Part Ten:
The remaining days of the week went by without so much as a hiccup. Mr Vaughn hadn't asked her to stay behind again and she couldn't feel him staring at her anymore. The feeling of disappointment arose again, but before Sydney was forced to take notice of it she distracted herself by thinking of Francie and Will. She'd spoken to Francie three times this week and they sorted out their plans for Francie and Will's visit. They were going to stay with the Bristow's for the week. Francie would sleep with Sydney in her bed and Will would crash in the spare bedroom. Francie had already expressed her enthusiasm at the prospect of a week-long slumber party.
Sydney quickly refocused her attention on Mr Vaughn who was starting to hand out assessment papers. She'd spent most of last night studying for this and had skipped her Abby time to study ACT III again. She hoped it paid off.
Mr Vaughn walked up her isle, slowly making his way to her desk. He placed the paper down and whispered a 'good luck' with a reassuring smile.
"Ok, start." He commanded as he looked up at the clock checking the time. He slowly made his way down each isle looking over students' shoulders and periodically glancing up at the clock.
With five minutes left Michael was now sitting at his desk waiting for his students to finish. As he looked up and down at the head of each of his students, his eyes landed finally on Sydney who it seemed had finished her paper. She'd closed up the paper and turned it up side down, her close-capped pen lay over the paper and she sat with her head resting on her right hand looking up and out of the window.
Feeling eyes staring upon her, Sydney turned her head and caught Mr Vaughn as he quickly turned his head away. Now it was her turn to watch him. She stared intently at his features, noting the cleft in his chin, the way he chewed on his bottom lip when he was concentrating. She watched as his nose flared and she stifled a giggle. Her eyes trailed up slowly and she was met with his green eyes. 'Oh Shit.' She thought as her eyes widened in shock at being caught and she quickly fumbled for her paper under the guise of re-checking her answers.
He smiled at her antics and his stomach did a flip-flop. Quickly glancing down at his watch and then up at the clock above the blackboard he realised that time was almost up.
Standing up from his seat and making his way around to the front of his desk he counted off the seconds as they ticked by.
"Ok, pens down." He announced and the sound of pens hitting the wood of the desktops resounded in the room. A few groans joined and students stretched their arms behind their heads.
"If you can all make sure your names are on them and then pass them to the front desk of each row, you can then leave as the bell is about to ring." Michael said as he watched some of his students follow his instructions.
Through the hustle and bustle of the students exiting the classroom in a hurry to get to their next class or to their study period, the bell could be heard ringing through the halls. "I should have your results by Monday!" Michael yelled out to the rapidly escaping students. A grunt from one of the boys was all he heard in response.
Michael headed over to grab some of the papers from desks where students had left them instead of listening to his instructions. A few students took their time leaving the room, Sydney included. Catching her about to leave, he called out to her, "Syd, just wait a sec if you could." He said as he picked up a few more papers while waiting for the lingering few students to leave.
'Syd?' She thought to herself. There had only ever been one other person that had called her that. A feeling of guilt washed over her before being replaced by giddiness and excitement. A smile spread over her face at the thought of him using a nickname for her.
Walking over to his desk he placed the papers down before turning around to face her. "Ok," He started with a smile and a relaxed stance, his hands in his pockets, his tie loosened and the top button open. "I'll have your paper marked by 3:00pm this afternoon if you want to drop by and collect it. We can also discuss the extra credit." He said, his smile still in place. He didn't know yet what it was but there was something about her that just made him want to smile when he was with her. He shrugged it off before his mind travelled places that were supposed to never be travelled in his profession.
She nodded and returned his smile with a small one of her own. She turned on her heel and quickly scurried out of the classroom, her book bag clutched to her shoulders.
"Interesting." Michael said a smile still lingering on his face. He shook his head before walking around his desk to start marking her paper as he waited for his next class to arrive.
"Where have you been all week?" Michael heard himself ask as Eric set down his full tray of food at the table already filling fast with staff members.
"The ninth graders keep setting small fires in the ovens. Who knew chocolate mud cake was a killer?" Eric said sitting down disgruntled. "Do you know how hard and time-consuming it is to clean ovens all day?" He asked as he shot Michael a death glare.
Michael holding his hands up as a sign of surrender replied, "I didn't do it." A grin formed on his face as he noticed the frustrated way Eric sat, his back in an awkward position.
"Do you know what its like to be on your knees for like an hour everyday?" He asked Michael before shovelling a bread roll into his mouth.
Michael raised an eyebrow in Eric's direction, "You know, some women admire a man who'll get down on his knees." Michael joked.
"Ha… ha." Eric replied sarcastically.
There was a pause in conversation as both parties took bites of their lunch. Eric paused mid-bite though and turned to look at Michael with a suspicious stare.
"What?" Michael asked a little unnerved.
"Speaking of men and women and their knees," he paused for effect, "what was Sydney Bristow doing playing with your son on Friday morning?"
And any conversation at the table ceased to exist as about twelve pairs of eyes stared at him.
"Uh-" Michael started only to be interrupted by his pager that vibrated against his hip. Reaching down to check the read-out he reacted immediately as he jumped up from the table and ran inside the school building towards the front desk.
There stood a red haired girl chewing on gum with her mouth wide open squeezing Matty's hand tightly, trying to stop his squirming body.
Sarah watched suspiciously out of the corner of her eye under the guise of using the computer at the front desk.
"What happened?" Michael asked as he took Matty away from the girl.
"Gotta get outta this joint." The redhead said before turning around and leaving.
"Wait! You can't just leave!" Michael yelled out to her, a rude finger was her reply.
"Great!" Michael muttered as Matty began to play with the buttons on Michael's shirt. Noticing Sarah out of the corner of his eye he did a mental eye-roll, as he knew this would be around the staff before next period started in fifteen minutes.
Making a quick decision he walked over to Sarah. "Sarah, I was wondering, if I need to find the location of a student at a particular time, you're the person I see right?" He asked.
Sarah feigning surprise at his appearance in front of him, quickly switched her gaze from Michael to Matty who continued to fiddle with the buttons on Michael's shirt.
"Uh yeah." Sarah finally answered.
"Great. I was wandering if you could tell me what Sydney Bristow has next period. Thanks." Michael asked as he readjusted Matty on his hip. So far Matty hadn't even glanced at Sarah, keeping his attention on Michael.
Michael looked down at his son who proceeded to tuck his head into Michael's neck as if to hide. Michael rubbed his back as he listened to Sarah's fingers tap against the keyboard. Finally she shared with him the information he'd asked for.
"Alright, she has a study period and then AP Maths." Sarah replied before smiling up at Michael.
Without a glance in her direction he extended a thanks and left. As he reached the hallways he set Matty on his feet keeping a firm hold on Matty's hand.
They slowly walked down the hallway towards the outside eating area. Michael braced himself for the stares he knew he was going to receive. Reaching the final corner he paused there and took a deep breath and reassured himself that he wasn't ashamed of Matty, he loved him and he was the best thing to ever happen in his life.
"Ready?" Michael asked looking down at Matty. Matty grinned back up at him, his dimples showing. Michael rolled his eyes matching his grin before he took the plunge and stepping around the corner.
There was a considerable decrease in the level of noise when Michael began to walk between the tables back towards his surprisingly still vacant seat next to Eric. Michael felt Matty begin to feel uncomfortable and stopped briefly to pick him up. When Matty buried himself in Michael's warm and comforting arms he heard a few 'awwws' and 'that's so cute' coming from the girls at the tables around him.
Michael quickly made his way to the staff table without any mishaps. Eric looked up and Michael was sure he saw Eric's eyes light up at the sight of Matty.
"Sorry." Michael apologised for is rudeness earlier. "My babysitter dropped out on me." Silence reigned upon the table.
Matty shifted his position in Michael's arms and caught a glimpse of Eric.
"Unc Ewc!" Matty exclaimed reaching out to Eric who excitedly snatched him out of Michael's arms.
"Matty! How are you?" Eric asked as he sat him in his lap facing him.
"Goo." Matty replied with a grin before punching Eric softly in the chest. "Bash up!" Matty exclaimed with excitement.
Eric looked over at Michael who shook his head, his obvious tiredness showing. "What have you been teaching your son?" Eric asked with a grin.
"You're the one that said you wanted to corrupt him." Michael replied jokingly before grabbing Matty's attention. "Matty, we don't hit people ok?" He asked.
Matty nodded before kissing Eric on the cheek. "Eww! You don't kiss boys." Eric replied, his face all scrunched up in mock disgust.
"Oh admit it, your mother-hen side is itching to escape." Michael said with a grin before continuing with his half eaten meal while keeping a close eye on Matty.
There were a few minutes left of lunch and students were slowly starting to leave. "Can you just watch him for a sec?" Michael asked without waiting for a reply. He made his way over to the bin and disposed of his rubbish before returning to the table to notice Matty wasn't there anymore.
"Where's Matty?" Michael asked, his heart beginning to pound in his chest, his breathing quickening.
"What?" Eric asked as he turned away from his conversation to look over at Michael.
Sweat droplets began to make their way down his forehead and his hands began to fidget. "Where's Matty, I just went to the bin, where is he?" Michael asked, his eyes darting from place to place around him, hordes of students were now making their way to their lockers and Michael couldn't see anything.
Turning around in a full circle, Michael couldn't locate him.
And the world stopped.
