Is This Extra Credit?
Plot: A student becomes intrigued by a certain Latina police officer after a class-required ride-along. Rachel, Sam, and Brittany moved out to California to attend USC. This is the story of how their lives are intermingled with the likes of Santana, Puck, and Quinn.
Disclaimer: This story includes many characters from the show along with a few that I created for the story. I do not own any characters from Glee, nor do I own any references that may be used to develop this story.
Check out my other story, Backlash, it is a sex-filled Brittana/Faberry prank war!
Chapter 1
It was the first day of fall term at the University of Southern California and with a new year meant new opportunities. At least that's what Brittany Pierce thought as she stepped into a full classroom, glancing around the room nervously. She looked for a familiar face but found none in the group of about 40 students already seated in the rows of long tables. She noticed an empty seat in the middle of the third row, between a pretty blonde girl and a lanky boy who was completely fixated on his Pottermore account on his laptop. Not seeing any other choices around the classroom, Brittany maneuvered her way through the clustered row, knocking a few in the head with her backpack.
"Sorry," Brittany apologized, settling down in the empty seat. She glanced back at the classmates she had accidently hit and saw their glares directed in her direction. She rolled her eyes and pulled a notebook from her bag.
"Hi, I'm Quinn," the girl next to her introduced. Her hand was extended towards Brittany, a radiant smile on her face.
"Brittany, it's nice to meet you," she responded, shaking her hand. "Is this your first criminal justice class?"
"Yeah, I just got back into school, I had taken a break for a while after high school," Quinn stated, glad to have met a nice classmate. "What about you?"
"Yeah, I switched majors after I received my associate's degree," Brittany told her. "I was going to school for dance, but I didn't enjoy it much. I think I'll like this field though."
Quinn smiled at her and directed her attention towards the front of the class as their professor walked into the classroom. Their professor donned a police uniform, fully equipped with a gun, taser, and handcuffs. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties, which surprised Brittany. All of her other teachers had been well into their 40's.
"Hello class, my name is Alexis Robertson. Welcome to Intro to Criminology," Alexis introduced. "This is going to be a great semester, I know many of you are just starting out in the field of Criminal Justice, so we are gonna try and get as much hands-on experience as possible in the short time we have." Reaching into her bag, Alexis pulled out a large stack of papers. She walked over to the student in the first row and handed them the stack. "Everyone be sure to grab a syllabus. All the important dates, including exams and presentations are listed."
Brittany took the dwindling stack from the Potter kid and handed it to Quinn once she grabbed one for herself. She scanned through it, noting the book she needed and the main exam dates. Looking at the grade percentage breakdown, she raised her eyebrow at the project percentage. "50 percent of our grade is based on projects," Brittany whispered to Quinn.
"Wow, that's a little much," Quinn observed.
"Ok, so as you see, we have two exams, worth 30 percent of your final grade," Alexis explained. "20 percent is attendance and participation combined and 50 percent will come from projects." She noticed a hand quickly shooting into the air. "Yes, your name is?"
Brittany smiled shyly and pulled her hand down. "I'm Brittany, Pierce. I was just wondering what the projects will consist of."
"Thank you, Brittany. Well, as I had mentioned earlier, I want this class to have many opportunities for hands-on experience. The beauty of criminal justice studies is the off-campus learning and interactions. How will anyone ever learn what it takes to be involved with the law if they only read from the book and sit in a boring classroom?" She asked, looking around the room at her students.
"Hell, I graduated a few years ago. I know how boring it was. So, instead…" she smiled. "…we will be going on some field trips. We will be scheduling various things, like full-shift rides with officers with the LAPD, spending some time observing public court cases, and visiting various prisons and jails in the state."
Brittany smiled at Quinn, whispering how cool this class was going to be. She couldn't wait to do everything. It all sounded so much better than studying the book all the time.
"So, I'm sure sitting in class for the next three hours on a Monday morning isn't ideal," Alexis announced as she looked at her phone. "It's currently 8:15, so I'm gonna be nice and let you all go. If anyone has any questions, feel free! See you guys Wednesday."
Brittany watched as many of the students rushed out of the classroom, most likely heading back to bed. She stayed behind and approached her professor. Quinn followed with her belongings in tow.
"Hey Quinn, how's it going?" Alexis greeted with a hug. Brittany scrunched her eyebrows. Quinn didn't acknowledge that she knew their teacher.
"It's great. It feels so good to be back in school," Quinn beamed. "How's teaching, you sound like a pro up there!"
"It's a little nerve racking actually, but I think everything will go great," Alexis shrugged. "So, Brittany, do you think my teaching abilities are ok?"
"Oh, um…yeah," Brittany replied nervously. "I'm really excited about this class. It sounds like it is going to be all kinds of amazing." Alexis smiled, satisfied with the answer. She excused herself when her phone rang.
"So, Brittany, you wanna go get some coffee?" Quinn asked her.
"Sure, I have time to kill now that class is over," Brittany laughed, pulling her class materials back into her bag and flinging her bag over her shoulders.
"Awesome," Quinn smiled. "I think we are going to get along great."
/
Santana Lopez awoke to a large crashing sound. Pulling her gun out of her nightstand, she stepped onto her hardwood floor and approached the direction of the noise. Clad in only a short tank top and barely there panties, Santana pulled open the door of her bedroom and held her gun out in front of her. She held her breath as she approached the kitchen. Turning the corner, she quickly screamed out at her assailant.
"Get your hands up, now!"
Taking a long look at the intruder, Santana rolled her eyes and pulled her gun down. "Damn it Puck, what are you doing here?"
"I needed some milk for cereal," Puck simply stated, unfazed by her approach. "You look nice," he said mockingly.
"Thanks, dick. It's seven in the morning," she whined. He shrugged. "Some people like sleep."
"Well you are up now, you should just hang out," Puck laughed as he poured milk into the cereal he brought over. She wondered sometimes why she agreed to move in the same building as him, or why she allowed him to have a key.
"Yeah, sure, let me just go and change," Santana told him, walking back towards her bedroom.
"You can wear that, it's totally hot," he called out after her, making her flip him off before stepping into her bedroom.
She groaned at her appearance in the mirror. She looked like complete crap. Ha! Who was she kidding? She was smoking hot, no matter how tired she felt. Grabbing a pair of faded jeans and a property of LAPD t-shirt, Santana walked into her bathroom and tossed her clothes onto the counter. She quickly brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her long, dark hair before pulling it into a loose ponytail. Her left hand brushed above her hip bone as she pulled her jeans on. She looked down and saw the faded scar on her abdomen. She thought back to the day she got that scar.
Six Months Ago
Santana and Puck had taken a call close to 12:30 in the morning in West L.A. Their shifts would be over at 2, so they groaned when they received the call.
"Assault with a deadly weapon, 6000 S Vermont Ave, white male, donned in black," dispatch described to them.
"We're on it, 10-4." Puck responded back, shifting the car and pulling onto the road. "So, Lopez, what's the deal with the TV station chick…you hitting that?"
Santana rolled her eyes. "None of your business Puckerman."
"C'mon, I always tell you my stories," he whined.
"Not my choice," Santana laughed. "Besides, you shouldn't live vicariously through my sex life. What's going on with you and Quinn lately?" she asked seriously.
"We are focused on raising Beth. It's not meant to be for us though, we both acknowledge that," Puck told her, seemingly ok with living with his ex-girlfriend as they raised their 4 year old.
"I'm never having kids," Santana groaned. "Too complicated."
"Nah, Beth is perfect." Puck smiled. Santana noticed the way his eyes lit up at the mention of his daughter. She knew how much he adored his daughter and how grateful he was for her.
They pulled up a half block away from the scene of the incident and Puck parked the car. They both drew their guns and rushed out of the car. Puck led the way towards the rundown laundry center and scanned the area. Besides a few bums sitting in their trash piles, he didn't see anyone out of the ordinary.
Santana turned towards the small shopping plaza and noticed a dark shadow under the pavilion area. She motioned to Puck and started heading towards the plaza. Puck quickly stepped ahead of her and approached the walkway towards the dark shadow.
"Come on out, we have you cornered buddy," Puck demanded. "There's nowhere to go."
A man stepped out of the shadow slowly with his arms raised, a bag in one hand and a gun in the other.
"Put the gun down," Santana barked. The man lowered his arm to drop the gun and aimed it towards her at the last second.
"No!" Puck yelled as the trigger was pulled, a bullet knocking Santana on her back. He pointed his gun towards the shooter and shot him twice, once in the leg and once in the shoulder. The man fell to the ground in agony. Puck quickly handcuffed the man and rushed over to Santana.
"We need an ambulance! Officer down, shot to abdomen. We are at the reported location. Shooter down and cuffed," Puck yelled through his radio and turned his attention to Santana. "Santana, hey, open your eyes, San," he begged as he put pressure where she was shot. "Dude, you're gonna be ok, you hear me?"
Santana nodded lightly as her eyelids fell shut.
End of Flashback
She was grateful Puck was her partner that night, he saved her life. She didn't know what she would do without him. Even if he bugged her endlessly, she loved the man like he was her brother.
"Lopez, come on!" Puck yelled from the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and pulled the shirt over her head before exiting the bathroom. Stepping back into the kitchen she smiled brightly at the angel sitting at the table.
"Beth!" she exclaimed, pulling her favorite girl into her arms.
"Hey Tana, I missed you!" Beth told her before placing a kiss to her cheek.
"I've missed you too, kid," Santana laughed, not noticing Puck's scoff. Puck knew she was a big softie at heart and was lying about not wanting kids.
"I had so much fun at Grandma Judy's house this weekend!"Beth told her. "We went to the carnival. And then we saw the ducks at the big lake!"
"Wow, the ducks. I love ducks," Santana muttered sarcastically. Last time she had watched Beth, they had gone to the park and the tiny yet authoritative four year old insisted they feed the ducks. A loaf of bread and a whole lot of bites later, Santana finally managed to bribe Beth to leave, offering her ice cream.
"Beth, what do you want for breakfast, baby?" Puck asked lovingly. Santana couldn't help but grin.
"Hmm…I want…pancakes!" She told him, batting her little eyelashes. She definitely learned that from Quinn, Santana thought to herself.
"You got it," Puck said, grabbing the necessary ingredients to make her breakfast.
"Yeah sure, go ahead use my kitchen," Santana joked, winking at Beth. "Where's Quinn anyways?"
"She's starting her class today, 8am. The one with Alexis," he said wiggling his eyebrows.
"She's so not into you, you dork," Santana quipped.
"She will be, she just hasn't seen what she's been missing yet," he flexed his arms mockingly.
Santana whispered into Beth's ear. "I think she has daddy," Beth repeated, confused as to what the statement meant.
"Ha Ha, using my kid," he said as he poured pancake batter into the pan. "Get your own."
Santana smiled at him. She was about to respond when her phone rang. "Lopez…" Walking away from the kitchen, she asked who was calling.
"It's Ashley, duh babe."
"Hey, sorry, I didn't check the caller id. What's up?"
"Just wanted to see if you maybe wanted to get together later?" Ashley asked, causing Santana to inwardly groan. This was the third day in a row she had asked. She didn't really feel like spending time with her.
"Well, I've got to babysit tonight. I promised I'd watch Beth," Santana lied.
"Oh, darn babe, I wanted to see you," Ashley whined.
"Me too," Santana said, attempting to sound upset about it. "Another night."
"I'm gonna hold you to that. Bye babe."
Santana hung up without responding and walked back into the kitchen. She looked at the clock on the stove. 7:40am.
"So, Beth, it's your last day before going into kindergarten!" Santana gasped dramatically. "When did you get so smart to start early?"
"I am super smart," Beth contended seriously, causing both Puck and Santana to widen their eyes at the confidence. Beth ignored them and ate her pancakes.
"You are definitely Quinn's kid," Santana said leaning down to give her a big hug. "I don't know about your daddy though," she smirked. "He's goofy."
"No I'm not," Puck pouted.
"Right...so Beth, let's go do something fun!" Santana suggested. "Anything you want!"
"Anything?" Beth asked mischievously.
Santana gulped. No ducks, no ducks, she begged. "Yep, anything you want."
"Let's go…" she trailed on as she thought. "Let's go to the museum! And then let's go watch Lion King!"
Santana looked over to Puck for help. He held his hands up and shrugged. "You said anything!" he laughed.
"Right, well let's go, kid," Santana said tossing Puck a dirty look. "See you at work."
Beth smiled widely as she took Santana's hand as they walked out of her apartment. I'd rather visit the ducks, she thought grudgingly.
/
Let me know what you think so far…will continue tomorrow :)