To Boldly Teach Part 4
Title: To Boldly Teach
Chapter: 3
Fandom: Star Trek
Pairings: Kirk/Spock and others?
Rating: T
Notes: Combined prompt from STXI kink meme here and here
Previous
The remaining few days left of summer break disappeared all too soon. Now it was the first day of classes and Enterprise High was packed with students and teachers scrambling to be on time for the first day. Teachers went over their lesson plans one last time while students greeted each other and attempted to find their classes. There were a few teachers standing in the hallway directing traffic and helping lost students.
“So you’re going to go down this hallway, take the first left where you’ll run into a really loud Scottish guy. That’s the teacher for your first class. Good luck with that.”
James Kirk patted the student on the shoulder as he pointed in the proper direction. With the layout of the classes, Kirk’s history and social sciences were towards the entrance of the school giving him the best opportunity to greet and direct students. It worked out well considering most students instantly felt comfortable approaching him. Some of the other teachers were slightly more intimidating or the students just did not know what to think about them. Spock happened to be one of those.
What students did approach him only did so because there was nobody else around they could ask. Most of the students had never actually met a Vulcan in person before and the blank, solemn countenance of the newest teacher was not the most welcoming. However, he gave as good of directions as anybody else could even hope to. He could even tell them how long it would take for them to reach their classes down to the second. The students were stuck between whether or not that was awesome or creepy.
It did not take long for many of the students to locate their first classes, though some students started scrambling when the first bell began to ring. They had five minutes until the second bell rung. When there was a minute left, Spock stepped into his classroom. Majority of the seats were filled and the few remaining quickly filled before the second bell rung.
“Welcome to advanced placement chemistry. I am your teacher, Mr. Spock. I expect you to be here everyday and on time. I will now take attendance.”
All the students sat a little straighter and tried to calm their nerves. The flat tone and serious face gave them the impression that he would be one of the most difficult teachers they ever had. They could only hope he would not be one of those impossible teachers who seemed to make it their life’s goal to see their students fail.
However, by the end of the period, the students realized their new teacher was fair and understood their abilities and limitations, though they still knew he would be the most difficult teacher.
The bell rang when class ended and Spock dismissed the students who quietly gathered their belongings and talked only in whispers. Most nodded politely as they left while a few had the courage to verbally say goodbye. Even rarer were those who stayed behind to ask him questions about the course or their textbook. Spock politely returned their farewells and succinctly answered any questions. Eventually, the bell rang a second time and a new wave of students came in. Spock set his teaching notes for the previous desk in his desk and set out a different one for general chemistry.
Scanning through the room, he noticed the students were just as stiff and quiet as the last ones. Nodding his head more to himself than anyone else, Spock began the next lesson.
And so, the day continued to pass in the same manner as the mass of students were cycled through. Around noon, the lunch bell rang and Spock dismissed the students. Once the room cleared out, Spock took a deep breath. So far, the day had gone smoothly and predictably. That changed the minute the door to his classroom swung open.
“Spo~ck!” a sing-song voice echoed throughout the room.
Even with his back to the door, Spock knew exactly who that voice belonged to.
“Mr. Kirk. May I help you with something?” he asked calmly and much more softly.
“Yes, Mr. Spock, you can. You will join me and the others for lunch!”
For a fellow teacher, and one that taught social studies at that, Kirk was wonderfully adept at throwing orders around. It had never been in his nature to be a follower. Many of his old school teachers would testify to that. He was confident in who was and in his intentions. Spock had to admit that Kirk was a charismatic human.
“Another custom, I assume?”
Kirk nodded his head vigorously.
“Yeah, and besides, bonding occurs over food. It’s a known fact proven throughout history. I should know. I’m a history and social science teacher.”
Spock’s eyebrow arched upward and Kirk was left wondering how he managed to do that so well.
“Yes, Mr. Kirk, I am aware of the subject you are most proficient at.” he acknowledged. “Very well, I shall join you and the others for lunch.”
“Great. We can also talk about the chess club and what we’re going to do to revitalize it.” Kirk told him.
After making sure his lesson plans were stored neatly in his desk, Spock followed Kirk out the door.
“It is failing then?” Spock asked with a small hint of surprise. He had figured the club would be popular since Kirk was the one in charge. From the short time he had been at the school, Spock could see that James Kirk was popular with the students, especially with the female variety.
“Sort of. Three dimensional chess isn’t for the faint of heart and the few die hard chess fans are few and far between.” admitted Kirk.
“That is most unfortunate. However, I must inquire how you believe I will be able to aid you in this endeavor.”
Spock was suspicious as to why Kirk suddenly grinned in a slightly devious manner.
“Would you say chess, in theory is simple?”
The Vulcan was caught off guard by the abrupt shift in conversation, though he decided he would humor his fellow teacher, if only to understand where this all was going.
“Indeed. There are a limited number of moves each piece may make and the goal is straight forward; to capture the king. The complexities of chess results from the different means one may use achieve the goal.”
Kirk’s grin grew even larger. He clapped Spock on the back.
“That, my Vulcan friend, is how we’re going to revitalize the chess club.”
“…We are going to pander to the students by promoting chess as a simple game?” Spock asked with a raised eyebrow.
It was impossible not to notice Kirk’s cringing.
“Well sheesh, when you put it like that…But yeah, more or less.” he finally admitted.
Spock seemed to consider a few moments before slowly nodding his head.
“Interesting. It has its merits…Very well. I shall go along with your plan.”
Kirk abruptly stopped walking and gaped at the Vulcan. Spock stopped a few steps ahead and looked over his shoulder questioningly.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Kirk?”
It was not something Kirk had been expecting to hear. After getting over his initial surprise, he smiled broadly.
“No, nothing’s the matter. This is great. We can go over the details during lunch.”
“It is as you stated earlier. However, if we do not keep walking, we will only have twenty-eight minutes and fifteen seconds…fourteen seconds.” Spock counted down dispassionately.
“Okay, okay, we’re going.”
Kirk held his hands up defensively and began walking again. After a short walk, they reached a set of double doors. When the doors were pushed open, Kirk and Spock were greeted by the deafening noise of over a thousand students eating lunch. Spock gritted his teeth against the noise and the peering eyes. He was relieved when he was lead to another door leading into a smaller room. Through the large glass window, he could see many of the other teachers already enjoying their meals.
“Come on, let’s get some food.”
He motioned towards the food line. There were still some students passing through the line choosing what kind of food they wanted. Spock followed behind Kirk bypassing most of the food. When they finished paying, Kirk led Spock to the teacher’s lounge. The others were already seated. Chekov waved at them eagerly.
“Hey, kid! How was teaching your first class?” Kirk asked happily.
Chekov nodded his head.
“It went wery well. The students were not cooperative at first, but after I showed them a few examples, they were much more agreeable.”
“Glad to hear it. So, are you planning on being a part of a club?”
“Yes. I have decided to help Mr. Scott and his club.” he stated as he pointed to Scotty who was currently devouring a sandwich.
Swallowing a huge bite and wiping his mouth on a napkin, Scotty gave Chekov a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“Aye. Turns out he knows quite a bit about physics.”
“Damn. You really must be something to get praise from Scotty.” Kirk grinned.
This caused Chekov to beam. Spock gave a slight nod of approval.
“Indeed. You continue to perform admirably.” Spock said politely but with a definite hint of praise.
Though a simple statement, Chekov looked like he was about to die from embarrassment and pleasure. Kirk figured it must also take quite a bit to get praise out of Spock as well. That settled it; Kirk’s goal was to get Spock to praise him for something.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Kirk?”
Kirk whipped his head around to face Spock. He was proud at hiding his embarrassment at being caught off guard.
“No, nothing at all. Just thinking about…chess.”
“Good save, Jim. I’m sure you fooled him.” McCoy snorted sarcastically.
“It is obvious Mr. Kirk does not wish to divulge his thoughts. It is not my place to pry.”
Spock ate his salad, studiously ignoring Kirk. He had noticed the distant look in his eyes previously, and while he was curious as to what he was thinking, Kirk’s attempt at lying indicated he did not want anybody to know. Then again, it could have been something about chess, since they had been talking about it in the hallway, but he could not figure out what would be so secretive about chess.
“Hey, where’s Sulu?” Kirk suddenly asked.
“Where else? The botany labs. He said he had been neglecting Gertrude.” Scotty explained around a mouthful of sandwich.
“Who is Gertrude? She is Mr. Sulu’s girlfriend?” asked Chekov with a curious amount of interest.
McCoy shook his head.
“She is Mr. Sulu’s plant.”
“…He is loving of a plant?” Chekov asked incredulously.
“Yeah, he is much loving of a plant…he really needs to go out, with another person preferably.” Kirk commented happily before taking a bite out of his food.
“Jim, have you ever considered eating a salad?” McCoy suddenly shifted the conversation and pointed at the cheeseburger Kirk was eating. “Do you even know what that’s doing to your arteries?! Not to mention the cholesterol, fats, and calories.”
It was the same conversation the two friends had on a regular basis. Spock cocked an eyebrow at their raucous bantering. Uhura leaned forward and explained their unique friendship.
“Ignore them. They have this conversation on a regular basis. Nobody wins.”
“I don’t’ believe in no-win situations.” Kirk boldly proclaimed.
Everybody at the table rolled their eyes. Uhura reached over and snatched a French fry off his plate.
“It’s a burger; not a life or death situation.” She munched on her pilfered fry much to Kirk’s annoyance.
“Go get your own.” he growled as he drew the plate closer.
“I’m helping you and your cholesterol.” Uhura responded sweetly.
Scotty almost choked on his sandwich when Uhura revealed a second French fry. Kirk feigned indignation. She winked at Spock who just stared at her blankly. He was supposed to do something, but he did not know what. His completely lack of response caused Kirk to burst out laughing. Chekov smiled alongside the others and told her,
“You have to be wery, wery obvious when making a joke with Mr. Spock.”
“Clearly.” Uhura answered in a somewhat amused tone.
“I apologize. The complexities of human jokes continue to escape me.” Spock answered stiffly.
“You don’t have to apologize. It’s all good.” reassured Uhura.
“Alright, now that we cleared that up, we have to discuss our very important chess matters.” Kirk veered the conversation suddenly.
“I do not see what else needs to be discussed. You have presented your course of action and it is logical.” Spock replied.
There was a collective set of chuckles as the others tried to muffle their amusement. Kirk sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Spock wondered if he missed something again. However, he had no reason to worry when Kirk just grinned and shook his head.
“You certainly know how to keep me on track, Mr. Spock.”
“About time too.” McCoy added with a cheeky waggle of his brow.
Kirk slapped him playfully on the shoulder and resumed consuming his food. The bell suddenly rang and then he had to quickly stuff the remainder in his mouth. McCoy and Uhura gave him a look of disgust, Chekov looked surprised, while Scotty gave him a thumbs up and scarfed down his own sandwich. Spock’s eyebrow arched slightly as he also cleared his tray.
“Mr. Kirk, before we part, may I ask where the chess club is held?” asked Spock.
“Oh yeah, it’s in the recreation lounge on the second floor.” Kirk yelled over his shoulder. “See ya later!”
Spock watched him shoo the students out and herd them towards the classrooms with mild curiosity. Jim Kirk showed a vested interest in the students and their wellbeing. There was something about him that put the students at ease and still motivated them. It was a fascinating trend Spock was beginning to recognize. Nobody was at ease around him and he was fairly certain he motivated others out of fear and intimidation. Not that he cared that much so long as the end result was satisfactorily accomplished. However, there might be some merit to Kirk’s method. He would look into it further. For now, Spock was pleased with the results he was able to produce.
“You have three minutes and forty-three seconds before class begins.” Spock calmly declared to the remaining students lagging behind.
They immediately grabbed their belongings and scurried out as fast as they could. The cafeteria was empty in five seconds.
Next
Chapter: 3
Fandom: Star Trek
Pairings: Kirk/Spock and others?
Rating: T
Notes: Combined prompt from STXI kink meme here and here
Previous
The remaining few days left of summer break disappeared all too soon. Now it was the first day of classes and Enterprise High was packed with students and teachers scrambling to be on time for the first day. Teachers went over their lesson plans one last time while students greeted each other and attempted to find their classes. There were a few teachers standing in the hallway directing traffic and helping lost students.
“So you’re going to go down this hallway, take the first left where you’ll run into a really loud Scottish guy. That’s the teacher for your first class. Good luck with that.”
James Kirk patted the student on the shoulder as he pointed in the proper direction. With the layout of the classes, Kirk’s history and social sciences were towards the entrance of the school giving him the best opportunity to greet and direct students. It worked out well considering most students instantly felt comfortable approaching him. Some of the other teachers were slightly more intimidating or the students just did not know what to think about them. Spock happened to be one of those.
What students did approach him only did so because there was nobody else around they could ask. Most of the students had never actually met a Vulcan in person before and the blank, solemn countenance of the newest teacher was not the most welcoming. However, he gave as good of directions as anybody else could even hope to. He could even tell them how long it would take for them to reach their classes down to the second. The students were stuck between whether or not that was awesome or creepy.
It did not take long for many of the students to locate their first classes, though some students started scrambling when the first bell began to ring. They had five minutes until the second bell rung. When there was a minute left, Spock stepped into his classroom. Majority of the seats were filled and the few remaining quickly filled before the second bell rung.
“Welcome to advanced placement chemistry. I am your teacher, Mr. Spock. I expect you to be here everyday and on time. I will now take attendance.”
All the students sat a little straighter and tried to calm their nerves. The flat tone and serious face gave them the impression that he would be one of the most difficult teachers they ever had. They could only hope he would not be one of those impossible teachers who seemed to make it their life’s goal to see their students fail.
However, by the end of the period, the students realized their new teacher was fair and understood their abilities and limitations, though they still knew he would be the most difficult teacher.
The bell rang when class ended and Spock dismissed the students who quietly gathered their belongings and talked only in whispers. Most nodded politely as they left while a few had the courage to verbally say goodbye. Even rarer were those who stayed behind to ask him questions about the course or their textbook. Spock politely returned their farewells and succinctly answered any questions. Eventually, the bell rang a second time and a new wave of students came in. Spock set his teaching notes for the previous desk in his desk and set out a different one for general chemistry.
Scanning through the room, he noticed the students were just as stiff and quiet as the last ones. Nodding his head more to himself than anyone else, Spock began the next lesson.
And so, the day continued to pass in the same manner as the mass of students were cycled through. Around noon, the lunch bell rang and Spock dismissed the students. Once the room cleared out, Spock took a deep breath. So far, the day had gone smoothly and predictably. That changed the minute the door to his classroom swung open.
“Spo~ck!” a sing-song voice echoed throughout the room.
Even with his back to the door, Spock knew exactly who that voice belonged to.
“Mr. Kirk. May I help you with something?” he asked calmly and much more softly.
“Yes, Mr. Spock, you can. You will join me and the others for lunch!”
For a fellow teacher, and one that taught social studies at that, Kirk was wonderfully adept at throwing orders around. It had never been in his nature to be a follower. Many of his old school teachers would testify to that. He was confident in who was and in his intentions. Spock had to admit that Kirk was a charismatic human.
“Another custom, I assume?”
Kirk nodded his head vigorously.
“Yeah, and besides, bonding occurs over food. It’s a known fact proven throughout history. I should know. I’m a history and social science teacher.”
Spock’s eyebrow arched upward and Kirk was left wondering how he managed to do that so well.
“Yes, Mr. Kirk, I am aware of the subject you are most proficient at.” he acknowledged. “Very well, I shall join you and the others for lunch.”
“Great. We can also talk about the chess club and what we’re going to do to revitalize it.” Kirk told him.
After making sure his lesson plans were stored neatly in his desk, Spock followed Kirk out the door.
“It is failing then?” Spock asked with a small hint of surprise. He had figured the club would be popular since Kirk was the one in charge. From the short time he had been at the school, Spock could see that James Kirk was popular with the students, especially with the female variety.
“Sort of. Three dimensional chess isn’t for the faint of heart and the few die hard chess fans are few and far between.” admitted Kirk.
“That is most unfortunate. However, I must inquire how you believe I will be able to aid you in this endeavor.”
Spock was suspicious as to why Kirk suddenly grinned in a slightly devious manner.
“Would you say chess, in theory is simple?”
The Vulcan was caught off guard by the abrupt shift in conversation, though he decided he would humor his fellow teacher, if only to understand where this all was going.
“Indeed. There are a limited number of moves each piece may make and the goal is straight forward; to capture the king. The complexities of chess results from the different means one may use achieve the goal.”
Kirk’s grin grew even larger. He clapped Spock on the back.
“That, my Vulcan friend, is how we’re going to revitalize the chess club.”
“…We are going to pander to the students by promoting chess as a simple game?” Spock asked with a raised eyebrow.
It was impossible not to notice Kirk’s cringing.
“Well sheesh, when you put it like that…But yeah, more or less.” he finally admitted.
Spock seemed to consider a few moments before slowly nodding his head.
“Interesting. It has its merits…Very well. I shall go along with your plan.”
Kirk abruptly stopped walking and gaped at the Vulcan. Spock stopped a few steps ahead and looked over his shoulder questioningly.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Kirk?”
It was not something Kirk had been expecting to hear. After getting over his initial surprise, he smiled broadly.
“No, nothing’s the matter. This is great. We can go over the details during lunch.”
“It is as you stated earlier. However, if we do not keep walking, we will only have twenty-eight minutes and fifteen seconds…fourteen seconds.” Spock counted down dispassionately.
“Okay, okay, we’re going.”
Kirk held his hands up defensively and began walking again. After a short walk, they reached a set of double doors. When the doors were pushed open, Kirk and Spock were greeted by the deafening noise of over a thousand students eating lunch. Spock gritted his teeth against the noise and the peering eyes. He was relieved when he was lead to another door leading into a smaller room. Through the large glass window, he could see many of the other teachers already enjoying their meals.
“Come on, let’s get some food.”
He motioned towards the food line. There were still some students passing through the line choosing what kind of food they wanted. Spock followed behind Kirk bypassing most of the food. When they finished paying, Kirk led Spock to the teacher’s lounge. The others were already seated. Chekov waved at them eagerly.
“Hey, kid! How was teaching your first class?” Kirk asked happily.
Chekov nodded his head.
“It went wery well. The students were not cooperative at first, but after I showed them a few examples, they were much more agreeable.”
“Glad to hear it. So, are you planning on being a part of a club?”
“Yes. I have decided to help Mr. Scott and his club.” he stated as he pointed to Scotty who was currently devouring a sandwich.
Swallowing a huge bite and wiping his mouth on a napkin, Scotty gave Chekov a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“Aye. Turns out he knows quite a bit about physics.”
“Damn. You really must be something to get praise from Scotty.” Kirk grinned.
This caused Chekov to beam. Spock gave a slight nod of approval.
“Indeed. You continue to perform admirably.” Spock said politely but with a definite hint of praise.
Though a simple statement, Chekov looked like he was about to die from embarrassment and pleasure. Kirk figured it must also take quite a bit to get praise out of Spock as well. That settled it; Kirk’s goal was to get Spock to praise him for something.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Kirk?”
Kirk whipped his head around to face Spock. He was proud at hiding his embarrassment at being caught off guard.
“No, nothing at all. Just thinking about…chess.”
“Good save, Jim. I’m sure you fooled him.” McCoy snorted sarcastically.
“It is obvious Mr. Kirk does not wish to divulge his thoughts. It is not my place to pry.”
Spock ate his salad, studiously ignoring Kirk. He had noticed the distant look in his eyes previously, and while he was curious as to what he was thinking, Kirk’s attempt at lying indicated he did not want anybody to know. Then again, it could have been something about chess, since they had been talking about it in the hallway, but he could not figure out what would be so secretive about chess.
“Hey, where’s Sulu?” Kirk suddenly asked.
“Where else? The botany labs. He said he had been neglecting Gertrude.” Scotty explained around a mouthful of sandwich.
“Who is Gertrude? She is Mr. Sulu’s girlfriend?” asked Chekov with a curious amount of interest.
McCoy shook his head.
“She is Mr. Sulu’s plant.”
“…He is loving of a plant?” Chekov asked incredulously.
“Yeah, he is much loving of a plant…he really needs to go out, with another person preferably.” Kirk commented happily before taking a bite out of his food.
“Jim, have you ever considered eating a salad?” McCoy suddenly shifted the conversation and pointed at the cheeseburger Kirk was eating. “Do you even know what that’s doing to your arteries?! Not to mention the cholesterol, fats, and calories.”
It was the same conversation the two friends had on a regular basis. Spock cocked an eyebrow at their raucous bantering. Uhura leaned forward and explained their unique friendship.
“Ignore them. They have this conversation on a regular basis. Nobody wins.”
“I don’t’ believe in no-win situations.” Kirk boldly proclaimed.
Everybody at the table rolled their eyes. Uhura reached over and snatched a French fry off his plate.
“It’s a burger; not a life or death situation.” She munched on her pilfered fry much to Kirk’s annoyance.
“Go get your own.” he growled as he drew the plate closer.
“I’m helping you and your cholesterol.” Uhura responded sweetly.
Scotty almost choked on his sandwich when Uhura revealed a second French fry. Kirk feigned indignation. She winked at Spock who just stared at her blankly. He was supposed to do something, but he did not know what. His completely lack of response caused Kirk to burst out laughing. Chekov smiled alongside the others and told her,
“You have to be wery, wery obvious when making a joke with Mr. Spock.”
“Clearly.” Uhura answered in a somewhat amused tone.
“I apologize. The complexities of human jokes continue to escape me.” Spock answered stiffly.
“You don’t have to apologize. It’s all good.” reassured Uhura.
“Alright, now that we cleared that up, we have to discuss our very important chess matters.” Kirk veered the conversation suddenly.
“I do not see what else needs to be discussed. You have presented your course of action and it is logical.” Spock replied.
There was a collective set of chuckles as the others tried to muffle their amusement. Kirk sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Spock wondered if he missed something again. However, he had no reason to worry when Kirk just grinned and shook his head.
“You certainly know how to keep me on track, Mr. Spock.”
“About time too.” McCoy added with a cheeky waggle of his brow.
Kirk slapped him playfully on the shoulder and resumed consuming his food. The bell suddenly rang and then he had to quickly stuff the remainder in his mouth. McCoy and Uhura gave him a look of disgust, Chekov looked surprised, while Scotty gave him a thumbs up and scarfed down his own sandwich. Spock’s eyebrow arched slightly as he also cleared his tray.
“Mr. Kirk, before we part, may I ask where the chess club is held?” asked Spock.
“Oh yeah, it’s in the recreation lounge on the second floor.” Kirk yelled over his shoulder. “See ya later!”
Spock watched him shoo the students out and herd them towards the classrooms with mild curiosity. Jim Kirk showed a vested interest in the students and their wellbeing. There was something about him that put the students at ease and still motivated them. It was a fascinating trend Spock was beginning to recognize. Nobody was at ease around him and he was fairly certain he motivated others out of fear and intimidation. Not that he cared that much so long as the end result was satisfactorily accomplished. However, there might be some merit to Kirk’s method. He would look into it further. For now, Spock was pleased with the results he was able to produce.
“You have three minutes and forty-three seconds before class begins.” Spock calmly declared to the remaining students lagging behind.
They immediately grabbed their belongings and scurried out as fast as they could. The cafeteria was empty in five seconds.
Next