Tuesdays were normally a day Skyler liked. They were one of the days when Chloe opened the studio, and that he taught no classes. He could relax all day and didn’t need to be in the office at all really. That was usually, this Tuesday however– today was spent anxiously hitting refresh.

On Friday Skyler confirmed with Mr Hayer at Horizon Skyline the prospective Ceramics program, as well as the dollar amount of his generous donation. Although generosity played no part in Skyler's choice. Yesterday had been Monday when Mr Hayer said he would discuss with Mr Lee Skyler’s request for him to be the official teacher. So now today, on Tuesday, Skyler was left with an event-free day to wait and see what Mr Lee said. 

He had tried everything from cleaning around his apartment to grocery shopping, even to working out– but all that was on his mind was his email inbox. And inevitably he would put the rag down and check his phone, or pause in the middle of the aisle to refresh his inbox one more time, or while resting between sets scroll through his notifications.

It wasn’t like bad news was an option, the Ceramics program plan had been confirmed, but that didn’t mean Skyler still might not receive great news.

There was only one reason Skyler wanted to work at the high school after all, even if he might tell other people some contrived nonsense about ‘craving some grounding and more structure in his life after a wild rise to fame’. No, there was one singular reason. That reason was the smiley teacher who never left Skyler’s mind after six years. The kind teacher who was five years and eleven months older than Skyler, the intelligent teacher who never posted on Social media but still Skyler refreshed his Twitter every day.

So when the clock rolled around to five and Skyler still hadn’t received any new emails except spam he decided to head to the studio. There was nothing else for him to do, so he might as well get ahead on work for later in the week. 

Normally Skyler would have worked on a piece when he was in a spot like this. Distracted by something out of his control, or stuck between boredom and tiredness. But today, that wasn’t an option. Chloe was teaching a class in the main studio room that wouldn’t end for over an hour, and there was open studio time in the smaller studio room.

Maybe he could have worked on prepping for the class next year, he could write up lesson plans and figure out what supplies he would need for the classroom– but wouldn’t that only make him think of Mr Lee? Or better yet, couldn’t he save those things to do once Mr Lee said yes, he had to say yes right?

Asking for Mr Lee’s help writing lesson plans would be a great way to get the other to hang out with him, at a small cafe maybe? As for ordering things for the classroom– Skyler had already bought two new kilns to bring in over the summer and the School said the room he would be using came fitted with large work tables and had connected plumbing. He had already ordered the clays and coloured slips they would need and planned which glazes he would bring. He figured out all of those things when he and Mr Hayer finalized the class plan packet.

All that was left was figuring out how he would decorate the room– but just the thought of that made Skyler want to decorate with Mr Lee. 

He could remember the day when the school announced that they would be keeping Mr Lee past his tenure as a substitute teacher and hiring him on as Mr Pratt’s full-time replacement for the next school year. He remembered the posters, the circular rug, the tea kettle and the stacks of CDs that Mr Lee brought in. A CD player had been the only real personal possession Mr Lee had put in his classroom until then. Skyler remembered getting to school early that day and sitting in Mr Lee’s classroom waiting for the period to start. He remembered watching as that man so happily hummed along to the older Sia album he’d put on as he taped up little banners around the classroom. Skyler remembered not doing any of the work in class that day, opting rather to watch Mr Lee arrange the items on what was finally his desk over and over again until he found a layout he liked.

So instead of decorating, Skyler walked past the studio’s ceramics working rooms –which were full and busy, a sight he usually delighted in– and headed straight to the office. When he pulled out his laptop to do work, however, he found the urge to check his email one time too hard to ignore. 

No new mail. 

So he opened Amazon and typed in Sia CD. He didn’t know what the album had been, he didn’t ask for its name back then, just the singer, so he added each different album he saw to the cart. That’s one nice part of being quite rich, he supposed. He opened the cart but hesitated with his cursor hovering atop the checkout button.

“Skyler! Skyler c’mere!” Chloe called out, Skyler tried to ignore her. “Skyler! Are you seriously gonna make me walk over!?” She shouted once more, and after a slight pause, her loud stomps confirmed he was in fact going to make her walk over.

“Oh, Chloe!” He said as she entered his doorway, an intense frown on her face. “What’s up?”

“You– you,” She started, before sighing. “Just come help clean up, what are you doing in here anyways?”

“Checking my email. And you can clean up yourself. It was your class after all.” Skyler said, switching tabs from Amazon and hitting refresh on his inbox once more.

“You need a break from checking your email anyway. It’s only Tuesday for Christ’s sake, they’ll get back to you eventually. Come help clean up.” She said, knocking her knuckles on the side of her doorway as she walked out.

Chloe was right after all, so once he clicked refresh one last time and saw no new mail Skyler finally shut his laptop and headed into the studio. And while it might have been Chloe’s class, it was his studio so he could help out. 

Since college and making it big in the art world, things have exploded for Skyler. His work was shown in many museums and bought by even more private collectors. His responsibilities boomed after buying his Auntie’s studio and the building next door to expand into. They went from making sure assignments got turned in during senior year to running two businesses –himself and the studio– within just a year. 

“I’ll mop, you wipe the tables?” Chloe asked when Skyler sauntered in. All the wheels and throwing tools had already been cleaned.

“Sure sure.” He answered, grabbing a sponge from above the sink before heading to the dirtiest table first, the wedging table. Wiping back and forth, and back and forth, Skyler didn’t notice when the section he had been working on was cleaned until Chloe came up behind him and tapped his shoulder.

“Trying to polish the cloth?” With a sassy smile on her face, Chloe slid up next to him with a sponge of her own. She had finished mopping in the time Skyler had spent zoned out.