Not even the poets could put a shine on this situation, mm-mm. I understand you and believe you aren’t lying. Your sincerity is a good thing, honey, and you have always been honest, almost to a fault, but you can be sincere and still be stupid.
Now, here’s the thing. Nothing you learned in school from those rocket scientists, in the long run, is going to deliver you from this. It may be sunny southern California, with its beaches and Hollywood la-di-da, but shady people are anywhere you go. You are old enough to know this. You must know this sort of crap happens all the time, to good people as well as bad, right?
No, you’re wrong. There’s no other way to see something that should be as plain as the nose on your face. Sorry kiddo.
Call it quits. Hm? Walk away and leave the whole thing in the gutter where it belongs. Come home, apologize to Dad, and move on. Rise above it.
Three weeks’ worth of prompts, rolled into one:
throw it in the gutter; learned in school; long term; the nose on his face; can’t there be another way?; rocket boys; you can be sincere and still be stupid; sunny place/shady people; not even the poets
https://aooga.wordpress.com/2020/09/20/olwg-156-the-pavilion/
by LRose 
Well done, Ms Rose.
It can be tough to apologize sometimes.
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BTW… it’s writers’ conference time. I’m already buried by Zoom madness, frantic presenters and attendees who can’t make the online thing work, and the absurd notion of running a conference from separate work spaces. Nothing like throwing a group of amateurs into the ring with high tech and social distancing directives and expect anything but an idiot’s ball.
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I’m an idiot! Finally someplace where I could fit in!
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Join us if you dare! Just “walk this way”…
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There’s always lines to draw in the sand. And sometimes, you just can’t cross ’em.
Well done with all the prompts.
(And good luck with your tech stuff… I’m no good with it either…)
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