Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Songs: Things I would often feel embarrassed to share, because of my harsh and harder shell which covers my sensitive sides is often an act to protect myself from harm, and in the process of sharing, I feel myself becoming undone; Naked. 

So, that’s why I often pretend to like harsher things (In fact I do like it) such as death metal and harder rock, your typical teenager: Only I’m in my second year at teaching and I am 24. Yeah, I never truly got over the phase where you stop listening to things that you think make you punk and hard, when you don't really enjoy them to the fullest extent. 

But that's the comfort that I've afforded myself, but when I truly become naked, with no walls around is in my car at lunch, when the kids are eating and socializing, not paying attention to anything the staff might say. This is prime time for me to just unravel myself and listen to what I truly want to listen to.
I put my player on the AUX cable and play my hidden folder of mp3s, and as I lean back in my seat, I start to hear the music pour into the car, as I then turn the dial and turn the volume up high. My sandwich seemed more and more appetizing as I began to dig into my sandwich. A teacher’s salary didn’t allow for the most luxurious meals or time outside of work, but the work itself is what keeps me going, the chance to at least influence one kid is what keeps my heart kickin’ and wanting to keep going.

 “Hello again, friend of a friend, I knew you when our common goal was waitin’ for the world to endddd~” I would sing as I then proceeded to lean my chair back further in my car as I then sigh. It was ever so quickly approaching the mid term of the semester (typically the time when a teacher starts to become stressed about how much information their class is retaining, so much of this is repeating and cementing the concepts into the brains of what could be considered doors) so to say it was starting to pile on would be an understatement but, that’s okay because I have trust in my students to perform well, some of them anyways.

 I would toss my lanyard off my neck and place it into the cup holder, U.D.. Right, that is my faculty image, fucked it up this year and hate it. The camera man– or well to call her that would like calling the president of a fast food chain, the burger wrapper– The principle had pressed the button late so I had accidentally moved by then, thus creating the monstrosity of an image which was my Identification badge. 

This outlier– or sort of outlier– was the reason I have thought about seeking employment in higher education so quickly.

 My goal initially was to only do a few years here where I can to the apply for higher education institutions like colleges and universities, but because of the high quality engineering facilities that are allowed only to me at this place, I have made the conservative decision that I would like to stay here for at least a few more years than intended. 

It had been a continuous struggle to meet standards in the my new workplace, but in my opinion it was worth it because the kids needed the best education they can possibly get, and it is my job as their new history teacher to make sure that they understand the fundamentals that our society was based upon, so they can navigate through their lives with at least a basis of what to expect and what is expected in life. 

In many ways, I choose to believe that the other teachers in this institution share the same sort of naive dream of allowing the students to achieve to their highest degrees, and in that allow them to reach beyond what they could ever imagine them reaching, but of course that isn't my field of study, mine is telling them about what has been and what will be as in accordance with the government and other governments. 

Yet they shouldn’t and damn near shalln’t stop me from attempting to influence them to be better writers as a whole. Because what is a history teacher except a glorified english teacher. And sure, while this school has some, It’s always good to reinforce those habits.

However, being the newest teacher in the faculty has its downsides, as not too many people have faith in your abilities as a teacher, or the senior teachers looking down upon you, or lack of funds or materials to run the class the way that you want to. These little things build up and suddenly the predicted midterm stress becomes two fold. 

So, while I like the socialization I usually get with my students during lunch time, I figured some alone time outside in my car would be rewarding in the fact that I literally could no longer handle even the thought that I might talk to the students today, for they bring me so much stress. That being said, I have had conversations in depth with the vice principal about what I can do to make sure that the students get to the level they need to be at, to which she promptly tells me to figure it out myself and to stop being dependent on others to solve the issues within my classroom.

So with the given fact that I have no support from the admin in the sense of how to instruct my classes in an orderly fashion, I’ll just have to ask other teachers on how they do it for themselves and how they manage to get their students so interested in what they have to say, given that my students have rather lackluster respect for me– they see me as more of a friend than a teacher and that's sort of the current problem I am having with my students. I have already had discussions with one other educator– Veronica from the physical education department– and she said that I am, to quote directly; “Too soft on the kids, you need to toughen up and truly enforce yourself in the class. Show your superiority”, To which is not exactly my style at all. So perhaps she wasn’t the best person to approach in the search for a more balanced relationship with the kids, my search for guidance continues. 

So as I traveled to my car to get away from the kids, I saw one black sedan who, for all intents and purposes was blasting some popular pop song from a few years back, I thought it was a few kids that managed to ditch school some how or way, and given I am a teacher, it was my job to instruct the kids. I approached the car, lunch bag in hand with a hefty sigh. A gentle knock was placed on the window of the car. The tune coming out of the car was quite clear, something like ‘Hey There Delilah’ by the Plain White T’s, yet when I looked inside the car, It looked more like an Emo kid, likely an underclassman due to her height, which is weird, given she's out of school and eating lunch in this car.


I took a few more bites out of my basic sandwich as I sighed. The stress was barely getting to me, what I disliked most was having to deal with the teenagers, because of building rebellion when I get them in my class. Sure, I like that some of them are using that fire to fuel themselves, but for some of them it is just annoying (much like when your little brother starts to annoy you once they grow out of infancy). 

A gentle groan would take place in me as I then proceeded to bop out to the rest of the song that was “Black Sheep”, from that one hit movie that came out a few months ago. It wasn't a song I was heavily embarrassed about, but given it was a break-up song, I wasn’t the most thrilled about showing it to everyone and proclaiming it as something I had liked. But it did work like a gateway drug into the more relaxed, more Love song-y sorts of songs I have on my hidden playlist. And so I would press play on ‘Hey There Delilah’, a hit song from my second year of college. 

I don’t really care about the band (I suppose that's the main difference between the playlists, that I can’t name a single band on this one,  but on my main one, that's more things I have to pretend to care about to keep up the act) but it is a good song, so I just let it play as I hum along as I decompress. 

A few more bites of sandwich await me before I have no more lunch left to eat, and then have to face the fact that I would have to return to the unfortunately well-funded building and have to teach more teens. But before I could even finish that thought, I heard a knock on my window. It was a tall, blonde, pasty skinned guy who was dressed quite fashionably, a patterned cotton vest, switching between the colors light purple and yellow, while his pants were gray and his shirt under his vest was a white long sleeve to complete the rather academic look. 

Of course, as anyone would think at a moment like this, I was confused by the person knocking on my door like it was some sort of joke set up. I turned down the music immediately, slightly embarrassed, but regardless, I asked “.. What can I help you with?” In what could possibly be the most customer service-y sort of tone.

 “Well. I am pretty sure that school is in session and you should probably be inside the building” The man said as I then gave him a sort of look. Not exactly a dejected look per se, it was more of an annoyed look than anything, because my lunch had been disturbed by the scenario. “Well, I am in fact allowed to be out here by myself. What about you? Shouldn’t you be in the building?” I say with a bit of a sassy undertone, like a tiny bite back, given that I am at work, I can’t exactly bite fully. I have to remind myself I am supposed to resign myself to professionalism, yet part of me feels internally disturbed because I felt overly embarrassed given this person (perhaps a student, oh dear god, PERHAPS A STUDENT?!) heard me jamming out to this sort of song.

“Well. I am pretty sure that school is in session and you should probably be inside the building” I said as the purple haired, shorter girl with a navy blue or dark purple– couldn’t tell due to the darkness of the car– Blouse on and a pair of dark gray slacks on, her skin slightly more tanned than mine, but even so it was just slight. 

To me, she had looked like a student, someone who wasn’t supposed to be outside of school during school hours, which is why I had continued with my interrogation. “Well I am allowed to leave the school during lunch, because I work here!” I present my badge, displaying someone who could only be described as a goodie two shoes. It also displays the first name Nathaniel on the badge as it is his faculty lanyard, while my thumb covers my last name accidentally. 

She then gave me a look. A judging look as she pulled out her own badge from the cupholder. “Me too. Now bite it, I’m trying to finish up my lunch.” Understandably, I was a bit taken aback by the reveal that she was also an employee at the school, one by the name of Una Doorothy. She kinda looks goofy in her photo but..  Perhaps this is the only chance I’ll have to make a friend here at the school! Let’s try our best to make this a friendship from a misunderstanding. With a deep breath, I wouldn’t go away. 

Chapter Text

And with a deep breath, my lungs inflated as I then felt myself start to feel a bit anxious. I was never the social type, at least with people my age. When it comes to people younger than I, I am like a social butterfly, but in this scenario I was embarrassed because I was unable to recognize that this was my co-worker and not another student– thinking back on it now, that should have been rather easy to identify as she was doing the same thing that I was trying to do.

Actually that might not be a bad idea to try to get closer to her and get advice on how to handle the kids. “Are you- Uh.. Well, are you also trying to escape the kids?” I say as I then try to make conversation to Ms. Doorothy as if I didn’t just accuse her of being a student who was ditching. She gave me a look which pretty much screamed– even to someone like me who is a bit on the denser side of things–  that she did not want to continue this conversation, but her lips kept cordial.  “Not exactly. I guess in some way I am. I don't really want to see them at the moment, but to be fair, I don’t really want to see you at the moment either, and yet..” She had said with a bit of flair at the end of the sentence as if it were some semblance of sass. 

I felt slightly uncomfortable now, as I had realized the position I was in, leaning into the window of another teacher’s car, and I had quickly backed off a bit. My fingers instinctively shoot some finger guns as I then say slightly nervously “Cool cool coolio, uh, well.. Ms. Doorothy, if you don't mind me asking, how are you handling the stress, given that  it’s getting closer towards the midterms?” While I didn’t know what field she taught, there was a sort of congruency between any and all teachers that they would be stressed nearing the midterms; Yes, even gym teachers apparently. 

She sighed as she realized he wasn’t going anywhere for the time being, so she took another bite of her food regardless of my being there. She spoke while still chewing “Well, honestly, I’m not affected by it much. I give my students the assignment, whoever cant pass, cant pass and whoever can clearly is interested enough to focus resources on. For me, this is the time where I separate the nerds and the populars.” This sort of response sort of appalled me, in the fact that she was so willing to just let her students fail if they weren’t doing well in her class. I couldn’t fathom that in my own classroom. “Ah.. Uh.. In my classroom, I usually hand out second chances to students like it’s their air.” 

She seems little interested but, she still dishes some advice in her infinite wisdom of a year of seniority “Well, doing that only gets you students that don’t truly try or understand your material, and what good does that do for them?” Now, admittedly, I did not think about it in such a fashion until just then. Had my generosity with handing out second tries been the downfall of the kids. Unconsciously I placed my left hand onto my chin and my right holding the left’s elbow in the most typical thinking position. “I.. Had not thought of it that way. Thank you for the unique perspective. Say. How about your opinion on my current predicament of lacking the respect of my students?” 

Now, it should have been clear that I was using her as a sort of elder or senior advice, and while I’d like to think it was purely for the reason of improving my classroom for my students, that’s not entirely true. I want to be able to not be walked all over by the students. It seemed like this small woman would be the key to unlocking something like that. Doorothy looked up at me, before swallowing her bite and then, stating quite clearly. “Seems you have back bone issues. Students walk all over you? Try being a bit more harsh within your class, so that they can understand that you mean business and don’t tolerate any sort of nonsense– Wait– Stop turning my lunch break into your sort of performance review.” She said as she then proceeded to take another bite out of her sandwich, clearly annoyed now. 

I quickly spoke again, realizing I was losing my lunch time as well. “Well! Uh, Thank you for the advice Ms. Doorothy. I appreciate your point of view. I hope we talk again!!-” and by the end of the sentence I decided to add “- Great song choice by the way, I still love ‘Hey There Delilah’!” And that stopped her from fully putting up her window as her face showed a bit of embarrassment. “Whatever, just don’t tell people that you saw me listening to that sort of thing, BITE ME.”

 That last exclamation made me gently laugh as I hadn’t heard it in quite some time. But it was time to leave her alone, and to have lunch.
My car was something I held like a sacred place. When I want peace, I would confine myself to solitude and understand why I feel the way that I do– I come to my peaceful abode and see to it that any worry that I’ve ever had personally comes to an end. 

Although I’ve come from a rather well off family– and although I do enjoy the benefits that come with that– I’ve never tried to cheat with my career. I had never offered someone money for a grade, I’ve never used my status as a method of getting what I wanted, because becoming wealthy in the terms of happiness was always the goal, and no such thing can be obtained by means of the material. 

I then place my lunch bag upon my lunch and start to unpack the food I had made earlier in the morning. A nice steak and some well cooked asparagus, placed with a side of mashed potatoes and a light serving of gravy, it was a nice meal: One I now have to eat quickly because time is of the essence. So, I take my silverware attached to the lid of the container and bite after rushed bite, I begin to eat the entire meal as quickly as possible, my knife play quick and stiff– As much as is required of me to actualize the cuts I am making on the meat. Then using the fork to get bits of the mashed potatoes and using the knife to get bits of the asparagus to add the rich flavor to the steak. 

Needless to say, I enjoyed a quick lunch before I would have to go inside and deal with whatever hell was awaiting me in the school. But I looked over and saw the time. It was nearing closer, and then my eyes locked with the very someone I was talking with a few minutes before, an awkward moment, before quickly looking away and then back at the time. The minutes only got closer and closer, until it was 12:45. 

A gentle sigh as I then left my lunch bag inside my car and then grabbed my keys and badge, before placing the badge around my neck and getting out. Now, it was time to face what the class was going to have to face from now on: The harsh music of their efforts– or lack there of– leading them towards the destiny they had stocked for themselves.

I didn’t see Ms. Doorothy leave, as by the time I had left myself, I had looked over only to notice an empty Honda Civic.

I walked over to the door to the main office, showing the woman at the front– a woman who was no more remarkable as watching paint dry– and flashed a smile and “Good Afternoon” as I passed by. She smiled and nodded, as if to return the good afternoon and then I walked through, into the hallway just as the bell rang, promptly at the 12:47 mark. Leave it to the school to make such weird times tables but nonetheless I was already headed to my class.

The way that our school system works is simple. We have 4 quarters in a year, 2 quarters per semester, meaning, that every semester works to count as a full year, in a full academic school year, with this system in place, we have a technical 2 years of classes covered, meaning that we can reduce the amount of classes that the students have per day (So instead of your average high school having 6-8 classes per day, the students only have to worry about 4 classes per day) while increasing the amount of time that the teachers have to teach the students to allow them to cover such in depth concepts; This is all to say, the suggestions that Ms. Doorothy made are not all too unreasonable. 

We don’t put as much stress on the kids as to allow them to excel in the classes that they do have. So my handing out of extra time might be doing them more harm than they are doing them good. I left my classroom open so that the students could pile in and take their seats while I was at lunch. A deep breath draws as I get closer to the door, my lungs filling with the colder air as I then take steps into my classroom, seeing all the bright and wonderful students in the class. I clear my throat as I approach my desk, them talking in the dichotomy of one another because this was how I organized my class, without a backbone, and without proper structure to hold themselves accountable; But lucky for myself, like a robot, I am not opposed to differing information. 

“Good Afternoon Class,  may I have your attention please.” I would state firmly as I then waited for them to face my way and for them to be ready to take in the info I was about to tell them. 

But, no dice. Some did look at me and take out their notebooks, but the vast majority of them did not. I cleared my throat loudly as I awaited their attention. This didn’t work. 

But before I could even do a harsher clearing of my throat, a savior walks into my door as if she was an angel named Veronica. With her louder, more authoritarian voice– one which commanded and outright slapped all distraction from your face– she said “I can hear you all from down the hall. Poor Mr. N here is trying to get your attention, don't make him have to scream and just pay damn attention. Or shall I get Ms. J down here and see what she has to say about it?” 

Immediately with the subtlety of a nuclear bomb, they had dropped what they were doing and paid attention towards the wide board. I shared a smile with Ms. Giliard, who was wearing a royal blue track suit and black sweats which only solidified the statement that she is a gym teacher. “Thank you very much, Ms. Giliard for setting these children’s attention on me, always a pleasure” I say with a nod as a sort of goodbye. She returns it, which allows me to return my attention to my students. 

“Alright so, dear class of mine, I do have an important announcement to make. Your midterm project is a 4 page essay on the impact that the revolution we have been studying up to this point, has had on the liberties and securities that you have today, providing sources if applicable and presenting a reasonable and well-written argument for why you believe it has impacted you, or perhaps communities of people that you are close to. These essays are due at the start of next week so that means nine days to work on it. I will not be handing out extensions, and there will be no second chances. What you turn in will be a reflection of your own effort you put in here in my Advanced Placement History class.” 

And with that, there was a bit of horror sprouting over the faces of those who hadn’t studied anything, which turns out to be most of the class. “Now that we have that in order, perhaps we should run through a quick recap of what Revolution is, and why it is different from Evolution.” and crickets; A few moments pass and I sigh. “Revolution is fast pace change that aims to replace or change existing infrastructure in society while Evolution is the slower paced changes that are made while a society ages and is based on the needs and wants of the people by improvements to the system over time.” I could tell that the students still weren’t getting this, so I had to use less conventional methods. “For instance– Let’s suppose that… Monica up here in the front row was in a relationship with Thad Jr. in the back. Revolution would be her leaving him after 2 weeks because she found a better boy she likes more, while evolution would be them growing old together and having kids.” I say as gears start turning in their heads. Good I was getting somewhere.

Suddenly, I saw Veronica and Ms. J rushing down the hall out of the corner of my eye. Wonder what that could be about. 

Chapter Text

Following the conversation I had with Nathaniel, I had to think to myself the possibility that he would go back on his word and tell our co-workers, or worse off perhaps the children about what I was listening to. That would prove to be a worry on the top of my head as I move along with my day. 

So instead of wanting to interact with the man again, I decided to cut my own lunch short and move back to the building. Grabbing my keys and badge as I gathered my things, and taking the last hasty bite of my sandwich, I looked out my car window and saw him in his own car, giving me this dumb look, and for that moment, our eyes locked before we then felt the embarrassment of the moment and walked away. 

Out I went with my remnants of a sandwich passed. And then hastefully into the main office I went, to try and make it back to my class in time before the bell was to ring. I have important equipment (not to mention important information) that I don’t allow students- or any adults to handle for that matter- to access. 

I felt somewhat awkward as the receptionist looked at me and nodded me in. I just quickly passed into the hallways just as the clock was hitting 12:30. This was better than usual timing, so I was in no rush to make it to my classroom. So, I decided to quickly pop into Dolly’s classroom. 

 Dolly and I got along quite well, with her being in a field of science as well, her being in the field of Biology. As It turns out, she was also being visited by another teacher, Tessa, who is in charge of the chemistry field. The two of them seemed to be having some sort of intuitive conversation about life; Something I wouldn’t exactly be an expert in, given that my field of science is more about how life moves, in contrast to their fields being about how life operates on a more microscopic level.

 Dolly was wearing something which could classify as a dress, but it feels more like a skirt, with how it ended at her lower thighs. It was yellow and red, but also matched with her yellow flats. Her skin was more pasty than the skin of that man from earlier, but not by much. Her eyes were a darker green 

Tessa on the other hand was dressed in a lab coat, covering up a classic rock band T-shirt. She was one of the few people who is already tenured so, the way she dresses doesn’t affect her ability to pay the rent for the next month. As for the rest of her outfit, she was just wearing jeans. If there was a student favorite in the science department, it would probably be her. She’s also the department head. 

“See, I would agree with you that the dodo was supposed to go extinct if they weren't such a cute animal. And if it weren't a seed dispenser and critical to the ecosystem that they were a part of.” Tessa explains as she grabs a piece of chalk and draws a sort of triangle, which is supposed to symbolize a cycle. 

Dolly was a bit confused by what she was trying to draw, but let Tessa do as she wished for the time being with her materials. 

“See, if the birdy eats fruits, and they fly away, they can poop out the seeds somewhere and create more food for other animals and for themselves. I think that people who are like that, and for the matter animals that are like that, who benefit the ecosystem as a whole, are the most valuable aspects of both society and the natural cycle. Sometimes, the people that are willing to do the most to benefit the students, are the people who instill the most kindness into society.” 

Now, Dolly certainly had some words to say as she felt a way about being explained what a seed distributor is as a biology major. “Why did you decide it was necessary to explain biology to me. In my biology class.” she sighed as she then said “While I do agree that seed distributors are important parts of the ecosystem, as any biologist would agree, I also believe that they are the biggest contributors for freeloaders. And..” 

After that, I just lost track of what they were saying as I sat at a student's desk and thought about something that popped into my head. 

Was the good of what that man was doing for the benefit of the harm of the students? Part of me wants to think that he is doing some good, given that he allows for students to pass regardless of circumstance, but, at the same time, he also allows himself to keep being used to the student's benefits? Did I give him bad advice?

Wait why the hell am I thinking about him.

Not wanting to think about the implications of what I was thinking about, I immediately shoot to interrupt their conversation. 

“Wow. Now I understand why people call us nerds now.” I say with a gentle laugh as I sit up straight in the seat of the desk. “Ms. Matryoshka and Ms. Elliot, who would you say is winning this argument of yours.” I say in an obviously satirical pish-posh fashion as I then await their answers.

Surprisingly, Dolly was the first to answer. “Well, since Tessa decided to bring up the fact that it was a good source of biodiversity, we are kinda in a bit of a stalemate.” She would clarify as I couldn’t help but think about something.

“What if I tried to engineer some sort of robo-dodo? Would that make things easier for you?” I say as I then sort of chuckle “If I did that though, then I suppose my dad would be right, at that point the birds in the skies would be a drone” 

Tessa gives a perturbed look as she was then quick to state. “You have to bring in your dad one of these days and… we gotta join forces as the triforce of science to try and explain to him why his conspiracy theories are insane.” 

I gently nodded but before I could even answer, the bell that signalled that lunch was over rang. 

I sighed as I heard the deep ringing digital bell as I then got up out of my chair and walked towards the door. “A pleasure as always girl. See you soon” with a gentle wave.

They waved back.

It didn't take me long after getting out of my colleague's classroom to realize something was up. I saw my door open, which would be weird but not the end of the world, but it soon became the end of the world once I looked inside the classroom. Things were smashed, taken and thrown, broken, any sort of method of destroying things was used. Yes, even someone spilling their lunch over it. 

It took a moment to settle in, and by the time I was accessing the damage to the fullest extent, it was already at least 5 minutes into the class period. Luckily, I didn't have a 3rd period class. I grabbed my phone and called J.

Chapter Text

I looked at the mess that was my classroom. I started to panic (not because of the damage per se, as I was sure the school was going to side with me on everything, but for my years of research poured into my personal notebooks) and panic turned into action as I then walked through the mess, broken glass, bent metal, and even screws from containers that had knocked over. 

What had pissed me off more than anything else they had done, was that they messed up the projects that the robotics club had made all by themselves. 

But first, before I get too mad, I went behind my desk quickly and looked at what the damage was going to be on my years of knowledge. Luckily, it was all there. Sure, it looked as if it was all tossed around (meaning someone had gone through it) but that was all. Nothing that couldn't be rectified. I took a deep breath and let it all out, all the panic I had. Now I was just pissed. 

I had the fleeting thought of maybe building some sort of railgun and blasting away the students that had caused those poor kids wrong, but, I found that illogical on the basis that I don't know who to shoot. Not that I can't build a railgun. Cause I totally can.

But before I could even start to narrow it down who it could be that ruined my classroom, two people ran in. Ms. Jackson and Ms. Giliard entered the room quickly as they then witnessed the Carnage of what happened. The anger was visible on Jenny’s face as her tanned face turned into a deep, almost cartoonish red. 

But of course, the first thought that she had wasn't to ask me who could have done this, or anything like that, her first question was “Ms.Doorothy, did you leave your door open during lunch?” 

Part of me wanted to yell, to scream that of course I didn't leave my door open during lunch, but I just took a deep breath once more. I needed to keep this job. “No, I didn't leave the door open for lunch. I closed up because I was going to have my usual lunch break, in my car.” 

Even that gym teacher that stood next to her looked at Jenny sort of weird, because why was her first instinct to blame me, but unlike me, she was a bit more brave. “What the hell Jenny, we are all trained to close up our classes before lunch if we are leaving.”

Respectfully, I was surprised to hear that, especially coming from her who didn't even really have a class except for homeroom, but I was happy that she stood up for me.

“.. Yeah. Yeah you're right. Hm. What are we going to do here? We could call the police, but that doesn't bring good publicity. Perhaps we could clean it up and have a meeting about it with the students? Cleaning it up would be a start.”

I gave a look to her as I then walked out my classroom and pointed at the camera in the hallway. “So that thing doesn't work or something.” 

And suddenly, it was like a lightbulb went off in her head, she looked at her keys, and lo-and-behold, she had the keys to the camera room. “Oh.” She then just walked away. 

I sighed gently as Ms. Giliard then looked at me. “Hey twerp. Aren't those the thingy-majiggys that your students made? On the floor?” 

“Uh. Yeah. I'm pissed about that at the moment. I'm gonna build a railgun the minute that we figure out who did it” I say playfully even though I thoroughly believe I could build a railgun. 

“Look, I'm not very close to your nerds, but I think that anyone who fucks with anyone's shit, is a.piece of shit.” She said as she looked firm. She looked almost furious. I could help but smile. 

“Okay, do you want to help me build that railgun?” I say with a devious smile upon my face. 

“You bet your ass I'm ready to go to war against these idiots.” 

After cleaning up all the glass, I had the job of looking at the metal equipment and seeing what was salvageable. Veronica decided to take it up on herself to use her own free period to substitute for my class. I appreciated that. 

There was a knock at the door. The blonde man was back. “Hey. Heard about it all. Anything I can help with?” He spoke, my eyes shot up as he spoke.  

“No, I don't think you can. Uh.. this is all sensitive material. Don't want you to get hurt.”

“Not that I don't believe you, but what could possibly hurt me in an engineering class–” he looked down at the floor and saw a bunch of sharp screws on the floor “Oh. I see now. Maybe I could help in a more.. Erm.. emotional level?” 

Now, what the hell did he mean by a more emotional level? And why wasn't I opposed to that? “You mean… just like talking about it?” I said as I then got up from the ground. 

“Well… Sure, I'll become a sort of therapist specifically for this.” He said as he then got closer. “So. Tell me how you feel about things, Ms. Doorothy.”

“I feel… angry, that people feel comfortable enough to take what is not theirs to take and destroy it without compassion for the ones who made it.” 

“Right, and what about the other things, the things that you had gathered for your class to use? I’m sure that you feel a certain way about that as well.” 

Now, I went back to the floor to continue cleaning. “I can replace all of that. What I can’t replace is the effort of the kids that made these contraptions. Dear god, how am I going to break the news to the students?”

“Well, I think the truth is what you need to give to them, because there is no lie which could ever make all of their efforts come back. Perhaps turn it into a lesson about how unpredictable life as a whole is, and how, maybe in code, they will be surprised by events out of their control.” He offered as advice– Advice that offered a sound reasoning and option. But how could I face the kids with this feeling of shame, of regret that I couldn’t shake. 

His voice sounded again though. “Although Jackson makes us feel like we’re alone, we aren’t. So if you need help with telling the kids that their work was destroyed, I’d be more than happy to help you.”

Now when did this man become mature since the last time I had seen him? But he sounded like he was an expert on the topic. “Can you just… Let me know when Jackson finds out who did it? I have a special punishment for them… And no, it has nothing to do with violence, I swear.”

He chuckled “Right, Okay. I take it you are done with this conversation? Mechanical engineering huh?” 

Now there were two things to respond to. But the most important one came first. “Yeah, I’m done. But, what subject do you teach, rich boy?” Yeah, he drives a Rolls Royce Phantom, there's no way he isn't rich. But the reason definitely isn’t teaching, that’s for sure. 

“History, I teach history. “

“Well, that's quite interesting. Well, Nathaniel, thanks for the talk. ‘You’ve got a friend in me’” I say, quoting a movie from my own childhood. 

“Hopefully to infinity and beyond.” He says with a bit of a salute, before then leaving.

I thought about the man for a few seconds before then shaking it off and then getting back to cleaning. Soon the cavalry arrived in the two people that are Dolly and Tessa as they assisted me in cleaning up the untimely mess. 

But at last, they were with me when Ms. Jackson walked them over– Them, of course, being the suspects at hand. Alongside them was the big woman in charge. Ms. Cynthia Sin.

Cynthia Sin was an interesting character. She had a face which seemed present, yet at the same time it looked as if it was utterly and completely dead. She wore normal business woman attire, but today was a pencil skirt and white button up. 

The 5 students were right in front of me. I took a deep breath. I then reach under my desk and grabbed the railg– No that didn’t actually happen. 

“So, Ms. Doorothy, what do you wish for their repayment for the mess they caused to be?” The principal spoke with her monotonous voice.

Chapter Text

After I had left Doorothy’s classroom, I had decided to go see what was happening in the main office. I am aware this could be snooping but I was curious what in the world was taking them so long.

So it had turned out that they were just running their own sort of round of punishment before allowing Una to dish out what she wanted to dish out. It seemed as if they were calling the parents of each student and letting them know what they had done. A smile grew on my face as I watched.

But then I was caught watching by the head counselor, one Elizabeth Maynard. While she was a great counselor, she was also a bit nosey into other people's businesses. And so, when I say caught, it was more like a criminal getting caught by another criminal in the act. She dressed in a polka dot dress, but this dress was tight to her skin. She also wore a short jacket over her chest, which was likely made of leather, but given that we work at a school, it was probably fake. 

“Oi. Ya watchin’ it too, ain't cha mate?” she tried her best at an Australian accent but it doesn't work out the way she wants it to. Yes, she thinks I'm Australian for some odd reason, but I'm not one to correct her.

“Yeah I'm watching this too. I wanna see if there are any tears.”

“Heh. Sadistic much? Hm… maybe with one of them. I know that Jessica girl is a little more on the emotional side so I wouldn't put it past her. I assume you know why they're in trouble?” 

I gently nodded my head. “Yeah, well aware. I'm curious as to how they are going to be punished as in accordance to Doorothy’s wants.” 

“I heard she wants to build a railgun and–”

“Yeah right. Like she could build a railgun. You really need to vet your sources before you go telling people stuff like that” I say with a stern, solemn voice.

“Jeez, I was joking. Don't get your crayons tied up in a knot. But now that I have your time, Nathaniel, I do have some questions about a rumor about you.”

“So, Ms. Doorothy, what do you wish for their repayment for the mess they caused to be?” The Principle said as she looked at me with this sinister smile, as if she wanted me to punish these children harshly and fairly. 

I looked at the boys and girls. Go figure it was the popular idiots. But I just sigh. “I have a very good idea. Dear, dear kids. Do you know what you destroyed?”

The kids looked derpy eyed, staring at me, as if doing so would slow down time and make them less guilty of their crimes. They stayed silent.

“What? Cat’s got your tongues? Well that’s okay, cause I’ll just tell you what you did. You not only destroyed the property of the school, which is its own offense, but you more importantly also destroyed the hard work and effort of the robotics club. So. Here’s what we’ll have you do. You better listen up and listen well.”

And so I told them what they were going to do, and belligerently, they agreed (more so because they had no other option than to agree). 

So then after school came, and as per the usual schedule, the robotics club members came to the class, only to see that there were other students still in the class, and their destroyed projects. I spoke before they could make their emotions known. “Go ahead and take a seat, my friends. We have much to discuss.”

As so they presumed their usual seats assuming I had something to say to make this better. They looked up to me a lot, and I could tell. So that’s why I can’t let them down. It’s not even an option. 

“So, my robo-friends, these kids you see up here, are the people who tactlessly destroyed your projects. I know how that must feel. You must be angry. Upset. You are allowed to be. But they have yet to repay their dues to you yet. So, here’s how they are going to repay you for your time and effort” 

I would then give the troubled students a bit of a face before each of them would walk over to the club members (granted with less than guilty faces) and then partnering up with one of them.

“So, these little.. uhh I can't swear.. but you know what word I wanna use. They will help you in remaking the machines you made. And if they don't help you, or are not compliant, you can just talk to me. Do I make myself clear?” I say confidently. 

They nodded and the new club members got to work. I sighed as I picked up my notebook and started to work on my next invention. But before I could get started, I was reminded of something. 

“Oh right. I guess I should go over the ethics of robotics for the newbies huh.” I say as I begin to scribble on the board a whole bunch. I wasn't particularly known for my handwriting so it wasn't the absolute best, but it was good enough. 

The first line read ‘A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.’ 

The next read ‘A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.’ 

The final read ‘A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.’ 

I then started my explanation. The former robotics members looked somewhat bored. “... So if anyone breaks the rules, especially the new members, there will be severe repercussions, but with the low level of things you are building, you shouldn't need to worry about breaking Issac Asimov's laws. If you are ever worried, just come up and ask me first.”

The reason that we had started building the machines the troubled kids broke in the first place was because we were hosting a robotics convention soon and, by glory by God, I was going to be seeing that convention out until the end because it had already costed me quite hellish amounts of time to get the approval and funding for it.

The whole reason I started this club when the first student approached me about it, was because I wanted to give other students what I didn't have in my highschool– reasonable access to resources and materials to be creative within the field of engineering.

The day of the convention, about a few months later, had come, and I was proud of what the kids had made. Yes, even the kids that joined a little later who had found that robotics was actually plenty fun and wanted to stay. But I wasn't the judge. Who ended up being the judges for the competition of who has the best project was Dolly, Cynthia, and one certain history teacher because I couldn't find anyone else to do it.

Was I nervous for my kids? Hell yeah I was, I was also proud that they had made it as far as they had. In total, we had made 6 projects, an automatic butter spreader, a spotter (for gym use), a machine which microwaves popped corn perfectly, an automated game of table tennis, and finally, le piece of resistance, a working heat ray, in which worked as intended and sometimes a little bit more (it caught things on fire a bit too much for my liking, so I have a fire extinguisher on the ready). 

Other neighboring schools had decided to join us and took a field trip over to our campus to compete.

 However, I must admit, I did this for flawed reasons: Because, I was also looking forward to the arrival of one parent of my club members. Thad Jr’s dad. I knew he was the volunteer coach of the football team, but having him in a domain where I was the expert was so exhilarating. I had a minor growing to major crush on the man, whose wife had died tragically in an accident, leaving him with just the kid.

He was all sorts of conventionally attractive. He was burly, defined and most importantly handsome. He was a bit of a dunce though. From the times we talked, he couldn't tell left from right. Often times he would wear a jersey for the football team with some cargo shorts and a pair a jogging shoes, and it just so happened that today, the day I was dressed in my fanciest casual blouse, which was a light red and in my most dashing pair of blue jeans, he was wearing the exact same thing as he would usually do. 

But the issue I had in front of me was that he didn't like that his son was in the robotics class instead of on the football team. In that regard I was an adversary and pretty much the bane of his existence.

But Thad Jr. was one of my better students, he worked on the automated game of table tennis, so he was someone I couldn't afford to lose, not at all. 

His father came up to me to talk about things, but as I looked at the man, I had realized something. This was his son's pride and joy, something that he wanted to pursue for the rest of his life, and yet, he came dressed as he usually would be. It was as if he had no respect for his son at all. Yet I liked the man. 

“So like I was saying, how can we get him to transfer over to football if at all. I know he must be interested because I was.” He tried to argue to me. 

“Sir, for the last time, I can not make your son change what club he is a part of because I am simply not him. Please have this conversation with him if you would like, but not today. Today is his big day. Enjoy that your son has become accomplished.” 

For a minute I got him to bite his tongue.

“I don't see it that way at all. The way I see it, he's wasting his time in a place where it can't be fruitful. Where he can't build a future. Sometimes, fun isn't everything, sometimes hard work and dedication is everything. Blood sweat and tears, you know?” 

Pissed, I took a slightly longer deep breath and moved along to the other parents. I think he knew what I was going to say, and decided not to follow me because of it. I still liked him though. It had become increasingly obvious to me that I had liked crazy, and his crazy was the kind that drove me crazy.

Looking at all the fruitful expeditions that the students from all over the county took, it was no wonder that conventions like this existed. It made me wonder if I was truly trustworthy as a judge. After all, I was just a history teacher, nothing more, nothing less.

Then something happened that made my blood boil. Then I saw a military recruiter. Someone I knew from a time long past.

Chapter Text

The overall event was an overwhelming success in the fact that we were able to get many people from the district as a whole to visit us for the county-wide robotics fair we were hosting. The convention was so successful to the degree that we had professors from the neighboring cities and ones from even this city come and take a look at what we had to offer.

It was quite flattering to see my hard work, not only in the planning of the event as a whole, but also in the students that made the most of their opportunities, and become the inventors I know they are. Even the students that came as a punishment pulled their weight in more fashion than one.

But the event wasn’t over just quite, the winner still needed to be decided. I chose the people that I did, because I knew at least 2 of them wouldn’t go easy on my students, even though they have gone through enormous challenges and took on huge responsibilities. Then there was Nathaniel, who I was forced to choose because all and any other teacher who could have replaced him, was taken for fourth period.
Initially I wanted Ms. Giliard to take over as a judge for him, but she simply wasn't available either. And, this man that I now have, is a sort of replacement for her, after all, he did sort of help me when I was down.

Looking at all the fruitful expeditions that the students from all over the county took, it was no wonder that conventions like this existed. It made me wonder if I was truly trustworthy as a judge. After all, I was just a history teacher, nothing more, nothing less.

Then something happened that made my blood boil. Then I saw a military recruiter. Someone I knew from a time long past.

This person I saw was not only a former friend, but an adversary to education, every part of their ideology finds that a scholar will not persist. All they had was war and destruction in their mind. His name was The Martyr. He dressed in suits all the time, but even with this sophisticated look, given his vertically striped black pants, and matching hat, he is in fact a recruiter for the military. 

The way I knew this man was a bit difficult to explain. When I was in high school, I was the wealthiest teen at the school– but that didn’t mean that I would not talk to people from lower tax brackets. I often engaged in conversations with people who my father wished I wouldn't talk to.

Regardless, I had run into him while with my father who was ecstatic that his son was now talking to someone with a shit ton of influence and power. To be clear and absolutely transparent, I had talked to such people before, but not under the guise that I would be nice or play with their notions of business and whatever ideas they thought could be beneficial to maintain. 

My Father is someone who constantly looks for business opportunities and ways to make money, so much so that I do not believe he has ever let the thought of being broke or out of money ever cross his mind. 

If it wasn’t clear before, Mr. Martyr likes to make money off of getting people to join the military, but not specifically the people you would expect of getting rounded up by the government. Rather, he chooses to get people with expertise in industries, or people who he can invent into making a part of an industry, just to extort them for money later on. 

You would think that intellectual people might be able to see through this plot, but money blinds the perspective of the many. 

The reason he tried to recruit me was because of my skills in chess, which are second to no other in the state. Chess, although not a realistic simulation of a battlefield, does exemplify your overall skill in handling war and how you might prose as a tactician. 

So you can certainly see that the skills of a strategist might make him quite a bit of money if he used him well enough, but I was never into the concept of actually going to war. I only liked the game because it made my father proud of me and it would usually get him off my ass about not doing something that might make him more money. It probably surprises you not that I don’t often talk to my father anymore because he has become as greedy as that one man with a top hat and a monocle.

 So that’s why it pissed me off that he was here. To pick at a scab while it was still bleeding and fresh. 

I walked over to him and approached him civilly because, no matter how much I wanted to punch him until he was gone and dead, that would do not to help the matter at hand. 

“It has been quite some time since the last time we’ve seen one another.” I said the way that you would talk to someone who was an old friend, but the pleasantries that would usually follow a sentiment like that never came.

“Oho! Ain’t it a damned black cat’s luck that I’d run into a dusty ole chap like yourself, eh? None the less, It has been quite since we last talked, ole chap.”

“Back to your old ways, I don’t hope?” I said knowing that it would never be the case. 

“.. Sonny-o You know well that I could never not do what I love! Just like how you never stopped doing whatever you do again.”

I gently sighed as I knew I couldn’t stop him, but I thought I could follow him around and warn students that he was talking to. 

So as the time slowly ticked, the judges made their way around the convention center. It was so exhilarating to see so many people coming together to celebrate the kid’s achievements. 

I sighed gently. I was worried that the students weren’t going to get the recognition that they deserve, but that ended up not being the case. 

However, that's when I saw one of the judges in a heated argument with a man I knew nothing about. I walked over quickly. 

“Hey! Sorry about this guy here. Take a complimentary drink at the concessions stand. Tell them Una is going to pay for it.” I said as I dragged off the man who I thought was causing the disruption and took him outside into the hall.