Hey there! So this is my first attempt at a mulit-chapter fic. If there's some interest, I'll continue. So please R&R!
Disclaimer: I don't own Friends or any of the characters.
"Damn it," Chandler muttered as he exited his car, carelessly throwing his notebook over his head to shield his brown mop of hair from the rain that had just begun to pour. He kicked the door shut behind him as his free hand dug into his jacket for a pack of cigarettes. He stuck one between his teeth as he half-jogged his way to the building. The parking lot was deserted as classes had already begun much earlier. Happy to be void of people, Chandler found his favourite spot near the back of the schoolyard and stood underneath the overhang of the abandoned portable. No longer in need of it's protection he let the notebook drop to the ground beside him, using that hand to light up his cigarette.
He inhaled deeply and instantly felt relaxed. He stared out across the open field, scowling at the wet morning air. Chandler hated this time of day. Correction, he hated that he was required to be awake at this time of day, in order to be at this building that he hated, to attend classes that he hated. He sighed to himself and shook his head. He wasn't really a hated-filled guy, school just brought out the worst in him. He should have been out of here by now, but he was too busy hating education to actually pass his classes and graduate on time. So now here he was, repeating his senior year, while the rest of his friends had moved on to more prospective endeavours. Not that he had many friends to begin with. His best friend had been Joey, an aspiring actor who had moved out to LA in hopes of being discovered by some big shot director. They shared a similar interest in booze and slacking off, and together they had been quite the pair of troublemakers. There were a few other guys in their crowd, but none that he had actually bothered to stay in touch with. For the most part, Chandler was a loner. Awkward and foolish in nature, he had never found making friends an easy task. Due to his aloofness, he had gained a reputation as somewhat of a bad boy in his freshman year of high school. He had screwed up a couple of times accidentally, which ended up with enemies in the wrong places and frequent trips to the principal's office. He wasn't truly a rebel, just a clumsy idiot, but he decided to roll with the reputation given to him by his peers. He adopted a leather jacket, and on top of his smoking habit and slacker attitude, he fit the description perfectly.
Chandler took the last puff of his cigarette and flicked the butt off into oblivion. He ran a hand through his slightly damp hair, and slapped his cheeks lightly in an effort to wake himself up. Picking his tattered, soggy notebook up off the ground, he reluctantly trudged towards the back doors of the building. After taking a quick peak down the hall to confirm that the coast was clear, he made his way as quietly as he could in his squeaky boots to his Economics class. He slipped through the back door and dropped quietly into the chair in the corner, throwing his notebook on the desk in front of him.
The girl beside him jolted and wrinkled her nose when she realized it was him. The girl in question was Rachel Green, head cheerleader and school princess. In response to her disgust he gave her a snide smile and an obnoxious wink. At this she rolled her eyes and shot a meaningful look at her best friend in the seat beside her, Monica Geller. Monica turned her piercing blue eyes in his direction and observed him with a slight frown. Something in her expression was so disapproving that Chandler dropped his smug look immediately, feeling sheepish. With a slight shake of her head Monica turned her attention back to the teacher, and Chandler turned his focus to the notebook in front of him. He opened it to reveal pathetically empty pages, most of which were ruined from the rain. He patted his pockets in search for a writing utensil, but came up with nothing.
"Hey," He whispered in the direction of his neighbour, Miss Rachel Green. "Can I borrow a pen?" She repeated her earlier nose wrinkle, but rifled through her pencil case nonetheless. After a minute she turned to him and gave him a shoulder shrug to indicate that she had no pen to spare. He rolled his eyes, sure that she just didn't care, and leaned behind her slightly.
"Pssst, Monica," Chandler whispered and the brunette turned with a start at the mention of her name. "Do you have a pen I can borrow?"
She wordlessly reached for on of the extra ones she had already lined up on her desk, and handed it to him. He took it with a nod of thanks, and clicked it open. He went to scribble the date at the top of the page, only to find that the paper was effectively ruined.
"Uh, can I borrow some paper too?" He asked Monica with a lopsided smile. She rolled her eyes, but Chandler was sure he saw the ghost of a smile appear on her lips. She unclipped a few blank pages from her binder and passed them to him. He nodded his appreciation again, and this time was able to write cleanly.
He didn't know why he all the sudden felt the desire to at least try to pay attention, but he was able to finish the class with a page worth of notes jotted down. As the bell rang and students scurried out of their seats, Chandler went to return the pen to Monica.
"Keep it," She said to him with a shake of her head. "You have other classes to go to." He smiled at her in thanks, and she gave him a quick head nod before heading out the door. The smile remained plastered to his face for a few seconds before he picked up his notebook and went to exit the classroom.
"Oh, Mr. Bing," The teacher, a Mr. Birch, called out to him before he could escape. "Would you come here a moment?"
Chandler stifled a sigh as he turned around and slowly sauntered up to the front of the room. "Yeah?" He asked casually.
"As disruptive as your late arrival was," He started sternly, but with a gentle tone. Mr. Birch was tall and slim, with sandy blond hair that was showing the beginnings of grey. He was the type of teacher who was firm, but seemed to genuinely care about his students. "It was nice to see you attempting to take notes for once. I'd like to see you keep that effort up."
"Good to know, Mr. Birch." Chandler said, making a turn to leave.
"I'm not finished," Mr. Birch held up a finger, and Chandler swivelled back around to face him again. "I'm fully aware of your situation Mr. Bing. I would hate to see you have to repeat your senior year yet again. It's the beginning of the school year, and you have plenty of time to change your grades around."
"Yeah, I'll give it my best effort." Chandler gave him a tight smile, desperately wanting the conversation to be over so he could take a nap in his English class.
"You have an appointment with Ms. Oakley after school today, she has something she'd like to discuss with you."
"You know, I'd love to, but I sort of have a thing." Chandler waved his arms around dismissively, not even attempting to come up with a believable excuse.
"You'll be there, Mr. Bing," Mr. Birch said, the tone of finality in his voice.
"Alright," Chandler sighed, giving in. Without another word he exited the classroom and sulked his way to the next class.
After the final bell of the day rang, Chandler made his way through the sea of loud, obnoxious teenagers to arrive at a destination he was all too familiar with: the principal's office. He made his way into the waiting area where there was already someone seated in one of the two chairs. His eyes widened as he recognized the someone as Monica Geller, academic whiz and good girl extraordinaire. A smirk played on his lips as he slid into the seat beside her.
"Fancy seeing you here, Miss Geller" He said, and she turned to him with those wide blue eyes.
"Can't say I'm surprised to see you." She retorted with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "What did you do this time, pull a girl's pigtails?"
"Oh I'd never do that," He said, feigning innocence. Then he deadpanned, "I'd just cut them off instead." Monica gave a slight eye roll but the corners of her mouth turned up, which delighted Chandler. "I'm actually not in trouble. I'm here to discuss my "academic standing". What about you, why are you here? I never took you for the trouble-making type."
"I'm not in trouble." She said, her voice raising an octave as she took offence. "I'm here to discuss my extra volunteer hours."
"Now that makes a lot more sense." Chandler nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else, but it was then that the door to principal Oakley's office opened.
"Good, you're both here." Ms. Oakley said, and then gestured for them to stand up. "Come on in Ms. Geller, and Mr. Bing."
As they stood up, Monica and Chandler exchanged glances with raised eyebrows. They entered Ms. Oakley's dull green office, and took their respective seats in front of the desk. Ms. Oakley circled around the desk and sat in her chair, rearranging a few things on her desk before picking up a blue folder.
"So," She began as she flipped through the folder. "I'm sure you know how aware of your situation we are, Mr. Bing."
"Sure, yeah." He said, not really caring at all.
"It's only a few weeks into the new year, and already you're flunking three of your classes." She closed the blue folder and plopped it down on the desk, focusing her gaze on Chandler. She frowned slightly, a look of concern entering her pale green eyes. "We don't want you to have to repeat your senior year yet again. I've discussed the situation with Mr. Birch, and we've decided to set you up with a tutor."
"I don't need a tutor—" Chandler began to protest, sitting up in his chair. Ms. Oakley held up a stern finger to indicate she wasn't finished.
"Which is why I've asked Ms. Geller here." Ms. Oakley turned to Monica, sitting forward. "You said you wanted to tutor for extra volunteer hours this year, correct?"
Monica nodded, her face serious. She didn't look to thrilled about the revelation that Chandler would be her student.
"Excellent," Ms. Oakley nodded, and turned her focus back to Chandler. "Mr. Birch and I have decided that it would be best if you learn from a fellow student, rather than bringing in a tutor from an outside institution. This way you can feel more comfortable, and learn from someone who knows your situation as a student. And we believe there's no one better to accomplish this task than Ms. Geller here. She's one of our brightest students."
"I'm happy to do it." Monica's demeanour changed as she lit up at Ms. Oakley's praise.
"Very good." Ms. Oakley straightened up in her seat. "It's settled then. Now you two may go and discuss your meeting schedule. Have a good day."
Chandler wanted to protest. He wanted to roll his eyes and exit with a sarcastic comment. But for some reason, he just nodded obligingly and followed Monica out of the office. They left the room and began walking down the hall in silence. Chandler sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to call it off, to tell Monica that he didn't think tutoring was the right option for him. He looked at the small brunette beside him, opening his mouth to say something.
"So," She started suddenly, turning to look at him. "Wednesdays and Fridays after school work best for me. I can't do Tuesdays because I have Yearbook, and on Thursdays I take cooking classes. Do Wednesday and Friday work for you?"
"Uh, sure" Chandler said, surprising himself. He had meant to blow her off, to tell her that he wasn't going to be tutored. And before he could stop himself he continued, "You want to work in the library?"
"Sure." Monica nodded. "That works. So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Yeah," Chandler nodded again, and watched as Monica gave him a quick smile then turned down another corridor, walking away from him. He stared in that direction for a long time, even after she disappeared, wondering what the hell had come over him.
A/N: Okay, so the ending was kinda sloppy and maybe it's a bit cliche, but what'd ya think?