Nora took a step back to get a better glance at Arthur. His once somewhat long navy blue hair was buzzed cut to where it looked like every one male hairstyle Nora had seen, and his eyes seemed to have slightly dark bags under them, poorly covered up by his glasses. Before Nora even had the chance to recover, her cyan eyes spotted him holding the pink haired girl from the daycare.
"A-Arthur? What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to become a godparent!", she snapped, glaring at him. Arthur smiled slightly.
"Willow convinced me to join. She's..uh..quite the wild spirit", Arthur chuckled, "She said it had been a dream of hers to godparent, so I'm willing to be there for her and take the training needed to become on alongside her."
"Why? I thought you were trying to become a professor at the Fairy World community college?"
"I got turned down a few weeks ago. They said I didn't had the charisma they were looking for or something.."
"No surprise there.", Nora groaned, rolling her eyes before glaring at the girl in his arms. "Who's this?"
"This..uh wel.."
"Oh spit it out already! I have better places to be right now, Arthur!"
"This is Bella..our daughter."
"Wait what? I..what are you talking about? We didn't-"
"No! No! I'm sorry! I meant mine and Willow's, not yours.", Arthur blushed, laughing in embarrassment, "I'm sorry Nora. I should have spoken clearer."
"Yeah you should have. You nearly gave me a heart attack.", she griped, "Since when did you have a daughter? Last time, I saw you and that bitch get drunk together in the middle of the bar."
"Ok first off, don't call Willow a bitch. She's sweet once you get to know her; she's just a bit more open if you get the picture. She doesn't deserve the disrespect.."
"Well maybe if she had a bit more common sense and etiquette then maybe.."
"No Nora. I'm not hearing it. This is exactly why we broke up. You take everything and make it about yourself."
"Maybe so but I'm not wrong, am I? I mean she couldn't have been wearing more than a bathroom towel!"
"It doesn't matter what you think, Nora! The only reason she was nasty to you at the bar was because you were nasty first! You know, she actually has been struggling with her self image since I first met her, and your little remarks did not help what so ever."
"And how is that my problem?! All I did was tell her what I thought. I thought you liked the way I spoke my mind. Is that not good enough for you now?"
"That wasn't speaking your mind, Nora. That was just being rude.", Arthur sighed, taking a deep breath, "Look, we've been together for about a year now. We left Bella with a babysitter and finally decided to go out for the first time in months, so excuse us for wanting to cut ourselves some slack. I promise I wasn't trying to follow you, hunt you down, or flaunt Willow in front of you. We just wanted a night out."
"Whatever Arthur. I guess what you guys do is your business. I just..", Nora said, her glare dropping, "I didn't expect you to move on so soon. I thought you loved me."
"Oh I did. But I thought you didn't love me anymore."
"What do you mean? What could I have possibly done to give you that impression?"
Both fairies were quiet for a while, avoiding eye contact with each other. Nora really didn't understand what was happening right now. She felt heat rise from her chest to her face as her fist balled slightly, wand in her right hand. As Arthur continued to talk. Nora felt herself get angrier and angrier, trying with all her might not to strike at him. It was always about what she did wrong or what she did to hurt her feelings.
"-not to mention, when I asked if you wanted to have a child together, you shut down that idea!"
"Ok Arthur. Let me stop you right there. Just because I didn't want a child right then and there didn't mean I stopped loving you! We were too young! I wanted to focus on my career, which you've never respected!"
"But I helped you buy supplies for your class! I even ordered you textbooks as a small surprise so you wouldn't stress out as much."
"I heard the things you would say to your friends when I wasn't around. You always said how seeing me teaching a bunch of delinquents made you determined to study hard and get a job as a professor. Well mister, that turned out quite well!"
"There's other schools..."
"Save it, Arthur!", Nora yelled, "Look, I'm going to go home. I'm done with you and I'm done with your selfishness. The only reason you'll be allowed to talk to me is if you somehow get Level 14 probation."
"Nora-"
"Nora nothing! I hope you and Willow find happiness, because you're not gonna get it from me!", Nora said, small tears threatening to fall down, "Goodbye Arthur."
Giving him no chance to speak, Nora waved her wand and poofed herself home, allowing herself to collapse on the couch. Her left hand dropped the briefcase, which messily spilled the graded papers all over the floor. Oh, how she could go for a bottle of whisky right about now. Well, no that might not be a good idea.
During hers and Arthur's last few months of marriage, Nora had been trying to clean herself up from drinking hard liquors, which she would do if she had a particularly bad day. He had complained that she was always so angry and even more argumentative when she got drunk, so she had swore that she would at least slow down for his sake. She wouldn't forgive herself if she had been the cause of a black eye.
But now that he moved out, Nora picked herself up the couch and took her wand, poofing out a cola, Jack Daniels Bourbon, and one of the glasses from the kitchen. Normally, she would go to the store since she felt that poofing things she could buy was a waste of powerful magic but didn't feel like leaving the couch. She turned her TV on and flipped the channels, before landing on one that looked somewhat entertaining.
After a while, everything started to become hazy. Her vision blurred and she found herself barely able to keep her balance off the couch. She threw her phone to the other side of the room when she found out Arthur had tried to call it, cussing under her breathe. Nora finally got up from the couch and turned the TV off, wobbling her way to the bed, in preparation for the rest of her shitty week.
BEEP BEEP BEEP! Nora jolted awake as her alarm screamed its head off. She groggily looked at her clock to read..12 PM..Shit, Jorgen's gonna pound me!
Nora threw herself off the bed and took a quick shower, not even bothering with her make up or even drying her hair at that point. Oh, how could I be this disorganized! I hadn't been like this in a long time!
After she hastily threw the fallen papers back into her briefcase, her wand transported her back to the fairy academy, which she found to be empty.
Oh wait..it's Sunday isn't it?
Nora sighed in relief as her wand took her back home and threw the briefcase back on the couch, taking herself back to her bed. She lied down and closed her eyes, trying her hardest to fall back asleep, despite internally beating herself up for her laziness. I really shouldn't be sleeping through lunch..but GOD does my head hurt.
Nora sat up, rubbing her temples as she had given up, allowing herself to get up for the day. She got back in the shower in hopes to take care of her hair properly this go around, taking the time to dry and curl it, while brushing her teeth and making sure her clothes actually matched.
She wanted to go out and do something, but after last night, she felt that she needed to wait a few more hours until she decided to have another drink. Hm..drink..
Oh wait! She had meant to grab coffee with that guy she meant at the daycare..what was his name? Lenny? Larry? Nora head hurt just thinking about it. She grabbed her phone at the end of the living room floor, and texted his number, grabbing her sunglasses before heading out the door.
As soon as she got a table and her coffee mug, Nora tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. What's his name was still waiting on his drink, entertaining himself by talking to a nearby couple's baby.
"Aw! Aren't you a sweetie! Yes you are!", he laughed, playing with the giggling baby. "What's his name?"
"Harry."
"Oh how sweet! Like the wizard! Aren't you just the cutest little guy!"
"Caramel Macciato for Linnie!", the barista called from behind the counter. About damn time..
"Thank you, darling.", Linnie said, before smiling at the baby once more as he made his way towards Nora's table, "Bye sweetheart."
"Well, that took you long enough Larry."
"It's Linnie.", he said quietly.
"Linnie. Sorry. No need for the attitude.", Nora snapped, before groaning, "Ugh, why does the sun have to be so bright today."
"I'm not sure. Um..did you want to switch tables? I think there's one where the sun's not so bright, dear."
"Once again, don't call me dear. And no, I don't feel like moving.", she whining, taking a sip of her black coffee. "You really like kids, don't you?"
"Oh yes. I love them. They're just so tiny and sweet.", Linnie sighed. Nora snorted at him.
"Heh..if you call crying and pooping all over themselves sweet."
"Uh..did I say something wrong?"
"What? No! That was a joke! I was messing with you."
"Well, I really didn't think you would be this rude to me."
Nora felt her anger rise again, as Linnie awkwardly took a sip of his drink, not even trying to keep eye contact with her. She wanted to scream and curse him out for humiliating her in public but decided against it. As she kept sipping on her coffee, she thought about how warm he was at the day care and how attentive he seemed to the crying baby's needs. Nora took a deep breathe before looking back at him, who awkwardly squirmed in his seat.
"Why?", she asked.
"Pardon me?"
"Why did you take the job at that daycare? You didn't want to become a godparent."
"Well..", he started, "Kind of. I went over to send my application in for the training, only for the instructor to laugh at me and tell me I wouldn't last ten seconds. But he was kind enough to allow me to work for the daycare, and here I am I guess."
Nora continued to study Linnie. She didn't agree much with Jorgen, and found herself nearly escaping a beatdown after arguing with him but judging by Linnie's paper thin body and tiny voice, it was one of the few times she saw what Jorgen saw in him. Hell, she could barely hear him even now.
"So..you teach level 14 probation? How's that going?", he squeaked, stirring his straw timidly.
"Ugh, the little troublemakers. This past Monday I just got done grading their papers and maybe 2 of them passed. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I had taught them everything by the book, like Jorgen said. Maybe I should go have a talk with him."
"Oh no. I wouldn't do that. I don't think he likes being bothered.", Linnie whimpered. Despite him being one of the few fairies Jorgen wouldn't punch, he still felt his spine quiver every time he walked by. Was all the screaming really necessary?
"How long did you give them to prepare?"
"Why do you care?"
"I..I'm just trying to help. Maybe they just need a little patience."
"Are you calling me impatient?"
"No! Not at all! I'm just saying, try giving them some extra time to understand the material. Some people learn and understand new concepts at a slower pace, so they need some extra help and guidance."
Nora's glare softened up a bit as she thought about what he said. She thought she had been doing a more than good enough job teaching her students. She thought Linnie was too soft of her kids. If only he knew what kind of punks she had to put up with on a regular basis. They were a part of the reason why she drinks, after all.
Then again, maybe he does. Nora admitted that she expected the daycare to be in more of a state of disaster than what he walked in on. Maybe he does know what he's doing? Maybe not a much as her, but it was worth a shot.
"Fine. I'll take you word on it, but I hope you're right.", Nora mumbled, earning a small smile from Linnie. She had to admit that his little cheeks, paired with his thin glasses and seaweed eyes made him look somewhat adorable..for a male.
"Oh, I do hope so. You seemed really stressed out when you came over last week.", he replied.
"How'd you know I was stressed?"
"You seemed frantic when you ask for some paper. Not to mention, I heard you yelling at someone when I was about to head home."
"Wait what?", Nora snapped her head up, "You listened on my conversation?!"
"W-w-well well I just..", he stuttered, body shaking, "I-I'm really sorry! I know I shouldn't have but you just sounded really upset! I was..uhm..going to say something before you left."
"Well why didn't you?!"
"I..uh.."
"You know what, forget it! It wasn't any of your business anyways.", she groaned, making Linnie shrink in his seat.
"I'm sorry Nora. Please I-", he squeaked again, before shrinking even further from Nora's glare.
"Nope. I'm not hearing it.", she said, getting up and grabbing her wand, "I'll see you around the campus Monday. I've got work to do that doesn't include eavesdropping."
"Nora please don't go-. I.."
Before he could continue to protest, Nora poofed away once more, leaving Linnie alone at the table, wiping small tears rolling off her cheeks.