#cpa subjects

[best-accounting-courses]

How Long is Each Section of the CPA Exam, and How Much Time Does the Overall Process Take to Complete?

The CPA exam is a rigorous and detailed assessment of an individual’s accounting knowledge and skills. Each section of the CPA exam has specific time constraints and requirements, and understanding these can help candidates plan their preparation effectively.

Exam Duration for Each Section:

Auditing and Attestation (AUD): This section is four hours long. It tests knowledge related to auditing processes, including planning and performing audits and evaluating internal controls.

Business Environment and Concepts (BEC): The BEC section is also four hours in duration. It covers business concepts such as corporate governance, economic concepts, and financial management.

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR): The FAR section is the most extensive, lasting four hours. It focuses on financial accounting standards, reporting, and financial statements.

Regulation (REG): The REG section is four hours long and assesses knowledge in areas such as ethics, professional and legal responsibilities, and tax regulations.

Completion Time for the CPA Exam Process:

Preparation Time: Candidates usually spend 6 to 12 months preparing for the CPA exams. This includes studying for each section, taking practice exams, and attending review courses.

Scheduling and Taking Exams: The CPA exam is offered year-round at Prometric testing centers. Candidates can schedule each section individually. The entire process of taking all four sections typically spans from 6 to 12 months, depending on the candidate’s schedule and test-taking strategy.

Waiting for Results: After taking each section, candidates must wait approximately 6 to 8 weeks for their results. If a section is not passed, candidates can retake it, which can add additional time to the process.

Overall, the time to complete the CPA exam process, from preparation through passing all four sections, generally takes 6 - 12 months. This duration may vary based on individual study habits, test-taking schedules, and whether any sections need to be retaken. Effective preparation and strategic scheduling are essential for successfully navigating the CPA exam process within this timeframe.

[milescpareview]

A Comprehensive Guide to the CPA Syllabus: Key Course Subjects and Study Tips

The CPA Exam includes four sections: AUD, BEC, FAR, and REG. AUD covers audit procedures and ethics; BEC focuses on corporate governance and financial management; FAR deals with financial statements and GAAP vs. IFRS; REG covers federal taxation and business law. Study tips: plan, use review courses, practice exams, join groups, seek mentorship, and maintain balance. Explore Miles programs to advance your career!

[fintramglobal001]

US CPA Webinar 2024 : Why CA Students Should Pursue US CPA 

🌟 US CPA Webinar 2024: Why CA Students Should Pursue US CPA 🌟 Join us for an insightful webinar on the benefits of pursuing the US CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation for CA (Chartered Accountancy) students. In this webinar, we will explore: * The global recognition and career opportunities that come with a US CPA license. * How the US CPA complements the CA qualification and enhances your professional profile. * The exam structure, eligibility requirements, and practical tips for preparing and passing the US CPA exams.

📅 Date: 24 Feb 2024

⏰ Time: 5:00 pm

Register now to secure your spot and take the first step towards a rewarding international career in accounting!

[imwritesometimes]

trying out new recipes/baking techniques/decoration ideas means having 80 million tabs open in ur mobile browser 🙃

[fazcinatingblog]

Might waste another $1000 on a CPA subject like Australian taxation just for the fun of it

[cosmicpuzzle]

Which Education🎓📚 is right for you?

Mercury rules your interest and consequently which type of course you would select.

Now you have to see how Mercury is placed. For example if Mercury is conjunct Moon it would have same effect as Mercury in Cancer or Moon opposite Mercury.

Mercury -Sun: It is called Budh Aditya yoga. These people can shine in political science, geology, sociology, medicine and they can be good leaders too. They may prepare for competitive exams.

Mercury-Moon: Some changes or confusion in choice of course. Can study more than one subject but both vastly different from each other. Chemical, hotel management, nutrition, chef, psychology, tarot and intuitive studies.

Mercury-Mars: Some obstacles in education, breaks and interruptions (dropping classes), engineering (especially related to machines, drawings, plans, civil, electronics), medicine (especially related to surgery), fire and safety engineering,

Mercury-Venus: Sales, marketing, HR, interior designing, makeup courses, all type of fine arts, vocational courses, acting courses.

Mercury-Saturn: Engineering (like construction , petroleum, mining core subjects), structural engineering, drafting, administrative studies.

Mercury-Jupiter: Finance, CPA, CMA, accounting, teaching, law field, journalism, VJ, pilots, aeronautical.

Mercury- Rahu: Chemical, nuclear subjects, cinematography, software courses, digital marketing, share markets, computer hardware, import export, AI, Machine Learning courses.

Mercury-Ketu: Computer coding, electrical engineering, bio technology, astrology, virology, research oriented fields.

For Readings DM

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Kickstarting the Red Team Blues audiobook, which Amazon won't sell (read by Wil Wheaton!)

Red Team Blues is my next novel, a post-cyberpunk anti-finance finance thriller; it’s a major title for my publishers Tor Books and Head of Zeus, and it’s swept the trade press with starred reviews all ‘round. Despite all that, Audible will not sell the audiobook. In fact, Audible won’t sell any of my audiobooks. Instead, I have to independently produce them and sell them through Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/21/anti-finance-finance-thriller/#marty-hench

Audible is Amazon’s monopoly audiobook platform. It has a death-grip on the audiobook market, commanding more than 90% of genre audiobook sales, and every single one of those audiobooks is sold with Amazon’s DRM on it. That means that you can’t break up with Amazon without throwing away those audiobooks. Under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I can’t give you a tool to convert my own copyrighted audiobooks to a non-Amazon format. Doing so is a felony carrying a five year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine for an act that in no way infringes anyone’s copyright! Indeed, merely infringing copyright is much less illegal than removing Amazon’s mandatory DRM from my own books!

I’ve got amazing publishers who support my crusade against DRM, but they’re not charities. If they can’t sell my audiobooks on the platform that represents 90% of the market, they’re not going to make audio editions at all. Instead, I make my own audiobooks, using brilliant voice actors like Amber Benson and @neil-gaiman​, and I sell them everywhere except Audible.

Doing this isn’t cheap: I’m paying for an incredible studio (Skyboat Media), a world-class director (Gabrielle de Cuir), top-notch sound editing and mastering, and, of course, killer narrators. And while indie audiobook platforms like Libro.fm and downpour.com are amazing, the brutal fees extracted by Apple and Google on app sales means that users have to jump through a thousand hoops to shop with indie stores. Most audiobook listeners don’t even know that these stores exist: if a title isn’t available on Audible, they assume no audiobook exists.

That’s where Kickstarter comes in: twice now, I’ve crowdfunded presales of my audiobooks through KS, and these campaigns were astoundingly successful, smashing records and selling thousands of audiobooks. These campaigns didn’t just pay my bills (especially during lockdown, when our household income plunged), but they also showed other authors that it was possible to evade Amazon’s monopoly chokepoint and sell books that aren’t sticky-traps for Audible’s walled garden/prison:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/cory-doctorow/article/90282-we-wrote-a-book-about-why-audible-won-t-sell-our-book-and-snuck-it-onto-audible.html

And today, I’m launching the Kickstarter for Red Team Blues, and even by the standards of my previous efforts, I think this one’s gonna be incredible.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell

For starters, there’s the narrator: @wilwheaton​, whose work on my previous books is outstanding, hands-down my favorite (don’t tell my other narrators! They’re great too!):

https://wilwheaton.net/

Beyond Wil’s narration, there’s the subject matter. The hero of Red Team Blues is a hard-charging forensic accountant who’s untangled every Silicon Valley finance scam since he fell in love with spreadsheets as as a MIT freshman, dropped out, got his CPA ticket, and moved west. Now, at the age of 67, Marty Hench is ready to retire, but a dear old friend — a legendary cryptographer — drags him back for one last job — locating the stolen keys to the backdoor he foolishly hid in a cryptocurrency that’s worth more than a billion dollars.

That’s the starting gun for a “grabby next-Tuesday thriller” that sees Marty in between three-letter agencies and international crime syndicates, all of whom view digital technology as a carrier medium for scams, violence and predation. Marty’s final adventure involves dodgy banks, crooked crypto, and complicit officials in a fallen paradise where computers’ libertory promise has been sucked dry by billionaire vampires.

It’s a pretty contemporary story, in other words.

I wrote this one before SVB, before Sam Bankman0Fried and FTX — just like I wrote Little Brother before Snowden’s revelations. It’s not that I’m prescient — fortune-telling is a fatalist’s delusion — it’s that these phenomena are just the most spectacular, most recent examples in a long string of ghastly and increasingly dire scandals.

Red Team Blues blasted out of my fingertips in six weeks flat, during lockdown, when technology was simultaneously a lifeline, connecting us to one another during our enforced isolation; and a tool of predatory control, as bossware turned our “work from home” into “live at work.”

The last time I wrote a book that quickly, it was Little Brother, and, as with Little Brother, Red Team Blues is a way of working out my own anxieties and hopes for technology on the page, in story.

These books tap into a nerve. I knew I had something special in my hands when, the night after I finished the first draft, I rolled over at 2AM to find my wife sitting up in bed, reading.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I had to find out how it ended,” she answered.

The next day, my editor sent me a four-line email:

That. Was. A! Fucking! Ride! Whoa!

Within a week, he’d bought Red Team Blues…and two sequels. I finished writing the second of these on Monday, and all three are coming out in the next 22 months. It’s gonna be a wild ride.

Kickstarter backers can get the usual goodies: DRM-free audiobooks and ebooks, hardcovers (including signed and personalized copies), and three very special, very limited-run goodies.

First, there’s naming rights for characters in the sequels — I’m selling three of these; they’re a form of cheap (or at least, reasonably priced) literary immortality for you or a loved one. The sequels are a lot of fun — they go in reverse chronology, and the next one is The Bezzle, out in Feb 2024, a book about prison-tech scams, crooked LA County Sheriff’s Deputy gangs, and real-estate scumbags turned techbros.

The third book is Picks and Shovels (Jan 2025), and it’s Marty’s first adventure after he comes west to San Francisco and ends up working for the bad guys, an affinity scam PC company called “Three Wise Men” that’s run by a Mormon bishop, a Catholic priest and an orthodox rabbi who fleece their faithful with proprietary, underpowered computers and peripherals, and front for some very bad, very violent money-men.

Next, there’s three Marty Hench short story commissions: the Hench stories are machines for turning opaque finance scams into technothrillers. While finance bros use MEGO (“my eyes glaze over”) as a weapon to bore their marks into submission, I use the same performative complexity as the engines of taut detective stories. Commissioning a Hench story lets you turn your favorite MEGO scam into a science fiction story, which I’ll then shop to fiction websites (every story I’ve written for the past 20 years has sold, though in the event that one of these doesn’t, I’ll put it up under a CC license).

Finally, there’s a super-ultra-limited deluxe hardcover edition — and I do mean limited, just four copies! These leather-bound editions have Will Staehle’s fantastic graphic motif embossed in their covers, and the type design legend John D Berry is laying out the pages so that there’s space for a hidden cavity. Nestled in that cavity is a hand-bound early draft edition of The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues. The binding is being done by the fantastic book-artist John DeMerritt. Each copy’s endpapers will feature a custom cryptographic puzzle created especially for it by the cryptographer Bruce Schneier.

I often hear from readers who want to thank me for the work I do, from the free podcast I’ve put out since 2006 to the free, CC BY columns I’ve written for Pluralistic for the past three years. There is no better way to thank me than to back this Kickstarter and encourage your friends to do the same:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell

Preselling a ton of audiobooks, ebooks, and print books is a huge boost to the book on its launch — incomparable, really. Invaluable.

What’s more, helping me find a viable way to produce popular, widely heard audiobooks without submitting to Amazon’s DRM lock-in sets an example for other creators and publishers: we have a hell of a collective action problem to solve, but if we could coordinate a response to Audible demanding the right to decide whether our work should have their DRM, it would force Audible to treat all of us — creators, publishers and listeners — more fairly.

I’ll be heading out on tour to the US, Canada, the UK and Germany once the book is out. I’m really looking forward to as many backers in person as I can! Thank you for your support over these many long years — and for your support on this Kickstarter.

Today (Mar 22), I’m doing a remote talk for the Institute for the Future’s “Changing the Register” series.

[Image ID: A graphic showing a phone playing the Red Team Blues audiobok, along with a quote from Booklist, 'Jam-packed with cutting-edge ideas about cybersecurity and crypto. Another winner from an sf wizard.']

[honeygostudy-studyblr]

1/100 days of productivity - 23.09.24

Today, I realized that productivity isn’t about pushing yourself to exhaustion or glorifying the hustle. It’s subjective, deeply personal, and varies from day to day.

True productivity leaves you energized, not drained. It’s about finding balance, doing meaningful work, and ending the day with a sense of fulfillment rather than burnout.

This journey is not about doing more for the sake of it, but doing what matters in a way that feels sustainable.

So here we go-

Cleaned my room—every corner 🌼

Compared CPA and CFA syllabuses 📖

Chose prep courses for my master's 🙇‍♀️

Created designs for my business 👩‍💻

Prayed and journaled 🩵🪴🧿

📖 What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyama

Love and peace 🩵🧿

[binary-not-found]

Okay, I love Chase, I love that she doesn't let herself be intimidated and is herself at all times no matter what, she is firm to who she is and what she believes in, so I know in my heart that she knew it was Kate who was with Lucy, not only because Kate is probably not there very often and it's a new vibe in her space, but because of the pure and warm energy that Kate has

Because Lucy asks if she felt her strength or stern authority, and Chase's answer is that she actually felt sincerity, and if Chase is as good as I know she is, it speaks to how Kate always acts following her heart, doing what she knows is the right thing 🥺

Lucy is one of the most genuine characters I know, she is distracted, when she concentrates she can't talk/listen to another subject, she has phobias, she is stubborn and afraid to show her feelings but at the same time she has the heart of a child and is very sentimental, so seeing this kind of scenes where she is real, not wanting to see her friend get a wound stitched up, showing displeasure in her own way, makes me very happy, especially the way Kate reacts to this, she is just so happy to see how silly her girlfriend is

And the best scene in the whole series finally came, I find it very funny how Kate was so sure she had let that go and as soon as Lucy mentions it she immediately panics.

Kate's face of disappointment and surprise when Kai said "CPA" with full confidence in his response 😅

This one just because I love watching them mess around with each other, and Kate and Lucy standing next to each other is always cute ❤

How cute she looks so nervous to say it in front of everyone and goes over to tell Lucy first, as if to make sure it wasn't anything ridiculous and that she was going to be able to say it in front of the others, plus Lucy's totally excited response wanting her to already tell them 🥺🥰

"Miss America!"

Everyone's reaction and Jane saying Kate would have made a great Miss America just so Kate could feel more comfortable after noticing her nervous, and the way she can joke once Jane makes the comment, they are a family and every time they are welcoming her in a better way and making her feel part of them, I love them 💗

And of course you didn't think I was going to leave out the best thing about the episode, knowing that they are there for each other, knowing that they can joke and play with each other, it's really what's worth it, it's not just a job, it's family ✨

I'm so happy we finally had new episodes and got to see all our Ohana together, I missed Lucy so much and seeing her with the boys and Kate, I don't know what I'll do when the season ends :(

That's all for today, remember that my question box is always open and my private chat always available, thanks for reading me and don't forget to leave a comment in the tags, I love you 💖

2/2 episodio 19

[wttcsms]

i love your writing every time i read a post i know it’s going to permanently engrave itself into my brain 😌 i’m studying accounting rn (rip) and i’m nosy but did you go the route of cpa/big 4 or did something different? i’m kinda nervous if i don’t go into public accounting but it sounds horrific and wanted to know other people’s experience 😭 sorry if that’s too personal

i did something different haha. i recently graduated with my master’s in accounting and im now going to begin studying for the cpa exam and take my first section (FAR) at the beginning of 2025. im in a very specialized/niche field of auditing, not necessarily by choice LOL. i actually received a fellowship with the entity i am working with now and so they paid for my entire grad school tuition (including books and other fees) and in return, i work for them for the next two years. truthfully, i don’t think big 4 is worth it. back when i was in undergrad, i didn’t go the usual public accounting route bc that simply did not seem like the vibe. i actually went and got a junior year internship w jp morgan (private banking division) & what i learned is that accounting is so versatile. you are eligible for so many jobs within the finance field, accounting is a very technical subject and it comes in handy bc lots of finance jobs (corporate, at least) have to spend time understanding financial statements.

before i graduated with my bachelor’s, i also received two job offers that weren’t public accounting. both were financial analyst roles, one was with a&f (so working corporate for a fashion brand) and the other was with lockheed martin (weapons manufacturing) so two completely industries yet they both wanted me, which goes to show how far you can go with an accounting degree and i will say that they paid very well in comparison to what the starting salary of big 4 is.

this isn’t me shitting on big 4 but i think there’s so much emphasis in universities that this is the optimal route and it really isn’t. you can think abt any major company or brand and i promise you, they need people to work as an internal auditor or as a financial analyst or someone who works within accounting/finance. several of those positions, esp for entry-level/new graduates, won’t even require a cpa or cpa eligibility.

all that to say, i actually want to go an even more insane route and pursue academia, so im really focused on phd applications starting next year :)

[pannaginip]

Rights and youth groups in this city marked the 52nd anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the country with a protest action and various cultural performances on Saturday, Sept. 21, highlighting cases of continued repression faced by Cordilleran activists and human rights defenders under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Cordilleran activist Joanna Cariño, who was a student when arrested during martial rule, said not much has changed 52 years since.

“I have a feeling of deja vu (of martial law) with Duterte and with Marcos Jr.,” she said during the mobilization, bringing up the cases of disappeared activists Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” De Jesus.

Cariño said it was important to recall the spirit of “indigenous people power” and to continue remembering the atrocities of martial law because this period was “an important part of our history that is not always taught in schools.”

Rey Cortez, a lawyer from the National Union of People’s Lawyers, claimed that “despite the former dictator being gone, repression of all government critics was continuing” under the term of Marcos Jr.

In the Cordillera, members of the indigenous peoples’ group, the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), had been named as terrorists by the Anti-Terror Council in June 2023.

“In the time of Marcos Jr., the anti-terror law can be used to illegally detain someone, arrest them without a warrant, freeze their bank accounts, and [subject them to surveillance],” Cortez concluded.

2024 Sept. 23

[best-accounting-courses]

What is the Typical Salary Range for a CPA Fresher in India?

The salary for a CPA fresher in India varies based on several factors, including the industry, location, and size of the organization. However, CPAs who are newly certified can expect competitive starting salaries, reflecting the value of their qualification in the Indian job market.

On average, a CPA fresher in India can expect a salary range of approximately ₹6 lakh to ₹10 lakh per annum. This range can vary depending on the specific role and the organization. For instance, CPAs working in major metropolitan areas like Mumbai, Delhi, or Bangalore may command higher salaries compared to those in smaller cities or towns due to the higher cost of living and increased demand for financial professionals in these regions.

The type of employer also influences salary levels. Large multinational corporations, especially those in the financial services sector, tend to offer higher starting salaries compared to smaller firms or local businesses. In addition to base salary, some organizations offer additional benefits such as performance bonuses, health insurance, and professional development opportunities.

CPAs working in sectors such as financial services, consulting, or multinational corporations often start at the higher end of the salary spectrum due to the complexity and scale of the financial operations involved. Conversely, CPAs in roles within smaller firms or non-financial sectors might start at the lower end of the salary range.

Furthermore, industry trends and economic conditions can impact salary levels. As the demand for financial professionals increases and organizations seek to attract top talent, there may be upward pressure on starting salaries for CPAs.

In summary, a CPA fresher in India can expect to earn between ₹6 lakh and ₹10 lakh annually, with variations based on location, employer, and sector. As the financial industry continues to grow and evolve, opportunities for CPAs will likely expand, potentially leading to increased salary prospects in the future.

[milescpareview]

Celebrating 12 Years of Excellence of Miles Education!

Marking 12 Years of Excellence at Miles Education! Empowering accounting careers in India and expanding horizons in the US. Grateful for your support as we continue to achieve new milestones together.

To know more about us, visit: https://bit.ly/44fsVUP

[fintramglobal001]

Which US CPA Discipline Subject To Choose?

🔴Welcome to our latest YouTube discussion on an important topic for aspiring CPAs. Are you embarking on your journey to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and feeling overwhelmed by the choices of CPA exam disciplines? Join us in this insightful conversation with Pankaj Dhingra, an experienced CPA professional, as we dive deep into the considerations for choosing the right discipline for you. Thank you for watching this video! If there are any video suggestions that you would like us to make, please drop them in the comments. LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE!

[madsworld15]

New Fic Alert: lifeline of a promise in a shot glass (Brian/Justin AU)

PART ONE of MANY

Synopsis: What if Justin never met Brian when he was 17, and because of this, his father convinces him to go to Dartmouth and follow a business path? Years later, Justin is 25 and works alongside Ted, who was his mentor as he studied for his CPA the year before, and lives a life of limited socialization due to crippling grief and anxiety caused by the death of his close friend 3 years prior. What happens when Ted pushes him into interacting with the family?

Justin sat at his desk, ignoring the client files he was supposed to be working on. Instead, he fiddled with the personal check in his left hand. It was from his father, part of the reason he had driven the five hours to Philly over the weekend. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts about that visit that he didn’t realize that Ted Schmidt had approached his cubicle until the older man cleared his throat.

“If that’s a check from a client I can show you how to input it.” Ted smiled and jokingly tapped Justin’s arm with his fist.

“No, more like blood money.” Justin sighed, shoved the check into his desk drawer, and turned to give Ted his full attention.

“I feel there’s a story there.” Ted raised his eyebrow.

“More like a tragedy that could rival even the most beautiful of arias.” Justin licked his lips and quickly changed the subject, “You need something?”

“Well, it’s Wednesday, this week has sucked. I thought you’d want to go out with me and my friends to a club downtown.” Ted shrugged.

“Isn’t it a bit sad to show up with a young kid? What will your friends even think?” Justin loved to tease Ted considering the man was 13 years his senior. 

“Honestly?” Ted rubbed his hand over his mouth, “Brian and Emmett will be shocked that I am allowed out in public with a guy as hot as you. And Michael, well if he or his husband show up they’re likely to be supportive of welcoming someone new to the fold.”

Justin glanced at the clock, saw it was 5:45 pm, shut down his computer and stood up. He grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his chair and smirked at Ted before chuckling.

“Also, I’ll have you know, Emmett is only 32, not much older than you. And Brian, Michael and Ben are all 35.” Ted followed Justin to the garage where they parked their cars.

“I still don’t understand why you hang out with me outside of work. I’m a first year and you are practically my boss.” Justin added, fishing his car keys out from his pocket.

“None of my lifelong friends like anything artistic. They think the epitome of human expression happens on the dancefloor at Babylon.” Ted rolled his eyes. “At least with you I don’t have to go to museums or art openings or the opera by myself.”

“Wow. Schmidt. I’m touched. Really, I am. It’s not sad at all that at nearly 40 you rely upon me, a gay man in his mid-20s to keep you alive.” Justin pressed his hand to his chest and gave Ted his best emotional simper.

Ted simply rolled his eyes and responded, “So, Babylon, 9 o’clock?” 

Justin shrugged. “Maybe.” But he knew in his heart he wouldn’t be taking Ted up on his offer. Today was a rough one and he didn’t want his first impression to be that of a morose dickhead.

“If you decide not to, please at least give me a call?” Ted put his hand on Justin’s shoulder and fixed him with a knowing and understanding gaze.

Justin nodded, climbed into his car, and drove off without another word. He went straight to his apartment complex to park his car and drop off his work things. But, he didn’t stick around long before he went out to his favorite bar, Woody’s for a few drinks. Justin wanted nothing more than to forget about today. 

He was two shots of whiskey deep when he felt the presence of someone else next to him. Justin sucked in his lip, sighed, and looked at who had joined him at the bar. The man next to him was older, elegant, and sex on legs. His brown hair was styled in a way that said he cared but wanted the world to think he didn’t give two shits. There was something so alluring about him that Justin couldn’t quite put his finger on and with his current mental state, didn’t have the patience to work out.

“Another,” Justin motioned to the bartender, slurring his words just slightly.

The gorgeous man next to him reached across the bar and grabbed the bartender’s arm. “Jake, don’t pour the kid anymore.” 

“Fuck you. I’m an adult. I can have as many drinks as I want.” Justin was annoyed that this stranger would step in his business like that.

“Fine, suit yourself, but your current petulance tells me otherwise.” The brunette smirked, downed his shot, and then turned his back to the counter and leaned back to troll his eyes across the sea of men in the room at large.

“Besides, I’m not your goddamn mother. I just thought I’d do you a favor. Go home. Sleep off whatever you’re trying to drown away. Trust me, no one likes a sloppy drunk.” And just like that the gorgeous man was gone, stalking after a buff man at the pool tables who had curly black locks and fuck-me eyes.

Justin threw some cash down on the bar and stumbled out of Woody’s. He didn’t want to admit the man had been right, so instead, he stewed in indignation at the nerve of a complete stranger telling the bartender to cut him off. His stewing took him all the way back to his apartment. With a sigh and some fumbling, he managed to unlock his door and step inside.

Justin threw his keys in the dish on his kitchen counter, saw his answering machine was flashing a red 3, and pushed the button to let them play. He crossed to his refrigerator to grab a bottle of water before he stumbled to his couch and plopped down.

Hey Justin. I know today is hard. I’m getting worried about you. You haven’t called me to meet up for coffee in a long time. David and I would love to have you over for dinner sometime. We have big news. Love you. Call me back. Please.

Justin felt the tears prick the back of his eyes as his best friend’s voice rang out over his one bedroom apartment. Daphne meant well, but she didn’t know Jason. How could she possibly understand?

The same way she has been there for you the last 3 years. A voice in his head replied unprompted.

The next message played, and from the first seconds, Justin knew it was Jason’s mom.

Hey, Jus. I went by to see Jason today and saw that you’d recently been there and left some flowers. It warmed my heart to know his closest friend still thinks about him. I wish you’d come by to see us. We miss you dearly. Well you take care. Congratulations on earning your CPA.

The floodgates let loose at Jason’s mom’s words. He’d known her since he was 16 and met Jason at a High School Business competition. She’d always been kind and treated Justin as one of her own. And when Jason died she never blamed him, though Justin sure did.

Justin, baby. Please call me. I don’t want you alone today. 

Instead of getting up to get his phone and at least call his mom back, Justin pulled his legs up onto the couch and curled against himself to cry. It had been three years. Three years since he’d woken up in the hospital only to find out his best friend was dead. Three years of feeling responsible. Three years of drunken nights and zombie days, just going through the motions to prove he was still alive. But was he really?

In the year after Jason’s death, Justin struggled to put his life back together. He couldn’t go from graduating straight into his internship and then CPA exam. No, he had to take a gap year to relearn so much of who he was in order to be the man he was today. His mother would argue that he was doing beyond great and that he was “good as new,” but what she didn’t know and Justin has yet to tell her, Justin was simply a shell.

Jason had been the love of Justin’s life and he couldn’t even talk about it. Daphne knew he was gay, but no one else around him did, besides Ted. It allowed him to put up a wall between himself and his family, but also his coworkers. If he didn’t tell people anything deeper than what appeared on the surface he couldn’t get hurt.

~ BREAK ~

Two days later, Justin was back to staring at the check from his father. Now that he was a CPA he hardly needed financial support from his estranged father, but Justin couldn’t bring himself to fully cut himself off from the man. He was hardly what one would call father of the year, but Justin didn’t have the courage to stand up to the man.

With it being Friday, Justin was one day closer to another day of keeping to himself and ignoring the world around him. He just needed to get through the day, and avoid Ted at all costs, like he had the day before. And then he was scot free for the whole weekend, unless Daphne decided to be her usual pushy self and show up at his door.

“Glad to see you are still alive.” Ted greeted him with a crooked grin. “After you didn’t come out on Wednesday and didn’t call me I figured something terrible must’ve happened.”

“Sorry, I went home on Wednesday and fell asleep. Then when I woke up it was almost 9 and I didn’t feel like going out.” Justin refused to look at his friend and boss. 

“And yesterday?” Ted wasn’t going to let things go. It frustrated Justin to no end, he much preferred Daphne who knew when to push and when to let things drop.

“Jesus, Ted! What are you my mom?” Justin suddenly let his frustration bubble to the surface, “I don’t always want to be around people.”

Ted smiled and then backed off from his questioning. “I completely get that. That’s what makes accounting so great. You can completely shut yourself off from the world.”

Justin continued working on the file at hand. He would rather focus on numbers than the turmoil rolling around in his brain. So, when Ted offered an out for the evening Justin took it.

“Tonight there’s an art opening at my friend Lindsay Peterson-Marcus’ gallery, the Sidney Bloom Gallery. I wondered if you might want to go with me?”

Justin didn’t even think, all frustration at Ted forgotten, “Yes. That would be great. I can’t believe you know the curator at the Sidney Bloom Gallery. It’s been an obsession of mine since I was a kid.”

“I met Lindsay through my friend Brian, but honestly aside from you she’s the only person I know who appreciates the arts.” Ted shrugged and then handed Justin a ticket for the night’s events. “Just meet me out front at 8 o’clock.”

“Will do.” Justin finally looked at the older man and gave him a fake smile. His heart wasn’t really in it to be a functioning member of society right now. 

The anniversary of Jason took more out of him this year than he expected and knew that he probably should just go home and work through those emotions. But, the nagging voice in the back of his mind reminded him that getting out and doing typical activities he enjoyed would help him move forward faster. Not for the first time in the last few years, Justin wondered if he would ever be able to go out with friends and fully be himself, let loose, and enjoy. He wondered if he would ever fall in love again without losing his breath and panicking that Jason would be mad.

So, by 8 o’clock Justin was just parking his car up the block from Sidney Bloom Gallery. He bit his bottom lip as he walked back toward where he was to meet Ted. Going into a big group of strangers like this gave him some anxiety, but not nearly as much as it did a few years ago. As much as he liked to bemoan to his mom about therapy, it was actually helping him.

“Hey.” Justin gave a half wave and then tucked his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders upward. 

“Glad you could make it. I hate showing up to these things alone. Brian teases me mercilessly for it.” Ted smiled and nodded his head for Justin to follow him.

“God the way you talk, Brian must be the biggest dick known to man.” Justin smirked, already feeling grateful to be out with a friend.

“More like he thinks he’s God’s gift to Gay PA.” Ted laughed. 

Once they were inside, Justin felt his grief, anxiety, and worry all float away. He truly loved being immersed in a world of art and the freedom of expression. At times his heart itched to draw and paint, but he hadn’t done either since high school. Ted handed him a flute of champagne, which Justin simply held as he looked around deciding where to start.

“Teddy!” A blonde woman came rushing over. She was gorgeous and wore a maroon sweater and tan slacks that really extenuated her figure.

“Lindsay!” Ted gave the woman a brief hug before throwing his arm out toward Justin beckoning him forward. “This is Justin. I was his mentor all last year as he prepared for his CPA.”

Just then the gorgeous man from the bar a few nights ago sauntered up and wrapped his arm around Lindsay’s shoulder and placed a kiss on her cheek.

“Not another boring stiff. Seriously, Theodore? Must you? I do believe one of you in the boring gays society is enough.”

Ted sighed and opened his mouth to respond, but Justin beat him to it.

He gave his best smile and replied, “Ah you must be Brian Kinney. I’ve heard so much about you. And I must say, you live up to every word.”

“Welcome, Justin. So glad to have someone else in the group who has Brian’s number.” Lindsay chuckled and held out her hand to shake Justin’s.

“Theodore,” Brian immediately turned toward Ted, “What exactly have you been telling this…kid?” Brian looked Justin up and down with a smirk.

Justin wanted so desperately to correct this man on his classification of “kid”, but his anxiety was starting to rise and so he swallowed the champagne in his hand in one go and casually walked away. He knew, from experience, that Ted wouldn’t judge him for this. Instead, the older man would allow Justin to have his space and then check in with him later on down the road. It’s how they always handled social outings together. 

Justin didn’t actively seek public occasions with many people because the accident had caused brain damage that made reading people really hard for Justin. Therefore, his anxiety went into hyperdrive when presented with multiple faces and phrases all at once. He stuck to simple one-on-one conversations, whenever possible, and only pushed that boundary while in therapy.

“You know, when you first showed up with Theodore I thought, there is no way someone as hot as that is willingly hanging out with someone as boring and bland as him. Then, you freaked out over a simple conversation and I understood.” Brian’s voice brought Justin out of his thoughts, and he realized he’d been standing in front of Pollack styled painting for far too long.

Instead of responding to Brian, Justin moved on to the next section of artwork and acted as though the brunette wasn’t there.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I now understand?” Brian followed him, demanding to be noticed and heard.

“I don’t particularly care. I don’t know you. Therefore your opinion of me or Ted has little bearance on my life.” Justin replied nonchalantly and without tearing his eyes from the colorful art before him.

“Wow, you use big words. Let me guess, Pittsburgh Community College,” Brian continued to goad Justin into giving him his full attention.

Justin rolled his eyes, “Dartmouth. And judging by your pompous, holier than thou attitude I would say you went to some pretentious business school such as Carnegie Mellon or Penn.”

“Oooo an Ivy Leaguer!” Brian grinned as he stepped between Justin and the art, forcing Justin to make eye contact. “What makes you think I didn’t also attend such prestige as that? Why does it have to be local?”

Justin cocked his head and smirked. “It really bothers you doesn’t it?” And then he walked off toward another area of the gallery.

Brian continued to follow him. “What bothers me?”

Justin ignored him and instead turned to discuss the painting on display with none other than Lindsay Peterson-Marcus herself. He found her knowledge and passion for art comforting. She really did love the work she was doing, and Justin found that refreshing.

“Are you an artist, Justin?” Lindsay asked, looking past Justin to smirk at Brian. Justin could feel the man's glare on his neck.

“I used to be. I haven’t picked up a brush since high school.” Justin shrugged and tucked in his lips to smile, knowing that by ignoring Brian it was eating the man alive.

“What bothers me?” Brian asked again, cutting off Lindsay’s reply.

Lindsay gave Brian a searing look and continued, “We never stop being artists. No matter how much time has passed. If you want to paint, who’s stopping you.” 

Justin thought about her words as she squeezed his shoulder and moved on to the next patron. He bit the left corner of his bottom lip and continued to contemplate the artist’s work before him. The mix of blues, purples, and grays made him think of the swirling grief that lived within him, always pulling him just below the surface.

“It bothers you that I don’t give a fuck about you,” Justin replied to Brian, who was still standing there waiting for him. Then he deposited his empty flute on the tray of a passing wait staff and walked out of the gallery into the night.

~~

Tagging my discord pals so they can read! @winderlylandchime @lostcol and @maryp50

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is there a button to click where you hear tom gleeson's voice FIVE FROM FIVE