ALEXANDER, elyzibeth marie

[elyzibeth marie alexander]

I know that the application is supposed to be done in first-person point-of-view, but almost all of my information was already typed. If you want me to go through and try to redo the entire application, I can. But I'd prefer not to, if you don't mind, that is.

* ELYZIBETH M A R I E ALEXANDER ,

wasting away ( s i x t y ) summers in the sun.
when the lights go off, watch the way i take the stage by storm.
( e l y ), i see my name in the lights.
if only i had the heart for you.

* MAKE I T COUNT ,

Intro ;;
Elyzibeth will be the first to admit that she is not the most beautiful woman in the world. She will admit to any and all of her faults without hesitation and even point them out to you. She may not think of herself as physically beautiful, but she feels that she has a beautiful personality and a beautiful soul. She knows that many people are not concerned with that type of beauty, but she is. She would rather be thought of as a beautiful person than a beautiful body.

Blonde hair and blue eyes. That is Elyzibeth in a nutshell—and it's simple, sweet, and to the point. When people ask about Ely and what she looks like, everyone will simply reply with that. They know that it's all Ely will want them to reply with, too. She is a simple woman, very plain, and does not like being described as an extravagant or amazing person, because she's not.

Hair ;;
The woman has dirty-blonde hair (though her roots are graying), an inherited trait from both of her parents when she was born. Her parents used to question her at times, because her hair was extremely straight and remained that way. She rarely had to mess with curls or try to tame unwanted cowlicks and waves. Her parents, on the other hand, both had very curly and hard-to-deal-with hair. Their hair was also very oily and very stringy. Unlike them, Elyzibeth has very dry hair. For that reason, she does not wash her hair as often as most people do. When she does wash her hair, it is really coarse and horse-like, giving her a very rigid and harsh appearance. Because her hair does not produce much oil at all, the woman can go for days without washing it, sometimes weeks, and it won't smell bad. If it does, though, she will wash it to remove the smell.

As far as styles go, Ely is not the least bit concerned. She dislikes styling her hair and avoids doing it at all costs. She was never one to wake in the morning and spend hours on end making sure she looked nice. Usually her hair just got brushed out and left down, which left it to do as it pleased. Most of the time it does do as it pleases, which means that it's all over the place. It doesn't help that the woman constantly runs a hand through her hair. That just makes the entire situation worse.

Eyes ;;
Elyzibeth's eye color was given to her by her father. His eyes had been a beautiful shade of sea blue. When her parents realized that she would not lose the blue coloring to her eyes, they were pleased. They knew that their daughter would be a cute little blue-eyed girl. She was a cute little girl, but she did not remain all that "cute" through her life, at least she doesn't think she did. Her eyes are more than just a body part used to see, though. They also help other people to see her for who she is, and not what she is.

Her eyes oftentimes carry emotions that are easily visible since they are usually displayed. When the woman is feeling happy, it is shown in her eyes. Sadness is also shown in her eyes. If you just take time to give her a decent amount of eye contact, you can see her many emotions and feelings. She does not hide her emotions very well, nor does she try. She likes people being able to see that she has feelings and that she is a human being as well, since some consider seemingly emotionless people to be almost robotic.

Face ;;
Rounded and aged are probably the two best words that can be used to describe the older woman's face. The shape of her face is well-rounded, and it causes her to look a big chubby, especially in the cheeks. She has this slight self-consciousness about it, but she never does reveal it to anyone. She knows that her face is not necessarily fat, but that her age has given her a seemingly fuller figure than she ever had before. She never complains, at least not aloud, and never tends to seem bothered by it.

Her face is not the least bit youthful. Covered in wrinkles, her face shows the wear and tear of time and kids. Each wrinkle, however, seems to tell a story; some are good, others are bad. Though many would wish the wrinkles to go away, Elyzibeth welcomes them with every bit of ardor in the world. Sure, wrinkles make her look old, but age gives wisdom. Though this is not necessarily a proven fact, Ely believes it to be true. And she likes looking old because it makes her seem more intelligent. Whether or not she is actually intelligent is the decision to be made by anyone who talks to her.

Unlike her hair, Ely's face is extremely oily. She can wash her face a million times and more, but there would be this shine or glow about her skin. Her face produces a lot of oil, which makes her look like she's wearing some sort of shiny mask. Obviously she's not, but her face just reflects the oil, especially in bright lights. She doesn't know why her face is so oily, nor does she really care. It can get annoying sometimes, though.

Mouth ;;
Perfect. Well, at least that's what her husband would say. His considered her mouth to be perfect in every way. Her lips are not too large or too small. Her teeth are almost perfectly white, and she has the most beautiful smile. The only negative thing about her smile is the fact that it makes her look amazingly old, especially when she does a wide, toothy smile. Dimples form at the corners of her lips around her cheeks, but her eyes get so many wrinkles that seem to engulf her face in an endless pit of age. But many people see past the wrinkles and past the imperfection and just see her usual and genuine smile as a warm welcome. It is very rare that this woman is not wearing a smile; if she isn't wearing a smile when she sees you, she will once you start talking to her, or when she starts talking to you.

Behind her "perfect" mouth is a nice set of straight, white teeth. Ely has this thing about brushing her teeth and does it at least three or four times a day. When she is going places, she takes a toothbrush. She brushes her teeth probably more than some people ever would. That just shows that she either wants a nice, white smile or that she has too much time on her hands…or both. But either way, it gives her a very nice appearance as far as smiling goes. Who doesn't like a white smile?

Skin ;;
Being Caucasian gives Ely a very light color to her skin. She is ghostly white most of the time, though there are certain things that give her skin some color to it. Across most of her body, her face, shoulders, chest, and back in particular, she has a lot of lightly-colored freckles. The freckles were given by both genetics and exposure to the sunlight. So some are natural and others are not.

Her skin is somewhat sensitive. She has to put on a very strong sunscreen because she burns easily in the sunlight. She cannot use a lot of cosmetic products—of course, she wouldn't even if she could. She hates make-up.

Body ;;
Seven children has done a lot to the older woman's body. She was never really fat, but she never had the thinnest of bodies, either. She was a bit larger than most of the girls, somewhat fuller than them, at least when it came to body size. She didn't have many curves, though, for which she was grateful. She didn't want that kind of attention from men; thankfully she never received it, either.

After having her children, her body started to change. She began to obtain more and more curves, which gave her already full body a fuller figure. She grew wider and gained quite a few pounds, but that was to be expected after having children. Recently, though, she has started to exercise a bit more and eat a little less food—which is hard since she loves food—because she wants to lose some weight and maintain a decent body shape. After the discovery of things like diabetes and cholesterol or whatnot, she has tried to keep herself healthy and maintain it. She doesn't want to die an 'early' death because of health problems related to the things she eats. So far she's been doing well. She's not dieting, though, just watching what she eats. She stands at 5'6" and weighs about 142 pounds.

Clothes ;;
Fashion has never been something that interests Ely. She doesn't like getting too dressed up, nor does she like wearing heeled shoes a lot of times. She prefers wearing things comfortable but nice. Comfort is the most important things to her.

Home - At home Ely tends to wear whatever she feels like. It depends on the day, really. If she doesn't plan on doing anything, she will walk around in her gown and just enjoy the day like that. Sometimes she'll even put on her husband's old flannel shirts if she's really cold. If she is having guests or has a feeling someone might come or something might happen, she will put on jeans and a simple shirt. Usually she goes barefoot, but sometimes she will wear socks around the house.

Out - If she's going out shopping or something, she will wear a pair of jeans, a nice shirt, possibly a jacket, and she'll wear a pair of comfortable shoes. She hates wearing tennis shoes for some reason, so she usually wears her regular flats. She usually tries to wear flip flops or no shoes at all if it's warm enough.

Work - Being a teacher gives her some leeway on what she can wear. The first few weeks, she will wear nice suits. Her suits usually consist of a solid skirt, usually black; she has several black skirts of various styles. She will wear a solid colored blouse and then a nice jacket to offset the colors and make her look a bit colorful and stylish while at the same time looking professional and in charge. She will also wear a set of matching heeled shoes with her professional attire. She likes showing the students who's in charge even though she doesn't have that authority type of attitude. After the first few weeks, Ely will go to wearing whatever she feels, really. She tries to remain somewhat professional in appearance, but she does not wear suits. She will wear skirts and dress slacks; her shirts are oftentimes formfitting but not overly so that it makes her look squished. Her shirts cover the whole of her chest, sometimes only exposing her collar. They usually cover that, too, though. As for shoes, she'll wear her flats.

Jewelry - The only pieces of jewelry the woman wears constantly are hoop earrings, her gold wedding band, and her watch. Sometimes she will wear a necklace or bracelet, but that's not too often.

T E A C H E R

Ely is one of the cases where appearances can be deceiving. You'd think just by looking at her that she is one of those loud and obnoxious women who can't find anything better to do than talk, talk, and talk. This can be true at times when Ely is in one of her moods to talk, but it is not true most of the time. Ely is more of a quiet woman—quiet in a sense that her actions are quiet, her voice is quiet, her entire person is quiet.

Don't get me wrong, she can be a talker. If she finds something that interests her enough, she will talk and talk until there is nothing left to talk about. She doesn't even really have to be interested in something, but she somehow always finds something to say. She is not a woman to remain quiet until she is spoken to, but she won't just burst out in loud chatter in an attempt to be seen a heard. She doesn't want to attract that kind of attention, especially not when she is around a lot of people she doesn't show. She's not shy in the least, just prefers remaining more to herself than trying to be the center of attention like some people.

Though she is not actually "quiet," the word quiet can be used to describe her. The things that she does and the way that she does them is very quiet, very subtle. She does not just randomly throw her hands in the air. She does not start head banging. She does not start screaming. She is quiet in the things she does, and her quiet nature tends to demand attention. She can be giving a speech in front of a group of people; she could whisper and be heard. Her voice just has that quiet sort of power that elevates people to do what she wants. But she's not demanding of that attention or respect. It's just given because she gives off this vibe to those around her.

A lot of people seem to think that they are perfect and invincible. Ely knows that she is neither of those. She knows that everyone is born and that someday everyone will meet their end. She knows this. She is imperfect and enjoys every bit of her imperfection—from her unruly head full of hair down to her tendency to have a slight temper. She loves it. What would people be if they were perfect? We would all live very boring lives and have absolutely nothing to talk about. She takes her imperfections and uses them to her advantage. She tries to be optimistic about things that are not "ideal" in a complicated world, and it turns out to be in her favor.

With age comes wisdom. Though not always true, it is in Ely's case. She learned through her years of life and experience many things that some never learn. Each thing that has happened to her, she takes into account and tells other people about it, possibly to provide insight or to give a warning. She likes being able to use her experiences as a fuel for her wisdom, because people tend to look up to her for that reason. They will come to her for that extra bit of help, that extra push, that extra something they need. Ely likes being the wise old lady. That's one plus of her age: it gives her experiences that not many have and enables her to be the support those around her need.

You cannot be into music without being artistic. Music, to Ely, is a work of art. She likes creating sounds and mixing them together to create a tune, whether happy or sad, mad or exciting. She has an ear for sounds and an eye to pick out those students who will do well. Her artistic side is the one that enabled her to do well. She can see into things that other people cannot see. She can use things from art in the real world—like lyrics from a song—to compare and contrast two things that may be very different or very similar. Her artistic views enable her to be in touch with a bit of everything, various little pieces of the world around her, even if she doesn't quite understand them for herself.

Ely is also a very good listener. Being a mother and a teacher has helped her with such a skill. She has learned to listen to all sides of the story and take into consideration numerous things. She knows better than to let herself be fooled by someone like a mere child, or even someone her age. She has the sense enough to come in when necessary, and she has enough brains to determine when someone is talking about her or someone else. But… a listener—that is what Ely is.

She is a very understanding person, able to decipher situations and problems and help people through them. If you're having a tough time, she is willing to help you out in whatever way she can. She is very warm-hearted and enjoys being able to help others when they need it. Her favorite type of help to give is emotional help, or just simple advice. She likes when people ask her questions about family or friends, love or death—she can give a lot of advice on those things, or try to. She makes sure people know that she is not all-knowing and all-powerful, but she does let them know that she knows something more than the average person. She's not afraid to admit, though, when she doesn't know something.

Some of the things that Ely knows were learned from books while others she has learned from experience. She loves reading and learning new things. A lot of her knowledge has come from books. To supplement the book knowledge is that from personal experience. Her personal experiences help shape the knowledge she gets from books. From that, she creates an opinion or perspective entirely her own. If someone needs her to share her perspective, she will. And that's all there is to it.

When complimented, Ely tend to be very modest. She will either shrug the compliment off or allow a blush to pass through her cheeks. She never lets it get to her head, nor does she let herself get lost in the compliment. She will actually speak out and disagree with whoever made the compliment. She is not modest because she thinks she has to be, but because that is just who she is. Modesty is something that Journey possesses in great intervals even though many people tell her she needs to stop being so modest. She just can't help it.

Aside from modesty, she is extremely loyal. She is, as many would say, "a fierce friend" and will do almost anything for a friend. She likes having friends because it gives her someone to talk to, but because friends are always great to have when she needs it the most. Though she tends to be quiet and to herself, Journey makes friends somewhat easily, both young and old. She is easy to talk to, a great listener, and very understanding. And when you really get to know her, she is very fun-loving and laidback.

A mother, Ely tends to be a very motherly person. She tends to do those simple motherly things that annoy people. If someone has something on their face, she will use a napkin or a handkerchief to wipe whatever it is off the person's face. She will also help fix someone's hair or tuck their tag into their clothing. Most people find her strange, but it is just a habit she has, thanks to her thirty-four years of being a mother.

Even though she had been married for over thirty years and has been a mother for thirty-two, Ely is nowhere near a great housekeeper or cook. In fact, her house tends to be a bit disorganized. Things are out of place or stuffed into corners of a room, just to be put out of the way. She knows how to make things look organized, but it is obvious that things are not organized. She does not like complete clean or organization, either. She simply cannot stand it, probably because she is used to have that slight sense of dirtiness around her.

She can't cook either. Well, she can cook very simply and plain dishes, but nothing overly extravagant. She usually left the cooking up to her husband since he could cook far better than she can. When he does not feel like cooking, she goes out and has meals with her children at restaurants, or alone. Sometimes she will even go to her children's houses and have meals with them, since they seemed to have gotten their father's talent to be able to cook. She enjoys those times that she gets to spend with her children, though.

S T R A I G H T

While she has many interests, her most influential interest in music. Since the time she was a teenager in high school, Ely was influenced greatly by music. She enjoyed playing violin and piano, and she loves to sing as well. It actually became the base of her life, basically, since she is not a music teacher. That's another thing she likes, being a teacher. She enjoys spending time at the school and teaching her students new things. She loves seeing people's faces light up when they understand. She also loves being a mother. Sometimes she wonders if she's a good mother, but that doesn't stop her from doing what she does. She loves spending time with her kids and her grandkids, and she also likes to treat everyone else like her children, regardless of who they are.

* GAMBLE W I T H DESIRE ,

The couple had never expected to have children. They had always figured that they would just be a middle age married couple with no money but a lot of happiness. But when Corrine found herself pregnant at the age of forty-two, the entire situation seemed to change. The couple was worried about bringing a baby into the world, especially when they barely had enough money for themselves. How was the couple supposed to have a child that they never planned for, never expected to even have?

Things seemed hectic during the entire time that Corrine was pregnant. It seemed that the further along she got, the more stressed out she seemed to be. But when a beautiful baby girl was born in the mid-evening of June 22, things seemed to change. The new mother immediately calmed down and found herself completely in love with the baby she had just given life to. Her husband, Henry, seemed to have calmed as well. But he was only being calm for his wife, who had been freaking out until the moment the baby had arrived. What they thought would be a large burden on their lives turned out to be one of the greatest gifts they had ever received.

The middle-aged parents raised their baby girl like any parent would raise their child. They taught her things such as respect and honesty, manners and how to talk to people. They taught her how to read and started to teach her how to write when she was old enough to hold a pencil. Their daughter was a very special child, greatly influenced by the things around her and extremely artistic. She drew pictures on the walls, like most children, but her parents were impressed by such talent. In their eyes, their daughter was a genius and much smarter than those her age. And she was. She could do things that other four-year-olds could not do.

When the little girl was sent to school, she was greatly recognized by all of her teachers. She made good grades and understood things quicker than most students her age. She was a quiet student, but seemed to always have something to say. She was always willing to help the other students or answer a teacher's questions, but she was usually denied that privilege because she always seemed to be the only one giving answers. "Let the other students have a chance, Elyzibeth," the teachers would always say. She would get upset on occasion, but she eventually began to understand. When those times came, she would simply nod her head and doodle on the corners of her paper, letting time pass by as the other students learned and tried to understand what the teacher was trying to teach. She was a quick learner and never had to worry about being left behind in class.

As she grew an matured physically, so did her mind. She was now in middle school and trying to cope with the cliques that had formed on account of maturity level and pre-teen years kicking in. She never really separated herself into a clique. If she had, she would have been one of the honors students, one of the bank geeks or art freaks, depending on the person you spoke to. But she never tried to compare herself to those around her. She thought of herself as different, though she knew that there were many people around her that had similar traits as she did.

When she entered her years in high school, she found herself in an entirely new world. Middle school had been harsh with the cliques, but high school seemed to have made them even more noticeable. You had those who played sports and those who played the instruments at sports. Of course, she never liked the idea of playing sports, and she had never played an instrument before. But when she was put into music classes, her whole world seemed to change. She was opened up to this entirely new form of art, and she had an immediate appreciation for it. Her teacher put into her hands a flute, and the teenage girl took the instrument and studied it extensively. And she learned to play with such perfection and beauty that it seemed an almost impossible feat for anyone.

During her years in high school, she and the music teacher became very close friends. The music teacher worked with her before and after school to help her perfect the instrument she had been given to play. In her junior year, Ely asked her teacher to teach her to play another instrument or two. The teacher agreed and offered to teach her piano and violin. Without hesitation, the blonde accepted and set off to study with her teacher. Ely spent a lot of time at the school, learning about music and how to create it. It was her first love, her only love at the time. Everything that dealt with music seemed to get her appreciation. And anything she played seemed to sound perfect. People admired her piano and violin playing about as much as they admired her willingness to learn and to teach.

By the time she was in her senior year of high school, Ely had already made up her mind on what she wanted to do once she graduated from high school. She wanted to become a teacher of music. She wanted to share her appreciation and love of music, and she wanted to be able to show others just how great it was. There was only one dilemma: She had not money to pay for a college education. Her parents were poor and didn't have any money to pay for her to go, which meant that she definitely didn't have any money to pay for a post-secondary education. It was a depressing thought, not being able to go to school to learn to do something she loved, but she tried not to let it bother her too much.

Before she graduated from high school, her music instructor purchased a violin and gave it to Ely as a graduation gift. Ely was surprised that her teacher cared about her that much, but she took the violin without hesitation but with great appreciation and kept it close to her forever. She still has the violin to this very day and still uses it to play. It is obviously old and is starting to look a big rugged, but that hasn't stopped her from playing it whenever her ears need to hear the beautiful sound of a violin being played.

After her graduation, nothing seemed to interest Ely aside from her violin. She would sit at home and play for hours on end, sometimes making up songs that seemed to be remakes of those already published. Her parents knew that she had a talent and admired her violin playing from their bedroom or the kitchen down the hall. They would secretly comment on her special abilities to create music, but they never once commented to her face about it. To her face they would say that she was wasting her time wishing for something that would never come. But Ely was determined to prove them wrong.

A young woman, Ely returned to the school in hopes that they would allow her the opportunity to be a sort of tutor in the classroom to help those who played piano or violin, maybe even flute. The principal seemed hesitant about the entire situation, but the music instructor knew of Ely's love for music and her talents. She talked her into letting her sit through classes to help tutor, while at the same time being paid a small sum of money for her efforts in teaching. She was not classified as a teacher, but she was being paid slightly less than one. It was little money, but it was better than nothing. And since she was still living with her parents free of charge, she put all of her money in a box beneath her bed. She was going to save as much as she could, which she supposed would take forever. She knew nothing at the time of banks and accounts and earning interest on her money. Oh, what time that would have saved her if she had known.

While working as a musical tutor at the high school she had attended years before, she also found a job working at a music store. She helped the instructors give lessons, and she also helped sell instruments and various other things in the store. The store had three pianos, but only one was on display. Oftentimes she would sit and play songs; people would sit and listen, applauding her after she finished playing. It got to the point where people would come in and ask her to play, offering money for her performance. Of course, she wasn't against earning money or playing. So she agreed. She had three jobs: a musical tutor, an employee at a music store, and a performing artist. She was locally famous, or at least that's what many of her acquaintance and friends would say.

It was during her days at the music store that she met the man who would become her husband. His name was Thomas, and he was seven years older than her. Her had been raised in a middle class family. His parents had saved their entire lives to send their only child to school, and he had gone to become a doctor. He had recently graduated and was working at the local hospital making a fair amount of money. He loved to come in and listen to Ely playing on the piano, and he always paid her the most money out of all the other listeners. He would sometimes stay and talk to her while she worked. During that time, the two really got to know each other. They started dating about a year after they met.

Ely confided in Thomas and told him of her dreams to learn more about music and to teach it. He told her that she had so much more talent than that; she should become famous and do something other than teach. She started to consider the things he said about playing in a more professional setting for more money, but she wasn't sure she was really worried about money. If she spent time worrying about money, how was she supposed to enjoy something? She enjoyed teaching others the things she knew, but she also enjoyed playing. Whatever she did, she wanted it to involve music. And Thomas, wanting to make all of her dreams come true and wanting to win her heart over, offered to pay her way into college. She felt bad about taking his offer, but she agreed to let him finance her studies. And it was then that she went off and started to study at college, learning more and more about music than she ever knew before.

About three years after she had started her studies, Thomas proposed to her. She was surprised and had been un-expecting of a marriage proposal, but she accepted without hesitation. The two were married about a year and a half later, after Ely was done with school and after she had managed to find herself a job as an actual teacher at one of the schools in the city. The two of them did not have a large wedding, and they did not have a honeymoon. But that didn't bother them; everything was perfect and exactly how they liked it.

The year following their marriage, Ely lost her father to pneumonia. He had fallen ill and held on for a few weeks, but it all proved to be too much for him. He died at the somewhat young age of sixty-nine, leaving his only child and her husband as well as his wife to cope with his death. The three people remaining of his family had taken it hard, but they did not let it ruin their spirits entirely. The bond between Ely and her mother grew stronger, and they spent much more time together when Ely wasn't busy working and making money to keep in the band. She didn't make much, of course, being a music teacher, but she did try to keep as much of it as she could. She and Thomas were living in a small two-bedroom home not too far from both the hospital and the school. It was actually within walking distance of both, so they both usually walked from home to work, which saved a lot of money in fuel.

About a year following her father's death, Ely found herself pregnant with their first child. The couple, though somewhat worried like most new parents would be, were extremely excited and very much ready to become parents. Ely was twenty-eight at the time, and Thomas was thirty-five. They were both at a good age to have children, and they both felt confident in their abilities as parents. When the baby girl arrived on April 3, they were extremely happy. At the very moment Ely saw her daughter, she fell in love again. She felt like she had been reborn and renewed. And maybe she had.

In the years following, the couple had six other children over a somewhat expanded period of time. None of the children were "planned," but they were all welcomed with open arms and given a lot of love. Ely and Thomas were happy with their children; they had both wanted a large family since they had grown up with no siblings and no one aside from their parents in their family. Children didn't bother them, and by the time their third child arrived, they were experts at taking care of kids.

After the birth of their second child, when the couple decided that they wanted a large family, they decided to move to a more rural and open place. They wanted plenty of room for their children to grow and be able to run around without having many people complaining about them being noisy or about them being on their property. The lives of both places was different yet the same, but the couple did not regret the move. They had gotten a larger house and more property. They didn't really have any neighbors at the time, since not many people liked the neighborhood. Over the period of about ten years, though, they received a neighbor on each side of them, but not in close proximity. They still had plenty of land to put trampolines and swing sets on, and a few trees for shade in the summertime to watch their children grow from the lawn chairs. Thomas had found himself a job at the hospital in town, and Ely had found herself a teaching position at a school in the same town.

About seven years ago, a heart attack put Thomas out of work for quite some time. It had not been too severe, but there was always a chance that it could get worse. Within the past six months, Thomas had another heart attack. This one, however, took his life. The entire family was heavily affected by his death. Ely was affected by it the most, however. Even though she spends a lot of time thinking about Thomas and about his death, she does not let anyone else really see it. There is no longer a light in her eyes that there once was, and she seems slightly less extroverted. She does not let people see her in a depressed or saddened mood, though. She hides her emotions fairly well and only cries when she's alone and in the dark.

The woman didn't give up everything after her husband died. She is still working as a music teacher at a local school, still trying to make money to support herself and the two children she has still living with her. She knows that she won't be able to really retire yet, at least not comfortable, anytime soon. She doesn't really want to. She enjoys teaching the students at the school about things that they want to learn, and she likes their reactions to her lessons. She doesn't just teach music, but about life as well. She enjoys her job.

M I D D L E C L A S S

* TENSION L I K E FIRE ,

ELYZIBETH
(This is a response post from another site, from yesterday.)

Fingertips pressed lightly against the keys of the piano in the corner of the living room. The notes that came from the marvelous instrument did not even seem like playing; they were almost too good to be playing by what many would consider to be an amateur. Surely a teacher, of all people, could not play that well? Many underestimated her capabilities as an educator. Teachers were underpaid, there was no denying that, but that did not mean they could not play as well as a professional. If anything, she had to be a professional since she was teaching other people how to play. Sure, the woman made an occasional mistake, but those were almost rare now that she had been playing for probably forty years now. Years of practice and years of teaching had done that to her. She was able to play so gracefully and so beautifully that it brought tears to the eyes of those around her. She could look over a piece of music for five minutes and have it almost memorized. Things like that just seemed to easy to the sixty-year-old woman, effortless even.

As the woman's fingers moved gracefully across the keys of the piano, she moved along with them, swaying. Her body was a bit lumpy looking, courtesy of the shirt she happened to be wearing and the way she was sitting. She was slouched over in a very unprofessional way, but she did not seem to be having trouble. In fact, she almost seemed comfortable. She was not bothered by the fact that she looked like some hunchback person over the piano. That was really the last thing on her mind. She had her eyes closed so that the deep blue coloring was not visible; she was concentrating hard on the notes she played, what seemed to sound right, if it was right.

Ely had been doing this for the past hour or so. Her cats were lying atop the piano as they usually did, just enjoying the vibrations and sounds from the large instrument. Dana was probably laying in on the older woman's king-sized bed asleep. The other two dogs, Clover and Yoyo, were running around playing with each other, nipping playfully at the other. When the dogs stopped playing and started barking at something, though, the aging woman stopped playing and looked at them. Both had their ears perked up, and they were looking in the direction of the outside. Ely blinked a few times.

"What is it?" she asked in a playful whisper. They both jumped and wagged their tails but kept their eyes on the outside. Someone had to be there if they were looking like that. And, sure enough, the doorbell rang. The dogs let out a few dispersed barks, and the older woman placed her fingers on selected piano keys and played the very beginning of Beethoven's Fifth. With a grin on her face, she stood up shortly afterwards and walked across the living room and into the kitchen, throwing the door open as she did so.

Standing there was one of her students, one she had come to know over the past few years of her teaching career and his high school one. She wore one of her usual genuinely friendly smiles and blinked her deeply colored eyes a few times. Her smile broadened greatly; the dimples formed around her cheeks, and the wrinkles around her eyes. Her messy hair and awful hairline only made her look worse, which wasn't unusual. She always looked bad, aged. The best thing about it was that she didn't even care.

"Hey," she said in a cheerful tone. Seconds later, all three of her dogs walked past her. And the cats followed behind the three dogs. The woman jumped back quickly to avoid being knocked over by the two larger dogs, and that caused her to almost step on the small dog and two cats. She blinked a few times in surprise and let out a small laugh, shaking her head. She looked at the young man standing there in front of her and the motioned for him to enter the house. He should know by now that her dogs were crazy. "Come in," she said with a laugh playing on her words, "Ignore the usual."

PLAYEDBY;
MERYL STREEP

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[garrett alexander boston]

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