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The book was about a girl whose parents are divorced and her mum and her new husband move to Australia with her younger brother but she decided to stay back with her father It had that dork diaries kind of vibe she lost her best friend because her dad wasn't rich and they lived in a small apartment, her dad constantly held the ticket to Australia that her mum left back just in case she changed her mind, she also got a new best friend, which was someone that everyone in school especially her old best friend considered weird, her dad owned what I probably think was a diner or restaurant, I've forgotten, and at a point in time it caught fire, they adopted a stray cat, and there was an old man constantly in the dinerestaurant always betting on horses but never quite won, but eventually he did

Warning, this is a pretty long read. TL;DR: I spent 18 months working at the worst schools with the worst students experiencing terrible working conditions most people only hear about on T.V. before deciding to transition out of teaching and into engineering.
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I graduated in December 2016 with a degree in Physics concentrating in secondary education. My degree program was essentially a double major, they removed the requirements for a couple of courses from physics major and added in an entire course load of education courses. I graduated with more than 160 credit hours and still I was terribly under prepared for handling a classroom on my own.
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My practicum assignment was at a "good school". The teacher I worked under my last semester had nearly flawless classroom control; mostly due to the student population generally being well behaved, but I didn't understand that at the time. The classroom management during my teaching periods was also pretty good. She taught me her methods for classroom management and I thought I had it down. Plus when I left she sent me away with a large binder of her lessons, so I didn't really need worry about lesson planning. I thought I was ready. I was incredibly thankful to her and confident when I accepted my mid-year posting at a Title IX school.
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And what a mistake that was. That school and that district was insane. I accepted a posting to teach Physics to 11 and 12th graders and physical science to the 9th and 10th graders. This school ran on a block schedule so I had 8 periods of approximately 30 students that where I saw half of my students every other day with 2 hour long classes. When I arrived I found that my senior students had been with a sub the entire first semester learning physical science, that their math teacher did not exist, and that their ability to handle the rigor of physics was at absolute 0. Almost immediately after I began all of my senior students were failing. Big problem.
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I was quickly pulled into a meeting with the principal and leadership where I was essentially told that if these students did not pass my class I would need to look for other employment come next year. Crank up the stress. Administration did not care that these kids did not deserve to pass physics due to their lacking foundations in math. I still don't understand how they expect students to pass physics which is based on algebra II/trig/geometry when these kids are barely studying algebra 1 under a constant string of revolving incompetent substitutes. But I was scared, so I essentially removed all maths from my class and just taught conceptual things. Basically instead of I throw the ball do the math to determine it's trajectory based on these initial numbers, the tasks became I throw the ball explain draw it's flight path and explain why it looks like that. It felt like I was doing these kids a huge disservice, but at the end of the year most of my students had passed physics and were onto the next course.
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Aside from the curriculum requirements, the classroom management that entire year was a crap shoot. I found it impossible to manage these students who could not understand the concepts and did not want to learn them. I had boys flashing me their genitals, there were fights, there were students tossing things everywhere, they just could not shut up for even a moment, they stood on tables, they took my things, they stood in my space, and it was impossible to get anything done. I even had one student try to bribe me with her car and "sexual favors" for a passing grade on the final (holy fuck that was terrible).
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Notably I remember that sometime during my 3rd or 4th month there, a student I'd never seen before was escorted into my classroom by police in handcuffs. They sat him down without a word, uncuffed him, and pulled me into the hallway where I was informed that this kid was on some type of reformation program. That he'd be attending my class from that day forward and that if he misbehaved to call them (the police!?) because he was "active" and "serious". lol wtf? That student unsurprisingly was fighting in my classroom almost immediately.
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And those were just problems in my classroom, in that school during my first (and only) semester there were numerous fights in the halls between students, and even some between students and their teachers, students were caught having sex during school hours, there was a sex scandal between a teacher and her student and then she disappeared shortly after. There was a gun incident at a basketball game. After that they started making teachers come to school an hour earlier so that we could search every student as they came onto campus. I pulled plenty of weapons off kids during this time. And they made a locked door policy so that if students were late and missed the morning check they'd have to come through the front office to get it done by the staff there. It was dreadfully ineffective. I watched students jump the fences and be let in by others daily.
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Around this time we got word that were was a shooting at our feeder school (a middle school that sends their kids to our high school). A student was murdered right outside of campus (literally in front of the neighboring building).
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I worked at that school for only a single semester, and that wasn't by choice. After scaring me about the security of my job I worked really hard to keep it. I kept up with the crazy shenanigans happening on and around our campus, more than 90% of my students passed my class (even tho in my opinion they did not deserve to) and I spent many late nights rewriting my lesson plans and grading the work of my 240 students. I arrived at school at 6am I didn't get to leave until 4pm and I spent all night until 12 or 1am preparing for the next day on a $32k per year salary. And none of it mattered. After doing everything they asked of me that semester, they pink slipped me anyway. Asking around, I found out that a large majority of the first year teachers receive pink slips regardless of their performance and as a big fuck you I guess. They expected me to apply for my job a second time where I would definitely get it again and start off the year with a reset tenure timeline.
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So I decided "fuck that" and moved home onto my mom's couch in California after summer school ended. Remember that school where the murder happened? I taught summer school for high school and middle school students there. And unexpectedly it was the best time I ever had teaching. I taught 3 periods of high school students (chemistry cuz whatever I guess the administration didn't care or something) and I taught 1 period of 7th grade earth science. In summer school classes were about 45 minutes each and the max class size I had was 20 kids per period. I only taught 2 kids at the middle school level.
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Don't get me wrong, the conditions were still terrible. There were actively constructing within the school building that summer. The AC was turned off. The available classrooms not under renovation were incredibly tiny such that even though I didn't have more than 20 kids, they all had to practically sit on top of each other with less than 2 feet between them at any time. Every morning I had to seat kids in a certain order just to make sure everyone could actually reach their seats they were so close together. If a student came late there was always this huge shuffle where like 10 kids had to move around to make space so the late person could reach their desk. My desk was shoved into a tiny tiny little space as well and it was a tiny little desk so small that they should've just given me another kids desk and taken the one I had away. I would've preferred the extra space. Chemistry was one of the courses I didn't have to take in college and I was super not qualified to teach it to high school students. (Really wtf were they thinking? Lol I'm sure there were a ton of kids who needed remedial physics). But it didn't really matter that I was under educated in chemistry, since my teaching hours ended at noon and I had so few papers to grade, I had plenty of time to learn the curriculum and develop a lesson plan for the next day with assignments after grading papers. That summer I could easily get into bed before 8pm. It was amazing honestly.
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Because I had so few students compared to the regular term, I was able to interact with each of them. Instead of being a number or a statistic in my grade book each student that summer was a real person I knew. I knew what they liked and didn't like, I spent time learning their hobbies and what they wanted to do. For kids who wanted to pursue STEM I had time to give them more attention/ feed their passion and for students who wanted to do something else I had time to get to know them as a person and understand what made them passionate about wrestling, or hair styling, or being a mechanic or whatever it was. It felt like a vacation even tho I was still working more than 8 hours a day.
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A vacation I really needed because at the beginning of the new school year I moved back home to my mom's house and began teaching at my old high school which I knew was going to be rough based on my own experience as a student. I was hired as a "long term substitute" which I understand to be a way to circumvent my lack of credentials in the state of California. It allowed me to essentially operate as the teacher without having a license to teach. I (ironically) taught mathematics (algebra I and geometry). My teaching conditions were much better than my old school in some ways and much worse in others.
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At my first school the kids were unruly but there wasn't anything that was specifically targeted towards me. They would mostly act out towards each other and leave me out of it and my new school it was the opposite. The kids were incredibly close with each other, so I still had problems with talking and general misbehavior, but when they acted out it was much more likely to be directed towards me specifically. I received a ton of threats of violence towards me personally that year. "I'll beat your ass Ms. 4Yelhsa" or "My mom/sistecousin/etc will beat your ass Ms. 4yelhsa" and there were plenty of comments on my appearance, voice, level of income, etc. Instead of bullying each other the kids essentially bullied me and there wasn't much I could do about it.
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This school used a method of conflict resolution called "Restorative Justice". This essentially meant that regular forms of punishment such as in school suspensions, or detentions, etc were reserved to especially bad behavior. When a kid threatened to hit me they would be removed from my class for a few days but for the comments it was expected that I would handle that on my own through these "restorative sessions". Basically if a student acted out in my classroom, I was supposed to schedule what amounts to a counseling meeting with them where we would both discuss what happened and come to some sort of accord. I would ask that student why they felt like acting out, I was supposed to inquire to them about how my methods of teaching or classroom management caused them to act out, then I was supposed to explain to them why acting out like that was wrong and get them to agree to a deal to stop acting out if I fixed the things they brought up during our discussion. A conversation would basically go.
Student: Ms. Yelhsa I talked over you because so and so was helping me with x.
Me: Ok well why don't you raise your hand and I can help you with that and that way anyone who has the same question can also get my help
Student: No. I didn't want to do that because I didn't want to talk in front of everyone
Me: Ok why don't you just hold it until after the lesson is done then?
Student: But then I'll forget.
Me: Well you can't talk while I'm talking because it disrupts the class and distracts me from teaching everyone
Student: It's not even that big of a deal. I was just talking with them real quick.
It never worked as kids just talked in circles and were always unwilling to compromise (obviously because they're kids). It was nonsense, it didn't work, and it made it impossible for me to remove distractions from my classroom. It also took time away from other students because I would need to spend minutes having 1 on 1 debates essentially with children about how they should be behaving in my class and trying to bribe them into good behavior. I'll give you guys an extra 5 minutes of free time if we can be quiet during the next 20 minutes kind of energy.
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Fights at the second school didn't happen on campus as much as at my first school, but the violence off campus was immense. I feel like several children from this school died every month. We held memorials for them during lunch and spoke about them during rallies. Over the intercom they'd make announcements about it. I'd often come across groups of students weeping during passing periods or lunch.
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There was one time where a student was absent from my class for over a month, let's call him Brian. As like what I always did I marked his assignments as 0's, I mentioned it to leadership, I sent home some nominal communication about his attendance/grades to the guardian on file, etc. I followed the procedure. Then one day he was just back randomly and I let him have it. I gave him this huge lecture about how he needs to be concerned for his future, that school is important, that a good education could get him out of this neighborhood with these gangs and drugs, etc. And he stood there and took it then after I was done he very calmly told me that he'd been shot and that he nearly died and that's why he was gone all that time. And I really didn't believe him (even tho I should have considering the frequent deaths of our students to gun violence). I told him he shouldn't tell jokes like that and then he showed me his wound.
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Imagining myself marking his assignments as 0's not really giving to much thought on it, emailing his parents about his attendance, going about like normal. What if he had really died? And I marked his grades as 0's? He went from a C to a solidly failing my class between the shooting and his death? Then when they put him in the dirt , he's got an F in Ms. 4yelhsa's class because Ms. 4yelhsa was following the procedure. That thought really fucked me up for while.
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Surprisingly, the only student I've personally taught in my class / knew on a personal level that was murdered was at that the "good school" where I had my practicum. His name was Jason. It happened after I had left, but I knew Jason. I knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. I knew he was upset with the lack of attention he was getting at home. I knew him. When he was gunned down at a fast food restaurant less than a mile from campus on a school day over a drug deal gone intentionally wrong. My mentor from the practicum personally reached out to me about it. When Jason died it was a big event at that "good school". It was unordinary, the school mobilized a lot of capital to take care of its students in the aftermath, hiring special grief counselors. I imagine it was spoken about for many months in the hallways, that they held many special events for the remaining students, and it's still probably brought up occasionally amongst the staff even though that cohort of kids is long gone.
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But Brian. If Brian died, I knew it'd be just a little blip on the radar and then it's over and gone forever. They'll make a little announcement, they'll say his name next to the others during the next rally and then it's business as usual. The different experience between a child that attends a "good school" and grows up in a "good neighborhood" and the child who attends these Title IX schools in these deadly neighborhoods is just so incredibly different it's wild.
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After that incident with Brian, there were three other major events that I experienced. One was a threat of a possible active school shooter. I really don't know what happened, there was a lot of confusion. Just a normal day, then an alarm, I remember thinking how I didn't remember there being a drill planned for that day. Then an announcement, then a lot of panic. Then I remember ushering kids from the hallway into my room, then locking the door, then shushing my kids (thankfully they were all very quiet for once), then turning the lights off, then encouraging the students to hide along the wall by the door, then taping paper over the doors window, then sitting in silence for a long while with crying and scared kids, and then it was over. I still honestly have no real certain information of what happened. From the grapevine I gathered that there was a man on campus who may or may not have been looking for someone and who may or may not have had a gun and who left pretty quickly. The majority of the time I spent locked in that classroom with those kids wondering wtf was going on, the situation was already over and no one knew.
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The second event was very similar. I was monitoring lunch when a fight broke out (a pretty rare event surprisingly). When these fights break out there's always a ton of kids who crowd around the fighting students and make it extremely difficult to break it up. Earlier in the school year a teacher broke her wrist trying to break up and fight and we'd been given training to leave it up to the security on campus. So when the fight happened I didn't even try to get involved. I just watched from a little ways away. Then suddenly a student yelled that one of the people fighting had a gun. Instant mayhem. Kids running in every direction. Tripping, falling, jumping over each other, me doing my best to direct traffic. No one listening. The area starts clearing out quickly, but there was never a gun. That kid who yelled it out was just trying to be funny. It wasn't funny, but it was a relief.
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Then the third event was the shooting of Stephon Clark. Stephon Clark had attended the school at one point. Random Fact: Stephon Clark and I actually went to that school during the same time period, but I didn't know him. He was one year younger than me. I have a lot of friends who are his friends it wouldn't be strange if I've met him a number of times and just can't remember considering how close our circle of friends were. The community around that high school is not very big it's often that the alumni still have sisters or brothers or cousins or just a little homie from across the way attending after they leave. Also everyone sort of has ties to each other in some way because it's a very insular community. So the shooting of Stephon Clark was a big deal on campus. But it happened very close to the end of the school year, and I ended up never returning to work at that school. I know there were a bunch of protests and walk outs on campus but I wasn't around to see it.
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When that year ended, I thought I would be kept on for the next year. Idk what happened but I was never contacted about a contract renewal. I was a long term sub and not a teacher there and I later learned that the lack of contact happened in error but at the time it felt like I had been silently fired. As a sub I did not have an option to convert my 9 month contract to a 12 month pay out plan so that summer I lived off my savings believing that I did not have a job waiting on me at the beginning of the next school year and I had a decision to make. So far teaching had not been what I was expecting at all. I went from making 32k in Alabama to making 30k in California. I was beyond destitute. My quality of life that year was in the dumps. I lived on my mothers couch for the entire 9 months and my mom is low key a hoarder and her faux leather couch was peeling and flaking, so it wasn't really fun. I was making $15/hr and that's not a lot so I thought I'd try looking for something different. And it sucked. I sent a ton of applications in to laboratories with no bites. for 2 months I was unemployed, not eligible for unemployment, and I burned through almost all of my savings. Right after the school year started it was clear that I'd have to go back to school in order to get away from teaching. So I called my old academic advisor and holy hell that saint she accepted me on the spot. I remember she said "Don't worry just come back to school right now".
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and I went "right now? The semester has already started and I haven't even applied yet"
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and she told me not to worry about that. That she would handle it and she did. Shout out to her she changed my life. I guess this is a perk of going to a small school. She knew me very well because at my college there are less than 30 physics students across all levels at any one time. If the department drops much lower than that it's always at risk of being shut down. She needed a student and I needed a school. It all just came together.
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I had to submit an application as a formality and then a week later I drove my crappy car that broke down everywhere from California back to Alabama as a graduate level physics student for the fall 2018 semester. I was homeless for a little bit but an old buddy from college let me sleep on his floor for $300/mo. Shout out to him. The house was trash with roaches and mice but it definitely beat sleeping in my car. I slept in the dining room under a table for about 6 months. I spent my last little money on a 7 dollar air mattress and a pump for it and that thing sprung a leak 3 months later. I was always waking up with my butt on the ground lol. I couldn't pay my rent the second month but during that month, I got an internship at a DoD contracting company starting that summer and my advisor put me in touch with a professor who had grant money for research assistants. I started making $1k per month off that. Plus I got a job as a waitress and I was in business. After that school year ended I started my internship summer of 2019. When it was over, during the end of the internship presentations while leadership was in the room, I threw it all out there and just asked for a job. Straight up I literally ended my presentation with "And that's why you should hire me". And those dudes said yea sure. My 10 week summer internship was directly converted into a co-op (with a pay bump. hell yea). A room opened up in the place I was staying at so I got upgraded from sleeping under a table to sleeping in an empty room. I bought another blow up mattress and quit my job as a waitress. ya girl started doing big things. I graduated on time Spring 2020 and my coop with that company was converted into a full time position and just like that I was an engineer.
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One of these days, if I can, I'd like to open up my own school. I think that'd be really cool to come back not as a teacher with my boots on the ground but as a founder one day. And hopefully at that time I can help some of these kids from these Title IX schools change their outcomes and provide them with better opportunities.

Hi I'm planning a trip to Yosemite in 1 of the big three campgrounds (upper, lower, north pines). Out of all 3 which 1 has the best views of half dome. I know everyone says the best camping spot is the one you can get but if I luck out. Which campground has the best views of the valley?

Hey, folks! Chapter 6 is here! Sorry for such a long wait—I decided to go ahead and give myself some extra time to write and edit (and deal with irl shenanigans). This is my longest chapter yet—nearly 4.4k words! o_O
Anyway, thanks to u/CruisingNW for the title, and of course, thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for this wonderful universe! Well, without further adieu, let's get into it!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Meyra Yeirel, Spacecraft Engineer Apprentice
Location: Veyr, Veyrian Homeworld. Outer Orion Spur.
Date: September 11, 2182.
I pushed myself away from the table, staring at the unconscious Veyrian. In my hysteria, I hadn’t been able to process much aside from what she had said. But her golden eyes… there had been something wrong with them, but I hadn’t caught precisely what it was. I glanced around at the trio. I wasn’t an expert at reading predators’ expressions, but they were undeniably shocked. Galya as well. She sat frozen in her seat, her blue eyes staring into space. I couldn’t fathom why they were so shocked. Was it what I had told them? They should’ve known everything already. Did the Veyrian say something particularly important? If so, why was it so important?
The predators snapping into action derailed my train of thought, causing me to flinch. My heart seized up as I saw they were going for the Veyrian.
Oh, Myern, they’ve snapped, haven’t they? I thought frantically as they crouched next to the Veyrian. I closed my eyes and grimaced, preparing to hear the horrid sound of flesh ripping and the pain-filled screams of the Veyrian.
. . .
. . .
I opened my eyes. To my surprise, the predators had flipped over the Veyrian and were apparently checking if she was alive. I put my paw on my chest, trying to calm my breathing. At every turn, these predators subverted my expectations. Not killing me on sight—both last night and today, not killing me in my sleep, preventing the house from burning down, and remaining calm despite me apparently rocking their entire worldview. Next thing I knew the gray would tell me that it was a herbivore.
“Connor,” the gray growled, “help me out here.”
The ape moved to the other side of the Veyrian and helped the gray. They hauled the Veyrian to her feet and dragged her to the couch. I tried to catch a glimpse of her face, but I couldn’t see anything since her head hung low. They laid her on the couch. The gray tucked a pillow under her neck.
“Go get some water,” the gray commanded, swatting the primate’s arm. It obeyed, hurrying away to the kitchen. “Hey, Galya.” It snapped its claws. Galya flinched and looked at the gray. “Get some pillows.”
Galya put a paw to her head. “Y-yeah. Alright, then.” She stood and got the gray the pillows it wanted. She sat down as the gray tucked the pillows underneath the Veyrian’s legs.
“Thanks, by the way,” the gray added, glancing at Galya.
“You’re w-welcome.” The Venlil stared into space, obviously perturbed by something.
I couldn't believe the brainwashing on Venlil Prime was so overbearing that the Venlil were completely unaware of the galaxy around them. Same for the Terrans and the Arxur. I shuddered to imagine what sort of techniques their governments used to subjugate their populace.
The ape returned with a glass of water and handed it to the gray. The gray took it and stared down at the Veyrian, apparently watching for something. From my place at the table, I couldn’t the Veyrian’s face. The gray didn’t seem to be particularly disturbed by anything, so maybe I had just been imagining things. But… my mind still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
I shook my head and gathered my nerves. “H-how did you learn to do all that?” I shuddered as the gray laid its eyes on me.
“My mom was a nurse,” it growled. “She taught me how to handle this sort of situation. In case of emergencies, you know?”
The ape made a strange, sharp chuffing as if something was caught in its throat. I stared at the ape, trying to guess what that sound meant. It was baring its teeth—was it angry? Did the gray say something wrong?
“Looks like it paid off, eh?” The primate swatted the gray’s shoulder. “You always complained about your mom lecturing you on how to perform CPR or how to do the Heimlich m—”
The Veyrian bolted upright, gasping for air. Everyone in the room flinched in unison. The gray acted immediately and handed the Veyrian the glass of water. She took it and began drinking with reckless abandon, spilling the majority of the water on herself. She breathed deeply and put her arm over her eyes. The ape sped away to the kitchen once more.
The thought of a gray possessing medical knowledge shocked me. They only knew how to maim, maul, and murder. They weeded out the weak, making no allowances for undesirables. No amount of UN and Dominion propaganda could change the fact that the gray were bloodthirsty monsters. And yet… here one was in my home. No one was dead. The walls weren’t painted red and orange with the blood of Veyrian and Venlil alike.
The primate returned once again and sat in front of the Veyrian. It gave the glass to her and leaned forward, steepling its long, gangly fingers in front of its face. It looked like it was struggling for words as the Veyrian drank—much slower this time. As the Veyrian finished, the ape lowered its paws.
“So, uh, how are you doing?”
Despite not understanding primate body language, I could tell it had just died inside.
“I mean uh… damnit.” The ape’s head hung low.
The Veyrian removed her arm from her face. “I have not… have not been d-doing well.” Her voice was raspy as if she hadn’t used it in a very long time.
“You uh, you don’t look the best either,” the ape commented. It gestured toward the Veyrian as a whole.
It was right. The Veyrian’s fur in the morning light looked even worse than it had the night before. The Veyrian coughed and turned her head to look around the room. That’s when I realized. I stared at her head, expecting to see her eye appear on the side of her head, yet it never came.
Not until she had turned to look
right
at
me.
I felt a bolt of terror through my chest. I staggered backward, knocking my chair down. A scream built in my throat as I stumbled and fell against the wall. They all stared at me, a mixture of shock and confusion scrawled across their faces.
But they were all a blur. Those two golden eyes stared right into my soul, delving into my psyche and shattering it.
I sunk to the floor, tucking my head between my legs. I hyperventilated, my heart racing. All outside sounds were faint. I barely registered them. Calm down, Meyra, it’s ok. You’re ok. I thought frantically. No, you’re not ok. You have several predators in your home, and she has something extremely wrong with her. They must’ve been torturing her. Changing her DNA. I should’ve snuck out in the middle of the night and run down to the exterminator’s office. Oh, Myern, I’m next aren’t I? I started rocking, unable to control myself. You’re fine, it’s fine, I’m fine. It’s all just a dream. It’s all just a dream. It’s all just a dream it’s all just a dream it’s all just a dreamit’salljustadre—
I flinched as a paw touched my shoulder. I looked up, shaking.
“H-hey, ma’am, are you alright?” Galya asked gently. “What’s wrong?”
I pointed at the twisted Veyrian and curled back into a ball. “Her—her eyes. Wh-what did you d-do to her?”
Galya’s ears drooped in confusion. “Her eyes? What’s wrong with—” she glanced at the Veyrian and back at me. She took a step backward, her eyes widening. “W-wait, what’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Galya, can’t you see that she’s pani—wait, what?” The primate growled inquisitively.
I took a glance around the room. Fear had dawned on their faces. They stood in a semi-circle, stuck in a state of tension. I couldn’t understand why.
But those eyes.
Those two golden eyes.
They stared at me, echoing the horrors of the cruelty of the UN and the Dominion. Myern knows how they had done it. And I was sure I was about to find out. To my horror, she stood slowly, baring her teeth as she went.
Oh, Myern, I thought helplessly. They’ve brainwashed her, too.
“I apologize for thy situation,” she rasped. The trio snapped to look at her, causing me to flinch. “I know… I know this must be quite a shock. To all of thee.”
I breathed shallowly, listening as she spoke. She had a strange accent, alongside her deeper, raspier voice. I had never heard her accent before. Despite my sheer terror, I was intrigued.
“I am Xertalis, goddess of time and space,” she proclaimed. “The former goddess, I should say.” Her head hung low as she stared at the ground.
The trio glanced at each other. The ape closed its eyes and waved its paws around. “Woah, woah woah—hold on. Let’s take this one step at a time. First off, what the ffffffuck? You’re saying all that back in the library really… really happened?”
Xertalis’ silence was enough of an answer for the primate.
“And so… and so all the stuff on TV is real?” It glanced at me. “And that I’m not imagining things?”
“You sure as hell aren’t imagining things,” the gray growled. “I’m seeing this shit.”
Their lack of disturbance surrounding Xertalis and her eye placement was almost more terrifying than the situation I was in. I mustered the courage to speak, despite the voices in my head screaming for me to shut up. “Wh-what the farrik is wrong with you?!” My voice faltered as three pairs of binocular eyes stared at me. “Why are you s-so concerned about my eyes? What about hers?” I waved an indignant paw at Xertalis.
“There’s nothing wrong with her eyes!” The gray roared, causing me to flinch. It put its claws on its head and paced back and forth. “This is fucking insane! What the fuck happened last night? Did our drinks get spiked? No, we didn’t bring drinks. Was it the snacks?” It sat down heavily on the couch, holding its head in its claws. Its knee bounced erratically as it sat.
Nothing the gray had said made sense to me. What drinks? What snacks? Did Galya feed them in the middle of the night?
Galya put her paws in front of her in a placating gesture. “Guys, let’s—let’s just eat some food, and then talk about this. I get that this is pretty insane, b-but yelling isn’t gonna get anything done.” Galya glanced at me. “Besides, I’m sure we’re all starving. Right?”
“Y-yeah,” the ape said. “Let’s do that. Maybe a hot bowl of oimal will help clear our minds.”
Galya put her paw on the gray’s shoulder. It looked up at her, its eyes glossy. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Kiile. You’re the only one who knows how to cook, and well, you saw how well it went when Connor tried.” She bared her teeth. “How about it?”
The gray took a shuddering breath and bobbed its head. “A-alright. Okay.” It stood and closed its eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. “Let’s g-get this.” And with that, it headed towards the kitchen. As it left, it wiped its eyes.
I stared at Galya, completely floored. A gray. Crying. No, grays can’t cry. They don’t have emotions. They have two modes. Murder, and Stalking. They don’t feel panic or sadness or fear, I thought. But a small, creeping voice asked, Then what was that? I shook my head, trying to shake it off. That was fake. Manufactured. The apes must’ve been teaching the gray how to fake emotions. And yet, the voice persisted.
Galya didn’t notice me staring and instead walked up to Xertalis. Her snout scrunched up as she approached the filthy Veyrian, yet still attempted to speak to her.
“We uh, you should probably get showered,” Galya said. She stood as if she were uncomfortable.
Xertalis didn’t pick up on her discomfort. She flicked her ear inquisitively. “I know not what a… shower is. But I shall dine, for I am quite starved. My long slumber has taken all my energy.” As if to accentuate her plight, Xertalis swayed on her feet.
“Okay, then,” Galya muttered. “Um, well, let’s get you some clothes? Or a blanket at least?”
Xertalis tilted her head at Galya. “What are clothes?” She echoed my thoughts exactly.
“You know what? It’s fine. I’ll just go get a blanket.” Galya grabbed the primate’s paw. “Connor, c’mon.”
Xertalis sat down and watched as the two sped down the hallway. She looked around the room, her ear flicking as she laid her eyes on something new. She seemed particularly interested in the analog clock hanging on the wall. It wasn’t anything special. The numbers and the claws glowed faintly. The [seconds] claw ticked constantly. I swore I could almost hear it over the sound of the gray cooking in the kitchen.
The gray cooking in the kitchen, I thought, amused. I chuckled. The gray cooking in the kitchen. I let out a short laugh. The gray cooking in the kitchen! I started laughing uncontrollably. The absurdity of the whole situation finally got to me. I rocked back and forth, gesturing helplessly with my paws. At some point, my laughter turned to sobs. I put my head in my paws and cried, my tears running down my snout. The gray cooking in the kitchen. Oh, Myern, what am I going to do?
I looked up, and Xertalis was staring at me, perplexed. “What is thy sorrow? Why dost thou act in such a way?”
I gestured vaguely at everything in the room. “Wh-what can I say? I… I’m fucked! I have two p-predators—three predators—in m-my home, and I sure as Xyek c-can’t call the exterminators, otherwise I’ll b-be accused of harboring pr-predators!” I splayed my paws in front of me helplessly. “H-how in the ever living fuck did they g-get here?! The closest UN planet is-is-is—” I gesticulated wildly “—I d-don’t even know how far. Did they u-use FTL? But how did they g-get planetside?” I put my paws on my face and screamed. The sound came out muffled.
I looked up at Xertalis. I could barely hold her gaze, yet her eyes held undeniable sorrow and guilt… and an odd hint of fear. “I will explain,” she said quietly. “Everything. Just… wait.”
I put my paws on my chest and breathed deeply. I tried to calm my mind, yet it was near impossible. All these thoughts bouncing around in my brain like stray bullets. The voices telling me to run away screaming, and the voices telling me to stay and learn. Should I stay or should I go? Should I stay or should I go? Back and forth, back and forth! I wish I could make it stop. I wish I could just wake up, and wake up to a nice, hot bowl of oimal. I wish I wasn’t alone. I wish they were still here.
My thoughts were interrupted by Galya and the ape returning. The primate was carrying a blanket—one of the blankets from the guest room. It approached Xertalis and held it out.
“Sorry we took so long,” Galya apologized. “We sorta had to dig around for it, and we didn’t figure she’d like us going into her room.”
I cringed internally as Xertalis took the blanket and wrapped it around herself. That’s not going to wash out very well, is it?
“Thou are fine,” Xertalis said, taking the blanket. “I thank thou, for it is quite cold in here.”
The gray came around the countertop with a steaming pot in its claws. “You guys came back right in time,” it growled. It placed a pad on the table and set the pot on top of it. “I found some brown sugar, thankfully, so it’s not gonna be too bland.” It hurried into the kitchen and returned with a bowl. “There were also some apples, but there wasn’t any milk, so we’ll just have to do with water.”
The ape stopped Galya in her tracks. “You go and sit down, alright? I’ll help get the bowls and stuff.”
Galya stared at the primate for a moment. “Are you sure? This whole thing has been pretty stressful for you, I imagine.”
The ape made the same, strange chuffing noise. Except it somehow sounded… sadder? I tilted my head. “I’m fine. Just almost became a human flambe last night. At least the mattress downstairs was comfortable.” The primate glanced at me before moving into the kitchen.
Galya took a seat at the table. Xertalis sat across from her. “So you weren’t uncomfortable?” Galya asked.
I pushed myself up and leaned so I could see into the kitchen.
The primate shrugged and glanced at the gray. “Well, as comfortable as I could be while sharing a mattress with Godzilla over here.”
“Ha!” The gray barked, causing me to flinch. “That’s rich, coming from King Kong, Lord of Mattresses.”
My gaze bounced between the two nervously. Their words didn’t seem friendly. But… their tones. I didn’t know ape or gray social cues, but they almost sounded friendly. Yet another piece of a constantly shifting puzzle. Their moods seemed to have gotten better while I was having my breakdown, which struck me as oddly ironic. Slowly, I moved to the table and took a seat at the far end. The primate and the gray returned with bowls, spoons, and cups full of water, which were being transported on a tray.
I watched in surprise at how deftly the gray moved the cups to the table. I had only ever known gray to be clumsy and brutish. But there was almost an artistry to its movements.
“How did you do that?” I blurted. I cringed as everyone turned to look at me.
“Put the cups on the table?” It shrugged its shoulders. “I don’t know. Practice? I’m a waiter at the Toreros on main street.”
Toreros? That’s not a real restaurant, I thought, perplexed.
I watched as they passed the oimal around themselves. Galya, who was closest, pushed the pot and apples toward me. I sniffed it suspiciously. It didn’t smell any different, but I knew some drugs didn’t have a smell. But… I was hungry. Reluctantly, I served myself and pushed the pot away. Everyone began eating—aside from the gray. The fact that an ape was eating oats and fruit surprised me. I almost couldn’t believe it. And yet, there it was, right in front of me.
Xertalis scooped up some oimal daintily and blew steam off it. “I suppose I shall tell thou my story, and explain thy plight.”
The change of mood was palatable. The entire table stared at Xertalis, prepared for what she had to say.
“As I have said, I am Xertalis, the former goddess of time and space.” She raised her paw as the gray opened its mouth. “Many centuries ago, mortals believed in gods. They believed that they could bestow miracles, rend mountains and valleys to pieces, and offer enlightenment. Alas, those beliefs have faltered. That is why I am so weak.”
She took a slow sip of water.
“My powers have waned as mortals’ beliefs have waned.” She held an apple slice between her paws and turned it over. “I could not even age this fruit if I desired. If I tried to open a portal to your universe, it would kill me.”
The primate steepled its paws in front of it. “So how did we get here? Why did that book teleport us to… wherever the hell this is?”
Xertalis pondered the apple slice for a moment before popping it in her mouth. Once she had chewed, she spoke. “I would not rule out the fact there might be other forces at work. I might have been the goddess of time and space, but I am not the only deity with the ability to twist reality.”
The trio glanced at each other. “That’s not concerning at all,” The ape stated. “So… what do we do?”
“There is not much,” Xertalis said quietly.
“So we’re stuck here?” The primate cried. “Stuck in a universe where humans and gray are being genocided? Where the police shoot at innocent people? Where crazy bastards with flamethrowers run around?!”
“Wait,” Galya butted in, “what if we like, spread word of your existence?”
Xertalis stared at Galya. “And who would believe? Who would believe that a god walks amongst mortals?”
Galya tapped the table with her claw. “Uhhh… shit.”
“Well, there’s gotta be some sort of religious group somewhere, right?” The gray asked. “There’s the Church of Myern just down the street if I remember correctly.”
I flicked my ear affirmatively. “Yes, there’s a church. But… they might not be t-too fond of her eyes.” My voice faltered as they all looked at me. “Her eye placement? It’s abnormal.”
“So you’re telling me that normal Veyrians in this universe look like you?” The gray growled.
“Y-yes…?”
The gray rubbed its eyes. “Holy shit.” It held its claws up. “Look at this. I’m shaking.”
As the trio was processing what Xertalis had told them, she ate her oimal. Despite the fact she must’ve been starving, she ate slow and daintily, as if she had practiced eating in such a way for years and years. The fact she was eating calmed my nerves a little. But she’s a goddess—apparently—she might be immune to drugs. Or was she a goddess? Xertalis’ monologue confused me.
Nevertheless, I was hungry, and I didn’t function properly when I was hungry. I lifted a spoonful of oimal and ate it. The flavor caught me off guard. It was sweet and perfectly cooked; masterfully put together. I hadn’t ever expected oimal to taste as good as this. I found myself taking bite after bite.
The table was silent as everyone mulled over the information that Xertalis had disclosed. I glanced around the table. I felt a pang of bittersweet nostalgia as I watched the four of them eat. I physically recoiled in surprise. Galya glanced at me, perplexed, but I ignored her.
I turned over the feeling of nostalgia in my mind. It was strange. I shouldn’t be feeling this way about my literal enemies. And yet…
I looked at the wall opposite me. Among the paintings was a frame. And inside that frame, a family portrait. I stared at it for a long moment, emotions boiling in my chest.
You shouldn’t be feeling like this, Meyra, I thought half-heartedly. These are your enemies. They’d gladly rip you to shreds or stab you in the back if given a chance.
I glanced between the portrait and the small group at my table. It’s been so long… surely I could…? No. I took another bite of oimal, burning my mouth. I sipped my water quickly. No. That would be a death sentence. But the way Galya elbowed the gray and the primate playfully, and how they talked as if they were good friends…
Lost in my train of thought, I hadn’t noticed Xertalis had finished her food until she had stood up. “That was a most delicious meal,” she said. “I thank thee for thy culinary skills.” Xertalis bowed her head to the gray, who bowed its head in return.
“You’re welcome,” it growled. “It’s the least I could do.”
“I must now bathe myself. Where might your bathing room be?”
I pointed down the hallway. “Last door on the right. You can’t miss it.”
“Most appreciated.” And with that, Xertalis left the table.
I noticed the trio watching her as she left. I felt another pang of nostalgia in my chest. I immediately quelled it. Now wasn’t the time to be feeling sentimental.
The primate turned around. “She’s got an interesting way of talking, huh?”
The gray bobbed its head. “Yeah. But she’s a goddess apparently.” I tilted my head as I recognized the sound of skepticism in its grating voice.
Galya furrowed her brow and flicked her tail. Before she had a chance to speak, she was interrupted by Xertalis.
“I require assistance,” she said. “This bathing room lacks water.” She tilted her head slightly. “I know not how to draw it. Perhaps the girl could help me?”
Galya choked as she was taking a sip of water. Water dribbled down her chin. She recovered and turned to Xertalis, her cheeks tinted orange. “Uh—I’m sorry, b-but that’s like, not um… that—I don’t…”
Xertalis looked at the predators. “Perhaps one of the boys, then?”
I gawked as the primate’s face turned a bright shade of red. The gray’s face had grown noticeably darker as well. They glanced at each other and exchanged a silent conversation.
“Um, couldn’t—couldn’t she d-do it instead?” The primate pointed a long, gangly claw at me.
I stiffened. Me? I thought. “I-I can’t,” I blurted. “There’s, uh—I hurt my leg when I fell.”
“Your leg’s fine,” Galya said. She squinted at me. “It’s not really appropriate for kids to help an adult, anyway.”
“She just wants someone to help her figure out how the bath works!” I said indignantly. “That’s hardly inappropriate.”
“You’ll know how your bath works better than we do,” the ape interjected. “Besides, it is a little, uh, odd to make us do it.”
“But—” I began.
“I do not care who assists me,” Xertalis said in a low, steely voice. “Stop thy bickering and make thy choice.”
The trio stared at me. I stared back in disbelief. Did they want my heart to fail? Galya flicked her tail, indicating for me to hurry up. It was obvious that they weren’t going to move.
So it was all up to me.
I took a deep breath and clenched my paws. With great effort, I pushed myself away from the table. I tried to keep my breathing stable as I walked over to Xertalis. I avoided her eyes and motioned down the hallway.
“J-just this way,” I muttered. I glanced at the trio. Galya swished her tail supportively. The primate displayed its thumbs and bared its teeth. The gray whipped its tail across the floor erratically and flashed its razor-sharp fangs.
Suddenly dealing with Xertalis’ eyes didn’t seem like such a bad deal. Without another word, I speed-walked down the hallway.
Meyra, how in Xyek did you get yourself into this situation? I thought helplessly.
[Next]

Tl;dr - me and my friend (F31) want to go out just us 2 friday night but we are the social organizers of the group and nights where we just want a chill night between us two we always get texts about going out or people joining us and we always cave in out of guilt.
Me (M27) and my friend (F31 call her Tay) are the social ones of the group and we like going out during the weekends. Her and I are very close friends and we are the ones that like inviting others to go out with the group. Every few months her and I like to try and do a solo hangout just us becsuse being the ones always inviting people csn get exhausting snd sometimes we just want small night just us 2 hanging out at a bar wing-maning each other even. It has been hard to do in the past few months becsuse once the weekend hits everyone starts texting us about plans and joining us. We love our friends but sometimes its a bit too much. We are two people who feel guilty saying no. Im a little better at it than Tay but still need improvements. The reason i feel a little guilty is because i know what its like to want to go out and everyone you text is rejecting you. Tay tends to feel really guilty and in the past has changed plans for other people. alot of times tay and i are having a blast and then get calls to hangout and we feel guilty and leave just to have a worse night. We have talked about how annoying it sometimes is being the 2 people everyone looks for to make plans and we feel guilty going out and telling someone who also wants to go out they cant join. Dont get me wrong, its a good problem to have as growing up i had little friends so i know what its like.
A few examples: One time tay and I were bored on a friday night and decided to hit up a karaoke bar. It was a last second decision and We decided to not tell anyone. We were there for an hour and it was really fun and Tay wanted to show me some other bars. Then we each got calls from multiple friends wanting to hangout. We told them where we were but they didnt want to go to that part of town. Tay and I looked at each other and we could tell neither of us wanted to leave but we both felt guilty going out and not telling anyone so we left and joined them. The rest of the night sucked because we got to the first bar in that sidenof town and it was a little fun but only lasted 20 minutes as people wanted tk try out another bar. That part of town was packed so it became an argument from the rest of the group about what spot to hit up next and whether it was worth the line. Basicslly for the next 2 hours we only went in to 1 shitty bar.
Another example was a night Tay and I just wanted to grab dinner at a new greek place and hangout at patio bar. When i get to tays house she asks if id like to join our friend (M29 call him John) at the bar with a group of his friends. I introduced john to tay and i always felt like he has a hige crush on her because every weekend he will text her to try and go out or invite her to parties or weekend trips. I told tay if she really wanted to go that id go but id prefer the original plan. She told me she didnt want to go but was hoping i wanted to go because she already accepted. I got mad and asked why would she accept if she doesnt want to go. Her answer was that she told him we had plans but he kept pressing and she felt bad saying no. I decided to just go and the night also sucked. We met up with them at a bar in a crowded part of town. It was john and 3 of his guy friends. We had the greek plans for 7 so i hadnt eaten a meal since 1. The whole group(6 of us) decide to hit up a restuarant but it had a 1 hour wait. We didnt end up eating till 10 pm. We spent an hour at the restaurant and after we left, tay wanted to leave but felt guilty leaving so i just told the group i was tired and going to leave and tay left with me. In the car ride home i asked tay if she knew it was a guys night she got invited to. She said no and felt really awkward once she wss there and wondered why john would even think shed want to go out with just guys.
Tay and i want to try the karaoke bar again this weekend but we dont want anyone texting us about going out. We feel like its going to happen and fear we will cave in. We made plans to hangout near my apartment friday and go out that night. Tay might see john before then and im worried hes going to convince her to change plans or she will feel guilty and change it.
Whats the best way to respond to a text from someone looking to go out?

So I 21m work at a restaurant and have for 2 years. I don’t think I am but a few of the managers have said I’m one of their best BoH and I work full time so I guess I hold some value.
Anyway there was a trial shift for a guy there the other day and when he walked through the door my heart dropped a bit. I knew him and I hate the guy. He worked at another store and came to our store to help out a few times (before my current manager came here) and every time he was rude and just genuinely a cunt. He’s also friends with some other co workers so I’ve been around him when we’ve smoked after work and he was the same. He quit his old store and wants to come back here now. They did his trial shift and his attitude was pretty shitty but he did alright because he’s worked for our brand before. But I obviously don’t wanna work there with him.
So I’ve been thinking about transferring to another store for a while and figured if they’re gonna hire him I might as well do it cos I don’t wanna be around him 30 odd hours a week.
I pulled my manager aside and asked to talk about how the transfers worked and he basically told me and then asked why and I tried to say no reason but he insisted as he is very employee focused and wants us all to be safe and have a good time there. I asked him to not share with anyone else because the guy was friends with a few people there and didn’t wanna cause problems. But that I wouldn’t be comfortable working with him due to personal reasons and I’ve been thinking about transferring for a while although I wasn’t dead set on it, but that this was a good enough reason for me.
My manager wants to promote me and I guess he thinks I’m tryna leverage something because we need more staff atm although that’s not what I’m trying to do, he basically said to me I’ll take what you said into account but I feel you’ve overstepped here and that was the end of the talk.
Was I the asshole here because I was just trying to be honest after he asked, I know as just a staff member I don’t have any say in who they hire but I think it’s fair enough that I want to transfer if someone I can’t work with works there.

I don’t like bragging about myself, but this message to those toxic corporation employees if you have a chance to read my message. I am a self made millionaire by running small restaurant businesses and have been in this industry for over 10 years. Recently I am keen on acquiring one of the fast food franchises. I tried to work for McDonald, Dunkin, Chick-fil-A, and now I work for Panera to see which model is the best. I have never seen any place having as many bossy corporation employees as Panera company. I have seen a few good corporation employees with empathy and a sense of community, but many of them have been bossing around and belittling other store employees with nasty attitude. You guys clearly are not entitled to demand others providing customers with upscale standards like a high end restaurant while underpaying your employees. I never acquire any Panera franchise where toxic people think that they are the kings and queens do dirty deeds without impunity. I tell y’all that toxic corporation employees will face karma one day.

"Where are your fucking clothes?!" Jerry screamed as one of the girls ran past him naked, shouting for another one and paying him no mind.
"I just had you get dressed!" he wailed as she vanished through the door to the hall. Another one stepped in through the front door and Jerry rounded on her. "Whose fucking blood is that?!" he demanded. She stared, eyes wide, but didn't answer.
"That's two more! You're up to eleven, now." Inanna said cheerfully. Jerry rounded on her, giving her a glare made of pure frustration.
"Don't give me that look," she said primly, turning away from the girl whose makeup she was doing. "You agreed to this, and you're the one cursing up a storm."
"You don't seem to have any issues cursing yourself," he pointed out.
"That's right. I don't. I've told you before that adding a few extra 'fucks' and 'shits' and 'cocksucking motherfuckers' to your vocabulary wouldn't hurt anything and might be a little cathartic."
"Shit piss fuck cunt cocksucker motherfucker tits," he deadpanned.
Inanna beamed a smile at him. "Eighteen," she said and turned back as he shook his head and went stomping after the naked girl. The one with the blood on her chin and shirt continued to stand next to the front door, looking confused.
"Does this really make men want to mate with you more?" the girl whose makeup she was doing asked. "No, not really," Inanna said. "But it makes you feel prettier, which will make you more confident, and that tends to make the whole process go better as far as you're concerned."
"So when you're done, I will feel more confident?"
"That's the idea," Inanna confirmed.
"Then I will go out and seek a practice mate. How much longer?"
"You will do no such thing until your body's finished growing," Inanna scolded. "Fucking hell, kid, you look like you're about fifteen. Any guy that wants to mate with you right now is a guy you really don't want to mate with. If you really want to practice, I'll speak to Jerry and-"
"Absolutely not!" Jerry said, leading a naked girl out of the hall by a hand around her upper arm. He grabbed the bloody one as well and walked them back to his office, from whence the naked one had come.
"Why not?" the girl asked. Inanna gave her a level stare. "Did you already forget what I just said about men who would want to mate with you? But pay him no mind, I wasn't suggesting he could do it. I mean, he'd probably leave you with internal bleeding, anyways, you're just so tiny. I was going to suggest that he work a little magic to age you up appropriately for a while, so you could find a man who wasn't a hebephile."
"What is a hebephile?" she asked.
"Almost as bad as a pedophile. Worse, in some ways. They're creepier, in any event, at least to me."
"And what is a pedophile?"
"The scum of the earth," Inanna said, as if that settled the matter.
"So I should avoid hebephiles and pedophiles," the girl said. Inanna smiled sweetly at her. "Yes, you should. Now close your eyes, I'm going to do your eyeshadow and them we'll be done."
"I can't wait to see it," the girl said, a bit of excitement creeping into her voice. Inanna gave her smokey blue eyes and then leaned back. "Okay," she said, picking up the mirror and showing the girl her reflection. She squealed loudly and clapped her hands, grinning at her reflection.
Jerry returned, now with two fully dressed girls. He put them both on the couch. "Sit here, and don't fucking move," he instructed sternly.
"Nineteen," Inanna said. Jerry ignored her comment.
"I have to go clean up 'about half' of a dead racoon. Do you think you could get some food going before one of them encounters a neighborhood cat or, god forbid, a neighborhood kid?"
"How about I get them ready to go out? I don't think I have enough food to cook for all fourteen of them."
Jerry nodded, then headed for the garage.
----
It took two humvee to get all of them moving. It also took two hours, because once the others had seen what Inanna did to their sister's face, they all wanted to wear makeup. Fortunately, Aaina had come through, breaking out her own makeup and helping cut the time needed to do them all in half.
Inanna sat in the driver's seat of one humvee with Aaina on the passenger seat. Sarah and Junior were spending the weekend at Eddis and Yarm Junior's new apartment. Some people might find it odd to let two twenty-something boys do their babysitting, but Brekka and Yarm were taking a break, doing some sightseeing in the Sixteenth world, and Inanna trusted those two boys implicitly.
"Dad seems like he's ready to snap," Aaina said. Inanna glanced over to see her looking worried. She laughed. "No, he's not."
"The last time I heard him cursing like this was when we thought you guys were dead," Aaina said. "And I'm sure he'd have killed every single god who got in his way. Tysrane was lucky he only lost a hand..."
"Oh hun," Inanna said. "How much talking and complaining did he do back then?"
"Uhh," Aaina said. "Not much, really. He was more broody than angry."
"Would you say he's acting broody tonight?"
"Ahh, I get you. So what, he's putting on a show of being angry and stressed?"
"Something like that. He's fine, in any event." Inanna turned into the parking lot of the cafeteria and was relieved to note that there was plenty of parking available. She still pulled in near the edge of the lot, taking up two spots with the huge vehicle, but the availability of closer parking meant they wouldn't be too busy.
She climbed out, watching the flood of adolescent Akkorokamui pour out of the back seat. She'd been surprised when Jerry had agreed to watch them so Nick and Zelda could go out on a date. Jerry had given her the impression that he was still holding a grudge over Nick's actions years ago, despite the older man's efforts to make amends in more recent years. But he had gone ahead and volunteered the two of them. And now, he was seemingly paying the price.
She watched as he remained in his humvee after parking and the passenger and rear doors opened. The seven girls with him poured out, and each and every one was naked.
Inanna shook her head and walked over to the driver's side door, to see Jerry behind the wheel with his head against the steering wheel. She opened the door.
"How many?" she asked.
"Twelve more," he admitted. "That's thirty four," she said. He nodded slightly.
"Are you turning your aura on or something?" Inanna asked. He finally lifted his head to look at her.
"No!" he said. "That's what I don't get. They're not trying to do anything, with me or each other! They're just taking their damn clothes off like it's perfectly normal and continuing to chit chat with each other!"
"Well, I mean, it is kinda normal for them to be naked..."
Jerry fixed her with a look. "It's also normal for them to have tentacles instead of legs." None of the girls had reverted to her tentacles. Inanna hadn't even seen one start to, all night. Visually speaking, they'd been a normal gaggle of teenage girls, all evening.
"That's weird, because none of them got undressed in my car," she said.
Jerry threw his hands up. He whimpered. "I don't know how I'm going to deal with thi-Ahh, shit, they're already running inside!"
Inanna turned to see a trio of naked girls entering the restaurant.
"You go get them," Inanna said. "Put a veil of mundanity on them. If they want to go naked, let them go naked, just keep the staff from overreacting." Jerry sighed and nodded, jogging in. Aaina and four of the girls walked up. Inanna counted heads gathered in a group in the middle of the parking lot, chatting excitedly. Seven, five of which were naked. Which meant the girls who'd ridden with her were undressing now."
She sighed. She understood Jerry's frustration. These girls all seemed to have a serious attention deficit disorder, and herding them had been a nightmare so far.
"Aaina," she asked. "Will you find whatever clothing got discarded in the parking lot, and then help everyone who's still dressed get undressed? At least that way, we can keep them from losing their clothes."
"Gonna use a veil?" Aaina asked. "Your father should be using one by now, yes," Inanna said.
"Okay," Aaina turned, spotted a pile of clothing and went to retrieve it.
"We'll be inside," Inanna said. She walked over to the group and pulled the naked ones aside. "The rest of you, let Aaina take your clothes. You can all go naked if you like."
A ragged, high-pitched cheer went up as Inanna shook her head, smiling. "Come on, let's go get some food."
----
There was a bit of a kerfuffle due to the girls entering before Jerry could get the veil settled, but once he did, Inanna was able to smooth things over with the staff and other patrons. Jerry got the tab settled, which was over three hundred dollars for all of them. Inanna considered it money well spent, as the girls took to eating with gusto, and required no real supervision.
They also ate a lot. Which might make the owner upset, but that's the risk one takes when one's only dining option is 'all you can eat'. The cook staff seemed to like the girls, who were mostly bubbly and enthusiastic about trying everything they could.
Jerry was starting to settle down, too. He only racked up four more curse words during dinner. When he and Inanna had eaten, she scooched her chair over to lean against him.
"I think we should do something with them," she said.
Jerry sighed. "Nick told me that the last time they had a night together, Zelda's sister ate one of them, and Zelda in turn, ate her sister. I don't think they'd handle it well. Besides, that's not my-gahh!" Inanna cut him off with a poke in the ribs.
"I didn't mean killing them, you psycho. I meant taking them somewhere to blow off some steam."
Jerry gawked at her. "Are you out of your mind?" he whispered. "We barely survived dinner!"
"Actually, dinner went quite well, compared to keeping them cooped up at the house. That's what gave me the idea."
Jerry heaved a heavy sigh. "I guess you're right. But I have no idea what to do with them."
Inanna turned to Aaina. "Aaina, what do you think?"
"The park," Aaina said without hesitation. "Specifically, Rockville park, down on Churchville Road."
Inanna blinked. "The playground?" she asked. Aaina nodded with a smile. "Exactly."
"I'm not so sure that would be their speed," Inanna objected, but Aaina shook her head.
"Mom, I've been chatting with them all night. I know they look like teenage girls, but for the most part, they talk like little kids. I mean, they're what, six months old?"
"Good point," Inanna said with a proud smile. Aaina smiled back, so she reached over and mussed her hair, eliciting a squeal of protest and a frantic brushing.
"You're such a smart young lady," Inanna said.
----
The girls took to the park with gusto, hooting and hollering as they climbed all over the equipment and chased each other around and just generally had a great time.
"Now," Inanna said as she settled onto a bench with Aaina and Jerry. "All we have to do is make sure none of them run off."
"Okay, this was a damn good idea," Jerry said. "Thank you, both of you. I feel like I can finally breath again."
They sat there, watching the girls play, until a familiar voice sounded from behind them.
"Hey Mister and Missus Williams!" Eddis called. Sara and Junior cried out "Mommy!" in unison.
"Hey," Inanna said as her two youngest children tackled her, hugging and tickling them in response. "What are you guys doing here?"
"The little ones were getting restless, so we decided to bring them out for a bit before bedtime, tire them out some."
"Same," Jerry deadpanned.
"Go play, you too," Inanna said to her kids, shooing them off. She concentrated, summoning a sliver of magic and forming it into a mental warning to the girls.
Anyone who harms the two little kids will get the exact same treatment your aunt got when she ate your sister. And I want to hear fourteen acknowledgements.
A few seconds later, a chorus of fourteen voices chanted the lesson Jerry had impressed upon them at the onset. "Children are friends, not food."
"I meant it!" Inanna shouted.
She kept her eyes on the two little ones, just in case. Several of the girls peeled off and began chatting them up. Within moments, they'd been roped into some sort of game that involved the players chasing each other around screaming "Zombie! Om nom nom!"
"Man," Eddis said as he took a seat on the bench. Yarm Junior offered a hand to Aaina, who took it. He pulled her up and led her to the playground as she laughed at something he said.
"I don't know how you guys do it. I mean, I hear your kids are pretty well behaved from Mom and everyone who knows them, but..."
"They do tend to run you ragged," Jerry commiserated.
"You get used to it," Inanna added.
"Man, I sure hope so. I've always dreamed of having a family. Being a dad, you know?"
"You're gonna be the best dad one day, Eddis," Inanna told him. "Your brother, too. You're both such amazing young men."
"I gotta hit the bathroom," Jerry said, standing up. "Are you guys good without me for a minute?"
Inanna counted heads. Sixteen girls, two boys. "Yup," she said. Jerry nodded and walked over to the bathrooms.
"You mom's gonna love being a grandmother," Inanna said. Eddis laughed. "Yeah, if I can ever find the right girl."
"Don't tell me you're still a virgin," Inanna gasped. Eddis gave her an incredulous look, and then pulled out and tapped his phone a few times. He showed it to her, the screen displaying his contacts. About three quarters of them were women's names with heart emojis at the end. Inanna laughed.
"You certainly take after your father in that regards."
"Yeah. Dad and mom had it a little easier, though. There were only a few people in the tribe, and you pretty much had to pair up young back then."
"Do you remember much of the tribe?" Inanna asked. Eddis shrugged. "Yeah, a bit. Junior doesn't really remember much. We both prefer it here though, I can tell you that."
"Me too," Inanna said.
A moment later, she added. "Well, the bright side is that there's no pressure on you to find the right girl who wants to settle down and have a family."
"What do you mean?" he asked. Inanna pointed to the trees surrounding the park, where Aaina and Yarm Junior could be seen kissing under the canopy.
"Oh!" Eddis gasped.
"You'd better go break it up before Jerry gets out the bathroom. He's liable to have a heart attack, after the evening we've had."

Hello Portland!! As the title says I'm coming up on my 40th trip around our star and I'm looking for the best Portland can offer. I'll be driving from Eugene in late August and will dining at Fogo de Chao (high end restaurant recommendations welcome as well) but I need a place to stay for a few nights. Which high end hotels or rentals do you suggest? Help an old guy turn 40 right!

Experience the best trip to Tirthan Valley with Enlivetrips. Explore breathtaking landscapes, indulge in adventure activities, and immerse yourself in the serene beauty of nature. Book your trip now for an unforgettable journey with Enlivetrips.

I was an exchange student in 1989 in London. Best time ever! I would often eat at Italian restaurants and order this dish. It was almost entirely green. Green fettuccine or linguine, in a spinach cream sauce with diced ham and spinach. There is more to it, but that's my memory. Since I've been back in the states, it doesn't exist. I've even perused London restaurant menus online with no luck. I don't have a name, but I'm guessing a Florentine. It is so delicious. Anyone know what is is and how to make it?

can be located anywhere as my family and plan to make our way through as much of the city as possible while we’re there. however, we will be staying at an airbnb in koreatown - so feel free to go crazy with some must visits there.
would especially love: some good breakfast/brunch recs, any good greek food, a must go to korean restaurant, a place w bao buns, quick lunches, quality dinner that wont kill the bank and keep us full, best tacos, best sushi, and most importantly things u can only find in LA (in the usa at least)

I've heard that reservations are a must at many restaurants in Kyoto and I will be there during Obon so I expect this will be more true than at other times. I've been researching Best Of lists but most just list the restaurant's phone number. I'd really appreciate recommendations for restaurants you've enjoyed that take reservations online. I'm interested in any/all cuisines and price ranges.

I'm from Miami, and I really wanted to leave for college so I applied in multiple places out of the country, and on the west coast. Out of all the US schools, Santa Clara was the best financial decision and in the UK I had only received an offer from York so I commuted to SCU. However, yesterday I received an offer from Kings College in London, which was one of my first choices when I applied. I really like SCU, I toured it and became somewhat comfortable with it, but I do have to consider that Kings is a part of the Russell group and a notably higher ranked school
However i've accustomed myself to the idea of moving to Santa Clara. I have family there, and I love San Francisco, it's only an hour drive a way. On the other hand, I'd be moving from a fast paced city to a rural town and London does appeal to me much more in that sense. I also have family in London. I'd be paying practically the same for either one.
I'm an english major and Santa Clara is right in Silicon valley. The emphasis around there is on tech, and it's really not my thing. I had always wanted to go to a liberal arts institution, but it just didn't work out that way. I guess for anyone who's read this far i'm just wondering .. Do I move to California or London? Thanks

Hey Kansas City restaurant fans. I publish a regular newsletter in which I review restaurants, cover restaurant news, look back at Kansas City restaurant history, and share lots of photos. Subscriptions to the basic newsletter updates is free. You can also upgrade to the paid tier to help support my project.
In the current issue, I start my tier list of the best doughnuts around the Kansas City area. I also have a mini-review of a coffee shop in Weston, Missouri. My website also has guides to vegetarian restaurants and restaurants by neighborhood. https://chuckeatskc.substack.com/

Went out to dinner with my husband and my daughter the other night. We have been healing from his infidelity. He has 6 months from his d day. He’s in therapy and recovery groups. I’m in a support group and therapy.
We both work and when we’re not working we’re taking care of our daughter. We work opposite schedules so we only really get 2 days together a weeks.
We went to dinner the other night with my daughter. And the table we sat next too was 3 girls and there child. One of the girls was so loud talking about how she fucks married men for fun. And how she hooked up with her best friends husband because she wanted too.
I never felt so sick to my stomach or so triggered in my life. Obviously that girl isn’t me. And her life isn’t my business. But when she’s loudly talking about it at a family restaurant in front of children. Like really ? 🫠
It really feels like I can’t go a day without thinking about or being triggered by my husbands infidelity and porn addiction.
My heart goes out to that girl cause at the end of the day she’s just a lost soul trying to fill a void in the wrong way. And directly/ indirectly hurting a lot of people in the process.
My heart goes out to anyone who’s going through this with there spouse it’s shitty shoes to walk in.

Did you ever guess what are the Top 10 Most Popular Fast Food Restaurants in Australia?
https://www.thedailytop10.com/top-10-best-and-most-popular-cheap-hotels-in-the-world

Hi folks - I’m trying to find a sit-down restaurant in close walking distance to Agganis and best I can tell from the map is that almost everything is fast food/takeout style, likely due to the student population. The only place I saw was Sunset Cantina, which doesn’t have the best reviews. Any recommendations?

Saw a post on the sub a few days back about The Taj Mahal Hotel and thought let’s go for dinner tonight to their Asian restaurant, The Golden Dragon. Food was really bad, service was appalling. They served my vegetarian friends chicken soup, on getting caught they lied to us saying it was tofu. We got their lie and were ready to make amends. But how stupid is that, one of the best hotels in Mumbai rather India is doing such shit. What else to expect from others?!