The Trouble With Teaching

Clara's POV

The trouble with teaching was that sometimes you had to stand in for teachers who were away. And, more often than not, you didn't really want to do that lesson. Oh, there was a rare case or two where you actually enjoyed it, but that was very rare indeed, especially at Coal Hill. Today had not been one of those times.

She wearily stumbled into the staff room and flopped down in a chair. She had a free period next, so maybe she could get on with some marking, or just recover from the previous lesson. She dragged herself out of her chair and went to make herself a cuppa. The water was just boiling when Danny walked in.

'Hi, Clara.' He raised his eyebrows at her frazzled expression. 'Rough day?'

'Like you wouldn't believe.' She finished with the tea and walked over to him. 'Year 10 PSE cover. Why on earth did Rebekah have to be away today?'

'Well, I think I'm free next lesson too. How about I get the biscuit tin and you can forget all about it?'

'What, so biscuits have memory wipe powers now? Anyway, I don't think anything will ever make me forget that experience.'

They started laughing just as the headmaster walked in. 'Ah, Danny, just the man. Next period would you be able to cover Rebekah's Year 9 PSE lesson for me? Unless you are too busy having fun with Miss Oswald, hmm?'

Clara mentally rolled her eyes. What a pompous ass she thought.

'No, sir. I'll be there in a moment.' Clara stifled a giggle as Danny surreptitiously rolled his eyes at her.

'There's a good fellow.' The headmaster turned and left, just as Clara burst into laughter.

'I suppose I'll be finding out what you meant now, then.' She nodded.

'I suppose you will.'


Danny's POV

The lesson was every bit as bad as what Clara had described. Trying to tame a bunch of adolescent children into listening to him talk about drugs and smoking was like trying to teach a fish to live out of water. Impossible.

Even barking at them military-style didn't get the result it was supposed to get. No amount of shouting and yelling at them would get them to calm down.

If he was honest with himself, Danny couldn't blame them. He had always hated subjects such as the one he was supposed to be teaching. They had always seemed so boring, so mundane. Still, now he was teaching it, he wished he had payed more attention in lessons.

He was very grateful when the bell finally rang. The kids packed away at the speed of light and bolted out the door to lunch. He made his way down to the staff room and greeted Clara again, before flopping down in a chair.

'That bad?' She grinned as she walked over.

'That bad.' He confirmed.

'Tell you what. How about we go back to my place after school and we can swap stories over a cuppa and some biccies?'

'I think I might just take you up on that one.'

They leaned in towards each other just as the door opened. They sprang apart and Danny heaved himself up, with great difficulty. Ah, yes. That was the trouble with teaching. It took a hell of a lot out of you.


A/N: I going to discontinue this story now, for several reasons.

1. Not many people are reading this now. (Yes, I am one of those sad people who look to see how many people are reading their stories).

2. I'm running out of ideas. Which reminds me, credit for the inspiration of this chapter goes to CarlaKitten21, an absolutely fantastic author.

3. If I'm honest, I'm getting a bit fed up with this story.

There are more reasons but you don't want to know them all. I hope you've all enjoyed this story and I thank everyone for reading. Oh, one last thing. I'm going to publish another Doctor Who story soon (hopefully) called We Remember: The Ones Lost in Time. Keep an eye out.