Author's Note: Well, now I'm in a quandary ... I promised a oneshot for the 300th reviewer, only that turned out to be a guest reviewer who didn't even leave his/her name. So I have no idea who it could possibly be ... Well, we're going to solve this situation, no fear! Instead of awarding the oneshot to someone I can't even reach by private message, I will let all of you reviewers pitch your oneshot ideas to me, and I will choose the prompt that speaks to me the most. How's that? :-) So let me know what you'd like me to write, and you may be rewarded with a oneshot! And as usual: review = sneak peek (make sure you're logged in and allow private messages to be sent to you).

Chapter 53: A Jonah Day

"When Anne arose in the dull, bitter winter morning she felt that life was flat, stale, and unprofitable.

She went to school in no angelic mood. Her cheek was swollen and her face ached. The schoolroom was cold and smoky, for the fire refused to burn and the children were huddled about it in shivering groups. Anne sent them to their seats with a sharper tone than she had ever used before. Anthony Pye strutted to his with his usual impertinent swagger and she saw him whisper something to his seat-mate and then glance at her with a grin." (Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea)

Blaine woke up around the same time he usually did, and sighed blissfully when he realised he still had Kurt in his arms. Then his sleep-hazy brain cleared and he looked at the alarm clock.

Uh-oh … I totally forgot to set the alarm! It's 6.23 AM and I'm in Lima. I need to be in school at 8.30 and it takes two hours to get there!

He scrambled out of bed and ran to the kitchen to prepare some coffee, and then, while it was dripping through, he raced to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He dressed, gelled his hair down and sprinted to the living room to put his shoes on.

There, to his surprise, Kurt was waiting for him.

Blaine apologised for leaving so abruptly, but Kurt didn't seem to mind. He held out Blaine's coat and gave him a breakfast bag to take along with him.

Blaine kissed Kurt and rushed down the stairs and to his car, thinking "I really hope there's coffee in the bag …"

He drove as fast as he could without breaking the speed limits and arrived at school five minutes late, harried and frantic and deciding to wait until morning break to have breakfast.

During morning break, he had to endure the teasing from his colleagues, who seemed to think his tardiness was due to other reasons than oversleeping. Jeff gambolled around him like an excited puppy and wanted him to recount his entire weekend, leaving nothing out. Tina and Chelsey and even Juliet and Nora were clamouring for details. And he really, really didn't want to talk about it right now. He just wanted to have some breakfast, preferably in peace and quiet.

So he snapped at his colleagues to leave him alone for goodness sake. They weren't used to outbursts like that from Blaine, and when he saw their shocked faces, he instantly felt guilty. It had shut them up effectively, though, so he focused on having breakfast first.

The bag did contain coffee, in a travel mug, as well as a fruit salad and two cereal bars. He finished it all and sighed in satisfaction.

I really have the best boyfriend in the world …

Then he apologised to his colleagues and promised to tell them all about his weekend during lunch hour.

"Uhm, Blaine, you're supervising the school yard at lunch today," Juliet remarked tentatively, clearly trying to avoid him getting angry again. "It's Monday."

"Oh," replied Blaine.

I hadn't thought of that. I'm really out of it today.

"Some other time, then," Blaine promised.

He went back to his classroom, and checked his phone for any new messages. There was nothing from Kurt, but Blaine's father had sent him a curt text.

From: Edward Anderson

We're expecting you for Thanksgiving. 11 AM sharp. No excuses this year. You have some explaining to do.

In an instant, his mood went from off-kilter to murderous.

Really, father? I have some explaining to do? What is there to explain? I'm gay, always have been, always will be, world without end, amen. And I've finally found love. That's all there's to it. It's not an elaborate plot to discredit you, or whatever else is going through your head right now. I'm not thinking of you AT ALL. I'm a grown man, not a little child you can scold and order around. It's MY life, and I intend to live it as I see fit.

To: Edward Anderson

I'm only coming for Thanksgiving if Kurt is welcome as well - Blaine

He decided to send a quick text to Kurt as well.

To: Kurt Hummel

I was only five minutes late. Thank you for breakfast, you're the best! xxx Blaine

Then he stowed away his phone and concentrated on teaching his class the basic physics of air pressure with two plastic bottles, one with a hole in it and one without a hole and two balloons.

He asked for two volunteers and gave them each a bottle and a balloon, asking them to place the balloon inside the neck of the bottle and then blow it up.

Maria, who'd received the bottle with a hole in it, was able to blow up her balloon without a problem. Robby, though, whose bottle was intact, didn't manage to get the balloon to inflate at all.

Blaine explained why. In the bottle with the hole, the bottle's air could escape, allowing the balloon to grow bigger. In the bottle without the hole, the air inside was trapped and it pushed harder to get out than the balloon could push to get room when Robby blew on it. That's why his balloon didn't inflate.

Robby pouted magnificently. "You tricked me, Mr. A!"

The children all laughed.

"Now," said Blaine, "we're going to make a tiny hole here at the bottom of Robby's bottle, and that will allow the compressed air to escape … and Robby to blow up his balloon."

He did just that, and Robby blew up his balloon and presented it with a flourish and a bow, earning him a delighted applause from his audience and Blaine's first laugh of the day.

During lunch hour, Tina came to talk with him while he was supervising the school yard. He reassured her that the weekend had been everything he'd hoped for and more. He was just grumpy because he'd overslept that morning and because he hadn't wanted to leave Kurt in such a hurry.

"And I don't even have anything to eat for lunch, and I'm stuck here," Blaine whined.

Tina rolled her eyes and stated: "Well, that's easily fixed. Give me some money and I'll go fetch you something. What would you like?"

"Could you fetch me a sub sandwich, please?" Blaine asked, fishing some change out of his pocket and handing her about eight dollars. "Oven-roasted chicken, please."

"Foot-long?" inquired Tina.

"Yes, please, I'm starving!"

"Okay, I'll be right back!" Tina replied, and with a wink and a wave, she was gone.

The rest of the day was, thankfully, uneventful, and when Blaine got home, he threw himself into more crafting for the musical.

After several hours, he was interrupted by his telephone ringing. An unknown number. He picked up, and before he could even say hello, a steady stream of chatter came his way.

"Blaine? Hey Blaine, this is Rachel Hudson, Kurt's sister-in-law. I asked Kurt for your number, if you're wondering how I got it. I hope that's okay. Kurt must have thought you wouldn't mind, because he gave me your number straightaway. Anyway, I'm calling you because I have a favour to ask of you."

As soon as Blaine could get a word in edgewise, he replied: "Rachel, hi. How can I help you?"

"Well, do you remember Leah from the wedding? Naomi's middle sister?" Rachel prompted.

"No, I'm afraid I don't," admitted Blaine.

"Well, her twin daughters Hannah and Clara are turning four, and she's asked me to plan their birthday party. And it turns out they're really into princesses and fairy tales. So the theme will be "Princesses", with dress-up and make-overs and princess lessons and pink cupcakes, but I want to end the party with you telling them a story and maybe singing some Disney songs for them. Would you be willing to do that? You'd be paid for it, of course."

Blaine chuckled. "Yes, yes, I would. It sounds like fun."

"Oh good," said Rachel brightly. "But … There's a catch … I'd like you to dress up as a prince, to fit in with the theme."

Blaine threw his head back and laughed. "This sounds better and better. Yes, I'd be honoured to be those girls' Prince Charming for the day. Absolutely. You can count on me. When's the party?"

"It's this Wednesday afternoon," Rachel clarified. "The party starts at 3 PM, and I'd expect you around 4.30 PM, would that be okay? Leah lives on the outskirts of Westerville. I'll text you the address."

"Okay," Blaine grinned. "I'm looking forward to it. My colleague Nora's husband runs an amateur theatre group. I'll ask her if they have a prince costume I could borrow."

"Thank you so much," Rachel gushed. "Let me know about the costume. If you can borrow one, send me a picture of it. If not, I'll find you a costume. Exactly how tall are you?"

"Five feet eight inches," answered Blaine.

"Okay, I've written that down," said Rachel. "Let me know as soon as possible. I'll text you the address, and I'll see you there Wednesday at 4.30 PM. Thanks again for helping me out, I really appreciate it!"

"It's my pleasure," Blaine assured her. "See you Wednesday, Rachel. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Blaine went to his texts to send Nora a message straightaway, but he was distracted by two angry texts from his father that must have arrived this morning.

From: Edward Anderson

You will not disrespect me this way. Stop acting out and behave like an upstanding citizen.

From: Edward Anderson

If you're unable to bring a girl as your date, like any normal man, we expect you alone. 11 AM sharp.

Seriously, father? Like a NORMAL man? I'm not even dignifying this with a response!

Fuming, he stomped to the kitchen, made himself a quick dinner and ate it.

As he was rinsing his plate in the sink, he remembered that he had to send a text to Nora about the prince costume, so he grabbed his phone and composed a text.

To: Nora Clegg

Hey Nora, could you ask Henry if his theatre group has a prince costume I could borrow?

To: Nora Clegg

I'm impersonating Prince Charming at a birthday party this Wednesday ;-)

Nora replied promptly.

From: Nora Clegg

Henry has racked his brains and remembered an outfit that could work :-)

From: Nora Clegg

It's a bottle-green coat with gold embroidery, white riding breeches, a lavender gold-dusted waistcoat and an electric blue neck cloth.

From: Nora Clegg

Would that do? And do you want riding boots as well? What size?

To: Nora Clegg

That sounds perfect! And yes, I'd like the boots as well. I'm a ten in shoe size.

To: Nora Clegg

Could you bring the costume and boots with you to school tomorrow? Thanks!

From: Nora Clegg

Only if you promise to try it on at school and give us girls a teaser of your Prince Charming performance ;-)

Blaine laughed out loud.

To: Nora Clegg

Deal! Prepare to swoon :-)

That was the costume sorted out, thankfully. Blaine sent a quick text to Rachel to tell her he'd scored a costume and that he'd send her a picture of it the next day. Then he started up his laptop to Skype with Kurt. Only, Kurt was not online, though it was nine PM already.

Blaine tried reaching Kurt on the phone, but the line was busy. Frowning, he went to the sofa and watched some television, trying to call Kurt every quarter of an hour, and growing increasingly frustrated when he kept getting a busy signal.

At 10.30 PM, he gave up and decided to send Kurt a goodnight text and turn in.

To: Kurt Hummel

I tried to reach you, but the line was busy :-(

To: Kurt Hummel

Rachel called just now. You'll never guess what she wanted …

To: Kurt Hummel

Can we Skype tomorrow at 9 PM please?

To: Kurt Hummel

Good night and sweet dreams xxx Blaine