A/N: So I know I have other stories to finish, but I really couldn't help myself. When an idea comes to you, you just have to go with it! I apologize for the lack of updates on my other stories, but I sincerely hope you enjoy this!

Plot: What if Nora and George never met? What if Casey was older than Derek and became his teacher? What would go wrong? What would go right? Would they still bicker and fight? Read on...

Ever since she was a young girl she's wanted to become a teacher and now that it had happened it felt so surreal. There she stood on the steps of the high school she had once attended about 10 or 11 years ago, but this time she was the voice of authority, she would be the one at the front of the classroom. With a nervous sigh she proceeded up the steps and in to the building. She had taken a tour of the school with the principal himself, but that was before school had started. She did not expect to see swarms of teenagers through the seemingly narrow hallways. Amongst the crowd she spotted the principal parting through the horde of hormones like Moses parted the red sea.

"Casey, you're early," the blond haired man said without preliminaries. He was dressed in a navy blue suit and a dark red tie to contrast. He also sported black loafers and appeared to be in his mid-forties.

Casey Mcdonald on the other hand was in her late twenties, had long dark brown hair which she put up in a bun and wore a white blouse with a few buttons undone – still looking sophisticated – and over her blouse she wore a black pea coat, she also wore a black pencil skirt and black two inch heels. She sported a large black stylish satchel which had her curriculum for the first day of school and dark brown leather gloves. "I'm an early riser," she said modestly.

Smiling, the principal lead her to the teachers' lounge, allowing her time to settle in and become reacquainted with the teachers who were all older than her.

"Thank you for everything, Principal Geist," she said trying not to appear nervous.

"Please, call me Roger," he said and paused to study her for a moment. "Hey, you'll do fine, breathe." He then looked around at everyone else and announced, "Alright everyone! Go get em'!"

Too soon after the bell rang and the butterflies in Casey's stomach worsened as she made her way to her first class. The halls became less cluttered with teens which made her heart palpitate even faster. Finally she had arrived in front of one of the three rooms she would have all semester. Here we go… She thought as she took a deep breath before opening the heavy door to her classroom. This was a group of 11th and 12th grade teenagers with surging hormones.

One of the teen boys asked, "Are you a transfer student?"

Casey smiled slightly in amusement and placed her things on the large desk in the front of the classroom. "No, I'm your new English teacher," she replied. Then she wrote her first and last name on the chalkboard, along with her e-mail address and office phone number. The chatter amongst the teens seemed to slowly die down as she sat on top of her desk facing her students. "So…" she started. "Would you like to know more about me?"

One of the girls raised her hand and asked, "How old are you?"

Casey lightly chuckled and replied, "Old enough to be your teacher."

Then one of the boys inquired, "Are you married?"

With a sigh, she replied, "No, I'm not married."

The boys chattered amongst themselves.

"Okay, okay," Casey grinned. "Settle down please so we can get started on the course outline." She pulled out a stack of papers and handed a thin stack to each row of desks. "This is English 1A…" she continued to explain the course, but noticed that one of her students didn't look too interested. He was in the fourth row, sitting more towards the back. He had dark brown short stylish hair, was wearing a dark grey t-shirt and over that a leather jacket, with jeans and black converse sneakers. Something inside her warned her to be wary of that student.

An hour passed and the bell chimed alerting the students to get to their other classes. Casey stood by her desk, bidding her students a good day, when the boy who was sitting in the fourth row stopped to talk to her.

"Miss Mcdonald," he leaned against her desk with smirk gracing his good-looking features.

"What can I do for you, mister…" she trailed off.

"Venturi, Derek Venturi." He said abruptly. "I just wanted to introduce myself to you," he added.

Casey crossed her arms suspiciously, "And?"

"I had a few questions about the homework and wondered maybe if you could give me some ideas, over a coffee maybe?" he asked as he stepped closer to her.

She took a step back and replied, "Mister Venturi, are you asking me out on a date?"

He shook his head and replied, "No, I wouldn't dare! It's a business proposition." He paused before going on, "But hey, if you wanna go out on a date…"

Casey raised her hand as if to say "that's enough" and stated, "Mister Venturi, I don't know if you're aware of the code of ethics for faculty, but one of them is that we cannot date our students."

"I get it, Miss Mcdonald," he smirked and just walked away.

It seemed that after her first class had passed, the rest of her classes seemed like a breeze, although she had to admit that Derek Venturi had made an impression on her. She just had to figure out if it was a positive one.

At the end of the day, she made her way in to the teachers' lounge to retrieve her jacket and gloves for it was quite chilly out on that sunny Canadian day. Just as she walked out of the principal stopped her before she began her walk down the hall.

"Casey."

She spun around quickly and awkwardly for that matter, "Yes, Princ- I mean Roger." She had to get used to calling him by his first name in informal situations as this.

"I just wanted to ask how your first day of teaching was," he clasped his hands together calmly.

Grinning, she replied, "It was nerve wrecking at first, but I have a good feeling about this semester. I think I can make a difference as a teacher here."

"Casey, you're not in the interview anymore," Roger mused. "Did you have any mishaps with any of the students?"

She had a feeling that he was implying the young man in her first class who indirectly asked her out on a date. "You mean Derek Venturi? Just a minor issue that I can handle," she stated as she shifted her weight to one leg, her heels were killing her.

"Did you know that his father is one of the most generous donors here at the school?" Roger crossed his arms. "Without him we would have to cut half the schools programs."

Confused, Casey asked, "So I'm supposed to give him special treatment because of this?"

He put his hands up as if to detest, but his answer seemed to contradict his actions. "I don't like to call it special treatment. I just want you to be aware of who he is and how important he is to our school."

Casey nodded, "I understand, but I will not expect less work of him in my class."

Roger agreed with a nod, he paused and just stared at her a moment before bidding her farewell.

So what would he have me do? I am not gonna show him more attention all because of his father, that's pathetic… If his father wants his son to have the best education he shouldn't expect that of the faculty… Right? The thoughts plagued her mind as she drove home in her white four door, 2004 Honda Accord.

She arrived at her apartment complex on the nicer part of the city. It was a gated complex which made Casey feel a lot safer. The complex building only had two floors and was very symmetrical and modern, with foliage placed in the ground that looked a bit unnatural. Still, it was nice…

Casey lived on the second floor close to the stairs and the parking lot. She could see her car from her room which put her more at ease about living alone. She had to admit that she missed her mom, Nora, and sister, Liz. They lived in New York together and were a bit unhappy about her move to Canada.

She opened the door to her apartment and upon entering was the living room which had a small fireplace and high ceilings. The dining room was next to the living room which fit a small table for four people. The kitchen was attached to the dining room and was quite cozy with beige colored counters and white cabinets surrounding the area. The stove, oven and microwave was black, but she hardly used the stove or oven for that matter.

Casey popped in one of those "Lean Cuisine" dinners in to the microwave and walked in to her room to change in to something more comfortable. Her room had a walk-in closet which was a "must have" for her. She threw on some pajama pants, a loose t-shirt and her toe-socks. She took out her bun and tousled her hair. Damnit, my hair is always so difficult to manage.

In that moment her iphone rang which she had tossed on her queen size bed. Jumping on the bed she answered the call. "Hello," she said in a sing-song voice.

"How was your first day?" the voice on the other line asked without preliminaries. It was the lovely voice of her mother, Nora.

"Hi mom," Casey sighed. "It was fine. I was so nervous at first though."

"As expected, but I'm glad to hear that everything went smoothly. Any students give you trouble?" Nora asked curiously.

Casey turned on her back and replied, "No, not really." After a moment she realized that her dinner was probably ready, so she stood and made her way in to the kitchen.

"What do you mean 'not really'?" Nora asked in concern.

As Casey took out the black tray of pasta and marinara meat sauce she replied, "There's just this boy… He thought he was smooth and asked me out."

"Well…" Nora paused a moment, "Can't say I'm surprised."

With a gasp the younger woman replied, "Mother! What're you talking about?"

"Casey, honey, I don't know how to break this to you, but you're a 'nice piece of ass'." That answer from Casey mom was completely out of character.

What TV shows has she been watching? Casey wondered in amusement. "I can't believe you just said that!" she exclaimed with a smile on her beautiful features.

Nora laughed. "Lizzie has been watching some TV series uhm… 'orange is the new black', I think."

"Oh god, mom…" Casey sighed as she sat at the table and ate her late dinner.

"Well, I just wanted to check in on you and tell you that we miss you," Nora said on a more serious note.

"I miss you guys too," and it was at that moment that Casey felt homesick. "Where's Liz?"

Nora sighed. "Oh, you know her, she's working late at the firm as usual," she replied.

"Tell her not to work herself to death," Casey said firmly.

With a chuckle, Nora said, "that's funny, she told me to tell that to you as well."

Casey smiled. "I better get going, gotta finish my dinner and get ready for tomorrow," she said as she picked at her food.

"Alright, Sweetie, I'll talk to you later," Nora replied softly. "I love you."

Casey returned the sentiment and bid her mom good-bye. I didn't know living away from mom and Liz would be this difficult…