Take Your Commander To Work Day Part Two: An Ikeaverse Installment
Rating: K+
Word Count: ~1200
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Summary: Laura learns more about Bill. They drive to the school. We learn more about Laura, her past, and the past, present, and potential future of the school.
A/N: This is part of an open 'verse, which begins with " Normaling"
After a very long and thoroughly enjoyable shower, followed up with coffee (hers light and sweet, his black), they were ready to go to the school. Laura had carefully laid out her outfit and assembled her bag the night before, so she was good to go. Her teacher mask was already firmly in place by the time they stepped out onto her front porch.
They had agreed to take Laura’s car, so she could drive. That was a fascinating conversation for Laura. When they were still in the shower, Bill said, “You should drive. We’ll take your car.”
She suspected there was a reason for that statement, but she couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease him. “You’ll let a woman drive?”
“I’ll let you drive anytime.”
That one sentence told her everything she needed to know about her relationship (whatever it was) with Bill. The man would never try to overpower her, and he’d never even want to. She had no idea what the future would hold for them, but Laura knew she’d enjoy her time with Bill greatly. The few days they’d spent together were among the best of her life.
So when they walked out the front door, they went to Laura’s car, which was sitting in the driveway next to the gargantuan Galactica. Laura placed her bag in the back seat and got in the drivers’ seat of her red Sunfire. Bill got in beside her, and they were on their way.
As they rode, Laura could tell Bill was relaxed. His breathing was even, and his posture was lose. She felt another burst of affection for the man beside her. His trust meant a lot to her. Bill Adama was both trusting and trustworthy, and that made him very special. If that had been the only thing she knew about the man, it would have been enough to tell her she wanted to get to know him better. But after only a few days, that fact was one of many that she’d picked up about her new friend. And she definitely wanted to get to know him better.
Bill’s state of ease helped Laura relax, and they had a easy ride. Laura had always found that she preferred to travel during odd hours. She liked to leave her house by 6:30 or 7:00 at the most, and she tried to be on the road either before or after evening rush hour. Like with most things, Laura was a careful driver, but she had no patience for traffic and avoided it as best she could. She organized her life accordingly.
Before long, they had arrived at the school. Laura parked into her preferred space. Her school didn’t have designated parking spaces except for the principals, but her tendency to arrive before nearly everyone else afforded her a primo parking spot every day. In her carefully constructed life, that mattered to Laura. Her morning routine was very important, and it was a frighteningly accurate indication of how her day would go. That morning was shaping up to look like it would be a good day, which was great because she really wanted Bill to see how great it was to work with kids.
Laura both loved and hated her job. When she had begun working there, fresh out of college, the high school was newly built. It was a center of rebirth and change with a culture of learning and knowledge. The faculty and staff acted like they were part of a family. Of course, Laura really did get to work with hers. At that time, her mother was still alive; she’d yet to develop the cancer that would eat her from the inside out, and she was teaching. From her mother, she’d inherited her twin loves of literature and teaching it. And there had never been a finer English teacher than Judith Roslin. The few years that Laura was able to work alongside her mother had given her invaluable knowledge of all things relating to pedagogy.
But things changed. Judith had to leave on medical leave; she was never able to return, and she died after a long and brutal fight. That in itself was a trying time for Laura, but that wasn’t the only change she-and the school faced. Many of the teachers who were at the school when Laura was hired started retiring. The kindly old principal retired; he was replaced with the self-serving Richard Adar. The culture of the school changed from one of a community of learning and knowledge among a staff of professionals to one of nepotism and greed. Not that the teachers being hired, weren’t qualified-Dr. Gaius Baltar was more than qualified to teach any science class, but he didn’t care about the students or their learning.
Laura suddenly became an outsider, but she didn’t let that stop her from doing her job as she saw fit. In her classroom, the children always came first. She tolerated the other staff members and focused on her work. And she had finally gotten a break two years prior when the Language Arts department chairperson retired. The superintendent offered her the position, and she accepted it, knowing she’d have nearly full control over the hires of all Language Arts teachers throughout the district and would be responsible for the curricula for each grade level. She had more than earned the right to accept the position, having spent years taking graduate courses, writing and publishing papers in education, and inspiring excellence in everyone she encountered.
With Laura running the English department, it became a beacon of light in an otherwise drab building. Her teachers were dedicated to their jobs. They wanted nothing more than to please their boss. Those who weren’t up to snuff, were given poor performance reviews and denied tenure. That didn’t mean Laura had a flawless department. There were teachers who were hired during the old regime with tenure, who didn’t fit their supervisor’s standards. While Laura had hiring power, she didn’t have firing power. So she was stuck with John Cavil and Aaron Doral. But she assigned them each study-halls, lav duties, lunch duties, and anything else where they couldn’t do much damage, which was a method of management Richard preferred himself. And it was working for the time being.
Laura’s office was a sanctuary, even when Starbuck was in it. From inside her office, Laura could control most of what went on in her wing of the school. It was a power she had never sought, but gladly accepted when she had the opportunity. It was the only way she could think of to help restore the school she loved to its former glory. Many people would have given up and taken their very impressive resume to another school, but Laura barely even considered it. She had never been a quitter, and it wouldn’t have been what her mother wanted. Judith would have been appalled by what the school turned into in the 15 years since her death, and she’d be fighting alongside her daughter to fix it. It was a fight Laura hoped Bill would join. She wasn’t sure what she had in mind for him, yet, but she knew he’d remain at her side all the way until the end.
Next Installment
Word Count: ~1200
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Summary: Laura learns more about Bill. They drive to the school. We learn more about Laura, her past, and the past, present, and potential future of the school.
A/N: This is part of an open 'verse, which begins with " Normaling"
After a very long and thoroughly enjoyable shower, followed up with coffee (hers light and sweet, his black), they were ready to go to the school. Laura had carefully laid out her outfit and assembled her bag the night before, so she was good to go. Her teacher mask was already firmly in place by the time they stepped out onto her front porch.
They had agreed to take Laura’s car, so she could drive. That was a fascinating conversation for Laura. When they were still in the shower, Bill said, “You should drive. We’ll take your car.”
She suspected there was a reason for that statement, but she couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease him. “You’ll let a woman drive?”
“I’ll let you drive anytime.”
That one sentence told her everything she needed to know about her relationship (whatever it was) with Bill. The man would never try to overpower her, and he’d never even want to. She had no idea what the future would hold for them, but Laura knew she’d enjoy her time with Bill greatly. The few days they’d spent together were among the best of her life.
So when they walked out the front door, they went to Laura’s car, which was sitting in the driveway next to the gargantuan Galactica. Laura placed her bag in the back seat and got in the drivers’ seat of her red Sunfire. Bill got in beside her, and they were on their way.
As they rode, Laura could tell Bill was relaxed. His breathing was even, and his posture was lose. She felt another burst of affection for the man beside her. His trust meant a lot to her. Bill Adama was both trusting and trustworthy, and that made him very special. If that had been the only thing she knew about the man, it would have been enough to tell her she wanted to get to know him better. But after only a few days, that fact was one of many that she’d picked up about her new friend. And she definitely wanted to get to know him better.
Bill’s state of ease helped Laura relax, and they had a easy ride. Laura had always found that she preferred to travel during odd hours. She liked to leave her house by 6:30 or 7:00 at the most, and she tried to be on the road either before or after evening rush hour. Like with most things, Laura was a careful driver, but she had no patience for traffic and avoided it as best she could. She organized her life accordingly.
Before long, they had arrived at the school. Laura parked into her preferred space. Her school didn’t have designated parking spaces except for the principals, but her tendency to arrive before nearly everyone else afforded her a primo parking spot every day. In her carefully constructed life, that mattered to Laura. Her morning routine was very important, and it was a frighteningly accurate indication of how her day would go. That morning was shaping up to look like it would be a good day, which was great because she really wanted Bill to see how great it was to work with kids.
Laura both loved and hated her job. When she had begun working there, fresh out of college, the high school was newly built. It was a center of rebirth and change with a culture of learning and knowledge. The faculty and staff acted like they were part of a family. Of course, Laura really did get to work with hers. At that time, her mother was still alive; she’d yet to develop the cancer that would eat her from the inside out, and she was teaching. From her mother, she’d inherited her twin loves of literature and teaching it. And there had never been a finer English teacher than Judith Roslin. The few years that Laura was able to work alongside her mother had given her invaluable knowledge of all things relating to pedagogy.
But things changed. Judith had to leave on medical leave; she was never able to return, and she died after a long and brutal fight. That in itself was a trying time for Laura, but that wasn’t the only change she-and the school faced. Many of the teachers who were at the school when Laura was hired started retiring. The kindly old principal retired; he was replaced with the self-serving Richard Adar. The culture of the school changed from one of a community of learning and knowledge among a staff of professionals to one of nepotism and greed. Not that the teachers being hired, weren’t qualified-Dr. Gaius Baltar was more than qualified to teach any science class, but he didn’t care about the students or their learning.
Laura suddenly became an outsider, but she didn’t let that stop her from doing her job as she saw fit. In her classroom, the children always came first. She tolerated the other staff members and focused on her work. And she had finally gotten a break two years prior when the Language Arts department chairperson retired. The superintendent offered her the position, and she accepted it, knowing she’d have nearly full control over the hires of all Language Arts teachers throughout the district and would be responsible for the curricula for each grade level. She had more than earned the right to accept the position, having spent years taking graduate courses, writing and publishing papers in education, and inspiring excellence in everyone she encountered.
With Laura running the English department, it became a beacon of light in an otherwise drab building. Her teachers were dedicated to their jobs. They wanted nothing more than to please their boss. Those who weren’t up to snuff, were given poor performance reviews and denied tenure. That didn’t mean Laura had a flawless department. There were teachers who were hired during the old regime with tenure, who didn’t fit their supervisor’s standards. While Laura had hiring power, she didn’t have firing power. So she was stuck with John Cavil and Aaron Doral. But she assigned them each study-halls, lav duties, lunch duties, and anything else where they couldn’t do much damage, which was a method of management Richard preferred himself. And it was working for the time being.
Laura’s office was a sanctuary, even when Starbuck was in it. From inside her office, Laura could control most of what went on in her wing of the school. It was a power she had never sought, but gladly accepted when she had the opportunity. It was the only way she could think of to help restore the school she loved to its former glory. Many people would have given up and taken their very impressive resume to another school, but Laura barely even considered it. She had never been a quitter, and it wouldn’t have been what her mother wanted. Judith would have been appalled by what the school turned into in the 15 years since her death, and she’d be fighting alongside her daughter to fix it. It was a fight Laura hoped Bill would join. She wasn’t sure what she had in mind for him, yet, but she knew he’d remain at her side all the way until the end.
Next Installment