We Don’t Need No Education [Chapter Two]
Title: We Don’t Need No Education
Author: duckgirlie
Rating: PG-13 (for language, this chapter)
Summary: In his new job at Fairview High, Anderson Cooper begins to realise that teaching may not be quite as he imagined it.
Pairings/Characters: Anderson, Keith, Jon, Stephen, Rachel, and Shep. (Though almost everyone will make an appearance at some point.) No pairings yet.
Warnings: High School AU
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: This fic is mostly gen, but there are pairings in the later chapters.
Much thanks to themistoklis greenpixiehair for betaing, encouragement, and reassurance.
Chapter One: In which there is excessive drinking, hiding from Brian Williams, and varying degrees of welcome
Anderson was back at the school at eight to pick Keith up. By twenty past he still hadn’t appeared and Anderson had to get out of the car and go looking for him.
“Still hiding from Brian?”
“I think even he’s gone by now.” Keith checked his watch. “Shit. Sorry to keep you.”
“It’s fine, I haven’t been waiting long.”
“I was grading papers. The time got away from me.”
As he shut the door behind them, Keith grabbed a few post-its that were stuck to it and crumpled them in his pocket.
“Walking around school after hours is always a strange feeling. Like you’ve stumbled into the first draft of something.”
“I suppose.” Anderson pulled the door to his car open. “I always feel like Freddy Kruger is about to jump out behind something and remove parts of me.”
“I think I like mine better.”
As Keith gave directions and fiddled with the stereo, it became apparent that Rachel lived in the complete middle of nowhere. Keith had wheeled through 46 radio stations and finally settled on something from the early 70s just as they were pulling into her driveway.
Rachel opened the door enthusiastically before he even had a chance to knock. She was barefoot, and drinking something purple from a martini glass.
“If my casserole is ruined, I’m blaming you.”
“If your casserole is ruined, I am probably the least to blame.”
Elbowing Keith out of the way, Rachel led Anderson into the kitchen. “Welcome to my house. That entire side is uninhabitable, so don’t turn left down any of the hallways.”
Anderson and Keith seemed to be the last to arrive, because Rachel’s kitchen already looked crowded. Stephen was sitting at the end of the table, apparently picking glitter out of his hair, Jon was flicking absent-mindedly through the paper, and Shep was by the stove, stirring something. Everyone was still dressed in shirts, except for Stephen, who appeared to be wearing a doublet.
He hung nervously in the doorway for a few minutes until Rachel dragged him inside and shoved him into a seat. Her kitchen table was far too big for the room, and currently half covered in a giant jigsaw. Keith had wandered over to the stove and was already fiddling with things.
“I thought Rachel was cooking?”
“Rachel’s cooking, whilst delicious, is somewhat limited. I thought we might like a little variety for once.”
“I heard that!” Rachel yelled from across the room, already mixing cocktails.
“I intended you to.” Shep shot back.
“Whatever it is, it smells great.” Keith grabbed a spoon from the counter and moved to dip it into the bubbling pot.
“Stop that!” Shep slapped Keith’s hand away from the bubbling pot.
“I was only trying to taste it.”
“Fine.” Shep held out the spoon to let Keith taste the sauce, before gently shoving Keith away from the stove and towards the table.
As they ate, the subject naturally turned to teaching. Just before dessert, Jon poured more drinks and turned to Anderson.
“So, what brings you to Fairview?”
Anderson was absentmindedly fiddling with jigsaw pieces as he answered.
“Well, it was my original plan, in university, to teach. After I graduated though, my uncle offered me a position working for him in New York, and teaching kind of fell by the wayside.” He snapped some of Napoleon’s horse into place. “But then I needed a change of pace, so I went back to my advisor from university, and… here I am.”
“This is your first job?”
“Yeah. I think my advisor knows Larry, she suggested it. I was offered a position at Sadler-West as well, but I kind of wanted to teach in public school, so…”
“A man after Keith’s heart,” Shep grinned. “Didn’t you once say you’d retire and work in Starbucks before you’d teach private school.”
Rachel laughed. “I think he’s said it more than once.”
“It’s true.” Keith insisted. “Private schools are destroying the education system.”
“There are lots of positives to private schools.”
Glancing around the room, Anderson saw Jon and Stephen exchange a look, paired with a dismissve hand gesture before they dug back into dessert. Keith and Anderson started tossing remarks back and forth at each other, as Rachel watched them bicker, a gentle smile on her face. Anderson kept an ear open as he snapped more pieces into place.
“You can’t blame parents if they want to get their kids a better education.”
“They wouldn’t have to send their kids to private schools if good teachers weren’t abandoning the public schools.”
A few minutes later, he looked up, and Jon, Stephen and Rachel’s expressions had changed, and a strange tension had settled across the table. Keith and Shep were both leaning forward on the table, still firing comments back and forth.
“There are certain benefits that no public school can give, Keith. It doesn’t matter how good they are.”
“What about all the people that can’t afford it?”
“It’s not a perfect system, but it’s not as bad as you’re making out.”
Keith finished his drink and leant back in his chair.
“Once you start working in private schools, you’ve abandoned education.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“No. As soon as you take the cheque and start caring more about profit and national rankings and test scores ahead of actual kids, you can barely call yourself a teach…”
Shep shoved his chair back, angrily knocking it to the floor before storming out. After the door slammed, Rachel, Jon, and Stephen exchanged loaded glances and Rachel reached across the table and gave Keith a hard smack upside the head.
“What the fuck, Rachel?”
She stood up sharply. “Anderson, can you give me a hand in the hallway?”
He withdrew his hand from the jigsaw and followed Rachel into the hallway, where she leant heavily against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting. Looking up, she patted the floor next to her, and Anderson sat down.
“Don’t worry,” she siad. “We shouldn’t be out here long.”
“What’s happened?”
“Em…” She looked like she was arranging information in her head. “Keith and Shep have a… combative friendship, you could say.”
“Does this happen a lot?”
“Well, I don’t think Shep’s ever left before, but up to then, pretty much.”
“Why?”
“Well, Keith’s not the best at diverging opinions.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
She smiled. “It’ll be fine, I think.”
“So why are we out here?”
“Because Stephen and Jon have known him a lot longer, and will be far more ruthless in telling him to cop the fuck on. I don’t think I’d be able to get the point across without slapping him again, and not really saying anything.”
“Ah.”
After a few minutes, Rachel crawled a little down the hallway and pressed her ear against the door.
“I think they’re done.”
They re-entered the room to find a tense but silent scene. Everybody was studiously avoiding making any eye contact, and Keith was gazing steadily into the bottom of his glass. Rachel clapped her hands together.
“Right kids. School night and everything…”
That seemed to break the tension in the room, as they all made delicate small talk as they filtered out to the driveway. Stephen and Jon climed into Jon’s car and Rachel pulled Anderson into a hug as Keith headed towards his.
“Thanks for dinner.”
“Sorry about all this. You are allowed not talk to him in the car if he’s acting like an asshole.”
Once in the car, Keith fiddled with the stations again and the rest of the ride passed in relative silence. As they got out of the car, Keith turned to him.
“About that…”
“It’s nothing Keith.” Anderson awkwardly fiddled with the trim around his door, trying to avoid looking like he was thinking anything in particular. “Good night.”
“Night.”
*****
On Tuesday morning, Keith was still avoiding Brian, and quickly running out of hiding places. His classroom was out, obviously, and now the smoking area and the faculty lounge were becoming dangerous. So now he found himself skulking about the tiny backstage, choking on the copious amounts of glitter Stephen was hurling about the place, trying to create a sense of wonder. Peering around a flat he could see fifteen students lying on the stage and Stephen halfway up a stepladder, shouting about something. Brushing more glitter off his shoulders, he turned to try and squeeze further back into the darkness when a hand landed heavily on his shoulder.
Fuck.
He turned around slowly. “Oh, hey there Brian. Haven’t seen you in a while…”
“Yeah, right.” Brian grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly into the hallway. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“Have I? That can’t be right, I didn’t even know you were looking for me...”
“Excellent. Then you won’t have a problem with what…”
“I am not doing PTA.” Keith was trying hard to maintain his sense of authority.
“So you did know I was looking for you.”
“Bri-an…”
“Keith, I don’t give into my students when they whine, what gives you any impression you’ll be any more successful?”
Brian turned and started down the hallway, leaving Keith no option but to follow him.
“Come on Brian. I took the PTA all last year. Larry promised I wouldn’t have to go near them again.”
“Unfortunately, Larry underestimated the effect you had on them. The new president asked for you specifically.”
“What about Stephen or Rachel? Everybody loves Stephen and Rachel. I’m sure if they met someone else…”
Brian stopped shortly and turned to face him.
“Mrs. Henderson was quite specific Keith. She’d still be in my office if I hadn’t agreed to it.”
He turned to leave. “The first meeting is in three weeks. Bring the new teachers, they’ll have to go sooner or later.”
As he walked away, Keith slumped. “Can’t you take it?”
Brian paused slightly and turned to reply. “God no. I wouldn’t go near them.”
If Keith’s first-period students had thought he was in a bad mood, that afternoon’s classes were in for a surprise.
*****
Anderson was taking a short break from correcting papers when someone knocked on his door. Jerking his head up from the desk, he hurriedly shuffled everything into piles before calling them in.
“Keith.” Anderson paused, trying to remember if there was a reason for his presence.
“You’ve got some ink on your face.”
Anderson’s hand rubbed roughly against the wrong part of his face.
“No, here.” Keith leaned forward and rubbed the blotch off Anderson’s temple with his cuff. When he withdrew his hand Anderson’s leapt up as if to check the skin.
“What’s up Keith?”
“I was wondering if I could ask you a huge favour?”
He leant back in his chair. “Do you need a lift somewhere?”
Keith smiled embarrassedly. “In a manner of speaking.”
Anderson looked around the empty classroom. “Now?”
Keith checked his watch. “Now would be great, but if you’re busy I could…”
“Now’s fine.” Anderson shoved everything on his desk into a drawer or his bag. “If I look at any more op-eds I think I’ll have to kill someone.”
Once they were in the car, Keith starting giving quick directions and fiddling with the radio again, before he realised it was still on the station from Monday night.
“Where are we going?”
“Sadler-West.”
“Oh. Okay.” Anderson’s fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel. “Is this about…”
“What? Oh, not at all. This has absolutely nothing to do with that.”
Keith directed them to pull into the parking lot near the football field.
“Try not to look obvious.”
“What are we doing here?”
“There’s a game next week. Shep said they had a new quarterback.”
Anderson turned to him with an arched eybrow. “Keith, are we spying?”
“A bit.”
Anderson’s brow only got higher as Keith pulled some binoculars out of his bag.
“Seriously? I know we’re back in high school, but isn’t this a little ridiculous?”
“Is there anyway we can get closer to the field?”
“I thought we were trying to be discrete?”
“Just a little closer? Please?”
Anderson inched the car a little closer and parked. Keith stared intently through his binoculars, making notes and eating Skittles.
Anderson leant back in his seat. “This could not be any more juvenile if we were drinking port and cointreau from tupperware and you were trying to get in my pants.”
Keith turned and gave him a funny look.
“Sorry. That sounded far more benign in my head. I wasn’t implying…”
He was cut off when Keith suddenly ducked as far down as he could.
Anderson looked around the parking lot to figure out what had set him off, and saw Shep crossing across to his own car. Which seemed to be parked quite near.
“Okay, I was wrong. This is a new level of high school.”
“Can we leave?”
“You haven’t got your seatbelt on.”
“Fuck seatbelts, I’ll do it outside.”
Anderson rolled his eyes and turned the engine over. But as he was about to pull out Shep passed by the car and stopped, confused. He walked over and knocked gently on the window.
He rolled the window down. “Oh, hey Shep.”
“Anderson... What are you doing here?” He peered through the car directly at Keith.
“Em… We were just…” He looked at Keith for help, but the other man remained silent.
“Fine.” Shep’s words were clipped. “I’ll see you around.”
He turned sharply and headed towards his own car. Anderson looked over at Keith, who appeared to be struggling with something.
“Can you give me a second?”
Anderson nodded and Keith jumped out of the car to follow Shep. He watched through the window as Keith approached the other man, who turned away and tried to enter his car before he reached him. Keith laid his hands on his shoulders to prevent his escaping. It took about ten minutes of Keith’s talking before Shep’s expression changed, and another five before Keith seemed to feel secure enough to drop his hands from his shoulders. One of them gave a gentle tug on his lapel before dropping completely away.
Shep’s face softened and they shook hands before he climbed into his car. Keith waved as he departed before heading back to Anderson.
“Are we done?”
“Yeah.”
As they pulled out, Anderson risked a glance at Keith, still with a funny look on his face.
“Okay?”
Keith dropped his bag and rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands.“Yeah.”
*****
The next week, Anderson met Rachel and Stephen in the parking lot before the game. Rachel appeared to be fiddling with three seperate hipflasks, trying to fit them in her pockets in an unobtrusive way, before they left the parking lot.
Anderson scratched his head. “So this game doesn’t even mean anything?”
“Technically, no. But don’t let Keith hear you say that.” She finally managed to flatten the flasks down before taking Anderson and Stephen’s arms and leading them into the stadium.
“Nonsense!” Stephen interrupted. “If we do not prove our might against the evil opposition how can we know that we’re better then them?”
“It’s really that important?”
“Ignore him.” They’d stopped about halfway down the stand as Rachel looked around for people. “The first game of the year is always against Sadler-West. It’s supposed to be a friendly non-competitive game, but certain people take it very seriously indeed.”
She tilted her head towards Keith, who was waiting outside the locker rooms for the team to finish changing before he tried to get them in the fighting spirit.
Anderson looked around the stadium as it slowly filled with people. Pockets of students were clumped together around the bleachers, Kelly was leading the cheerleaders in some extremely complicated warm ups, and parents had arranged themselves in seats depending on how dedicated they were to either their children or the sport itself.
Jon and some other teachers had wandered over. Rob and John were arguing about something, and Nate was consulting his notebook.
“Okay. Sadler-West are -20 for overall winners, -15 for a spread of 10, and Barcley is +30 to make the first touchdown.”
There was a pause for a few seconds as notes were made and wagers were placed, before Nate wandered off in search of Jeff Corwin. John was bitching about the inherent superiority of rugby over football as Shep approached, a small blonde fixed fast to his side.
“Good evening gentlemen, Rachel.”
“Hey Shep, hello Gretchen. What brings you to this side of the field?”
“Oh, Shep wanted to say hello, and I thought I should join him to make sure he came back.” She laughed lightly and Anderson could already see her setting the rest of the group’s teeth on edge.
Stephen leaned in to shake her hand dramatically, forcing her to release Shep. “Just so long as you haven’t come to gloat early.”
Shep took advantage her distraction to take a step to the side. “Aw, you know we wouldn’t be tempting fate like that. Not that fate couldn’t take a lot of tempting in this situation before we’d risk the tide changing.”
Rachel’s eyes twinkled as Shep inched further away from Gretchen, who seemed slightly bemused by Stephen’s enthusiastic attentions. Not that she didn’t appear to be enjoying them.
“You’re a true gentleman, Shep.” Rachel gestured across the field. “But I think this might be our year.”
“Nate doesn’t think so.”
“Nate has no passion for the sport.” She pointed over towards the locker rooms. “Keith’s over there, if you wanted to talk to him.”
Shep moved to head towards Keith, but Gretchen had already fastened herself back to his side, so all he could manage was an exaggerated wave at the other man before being uncerimoniously dragged back across the field to the Sadler-West side.
Rob headed over to join Keith on the sidelines as the rest of them moved to the bleachers. Once they were seated way up in the back, Rachel dug out her hipflasks and passed them around.
She handed on to Anderson. “It’s a sidecar.”
“I’ve got my car.”
She grinned. “You know, I’m starting to think this driving is just an excuse to avoid letting your guard down around us.”
“Next time there’s something important, I’ll leave my car at home.”
“Is that a promise Mr. Cooper?”
“Yes. Keith will have to find his own way home.”
*****
The game passed without incident, so far as Anderson was concerned. They waited for Keith as the stadium quickly emptied and he appeared to be fighting with a pile of equipment. Rob and John had wandered off soon after the final whistle, leaving the four of them alone, finishing off the ends of Rachel’s flasks. She was excited.
“Didn’t we lose?” Anderson was confused.
“Yes. But only by four!!”
“Uh oh.” Jon shifted forward in his seat, calling everyone’s attention to the field. Some men were swaggering their way over from the opposition’s side, followed closely by Shep.
“Don’t worry.” Stephen was dismissive. “O’Reilly won’t actually do anything, he’ll just bluster for a little, Keith will roll his eyes and we can go home.”
“O’Reilly’s not the problem…” Jon trailed off as he stood up from his seat and started down towards the field. Stephen and Rachel were a few steps behind, and Anderson followed carefully after them.
When they arrived at the grouping, Shep was standing between Keith and the other two men, trying unsuccessfully to keep the situation calm as Keith and the younger of the two men threw angry glares at each other. The older of the two was standing slightly back, looking far too much like he was enjoying himself.
Stephen, Rachel’s flask still in his hand, strode excitedly into the middle of the men. “Good game Mr. O’Reilly, Mr. Beck. Glad to see that throwing money at something is still a successful game plan.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s like Keith was saying yesterday.” Stephen stepped forward to clap Keith on the shoulder. “What was it Keith? Something about money and talent and worthless bastards?”
“Oh, Keith, Keith, Keith. It’s hardly our fault if people are interested in giving money to a team that actually wins things. But then, I suppose sponsors don’t like investing in a team with such shoddy management.” The younger man looked inordinately pleased with himself.
Keith laughed. “Is that the best you can do Beck?” He turned to the older man. “Not fighting your own battles any more?”
Beck turned back to the older man, as if checking for approval, before looking back at Keith. “But then, it doesn’t matter how terrible you are at coaching, your team are so pathetic they couldn’t win if Vince Lombardi was coaching them.”
At that, Keith launched himself at Beck, knocking the other man to the ground. About twenty things seemed to happen at once as Shep, Jon and Rachel pulled the two men appart, restraining them as they tried to attack each other further. The second Shep’s hold on Beck loosened though, and he surged forward, his fist connecting with Keith’s face with a sharp crack.
Shep dropped Beck to the grass and stepped over to Keith. Blood gushed from his nose and the four of them stood about him, nervously running through the situation in their eyes.
Beck and O’Reilly had disappeared.
“We should probably get him to the ER, just in case.” Everyone turned to look at Anderson.
“I’ll drive.”
*****
Jon and Stephen had been called home by wives and children, leaving Anderson, Shep and Rachel in the waiting room Keith finally emerged at half past one, bruised but unbandaged.
“It’s not broken.”
“Hallelujah. Does that mean we can leave?”
“I’m touched Maddow, really. This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t got Stephen hammered.”
“How was I supposed to know you were going to pick a fight with the biggest idiot in the state?”
Shep laughed. “C’mon Rachel, I could have told you that.”
“Fine.” She threw up her hands. “I’m just glad you’re not permanently enfeebled.”
“I can’t believe you all waited.”
“I only wanted to make sure you weren’t sufficiantly injured to sue my school.”
“Charming.”
“I thought you’d need a lift. You’re lucky though, because one-forty five was my cut-off.”
“Thanks.”
They arrived outside, and Shep turned to face them.
“In the future, can you try your best to remember that whilst Glen might be the biggest idiot you’re likely to meet in a faculty lounge anywhere, I am still required to work with him?”
“I’ll try my best.”
Shep jumped into a taxi, leaving the three of them on the sidewalk.
Rachel turned to the two men.“You can leave, I’ll get a cab easily.”
Anderson smiled. “I don’t think my mother would approve of my leaving an unaccompanied lady on the street at half past one.”
Keith rolled his eyes. “The fact that you just called her a lady implies that you can’t have spoken to her more than once.”
They waited fifteen minutes, and no cab appeared. Rachel turned to Anderson with a embarrassedly questioning face. He laughed.
“Bet you’re glad I didn’t leave my car behind now.”
“Ecstatic.”
Chapter Three: In which there is PTA, drunkeness, and gratuitous Halloween-related nudity (of the Ana Marie variety)
Author: duckgirlie
Rating: PG-13 (for language, this chapter)
Summary: In his new job at Fairview High, Anderson Cooper begins to realise that teaching may not be quite as he imagined it.
Pairings/Characters: Anderson, Keith, Jon, Stephen, Rachel, and Shep. (Though almost everyone will make an appearance at some point.) No pairings yet.
Warnings: High School AU
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: This fic is mostly gen, but there are pairings in the later chapters.
Much thanks to themistoklis greenpixiehair for betaing, encouragement, and reassurance.
Chapter One: In which there is excessive drinking, hiding from Brian Williams, and varying degrees of welcome
Anderson was back at the school at eight to pick Keith up. By twenty past he still hadn’t appeared and Anderson had to get out of the car and go looking for him.
“Still hiding from Brian?”
“I think even he’s gone by now.” Keith checked his watch. “Shit. Sorry to keep you.”
“It’s fine, I haven’t been waiting long.”
“I was grading papers. The time got away from me.”
As he shut the door behind them, Keith grabbed a few post-its that were stuck to it and crumpled them in his pocket.
“Walking around school after hours is always a strange feeling. Like you’ve stumbled into the first draft of something.”
“I suppose.” Anderson pulled the door to his car open. “I always feel like Freddy Kruger is about to jump out behind something and remove parts of me.”
“I think I like mine better.”
As Keith gave directions and fiddled with the stereo, it became apparent that Rachel lived in the complete middle of nowhere. Keith had wheeled through 46 radio stations and finally settled on something from the early 70s just as they were pulling into her driveway.
Rachel opened the door enthusiastically before he even had a chance to knock. She was barefoot, and drinking something purple from a martini glass.
“If my casserole is ruined, I’m blaming you.”
“If your casserole is ruined, I am probably the least to blame.”
Elbowing Keith out of the way, Rachel led Anderson into the kitchen. “Welcome to my house. That entire side is uninhabitable, so don’t turn left down any of the hallways.”
Anderson and Keith seemed to be the last to arrive, because Rachel’s kitchen already looked crowded. Stephen was sitting at the end of the table, apparently picking glitter out of his hair, Jon was flicking absent-mindedly through the paper, and Shep was by the stove, stirring something. Everyone was still dressed in shirts, except for Stephen, who appeared to be wearing a doublet.
He hung nervously in the doorway for a few minutes until Rachel dragged him inside and shoved him into a seat. Her kitchen table was far too big for the room, and currently half covered in a giant jigsaw. Keith had wandered over to the stove and was already fiddling with things.
“I thought Rachel was cooking?”
“Rachel’s cooking, whilst delicious, is somewhat limited. I thought we might like a little variety for once.”
“I heard that!” Rachel yelled from across the room, already mixing cocktails.
“I intended you to.” Shep shot back.
“Whatever it is, it smells great.” Keith grabbed a spoon from the counter and moved to dip it into the bubbling pot.
“Stop that!” Shep slapped Keith’s hand away from the bubbling pot.
“I was only trying to taste it.”
“Fine.” Shep held out the spoon to let Keith taste the sauce, before gently shoving Keith away from the stove and towards the table.
As they ate, the subject naturally turned to teaching. Just before dessert, Jon poured more drinks and turned to Anderson.
“So, what brings you to Fairview?”
Anderson was absentmindedly fiddling with jigsaw pieces as he answered.
“Well, it was my original plan, in university, to teach. After I graduated though, my uncle offered me a position working for him in New York, and teaching kind of fell by the wayside.” He snapped some of Napoleon’s horse into place. “But then I needed a change of pace, so I went back to my advisor from university, and… here I am.”
“This is your first job?”
“Yeah. I think my advisor knows Larry, she suggested it. I was offered a position at Sadler-West as well, but I kind of wanted to teach in public school, so…”
“A man after Keith’s heart,” Shep grinned. “Didn’t you once say you’d retire and work in Starbucks before you’d teach private school.”
Rachel laughed. “I think he’s said it more than once.”
“It’s true.” Keith insisted. “Private schools are destroying the education system.”
“There are lots of positives to private schools.”
Glancing around the room, Anderson saw Jon and Stephen exchange a look, paired with a dismissve hand gesture before they dug back into dessert. Keith and Anderson started tossing remarks back and forth at each other, as Rachel watched them bicker, a gentle smile on her face. Anderson kept an ear open as he snapped more pieces into place.
“You can’t blame parents if they want to get their kids a better education.”
“They wouldn’t have to send their kids to private schools if good teachers weren’t abandoning the public schools.”
A few minutes later, he looked up, and Jon, Stephen and Rachel’s expressions had changed, and a strange tension had settled across the table. Keith and Shep were both leaning forward on the table, still firing comments back and forth.
“There are certain benefits that no public school can give, Keith. It doesn’t matter how good they are.”
“What about all the people that can’t afford it?”
“It’s not a perfect system, but it’s not as bad as you’re making out.”
Keith finished his drink and leant back in his chair.
“Once you start working in private schools, you’ve abandoned education.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“No. As soon as you take the cheque and start caring more about profit and national rankings and test scores ahead of actual kids, you can barely call yourself a teach…”
Shep shoved his chair back, angrily knocking it to the floor before storming out. After the door slammed, Rachel, Jon, and Stephen exchanged loaded glances and Rachel reached across the table and gave Keith a hard smack upside the head.
“What the fuck, Rachel?”
She stood up sharply. “Anderson, can you give me a hand in the hallway?”
He withdrew his hand from the jigsaw and followed Rachel into the hallway, where she leant heavily against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting. Looking up, she patted the floor next to her, and Anderson sat down.
“Don’t worry,” she siad. “We shouldn’t be out here long.”
“What’s happened?”
“Em…” She looked like she was arranging information in her head. “Keith and Shep have a… combative friendship, you could say.”
“Does this happen a lot?”
“Well, I don’t think Shep’s ever left before, but up to then, pretty much.”
“Why?”
“Well, Keith’s not the best at diverging opinions.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
She smiled. “It’ll be fine, I think.”
“So why are we out here?”
“Because Stephen and Jon have known him a lot longer, and will be far more ruthless in telling him to cop the fuck on. I don’t think I’d be able to get the point across without slapping him again, and not really saying anything.”
“Ah.”
After a few minutes, Rachel crawled a little down the hallway and pressed her ear against the door.
“I think they’re done.”
They re-entered the room to find a tense but silent scene. Everybody was studiously avoiding making any eye contact, and Keith was gazing steadily into the bottom of his glass. Rachel clapped her hands together.
“Right kids. School night and everything…”
That seemed to break the tension in the room, as they all made delicate small talk as they filtered out to the driveway. Stephen and Jon climed into Jon’s car and Rachel pulled Anderson into a hug as Keith headed towards his.
“Thanks for dinner.”
“Sorry about all this. You are allowed not talk to him in the car if he’s acting like an asshole.”
Once in the car, Keith fiddled with the stations again and the rest of the ride passed in relative silence. As they got out of the car, Keith turned to him.
“About that…”
“It’s nothing Keith.” Anderson awkwardly fiddled with the trim around his door, trying to avoid looking like he was thinking anything in particular. “Good night.”
“Night.”
*****
On Tuesday morning, Keith was still avoiding Brian, and quickly running out of hiding places. His classroom was out, obviously, and now the smoking area and the faculty lounge were becoming dangerous. So now he found himself skulking about the tiny backstage, choking on the copious amounts of glitter Stephen was hurling about the place, trying to create a sense of wonder. Peering around a flat he could see fifteen students lying on the stage and Stephen halfway up a stepladder, shouting about something. Brushing more glitter off his shoulders, he turned to try and squeeze further back into the darkness when a hand landed heavily on his shoulder.
Fuck.
He turned around slowly. “Oh, hey there Brian. Haven’t seen you in a while…”
“Yeah, right.” Brian grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly into the hallway. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“Have I? That can’t be right, I didn’t even know you were looking for me...”
“Excellent. Then you won’t have a problem with what…”
“I am not doing PTA.” Keith was trying hard to maintain his sense of authority.
“So you did know I was looking for you.”
“Bri-an…”
“Keith, I don’t give into my students when they whine, what gives you any impression you’ll be any more successful?”
Brian turned and started down the hallway, leaving Keith no option but to follow him.
“Come on Brian. I took the PTA all last year. Larry promised I wouldn’t have to go near them again.”
“Unfortunately, Larry underestimated the effect you had on them. The new president asked for you specifically.”
“What about Stephen or Rachel? Everybody loves Stephen and Rachel. I’m sure if they met someone else…”
Brian stopped shortly and turned to face him.
“Mrs. Henderson was quite specific Keith. She’d still be in my office if I hadn’t agreed to it.”
He turned to leave. “The first meeting is in three weeks. Bring the new teachers, they’ll have to go sooner or later.”
As he walked away, Keith slumped. “Can’t you take it?”
Brian paused slightly and turned to reply. “God no. I wouldn’t go near them.”
If Keith’s first-period students had thought he was in a bad mood, that afternoon’s classes were in for a surprise.
*****
Anderson was taking a short break from correcting papers when someone knocked on his door. Jerking his head up from the desk, he hurriedly shuffled everything into piles before calling them in.
“Keith.” Anderson paused, trying to remember if there was a reason for his presence.
“You’ve got some ink on your face.”
Anderson’s hand rubbed roughly against the wrong part of his face.
“No, here.” Keith leaned forward and rubbed the blotch off Anderson’s temple with his cuff. When he withdrew his hand Anderson’s leapt up as if to check the skin.
“What’s up Keith?”
“I was wondering if I could ask you a huge favour?”
He leant back in his chair. “Do you need a lift somewhere?”
Keith smiled embarrassedly. “In a manner of speaking.”
Anderson looked around the empty classroom. “Now?”
Keith checked his watch. “Now would be great, but if you’re busy I could…”
“Now’s fine.” Anderson shoved everything on his desk into a drawer or his bag. “If I look at any more op-eds I think I’ll have to kill someone.”
Once they were in the car, Keith starting giving quick directions and fiddling with the radio again, before he realised it was still on the station from Monday night.
“Where are we going?”
“Sadler-West.”
“Oh. Okay.” Anderson’s fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel. “Is this about…”
“What? Oh, not at all. This has absolutely nothing to do with that.”
Keith directed them to pull into the parking lot near the football field.
“Try not to look obvious.”
“What are we doing here?”
“There’s a game next week. Shep said they had a new quarterback.”
Anderson turned to him with an arched eybrow. “Keith, are we spying?”
“A bit.”
Anderson’s brow only got higher as Keith pulled some binoculars out of his bag.
“Seriously? I know we’re back in high school, but isn’t this a little ridiculous?”
“Is there anyway we can get closer to the field?”
“I thought we were trying to be discrete?”
“Just a little closer? Please?”
Anderson inched the car a little closer and parked. Keith stared intently through his binoculars, making notes and eating Skittles.
Anderson leant back in his seat. “This could not be any more juvenile if we were drinking port and cointreau from tupperware and you were trying to get in my pants.”
Keith turned and gave him a funny look.
“Sorry. That sounded far more benign in my head. I wasn’t implying…”
He was cut off when Keith suddenly ducked as far down as he could.
Anderson looked around the parking lot to figure out what had set him off, and saw Shep crossing across to his own car. Which seemed to be parked quite near.
“Okay, I was wrong. This is a new level of high school.”
“Can we leave?”
“You haven’t got your seatbelt on.”
“Fuck seatbelts, I’ll do it outside.”
Anderson rolled his eyes and turned the engine over. But as he was about to pull out Shep passed by the car and stopped, confused. He walked over and knocked gently on the window.
He rolled the window down. “Oh, hey Shep.”
“Anderson... What are you doing here?” He peered through the car directly at Keith.
“Em… We were just…” He looked at Keith for help, but the other man remained silent.
“Fine.” Shep’s words were clipped. “I’ll see you around.”
He turned sharply and headed towards his own car. Anderson looked over at Keith, who appeared to be struggling with something.
“Can you give me a second?”
Anderson nodded and Keith jumped out of the car to follow Shep. He watched through the window as Keith approached the other man, who turned away and tried to enter his car before he reached him. Keith laid his hands on his shoulders to prevent his escaping. It took about ten minutes of Keith’s talking before Shep’s expression changed, and another five before Keith seemed to feel secure enough to drop his hands from his shoulders. One of them gave a gentle tug on his lapel before dropping completely away.
Shep’s face softened and they shook hands before he climbed into his car. Keith waved as he departed before heading back to Anderson.
“Are we done?”
“Yeah.”
As they pulled out, Anderson risked a glance at Keith, still with a funny look on his face.
“Okay?”
Keith dropped his bag and rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands.“Yeah.”
*****
The next week, Anderson met Rachel and Stephen in the parking lot before the game. Rachel appeared to be fiddling with three seperate hipflasks, trying to fit them in her pockets in an unobtrusive way, before they left the parking lot.
Anderson scratched his head. “So this game doesn’t even mean anything?”
“Technically, no. But don’t let Keith hear you say that.” She finally managed to flatten the flasks down before taking Anderson and Stephen’s arms and leading them into the stadium.
“Nonsense!” Stephen interrupted. “If we do not prove our might against the evil opposition how can we know that we’re better then them?”
“It’s really that important?”
“Ignore him.” They’d stopped about halfway down the stand as Rachel looked around for people. “The first game of the year is always against Sadler-West. It’s supposed to be a friendly non-competitive game, but certain people take it very seriously indeed.”
She tilted her head towards Keith, who was waiting outside the locker rooms for the team to finish changing before he tried to get them in the fighting spirit.
Anderson looked around the stadium as it slowly filled with people. Pockets of students were clumped together around the bleachers, Kelly was leading the cheerleaders in some extremely complicated warm ups, and parents had arranged themselves in seats depending on how dedicated they were to either their children or the sport itself.
Jon and some other teachers had wandered over. Rob and John were arguing about something, and Nate was consulting his notebook.
“Okay. Sadler-West are -20 for overall winners, -15 for a spread of 10, and Barcley is +30 to make the first touchdown.”
There was a pause for a few seconds as notes were made and wagers were placed, before Nate wandered off in search of Jeff Corwin. John was bitching about the inherent superiority of rugby over football as Shep approached, a small blonde fixed fast to his side.
“Good evening gentlemen, Rachel.”
“Hey Shep, hello Gretchen. What brings you to this side of the field?”
“Oh, Shep wanted to say hello, and I thought I should join him to make sure he came back.” She laughed lightly and Anderson could already see her setting the rest of the group’s teeth on edge.
Stephen leaned in to shake her hand dramatically, forcing her to release Shep. “Just so long as you haven’t come to gloat early.”
Shep took advantage her distraction to take a step to the side. “Aw, you know we wouldn’t be tempting fate like that. Not that fate couldn’t take a lot of tempting in this situation before we’d risk the tide changing.”
Rachel’s eyes twinkled as Shep inched further away from Gretchen, who seemed slightly bemused by Stephen’s enthusiastic attentions. Not that she didn’t appear to be enjoying them.
“You’re a true gentleman, Shep.” Rachel gestured across the field. “But I think this might be our year.”
“Nate doesn’t think so.”
“Nate has no passion for the sport.” She pointed over towards the locker rooms. “Keith’s over there, if you wanted to talk to him.”
Shep moved to head towards Keith, but Gretchen had already fastened herself back to his side, so all he could manage was an exaggerated wave at the other man before being uncerimoniously dragged back across the field to the Sadler-West side.
Rob headed over to join Keith on the sidelines as the rest of them moved to the bleachers. Once they were seated way up in the back, Rachel dug out her hipflasks and passed them around.
She handed on to Anderson. “It’s a sidecar.”
“I’ve got my car.”
She grinned. “You know, I’m starting to think this driving is just an excuse to avoid letting your guard down around us.”
“Next time there’s something important, I’ll leave my car at home.”
“Is that a promise Mr. Cooper?”
“Yes. Keith will have to find his own way home.”
*****
The game passed without incident, so far as Anderson was concerned. They waited for Keith as the stadium quickly emptied and he appeared to be fighting with a pile of equipment. Rob and John had wandered off soon after the final whistle, leaving the four of them alone, finishing off the ends of Rachel’s flasks. She was excited.
“Didn’t we lose?” Anderson was confused.
“Yes. But only by four!!”
“Uh oh.” Jon shifted forward in his seat, calling everyone’s attention to the field. Some men were swaggering their way over from the opposition’s side, followed closely by Shep.
“Don’t worry.” Stephen was dismissive. “O’Reilly won’t actually do anything, he’ll just bluster for a little, Keith will roll his eyes and we can go home.”
“O’Reilly’s not the problem…” Jon trailed off as he stood up from his seat and started down towards the field. Stephen and Rachel were a few steps behind, and Anderson followed carefully after them.
When they arrived at the grouping, Shep was standing between Keith and the other two men, trying unsuccessfully to keep the situation calm as Keith and the younger of the two men threw angry glares at each other. The older of the two was standing slightly back, looking far too much like he was enjoying himself.
Stephen, Rachel’s flask still in his hand, strode excitedly into the middle of the men. “Good game Mr. O’Reilly, Mr. Beck. Glad to see that throwing money at something is still a successful game plan.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s like Keith was saying yesterday.” Stephen stepped forward to clap Keith on the shoulder. “What was it Keith? Something about money and talent and worthless bastards?”
“Oh, Keith, Keith, Keith. It’s hardly our fault if people are interested in giving money to a team that actually wins things. But then, I suppose sponsors don’t like investing in a team with such shoddy management.” The younger man looked inordinately pleased with himself.
Keith laughed. “Is that the best you can do Beck?” He turned to the older man. “Not fighting your own battles any more?”
Beck turned back to the older man, as if checking for approval, before looking back at Keith. “But then, it doesn’t matter how terrible you are at coaching, your team are so pathetic they couldn’t win if Vince Lombardi was coaching them.”
At that, Keith launched himself at Beck, knocking the other man to the ground. About twenty things seemed to happen at once as Shep, Jon and Rachel pulled the two men appart, restraining them as they tried to attack each other further. The second Shep’s hold on Beck loosened though, and he surged forward, his fist connecting with Keith’s face with a sharp crack.
Shep dropped Beck to the grass and stepped over to Keith. Blood gushed from his nose and the four of them stood about him, nervously running through the situation in their eyes.
Beck and O’Reilly had disappeared.
“We should probably get him to the ER, just in case.” Everyone turned to look at Anderson.
“I’ll drive.”
*****
Jon and Stephen had been called home by wives and children, leaving Anderson, Shep and Rachel in the waiting room Keith finally emerged at half past one, bruised but unbandaged.
“It’s not broken.”
“Hallelujah. Does that mean we can leave?”
“I’m touched Maddow, really. This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t got Stephen hammered.”
“How was I supposed to know you were going to pick a fight with the biggest idiot in the state?”
Shep laughed. “C’mon Rachel, I could have told you that.”
“Fine.” She threw up her hands. “I’m just glad you’re not permanently enfeebled.”
“I can’t believe you all waited.”
“I only wanted to make sure you weren’t sufficiantly injured to sue my school.”
“Charming.”
“I thought you’d need a lift. You’re lucky though, because one-forty five was my cut-off.”
“Thanks.”
They arrived outside, and Shep turned to face them.
“In the future, can you try your best to remember that whilst Glen might be the biggest idiot you’re likely to meet in a faculty lounge anywhere, I am still required to work with him?”
“I’ll try my best.”
Shep jumped into a taxi, leaving the three of them on the sidewalk.
Rachel turned to the two men.“You can leave, I’ll get a cab easily.”
Anderson smiled. “I don’t think my mother would approve of my leaving an unaccompanied lady on the street at half past one.”
Keith rolled his eyes. “The fact that you just called her a lady implies that you can’t have spoken to her more than once.”
They waited fifteen minutes, and no cab appeared. Rachel turned to Anderson with a embarrassedly questioning face. He laughed.
“Bet you’re glad I didn’t leave my car behind now.”
“Ecstatic.”
Chapter Three: In which there is PTA, drunkeness, and gratuitous Halloween-related nudity (of the Ana Marie variety)