A Fun Night for All [event/open]

[charlotte abigail tucker]

All spiffied up and ready for the evening, Charlotte walked downstairs to the family and recreation room, as they called it. She was becoming quite familiar with this whole area. Granted, she resided in the attic of this great big building along with the other staff members, so it was easy to get a hand on the area, but it was the entire reservation, the therapeutic center, and the entire of rural western Montana that was starting to fit well with her. It was slightly different than her hometown, and in actuality, that was a good thing. If it were too familiar, she might not be able to deal with it as well, but this place was just right. She could feel at ease, and be able to help others to the best of her ability.

Speaking of which, she was going to be one of the few staff members that would be supervising the event, but that didn't mean she had to be no fun. This was for them of course! And if a dance was no fun, then who would actually want to go? They'd all be standing around, wading in the music. Not so fun. Charlie had dressed up to look her best, fun and carefree. Hopefully the other students agree, this kind of behavior was worth catching.

The dance officially started at eight on that Friday night, but for administrator's sake, Charlotte had arrived fifteen minutes early, in case there was anything she needed to know before hand, anything particularly special to look out for. She knew the normal things, drinking, drugs, abuse, etc. to look for, those big elephants in the room as they were, but surely if someone wanted to cause a mess, they'd try to find a way around it. The only problem with that is that it would ruin others' happiness, and that wasn't what this party was about. It was about having a good time in good company, and getting to know the people that these kids would be spending a lot of time with for a while now. A meet and greet with dance, food, and good music. What else could they ask for in a place like this?

[tobias matthew jackson]

FOLDING DOWN THE COLLAR OF HIS WHITE DRESS SHIRT, TOBY
glanced at his wife, snuggled between the white linen of their bed's sheets. She had just barely made it through helping set up for the dance before they headed back to their house to change. When he'd reemerged from the shower, she was lying asleep on top of the covers, the dress she'd planned to wear beside her. He'd roused her long enough to get her into a nightgown and under their warm comforter and then she was out. Her pregnancy was really starting to take its toll; he hated that she was missing the dance she had devised because she was so exhausted. Feeling the nuzzle of a dog's nose against his thigh, Toby glanced down to see their Great Pyrenees mix Moses's dark eyes imploring him as to the location of his dinner. "Just a second, bud," he murmured, heading down the hall and into the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he put toothpaste on the brush and ran it under the water, he looked up at himself, noticing the dark circles beneath his own eyes. Unlike Sadie, he could force himself to keep going, his tiredness only caused by sleepless nights when he worried about this whole fatherhood business and early mornings holding her hair back for her as her stomach repelled everything. Spitting and running his brush back under the water to rinse it off, he set the brush in the little cup with Sadie's before heading back down the hall toward their bedroom. One day, preferably within the next five or so years, he hoped they'd make enough to build a new house with an actual master suite, but for now, this was good enough for him. Slipping back into the bedroom, he headed over to the bed to kiss his sleeping wife on the cheek.

STEPPING INTO THE KITCHEN, HE POPPED THE TOP ON THE FIVE
gallon bucket they kept the dogs' feed in, calling out as quietly as he could manage so as not to wake his wife, "Moses. Mona. Food," drawing out the syllables. Scooping a cup of kibble into the dogs' bowls, each labeled in pretty script with their names, Toby picked up their water bowls and dumped them in the sink before refilling them. Scratching the two dogs on the back, he left them with the quiet admonishment to be good, before heading outside. Honestly, he was pretty happy with their new pets, having always wanted a dog. Kia was sweet, but not fond of being indoors, rarely tolerating it for long, and Toby had really wanted an indoor dog, something to cuddle with on the couch. The walk over to the big house was not too terribly long, around ten minutes, and then he was mounting the stairs to the front porch before heading in the door, setting the flash light he had needed to see in the nearly pitch darkness outside on the little table by the door. Eight oh five and the students had already filled the living room, some dancing, others with plates of food. Seeing as the dance was mandatory, the room was a bit crowded. Glancing around, he bit the inside of his cheek, hoping this dance didn't prove a total disaster. His eyes stopped on Charlotte Tucker, the girls' counselor, standing around watching what all was going on. Heading her way, he grinned slightly when he reached her, "I don't suppose I've missed any excitement just yet, have I?" Toby wasn't what one would call funny, but at times he could possess some decent humour, pretty much a requirement for this sort of work.

Notes ;; Hopefully you can work with that.... I didn't want to keep going on and on.
Attire ;; here
Word Count ;; 612
Tagged ;; Charlotte && Open
Lyrics ;; "the way we get by" - spoon