"Mr. Grant, come in." The principal gestured to one of his mahogany chairs. "Please, have a seat." Fitz set his briefcase on the floor and took the offered seat, opposite of Smith. "I could ask what's bothering you, but I think I already know.
"Yes, I'm sure you do."
"Well, let's hear it."
Fitz leaned forward. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why did you offer up my office in the first place? I thought we agreed that the office was to be mine, and mine alone. You know that I don't work well with others invading my personal space."
"Oh, Fitz."Smith chuckled. "I know we agreed that you would have that office all to yourself. And you will, in a month's time. Until then, I suggest that you learn how to share your office with Dr. Pope."
He couldn't help himself, "Doctor?"
Smith frowned. "We are very fortunate to have Dr. Pope in our team of educators. She's one of the best in her field, and I'm sure she will make an excellent head of the English department." Fitz felt himself redden. Not only had he made fun of her chosen profession, he had insulted the extent of her education, which far surpassed his.
"I know you have a difficult time getting along with your colleagues, but I had hoped that you and Dr. Pope would be different. I paired you two up because you're very similar. You are both heading your respective departments, and your students are some of the best in our school." The headmaster stood up and began to gather the papers off his desk, stuffing them in his briefcase. "As I already told your office-mate, this is only for a month. You two can't possibly hate each other yet; it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. Now, is that all? We have to get to the department meeting."
Fitz nodded, dazed. He knew he should be trying to convince the headmaster to arrange a different office for her, but he was completely speechless. He had completely underestimated his colleague and insulted her to her face. To make matters worse, she hadn't even corrected him. He certainly wasn't helping his reputation.
/
Olivia settled herself in front of the oak table, preparing herself for the upcoming head of department meeting. She pulled out her folder and reviewed the dates she had written down. This would be her first official meeting with the other heads, and she wanted to be as prepared as possible.
She had just moved to the area for the job, and she was determined to make a great impression. As her colleagues filed into the room, her breath caught in her throat. She had successfully managed to avoid Grant all day long, but she had forgotten that he was head of the biology department. Anger pulsed through her veins.
She managed to appear passive as he entered the room. He didn't glance her way until he was settled in his own seat. He gave her a small nod before focusing on his own notes. Why was he being so civil? Olivia's brow furrowed in confusion, but she didn't have long to dwell on his actions. The meeting started minutes later, with Principal Smith giving the opening remarks.
"I'd like to welcome our newest member of our faculty, Dr. Olivia Pope." All heads turned to her, except Grant's. He was studying a knot in the wood. "She is heading our English department, and I for one cannot wait to see what she will contribute to Westside Academy."
The meeting progressed in a timely fashion, each member going over their plans for the school year, along with some of the events each department was coordinating. It was soon Olivia's turn. She stood up and cleared her throat.
"It is a great honor to be working for Westside Academy. I could not ask for a better job. I love working with the students. That being said, I've gone ahead and outlined some of the events I hope to coordinate this year. All of these event days are flexible, save for one." She passed out a schedule of the events. "I wanted my students to be exposed to all sorts of literature, and I thought that having some poetry and prose readings from real writers would help inspire them. On the twentieth of October, John Green is coming to give us a reading of his novel and answer the students questions." There was a round of applause.
"There's only one problem."
She knew that voice. He met her eye this time. "What would that problem be, Mr. Grant?" She didn't mean to sound so frustrated.
"I've already scheduled a field trip for that day. My students and I are going aboard the academy's ship to view marine life and conduct experiments."
"Surely that can be re-arranged," Olivia argued. "This is an important event, and it means a lot to the students."
Grant glowered at her. "I scheduled this trip months ago. It's already been put through, and the administration has approved and reserved the ship for me that day. I can't cancel my expedition just because you want to have a poetry reading."
"Green is a novelist, not a poet. And he agreed to that day, and that day specifically. I cannot ask one of the greatest authors to re-schedule because one of the science teachers wants to go fishing."
"It doesn't matter who it is that's coming, or what sort of experiment I'm doing on the boat. The fact of the matter is, I got my event scheduled first. So even if you scheduled the president to come have a talk with the students, my event would take precedence."
Olivia opened her mouth to argue, but Smith interrupted her. "Fitz, you're being ridiculous. Olivia has a point. The students would be excited to have a question and answer session with Green. If she can't get him to agree to another date, then we'll simply have to reschedule your field trip."
/
"You won this round," Fitz said, settling at his desk. Pope gave him a nonchalant shrug, her nose stuck in a book. "My field trip's been scheduled for this Friday. Not only is it extremely short notice, but I'm now without a chaperone." He waited for a response, an apology, perhaps, but he didn't get any.
Two could play at that game. If he had to rearrange his schedule for a field trip he had planned at the end of the last school year, she had to as well. He smirked to himself. "It wouldn't be fair to the parents, to ask them to come up and help," he began. The change in his voice startled her out of her reading.
"I'm sorry." She didn't sound like it.
Fitz reached across his desk, grabbing her schedule from the stack of papers. He pretended to study it. "You're done teaching early on Friday."
She set her book down and took off her reading glasses. "What are you getting at?"
"You're coming with me. If I have to rearrange my schedule for you, then you have to do the same for me."
She gave him a doubtful glance. "With thirty students and more than a dozen science teachers, you can't find a single chaperone?" He shrugged, waiting for her to argue against him. "When I said I was here for the children, I meant it. I want them to go on this field trip, and if that means that I'll be stuck with you for the entirety of a Friday afternoon, so be it."
She glanced down at the clock. 5:30. She got up and began to gather her things. Fitz followed in suite. "We'll meet by the front of the school at noon on Friday. It'll be cold on the ocean, so unless you want to freeze I recommend bringing a jacket."
"Okay. I'll be there, don't worry." She gave him an unexpected smile before turning to leave.
Damn it. She had won.
/
Olivia was excited. It was Westside Academy's first football game, and she had managed to get a ticket. Not only did she enjoy watching football, but it was also the perfect opportunity for her to get to know some of her colleagues. She had moved to the area just a few weeks before school started, and she had been so busy fixing her apartment and preparing for school that she hadn't even thought to meet the faculty before the first day of school.
It was slightly chillier than normal and, even though she had brought a warm jacket, she was still colder than she would have liked. While she waited for the game to begin, she ended up buying some hot chocolate from the PTA. While she sipped on the warm liquid, she allowed herself to socialize a bit with the parents and faculty, trying her hardest to not sound awkward. Had it really been that long since she had last had a normal, adult conversation?
After excusing herself from the mingling, she made her way up the ramp and into the stands. She stopped abruptly, causing the people behind her to barely avoid walking into her. She couldn't believe it. Grant was in the seat next to hers.
She let out a frustrated sigh. She couldn't escape him, no matter where she went. She leaned against the railing, contemplating if it was even worth going back to her seat. She wanted to enjoy the football game, not argue with him. Before she could turn to leave, someone caught her arm.
"It's nice to see you're taking an interest in our sports program, Doctor."
"I love watching football," she said. Smith was behind her, preventing her from leaving.
He gave her a smile and let go of her arm. "Good! I was worried that you wouldn't want to stay once you saw Fitz. Come on, let me walk you up to your spot." She glanced back up into the stands, only to find that Fitz was watching her. She couldn't back down now.
She took her time climbing up the bleachers. When she got to the row, she hoped that Smith would take the lead and sit next to Grant. He gave her a gentle nudge, encouraging her onward, in front of him. She approached Fitz and hesitantly took her seat next to him on the metal bench, uncertain if she should even say anything.
"Fitz," Smith greeted. He took a seat next to Olivia. Grant nodded in greeting. Smith ran his hands along his arms, trying to warm up. "Quite the weather we're having. It's only October, and it feels like November!" His small talk did nothing to help the awkward silence.
After a few minutes of the prolonged silence, Smith got to his feet. "Well, I'm glad you were able to make it Olivia, I know that it was short notice. I hope you enjoy watching the game!"
"Thanks," she was dreading being alone with Fitz. Was it possible that he wanted to simply enjoy the game, without bickering? The final sip of her drink was cold and entirely too sweet. She set the empty cup beneath her and, now that she was free of excuses to avoid Grant, turned to meet his glance.
The chapters will probably be about this length most of the time. I have about 3/4 of the story written already. :) 8 days until TGIT! I'm pumped! Hope you enjoy. ~S
