening by speaking to the audience, about how great his musical compatriots were and they wasted little time, getting into the first of a pair of Ornette Coleman compositions during the evening, the classic “Turnaround” that Metheny recorded on 80/81 (ECM, 1980). Metheny dug right into Gilmore's medium tempo swing on the basic 12 bar blues form. Around the third or fourth guitar chorus, Francies dropped out so Metheny could stroll with Gilmore's support and with a chordal instrument like piano dropping out, there is no safety net with the harmony so things become totally open. Buoyed by Gilmore's insistent ride, the guitarist swung harder, and harder. When it was Francies turn to take the first of several dazzling solos, Metheny demonstrated a rarely shown aspect of his comping by playing four to the bar chords a la Freddie Green in the Count Basie band. The only recorded evidence of Metheny applying the technique appeared on “The Moon Song” from Beyond the Missouri Sky (Verve, 1997) with Charlie Haden, and in the context of the Coleman blues, showed his deep love of the jazz guitar tradition.

Francies was transcendant on “Bright Size Life” with a turn on Rhodes that displayed some dizzying counterpoint between his left hand on synth bass, and right hand on Rhodes. He is a very lyrical, melodic player and has chops in spades, but never overwhelms. At 22 years old he is absolutely prodigious, not only with a thorough knowledge of the jazz traditional but equally at home in gospel and R&B. When the keyboardist moved to Hammond organ (playing a Hammond XK-5, a digital, compact version of a B-3) for Metheny's rarely played “Timeline” from the late Michael Brecker's Time is Of the Essence (Verve, 1999) he revealed another sterling aspect of his musical personality. Boosted by Gilmore's deep pocket swing, he soloed with the right hand on the lower manual with first three drawbars out; percussion off, and went from the blues to gospel with ease, supported by his own solid left hand bass on the upper manual. The technique is the opposite of the jazz organ style and stems from Francies gospel roots. The piece was a window into what a Metheny organ trio would have been like, entrenched in the established paradigm but pushing forward in it's own way. Metheny was relaxed, swinging and diving into his improvisation with fervor, mid solo, stepping on a pedal to let a note on his Slaman hollow body ring out emulating the shout, or drone pattern. The drone pattern is something countless organists from Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Don Patterson and Joey DeFrancesco have used. It involves holding down the tonic (involving only notes proper to the prevailing key without chromatic alteration constructed from a diatonic scale) , and “shouting” with the other notes around it, a technique originated from the church. Metheny also used this technique on “Tune Blues” from The Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny (2015) a throwback to his days of playing in organ trios coming up in Kansas City, and this exploration of another rarely heard facet of his musical personality was a joy, and shows how his playing is entering a new phase.

Over the first hour as the guitarist examined old favorites with gusto, the most striking revamp was on “Better Days Ahead”. Though the tune has early versions in collector's circles dating back to 1981 or 2, it was first recorded in 1989 with the PMG on Letter From Home. Taking into account a zone that Francies, and Gilmore are well acquainted with, Metheny turned the sunny Brazilian inspired melody into a dark, smoky, sexy funky R&B backbeat that framed his signature lyrical delivery in a new way with the guitarist leaning deep into Gilmore's groove. The drummer, who had a smoking feature a bit earlier on Coleman's “The Good Life” took a bit from the Steve Gadd R&B feel, playing the kick drum on 1 and 3, complemented by streaming cymbals up top adding to the funkines. It was easily one of the most radical transformations of a classic Metheny tune, and a highlight over 2 and a half hours.

After a tender “Message To A Friend” which debuted on John Scofield's I Can See Your House From Here (Blue Note, 1994) the center piece of the set was a suite of three new pieces composed for the band. Metheny explained to the audience that the flexibility of Francies and Gilmore gave him free reign to go into the area that interests him humorously quipping “I can write a piece with 49 pages of written material”. Francies set the tone with glittering sequenced synths, that served as an extension of the electronics heard on the title track of the Unity Group's Kin (<->) as some trademark Metheny harmonies from synths, wafted into the atmosphere. The guitarist began with a descending melody line doubled by bass that transitioned into different sections aided by a baby version of the large Orchestrion, the acoustic mechanical instrument ensemble a part of his arsenal now for a decade. Metheny took two solos on the venerable Roland GR300 guitar synthesizer, with the second in heightened intensity guided by the heavy African flavor of the Orchestrion in tandem with Gilmore's cymbals. Gilmore demonstrated his fluency in Metheny's distinct bebop based camouflaged ride cymbal approach here, but was still infused with a looseness from his constant interaction with the guitarist. Throughout, Francies punctuation with gorgeously ambient analog like synth, and organ provided colors not heard in the music since Lyle Mays' tenure in the Metheny orbit, but his use of these electronica spiced colors added something found in the Houston based pianists own music, that is new an fresh in Metheny's oeuvre. After Metheny reprised the initial melody, the enthralling, cinematic new piece faded into the ether.

From there, Carolyn Chrzan, Metheny's long time guitar tech handed him a solid body electric that has been rarely seen (though it is spotted in the Orchestrion World Tour 2010 poster) and the trio launched into a moody, blues-rock ballad. Metheny started alone, playing a melody that at first vaguely seemed to suggest “Travels” but as it turned out was something completely new. Fans who have seen Side Eye have reported the tune as sounding seemingly un Metheny like, more in line with Eric Clapton or Eric Johnson. While they are correct the tune is somewhat reminiscent of music from them, and improvisation wise took him to less traveled roads, the melody was pure Metheny. He built into a distorted solo of raging intensity, Gilmore's rock beat and Francies' organ unyielding behind him. From the shouts in the audience, and heads bopping, the tune was completely satisfying and would be a winner on a recording as would the first new piece. Metheny returned to the GR300 for the final new tune, starting with a Coltrane like meditation, and once more, building up to a slow tension and release, utilizing his favorite double time device with drums and Orchestrion. His guitar synth playing this night was vibrant, energized, and he played more GR300 than perhaps any time I've seen him. With the GR300 he can get into the range of an alto or soprano saxophonist and in small group settings, as with the closing, much faster than usual “When We Were Free” (featuring a gorgeous Pikasso guitar intro) he can really channel the mid to late period Coltrane vibe, mixed with Ornette Coleman harmolodic asides. On both hollow body and guitar synth, the trumpet like aspect of his playing was on display more than ever as well. The show closed with an evolved acoustic medley of favorites that has been played as a closer since the Kin (↔) tour.

Pat Metheny, like Miles Davis, has been constantly evolving as a musician. His playing has been arguably better than ever and Side Eye is a wonderful forum to house all his instincts in one place, perhaps moreso than the Unity Group band and tour. As great as that band and resulting albums were and are, Side Eye offers something undeniably vital. Jazz is a music that thrives on adding to it's rich traditions and history. At it's best the music reveres it's tradition while moving things ahead into the possibilities of the present and looks towards the future. While there are a segment of fans who pine for the return of the Pat Metheny Group, which dissolved in 2010 after more than 30 years, Metheny is giving younger generations who grew up completely familiar in his unique musical universe, the chance to make their mark in their voice, opening new vistas. The thing that everyone loves about him is still there, Metheny can play densely or lyrically-- it's just expanded to greater capacity, eschewing the fat for more concise solos and tunes. He's doing what every great jazz musician should do and that's move forward. Side Eye very well may be the finest group he’s lead in years.

#pat metheny #james francies #marcus gilmore

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ladenahq · 5 years

Note

Mw MOC?

Fantastic question! Here are some lovely gents I’d love to see on the dash when we open for interactions:

Dev Patel

Manny Montana

Peter Gadiot

Charles Michael Davis

Idris Elba

Manny Jacinto

Trevante Rhodes

Henry Golding

Danny Pino

Steven Yeun

Raul Castillo

Michael B. Jordan

Rahul Kohli

Daniel Kaluuya

Laith Ashley

Varun Saranga

Michael Trevino

Bob Morley

Don Cheadle

Terry Crews

Mehcad Brooks

William Jackson Harper

Keahu Kahuanui

Mahershala Ali

Fawad Khan

Chadwick Boseman

Sterling K. Brown

Carlos Valdes

Adam Rodriguez

#wanted fc #oc rp #town rp #rpc #rpg #anon #answered

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waqasblog2 · 5 years

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Marty the grocery store robot is a glimpse into our hell-ish future

Attention shoppers: I've seen the future of grocery store technology, and let me tell you, we can do better.

I’m no Marty McFly. I simply reside in a small Connecticut town, which means that in addition to doing Extremely New England things like commuting to the city on the Metro North, bragging about beaches, and the fact that the state inspired the picturesque fictional town in Gilmore Girls, I occasionally spend some time on the weekends shopping for groceries at a local Stop & Shop.

Prior to 2019, the Stop & Shop shopping experience was similar to that offered by most any other large grocery store chain. But this year, Stop & Shop introduced giant, gray, aisle-patrolling robots at more than 200 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey.

Now, food shopping comes with unprecedented levels of anxiety and absurdity.

Sneaking a peek while Marty is safely docked.

Image: nicole gallucci / mashable

Each of the robots weighs a massive 140-pounds and costs a whopping $35,000. Oddly, all of the robots are named Marty, and atop their tall frames — which tower over my own 5 foot, 3 inch stature — rests a large pair of google eyes. You know, so as not to come off as complete faceless, emotionless, lifeless bots. If you’re confused as to what these rolling mechanical columns do, Martys also wear the following description on their bodies like a name tag:

This store is monitored by Marty for your safety. Marty is an autonomous robot that uses image capturing technology to report spills, debris, and other potential hazards to store employees to improve your shopping experience.

Essentially, once Marty identifies a hazard using its sensors, it stops in its tracks, changes its signature operating lights from blue to yellow, and repeatedly announces, "Caution, hazard detected," in English and Spanish. One of several catches to their existence, however, is that the robots don't actually clean anything.

Marty does a whole lot of nothing

Marty is advertised as an aisle-sweeping superhero, but it's simply a messenger that shouts about a problem until a more capable human comes and removes whatever the hazard may be. Upon learning this fact, some people, like myself and the woman heard in this video shared by Twitter user @jennlynnjordan, are rightfully confused.

Apparently my supermarket has just gotten a robot. Its name is Marty. It detects spills. Doesn’t clean them, just starts shouting if it sees one. pic.twitter.com/xnRuV8LBCU

— Jennifer Jordan (@jennlynnjordan) July 23, 2019

"Oh, I thought it washed the floor," the unimpressed mystery shopper can be heard saying. "Wow... I've got my husband to tell me there's a mess!” she continued, delivering a burn to both Marty and her semi-helpful hubby. As Jessica McKenzie reports for the New Food Economy , employees aren't the biggest fans of the machines either.

“It’s really not doing much of anything besides getting in the way,” an employee told McKenzie. And in some cases, the machines even create more work.

A January press release states that the in-store robots are supposed to "enable associates to spend more time serving and interfacing with customers," but one of the robot’s major flaws that its sensors appear to treat each hazard with the same level of caution. A harmless bottle cap or errant piece of cilantro will elicit the same response as a spill of clear liquid that someone could genuinely slip and injure themselves on, which means that in certain cases an employee may have to take time that could be spent interacting with a customer to walk across the store and grab a puny little grape that escaped a bag. Seems counterproductive!

The other day, we heard the googly eyed and friendly stop& shop robot alerting (in two different languages) of a found hazard! We braved it out to find out what this hazard was: a bottle cap! #robotLifeProblems pic.twitter.com/h965nscTy7

A post shared by Robert Schaufelberger (@dekorobert) on Jul 24, 2019 at 12:50pm PDT

I've only seen Marty "go off" once in the produce section. When an employee came to the rescue she couldn't seem to find the hazard, so in attempt to quiet the robot she scanned the floor and began picking up any fragment in sight — a questionable crumb, a plastic bread tag, a shred of corn husk. To this day I have no idea what minuscule object Marty was trying to warn me about, but after causing quite the scene it eventually resumed floor duty.

The feeling of shopping amidst a supermarket stalker

When Marty isn't getting all hot and bothered about an abandoned twist tie on the floor, you can find the robot beeping incessantly and lurking behind customers' backs.

Some shoppers — especially those with children — find the robots charming. Nancy Lesslie, who frequents a Stop & Shop in Quincy, Massachusetts, told the Boston Globe, "I talk to him [Marty] I take videos of him. I show them to my kids... he just makes me smile."

Others, however, find Marty's unfamiliar presence a bit unsettling.

Met Marty the robot in my local Stop & Shop last night. He followed me around the store. Still not sure how to feel about it. 🤔 #retail pic.twitter.com/a6C7GnNADn

@BenKissel @LPontheleft I finally met Marty today and he scared me as I turned the corner. He just roams around and makes ominous beeps constantly. Robots taking over at my local Stop and Shop in MA. pic.twitter.com/67xC3tbQYz

— Jennifer Jordan (@jennlynnjordan) July 23, 2019

Bucks County, PA on some next-level sci-fi shit pic.twitter.com/QAzdVsDZAl

— Krieger (@KriegerStyle) July 15, 2019

On one shopping trip while I was browsing a shelf filled with bags of quinoa, I realized that the possibility of Marty choosing my aisle to turn down filled me with genuine anxiety. As Marty's beeps grew louder and closer I literally held my breath and prepared to speed-walk away if necessary to avoid an encounter. After seeing Marty roll past my aisle I triumphantly thought, "That's right. Keep rolling."

Remember that one debate in October 2016 when Trump was shadowing Hillary Clinton like a magnetic ghost? That's how I feel whenever Marty is around. The googly eyes soften the machine's appearance for a few seconds, but once you break off the staring contest you're reminded that you're in the presence of a rolling piece of tech that uses laser sensing and cameras.

Marty Mc... Why?

Ultimately, these robots feel more like a burden than a benefit. They're way too large, way too beep-y, way too pricey, and they seem to create additional tedious work for employees.

You're telling me Marty has to be this huge? We're the same humans that created the Roomba, and yeah, it sometimes runs over dog poop and makes a mess, but at least it's small and capable of cleaning.

And is it really worth investing $35,000 in a mostly useless machine when Stop & Shop has reportedly cut back on staffing and made money problems clear to employees?

The robots did have one perk, though. They actually increased human interaction and led me to interact with employees and fellow shoppers more than usual. Nothing more unifying than a couple of humans chatting over shared robot confusion. As time passes and we further acquaint ourselves with Marty's presence, though, that conversation will die down.

Met this robot in Stop and Shop today Are the eyes to make it more relatable? Distract us from the robot takeover? Comic relief?? Ironically increased human interaction in the store because everyone is talking about it pic.twitter.com/eJ6oAWQCgK

— Alexa Sterling (@AquaticSterling) January 27, 2019

While Stop & Shop's tech innovations have made headlines recently, they aren't the only stores to test out robots. Westfield malls in California introduced Pepper, a cute 4-foot-tall humanoid robot, in 2016, and even Walmart plans to bring thousands of autonomous floor scrubbers to stores next year.

In June, Stop & Shop began bringing Marty to stores in New York, and by the end of the year, 500 of the robots will be in Stop & Shop stores and Giant food stores — another supermarket chain owned by the Netherlands-based parent company, Ahold Delhaize.

Perhaps if I wasn't so paranoid of technology and didn't live through billions of email addresses getting hacked, millions of Facebook users being impacted by security breaches, rumors that Amazon Echo devices are spying on us, and more I would be more accepting of Marty. But for now, I just want to shop for groceries in peace.

This content was originally published here.

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sterlingthepolisher · 8 years

Video

youtube

To be successful in your business, in your relationships, and in your life, you must fully engage and invest in your personal development. Investing time, energy and money into personal development will be the #1 factor to your success. You are invited to join me at POLISHED Con 2017, my 2 day conference of transformation through personal development. #PolishMe #GetPOLISHED #TheUltimatePersonalDevelopmentExperience http://bit.ly/polished2017fbevent Reserve Your Seat at http://ift.tt/2krwtki What is POLISHED Con? POLISHED Con is designed to be the Ultimate Personal Development Experience POLISHED Con is a platform to provide the unique space, resources, support and community for women of color to develop and thrive through the transformation of personal development, where they can see other women of color that are on the same journey and beyond. I created POLISHED Con to share the importance of personal development, as well as providing access to the necessary tools, resources, community, and implementable steps, a person needs during their process of personal development. Who is it for? Who will it serve? My motto is “You can’t be, who you don’t see! On my own journey of personal development, As a woman of color in New England, navigating the women empowerment and business space I have had to look outside of my community, my state and my region for resources, conferences, mentors, and support. I have traveled to California, Virginia, Texas and Atlanta to find women that I could Identify with and that could help me navigate my journey to success in my personal life and business. Now I am bringing the ULTIMATE Personal Development Experience to Providence, Rhode Island! POLISHED Con is for the Person who is ready to live the POLISHED Lifestyle of Leading and Shining Bright in all areas of their life! Are you ready to live a life of: Purpose Opportunity Leadership Impact/ Influence Help (aiding in Your rescue) Experience Dreaming Awake What is included in your Experience at POLISHED Con: -General Admission to 2 Days of POLISHED Con -Breakfast and Lunch Provided -POLISHED Swag Bag -International Keynote Speaker -8 Dynamic Presenters -Live entertainment -Interactive workshops and activities -POLISHED Panel -Community building -Admission to Book Signing -Admission to 90's Party We only have 55 seats available so make sure you purchase your tickets ASAP at http://ift.tt/2ldIoE0 **Payment plans are available** FAQs When should I book my room? Our suggest is to book your room as soon as possible to ensure you get in on the event hotel room blocks at the discounted rate. Once all the rooms in our block are booked the conference discount will not be applied to any room other room bookings at the destinated hotel. What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event? The Hilton Garden Inn provides easy access to TF Green Airport, just 12 miles away. Use their shuttle service to explore downtown Providence, Brown University and the surrounding areas. What should I bring with me for training? Our suggestion is notepad and pen. Some bring their laptop to take notes. There is limited electrical plug in for charging. What is the dress code during the event? Dress code for training is business casual. Please bring a sweater or jacket for conference event rooms can be a little chilly. On Saturday night it is time to get creative and have fun for our POLISHED Nights 90's Themed Party party and Book Signing!! Come dressed in your best 90's influenced outfit! How can I contact the organizer with any questions? Send your emails to [email protected] Refund Policy: What if I purchase a ticket then have an emergency and am unable to attend the conference? Due to the cost of producing a LIVE event all tickets are non-refundable. Our suggestion is to bless someone else with your ticket if you choose. by Sterling, "The Polisher"

#Speaker Speakertips Marketing Womenceo WomensEpowerment

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onebigerror · 11 months

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@araneorum

‘nobody knows how to tie the simple knots that i know…’ the first track of the playlist she'd picked for that night started before the intoxicated dancer made her way out on to the stage. she stumbled but quickly caught herself. even after her usual cocktail of a few lines and just as many shots in the backroom, sterling was still better than all the dancers combined at hell on heels. she knew it. everyone knew it. that’s why they sat through the insufferable just to catch a glimpse of the alluring ‘silver bullet’ and toss her their money in hopes of a few minutes of her attention. it was always the same but somehow she managed to change things up night after night so none of them knew what to expect.

'getting weak in the knees and your bruises are beginning to show...the only way she knows how to take it is blow by blow'

the beautiful daughter of the club owner and eventual leader of the saints grinded against the pole and looked out at the crowd. the old fucks that were regulars blurred into one until her eyes finally landed on a fresh face. one that she was sure she’d never seen before. sterling would recognize him if she had, that’s how much this one stood out. he was the one she locked eyes on as she shaked her hips and ran her fingers over her leather top, slowly untying each button.

'she grinds her leather like liberace rhines a stone. she rides just like a pony, gonna sign that filly up for the rodeo'

the faster pussycat song continued on almost as an afterthought as men tossed their hard earned dollars in her direction and called out for some of “silver bullets’ coveted attention. attention they didn’t receive. all she could see was him. it was as though the rest of the audience didn’t exist.

'where, where there's a whip there's a way. i'm gonna take you, gonna take you away' the first song came to an end. it was too soon to go out for a lap dance, she still had plenty of clothes to shed.

#araneorum #↾ sterling x joseph (001 / araneorum) ↿#↾ ֍ sterling rhodes ⋯ closed starter ֎ ↿#↾ ֍ sterling rhodes ⋯ interactions ֎ ↿#↾ ֍ sterling rhodes ⋯ answered ֎ ↿#↾ ֍ all queued up : queue ֎ ↿

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onebigerror · 9 months

Text

@araneorum continued from here

the dancer before her had been awful. sterling tried never to shame her co-workers but she’d be the first to admit that this girl sucked. she didn’t even know how she’d gotten the job but she was sure she wouldn’t keep it for very long. needless to say, it wouldn’t take much to put on a better show than what shelly had just suffered through. she could do that even if the stripper before her had been amazing. she was just good at what she did and very confident in her abilities. it also helped that she loved her job. sterling had been dancing for the past three years - since she was eighteen years old - and she didn’t plan on giving it up any time soon.

seeing shelly’s previous look of boredom disappear was enough to let sterling know she had her hooked. already. mission accomplished. not that she’d ever had any doubts in herself. their eyes locked and a flirtatious wink was given to the woman as she started to unzip her leather jacket and run her black polished nails over her bare breasts beneath. all the men who were practically drooling over her and throwing money were completely disregarded. most were the same losers that came there to pine over her night after night and right now she couldn't care less. all her attention was on shelly.

the money doesn’t go without notice. it’s more than most of the loser saps out there ever paid her but it’s not her main concern. sterling has money and isn’t hurting for anything but if the other woman wants to shower her with presents, she won’t stop her. she’s busy grinding the pole and circling her already hard, pink nipples as shelly leans forward and places it near her feet. not wanting to seem unappreciative - that would surely get her in trouble with her asshole father - she drops to her knees and picks it up. standing again she tucks it into the pocket of her jacket along with all the other much smaller offerings she grabs off the stage. might as well take the ‘spare change’ the loser men think she needs.

the song ends and another one starts as sterling lets her jacket slid completely off her slim shoulders. this one was planned especially for shelly.

'i wanna see your pussy everybody says it's nice...can i can and come and visit? i'll be at your house tonight...' lords of acid blares from the speakers.

she rocks her hips into the pole as the song plays. at this point she's practically fucking it. stupid men hoot at her and she does acknowledge a few. it’s her job after all. but it’s brief compared to what she gives shelly. it’s obvious that the whole show was catered just to her.

she swayed her hips a little and played with her nipples, pinching and rolling them between her fingers, as the song continued. she moved to the center of the stage for what had to be her favorite lyrics.

'i want to see your pussy, show it to me. i want to bet your pussy ain't as pretty as mine. i don't hide my pussy like you do all the time...'

quickly her hand slipped down to rub the front of her black g-string a little. after that, with one quick motion, she tugged the silk to the side to give shelly - and all those idiot men - something she rarely ever did on stage. there was a quick flash of bare skin before she jerked the fabric right back in place. that was all she was giving for now.

#araneorum #↾ ֍ sterling rhodes ⋯ interactions ֎ ↿#↾ sterling x shelly (001 / araneorum) ↿#↾ ֍ all queued up : queue ֎ ↿

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onebigerror · 1 year

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@laebyrinths

sterling knew the drill. put on a good show and make a good impression. make the saints look good no matter what. she'd been given only a few hours notice that the 'big boss lady' was going to be coming to the club that night to meet with her father. she also planned to hang around and watch some of the girls dance too because, in the words of her dear old dad, 'that was her thing.' although she'd never met shelly, sterling still knew the importance of keeping those in charge happy. she'd seen plenty of examples of what happened to those that didn't and she knew better than to make that mistake.

she'd been meticulous about picking out her music and outfit for the night, determined to show their visitor the good time she deserved. sterling had a lot of respect for a woman in such a high position and could only imagine the stress she was under. it was her job to help her relax and she intended to do just that. and truth be told, she was looking forward to it. sterling pulled on her leather jacket and took the last few puffs of the cigarette dangling between her lips as the girl before her exited the stage. she felt a surge of excitement mixed with nervousness as she was announced and the first song on her ‘strip list’ started to play.

‘up next...a bullet you’d never want to dodge..’ the cigarette was tossed and stomped on out with the toe of her black stiletto as she sauntered out on stage and immediately spotted her special guest. she’d gear her show and most of her attention towards her. ‘silver bullet...’ right after they said her stage name she was moving towards the pole in the center of the stage. y&t’s lipstick and leather blaring loud from the speakers.

‘lipstick and leather. black and red, oh yeah. lipstick and leather. rock and roll, baby. made a mess of my head..’

her blue eyes locked with on shelly and she didn’t look away as she rocked her hips against the pole. no one had told her that the mob boss was this much of a looker with those kissable lips and doll-like features. it was sterling’s turn to be impressed. a vip invite was definitely in her future before the end of the night.

#↾ ֍ sterling rhodes ⋯ closed starter ֎ ↿#↾ ֍ sterling rhodes ⋯ interactions ֎ ↿#↾ ֍ all queued up : queue ֎ ↿#↾ sterling x shelly (001 / araneorum) ↿#araneorum

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glee-dsm-events2 · 5 years

Photo

Alright everyone it’s that time of year again for the summer camping trip! This year is a special treat as the institute will be traveling to the rural area of Hardwick, New Jersey, which is the actual camp used in the motion picture Friday the 13th! We will all be going to the original Camp Crystal Lake for a week of outdoor fun! The coach bus will be leaving on Wednesday July 10th and returning July 15th. (following information is IC, unless otherwise stated)

RULES

No drugs or alcohol on the camp grounds.

No wandering outside of the grounds.

Remember there are guards and camp staff everywhere.

You must be in your assigned cabins/rooms from 12am-6am every night.

Curfew is 12am-6am and will be strictly monitored.

CABIN ASSIGNMENTS

Each cabin has three bedrooms (each room has two extra-long twin beds), one bathroom, a living area (with TV, DVD player, DVD’s, gaming systems, board games etc), fire pit outside the cabin, and a fully stocked kitchen area.

CABIN 1 -

Mateo Lopez

Declan Corcoran

Jamie Beiste

Tobias Karofsky

Nick Duval

Oliver Smythe

CABIN 2 -

Sam Evans

Daniel Schuester

Mercedes Jones

Blaine Evans

Scarlett St. James

Jeremy Wilde

CABIN 3 -

Nate Lynn

Riley Hummel

Ryan Fabray

Rachel Berry

Silas Lynn

Isaac Sylvester

CABIN 4 -

Ainsley Corcoran

Matthias Beiste

Hunter Clarington

Eli Hummel

Bel Hart

Brittany Pierce

CABIN 5 -

Noah Duval

Kirin Rhodes

Valentine Chang

Lavender Motta

Layla Schuester

Jocelyn Sterling

CABIN 6 -

Bentley Jones

Katie Clarington

Ferdinand Abrams

Bailey Rhodes

Sky Evans

Malia Fabray

CABIN 7 -

Judas Berry

Deni Sterling

Aerolyn Pierce

Cat Lopez

Archer Clarington

Maverick Lynn

CABIN 8 -

Frankie Wilde

Eric Anderson

Summer Evans

Remy Hudson

Marco Motta

Presley Rose

CABIN 9 -

Bowie Rose

Kurt Hummel

Ryder Lynn

Robin Sylvester

Gray Hudson

Lennon Corcoran

CABIN 10 -

Adam Sylvester

Jackson Schuester

Elliot Smythe

Ethan Berry

Clark Abrams

Franco Hart

CABIN 11 -

Sebastian Smythe

Caleb Duval

Tim St. James

Shea Flanagan

Elijah Beiste

Beau Adams

ACTIVITIES

Upon arrival, the camp staff will explain where everything is, etc. They will also tell the tale of Jason Voorhees and how the camp was the set for the Friday the 13th movie. They will mention weird things that have happened at the camp - things going missing, weird shadows, open doors/windows randomly, supposed Jason sightings, etc, and remind everyone to be safe and careful.

The camp as the following activities on grounds - swimming, paddle boats, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, archery, basketball, kickball, flag football, tennis, horseshoes, volleyball, arts and crafts, ropes course, biking, roller skating, nature hikes, horseback riding, arts classes (photography, drawing, ceramics, painting, writing, etc), and cooking classes.

OOC

So to recap:

Remember that there are guards and camp staff around all the time, so if your character breaks a rule, there will be consequences.

ALL major plots (triggering and/or involving several people) must be approved by admin.

If there’s an activity not listed, just run it by J or me quick - though honestly, most camp-appropriate activities would be approved. We just don’t want things getting unrealistic and out of control.

At some point during this trip, there will be a plot twist that will likely effect a day or day and a half or so. No, we are not saying what it is, so please do not bombard us with messages about it. We’re just letting you know a head of time so y’all can be looking out for it.

This is meant to be fun, an event to get people talking about new things and to other people as well as to explore our writing skills and get creative. Some IC drama is likely and encouraged, but let’s keep the OOC drama out of it. There are plenty of people to interact with.

Any questions, ask.

#gleedsmevent #event #gleedsmcampingtrip #camping #camp crystal lake

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jazzviewswithcjshearn · 5 years

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Live gig review: Jeremy Pelt Quintet at Smoke Jazz and Supper Club “The Artist” CD release, November 10, 2019. First set

Jeremy Pelt: trumpet; Chien Chien Lu: vibraphone; Victor Gould: piano; Richie Goods: bass; Alan Mednard: drums.

Over the past decade plus, Jeremy Pelt has truly cemented his place as a trumpet titan. Over his long career, his bold brassy tone and audacious ideas have put him at the forefront of so called mainstream jazz (a widely blanket term that now includes straight ahead, Latin, funk and hip hop influences) where his Max Jazz and HighNote releases have received wide critical acclaim. Pelt has also played in lineups that have honored Freddie Hubbard's infamous Night Of The Cookers, on organist Jared Gold's debut as a leader, and the forthcoming album by Connie Han. As a leader, Pelt has put forth his most ambitious album, The Artist and at Smoke Jazz and Supper Club on November 10th, the trumpeter concluded his 4 night birthday run at the hallowed venue with a superlative quintet consisting of rising star vibraphonist, Chien Chien Lu, pianist Victor Gould, bassist Richie Goods and drummer Alan Mednard.

Though the record featured Vincente Archer on bass,Gould and Frank LoCrasto a long time Pelt associate on Rhodes, there was never any question throughout the first set that the quintet is a strong working unit with Gould and Goods respectively. The incredibly warm and amiable trumpeter announced that one of his favorite pastimes is to go to museums. Pelt was commissioned to write a piece based around the work of the artist Rodin with five impressions of what certain figures would be like. Paris is one of his favorite places to visit, and before embarking on the Smoke gigs, the band played Paris. The quintet wasted no time in getting to the first movement “L'appel aux Armes”,whose kaleidoscopic textures made way for Pelt's bursting tone to spiral daring ideas in an intense inner dialogue with Mednard. Gould and Lu also shined brightly. Gould had a wonderful feature on “Dignity and Despair” demonstrating a harmonic resourcefulness, along with Lu's deeply soulful contribution. The suite finale, “Epilogue” featured a lengthy spot for Richie Goods, melodic and heavily rhythmic bass, which demonstrated why he has been a first call New York bassist for quite some time. The piece was a torrid showcase for Lu trading eight bar phrases mountain of choruses with Gould, the intensity getting impossibly hot from the combination of their trades and Mednard's highly interactive comping with ocean waves of cymbal crashes and massive snare and tom work. After the suite, Pelt launched into an incredibly sensitive “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” where his rich, sterling tone sang the lyrics, while the vibraphonist again stepped up to take another memorable, deeply felt solo, combining Milt Jackson's earthiness with the forward thinking of Bobby Hutcherson and wide eyed wonder and exploration of Stefon Harris, one of her heroes. The set closed with “Ceramic”.

The Jeremy Pelt Quintet is great vehicle for the trumpeter to explore some of his finest writing in a live setting, with a group of players that makes listening and exciting interaction a priority. Smoke is also a terrific, intimate venue which makes the audience as much a part of the proceedings as the musicians themselves. It was abundantly clear that the group was inspired by the audience's attentive listening and enthusiastic reactions, and on the final night of a four night run everything worked on all cylinders. The band has been playing this material for quite a while, so whenever one can get the chance to see this group live it is more than worth it.

#Jeremy Pelt #chien chien lu #richie goods #rodin #jazz #trumpet

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littleredroseonthevalley · 6 years

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An Opera on Separation - Chapter 3

Prologue | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | CH. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15 | Ch. 16 | Ch. 17 | Ch. 18 |

Summary: Emily settles in to her new life in the city, while having a fortunate encounter with Zig at the teacher’s lounge. Queenie join the ranks of the New York drug dealers.

Rating: M - Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with non-explicit suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, or coarse language.

Notes: Howdhy-ho, everyone! How’s Monday for you? How did you like the (shitty) TJ finale?

Today we have a Michael Jackson classic as theme song, so give it a listen. Also, I don’t bite (hard), so subscribe to the taglist and to my blog for all the juicest updates!

Smooth Criminal

The days passed by quickly, and soon enough it was Thursday. Emily barely noticed her first week of employment go through her, mostly because she has been so busy trying to get a footing of her new teaching career, all in the while juggling a burden in form of a parent and the set-up of an apartment.

All on her own, mind you.

She sure felt tired, but the weekend was impending, and she surely wouldn’t mind sleeping the Sunday away. It was cheap entertainment, after all.

The woman was jolted back from her thoughts by a voice coming from behind her back: “Hey, Emily.”

“Oh, hi, Zig!” She smiled at him. “I don’t see you since the meeting.”

“Yeah, I use my lunch time to have my office hours, but my students decided to give me a reprieve today.” His pearly whites flashed at her. “How are you doing, Emily? We barely had any time to talk these last few days.”

Zigmund Ortega. Only brother to four sisters. The bad boy of the Hartfeld Knights. Connecticut’s Double Threat. He was a friend from college of Emily’s, a dear one at that. They met back on her freshman year, when he worked as a barista on her favorite coffeeshop on campus.

Zig was the first recipient to the Second Chance Scholarship Program, sponsored by the now-former-NFL player and current Senator for Maine, Christopher Powell. As students, she and Chris were close friends, and when he decided to put forward Zig as a test student for the endowment.

Since Chris’ choice was due much to her own insistence, Emily felt highly-responsible about the young man. While she admits to her own hovering, it did forge a lasting relationship between them.

After Graduation, not unlike most of her relations back then, the friendship between them faded slowly, both immersed in their own lives. However, she did know that he majored in Mathematics, achieving his degree with honors and high praise amongst the New English academic community.

“I’m fine. I’m a little overwhelmed with the move and New York City, but I’m really pumped up.” Her lips turned up and her eyes shone. “It’s my first experience as a teacher. I won’t lie, it has been really hard, but I’m loving it so far!”

“Heh, that’s the feeling, alright. It’s that kind of profession you give your all, and it’s so worth it!” He smirked in response. “But, tell me, why Mrs. Sterling chose this school out of all others to teach?”

Her expression dimmed. “I’m Ms. Harper, now. Nathan and I got divorced back on Spring.”

The hazel eyes widened. The man sure wasn’t expecting that. “Jeez, Em, I’m sorry. I didn’t know!”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like it was on the papers or anything. We agreed we preferred to keep it discreet.” The redhead dismissed. “But tell me, Mr. Dean’s List, I could ask you the same question. You could teach anywhere you wanted. Why Lydia Child?”

“Well, sure I could teach at some college or at that Lanes prep school. Heck, I sure would earn a lot more cash than I do here.” He pondered. “But, those students have a whole bunch of opportunities. Here in Rosewood Creek, we’re all these kids got. I just feel I’m more needed here than anywhere else.”

“That’s… that’s very noble of you.” Emily said, surprised and admired with his reasoning. “I’m sure you’re very appreciated around here. I mean, I don’t interact much with the younger pupils, but the GED students love your classes, and the other teachers all seem to sing you praise in the halls.”

Zig let out a self-conscious laugh. “I don’t do this for being praised.”

The woman’s head nodded. “I know. That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it.”

“I suppose it’s nice to be recognized for it.” He conceded.

Before long, the bell rings. “Well, that’s me.” The redhead said.

“I’ll see you around, then.” He responded.

She beamed at him. “You sure will.”

Queenie Rhodes was a rightful mess.

With the hair tied on a wide, straight bun on top of her head, a muddy-colored dress she borrowed from her daughter’s bland wardrobe and no make-up whatsoever, she looked just like some Human Sciences professor.

It was a necessary evil, however, as she had to blend in the crowd that attended Columbia’s library.

She strutted confidently to the reference desk and said to the librarian: “Good morning. Could you tell me where the metaphysics books are located at?”

“It’s all the way in the back, to your left.” The aide pointed. “Do you want me to accompany you?”

“There’s no need, thank you.” The older woman smiled and walked away.

Queenie walked over to the aisle, her short heels tapping on the sleek floor. The wide windows of Butler Library let in the soft sunlight from the outside, as the day was overcast.

Her sources say that particular area of the library was used for all sorts of shady deals and exchanges. It didn’t come as a surprise, as the place had little attendance, and its positioning within the building did not favor natural lightning.

She found a table and sat next to a young girl, dressed on a heavy coat and fidgeting.

“Did you bring it?” The girl anxiously asked.

Queenie takes the small vial off her book bag and hands it over to the girl. “Twenty doses of focus pills. Two hundred dollars.”

She slides two hundred-dollar bills, which Queenie shoves on the bag. The girl pops a pill and the woman slides the chair back again and stand up to leave.

It was way too easy to sell those stressed students some sleeping pills as amphetamine. Not only that particular brand of sleep medicine was much cheaper than Adderall, it also took weeks for them to realize the problem was the drugs, not the fact they were only too tired for it to work.

By then, they would have forgotten all about her, and they wouldn’t be able to complain.

As she was leaving, she stopped by the reference desk. “Hey, miss? I saw a girl passed out on the desk over at the back.”

The librarian huffed, stressed. “Not this again! Thank you, ma’am, I’ll take care of it.”

Emily unlocked the front door of her apartment and announced, a little too loud for such a small place: “Mom! I’m home!”

As she placed her bag on the kitchen counter, her mother, laid on the couch reading a fashion magazine, greeted her: “Hey, honey. How’s work today?”

“Just fine.” She commented, as she walks into the kitchen. “I had lunch with Zig today.”

“Oh, that hunky friend of yours from college, right?” The older woman asks, captiously. “Shame he ends up on such a filthy place!”

“We ended up in ‘such a filthy place’, as you so gracefully put it.” The redhaired points out, rather annoyed. “It’s not shameful. And, in any case, Zig works at Rosewood Creek by choice.”

“Work dignifies man, and all that crap, I know.” Queenie dismissed. “Why would someone in their right mind choose to work in Uptown Manhattan?”

“He’s a very talented teacher, mom. He thinks the children here would benefit more than the spoilt brats at Park Avenue.” She counters. “I don’t want to have this discussion again with you. How was your day?”

“I picked up the groceries like you asked me to.” She responded.

“And where’s the change?” Emily asks, defying.

“There was no change. The money you left me was short.” The older woman responded, closing her magazine and walking over to the kitchen.

The daughter shook her head. “Mom, there’s no way the money I gave you wasn’t enough for food.”

“Ugh, fine!” Queenie pulled a twenty-dollar bill from her bra. “Here.”

The youngest looked at the money and at the woman. “Are you absolutely sure that’s all?”

“Yes, Emily!” She demeans. “This is all.”

The ginger took the bill and placed it on the purse with a cautious look to the woman. The matriarch held the poker face, mostly because there was thirty more dollars of change she pocketed.

Instead, the woman said: “What’s for dinner?”

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An Opera on Separation - Masterlist

#an opera on separation #the junior #zigmund ortega

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