No, I'm not dead. I apologize for the long gap in posting for my other stories, but there's so much going on right now. Just this month alone I have six exams. It's complete madness. And to top it all off, I'm planning a trip to Las Vegas for Spring Break;)
So, fear not I'll get updates out for my stories in the next several days. I'm currently working on 'Mañoso' and 'Brighter Than the Sun'.
The idea for this fic hit me while I was in class. It's going to be a fun little AU story.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.
After a long and busy day I was dying to go home, take a nice hot bath and have something to eat while losing myself in a good movie. But starting today and for the next eight weeks, my free time will be eaten up by yet another obligation.
My name is Stephanie Plum. I'm a thirty something Jersey native with an Italian-Hungarian descent, fast metabolism, curly brown hair and blue eyes. I grew up in the Chambersburg neighborhood known as the Burg to the locals. It's a very close-knit community from which people rarely leave. Maybe that's where all the chaos in my life is coming from. I currently work for the Trenton Recreation Department, but I recently received an offer from the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department. My friend Lula lives in Miami and she gave me the heads up that speaking Spanish will be a great plus. So, I started doing some research. My grandmother gave me the tip that RangeMan has a great reputation. They offer free foreign language sessions for the seniors at the Senior Center once a week. Although I've never personally worked with them, everyone I asked gave me very positive feedback.
That's why instead of going home after work today I'm rushing to make it to class. RangeMan is located in the center of town, on Haywood. To be honest I imagined the place to be a lot… different. The seven story building has underground parking and thankfully it didn't take me long to find an open parking space.
I took the elevator to the first floor and found a massive man standing behind a desk in the lobby. He was bald and I was momentarily distracted by the tattoo on his forehead. "I…" I cleared my throat as I focused on the man's eyes, rather than his forehead. "My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm here for the Spanish class." He didn't say a word as he typed something on the computer in front of him. He filled out a blue piece of paper the size of a business card and handed it to me. It had my name on it and the location of the class. "Thanks." I gave him a finger wave and turned on my heel.
"Two-ten…two-twelve…" I read off room numbers until I found room 214. Inside, the room was a very standard one. There were about ten chairs with a tiny desk attached to them. A larger desk and a whiteboard decorated the front of the room and not much else. Three chairs were vacant, all in the front, so I had no choice. I always sat in the back in school and avoided at all costs having to sit in the front row. That's what I get for not arriving early, I guess.
Five minutes later the door opened and a man strode in. He was tall with a mocha latte skin complexion, a body to die for and he was dressed all in black.. I nervously looked around the room, wondering if perhaps I was in the wrong place. For all I know this could be fitness training or something.
"Is this Spanish class?" I asked the woman sitting next to me. She nodded, not taking her eyes off the instructor.
"You're all here for my Spanish for Non-Native Speakers course." It wasn't a question. He lifted a muscular arm as he introduced himself. "My name is Carlos Mañoso, but I prefer Ranger." An almost smile escaped his handsome face as he passed out some papers. "This evaluation will help me determine where everyone is at." Ranger said not to panic and told us we had ten minutes to fill out the form.
The first part of his evaluation was very standard, asking things like what was our purpose in taking the course and stuff like that. The last half of the form was completely in Spanish and I left it blank.
"Okay." Ranger walked around collecting forms, while simultaneously handing out more paperwork. I must have made a face of disgust, because he quickly scanned over my evaluation as I handed it to him. That almost smile returned as he handed me a syllabus. "Under your chairs you will find the book we'll be using throughout this course." He gave me one last considering glance before moving towards his desk, stuffing the evaluations inside a manila folder. "Before we start, let's get to know each other. Trust me, you'll want to make a friend in this class." A spark lit his gaze and I'm pretty sure he was staring right at me. "Why don't we start with you?" Yup, he was definitely staring at me. "Tell us your name and something about yourself."
I took a deep breath. I'm too old for this shit, I thought. "My name is Stephanie Plum and I love cake." Well, that was smooth.
The corners of Ranger's mouth twitched in a barely there grin. "I personally prefer pie." And with that he moved his attention to the woman sitting next to me.
"I'm Connie Rosolli and I work for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds."
Ranger turned his attention back to me.
"He's my cousin." I responded as if he'd asked me the question.
"He's a weasel." Connie stage whispered. I gave her a nod of agreement. Vinnie isn't in a lot of people's list of favorites.
"My name is Salvatore Sweet, but I prefer to go by Sally." Said the cross-dressing guy sitting behind me.
"I'm Jeanne Ellen Burrows and I'm quite flexible." The way she gave Ranger the once over clearly showed she was interested in more than the class.
The last four people introduced themselves, but I didn't pay attention.
"From now on, you are not allowed to speak in this class." Ranger held up a hand to stop anyone about to protest. "Unless, you do it Spanish." His annoying barely there grin returned.
Jerk.
S&R
For the remainder of the class we worked on the first chapter of the book. It had three lessons and for the next class meeting we were to turn in the completed activities at the end of the chapter. I did a mental head slap. Why on Earth did I sign up for a class that meets three times a week? As if I don't have enough on my plate already.
On my drive home I began to doubt if I could actually pull this through.
"Maybe I don't really need to learn Spanish." I muttered to myself as I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment building. I sat there with the engine running for a few seconds, entertaining the idea of quitting the course. "But I already paid for the classes." With a sigh, I decided I was going to stick with it even if Señor Ranger made it a living nightmare.