So Cold

by klexpositions

In a desperate attempt to find a job, Kurt finds himself working as a teacher at an all-boys reform school called Dalton Academy. His goal is simply to survive a year with the delinquents and then hopefully pursue his real dreams, but what happens when one of those delinquents accidentally works his way into Kurt's heart? And what if that delinquent's name is Blaine Anderson?

Kurt had always hated his drives to school, usually because it meant that he would be spending another day swimming in a dumpster or getting a complementary slushie facial, but this time he wouldn't be attending school as a student. Kurt had just landed his first real job, if you didn't count his attempt at barista work, as a teacher at a reform school in Westerville, Ohio, called Dalton Academy. Burt knew a guy who knew a guy who got Kurt this job, since Kurt had been practically begging for one ever since his graduation.

Admittedly, he hadn't been excited for his new job when he had found out about the strict uniform policy, but he found that the teachers would just be expected to wear the school colors, not to the extent that the juveniles had to (or so Kurt called them). It wasn't that Kurt hated the idea of teaching at the reform school, it was just that Kurt thought of it as a stepping stone to further his career in acting. If he could "act" like he liked these kids for a year, he could do anything. (And he should probably earn a Tony for that alone).

Dalton Academy was an all-boys school, and truthfully he wasn't sure how that made him feel. Would the boys there be even worse than the jocks that had bullied him at McKinley? If he thought that those kids were bad, he certainly wasn't prepared for what Dalton Academy had to offer. Focus. Drive. Eyes on the road. Focus. Drive. Eyes on the road. Focus. Drive. Eyes on the—

Good luck today, kiddo –Burt

Kiddo. After all these 20 years, Burt still called him kiddo, but Kurt couldn't help but smile a little at the nickname. It wasn't until he heard a loud honk of a horn that he realized he had swerved out of his lane. He veered far right, breathing heavily as he refocused his eyes on the road. Focus. Drive. Eyes on the ROAD. Kurt sighed. If the morning was foreshadowing what the rest of his day would go like, he wasn't sure how glad he was that he had even woken up that morning.

He was having a lot of trouble focusing on driving when tons of other frightening thoughts circled around his head, each chasing the other for dominance in his mind. He really hoped that the experience would be better than that of his high school. High school had been hard enough for him with all of the homophobic comments from Dave and Azimio, he wasn't in the right mindset to go back. But perhaps being a teacher would be different, perhaps the students would look at him with a little more respect rather than look at him like he was a piece of meat that happened to be their next meal. Kurt tried to keep his father's reassuring words in his head, "As long as you make a difference in one kid's life, then you know it was all worth it," but Kurt couldn't help but wonder if it would be worth it. So what if one delinquent kid got on the right track, he shouldn't have gone off the track in the first place?

Kurt sucked in a deep breath as he fervently carded his fingers through his slightly sweaty hair, pulling into the parking lot of the new school. It looked nice from the outside, a sizeable red, brick building with a cast iron balcony that wrapped around nearly the entire length. He turned off the car, wiping his sweaty palms on his tight, mustard-colored pants, as he primped himself quickly in the rearview mirror. This was it, whatever 'it' may be. He climbed out slowly, remembering Burt's words as he closed his eyes. Focus. Walk. Eyes on your goals.