@rightoffthecuff-omalley / rightoffthecuff-omalley.tumblr.com
“What place is on top of your list, Thomas?” He asked with a raised brow as they began the short trip to the restaurant. “It does. I will now probably make usage of that phrase for the entirety of our trip; I won’t forget to quote the man behind it.” Don chuckled.
“Uh, I thought about checking out Park Güell. Anything you wanted to see?” He inquired, with a glance at the man. “Ah, thanks. You know me; I am a fan of giving credit where credit is due.”
Archie felt a slight surge of what he could only describe as excited panic as he saw the conversation develop in front of him. The pictures certainly looked stunning, the atmoshpere in that section of the city had called to him since he’d read about Barcelona when he prepped for the trip. He wanted to get to know the nightlife and, for once, not do it on his own as a last minute idea. “Sounds great to me… Let me just try and look a little less stuffy.” He replied, sifting through his suitcase until he found a pair of jeans and a simple white shirt. “It this decent? Eh, who cares, it’s all I’ve got.” He mumbled, changing in the bathroom and staring at both men when he walked out. “Are we ready?”
@charles–worthington
“O’Malley, I do believe we shall make you proud.” Charles said with a teasing gleam in his eye, fixing his shirt sleeves over his forearms as he nodded at Archie. “As we will ever be.” “This is quite…enchanting.” The man spoke as his curious eyes travelled over the place. Groups of people walking, coming in and out of bars in waves. The mixture of the nightlife and the beautiful architecture were bringing out his more joyous self. The place was everything he had never had the nerve to step into in his younger years. “Alright, where should we start off first? I, for once, will dare myself to be in the mood for whatever the night may bring.”
@rightoffthecuff-omalley
O’Malley gave Archie a thumbs up as he asked if his choice of attire for the evening was decent. Even if he had a tendency to wear sweater vests and button ups, giving him the impression of a homebody, Thomas enjoyed going out on the town. The man slid a jacket over his arms as he grinned. “You better,” he chuckled.
His gaze skimmed over their surroundings. It was busy, but that was to be expected. The buildings were beautiful, and it was nice to get away from the same old scenes in Santa Monica. It was moments like this that made him realize that the entire world was his back yard. He spent so much time in his office or drinking at Pleasure Island. “What about that one?”
“That feline has exquisite taste, if I may say so myself.” Don smiled back, his voice lighthearted. “If I may place a recommendation, I heard Quimet & Quimet is a place that should not go unnoticed. Tapas and some wine should suffice until dinner, wouldn’t you agree?”
“How humble,” he chuckled. “It sounds good to me. We’ve got two weeks in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I want to see as much of it as possible.” O’Malley smiled. “Tapas and wine sounds like a fantastic idea.”
Empire Magazine 2017
“O’Malley.” Don spoke out to the man as he approached him; grateful he had found good company just in the entrance of the venue. “I see great minds do think alike. Would you mind the company?”
Hearing his name caused the man to turn, lips curling up in a smile at a familiar face. “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” he grinned. “I don’t mind at all. I was just going to grab some lunch before I stopped by a museum or two.”
His suitcase was on the floor beside her bed and the teachers had the rest of the afternoon off, since they’d already made sure all the students were accounted for. Archie was ready to just order some food and pull out one of his books when he realized how stupid that was. He was in a different continent, in a huge city and he wanted to stay hidden and read? No. So he looked up at both his roommates and offered a sheepish grin. “So… What are we doing tonight?”
“Actually, I am glad you asked, old friend.” Charles tore his gaze away from his laptop, turning it around on the table so he could show the screen at both of them. Even though he was a man that seldom stepped out from his comfort zone, the thrill of being in a new place was definitely flooding his veins. Besides, he was with his best friend and one of his most esteemed fellow teachers, there was no reason to hold back. “You’ll have to excuse my lack of arguments, but I truly think the Gothic Quarter might speak for itself.” He chuckled softly. “What do you gentlemen think?”
He was in the process of changing out of his travel clothes as the other two attempted to figure out their plans for the evening. When Charles turned his laptop around to show them the Gothic Quarter, O’Malley grinned. His fingers quickly finished up the rest of the buttons on his shirt. “Gothic Quarter, huh? I’m in. I read they have some great bars and I’m ready to see how much trouble you boys can get into.”
“I know, man. Like, do they not know how easy life is for most of them right now?” Archie grinned. “Studying. A small job for some. That’s it, come on, do your essays.”
“Easy in some aspects. They still have a ton of pressure on them. From their peers. From us. From their parents. From society. I don’t envy them at all, even if I do miss being able to bounce back from a hangover like it was nothin.”
Archie nodded. “Well. I have the gave them an extra week already, so if they don’t hand it in by Friday, it’s on them.” He explained. “But that does sound like a good idea, maybe I should just do that next time.”
“Tough. I like it.” O’Malley grinned. “Just be prepared for the ‘well last time’ conversations from students. You give ‘em an inch once and they’ll try to use the same reasoning every time after.”
Her mouth twisted a bit to one side as she stared at the world around them. After a brief pause, she shrugged. “It’s not the worst thing to have protective figure…” Angel looked back up at him. “Look, I ain’t gonna say that ‘m gonna try to be perfect, but it’s nice knowin’ that I haven’t completely screwed up my future yet.”
“Not the worst, huh?” He gave a crooked grin and shrugged his shoulder. “I guess I’ll take that.” O’Malley turned to look at her as she brought her attention back to him. “I’m gonna tell you a secret. Nobody’s perfect anyway....so trying to be perfect all the time is a fool’s errand. All we can do is try to be genuine...and try to make sure that we aren’t hurting others."
Tam nodded as they listened. “I guess I’d never really thought about it that way, but you’re right. I mean, of course you’re right, you’re the professional, right?” They laughed. “Now that you put it that way, I wouldn’t mind doing the same.”
“Professionals can be wrong too. But in this instance...I am correct,” he grinned. “You could do it with songwriters too. Figure out exactly what Freddie, Brian, Roger, and John were thinking.”
“You’re that kid with the band poster, right?” He’d watched as Scout put up the poster, though he hadn’t noticed what it said until he was putting up a poster for a writing clinic he wanted to do. “How’s the hunt going?”
He’d gotten done with class early and wanted to surprise the blonde. Standing in the doorway of her classroom, O’Malley watched as Danielle worked with her students. Not wanting to interrupt, he stood quietly and patiently. The corners of his lips curled up in a smile as he waited.
“Nah, it ain’t a bad thing, ‘m just not used to it.” Despite the words, she wasn’t sad about it. “As much as I tease ya, I think it’s good what ya doin’.”
“I mean, someone’s gotta keep an eye out for you guys, right?” He’d been more wild in his youth, despite what the sweater vests seemed to suggest. It made him easier to relate to for some students and he hoped it gave them a sense of purpose. Whatever goals they set for themselves, they could follow it if they chose the right path and it was never to late to change directions.
“If this is a question about the essay, by all means, please come in.” Archie said with a tired smile, pushing the two books he’d been reading back. “If it’s a request to push the due date back, by all means, go to the cafeteria, get a coffee, and start working. I already changed the date once, I won’t do it again.”
“Just do what I do and start deducting a percentage for each day it’s late after the initial due date. They’ll learn or they won’t. Either way, you gave them a chance, you know?”
“Ah yeah, I guess I can’t say that I’m all that surprised to hear something like that.” What else should they have expected from a professor? “If it makes you feel any better, I think you’re already picking their brains whenever you’re having a class analyze famous text, right?”
“In some aspects, yes.” He grinned. “But we can only begin to guess at what they meant and to each person a poem could have a different interpretation. To pick the brains of the author who wrote it...to find out what was in their mind as they put those words down...I think that’d be pretty incredible.”
Angel couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his face. “That ain’t a bad thing, O’Malley, ya just…” The amused smile caused from her laughter slowly morphed into a more genuine one. “Ya just seem like ya have protective streak.”
“Yeah well...” He trailed off for a moment. O’Malley had grown up without parents. The boy had raised himself for the most part and because of that he knew how hard it could be. As he’d gotten older, he wanted to have a positive impact on his students’ lives. “I mean, that’s not a bad thing.”
“All due respect, Mr. O’Malley, but wouldn’t this be a good thing? Get them all riled up so that way there is a change to what’s been going on, rather than focusing on stagecoaches?”
“I’m not just focusing on stagecoaches, relax.” He grinned. “No, I’m all for the people getting riled up and taking a stand. The state of this country is...a mess.”
