Disclaimer: I own nothing
Author's Note: Just a short chapter to allow for some Becky/Jack stuff before I get into the real bigger storylines.
Chapter Four
On monday morning, Jack stood in the downstairs hallway, waiting for Becky. He was all ready for his first day back in the classroom and although he wasn't thrilled about it at first, he'd warmed to the idea and decided that he'd just have to face it, although he had no plans of being civil to Andrew Treneman or Roger Aspinall.
When Becky came downstairs, she stopped in the hallway mirror and moved to rearrange her hair when Jack said, " It looks fine, love. "
Becky smiled as she turned to him, " You'd tell me that no matter how I looked. "
Jack shrugged and as his girlfriend stopped in front of him, she looked up at him. She shook her head fondly and reached out to take hold of his tie, which was askew. She took it and undid it, before starting to work on it again.
" You could at least look smart, if you're going to be back in the staffroom. I won't have anyone in the staffroom saying you're not looked after properly at home," Becky said, doing his tie up slowly, " I've got a reputation to keep up. "
" Reputation? " Jack asked, cocking an eyebrows, " you mean, your reputation as the gorgeous, priviledged girlfriend of the headmaster? I think you've lost that anyway, since I've lost the job. "
" Gorgeous? And priviledged? " Becky laughed, tighening his tie slowly, " I don't think anyone sees me like that. I was thinking more along with lines of my reputation as a nice girl who looks after her boyfriend. "
She finished with his tie and tucked it back inside his jacket and he smiled gratefully and kissed her cheek, " Come on then," he said, " let's get going. "
Becky nodded and stepped back and he opened the door and waited for her to leave. She left in front of him and as he followed her to the car, he pressed his hand into the small of her back and kept close behind her.
As they drove to the school, Becky looked at Jack's profile.
" Do you really think the rest of the staff see me as ... how did you put it? ... priviledged? " she asked him, frowning a little, " I'm not sure I like the sound of that. "
Jack shrugged, glancing at her, " Oh, you know what they're like. Some members of the staff are like ... well, they're jealous, love. "
" Jealous of me? " Becky laughed, as though it were ridiculous, " who are you kidding? "
" They are," Jack said, " you don't see the way Steph looks at you sometimes. And Holly Parsan isn't much better either - you know the classroom assistant. You can't blame them - " a smirk crossed his face, " you're beautiful, young, popular with the kids and your collegues and dating the headmaster. Who happens to buy you shiny new jewellrey, a car, and holidays abroad. "
Becky shrugged, " Suppose I can see where they're coming from, but ... you don't think of me like that. Like I'm only in it for the things you buy me. Because I'm not. I don't ever ask you for anything. I tell you that you shouldn't spend all that money on me. "
" Hey," Jack said quickly, " I wasn't trying to get you worked up. I just ... it's just that a few members of staff are jealous of you and I can see why. I ... it was a throw away comment, love. "
Becky shrugged.
Jack laughed a little, " Well, I do know you're not in it for the money," he said, " no amount of money would cover the amount of rubbish you put up with from me. I know I can be a grumpy sod sometimes. "
" Yeah," Becky said, " but I know I've got my faults too - "
" You don't," Jack said immediately.
Becky smiled and reached out, laying her hand on his leg.
When they pulled up outside the school, Jack offered out his arm to Becky and she smiled and slid her hand through his arm, taking a small step closer to him.
They walked across the carpark together and as they neared the main entrance, Becky saw Chlo and Donte standing together near the doors with a few of their other friends.
" Morning Miss Clarkson," a couple of the lads called out.
" Good morning boys," Becky nodded.
Donte moved away from his group and approached Jack and Becky, " Rebecca," he said - as her godson he was one of the students she cared about more than anyone else, and the only student who'd ever really call her by her first name.
" Morning Donte," she said, while Jack gave Donte a supressed smile - he thought Donte was a bit of a trouble maker but would put up with him for Becky's sake. He supposed the boy wasn't so bad.
" Just checking that it's still ok to come around tomorrow," he said.
" Course it is," Becky said, " I'll see you tomorrow if I don't see you before. "
Donte nodded and walked away, and as Becky and Jack went into the school, Jack looked at the woman he loved, " You're too nice, you know," he said.
" Don't be like that," Becky smirked, " I know you're a bigger softy than you'd ever let on, otherwise you wouldn't have the kids in the house. "
Jack shrugged, " Maybe I like the girls. Donte Charles, I'm not so sure about, but if you like him ... "
Tomorrow evening, Becky was having Chlo, Mika and Donte over for dinner. She had the girls over a couple of times a month and had decided to have them over the following day because Izzie and Tom were going out for a meal. Becky had decided that it would be a good time to have the girls over and cook dinner for them since Tom and Izzie weren't going to be around to cook. And since she was having the girls around, Becky had decided that she'd have Donte too.
She already felt like an aunt to Donte and to the girls too since Izzie and Tom had gotten together, and though Jack would never admit it, he was fond of the kids too.
" Good morning Miss Clarkson," Brett Aspinall said as Becky and Jack passed him in the corridor - Roger Aspinall's son was a middle-class boy who thought a bit too much of himself, but Becky thought he had a little charm to him, and she quite liked him.
" Morning, Brett," Becky replied.
Brett looked at Jack and his smile faded a little as he nodded, " Mr Rimmer. "
" Brett," Jack nodded, before continuing on, and making Becky walk along with him.
As they headed towards the staffroom, Jack muttered, " Arrogant little sod. "
Becky laughed, " Jack, he's not so bad. So he's a bit arrogant, but ... "
" I don't like him," Jack said.
Becky rolled her eyes as she looked up at him, " You only don't like him because he's Roger's son. "
" Yeah," Jack said, " and he's an arrogant little sod, and he thinks far too much of himself. And he likes you. "Good morning, Miss Clarkson" who does he think he is? Just doing it to wind me up. Loads of the lads do it - it's like you're some kind of pin up for these lads. Loads of them look at you like you're - "
" Are you joking? " Becky laughed as they stopped outside the door to the staffroom, " you think some 15 or 16 or 17 year old school boys are trying to steal me from you? We've been together 11 months - "
" 12 months, in two weeks," Jack added.
" Exactly," nodded Becky, " which shows how much I love you, doesn't it? What do I want with some spotty teenage boy - " she stepped forwards and laid both her hands on his chest, pushing him back as she walked forwards, until his back hit the wall gently, " when I've got a real man, right here. "
" I'll show you real man," Jack growled, taking hold of her waist and pulling her towards him, making her giggle and try to pull away.
" Jack! " she hissed, though she was laughing, " we're at work! And you don't have your own office for this kind of stuff, anymore. "
Jack was looking at her with the kind of intense passion in his eyes that she loved and he pulled her towards him and pressed his lips to hers. She grinned as they shared a kiss which was long and starting to get a little heated, when someone cleared their throat behind them.
Jack pulled away from Becky and Becky turned around to see Grantly standing there, looking decidedly unimpressed.
" As bad as the damned horomone driven kids," Grantly said, " you could at least leave the door to the staffroom free in your escapades. "
Jack grinned, unembarrassed, " Sorry mate," he said, as he and Becky stepped apart to allow Grantly to pass. Grantly passed, muttering to himself as he did so, and once he'd gone into the staffroom and shut the door behind him, Becky glared at Jack.
" Told you we shouldn't act like that in the corridor," she said, slapping his chest when she got close enough.
Jack shrugged, " Don't be like that, love. How can I possibly resist you when you look so beautiful? "
" One day," Becky said, shaking her head, " I'm going to tire of your charming little comments, Mr Rimmer, and then you'll be stuck, won't you? "
" Say it as much as you want," shrugged Jack, " but we both know you'll never be fed up. "
Becky smiled and started towards the staffroom door. She hadn't even touched the door handle when Jack caught hold of her hand and tugged her back towards him.
He'd taken a step forwards and she laughed when she found herself pressed right up against him. He grinned and kissed her cheek before she reached for the door handle again. They entered the staffroom, Becky leading, Jack following her, a hand pressed against her back in a protective gesture as they walked.
The eyes of most members of staff were on them in the staffroom, and they walked across the room and sat down opposite Tom and Izzie.
" Morning Tommy," Becky grinned, settling into an armchair beside Jack.
Tom rolled his eyes, " How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Tommy? " he sighed, shaking his head.
Becky shook her head, " I call you it all the time. "
" Yeah, but not in front of other people," Tom mumbled, " not in the staffroom. "
Becky rolled her eyes, " It's only Jack and Izzie, they're hardly bothered. "
Tom looked at Jack, " How are you feeling, then? "
" Not thrilled," Jack sighed, " but Becky's convinced me that I can still be a great teacher in this role. She says I can do it, so I've ... I've got to believe her, haven't I? "
" Yeah, you have," Becky replied for him, " I always know what I'm talking about. "
Jack chuckled and told Tom, " I don't know how I feel about it all really, but I've just got to do it, havent I? I used to love teaching History - I love the subject, so I'm sure I'll settle into it, but ... well, having Treneman swan around as headmaster isn't going to be easy. "
Tom shook his head, " It'll work out, Jack. Treneman's a good teacher, but he doesn't know how to run a school. "
Jack shrugged, " Then let him and Aspinall look like the idiots - they don't know a thing between them. Got to admit, I'm going to miss the job though. And I'm not letting go of it. "
Becky smiled, " Course you're not," she said, before telling Tom and Izzie, " Jack's going to apply for permanent headship as soon as he can. "
" Good," Izzie said, " the school needs you. "
Jack smiled gratefully, and after the bell rang for registration, the teachers all made their way to their classrooms. Being in the history department together meant that they had classrooms next door to each other, and when they walked through the corridors, they saw Andrew standing at the end of the corridor.
Jack glared and chose not to look at him, instead glaring at the floor, and Becky plastered on a big fake smile.
" Good morning, Jack, Becky," Andrew called out.
" Morning Mr Treneman," Becky said as he held the door open for her to walk through.
Andrew looked at Jack," Ready for the classroom again, Jack? " he asked.
Jack didn't reply, instead walking straight on and although Becky didn't agree with Andrew being headmaster, she knew that they had to put up with him, and they'd have to work under him.
She glanced at Andrew apologetically after Jack's deliberate snub but said nothing as she followed Jack. Jack went into his classroom, just around the corner, and Becky followed him.
When he heard her footsteps behind him, he turned around and raised his eyebrows, " Don't you have your own classroom? " he asked, " and a classroom full of kids to register? "
Becky shrugged, " I'll go in a second," she said, " I just - "
Jack knew exactly why she'd followed him, and he shook his head, " I'm fine, Becky. Go do your job. I'll see you soon. "
Becky nodded and headed for the door, but Jack stopped to think and stepped after her, catching hold of her arm and stopping her from leaving.
" Thank you," he said.
Becky smiled, " I know we're not happy with Treneman, honey, but he's our boss. We've got to toe the line - you've got to toe the line. He'll go straight to Aspinall and complain about you, and then where will you be? "
Jack nodded, " Duely noted, love," he said, " but you leave Treneman and Aspinall to me, yeah? "
Becky rolled her eyes, " See you later. "
