This is Bound to be Awkward (Tag Timothy/Vin/Open)

[Brendan James]

Surveying the room, Brendan was making sure he had everything he needed. Wood, check. Goggles, check. Hand tools, check. More than one first aid kit (just to be safe, especially with Vin in his class), check. He was relatively sure he was prepared for everything. But he was nervous. More nervous than he’d expected to be, considering he didn’t think he’d be nervous at all.

Having his dad come to his class and see him in action with the students… Was a little terrifying. It was the like the ultimate tests. ‘See dad! This is how I handle the kids in my class. They respect me and listen when I tell them to do things.’ But it was high school. They were teenagers. And therefore unpredictable.

And then there was Vin. He had neglected to tell his dad that his recent impromptu trip to New York was alongside a student. And was probably more than just a tad inappropriate. So his plan was to keep his dad and Vin away from each other. But with a classroom full of students, he didn’t see how that would be possible at all.

Walking around the room, Brendan put goggles at each seat in room. Now he was just busying himself. Nobody was here yet, which he was grateful for. He could rid himself of all the nerves he had. And the easiest way for him to do that was to sing in perfect key with the song that was playing from the little stereo on his desk.

His relaxation method was working wonders. And he started dancing along with it too. Like he always did. You would think that having been caught not too long ago singing and dancing in his classroom would make him hesitant to do it again, especially to where it led last time. But no. His nerves were forgotten and he was at ease once again. Even if it was only a matter of moments before somebody were to join him in the classroom.

“You told me I was the neatest thing,
You even asked me to wear your ring.
You ran around with every girl in town,
You didn’t even care if it got me down.’

Perhaps most might think this song was intended for a girl to sing. But what did he care? Some might consider him a little too feminine. And again, what did he care? He didn’t. So continue to sing he did.

“So long my honey,
Goodbye my dear.”


*OOC: Am I the only one REALLY excited for this thread?*

[Aphrodite Digiovanni]

Aphrodite sighed as she made her way to the wood shop class. This would be a good class for her to do her work. She liked working with wood, it was almost like artwork, just instead of drawing or painting you build. She tucked her hair behind her ear, and walked toward the class room, being silent. She heard music, and rose a brow. Was she late? She mentally cursed, and snapped her fingers. If she was late, she was going have her whole day thrown off.

She opened the door, and slipped in silently. She turned around, and froze at the sight she saw. There in front of her was her professor Brendan James. She stood there, watching him. She then busted out laughing, and placed her leather glad gloves over her mouth, to stifle her laughing. She was never going to forget this, she made a mental note to tease him about this later.

She decided to make herself know and walked up to him, tapping him on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" She asked a in teasing manner, her hazel eyes having a wicked gleam. "If you are to busy dancing with yourself, I can wait for the next song." She snickered at this. Aphrodite winked at him, and tilted her head to the side. "I never saw you as the dancing type, is this how you sweep women off their feet?"

She leaned against a table, and tapped her fingers against it, watching calmly. "I am never going to let you live this down, professor James." She said, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I wonder what the class would think about it. Or better yet, Vin. Perhaps Vin already knows about you shaking your tail feather."

[Brendan James]

Bren was more than a little startled when he felt the tap to his shoulder. Jumping slightly and almost dropping the goggles. "Holy shi-" It was a student. Swearing in front of students was not a good way to start off the day. "iiiitake mushrooms. Yeah... That's totally where I was going with that." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh, by all means, please join in." He said with what could absolutely be considered a permanent smile on his face. "But first!" Taking the hat off his head, he placed it on hers instead. "There. Now you're allowed to join in my dancing."

With a mock look of offence on his face, he gasped. "My dear girl! I am nothing if not a true natural dancer!" And while he believed this, it wasn't actually true. He was a wretched dancer. Awful. He couldn't keep time with the music and he was off beat and if he had a partner, he often stepped on their toes. Add in the fact that he just LOOKED awkward when he danced and honestly, it was a wonder why he wasn't banned from every dance floor in existence. "Psht... With these devilish good looks? I sweep them off their feet by smiling." He said with a laugh and a wink.

"Oh Aphrodite... If you think you're the first one to walk in on me singing and bustin' a move, you are sorely mistaken. And in fact, Vin has also seen it too. As have quite a number of other students." The way she phrased it though... Bren panicked slightly that maybe Vincent had told people about their... little adventure. Hadn't he told him not to tell anybody? That it could get him in trouble with the school? He couldn't remember. He had had quite a bit of alcohol that night.

Glancing to the clock, he noted it should only be a few minutes at most until the others arrived, then looked back at his student. "Either way, you can now assure your classmates that you are a member of the 'Catch Mr. James Dancing and Singing' club. You should expect your jacket and member card in the mail in about two weeks." He gave the young girl another wink, just to assure her he was kidding.

[Aphrodite Digiovanni]

Aphrodite adjusted the fedora on her head, and looked at him. "You dance as well as bow legged zombie, my dear." She said with a grin. She sat on the table, crossing ankles, watching him. "Devilish good looks? Hmm, I suppose you are devilishly handsome." She tilted her head, and shrugged her shoulders. "I have seen better." She winked, a signal that she was merely joking.

"Oh, you don't have to be so cautious about swearing, at least around me. I am told I have a sailor's tongue." She said and she laughed lightly. She saw how his face changed throughout the conversation and rose a brow. "You are very easy to read, professor." She said a cool tone. "You should watch how you change your face, and shift your eyes."

Aphrodite smirked as she walked up to him and ran her leather clad fingers through her hair. "There's a club? I can't wait to get my card." She said with snicker and she patted his cheek. "I will be nice, and not say a word about the so called dancing." She aid before turning away, looking at the clock. "Almost class time." She walked to the table she sat on and grinned. "I heard your father will be here today. I will give him nothing but reports, I will brag about you."

[Rhett Goddard]

Rhett was texting Odion as he approached his next classroom's entrance, but stopped suddenly before crossing it, choosing to lean in the wall instead. So not entering while he's dancing again. He thought to himself while remembering the couple of times he had found Mr. James singing and dancing like the world didn't matter before. Thank goodness his ESP warned him this time, as he could now avoid it completely by waiting outside the classroom.

He finished his text to Odion and tapped with his right foot until he no longer heard singing nor dancing noises from inside the classroom. He entered the room after organizing his shirt a bit and noticed he was only the second student to arrive, but there was no dancing. Good. He took his usual seat, and glanced at the goggles and wood. The blonde was nowhere near a fan of woodwork, he had the fine luck of always getting his fingers punctured by splinters and spending three days sneezing due to the dust the wood releases when being cut.

"I take it we're not continuing with our individual projects this week?" Rhett rolled his eyes. Not like he was excited to keep working on his watercolor painting about a kid under a starred night, but it was certainly better than working with wood. "I was really excited to keep working with my watercolor painting. And I don't really have a good history with woodprojects."

[Aaron Walker]

AJ ran down the hall carrying several sketchbooks with paper flying out of the corners. He was running a few minutes late to class, but wasn’t worried about it. He had developed a habit of arriving a few minutes late. But really who could blame him where there was so many things to detract him along the way.

Like a shiny quarter on the floor.

His pockets jingling with loose change, among other things, AJ almost ran into Rhett on the way into the room. “Hey roomie,” he said grinning. “Running late too? How’s uh…what’s his name…your pal with red hair…?” AJ might not remember Odion’s name or realize that there was something more than friendship going on between the two, but even he couldn’t miss how much time the two spent together.

Walking into the room, AJ plopped his sketchbooks down on a desk. “Wait?” he giving confused lookes to the teacher and other students. “No more watercolors? And I finally remembered everything for class.” He glanced around the room seeing the wood, hand tools, goggles, etc.. “Oh…wood…right. Well wood is good,” he said. Then laughed realizing that he had rhymed.

[Fifi Hart]

Art wasn’t exactly Fifi’s thing, but she did enjoy it. And that she knew what Vin was
getting up to the with sexy art teacher, it was officially going to be her thing. Well she didn’t know for sure what he was getting up to, but she did know that they hung out after school. And that he wouldn’t stop grinning, so she had inferred that something rather interesting had gone down.

What exactly she could only imagine.

So Fiona marched into the class with her sunglasses still over her large blue eyes. It wasn’t early, per se, but it was early enough in the morning that Fifi and the sun were not friends. Which made things all the more hilarious when she walked into the class behind some sketched out looking boys (she thought she recognized them from a party, but couldn’t place the backs of their heads) and saw what the days activities would be.

“Morning wood. My favorite.” She said easily and without shame as if absolutely nothing was wrong. Pulling her shades off her face and perching them on top of her head, she leaned casually against Brendan’s desk. “Professor James, do we get partners today?” She asked, smiling at him impishly.

She knew his secret. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was. But she totally knew it.
Plus if she got to pick partners, she was totally picking Vin and making him spill every fucking thing.

Immediately.

"Wood is good!" she echoed loudly of another student, nodding resolutely.

[Vincent Verax]

Vincent was in a relatively good mood today, which was saying something considering the roller coaster of moods that he'd been on lately. With the help of Sammy, Fifi, and even Sean, he was slowly starting to realize that just because Moe had moved away, his life wasn't completely over.

One of the biggest things to help him along was his new-found (and inappropriate) friendship with Brendan.

Sammy had looked at him like he was possessed when he'd told his friend he needed to go because else he was going to be late to art class. But Vincent hadn't told him about the amazing night they'd spent in New York, getting completely hammered, dancing, and generally having a great time. Brendan had warned him not to tell and though it killed Vin not to brag about it, he had kept it secret.

When he strolled into the classroom, the first person he laid eyes on was Brendan. He waved, a huge grin spreading over his face as he joined his friend leaning on the desk. "Heeeeey!" He slid his arm around Fifi's tiny waist, giving the girl an affectionate squeeze. He'd have done the same for Brendan... if he wasn't still so hung up on everything being secret.

"W'all know how much y'like wood, Fi." He said with a laugh, though he was rather excited for this new medium as well. It meant using sharp tools that he could easily damage himself with for the shock factor but there was also the chance that he might maim himself while he was distracted by Brendan. He sent an exaggerated wink Brendan's way before pulling back to snatch up a pair of goggles, snapping them over his head. "I make this shit look gooood."

[Aphrodite Digiovanni]

Aphrodite looked at her classmates and snickered at Fifi's morning wood comment. She shook her head and looked at the classmate that seemed rather hyper. She laughed softly and let her goggles dangle off of her neck and rose a brow at Vin. "Of course, its the latest fashion statement. You pull it off, now everyone will want to copy you." She said her hands on her slender hips. She glanced at the radio and grinned devilishly at it. "Music anyone?"

She would ask, as she slipped her gloves off of her hand, and placed them on the table. She made a gun formation with her hand, and pointed her fingers at the radio. She cocked her head to the side and sent a zap to it. It zapped to life, music blasting out of the speakers, loud and proud, but not to loud to cause ear damage.

She grinned as she slipped her gloves back on her hands and tried to soothe out her hair. She glared at it when it refused to obey her, and just ended up putting it up in a pony tail. She crossed her arms over her chest; listening to the music that poured out of the speakers. Today was a easy and non damaging day; which was why she was perky and no afraid to use her gift.

[Brendan James]

Snickering at Aphrodite, Brendan turned and watched as kids suddenly filed into the classroom. They all seemed to be filled with energy. Feeling as if his attention was being called in about a hundred different directions. He tried to pay them all the attention they were apparently craving.

Looking to Rhett, he nodded. “Yeah, we’re doing woodworking right now. But we’ll go back to the individual projects later, so don’t worry about that.”

And despite the fact that he was much older, and therefore supposed to be at least a bit more mature than his students, he couldn’t help but snicker at Fifi’s comment. But he tried to cover it but hiding his mouth behind his hand. And poor innocent AJ… Fifi took his ‘wood is good’ comment and just made it… The only way to cover his laugh was with a cough now.

Then Vin walked in. Of course Bren watched as he joined Fifi, smiling back at. But it wasn’t any different from a smile he’d give any other student. Small. And even though he looked at him when he walked in, the look wasn’t lingering. Brendan’s new motto was ‘do not call attention to anything’. That was the only reason he smiled just as he would to any other and simply looked at him for only a moment. No attention drawn.

Walking over to the radio Aphrodite had just turned on that sat on his desk, he turned it back off. “Alright alright! Everybody, settle down. Here’s the deal. My dad is coming in for this project. He’s a carpenter, so any questions or help you guys might have or want he can definitely help you.”

“Now that you guys know… I’d really appreciate it if you guys at least tried for some semblance of a sane class.” He said with a smirk. Generally, as a teacher and a person actually, he was laid back and lets the kids do whatever as long as nobody was hurt and work was being done.

“And another thing…” He added, looking specifically at Vin and Fifi, the two he was closest to. Physically speaking of course. “My father might be older, but he’s not old enough that ‘wood’ jokes won’t go over his head. So lets try to at least keep them to a minimum.” Standing next to Vin, and his back to the rest, he glanced at him and gave his student a discreet wink.

[Timothy James]

For the first time since Kate died in a long time, Tim was actually in an unfettered good mood. Yep. A whistle while you wash, shine the top of your shoes, and slick back your hair with a smile - good mood. Although, Tim didn't have much hair left to slick back. Instead he settled for using some of that slippery stuff that he'd seen Alyssa put in her hair. Smearing it on his fingers, the scruffy looking man used it to make his hair look even more scruffy - or messy - or whatever you want to call it. Of course, Timothy James would never admit to his teen aged daughter that he occasionally uses her hair products. Staring into the modestly sized bathroom mirror, Tim's hand ran over the stubble on his face. For a split second he considered shaving it off. Might make a good impression on Brendan and his class.

Those rainwater blue eyes flickered over to his razor and lingered for a moment. Nah. He was headed to a woodworking class, not a board meeting. Brendan would understand that. In fact, if Tim did show up clean shaven his son might pass out right there in front of his students. Not a good impression for a teacher to make. Tim had chuckled at the thought before finishing his routine. Dressed up for him was wearing a t-shirt and pair of jeans that didn't have any obvious holes with a flannel shirt that wasn't too faded. So that's exactly what he did. The flannel shirt was in shades of blue and black that set off his eyes. It wasn't purposefully sized to cling to the thick muscles of his arms, but that's just the way it happened. His brand new, super shiny black steel toe boots finished off the outfit. For a moment Tim was afraid that Brendan's students might tease him for having a dad that dresses like a lumber jack.

Once again, Tim shook off the thought and decided to stick to his normal. His trusty pick up truck rumbled beneath him as he drove the short distance to Hammel Institute. Once he arrived, he grabbed his trusty tool box and trudged to the front office. His graveled voice thanked the polite secretary for the directions after he checked in. Timothy James was actually nervous as he navigated the hallways and tried his best to remember the woman's words. Finally, he took the last left turn and heard his son's voice drifting through a door just a few steps ahead. Giving the whole eavesdropping thing a try, Tim stood just outside the door and listened for a moment. His son's little warning to the class put a smirk on his lips. Oh son...you're so in for it.

Deciding to have a little fun, Tim strolled in confidently and leaned against the back wall. He set his tool box down by his feet and crossed his strong arms over his broad chest. In his loud, gruff voice, Tim addressed the professor at the front of the room. "Wood jokes? Just what wood jokes would those be, Mr. James?" Sorry, son... you left yourself open for that. Tim stroked the stubble on his chin thoughtfully with a light smirk on his lips. Lord, why did being in a classroom always bring out the smart ass in him?

[Aphrodite Digiovanni]

Aphrodite grinned as she looked at the elder man. "Got wood?" She asked with tilt of her head. "Wood, I love my wood. Woke with morning wood, wood is good." She added snickering. She loved giving the teacher a hard time. "I have a few others." She said as she leaned back against her chair. She looked at the elder male and tilted her head to the side, watching him. She then looked away and toyed with the piece of wood in front of her.

She sighed as she thought of what she wanted to build. She heard her mother was pregnant again, and was having twin girls. So she wanted to build a doll house for them. She doubted her family would let her deliver it; let alone accept it. If Tim or Brendan had free time, she wanted their help or advice on how to build it. She wanted it to last for years, as long as it was purposefully damaged. She wanted it to be easy to handle and beautiful for little girls.

She pulled out her sketch book, and began to zone out the others, until class actually began to start. She had a rough sketch of what she want the doll house to look like, and what pieces she might need. She learned some wood working from her grandfather and a few friends. She furrowed her brow and sighed. Something was off about the sketch, she couldn't point it out. It may be a sketch, but it was also a blue print.
Making a doll house wasn't a great as building boat, but she didn't care.



(What I had in mind for what she wants to build.)

[Brendan James]

Well that… Was just… Great. Turning around, he looked at his dad. Slight embarrassment filled him. Not that any of them would notice. Brendan was very good at keeping his face clear, especially while in class, of anything he might be feeling. He wouldn’t be surprised if his dad knew though. It was his dad after all. And he doubted his little nervous mannerisms would go unnoticed. Like the straightening of tie. The clearing of his throat. And the little chuckle that didn’t entirely sound like his normal chuckle. All of those could be explained away to everybody but his dad.

“As you all might have guessed, this my dad, Timothy James. But you all can call him Captain.” This was the nickname he encouraged everybody to use for his dad. It was just… He wasn’t sure what, but there was something about that nickname that he loved and just made him want to laugh.

“And in my defense dad, they started the wood jokes. Not me.” He may have been laughing after he said this as he walked to stand beside his dad, but the need to defend himself was real. Not because he actually needed to, especially to his dad, but while he thought of everybody else as his equals, he kind of had his dad up on a pedestal. Actually, no kind of about it. His dad had all of his respect. And while Brendan may not have always been one to make him proud what with having been a arrested multiple times, the thought of it was (almost) always there.

Looking around the classroom, then at the clock, he decided it was time to start. “Alright. Well this looks to be about all the kids we’re getting today. So lets get going. First things first, safety. Put. Your. Goggles. On. And these things-” holding a handsaw up in the air “are sharp. And not toys. You can work with a partner if you want. But you don’t have to.”

With a slight smirk on his face, he looked at his dad. “The floor is yours… Captain.” While Brendan did in fact want the kids to be nice and respectful, he kind of hoped they’d be their normal rowdy selves. Nothing would please him more than to see his old man in a room of wild teenagers. Purely for the giggles it would cause him of course.

[Fifi Hart]

“Almost as much as you, Vin!” She chirped without shame. Fifi pursed her lips at Vincent’s exaggerated winking, and the much more discreet one Brendan sent back. She did not like being left out of the winky-club. After a moments pouting she joined Vin at his table, pinching his cheek playfully.

“Keep telling yourself that, boo.” She teased, pulling her own goggles over her blue eyes just in time to catch Brendan’s pointed look. She liked being a trouble maker. “Oh that’s fine. I like older men.” She teased, rolling her eyes. Fiona really could behave when she wanted, just rarely when Vincent was around and hardly ever in class. “I just don’t usually call them Captain.” She added with a snicker.

Speaking of the devil, Fifi turned to watch was Brendan’s dad moved toward the front of the room. She really couldn’t see the family resemblance (being that Brendan was pretty cute and Captain was old), but maybe if she squinted just right everything would fall in to place.

“Sharp toys are my favorite next to the ones that vibrate.” Fiona said resolutely, though only loud enough for a portion of the class to hear her. She took the saw in her hand before Vin could catch hold of it and slid it closer to her side of the table. “Partners, Verax?” She offered, grinning impishly.

[Timothy James]

Tim chuckled slightly as he caught the look on Brendan's face. Sure, no one else would probably notice it - but Tim spotted it right away. Timothy knew all of his kids' little tells. Brendan's were in the lines around his eyes. Tim could tell his son was fighting the urge to blush by keeping his face as calm as possible. Tim looked at Brendan and smiled one of his dazzling smiles. Of course it had faded a few watts, but it was pretty brilliant all the same - deep dimples and all. As one of the young lady's in the class took the bait, Tim propped one foot against the wall and pretended to listen thoughtfully.

A few more students piped up with a couple of off color remarks. With a deep, graveled chuckle, he shook his head. "Not bad. But I've heard better. Those are all about as old as I am." That said, Tim bent to pick up his tool box as Brendan introduced him. "Yep. That's me." Tim gave a little salute before heading up front. His strong legs moved methodically as he made his way to stand by Bren. For a split second Mr. James felt a bit of the old stage fright. At this moment it was all about the jeans. They felt awfully tight. In the back of his head he was wondering if they made it look like he was a show off. Sure, having kick ass muscles at his age was pretty impressive - but Tim wasn't the type to enjoy drawing attention to his body. He often felt more like a bull in a china shop.

Timothy smirked at his son's rather lame explanation. "Sure, son. Whatever you say." The little grin on his face showed that he was just kidding around. The joking helped ease the tension that he usually felt around a crowd. At least he was here to talk about something he enjoyed. Tim was pretty damned proud that his son had asked him to come talk to his class. Even if they were a bunch of smart mouthed little imps. Good Lord they reminded him of himself. His brow arched and he cleared his throat a bit awkwardly as Brendan turned the class over to him.

"Brendan....I mean, Mr. James - is right. Safety is pretty important, but it's not what comes first." Pausing for a second, Tim turned around and opened his trusty red tool box. He dug out a long, thin velvet box and held it up to the class. "Creativity comes first. Woodworking is art just like all your paint and clay and stuff." His words weren't all that eloquent, so Tim opened the box to prove his point. With his thick fingers, he pulled out an intricately carved long stem rose. The rose was carved out of bright red Brazillian Cherry. "Before you pick up a hammer, or saw, or chisel - you got to have a plan." Holding the rose up for the class to see, Tim chuckled. "Of course, my plan with this one was to impress a girl. But I'm sure ya'll have got better things in mind. Who wants to share?"