Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
aron hadn’t seen his sister in a while. With the holidays approaching, the school was getting busy. He was getting his students ready for the holiday recital, which was always a hit with the parents. It put huge pressure on his shoulders, though it always paid off. Everyone tended to have fun at the end of it all.
The skinny man finished his work, marking essays he got his students to write about the importance of musical theory. His head was aching after staring at his laptop for the last few hours - he needed to get out of his classroom. He quickly locked up the room, seeing that other teachers were still busy in their rooms - he waved at the ones he was close with before he left. He hopped into his car before driving off towards Main Street - parking behind Dolly’s Vintage. He knew she would be working - it was her baby. Aaron opened the door, seeing the store had a few other people inside.
“It’s just me, Anne. Take your time, I’ll just have a peek around.” Aaron didn’t like to disturb anyone during work - he was old enough to entertain himself. He needed to start looking and thinking about Christmas gifts - especially since he and June were now officially dating.
aron was nervous - June had finally agreed with to go on a date. He had chosen the newest restaurant on Main Street - they had a set menu for their soft opening. He finished the final touches on his hair, having had Hope dye a piece black when he wanted something different during his most recent hair cut.
It felt odd for him to wear a suit, but the restaurant called for a more formal attire. He had suits for when his students were preforming a music recital for their parents, but he usually ran around in jeans and some sort of shirt. Once he was satisfied, he picked up his keys, wallet and bouquet of flowers for June before heading out of the apartment. He said goodbye to Harper as he left, heading down the stairs towards his car. He had offered to pick June up - it was the noble thing to do.
Aaron got into the car and headed off towards Oldacker Ave - it was a nicer part of town, compared to where his apartment was, but he really didn't mind. He parked in front of her house, hoping Danny wasn't home after their last encounter. He took a deep breath before he picked up the bouquet which was wrapped in the typical brown paper as he got out of the car.
The blond man took a deep breath as he approached her front door, using his free hand to ring the doorbell, waiting patiently for her to answer.
aron felt like he was going to have some sort of testosterone stand off. He didn't particularly enjoy confrontation, but if it came to it he would be ready. June didn't ever mention a brother - though they hadn't really had the chance to to talk about family yet.
"Danny? She never mentioned you." He was one hundred percent sure of that. Being a teacher meant he had to be good at memorizing student's names. It was all part of the job. Danny almost gave him a glare - causing the bleach blonde to raise his eyebrow almost giving the stranger a sarcastic look. "Yep, that friend would be me. Do you have a problem having your sister be friends with a guy?" Aaron chuckled - it wasn't like the two of them were romantically involved. Lately, he found out that June and him had more in common than just enjoying and appreciating the artwork of tattoos.
To be more of a jerk, Aaron paused after Danny asked who he was. "I'm Aaron and as a fellow older brother, I get the protective gig. I'm really not going to hurt her." Anne had helped him through a lot after his fiancee died - he watched over her like a hawk when she was a baby. "Can I come in or are we going to have a WWE match against each other?" He didn't really expect Danny to fight him - though he had a feeling June wouldn't be far behind them.
aron was surprised to hear that June invited him over. The two started bonding over more that just tattoos - it seemed as if the two were slowly becoming friends. He dressed up a bit, not wanting to show up in sweat pants and a hoodie - they weren't at that stage in their friendship yet.
He had taught in the morning, having the afternoon off on that particular January afternoon. Aaron spent the majority of his time at home, marking music theory exams he had given the day before. Giving grades was his least favorite part of being a teacher, but it all had to be done. He checked his smart watch and seeing that it was almost time to leave, he closed up his file and placed it up high so the cats wouldn't get to it. The man headed towards the front door of the flat, putting on his shoes and throwing aA jacket over his shoulders before heading out the door towards his car.
Aaron had saved June's address in the contacts of his phone, pressing on the text as it flipped over to the Maps application, giving him directions on how to drive there. With the press of a button, the engine of his car roared to life and he drove off. The man had no idea what to expect, other than to hang out with June and have a chat. After about a twenty minute drive, he parked his car on the street - seeing that another car was parked right in front of her house. A group hangout? Alright, not really what I was expecting from her. He thought, pushing the button again to turn the car engine off after putting it in park.
He unbuckled his seat belt, grabbed his wallet and got out of the car - glancing at the house numbers before heading up the walkway to the correct one. It seemed that the front door was already open, a smile gracing his face before it quickly faded - he wasn't expecting a man opening the door for him. "I'd like to ask you the same thing. I'm looking for June? She invited me over to hang out. And who the hell are you?" It wasn't like they were dating, but Aaron felt he was starting to get closer to the tattooed blonde woman.
aron wasn't much of an athletic person, but he knew how to compete. There was more to Sports or any sort of competition than winning. He didn't understand why people were so invested in winning, just doing well with the skills a person had were good enough for him. "I need to remember you have brothers and I don't. That must have something to do with your competitiveness, don't you think?" He was actually happy he just had a younger sister - brothers would have been too much to handle in his mind.
He felt his eyebrows raise. Nash had made him feel old. Aaron knew he was still pretty young for a teacher, his colleagues being at least in their 30s by now. "Ha, to be that young again. By your reaction, I feel like you want to be an old man already?" He knew kids often wanted to be adults faster than the year went by, but there were adults that wanted to be young again. It was a never ending cycle. "I don't know, I've heard some strange baby names. Mister wouldn't be as bad as the ones I've heard." His friends were off having babies back home - deciding on some more modern names than he was used to.
"As long as you get called Nash. Do your siblings call you something weird or bad though?" He was lucky his sister had always been kind and loving towards him - granted, he was much older than her to begin with. "I wasn't expecting that answer from you. My mind thought that you'd enjoy doing more modern acting pieces. So you've done Shakespeare then?" Aaron glanced at his watch, realizing he would have to leave soon to return to marking projects from his students.
aron raised his eyebrow, he didn't think Nash was someone who was cocky, but he also didn't know the student very well. "But you do know you have to learn how to lose before you learn how to win." That was cheesy of him to say, but it was something he had learned. Winning wasn't everything, despite some people thinking that. He wasn't much of an athlete and when it came to music - he was just happy to play. "Yeah, that's not something I'd like to be called thanks, just Mr. Stonehouse or even Mr. S." He had to be professional - being a teacher meant it came with the job - even though he swore his Father went by that name and he never would.
"You are sixteen aren't you? I'm more than ten years older than you." Asking a teacher's age wasn't exactly appropriate either, but they weren't in the classroom right now either. He wasn't going to admit his age as it would make him feel old. "Ah, I get your joke now. I sure hope my parents didn't call me Mister." He didn't know what to think about the name Aaron either, but at least it was something not as common. "Yeah, I heard about that. You know you have help at school if you need help. Grieving can take longer than you think. Do your siblings call you that too?" He sympathized with him - Megan had died almost three years ago now but he was just now getting over it.
He was amazed that movies weren't something he had thought about. "So musicals then? or more traditional pieces?" Aaron hoped it was something musical as Nash was in his class, but that didn't mean anything. "If you really want money, more than one show would be your best bet. I know it means more work, but the money will be flowing."
Haven't you heard, it's not all about winning. Learning to lose and accept it is more difficult." There was his teacher advice for the afternoon - he realized quickly after moving to Hickstead that he wasn't like the other teachers. Some of them were just plain harsh to their students and as his school days weren't exactly easy - he decided to be different. The impish smile that graced the younger man's face made made the bleach blond smile. He didn't know what Nash had gone through, but it was nice to see some emotion. "The dude? Maybe I'm not ask old as I think I am. I remember my friends calling each other that when I was in school." Maybe he didn't feel so old after all. "Nash might be more unique though. What do you want to be famous for anyway?"
His wanting to be famous days were over - though he was happy helping his friend's back home become famous through their music was much more his speed. "Your parents call you that when you are trouble, don't they?" It sounded like it was a huge reason why most people didn't like their name - though it could be easily changed. "I don't exactly like my name either if that helps." Aaron was boring - it didn't suit him. His friends all called him AJ back in school. That was much cooler in the eyes of his younger self.
"I do hate to break the bad news. But sometimes that opportunity never really comes. You could focus on acting and theater classes." He eventually realized that he needed a real job, and teaching music was the next best thing. Teaching was a lot more steadier than making music in terms of financial income. "What kind of movies do you want to be in anyways?" He tried to be more curious about the futures of his students - there was always something he could help with outside of class.
aron laughed at the dude comment. "Alright. You win. I'll call you Nash. The dude sounds a little not professional." He tried to be relatively respectful of the nicknames of his students. They were all old enough to know if they liked their legal names or not. He didn't mind his name though his true friends all called him AJ.
"Oh come on. Your name could be a lot worse. Nicholas James sounds nice." He knew of a lot of people who had names no one could pronounce. If that happened, he did try his best to talk to the student and get as close to the proper way as he could. "Do you not like it or something?" Names were hard - parents having to give names to their children before their true personalities came out.
Aaron shook his head, assigning no grade would be easier but that wasn't something he could control. "There has to be some sort of scale so that Universities know how well you did in your courses. If that's what you choose to do." It wasn't something he thought he would do, but being a musician full time wasn't feasible financially. "I appreciate you enjoying my class. I had the same problem as you, though I wasn't much of a drama person. Honestly, you just have to suck it up and chug through the material." He shrugged his shoulders, lucky that his teachers were understanding and helped him through the subjects he struggled with.
t was always curious to hear people call him Sir. He had been called it a few times in his short teaching career and it always made him feel like an old man. Sometimes at the Bank or somewhere more formal he was often quick to correct them by giving them his last name. "Thanks, that's better. Still makes me feel like my dad, though let's not get that personal." Having a student call him by his first name would prove that he had favorite students - and that was inappropriate. "Nash? Where did that nickname come from?" He would have expected Nick more, though nicknames weren't always that obvious.
"I can ignore your skipping class just this time, though next time I see you I'll have to report it." He wasn't one to be harsh, though the school still had rules that needed to be followed. Rules that he needed to implement if he wanted to keep his job. Aaron let out a soft sigh, he knew what a long day felt like. "I do understand that though skipping class is no excuse." There - that was his extent of being angry at the student. Nash was good at paying attention in his class, though he had heard through the grapevine that it wasn't like that in other classes. "Listen, I don't know what's going on that's making you skip...but if it's something is bothering you...there are resources for you." He wished there was that kind of help when he was younger or even when his fiancé had died.
A smile crossed his face when the free block was mentioned. "Now you need to be a bit older for that. Usually, if you get one it's more a study period." And the teachers were pretty strict about taking attendance for those as well. "I do have to mark, unless you don't want a grade for this part of the semester?" He joked, he was pretty good at keeping on top of it though but his weekly free period was always welcomed. "Do you really not like school that much?"
s Aaron waited for a response, he wondered what was going through the student's head. Skipping school was something he also used to do, though more because of peer pressure now that he was able to look back at his youth. It was something he didn't think about until now. "Sir? I actually haven't heard that one before. Just Mr. Stonehouse is fine." The name made him feel like an old man, though he knew it was something that was required to be called at private schools. To him, it made the schools old-fashioned and with all his tattoos and piercings - he wouldn't fit in there anyway.
"History is one of the more important subjects. I know from the staff meetings that the teacher can be harsh." Some of the other teachers were definitely different, though that's what made the World an interesting place. "Just remember, participation is part of your grade. That's all I'm gong to say." He gently scolded the student. Aaron glanced around the outdoor area, realizing that the other students weren't there. "Is...there a particular reason you are skipping History in particular?"
Aaron smiled softly as he was asked if he was skipping teaching. "Oh no, it's my free block. I figured I would get some fresh air before I got to marking. Gotta show a good example anyway."
aorn had the last period of the day as a spare, meaning he could use it to mark the most recent exam. He needed to stretch his legs first and get some fresh air before he got back to work. After dismissing the class as soon as they finished playing their music, hearing a sigh of relief as soon as the students realized the class was over. As the class shuffled off to their last class of the day, the blond man quickly cleaned the top of his desk and grabbed his keys - walking over to the door after the last student had left.
After exiting the classroom, he turned and locked his door - making sure his personal items were locked as well as the instruments. He stepped out and put the key in his pocket and headed out the back door of the school, pushing the door open and headed towards his usual hangout spot. He was shocked to see a student sitting at the base of the oak tree, wondering if the student had a spare. As he approached, he realized who it was, knowing for a fact that he didn't have a spare - as it was something reserved for older students.
"Nicholas, how are you doing this afternoon? Have a free class or are we skipping?" He raised his eyebrow, trying not to look threatening towards his student, trying to be understanding - but he knew skipping class wasn't exactly something the school was happy to hear about.
he tall lanky blond walked into the Lounge. He had realized that the teacher had been too much of a hermit lately - Harper suggesting he get out of the house after school. Aaron had the strong feeling to start singing in public again. His friends who had created a band in the States had bugged him enough about it. He was also positive that Harper was getting mad about him playing his music at home.
Blue eyes scanned the establishment, wondering if he knew anyone there. He didn't seem to - though the Lounge's lights were dark, if he was mistaken. The tall man walked over to the bar, taking a free bar stool and sitting down. He pulled the menu towards him, glancing at the drinks. Aaron tried not to drink too often, not wanting to go back to his bad habits. He was trying to learn how to casually drink - not wanting to use it as a coping mechanism anymore.
Clearly, he was lost in choosing a drink when someone tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to lift his head to turn to see who it was.
