Disclaimer: This is just a fan fiction—I don't own any of this. Please don't sue.
A/N: First, this really isn't an angsty or plot-driven story, so if that's what you were looking for, you might want to find something else to read. I just had fun writing as Mrs. Cope, and hopefully you'll have some fun reading it. Also, keep in mind that this is just the introduction and that later chapters will have much more dialogue.
Shelly Cope POV
I snuck down to the teacher's lounge at the first opportunity. I was sure that nobody would be in here for at least the next two classes; everybody else had something to do. And nobody ever came to the front office, especially in the middle of the day. In a school this small, why would they? Nothing much ever seemed to happen with so many students, and the most I ever did was help hand out schedules on the first day of school and collect attendance forms. Now, halfway through November, I was bored to death as I listened to each tick of the clock on the wall.
So I didn't feel guilty at all as I swung open the door and took my usual seat on one of the faded lounge chairs. Sandwiched between a broken vending machine and a four-foot potted plant, I struck up a conversation with the only other person here, Coach Clapp. He didn't have much to say, though. I didn't know how a gym teacher could possibly be so absorbed in a lesson plan, but he treated his little notebook like a newborn baby. I understood that he wanted to get some work done, but wasn't it common courtesy to at least respond when somebody was trying to have a pleasant conversation?
Coach Clapp left after about five minutes, muttering something about his next class, although I knew he still had half an hour before the next set of classes began. Oh well, I thought. If nothing else, at least the teacher's lounge is a change in scenery. Then I wondered for a few minutes about how the Cullens, the only new students besides the freshmen, were doing. Especially the youngest boy… I would have check in on him sometime. I knew Forks wasn't the best place for new students, as most of the people here had played together as toddlers and weren't very receptive to anybody new or different. And the Cullens were definitely different.
Mr. Greene, the school principal, walked in just then, and I knew I was busted. I froze up, but my heart raced on, and I was sure you could hear it from across the hall. Maybe if I concentrated really hard, I could make myself invisible--wasn't it at least worth a try? But my efforts were in vain; Mr. Greene spotted me sitting on the shabby recliner, and he opened his mouth to speak.
"Shouldn't you be working, Shelly?"
"Shouldn't you?" I responded, and then I instantly realized what I had done. My eyes widened in horror as I wondered what Mr. Greene, one of the only people in this school who could fire me, would do. Please don't fire me, I thought. Don't fire me, Don't fire me, Don't fire me…
He frowned at me for a moment, and then simply said, "Get back to your desk. Whatever you were doing here, you're done now."
I should have known he wouldn't fire me, I guess. Even if I was only a school secretary, I would be hard to replace. There weren't many people here who were willing to work such a dull, tedious job; it could take Mr. Greene months to find someone to take over my work. I sighed, quietly enough that he wouldn't hear, and trudged back through the rain to my flyer- covered desk at the front office. I straightened a few papers and then remembered the huge calendar on the wall, where I had penciled in every number one through 180, careful not to miss a single school day. Today was apparently day 49, which meant that there were still…131 days of school to go. I groaned and slumped back into my little plastic folding chair.
Tomorrow I would go back to the teacher's lounge, I decided. I could just tell everybody that I was on a coffee break, and that I would be back to work in no more than 15 minutes. As long as nobody stayed in the lounge for very long, which they never did, I probably wouldn't get caught. It wasn't much, but at least it would be more interesting than sitting around at a desk all day.
I leaned back in my sad excuse for a chair, as comfortable as anybody could be while sitting on an oversized piece of plastic. My grin stretched from ear to ear, and I knew that it didn't matter how little work there would be for me tomorrow; I would definitely have something to do. Teacher's lounge, here I come…
A/N: I have a request for any beta-readers reading this: PM me asap if you would consider beta-ing me. If I don't get any offers soon I'll try to find a beta on my own (out of the thousands out there :P ), but it'd be great to hear from somebody who's already familiar with this story. So please, contact me if you're interested, and if you can't beta, at least review so I know what you think so far!