where have all the bastards gone?
Title: Good Intentions [3/?]
Author: Molly
Pairing: Billie/Jason White
Rating: R
Summary: "You're the talk of the school."
Previous parts: found here
Notes: Your comments rock my world <3
The entire school was buzzing. Pinole was relatively small, which meant news traveled fast. And the group of seniors that had Mr. Armstrong for first period English had made it known just what Mrs. Maps' fill in was like.
While boys excitedly shared his relaxed nature and easy manner, what the girls gushed about was slightly different. Not just his messy black curls, but his jade eyes and crooked smile. Although he was rather small and maybe a bit scrawny, they claimed it added to his charm. Boyfriends roller their eyes and scowled, but there was no denying it - the new substitute was a hit, and the majority of students were glad to hear he would be staying from February to June.
It seemed that one of the few left in the dark about his popularity was Billie. He hadn't had the chance to do or say much in any of his classes. By his sixth period lunch slot, he had instructed four; three juniors, and one senior. Billie used his one free class to pour over what Mrs. Waps had left him. All he found was a test on The Great Gatsby to be administered to the eleventh grade, and a variety of poems that the twelfth grade were to analyze and compose essays about, for the remainder of the week.
But the silver lining was to be found scrawled on the sticky note behind all of the stacks of papers. It said, 'Eleventh grade to begin Mockingbird when finished with Gatsby' . And he had thought his day couldn't possibly improve. God certainly had smiled on him, because it was exactly the break he needed for teaching his first real gig. He knew Harper Lee's novel like the back of his hand.
His excitement about To Kill a Mockingbird was overshadowed his distaste of what the seniors would be studying after poetry - Of Mice and Men. Billie Joe had enjoyed it, yes, when he was thirteen. Kids approaching college should be challenged by more than Steinbeck's quick novel.
However, the curriculum was the curriculum, and how could he complain?
Billie's stomach was still churning with moronic butterflies, so he turned in the opposite direction of the cafeteria to find the teacher's lounge. All he needed was a fresh cup of coffee, so he could finish his final three periods of the day. It would steady his spinning head.
There were several other instructors in the lounge, but they didn't so much as glance at him when he walked in. A man with a comb over and a sweater vest sat in an overstuffed armchair picking at a salad with sickly colored greens, and two women - about his age, he thought - sat at the card table set up in the corner, drinking diet coke and speaking in hushed voices. He made a beeline for the coffee maker, on the counter against the far wall, and snagged one of the Styrofoam cups. The steaming dark liquid was ascending into its stiff white walls when a hand fell on his shoulder.
Surprised, Billie jumped, and spilled the coffee in the process. Most of it splashed onto the navy blue carpet, but a small portion got onto his shirt. He bit his tongue to halt the curse ready to tumble out of his mouth, and with wide eyes turned to see who had been the cause of his minor accident.
It was Jason. He hurriedly grabbed at the napkins sitting beside the container of sugar packets. When Jason faced him, a wad of napkins clutched pathetically in his hands, he gave an apologetic smile. "Not exactly how I wanted to welcome you on your first day."
He laughed. What else could he do? He set the now damp Styrofoam cup onto the counter to take a napkin instead. Even as he dabbed at the blue and white striped polo shirt he had chosen to wear his first day, he was resigned to the fact that there was no hope for it. "Well, it's certainly nice to see you, Jason."
"I'm so sorry, Billie Joe, really." He put in a weak attempt to help by brushing at the ruined fabric with his own wad of napkin. "I didn't think you'd react like that."
"It's all right, Jason, don't worry about it. No use crying over spilled milk and all that, right?" Billie gave up after a moment before stuffing the soggy paper towel into the forgotten cup. He no longer had a craving for caffeine. "My next class will probably wonder why the hell they'd let such a slob to teach them, though."
"Are you kidding me?" Jason wondered as he chucked their garbage into the wastebasket. His apologetic smile was gone, to be replaced with one that was almost wicked. "You're the talk of the school."
Eyebrows furrowed, he said, "Really? All I've done so far is watch kids take tests and write essays." He was shocked he'd made any kind of impression - from his experience, substitute teachers usually didn't.
Before speaking, he took a quick glance around the room. When he was assured that no one was paying attention, he spoke, and even then, kept his voice to a murmur. "I hear a lot when I'm walking through the walls, Billie, and I'm telling you - you're the hot new teach on the block."
"Hot?" Billie Joe repeated, dumbfounded. The tips of his ears flushed, and he glanced bashfully away from Jason's amused gaze. "You've got to be fucking kidding me, Jase."
"I, for one, don't blame the kids. I'd be pretty excited if I was going to be staring at you forty minutes a day for the rest of the year, especially instead of Mrs. Wasp."
"You too? That poor woman. I don't know how many times I've heard the kids use that foolish nickname." He changed the subject to hide his embarrassment, even though he had to admit the play on her last name wasn't half bad. "Listen, I haven't been able to thank you properly. Waches told me you insisted I was given the job. Seriously, Jason, it means a lot to me."
"You've been pining for work, and I know you'll be an awesome English teacher." Jason badly, badly, wanted to take Billie in his arms for an embrace, but settled for rubbing his shoulder - discretely - in consideration of where they were. "Plus, I thought it would be cool for us to work together."
"Cool indeed." Billie smiled softly and scratched at his fluffy head of curls. A glance at the clock on the wall told him his next class started in under ten minutes. "I better get back to my room."
He smiled. "I'll walk you."
They talked about poor old Mrs. Waps on the way to the ailed English teacher's room. Jason snickered about the horror stories told to him by aggravated students, and Billie Joe playfully scolded him and sympathized with her. After all, she was a sixty year woman instructing bratty, noisy teenagers. Who could blame her for getting a little cranky now and again?
It was just inside the classroom, against the wall, that Jason dared to take his boyfriend's hand. Said boyfriend appeared a little anxious at the contact, eyes nervously dancing to see if anyone was entering the room, but he didn't let go. "We should get coffee after school. I want to really talk to you and hear about your first day."
In spite of himself, he squeezed Jason's hand and nodded. "Sure. At Café Rinaldo's around the corner?"
"Hell no, all of the kids go there. No, we can go to the Starbucks a couple of blocks away. What do you say?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Grinning, he released Billie's hand. "See you then, Bills."
--
Hope you're digging it <3 Thanks for your support.
Author: Molly
Pairing: Billie/Jason White
Rating: R
Summary: "You're the talk of the school."
Previous parts: found here
Notes: Your comments rock my world <3
The entire school was buzzing. Pinole was relatively small, which meant news traveled fast. And the group of seniors that had Mr. Armstrong for first period English had made it known just what Mrs. Maps' fill in was like.
While boys excitedly shared his relaxed nature and easy manner, what the girls gushed about was slightly different. Not just his messy black curls, but his jade eyes and crooked smile. Although he was rather small and maybe a bit scrawny, they claimed it added to his charm. Boyfriends roller their eyes and scowled, but there was no denying it - the new substitute was a hit, and the majority of students were glad to hear he would be staying from February to June.
It seemed that one of the few left in the dark about his popularity was Billie. He hadn't had the chance to do or say much in any of his classes. By his sixth period lunch slot, he had instructed four; three juniors, and one senior. Billie used his one free class to pour over what Mrs. Waps had left him. All he found was a test on The Great Gatsby to be administered to the eleventh grade, and a variety of poems that the twelfth grade were to analyze and compose essays about, for the remainder of the week.
But the silver lining was to be found scrawled on the sticky note behind all of the stacks of papers. It said, 'Eleventh grade to begin Mockingbird when finished with Gatsby' . And he had thought his day couldn't possibly improve. God certainly had smiled on him, because it was exactly the break he needed for teaching his first real gig. He knew Harper Lee's novel like the back of his hand.
His excitement about To Kill a Mockingbird was overshadowed his distaste of what the seniors would be studying after poetry - Of Mice and Men. Billie Joe had enjoyed it, yes, when he was thirteen. Kids approaching college should be challenged by more than Steinbeck's quick novel.
However, the curriculum was the curriculum, and how could he complain?
Billie's stomach was still churning with moronic butterflies, so he turned in the opposite direction of the cafeteria to find the teacher's lounge. All he needed was a fresh cup of coffee, so he could finish his final three periods of the day. It would steady his spinning head.
There were several other instructors in the lounge, but they didn't so much as glance at him when he walked in. A man with a comb over and a sweater vest sat in an overstuffed armchair picking at a salad with sickly colored greens, and two women - about his age, he thought - sat at the card table set up in the corner, drinking diet coke and speaking in hushed voices. He made a beeline for the coffee maker, on the counter against the far wall, and snagged one of the Styrofoam cups. The steaming dark liquid was ascending into its stiff white walls when a hand fell on his shoulder.
Surprised, Billie jumped, and spilled the coffee in the process. Most of it splashed onto the navy blue carpet, but a small portion got onto his shirt. He bit his tongue to halt the curse ready to tumble out of his mouth, and with wide eyes turned to see who had been the cause of his minor accident.
It was Jason. He hurriedly grabbed at the napkins sitting beside the container of sugar packets. When Jason faced him, a wad of napkins clutched pathetically in his hands, he gave an apologetic smile. "Not exactly how I wanted to welcome you on your first day."
He laughed. What else could he do? He set the now damp Styrofoam cup onto the counter to take a napkin instead. Even as he dabbed at the blue and white striped polo shirt he had chosen to wear his first day, he was resigned to the fact that there was no hope for it. "Well, it's certainly nice to see you, Jason."
"I'm so sorry, Billie Joe, really." He put in a weak attempt to help by brushing at the ruined fabric with his own wad of napkin. "I didn't think you'd react like that."
"It's all right, Jason, don't worry about it. No use crying over spilled milk and all that, right?" Billie gave up after a moment before stuffing the soggy paper towel into the forgotten cup. He no longer had a craving for caffeine. "My next class will probably wonder why the hell they'd let such a slob to teach them, though."
"Are you kidding me?" Jason wondered as he chucked their garbage into the wastebasket. His apologetic smile was gone, to be replaced with one that was almost wicked. "You're the talk of the school."
Eyebrows furrowed, he said, "Really? All I've done so far is watch kids take tests and write essays." He was shocked he'd made any kind of impression - from his experience, substitute teachers usually didn't.
Before speaking, he took a quick glance around the room. When he was assured that no one was paying attention, he spoke, and even then, kept his voice to a murmur. "I hear a lot when I'm walking through the walls, Billie, and I'm telling you - you're the hot new teach on the block."
"Hot?" Billie Joe repeated, dumbfounded. The tips of his ears flushed, and he glanced bashfully away from Jason's amused gaze. "You've got to be fucking kidding me, Jase."
"I, for one, don't blame the kids. I'd be pretty excited if I was going to be staring at you forty minutes a day for the rest of the year, especially instead of Mrs. Wasp."
"You too? That poor woman. I don't know how many times I've heard the kids use that foolish nickname." He changed the subject to hide his embarrassment, even though he had to admit the play on her last name wasn't half bad. "Listen, I haven't been able to thank you properly. Waches told me you insisted I was given the job. Seriously, Jason, it means a lot to me."
"You've been pining for work, and I know you'll be an awesome English teacher." Jason badly, badly, wanted to take Billie in his arms for an embrace, but settled for rubbing his shoulder - discretely - in consideration of where they were. "Plus, I thought it would be cool for us to work together."
"Cool indeed." Billie smiled softly and scratched at his fluffy head of curls. A glance at the clock on the wall told him his next class started in under ten minutes. "I better get back to my room."
He smiled. "I'll walk you."
They talked about poor old Mrs. Waps on the way to the ailed English teacher's room. Jason snickered about the horror stories told to him by aggravated students, and Billie Joe playfully scolded him and sympathized with her. After all, she was a sixty year woman instructing bratty, noisy teenagers. Who could blame her for getting a little cranky now and again?
It was just inside the classroom, against the wall, that Jason dared to take his boyfriend's hand. Said boyfriend appeared a little anxious at the contact, eyes nervously dancing to see if anyone was entering the room, but he didn't let go. "We should get coffee after school. I want to really talk to you and hear about your first day."
In spite of himself, he squeezed Jason's hand and nodded. "Sure. At Café Rinaldo's around the corner?"
"Hell no, all of the kids go there. No, we can go to the Starbucks a couple of blocks away. What do you say?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Grinning, he released Billie's hand. "See you then, Bills."
--
Hope you're digging it <3 Thanks for your support.