"You know that exchange we've been discussing for a few years now?" Recognition rippled through the room. "Well, it's done. Seven of Dulman Academy's senior body will be heading to the United States this winter and into the spring. One of you will be accompanying them."
"Who pulled the short straw on that job?" A woman off to the side asked.
She sighed. "Sorry Em." She said sincerely.
A short brunette heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank god. I've been babysitting that class for over three years now." Two women near her nodded in sympathy.
A brown-haired man clapped the black-haired man in question on the back. "Good luck, mate."
"Just hope you don't get the footballers! Don't let Bradley and his cronies fool you!" A maths teacher chimed in.
"Only 26 years old, he'll return with gray hairs. Emrys, I sincerely wish you good luck." Said a tall ginger.
"I'll have to treat you to a drink before you leave," a blond man chimed in.
"Thanks, Matt," Emrys said. "But let's see which miscreants I've got to look after for… how long is this exchange, Martha?"
The woman who originally informed them of the news looked up from her notebook. "Three and a half months. December, January, February, and the first half of March. But there's a follow-up trip scheduled for June, after exams and graduation. Sorry Emrys, but it's our first time doing something like this and we want to make sure it's done right."
Emrys shrugged. "I love these kids. Some of them. I'll be fine. Besides, free trip to America? Sign me up, I've always wanted to go. Who am I looking after?" Last time I was in the States was in the 1900s, but then JFK was assassinated, and I got out of there. America's better now. It was beautiful. I guess this means more ground to cover looking for Arthur. The new Arthur.
"Well, that's going to be decided on during school hours. I'll swing by your classroom and tell you during three, ok?" Period three, period three… if it's Friday, that means no students for sixty minutes. Thankfully.
"Okay." He agreed. "So you'll tell me which seven will be blessed with my presence for an entire three and a half months then."
The meeting drew to a close and the teachers of Dulman Academy headed off to their classrooms in their wings, all conversing with some of their co-workers. Matt and Emrys headed off to the History Wing, where their classrooms waited, side by side. "Em, I'll buy you a dozen drinks if you wind up with both Eoin and Tom. Those two can only mean trouble. And God forbid Santana decides to help them with anything, even if she's on a different continent."
Emrys chuckled. "They listen to me. Sometimes. But if I get Katie, I might just rip my hair out."
"Katie McGrath?"
"Of course. She acts like she owns the place and disrespects everyone. And there's just something about her that's very… off putting."
"I get you mate. Well, I'll stop by during three. I'll pretend I'm making copies or something. That would be my sophomores, they're usually well behaved." Matt promised.
"I wish my sophomores were. I only have one class of them and they all try to teach for me!"
"That's what happens when you get the top class of future historians." Matt laughed before unlocking his classroom's door. "Bye Em. See you in two hours!" Emrys nodded and walked away. It's really easy to slide into this life. It just took one potion to make me age properly again, and it earned me my degree, a job. This was easy. Why was I homeless before? I could've been making legitimate money, properly. Well, it's been a few hundred years, so stop thinking about it, Merlin! The search for Arthur doesn't stop. But when he's reborn, I'll find him. Or he'll find me. It'll happen.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he realized he had walked straight past his classroom's door and very nearly into the wall of lockers. He looked at the locker in front of him. It felt… strange. He muttered a spell. His eyes went gold and it popped open. He looked around the inside, eyes scanning for whatever was drawing his attention. There was a dragon scale on the top shelf. A real, proper scale. He hurriedly shut the locker before turning around and letting himself into his own classroom. Who is locker 392? Mental note: check locker registration later.
Emrys tidied up his classroom a bit, got work ready for his first two classes and sat down at his desk. He sighed. Seven of the (unruly, loud, and obnoxious) seniors. With him. For three and a half months. Gaius, if you're up there, help me. Give me some well-behaved children. Please. His first two classes on Fridays were, in fact, seniors, so as the one hundred and twenty-five minutes went by, he found himself making a list of who he'd hate to travel with, and who he wouldn't mind.
During the second period, Emrys kept thinking of the maths teacher warning him about Bradley. The only Bradley was Bradley James, who was a striker on the football team. He doesn't seem like that much of a problem. He oozes confidence and leadership, and his 'cronies' all listen to what he tells them to do. Bradley's 'cronies' being the other football players. The worst two were Eoin, a cocky, self-assured forward (the centre), who played well-he definitely had the arrogance and aggression, and Tom, a somewhat quiet, big guy, who was their main goalkeeper. But every once in a while you get a Rupert. Rupert Young was smart and he controlled his teammates quite well. He was Bradley's second-in-command, a sweeper, and damn good at it too. Emrys had been to plenty of football games over his lifetime, and if any of these boys could go professional, Rupert and Bradley could.
By the time the bell rang, his classroom cleared out, and the bell rang again to signal book switch being over, he was freaking out. Relax Merlin. It's just seven teenagers.
Yeah, just seven teenagers I'll be responsible for across the pond, with very little authority, and I don't even know which students!
That's why Martha's coming in a while. She's going to tell you how lucky you are because you're getting some well-behaved kids.
Or to wish me luck because I have some of the devil's spawn in my group.
Stop being so pessimistic.
Stop being so optimistic.
Just as Emrys stopped his internal monologue, he heard the warning bell ring and the sound of heels clicking the tile in the hallway. Martha. He looked up to the doorway in enough time to watch her walk in, a sheet of yellow lined paper in her hand. She wordlessly handed it to him, her face expressionless.
"Martha?" He asked.
"Good luck," She said solemnly. "I'm so sorry. At least you got a slight break." And she walked away, heels clicking. "More details will be emailed from the superintendent." She called over her shoulder. Emrys listened to her heels click away. He unfolded the paper. "Hey mate!" Matt said as he popped his head into the doorframe. "I've got like five minutes. Who've you got?"
Emrys read aloud the following:
Santana Cabrera
Angel Coulby
Katie McGrath
Tom Hopper
Bradley James
Eoin Macken
Rupert Young
"Bloody hell. They want you to die over there, don't they? Santa Cabrera. With Eoin Macken." He paused. "You're so bloody screwed mate. Beer's on me tonight. Definitely."
Emrys rested his head in his hands and groaned. "At least I've got Angel and Bradley. And Rupert."
"Don't call him Rupert though!" Matt warned. "He's pretty chill about it, but he goes by his middle name, Leon. So if you're spending three and a half months with him, I'd advise learning that name." Emrys didn't respond. "Are you okay mate?" Other than the fact that Rupert does remind me of an old friend who's been dead for hundreds of years that was coincidentally named Leon? No, I'm fine.
"I'm good. Just shocked is all." He lied. "Leon. I can remember that. Founding Fathers for that drink tonight?"
"Sure. Oh, and Martha dropped a bomb on me before she talked to you. I'm taking over almost half your classes. A sub is taking the rest. So unfair." Matt complained.
"Sorry man," Emrys muttered. Matt cast one more concerned look at his friend before heading back to his room of sophomores.
Merlin, get yourself under control. This isn't the first time you've met someone you thought was one of them. The legend says nothing about the other knights, just Arthur. Only Arthur. That's who I'm looking for.
