Well, I'm back writing! Sorry it's taken so long to update, I've been fairly busy and less than impressed with the latest episodes of SLOD, particularly The Defiant Ones. How a pair of actors can go from sizzling chemistry in one episode (Lost at Sea) to flat lining in another (The Defiant Ones) is beyond me. But, I'm on holidays in LA at the moment (I'm from Sydney, Australia) so I'm in the mood to write! I've planned out the rest of the fic, so hopefully it won't take me long to update again. Thanks for all of the encouraging reviews, and I hope you continue to enjoy the fic.
Everything must remain the way it always was. Emma could never know how much he needed her to stay, he couldn't risk exposing his true feelings.
This left Mr Moseby with only one option, he would have to trick Emma into abandoning her plans to escape. There was an undercurrent of cruelty in his plans, a general disregard for the desires of Miss Tutweiller, however he was quick to dismiss this, assuring himself that she could not possibly be content living an average family life far away from the high seas, her class and him.
And therein lied the solution to his predicament. If Mr Moseby could only convince Miss Tutweiller that it was of the utmost importance that she remain on the ship, he would succeed in his mission. She would stay, none the wiser as to his utter dependence on her. He simply needed a plan.
Mr Moseby's musings over the correct course of action to be taken were interrupted by the sound of trouble; the unmistakable, loud chattering of the Martin twins, Bailey Pickett, Woody Fink and London Tipton by the juice bar.
'If Miss Tutweiller's leaving, who's going to teach World Geography?'
'I guess they'll hire a new teacher.'
'I hope she's hot.'
Typical. They had already moved on.
'You don't think it's because of us that she's leaving, do you? I mean, because of Zack and London.'
'Hey!'
Mr Moseby knew that the reality was quite the contrary. If there was one thing Miss Tutweiller would stay for, it was her class. And it was this that had him thinking. With the help of the students, he could remind Miss Tutweiller of why she boarded the ship in the first place, and why her continued presence was needed, and hopefully this would be enough to convince her to forget her recent plans.
Mr Moseby decided to approach the students. As he did, Zack whipped around in his seat to face him, exclaiming 'I didn't do it!'
'Didn't do what?' asked a surprised Mr Moseby.
'Whatever you're accusing me of.'
'I'm not accusing you of anything, yet. I'm actually here to ask for your help.'
'You need our help?'questioned Bailey, suspicious of Mr Moseby's intentions,'With what?'
'To stop Miss Tutweiller from leaving. You all know how important teaching on this boat is to her, and I'm concerned that once she's gone she'll regret her decision.'
'That may be correct,'Cody responded, 'But I still don't see how we could help.'
'Well, tomorrow I'll be trialling Miss Tutweiller's replacement. It would be helpful if you made things a little difficult for her, if you understand.'
'But wouldn't that scare the replacement away?'a perplexed London asked.
'Exactly.'
'But then who would take over after Miss Tutweiller leaves?'
'No one.'
'But then-'
'Don't worry Mr Moseby,'interrupted Bailey, 'The rest of us understand, and I can fill London in later.'
'Thankyou Bailey.'
'Wait, wait,'said Zac, 'What do we get out of this?'
'What do you mean?'
'It's going to take some work to get rid of this replacement. How are you going to make it worth our while?'
'I'm not going to pay you! Isn't it enough that I'm giving you permission to wreak havoc?'
'But we would have done that anyway. Now that it's for you, you're going to have to sweeten the deal a little.'
'How's this for sweetening the deal? If you don't follow through with the plan, I'll make sure that the replacement that you do end up with will an ex-military man with a scar and an eye patch!'
'Deal.'
***
'Ok class, settle down,'said Miss Tutweiller as she entered the classroom. She was accompanied by Mr Moseby, to whom she was still giving the cold shoulder, and a young, mousey looking woman with horn-rimmed glasses.
'This,' announced Mr Moseby, 'is Miss Colbert, who may be taking over from Miss Tutweiller as the school's World Geography teacher. I trust you will all treat Miss Colbert with the same respect as you would any teacher at Seven Seas High.'
With that, Mr Moseby stood aside and allowed Miss Colbert to begin the lesson she had planned on the history of Sydney's Circular Quay, where they were scheduled to dock tomorrow. He was not much impressed with Miss Colbert. Her quiet, little voice was already being drowned out by the noises of the ship, and the students hadn't even started talking yet! There was no way she could replace a personality such as Miss Tutweiller.
As he slipped in and out of listening to Miss Colbert droning on about the Australian shipbuilding industry, Mr Moseby glanced at the back of the room, where Emma had perched herself on a vacant desk. She seemed to be entirely preoccupied with her own thoughts, and Mr Moseby could see that it was taking all of her effort to avoid revealing her distress. She hadn't wanted to attend the trialling of Miss Colbert, in fact it was atypical for the leaving teacher to be concerned with the hiring of their own replacement. Mr Moseby had requested that she attend, his excuse being that only she could truly know whether the class would be content with their new teacher. In fact, Miss Tutweiller's attendance had been a necessary aspect of Mr Moseby's plan.
Unfortunately, it had been a source of further contention between the two of them. She had been unimpressed with his requests, which had shifted to demands after her immediate refusal. Their conversation could have easily escalated into an argument if it wasn't for Miss Tutweiller's ice cold demeanour.
'I hardly think I need to pick a replacement. Isn't that your job?'
'I just need your opinion on this one applicant.'
'I have things to organise, Mr Moseby. I leave in just over a week.'
'But until then, you remain the World Geography teacher on the S.S. Tipton, and you are required to work.'
'Frankly, Mr Moseby, I don't care about working here for another week. I need the time to organise my new apartment, my new furniture and my new job.'
'I don't give a damn about your new life!'
Mr Moseby had bit his lip, well aware that he had just crossed the line.
He had expected Miss Tutweiller to let fly with a barrage of insults, releasing some of her pent-up frustration. He was actually looking forward to it, a throwback to the brighter days when they used to bicker and laugh.
Instead, she replied only with a cold 'Fine, I'll be there', and walked off. Although she had avoided making eye contact with him, Mr Moseby could have sworn that Emma was on the verge of tears. This was the point he had pushed her to.
As a result, Mr Moseby's plan had so far only resulted in further damaging his relationship with Emma. He was completely reliant on the actions of the students, and this was certainly an alarming thought.
A sharp, spitting noise broke Mr Moseby's concentration, and he turned to see Zack Martin clasping a straw and preparing to fire another spit ball at Miss Colbert, who was writing notes on the board. So this was all they had come up with? A couple of spit balls was hardly going to scare off Miss Tutweiller's replacement.
As Zack tucked the apparatus under his book, Miss Colbert whisked around to face the students.
'Who was that? It stops now.'
Miss Colbert turned back around, and Mr Moseby watched as Zack once again pulled out the apparatus, quickly fired to spit balls, and put it back in its place. Miss Colbert turned to face the class, appearing increasingly frustrated.
'Whoever that was, it stops now, or, I will find out who you are, and give you a week of detention.'
Once again, she turned around to the board. This time, Mr Moseby was surprised to see each student in the class pulling out their own apparatus from under their books, and firing successive spit balls. Miss Colbert, for the final time, turned to face the class, red-faced, flustered and close to tears. Before she could speak, the class launched into another round of spit balls.
To escape the constant barrage, Miss Colbert made a run for the door, yelling 'Stop it! You monsters!'
Mr Moseby stood motionless for a moment, shocked by how easily the students had been able to crack Miss Colbert.
Miss Tutweiller, meanwhile, had snapped out of her semi-conscious state to take control of the situation. She drew the students' attention with a sharp whistle that prompted them to lower their straws.
'Alright, that's three weeks detention for all of you!'
The class let out a synonymous groan as they were ushered out of the room, class being declared over for the day. Only Mr Moseby and Miss Tutweiller were left in the room, the former interrupting the dreadful silence with a heavy sigh.
'Well, she's not going to work out.'
'No, she's not.'
'I'm sorry I took you away from your planning for that.'
'It's fine.'
The conversation was going nowhere. It was time for Mr Moseby to take charge.
'I'll just have to keep looking. But, after that show, I'm starting to wonder whether the class will ever welcome a new teacher.'
'They're going to have to, I am leaving in a week.'
'I don't understand how you can leave your class like this.'
'I told you earlier, it's not part of my job to find a replacement.'
'No, but I actually thought you cared about your students, about their studies.'
Miss Tutweiller let out a dry laugh, 'They don't even care about their own studies. And I am leaving the ship, Mr Moseby, whether you find a replacement or not. I understand that I've placed you in a difficult situation, and I'm sorry for that, but I'm not about to change my mind. I have to do this, for me.'
***
After it became resoundingly clear that his plans had failed, Mr Moseby rushed to the juice bar to find the students. He was prepared to take out his frustration on them, and Zack could sense this as he saw Mr Moseby, fists clenched, heading towards the group. However, before he could warn the others, Moseby was standing before them.
'Hi Mr Moseby,' said Bailey, 'How did it go with Miss Tutweiller?'
'Thanks to your piteous attempt at scaring off Miss Carlton, she's still leaving.'
'Hey!' Zack exclaimed, 'That was some of my best work. It's not our fault Miss Tutweiller refuses to stay.'
'No, I suppose it's not. There is, however, another way to get her to stay, but I'm going to need your help.'
'Haven't we helped enough?' asked Cody.
'All I need you to do is to talk to Miss Tutweiller, to convince her that you need her to stay. Tell her that if she leaves, you'll never be able to learn World Geography.
'You want us to guilt her into staying?'
'No, I just want you to create a sense of importance concerning her role on the ship.'
'We're not going to do that,' replied an adamant Bailey.
'Why not?'
'Because it would be wrong to make Miss Tutweiller stay when she clearly doesn't want to. Miss Tutweiller is an adult, and she has to make her own decisions. I'm sorry Mr Moseby, but if you want her to stay, you'll have to speak to her yourself.'
At this point, Mr Moseby knew that the students would no longer be of use to him. However, this didn't mean he was actually going to speak to Miss Tutweiller. No, it was time to hatch another plan.
