Running on Replay • •

[noel caspar kiely]

Noel loved his job teaching the kids in his kindergarten class. He ended most days with paint on his skin and glitter in his hair. It was brilliant, and he had the best of times Then the weekend came and Noel hung his responsibilities up for a few days while the students in his class became their parent’s responsibility completely. They’d come bounding through the door first thing Monday morning, fighting to tell ‘Mr K’ all about the things they had done during the two days they hadn’t seen him. Noel usually took his nieces and nephews on the weekend to give his brother and sister a break or to give them a chance to have some time with their spouse, but this weekend they all had family things planned. It happened. It wasn’t like it was a set arrangement that Noel had. It was just something he planned on the spur of the moment, a thing he enjoyed doing even though he spent Monday to Friday surrounded by small children who, at times, could be real handfuls.

Still, with a weekend to himself Noel was going to have the kind of fun adults ought to be supervised for. It had been a long time since he had done much more than grab a quick drink with a friend. It would be nice to let himself go wild for a night, even if he spent the next day in his bed, alternating sleeping off a hangover and watching some of the more awful choices on Netflix. Noel had a beautifully childish personality which meant that when he got drunk he ended up acting like more of a goofball than he was sober, so he was a harmless fool who flirted badly and often ended up stumbling into a taxi and singing loudly at the top of his lungs as he fought to find the right key for his apartment door when he got back home. It also meant he could go out alone and usually meet up with friends along the way, or make new ones when he was waiting to be served at a bar, or in a line to get into a club.

Before all of that though, he was going to be the tiniest bit responsible and get something to eat before he potentially ended up seeing triple of everything. He didn’t feel like cooking tonight, so after he got showered and changed out of the clothes he wore for work, Noel headed back out. He walked around for a bit before he found himself outside Hard Rock Café and all of a sudden that sounded like the best idea ever. He could grab some food and then ease himself into the night with a few drinks while he was there. He practically inhaled the burger and fries he ordered and then sat back to relax at the bar with a rum and coke. He had sent out a few text messages to his friends to see if anyone was going out tonight, but so far none had replied. He had the worst friends for texting. They took an hour or more to reply at the best of times which often made things a nightmare. Noel was not a man typically known for his patience. It was usually his hyperactive, childlike nature people remembered him for. Whether they liked that was another thing entirely.

• • •

TAGGED! Ryan Annalise Nicole King
WORDS! 567!
OUTFIT! Trendy Teacher!
LYRICS! The One - - - We Are Harlot
NOTES! This is horrendous. I’m sorry.

[Ryan Annalise Nicole King]

Ryan was ridiculously excited and wanted to celebrate the good news. But there was only so many people in the city that even knew what she was running around being all giddy about for the last few days; the group at the zoo. Everyone else just thought she was acting a little more hyper than usual. But that was nothing strange. News of the new Stars Wars film broke and Ryan had squealed and danced around Three Kings for two weeks. She was very childlike with things like that. She spent nearly a month moping when the tenth doctor moved on and another when the eleventh followed suit! But at the same time, she focused on her work like it was the only thing going on in the world. Nothing but her and the design, drawing it out on the paper a dozen different times before it was perfect to her and the client. She was an artist first, giddy nerd second and it showed with her work. She refused to put anything on a person that wasn’t her best possible work. 

But that was a group of people that though she loved them dearly, didn’t know a thing about Ryan’s life when she wasn’t at the studio or out with them. She hadn’t wanted to tell anyone at all about what she was really doing on her days off or when she said she couldn’t go out for a night. Ryan knew they would have cheered her on and would have celebrated with her when her thesis and papers were complete. But it was her little secret to hold onto just in case she didn’t receive her doctorate. And then she started thinking about when she did, what they would say or call her. She already had a different nickname from everyone in the shop, all she needed was them to add “doctor” to the beginning of it. No, her boss knew what was going on with her but that had been a necessity because she had needed to explain why she couldn’t be at the shop this day or that one. She had needed to be at the zoo on those days to do her work. But now all that was done and over with on a necessary basis anyway. She still went when she had the day off, to check in and check out her babies. 

Tonight though had been the first night since she’d gotten the news that she’d been able to get out and have a celebratory drink. She wasn’t planning on being out ridiculously late, she needed to be up and at the shop for eleven with an early client. The back piece they’d been designing for three months would need four or five sittings and the longer they could be at it, the better time wise. But she could enjoy the night before getting down to business in the morning on the sweetest piece she’d designed, if she did say so herself. Hard Rock was calling her name tonight, so she wasted no time in getting home, getting ready and heading out again. The dress she’d picked out wasn’t something she would wear any day of the week and rightly so when she was celebrating her PhD. As she sat in the back of the cab, on her way to the bar, she sent a couple people from the zoo text messages, wondering if any of them were free. She told them where she would be and left it at that. If they wanted to show up, perfect! If not, it was no bother to her. Paying the driver, Ryan got out of the car and headed right into the building and headed straight for the bar to order her first drink.

Tag || noel caspar kiely
Words || 629
Clothes || Foxy PhD
Music || Fly --Maddie & Tae
Notes || <3!

[noel caspar kiely]

When Noel had been growing up he told very few people about his career goal. He wanted to be happy in life, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew how harsh teenagers could be, and while he considered himself to have a thick skin, he still didn’t want to paint a target on himself for the teasing and the taunts of his classmates. Hell, his parents didn’t even know until he was selecting colleges during his senior year! Noel was one of those lucky few who had always known, probably since kindergarten itself, what he wanted to be when he grew up. It wasn’t a doctor, or a lawyer, but he wanted to be the man the children raced to at the start of each day and hugged tight when the school year was over, sad to be leaving for someone else, or a different school entirely. He loved the little monsters he taught, and they had a chunk of his heart. He just hadn’t been going to voice that to the world when he was still young enough to have pimples, and foolish enough to get into a fight over it. These days there might be a joke or two, but Noel took the high road. He was better than smug remarks from strangers because he loved his life.

Of course, things were still missing from it. He always wanted to someday have a family of his own, but there was no rush. Life was meant to be lived and enjoyed. He was doing that as best as he could, and even when they tested him with their hyperactivity or brash behaviour the little kids in his classroom still found ways to make him laugh. Outside of there he had his family just over in New Jersey who always welcomed him home when he made surprise visits on the weekends or evenings, just because he missed them or felt like swinging by for his mom’s cooking. He might not be making a million dollars, but Noel felt rich in life. It sounded cheesy, but it was true. He was a happy man who needed just the little things really to keep him trucking on.

Noel checked his phone, but there were no new messages from his friends yet. It was no big deal for him if they came out and kept him company or not. He was a chatty guy who usually bumped into people he knew from around or make temporary friends while he was out and about anyway. He finished off his drink, sliding the glass closer to the inside of the bar for collection and then pulled his wallet out from the denim of his jeans pocket. When the smiling bartender came over, he ordered another rum and coke and then gestured to the woman who was now standing close by him. “And whatever she’s having.” He added with a boyish smile, handing more than enough money over to cover whatever the order might be. He tipped generously, especially when staff were on their feet constantly, possibly for long hours. He had bussed his way through college, so he knew how they felt and sometimes wished someone had just shown him a bit of a nice break, or some recognition for the kind of work they did.

• • •

TAGGED! Ryan Annalise Nicole King
WORDS! 552!
OUTFIT! Trendy Teacher!
LYRICS! The One - - - We Are Harlot
NOTES!

[Ryan Annalise Nicole King]

Ryan had always known she would at least get a degree that followed her mother's. She might not use it the way her mother did, not right away anyway, but she knew she would get it and use it eventually. First, she wanted to see something other than the Montana park she called home. The fact that Ryan loved art and tattooing meant that she wouldn't be jumping down the same tracks as her siblings and parents. As much as she loved her animals, she knew she could always go back home and take up where she'd grown up without missing a single beat. So why not tackle something else she loved before she decided that it really was time to go home again; which she would one day. But for now Ryan was happy to help out at the Central Zoo secretly and work at Three Kings, joking around with both her colleagues and the revolving door that was their clients. Ryan had always thrived on being busy, which was how she'd managed to keep going at school, keep clients back in Montana and spend her weekends at the park with her family, taking care of all their animal wards.

The animals would always be a part of Ryan's life, there was no avoiding it even if she'd wanted to. But in New York, they weren't her main priority. And now that she'd officially finished everything and there were additional letters following her name, she could breathe a little easier knowing that when she was good and ready her name, along with her spectacular credentials would see her through any interview. Because as much experience as her mother had, she helped her children get even farther ahead of her by giving them all those experiences she'd tackled when she was in her twenties while their ages were still counted by single digit numbers. Ryan wasn't the only one who took care of the animals but she was the only one who wanted more than the animals. And while Payson and Victor cared for the animals, they all had different specialties. Ryan was officially a know-it-all of the big cat variety while Victor enjoyed the avian track and Payson liked her aquatic creatures. And lucky for the King siblings, the park had plenty of each to care for!

The difference between her siblings and her was that Ryan hadn't told any of her friends what she was doing in her spare time in New York. She had only told her boss and by way of that Carter because she needed to keep some odd hours from time to time and having an explanation was a necessary. Now though, she was finished with all of that and could celebrate her big news, even if she had to do it alone. She was okay with that because she didn't want anyone making a big deal out of something that was and wasn't an achievement. It had always been what she would do, what she would get so it wasn't anything special, even when to the rest of the world it was an incredible achievement. Smiling up at the man next to her, she quickly turned to the bartender with a friendly smile. "Whisky Sour, please. And thank you." She said, turning her attention once again to the man next to her. "Ryan" She said, extending her hand towards him.

♦ ♦ ♦

ab
Tag || noel caspar kiely
Words || 567
Clothes || Foxy PhD
Music || Fly --Maddie & Tae
Notes || <3!

[noel caspar kiely]

Noel loved kids, but he hadn’t been the type who needed to become a father at some insanely young age. He was happy being an uncle, and happy having his class of wild characters. He got to have his life, and the fun he still wanted to have while he was in his twenties, while having all that he adored whenever he looked at those families in the park or in the toy store. Plus, on the days when they were being particularly troublesome, Noel knew they were eventually going home to their parents and he would have some peace and quiet then. He also liked surprising people when he told them what he did for a living. He knew it wasn’t the most obvious job that sprung to mind when people saw him at a bar with friends on the weekend, dressed in a band tee and a pair of jeans he’d probably been rocking about in since college. It was hardly what people envisioned when they thought about teachers and the stereotype of them; especially not those who taught kindergarten classes.

He had always been a bit of an oddball though. The one who stuck out from the crowd a bit. He made unique choices, or had differing opinions from others when it came to fashion choices. His prom attire had been black jeans with a suit jacket, shirt and bowtie. He’d finished it off with all black Converse, too. There had been some looks that night from his teachers, but they had come to expect nothing less from Noel throughout the years he had been there. He was that sort of character. Even when he was teaching he probably didn’t look the part. He saw a few started parents when they dropped their kids off on that first day and realised that he wasn’t another parent, but was in fact the man who would be looking after their child for five days of the week. Noel wouldn’t be surprised if a few had gone in to the office and asked if he was qualified, sane, or if the school was sure he was the right person for the job. Noel was a good teacher though, and the kids were taught and had fun during his classes.

“You’re welcome. You look like you’re celebrating something.” He said with a light shrug. In his experience no one dressed up and hit the town unless they were on a date or having a good old party. She was alone, so he was assuming it was the latter. If he was wrong then she could correct him and no harm would have been done anyway. Noel wasn’t the type to suffer much from a bruised ego, he only joked that he was. “Noel.” His lips curled up to the right, and he stretched out his own arm, curling his fingers around hers to shake her hand warmly. He liked it whenever he could be friendly without people assuming the worst or thinking there was some kind of ulterior motive there.

• • •

TAGGED! Ryan Annalise Nicole King
WORDS! 513!
OUTFIT! Trendy Teacher!
LYRICS! The One - - - We Are Harlot
NOTES!

[Ryan Annalise Nicole King]

Ryan's life wasn't going to change any now that she'd been given her PhD. Earning that had been her back up plan, not her long term goal. She actually loved her job, couldn't see herself ever wanting to give it up completely. Tattooing was as much a part of her as the animals or breathing were. Ryan might take some time here or there to indulge her love of wild animals but she would always return to her passion. There were so many things she could do, places she could go, it was really exciting. She hadn't told anyone yet but she'd been receiving offers for months now, wanting her to maybe sign a contract for extended work. The problem she was having, or one of them anyway, was that she didn't know which, if any, she would take up. She wanted to do them all just as much as she wanted to hide away and add colourful ink to skin.

For tonight though, she wasn't going to think about any of the offers or the fact that she really would have to tell her friends at work what she'd really been up to in New York. Tonight she wanted to have a couple drinks and lose a few hours on the dance floor maybe before crawling into bed and falling into dreams; or someone's arms. She wasn't that type of girl though so her tattoos would only be on display for her own viewing pleasure. Then again there was a first time for everything and it was certainly something Ryan would never forget! She was sure other girls thought it was fine and normal even but Ryan had grown up in small town Montana, things like that just didn't happen there. Ryan could be a little too traditional in some ways but she wasn't about to apologise for it either!

Ryan nodded her head. "I am. I'm out celebrating the addition of PhD to my name." She explained as she sipped lightly at her drink. It had been something she'd been chasing after her entire life and though she hadn't exactly needed a PhD to do anything- she was her mother's daughter after all, it definitely helped to prove how serious and knowledgeable she was. Ryan had wanted to go out with friends but no one really even knew about it yet so she was left with her own company and making friends in the city. She was a friendly person, able to at least carry on a conversation, so it was usually easy to find someone to occupy her time with. "Pleasure to meet you, Noel." It wasn't rare for Ryan to meet people at clubs and bars, she was a social person but she was usually with a friend or two from the shop who could help pass judgement on the new friends. Tonight she was on her own. "So, what brings you out tonight?" She asked, curiously. She was nothing if not exceptionally curious about people.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || noel caspar kiely
Words || 500
Clothes || Foxy PhD
Music || Fly --Maddie & Tae
Notes || <3!

[noel caspar kiely]

Noel knew that people were surprised when they discovered that he was a kindergarten teacher. He didn’t look the part, or act the part when he was away from his very colourful classroom. He had ink on his body, messy hair, and a goofball attitude. No one seemed to be able to picture Noel with an entire class of kids running around him, listening to what he had to say and the simple lessons he was teaching them. He had even caught some of the parents throwing him off looks at the start of the school year before they were used to him. It was like they weren’t too sure they had brought their children to the right door, or if they were suddenly having second doubts about leaving their children with someone who seemed to be trying to be Peter Pan. Noel was incredible when it came to working with children, and he knew that was something not everyone found easy. Kids could be hard work, and there were days when cranky kids and temper tantrums even tested his skills.

Noel knew he didn’t do everything perfectly, and he would never claim to be the best. He did the best he could, and hated letting anyone down, but there was always that little bit of room for improvement. He was still young enough for there to be people who would know better than him. The other teachers frequently shared their own tips and advice to him just in case he might need them. There were times when Noel took their advice, other times he just stored it away with the possibility of using it later should the need arise. Still, as unsuited to his career as he physically appeared, there wasn’t a single thing that could encourage Noel to consider a change of plan for his future.

His eyebrows reached towards his hairline, vanishing beneath his messy mop of hair. He nodded, looking impressed, and then dipped at his drink. “Definitely something to celebrate.” Despite being a teacher, Noel wouldn’t consider himself the academic type. He had done what was necessary for his career, but beyond that he wasn’t interested. He was more practical, and sitting and studying for hours was something of a chore for Noel. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and he fixed Ryan with a puzzling look. “But why are you celebrating alone?” He asked curiously. He expected a crowd of people to be proud of news like this, all keen to come out and celebrate with a bottle of something bubbly and then progress onto the stronger stuff. “I have a weekend free to paint the town red. Unfortunately my news isn’t as exciting as yours.” Sometimes people just needed to take a break from those daily responsibilities, but noting the lack of responses on his phone, Noel was starting to assume that no one else in his life currently agreed with him.

• • •

TAGGED! Ryan Annalise Nicole King
WORDS! 495!
OUTFIT! Trendy Teacher!
LYRICS! The One - - - We Are Harlot
NOTES!

[Ryan Annalise Nicole King]

As a young child, Ryan had been given things no one else had. She had owls and wild cats as pets, she knew more about wild animals and things she shouldn't than she did about tying her shoes laces. She knew all the big cats Latin names by the time she was three. She couldn't even tie her shoes without help until she was six! Reality was, she should have been homeschooled. All the kids in the King family should have been homeschooled because they already knew so much but their parents wanted them to have some sort of a normal childhood. Ryan probably could have had her PhD, several of them actually, by now. But she liked that she had gone to a regular school, that she'd went to university as a normal age, found something other than big, wild cats to be passionate about.

She'd been lucky to find two passions in her life so young. Most people waited their whole lives for one passion, one real love. She might not have that love thing yet but she had the passionate hobbies, two that could earn her a living, get her name synonymous with incredible work and eye for detail. The world of Zoology was already there but that was because she was her mother's daughter. The tattoo world would get there soon enough, she was still young, still considered new even though she was an experiences artist. She wasn't after fame though, she was after finding something she wanted to do with the rest of her life and sticking to it, maybe travelling for it. Right now, however, she wanted to celebrate her achievements, dance a little and then find a food truck on her wander home. It was a damn good plan.

Ryan grimaced, turning her head away as she spoke. "No one in New York knows?" She asked, making sure to keep her voice loud enough for Noel to hear her still. "Actually no one except my mother knows and that's just because the board are her colleagues and they couldn't wait to praise her for raising such a bright daughter." She added after she'd taken a millisecond to think about it. The truth was that only the people at the zoo she'd worked at knew about it but even they didn't know how close she was to the finish line. And there was only two people at the shop that knew and again, they didn't know exactly where she was in the process. She hadn't given anyone any more information than that she needed her days off when she needed them because she only had specific days and times she could be at the zoo. She hadn't wanted to jinx herself though she hadn't known how it would have been possible. She was a certifiable genius when it came to her field. But that was part of the quirks and charm of a PhD student. "Sometimes the free time is reason enough to celebrate!" She said, turning her full attention back to Noel.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || noel caspar kiely
Words || 509
Clothes || Foxy PhD
Music || Fly --Maddie & Tae
Notes || <3!

[noel caspar kiely]

Noel had always been that in between kid. He was the one everyone got along with, but no one really loved or hated him. He was ‘cool’, but not so cool that he would be invited to all the big parties. He was just a likeable guy. It had been that way throughout his life, though he understood the rules had changed somewhat now that he was older and had a career. Some parents didn’t enjoy their precious little angels being looked after by a man who was younger than they were. That was an odd one for Noel since he couldn’t control what age people chose to have children. He had all the necessary qualifications and up to date training to be in charge of a classroom full of wild kids, but some just seemed to be put off by the idea that he was young and childless himself. The other thing people found issue with was his style. He was smart casual at work, but then a glimpse of a tattoo and someone seemed to think he was recruiting the infants in his care for gang life. Humans could be such bizarre creatures at times, but that was why Noel adored them for all their imperfections and peculiarities.

He didn’t worry about the judgement of parents. After a short time they often relaxed and stopped convincing themselves that he was some secret agent sent to corrupt their children. Noel only wanted the best for them, which was why he stepped into that classroom five days out of the seven each week. He understood the need for concern in an age when children were vulnerable thanks to the technology accessible to them, and the kinds of people out there who did want to prey on them. Noel didn’t assume everyone was as innocent as he knew himself to be. Monsters hid in plain sight, and one tiny mistake was all it could take for one to get away with a unforgiveable crime. He did his best to ensure his class knew to be wary of strangers and to keep away from things they couldn’t trust or didn’t know. It wasn’t as simple as telling them all a story and asking them what happened, though. Bad things happened to good people, no matter how hard the world tried to prevent it.

Noel almost choked on his drink as the words came to settle in his mind. He composed himself just as Ryan wrapped up her short explanation. “No one knows?! How the hell do you keep something like that a secret?” He asked, aghast. “I can’t even keep quiet when I’ve bought everyone’s Christmas cards.” He really was the last person who should be told about any surprises, but only because he was so keen to share them with everyone so they could be enjoyed for longer. Unfortunately, that was simply not how surprises worked. “I suppose it should be. It seems to become rarer with age.” He quickly thought about the lack of response from his friends so far, and how it was likely they were already tied up in plans with partners or families.

• • •

TAGGED! Ryan Annalise Nicole King
WORDS! 532!
OUTFIT! Trendy Teacher!
LYRICS! The One - - - We Are Harlot
NOTES! This is horrendous. I’m sorry.

[Ryan Annalise Nicole King]

Ryan had been working towards her doctorate in Zoology for as long as she could remember. It was almost a requirement in her family to have a degree dedicated to animals; even if they didn't actually use them. If she would have been able to, she would have finished off her degree before she'd ever actually finished high school but the powers that be liked things to be a certain way. It was a pain in the ass but at least they didn't have any issues with her attending university-level courses while she was still in high school, getting lectures and notes over the internet like a good girl. It was probably a good thing that she hadn't be in any of her classes in person, it probably would have irritated her fellow students that they were being overshadowed by a child in her freshman year of high school. If it would have been possible, she would have taken full classes of both and finished one section of her university journey at the same time she was finishing up her high school education. As it were, she was two and a half years ahead of everyone her age and shoved as many courses she could into the next few years to finish even further ahead. New York should have, in reality, been Africa but things happened and for her papers to work, she'd needed animals in captivity. And she preferred somewhere that actually cared for their animals, which was how she'd ended up in New York. That, and it was far enough to give her the freedom she craved and close enough to home that it would take her forever to get back if she needed to.

The transition from her small, blink-and-you-miss-it town to the big city was made easier with all the tales her father had told as she'd been growing up about the city. She'd already known people before the move and that made things easier though she hadn't explained what she was doing there exactly. Ryan wasn't so much superstitious as she was stubborn and didn't want to get her hopes up of everything working out, only to find out that they thought she was lacking something. It would have been devastating. So she'd kept her work pretty much a secret, telling only those who really required the information. Her advisor was a bit of a flake so she'd spent the bare minimum in his presence and gave him next to nothing of her work. There was something about him that Ryan didn't like. It could have been anything at all, considering she wasn't used to big cities, not really, but it was more than that. So she gave him as little as possible and whenever possible, lied to him. She hadn't needed the help anyway.

"Well, it helps that none of my family are here." She said with a smile. "I also neglected to tell the people I work with about it. Call me superstitious but I didn't want to jinx it." Not that she ever could have but she didn't want him to know that. In fact, she could have written her dissertation back when she'd been nine years old and received her PhD then but it was usually preferred when the doctorate candidate had actually attended some classes on the subjects she was already smart enough to lecture on. Ryan had known the group that took care of who received their doctorates and who didn't since she'd been small thanks to her mother and the work she'd done. It was that reason alone that had Ryan believing her name and paper had been put on the top of the pile because she'd never known the process to be so quick. She'd been ahead of herself in school and took all sorts of extra courses to finish even further ahead so she wouldn't be in her thirties before she was framing and hanging that piece of paper on her wall. As it was, she was a good four or five years ahead of the game and decades ahead of the peers that still had their fingers crossed their dissertations would even be accepted. Growing up on an animal reserve certainly had some interesting perks. "Well tonight, we'll celebrate together." She said with a grin, surprisingly happy she had someone to celebrate her achievement with. Tomorrow as soon enough to tell everyone else.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || noel caspar kiely
Words || 738
Clothes || Foxy PhD
Music || Fly --Maddie & Tae
Notes || <3!