Disclaimer: I own nothing of CSI

Eli's First Grade Teacher

Jackie walked into her classroom and turned on the light. She had decided to go into work today because the start of the school year was just around the corner.

Jackie was happy when she got there and saw the parking lot semi full, she didn't like it when there wasn't very many people there, it made her feel uneasy.

"Hey Jackie." Came a voice not two minutes after she had walked into her room.

"Hey Lisa." Jackie said with a smile as she looked up and saw her friend and fellow first grade teacher standing there.

"Do you have my class list, I have yours, June (the principle) put all the teacher's class lists on their desks yesterday afternoon but she gave me yours by mistake, I figured you got mine."

"I'm not sure, I just walked in, let me look." Jackie said as she glanced at her desk.

There was a sheet of paper on her desk and sure enough it was Lisa's class list.

"Yep, here it is." Jackie said as she handed her the piece of paper.

"Thanks, here's yours. I was going to come and look for it earlier but I didn't want to snoop in your room when you weren't here."

"Oh please, like I'd care." Jackie said with a chuckle.

"Care about what?" A voice asked.

"Oh Lisa didn't want to snoop in my room when I'm not here." Jackie told her other teaching partner and friend Sue Anderson who had just poked her head into the doorway.

"Jackie doesn't mind, I snoop in her room all the time when she's not here." Sue said.

"See." Jackie said with a laugh.

"Mrs. Anderson, you have a visitor in your room." Carol Tully, a second grade teacher said as she poked her head into Jackie's classroom.

"Thanks Carol." Sue said as she took off for her own classroom.

"Sue's already had three kids come visit her this afternoon, I haven't had any and I've been here all day." Lisa said.

"I'm sure they'll come eventually, the class lists were just real released to the kids and their parents this morning." Jackie assured her.

"That's true." Lisa said.

As soon as the class lists were posted in the hallway the kids could come and meet their teachers, the teachers weren't required to come into work for a few more days but most did to prepare or to meet the kids that wanted to come meet them.

"I'm going to go grab a pop from the vending machine, do you want anything?" Jackie asked Lisa.

"No thanks, I already have one."

Jackie nodded, grabbed a dollar bill out of her purse and then left the room to go down to the teacher's lounge.

She passed Sue's room on the way.

She peeked her head into the doorway, Sue's visitor was gone, Sue was busily working at her desk.

"Hey, I'm going down to get a pop, want one?" Jackie asked.

"I've got coffee, thanks though." Sue answered with a smile.

Jackie walked down to the teacher's lounge, she bought her pop and then started back to her room. When she rounded the corner she almost smacked right into Tina and Eli, Eli had tears streaming down his face.

"Hi bud, what's wrong?" Jackie asked.

Eli had went to kindergarten last year at the school, the school was a long drive for Tina in the morning but Jackie had spoken so highly of it that she figured the extra time in the car would be worth it, plus Jackie was there if he ever needed anything which was comforting to both Tina and Eli, and Eli had loved his kindergarten teacher so much that Tina had not one time regretted the decision to send Eli to that school.

Eli wanted Jackie for his first grade teacher but Jackie had warned him and Tina that that might not be allowed considering the families knew each other so well, Jackie was even Eli's godmother.

"He isn't in your class and he's bummed." Tina said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry buddy, but listen, both of my teaching partners are really, really nice teachers, whoever you get you'll love, I promise." Jackie said trying to cheer him up although it didn't seem to be working.

"Who did he get?" Jackie asked Tina.

"Sue Anderson." Tina replied.

"She is so nice Eli, you'll like her so much that you'll wonder why you ever wanted me as your teacher." Jackie told him.

Eli looked at her like she was crazy.

"Do you want to go meet Mrs. Anderson? She's in her room and she'd love to meet you." Jackie asked.

Eli didn't answer, he just hung his head.

"Come on, I'll go with you." Jackie said as she extended her hand.

Eli finally took it, she led Eli to Sue's classroom with Tina right behind them.

"Mrs. Anderson, this is Eli Brown, he's going to be your student this year, and this is his mom Tina."

"Hi Eli." Sue said happily as she immediately got up from her desk to go greet the little boy.

"Hi." Eli said glumly.

Sue could tell the little boy was upset, and although she didn't know why he was upset she was determined to change it.

"Are you excited for the first grade Eli?" She asked.

"Not really." Eli mumbled.

"Oh, but you should be and do you know why?"

"Why?" Eli asked.

"Because we are going to have lots of fun." She said with a big smile.

Eli looked at Jackie and his mom as if he didn't know whether he should believe Sue or not.

"Eli guess what?" Sue said.

"What?" Eli said perking up a little.

"All of my students get a work folder, they put all their work in it so at the end of the day I can correct it. I have three designs of folders and normally I just assign a folder to a student randomly but since you were so nice to come visit me I'll let you pick which design you want, come over here with me." Sue said as she reached out her hand.

Eli looked back at Tina.

"Go with her." Tina instructed.

Eli finally grabbed her hand.

Sue led Eli to a back table that was covered with three piles of folders.

"Let's see, in this pile the folders have a pretty blue car on them." She said as she pointed to a stack. "This pile has puppies on the folders, and this pile has a picture of a basketball going through the net, which one do you want?"

Eli studied the folders as if he was making a life or death decision.

"This one." He finally said as he pointed to the pile of folders that had a basketball going through the hoop.

"Good choice." Sue said with a smile as she picked up one of those folders.

"Now watch this." She said as she grabbed the label maker that was on her desk.

She typed in the letters Eli and within seconds a small slip of paper came out of the label maker that read Eli.

"Cool." Eli exclaimed as if it was magic.

"Yeah, that is pretty cool, do you know who gave me that?" Sue asked as she stuck the label on the folder.

"Who?" Eli asked excitedly.

Sue nodded towards Jackie.

"Mrs. Stokes got me that for my birthday, wasn't that nice of her?"

"Yeah. Could you and Nick get me one of those for my birthday?" Eli asked Jackie happily.

Jackie laughed.

"We'll see." She said.

"Eli, I have to make an important decision, would you help me?" Sue asked.

"Yeah, sure." Eli said happily, any trace of his sadness about not getting Jackie as his teacher was now totally gone.

"See, three minutes with her and he forgot I existed." Jackie whispered in Tina's ear with a grin. Tina laughed.

"Oh good. You see, I give my students candy when they are behaving extra well, or they do a really good job on their work and every month I switch what kind of candy I give my students. I either give you guys regular chocolate or caramel candy, except for in October I give out pumpkin flavored candy and in December I give out peppermint. What I need you to help me decide is what flavor I should start the year out with, regular chocolate or caramel, what do you think?" Sue asked Eli with a smile.

" I don't know, I don't know what the caramel ones tastes like." Eli said sounding very serious.

"You don't? Well, then I guess you'll have to try one won't you?" Sue said as she dug in a bag behind her desk.

She pulled out a bag of caramel candy and cut it open with a pair of scissors. She handed one to Eli.

"What do you think?" Sue said after he ate it.

"That's good." He said.

"So what do you think, should I start the year off with those or regular flavored?"

"I still don't know." Eli said.

"Do you want to try a regular one so you can compare them?"

Eli thought for a moment.

"You better." Sue said with a smile, she didn't want Eli to strain his brain from thinking so hard.

"Is that ok mom?" Sue asked as she looked at Tina.

Tina nodded with a smile. Sue got the bag of regular chocolate and handed Eli a piece. He ate it.

"The first one." He said quickly.

"Alright, boy am I glad you were here to help me make that decision because I just couldn't decide. Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome." Eli said proudly.

"Eli, we have to get going bud, I have a meeting at work in a half hour." Tina declared with a smile.

"Ok. Bye Mrs. Anderson." He said.

"Bye, you enjoy the rest of your summer and I'll see you on the first day of school."

"Ok." Eli said as he wrapped his new teacher in a huge hug.

She smiled and returned the hug.

When he finally released her he turned to Jackie and gave her a hug to.

"Bye." He told Jackie.

"Bye, you'll have to come to the park with Nick and I and the kids one last time before school starts." She told him.

"Ok." He said eagerly.

"Alright, come on bud, we have to go or I'll be late." Tina said as she grabbed his hand.

"Thank you so much." Tina said as she turned towards Sue.

Tina was very appreciative that Sue had gone out of her way to make Eli feel right at home in her class.

"No problem, it was nice meeting both of you." Sue said.

"Likewise." Tina said before she and Eli disappeared out into the hallway.

"Jackie how does he know you?" Sue asked after they had left.

"He's my god son." Jackie said.

"Oh, that's Nick's best friend's little boy, the one who got killed?" Sue asked.

"Yes." Jackie said.

"He sure is a sweetheart." Sue declared.

"Yeah, he's a great kid." Jackie agreed.

"Oh, that's why he was so upset when he came in here to meet me, he wanted you to be his teacher didn't he?" Sue said, now everything made sense to her.

"He didn't want me to be his teacher, I'm mean." Jackie declared with a grin.

"Oh quit it." Sue said with a wave of her hand, dismissing that notion.

Luckily Sue didn't press the issue because one of the second grade teachers came in to the room to ask her a question.

Jackie didn't want to have to tell Sue the truth, she didn't want to hurt her feelings, and besides that Jackie was positive that Eli now loved Sue just like Jackie knew he would.

As Tina drove away from the school she was very relieved, all Eli would talk about was how nice Mrs. Anderson was. It looked like he was going to love his teacher, and first grade as a whole after all.

The End!