The Substitute (part 3)
3.
“Prentiss,” Emily said, picking up her phone after looking around to see nobody could overhear.
“Emily, it’s Hotch. We think we have a lead.”
“Really? That’s good news.”
“Local PD arrested a drug dealer last night. We had the drugs tested, and the lab confirmed that it’s the same type as our traffickers’. We’re questioning him right now.”
“Has he said anything yet?” she asked, as she watched students enter the classroom.
“Not yet, but we’re working on it.”
“Okay. But sir, if you’ll excuse me, my class starts in a few minutes. Wouldn’t want to be late on my first day, now would I,” she joked.
“Of course. Good luck, and I’ll keep you posted.”
She pocketed her phone and took a deep breath as she prepared to enter the room. Come on, Prentiss, you can do this, she mentally prepared herself. When she walked inside, she was completely in character, ready to teach her first class. She walked to the front of the room, but was stopped when she wanted to pass the front row.
“Hey, new girl,” she heard, as she felt a hand on her arm, preventing her from walking further.
She had to remember that she was in a school now, were people weren’t likely to attack her, so instead of grabbing the arm and twisting it behind the assailant’s back, she turned around to see who stopped her.
It was the girl from before, she noticed. Emily had asked her, and her friend, for directions to the classroom, because they seemed to know their way around. And the fact that the girl was totally hot might have something to do with it as well.
“You might not wanna do that,” the blonde continued. “Miss Turner is really weird about other people sitting in her chair, and now with the hormones… I wouldn’t try it.”
Emily looked at her amusedly.
“Thanks for the warning, but I think I’ll manage,” she said smiling.
She continued her way, and standing with her back to the blackboard, she addressed the class.
“Buenos dias a todos. Me llamo Lauren Reynolds, y seré vuestra profesora para los meses que vienen.”
JJ looked at her friend dumbfounded.
“She’s a teacher? Oh God, kill me now,” she groaned.
“Don’t be ridiculous. So you mistook her for a student, no biggie,” Garcia answered.
JJ didn’t respond, she just kept on looking at their new teacher.
“Wait a minute, you like her, don’t you?” Garcia asked excitedly. “Oooh, this is gonna be so much fun.”
“Shut up,” JJ hissed.
Emily had given her students a moment to adjust, but when she saw a couple of blank faces in the audience, she asked:
“Okay, is there anyone who didn’t understand a word I just said?”
A couple of hands went up in the air, as she suspected.
“Okay then. As I was saying, my name is Lauren Reynolds, and I will be your teacher for the next couple of months. I will be substituting for Miss Turner during her maternity leave, and I want to start out by saying that I don’t have a problem with anyone sitting in my chair, as long as you don’t leave drawing pins on it or something,” she said, smiling as she looked in the direction of the cute blonde that had warned her earlier.
Her joked earned her a laugh from the students, but the blonde, whose name she had yet to find out, faceplanted into the table, as the girl next to her patted her on the back.
Pleased with the response from her audience, she continued.
“Bueno, abrid vuestros libros a la página 37.”
She waited.
“That means, open your books at page 37,” she translated, as she saw that only a few students had understood her.
The blonde was one of them, she noticed.
Don’t get distracted now, she chided herself. You’re here on the job.
She continued her lesson, and although she thought she was doing well, she was glad it was over. She sank in her chair as she began the collect her things, and put them in her bag.
Thank God I only have one class today, she thought.
She locked her room and left. On her way out of the building, she passed two security guards, Morgan being one of them. She didn’t let it show that she recognized him, as to not blow her cover, but instead nodded at the two of them and went to find her car.
She was glad she lived in DC. The ride to Quantico was a bitch each day, but the university was only a ten minutes’ drive away.
At home, she poured herself a glass of wine before she settled herself on her couch. She had brought the case file home, and she decided she might as well get some work done, so she started studying the student list her boss had provided her with.
The first thing she did was flipping through the pictures that were included in the file. She quickly found out that the cute blonde’s name was Jennifer Jareau, and that her picture did not do her justice.
After spending too much time staring at the picture, she worked her way through the rest of the list, trying to retain as much information as she could. She couldn’t help it that her mind kept drifting to the young blonde that had gotten her attention from the first second she saw her.
“Prentiss,” Emily said, picking up her phone after looking around to see nobody could overhear.
“Emily, it’s Hotch. We think we have a lead.”
“Really? That’s good news.”
“Local PD arrested a drug dealer last night. We had the drugs tested, and the lab confirmed that it’s the same type as our traffickers’. We’re questioning him right now.”
“Has he said anything yet?” she asked, as she watched students enter the classroom.
“Not yet, but we’re working on it.”
“Okay. But sir, if you’ll excuse me, my class starts in a few minutes. Wouldn’t want to be late on my first day, now would I,” she joked.
“Of course. Good luck, and I’ll keep you posted.”
She pocketed her phone and took a deep breath as she prepared to enter the room. Come on, Prentiss, you can do this, she mentally prepared herself. When she walked inside, she was completely in character, ready to teach her first class. She walked to the front of the room, but was stopped when she wanted to pass the front row.
“Hey, new girl,” she heard, as she felt a hand on her arm, preventing her from walking further.
She had to remember that she was in a school now, were people weren’t likely to attack her, so instead of grabbing the arm and twisting it behind the assailant’s back, she turned around to see who stopped her.
It was the girl from before, she noticed. Emily had asked her, and her friend, for directions to the classroom, because they seemed to know their way around. And the fact that the girl was totally hot might have something to do with it as well.
“You might not wanna do that,” the blonde continued. “Miss Turner is really weird about other people sitting in her chair, and now with the hormones… I wouldn’t try it.”
Emily looked at her amusedly.
“Thanks for the warning, but I think I’ll manage,” she said smiling.
She continued her way, and standing with her back to the blackboard, she addressed the class.
“Buenos dias a todos. Me llamo Lauren Reynolds, y seré vuestra profesora para los meses que vienen.”
JJ looked at her friend dumbfounded.
“She’s a teacher? Oh God, kill me now,” she groaned.
“Don’t be ridiculous. So you mistook her for a student, no biggie,” Garcia answered.
JJ didn’t respond, she just kept on looking at their new teacher.
“Wait a minute, you like her, don’t you?” Garcia asked excitedly. “Oooh, this is gonna be so much fun.”
“Shut up,” JJ hissed.
Emily had given her students a moment to adjust, but when she saw a couple of blank faces in the audience, she asked:
“Okay, is there anyone who didn’t understand a word I just said?”
A couple of hands went up in the air, as she suspected.
“Okay then. As I was saying, my name is Lauren Reynolds, and I will be your teacher for the next couple of months. I will be substituting for Miss Turner during her maternity leave, and I want to start out by saying that I don’t have a problem with anyone sitting in my chair, as long as you don’t leave drawing pins on it or something,” she said, smiling as she looked in the direction of the cute blonde that had warned her earlier.
Her joked earned her a laugh from the students, but the blonde, whose name she had yet to find out, faceplanted into the table, as the girl next to her patted her on the back.
Pleased with the response from her audience, she continued.
“Bueno, abrid vuestros libros a la página 37.”
She waited.
“That means, open your books at page 37,” she translated, as she saw that only a few students had understood her.
The blonde was one of them, she noticed.
Don’t get distracted now, she chided herself. You’re here on the job.
She continued her lesson, and although she thought she was doing well, she was glad it was over. She sank in her chair as she began the collect her things, and put them in her bag.
Thank God I only have one class today, she thought.
She locked her room and left. On her way out of the building, she passed two security guards, Morgan being one of them. She didn’t let it show that she recognized him, as to not blow her cover, but instead nodded at the two of them and went to find her car.
She was glad she lived in DC. The ride to Quantico was a bitch each day, but the university was only a ten minutes’ drive away.
At home, she poured herself a glass of wine before she settled herself on her couch. She had brought the case file home, and she decided she might as well get some work done, so she started studying the student list her boss had provided her with.
The first thing she did was flipping through the pictures that were included in the file. She quickly found out that the cute blonde’s name was Jennifer Jareau, and that her picture did not do her justice.
After spending too much time staring at the picture, she worked her way through the rest of the list, trying to retain as much information as she could. She couldn’t help it that her mind kept drifting to the young blonde that had gotten her attention from the first second she saw her.