To Boldly Teach Part 5
Title: To Boldly Teach
Chapter: 4
Fandom: Star Trek
Pairings: Kirk/Spock and others?
Rating: T
Notes: Combined prompt from STXI kink meme here and here
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Previous
“Read chapters two through three and be prepared for a quiz. Dismissed.”
The very second Spock finished speaking; the final bell of the day rang. Students stuffed their book bags with their belongings and excitedly shoved their way out of the lecture room. A few students remained behind to speak with Spock about homework assignments and schedule rearrangements. After making sure no other students needed anything, Spock checked the chronometer. School clubs began fifteen minutes after school ended.
Gathering his belongings, Spock tucked them under his arm and locked the classroom door behind him. Students milled about by the lockers and courtyard, some waving at Spock as he passed by and others trying their hardest to not make eye contact. Spock adjusted his glasses and determined the fastest route to the recreation rooms.
As he was passing through one of the hallways, the echoes of a fight reached his sensitive hearing. Completely disregarding the time he had been keeping track of, Spock sought out of the source of the noise. When he turned a corner, he saw a group of older students shoving a younger boy around. Suppressing a frown and a sigh, Spock marched over to the students with steely resolve.
“Cease your actions at once.” Spock commanded.
All the students froze. They slowly turned their attention to Spock. The young boy visibly relaxed and tried to stealthily maneuver away from the bullies and closer to Spock. The students did not notice the movement. Their attention was on the teacher who stopped them. It took a couple of seconds passed before they regained a hold of their senses. With an open sneer, one of the students brazenly stepped forward and straightened his back. Spock calmly reasoned he was the leader of the group. He was unimpressed.
“You attempts at posturing are logical, but ineffective. Please step away.” Spock asked, but came out more like a demand.
“What? Are you gonna make me?” he asked threateningly.
Spock merely arched an eyebrow.
“That would be unnecessary as you have already stepped away of your own volition.”
True to his word, the unruly student had backed off a couple of steps. The young man watched this from a safe vantage point, behind Spock, and watched in awe as the bullies seemed intimidated by a single teacher.
“Now, what was the altercation about?”
Despite the question, Spock had a feeling he knew what was happening. Regardless though, he still stared expectantly at each student. Nobody was overly eager to start.
“What is your name?” he suddenly asked the boy hiding behind him.
“My name is Tylers, sir…Steven Tylers.” he said as he shifted his weight uncomfortably.
“What happened?” Spock asked with an admirable amount of patience.
Tylers stuttered and looked around nervously.
“W-well, I, uh…nothing. It’s nothing.” he replied unconvincingly.
He stared at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with Spock who was studying him with a scrutinizing eye. Realizing he may feel uncomfortable with his persecutors nearby, Spock did not push it at the moment. Instead, he directed his attention back to bullies.
“What are your names?”
Once again, the leader of the gang stepped forward and spoke for all of them.
“What’s it to ya, Freak?” he growled out.
And once again, Spock was unimpressed and unfazed.
“I want to know your names so I may write a reprimand and ensure you attend detention.” Spock explained.
“That’s bullshit!” he retorted. His friends grinned and nudged each other, confident in their leader’s ability.
“It is not bovine excrement. It is a detention referral.”
Spock’s reply caused the group of hooligans to cease laughing and pause. They stared blankly at Spock who stared just as blankly back.
“Are you for real?” he asked incredulously.
“Obviously. I am here, physically speaking to you. That would imply I am real.” answered Spock. “However, we are not here to discuss the nature of reality. What are your names?”
It took a few seconds for everybody to realize what Spock was saying. Tylers thought he was the weirdest teacher he had ever met. The others had to agree, but decided they had enough and let him know it.
“Forget it. You’re not getting any names.” the leader crossed his arms and stuck out his chest. “So what are ya going to do about it?”
Spock canted his head slightly and regarded the difficult student. His posture indicated a challenging stance and Spock idly wondered what the student would gain by engaging in a fight with him. However, at the moment, there were more pressing concerns. The bully and his gang made to move away, but Spock would have none of that. Quicker than most realized. Spock’s hand latched onto the scruff of the leader’s uniform.
“You are not dismissed.” Spock ordered.
There was a collective gasp when the leader was tugged back. Even though it would have been impossible for Spock to single-handedly catch and detain them all, the other students remained rooted to the spot. They knew very few people, teachers included, bothered to stand up to this particular student. They had to see how it ended.
The leader attempted to pry his uniform from Spock’s grasp, but failed miserably. It was only when he ceased struggling that Spock released his hold.
“If you would just cooperate, this situation would not have to continue.” Spock explained calmly.
“You really don’t know how it works around here, do ya?” the leader straightened his uniform and leaned forward menacingly. “Well, off-worlder, I’ll have to teach ya.”
“What’s going on here?” a deep voice loudly interrupted.
All heads turned to face the speaker. A large man with a bald head and gruff face stood imposingly with his arms crossed. Spock recognized him from the other nights faculty party and also recognized the small insignia indicating he was with security.
“These students,” Spock motioned towards the bullies, “Refuse to cooperate. I found them fighting with this student here.”
Tylers started a little when Spock said his name. The security officer nodded his head in understanding. It was not the first time he had dealt with these particular students.
“I see. Thanks for stopping it, Mister…?” he looked at Spock questioningly.
“Spock.”
“Mister Spock. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things.”
The security officer made a quick whistling noise and in response, two more security officers came running. Realizing they were outnumbered, the leader and his cohorts finally gave in.
“Alright, move it.” he commanded before pointing at Tylers. “You come too.”
Tylers seemed reluctant to move, but he still followed behind, a few paces away from the bullies. He glanced over his shoulder once before resigning himself to his fate. Spock watched them leave and then glanced at the wall. The chronometer showed he was already ten minutes late. Keeping an exasperated sigh to himself, Spock quickly made his way to the recreation room.
When he arrived at the designated room, Spock quietly let himself in. There were a group of students and teachers crowded in the space, but a small handful of students and Kirk stood out in the back corner. Kirk happened to look up from the board he was organizing and smiled when he saw Spock. He waved the Vulcan over eagerly.
As Spock approached, all three students turned to face him. He now understood why Kirk was concerned about the chess club’s roster.
“I apologize for the delay.”
“No worries. I was just going over the rules and moves each piece can make. Get held up?” Kirk asked jovially.
Spock regarded him with a vaguely perplexed look. Kirk bit his bottom lip to keep from grinning and corrected his question.
“What caused the delay?”
“There was a minor altercation.” answered Spock. He set his belongings on a nearby chair and gave a cursory glance at each of the chess boards.
Kirk leaned casually against the edge of the table with a mildly concerned expression.
“Everybody okay?” he asked.
“Affirmative. No physical damage occurred. The students involved are in the custody of security.” Spock explained. “Though, the instigators of the fight were unusually aggressive.”
Each of the students shared a knowing look along with Kirk. Spock arched an eyebrow.
“Did they happen to be seniors, about my height, kind of repetitive, and mean?” asked Kirk, even though his tone of voice suggested he already knew the answer.
“I assume these particular students are prone to...” Spock searched for the word a fraction of a moment. “They pick up a fight?”
“It’s ‘pick a fight,’ and yeah, they do it often.” Kirk replied.
One of the students swiveled in her chair and frowned, openly showing her derision for the students in question.
“And they never get in trouble for it either. Their parents are too important.”
It was impossible to miss the bitterness in her voice. The others nodded their head in total agreement. Apparently, each one of them had had some sort of encounter with the students. Kirk shook his head and then clapped his hands loudly to get everybody’s attention.
“Alright, enough about them. Spock, let me introduce you to our posse. The stunning young lady is Marlena Moreau, sitting next to her is Karl Jaeger, and the barrel of sunshine over there is John Watkins.” Kirk pushed off from the table and began circling the small group. “Let’s cut to the chase. The school requires we have at least ten people to keep a club.”
There was a collective expression of despair on all three faces. Spock remained neutral, but he did understand why they felt that way. It was clear they loved to play chess, but they also knew they were few and far between.
“So we’re screwed. How are we supposed to get seven other people to join chess?!”
Karl Jaeger, slouching in his chair, threw his hands in the air in exasperation. Kirk tried his best to console them.
“Hey, where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?” Kirk tried to get the others to agree, but the students remained skeptical. “Besides, we now have Mister Spock.”
“Great. That helps us how?” John Watkins, non-descript in appearance, but a prominent frown in place sarcastically asked.
“Mister Kirk is under the impression I am going to pander to the students using my unique appearance and promote the underlying simplicity of chess.” Spock answered blandly.
All three students slowly swiveled in their chairs and stared at Kirk with disbelief. Combined with Spock’s cocked eyebrow, the effect of “what the hell?” was perfectly created. Kirk held his hands up in defense.
“I didn’t say that!...Well, not like that. But it’s a good plan, right?”
The three students still looked unconvinced. Watkins jerked his thumb towards Spock.
“Yeah, ‘cause that guy’s just a bucket of rainbows and sunshine. I can really see the appeal behind that friendly countenance.”
“I assume you are being sarcastic.” Spock noted.
The student just stared blankly at Kirk who rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, you made your point, Watkins. Mister Spock, would you like to present any suggestions?”
There was a pleading look in his eyes. Spock squashed the urge to roll his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back.
“You have given me the impression that the chess club is lacking due to a lack of interest.” Spock glanced at Kirk who nodded his head in agreement. “Then it would be logical to promote chess as interesting.”
Watkins, ever the optimist, rolled his eyes and gestured at a chess board.
“Good thinking. Only problem with that profound piece of logic is that we play chess. By nature alone, people don’t find that interesting.”
“You are an extremely negative individual. However, you have a valid point.” Spock conceded. “That is why, if you permit me, I shall continue with my previous point.”
He arched an eyebrow at Watkins who had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.
“Please, go right ahead.” he said.
Spock shared a quick glance with Kirk, who was leaning against the wall obviously amused, before continuing.
“I propose we advertise the chess club during lunch break with an interesting exhibition.”
Kirk slowly nodded his head. He pushed off the wall and leaned forward so he could rest his elbows on a table.
“So what did you have in mind? I’m pretty sure all my ideas are either forbidden by the school or are illegal…at least I think so. I’d have to brush up on my law.” Kirk supposed with a thoughtful grin.
Even though he was hardly serious, the subtle expression of horror on Spock’s face almost made Kirk wish he had been serious; if only to see what Spock would have done. But right now, it was about the students and the chess club’s peril, so he alleviated Spock’s concern.
“I was joking…I know the law really well.” Kirk said with a grin. “But anyways, back to you.”
Narrowing his eyes marginally, Spock carefully made eye contact with each of the members to see if anybody else wanted to interrupt him. When nobody made a move to say or do anything, he took that to mean he could continue.
“I want to set up however many chess boards that are available outside and invite any student to play a game.” Spock stated.
Each of the students shook their heads.
“Already tried that. We just ended up playing against each other the whole time.” Marlena said despondently.
“I am not suggesting you challenge the student body.”
Everybody stared blankly at Spock. The students were floored by the statement while Kirk was doubly intrigued by what the Vulcan was thinking under his mask of neutrality. Subconsciously, each member of the chess club leaned forward expectantly. Jaeger finally asked,
“So what are we going to do?”
Spock mentally chewed on his reply a moment before answering. From the short period of time he had observed the students in the club, he knew he would need to move carefully from here on out if his plan was to work. The self-esteem level was drastically low in this group, and he did not want to add to it. He figured it would be simple enough to simply state what he wanted to do, but from what he knew about humans, his frank way of speaking tended to make them uncomfortable, or more likely, misinterpret what he meant. That was the last thing he wanted to do. So, he quickly formulated a method of attack. It was just like chess; know what the opponent was thinking.
“It is true that the students attending this school are highly motivated individuals?” Spock suddenly asked.
“We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t.” Watkins sarcastically replied.
Choosing to ignore him, Spock simply continued, assuming the comment indicated they were all following the same train of thought.
“Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume challenging their abilities would motivate them?”
The students nodded their heads eagerly. They were hooked.
A tiny grin slowly crept along Kirk’s face as he figured out what Spock was doing. He briefly glanced at the three students out of the corner of his eye. They were twitching in their seats and watching Spock with rapt attention. It seemed Spock was making a good impression on them. This made Kirk glad. He knew it was the right decision to invite him to join the chess club.
“So we’re not just going to invite them to play for fun, we’re going to turn it into an actual challenge?” Kirk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Sounds fun. What are we challenging them with? Like the kids said, students aren’t just looking to spend their time playing chess during lunch.”
“I agree. I intend to challenge them to beat me. I will play against whomever, whenever, at the same time.” Spock promptly responded.
“…You can do that?” Jaeger asked skeptically.
“Affirmative. And, as Mister Kirk has exceptional interpersonal skills, he will…promote it, as it were.”
Kirk gave a full blown grin.
“You got it, Mister Spock. I’m looking forward to seeing this. How about you guys?”
“Hell yes. I gotta see this in person.” Watkins actually had a grudging smile on his face. “So you seriously plan on playing against the three of us, at the same time?”
“I am indeed serious. I also plan to simultaneously play any others who should so choose to challenge me to a game.” responded Spock. He arched an eyebrow. “Of course, I do not wish to force you into anything.”
“Oh, don’t even try that.” Watkins pointed accusingly with a smirk. “You just bit off more than you can chew, Mister Spock.”
“I assume that is a human idiom as I am not currently consuming any food at this time.” Spock answered plainly.
The three students started laughing. Spock just watched them with a vaguely curious stare. Biting back his own laughter, Kirk walked around the table and patted Spock briefly on the shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s an idiom, bud. And I believe you are one clever Vulcan.” Kirk stepped back a few paces from Spock and looked over his students. “Alright, we’ll call it a day. You guys better start practicing. Somebody has to show up Mister Spock.”
Moreau, Jaeger, and Watkins said their goodbyes and talked animatedly as they left the recreation room. Kirk crossed his arms and could not resist a content sigh. For the first time in a long while, Kirk got to watch the students in his club go home with renewed enthusiasm for something they loved, and excited motivation to challenge themselves to do better.
Next
Chapter: 4
Fandom: Star Trek
Pairings: Kirk/Spock and others?
Rating: T
Notes: Combined prompt from STXI kink meme here and here
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Previous
“Read chapters two through three and be prepared for a quiz. Dismissed.”
The very second Spock finished speaking; the final bell of the day rang. Students stuffed their book bags with their belongings and excitedly shoved their way out of the lecture room. A few students remained behind to speak with Spock about homework assignments and schedule rearrangements. After making sure no other students needed anything, Spock checked the chronometer. School clubs began fifteen minutes after school ended.
Gathering his belongings, Spock tucked them under his arm and locked the classroom door behind him. Students milled about by the lockers and courtyard, some waving at Spock as he passed by and others trying their hardest to not make eye contact. Spock adjusted his glasses and determined the fastest route to the recreation rooms.
As he was passing through one of the hallways, the echoes of a fight reached his sensitive hearing. Completely disregarding the time he had been keeping track of, Spock sought out of the source of the noise. When he turned a corner, he saw a group of older students shoving a younger boy around. Suppressing a frown and a sigh, Spock marched over to the students with steely resolve.
“Cease your actions at once.” Spock commanded.
All the students froze. They slowly turned their attention to Spock. The young boy visibly relaxed and tried to stealthily maneuver away from the bullies and closer to Spock. The students did not notice the movement. Their attention was on the teacher who stopped them. It took a couple of seconds passed before they regained a hold of their senses. With an open sneer, one of the students brazenly stepped forward and straightened his back. Spock calmly reasoned he was the leader of the group. He was unimpressed.
“You attempts at posturing are logical, but ineffective. Please step away.” Spock asked, but came out more like a demand.
“What? Are you gonna make me?” he asked threateningly.
Spock merely arched an eyebrow.
“That would be unnecessary as you have already stepped away of your own volition.”
True to his word, the unruly student had backed off a couple of steps. The young man watched this from a safe vantage point, behind Spock, and watched in awe as the bullies seemed intimidated by a single teacher.
“Now, what was the altercation about?”
Despite the question, Spock had a feeling he knew what was happening. Regardless though, he still stared expectantly at each student. Nobody was overly eager to start.
“What is your name?” he suddenly asked the boy hiding behind him.
“My name is Tylers, sir…Steven Tylers.” he said as he shifted his weight uncomfortably.
“What happened?” Spock asked with an admirable amount of patience.
Tylers stuttered and looked around nervously.
“W-well, I, uh…nothing. It’s nothing.” he replied unconvincingly.
He stared at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with Spock who was studying him with a scrutinizing eye. Realizing he may feel uncomfortable with his persecutors nearby, Spock did not push it at the moment. Instead, he directed his attention back to bullies.
“What are your names?”
Once again, the leader of the gang stepped forward and spoke for all of them.
“What’s it to ya, Freak?” he growled out.
And once again, Spock was unimpressed and unfazed.
“I want to know your names so I may write a reprimand and ensure you attend detention.” Spock explained.
“That’s bullshit!” he retorted. His friends grinned and nudged each other, confident in their leader’s ability.
“It is not bovine excrement. It is a detention referral.”
Spock’s reply caused the group of hooligans to cease laughing and pause. They stared blankly at Spock who stared just as blankly back.
“Are you for real?” he asked incredulously.
“Obviously. I am here, physically speaking to you. That would imply I am real.” answered Spock. “However, we are not here to discuss the nature of reality. What are your names?”
It took a few seconds for everybody to realize what Spock was saying. Tylers thought he was the weirdest teacher he had ever met. The others had to agree, but decided they had enough and let him know it.
“Forget it. You’re not getting any names.” the leader crossed his arms and stuck out his chest. “So what are ya going to do about it?”
Spock canted his head slightly and regarded the difficult student. His posture indicated a challenging stance and Spock idly wondered what the student would gain by engaging in a fight with him. However, at the moment, there were more pressing concerns. The bully and his gang made to move away, but Spock would have none of that. Quicker than most realized. Spock’s hand latched onto the scruff of the leader’s uniform.
“You are not dismissed.” Spock ordered.
There was a collective gasp when the leader was tugged back. Even though it would have been impossible for Spock to single-handedly catch and detain them all, the other students remained rooted to the spot. They knew very few people, teachers included, bothered to stand up to this particular student. They had to see how it ended.
The leader attempted to pry his uniform from Spock’s grasp, but failed miserably. It was only when he ceased struggling that Spock released his hold.
“If you would just cooperate, this situation would not have to continue.” Spock explained calmly.
“You really don’t know how it works around here, do ya?” the leader straightened his uniform and leaned forward menacingly. “Well, off-worlder, I’ll have to teach ya.”
“What’s going on here?” a deep voice loudly interrupted.
All heads turned to face the speaker. A large man with a bald head and gruff face stood imposingly with his arms crossed. Spock recognized him from the other nights faculty party and also recognized the small insignia indicating he was with security.
“These students,” Spock motioned towards the bullies, “Refuse to cooperate. I found them fighting with this student here.”
Tylers started a little when Spock said his name. The security officer nodded his head in understanding. It was not the first time he had dealt with these particular students.
“I see. Thanks for stopping it, Mister…?” he looked at Spock questioningly.
“Spock.”
“Mister Spock. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things.”
The security officer made a quick whistling noise and in response, two more security officers came running. Realizing they were outnumbered, the leader and his cohorts finally gave in.
“Alright, move it.” he commanded before pointing at Tylers. “You come too.”
Tylers seemed reluctant to move, but he still followed behind, a few paces away from the bullies. He glanced over his shoulder once before resigning himself to his fate. Spock watched them leave and then glanced at the wall. The chronometer showed he was already ten minutes late. Keeping an exasperated sigh to himself, Spock quickly made his way to the recreation room.
When he arrived at the designated room, Spock quietly let himself in. There were a group of students and teachers crowded in the space, but a small handful of students and Kirk stood out in the back corner. Kirk happened to look up from the board he was organizing and smiled when he saw Spock. He waved the Vulcan over eagerly.
As Spock approached, all three students turned to face him. He now understood why Kirk was concerned about the chess club’s roster.
“I apologize for the delay.”
“No worries. I was just going over the rules and moves each piece can make. Get held up?” Kirk asked jovially.
Spock regarded him with a vaguely perplexed look. Kirk bit his bottom lip to keep from grinning and corrected his question.
“What caused the delay?”
“There was a minor altercation.” answered Spock. He set his belongings on a nearby chair and gave a cursory glance at each of the chess boards.
Kirk leaned casually against the edge of the table with a mildly concerned expression.
“Everybody okay?” he asked.
“Affirmative. No physical damage occurred. The students involved are in the custody of security.” Spock explained. “Though, the instigators of the fight were unusually aggressive.”
Each of the students shared a knowing look along with Kirk. Spock arched an eyebrow.
“Did they happen to be seniors, about my height, kind of repetitive, and mean?” asked Kirk, even though his tone of voice suggested he already knew the answer.
“I assume these particular students are prone to...” Spock searched for the word a fraction of a moment. “They pick up a fight?”
“It’s ‘pick a fight,’ and yeah, they do it often.” Kirk replied.
One of the students swiveled in her chair and frowned, openly showing her derision for the students in question.
“And they never get in trouble for it either. Their parents are too important.”
It was impossible to miss the bitterness in her voice. The others nodded their head in total agreement. Apparently, each one of them had had some sort of encounter with the students. Kirk shook his head and then clapped his hands loudly to get everybody’s attention.
“Alright, enough about them. Spock, let me introduce you to our posse. The stunning young lady is Marlena Moreau, sitting next to her is Karl Jaeger, and the barrel of sunshine over there is John Watkins.” Kirk pushed off from the table and began circling the small group. “Let’s cut to the chase. The school requires we have at least ten people to keep a club.”
There was a collective expression of despair on all three faces. Spock remained neutral, but he did understand why they felt that way. It was clear they loved to play chess, but they also knew they were few and far between.
“So we’re screwed. How are we supposed to get seven other people to join chess?!”
Karl Jaeger, slouching in his chair, threw his hands in the air in exasperation. Kirk tried his best to console them.
“Hey, where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?” Kirk tried to get the others to agree, but the students remained skeptical. “Besides, we now have Mister Spock.”
“Great. That helps us how?” John Watkins, non-descript in appearance, but a prominent frown in place sarcastically asked.
“Mister Kirk is under the impression I am going to pander to the students using my unique appearance and promote the underlying simplicity of chess.” Spock answered blandly.
All three students slowly swiveled in their chairs and stared at Kirk with disbelief. Combined with Spock’s cocked eyebrow, the effect of “what the hell?” was perfectly created. Kirk held his hands up in defense.
“I didn’t say that!...Well, not like that. But it’s a good plan, right?”
The three students still looked unconvinced. Watkins jerked his thumb towards Spock.
“Yeah, ‘cause that guy’s just a bucket of rainbows and sunshine. I can really see the appeal behind that friendly countenance.”
“I assume you are being sarcastic.” Spock noted.
The student just stared blankly at Kirk who rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, you made your point, Watkins. Mister Spock, would you like to present any suggestions?”
There was a pleading look in his eyes. Spock squashed the urge to roll his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back.
“You have given me the impression that the chess club is lacking due to a lack of interest.” Spock glanced at Kirk who nodded his head in agreement. “Then it would be logical to promote chess as interesting.”
Watkins, ever the optimist, rolled his eyes and gestured at a chess board.
“Good thinking. Only problem with that profound piece of logic is that we play chess. By nature alone, people don’t find that interesting.”
“You are an extremely negative individual. However, you have a valid point.” Spock conceded. “That is why, if you permit me, I shall continue with my previous point.”
He arched an eyebrow at Watkins who had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.
“Please, go right ahead.” he said.
Spock shared a quick glance with Kirk, who was leaning against the wall obviously amused, before continuing.
“I propose we advertise the chess club during lunch break with an interesting exhibition.”
Kirk slowly nodded his head. He pushed off the wall and leaned forward so he could rest his elbows on a table.
“So what did you have in mind? I’m pretty sure all my ideas are either forbidden by the school or are illegal…at least I think so. I’d have to brush up on my law.” Kirk supposed with a thoughtful grin.
Even though he was hardly serious, the subtle expression of horror on Spock’s face almost made Kirk wish he had been serious; if only to see what Spock would have done. But right now, it was about the students and the chess club’s peril, so he alleviated Spock’s concern.
“I was joking…I know the law really well.” Kirk said with a grin. “But anyways, back to you.”
Narrowing his eyes marginally, Spock carefully made eye contact with each of the members to see if anybody else wanted to interrupt him. When nobody made a move to say or do anything, he took that to mean he could continue.
“I want to set up however many chess boards that are available outside and invite any student to play a game.” Spock stated.
Each of the students shook their heads.
“Already tried that. We just ended up playing against each other the whole time.” Marlena said despondently.
“I am not suggesting you challenge the student body.”
Everybody stared blankly at Spock. The students were floored by the statement while Kirk was doubly intrigued by what the Vulcan was thinking under his mask of neutrality. Subconsciously, each member of the chess club leaned forward expectantly. Jaeger finally asked,
“So what are we going to do?”
Spock mentally chewed on his reply a moment before answering. From the short period of time he had observed the students in the club, he knew he would need to move carefully from here on out if his plan was to work. The self-esteem level was drastically low in this group, and he did not want to add to it. He figured it would be simple enough to simply state what he wanted to do, but from what he knew about humans, his frank way of speaking tended to make them uncomfortable, or more likely, misinterpret what he meant. That was the last thing he wanted to do. So, he quickly formulated a method of attack. It was just like chess; know what the opponent was thinking.
“It is true that the students attending this school are highly motivated individuals?” Spock suddenly asked.
“We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t.” Watkins sarcastically replied.
Choosing to ignore him, Spock simply continued, assuming the comment indicated they were all following the same train of thought.
“Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume challenging their abilities would motivate them?”
The students nodded their heads eagerly. They were hooked.
A tiny grin slowly crept along Kirk’s face as he figured out what Spock was doing. He briefly glanced at the three students out of the corner of his eye. They were twitching in their seats and watching Spock with rapt attention. It seemed Spock was making a good impression on them. This made Kirk glad. He knew it was the right decision to invite him to join the chess club.
“So we’re not just going to invite them to play for fun, we’re going to turn it into an actual challenge?” Kirk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Sounds fun. What are we challenging them with? Like the kids said, students aren’t just looking to spend their time playing chess during lunch.”
“I agree. I intend to challenge them to beat me. I will play against whomever, whenever, at the same time.” Spock promptly responded.
“…You can do that?” Jaeger asked skeptically.
“Affirmative. And, as Mister Kirk has exceptional interpersonal skills, he will…promote it, as it were.”
Kirk gave a full blown grin.
“You got it, Mister Spock. I’m looking forward to seeing this. How about you guys?”
“Hell yes. I gotta see this in person.” Watkins actually had a grudging smile on his face. “So you seriously plan on playing against the three of us, at the same time?”
“I am indeed serious. I also plan to simultaneously play any others who should so choose to challenge me to a game.” responded Spock. He arched an eyebrow. “Of course, I do not wish to force you into anything.”
“Oh, don’t even try that.” Watkins pointed accusingly with a smirk. “You just bit off more than you can chew, Mister Spock.”
“I assume that is a human idiom as I am not currently consuming any food at this time.” Spock answered plainly.
The three students started laughing. Spock just watched them with a vaguely curious stare. Biting back his own laughter, Kirk walked around the table and patted Spock briefly on the shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s an idiom, bud. And I believe you are one clever Vulcan.” Kirk stepped back a few paces from Spock and looked over his students. “Alright, we’ll call it a day. You guys better start practicing. Somebody has to show up Mister Spock.”
Moreau, Jaeger, and Watkins said their goodbyes and talked animatedly as they left the recreation room. Kirk crossed his arms and could not resist a content sigh. For the first time in a long while, Kirk got to watch the students in his club go home with renewed enthusiasm for something they loved, and excited motivation to challenge themselves to do better.
Next