Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me. Apologies for the hiatus!

Arthur rubbed his face, and then peered at himself in the mirror. He groaned. He looked tired, and also, he thought ruefully, slightly hungover. After Ariadne had left, he might have had a scotch. Or three.

He turned on the water for the shower, and hauled himself into it. He had to accept it - he was demoted. Sliding down the career ladder. Even if he was cleared of assault, he wouldn't be able to escape it completely. It was a permanent blotch on his record.

He let the water cascade down his back, and then soaped himself. As for Ariadne coming round...he felt his heart contract.

Arthur had to admit it - he liked her. Really liked her. But he had gatecrashed her date, and he had tipped ice cream over Robert.

Why didn't you just ask her out first? His mind screamed at him. Rinsing the last of his shampoo from his scalp, he turned off the faucet, and reached for his towel.

The drive to work that morning was too quick, Arthur decided. He would have given anything for another ten minutes, to cushion him from confronting the students and faculty at Fox. But, he mused, he had to get there eventually.

He pulled into a parking space, and reached inside the dashboard to disconnect his iPod. He looked at it, and sighed. Alice In Chains had not been the best choice for the morning's drive. Layne Staley's mournful voice had not improved his move. Sighing, he unlocked the car door, put his iPod in his suit pocket, and made his way to the trunk of the car. As he unlocked it and opened it up, he heard a voice.

"Mr Ogilvie!"

He turned. One of his students was approaching him. He swallowed, feeling nervous. What if she wanted to tell him she'd heard the rumours already? He took a deep breath, and turned to face her.

"Bethany," he said, smiling pleasantly. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you'd marked our assignments?"

Arthur blinked. He hadn't. His mind had been so consumed with the situation regarding Robert. Biting his lip, he turned to one of his most hard working Twelth graders.

"I haven't," he admitted. "I'm really sorry."

Bethany looked slightly crushed, but then picked herself up. "Oh, its fine, Mr Ogilvie," she said, smiling. "I mean, you do two jobs!"

Arthur nodded, turning his head to hide his embarrassment. Not only was he useless as a VP, he thought, miserably, but he wasn't even doing his expected duties as a classroom teacher either.

Ariadne squared her shoulders, and headed up the stairs. She knew she was taking a risk, but she had to try. It was the least she felt she could do.

Swallowing, she knocked on Cobb's door. "Yes?" came the response. Opening it, she saw that he was with Mal. The elegant woman, got up, smiling, "why, bonjour, ma petite" she said, obviously glad of the opportunity to use her own fluent french. "Ca va?"

Ariadne shook her head. "Non, madame."

Mal creased her forehead in surprise and concern, and Cobb looked slightly uncomfortable. "Ariadne, come in, and have a seat," he said. As she shut the door, he sat down, and waited for his wife and colleague to take theirs. "I take it this is about Arthur?"

She nodded. "Yes." She took a deep breath, and looked at the Principal. "Please, its my fault. I shouldn't have gone out with Robert, and I know he shouldn't have tipped ice cream over him-"

"Ariadne!" Cobb held up his hands. "There's a lot of shouldn'ts and wouldn'ts in this tale. All that stands is that Robert has filed a complaint against my Vice Principal. And yes, he shouldn't have gatecrashed your date, and no, he shouldn't have thrown ice cream over him."

She shook her head. "No."

"It should have been his espresso."

Blinking, Ariadne looked up at Cobb. His blue eyes were twinkling, and so were Mal's. Ariadne started to smile. "I guess you approved as well?"

"I did." Cobb leaned over. "Trust me, I couldn't bear to see Fischer pawing at you like that - it was completely disrespectful, and I know that Arthur's nuts about you." Ariadne blushed, and Cobb coughed. "But, Fischer has filed a complaint, and as his father is very influential throughout the community, and I know is also good friends with the Superintendent-" he bit his lip - "my hands are tied."

"But, Arthur's going to win, isn't he?" Ariadne protested. Cobb looked at her. "I have no idea," he said, honestly. "But I can promise you this - I'm going to let Arthur tell the staff that there's been a change." He nodded. "I'm not going to go behind his back."

Getting up, Ariadne nodded. As she made her way to the door, she regretted going on a date with Robert even more.

Arthur swallowed, and stood up in front of the staff. He'd been pulled into Cobb's office that morning, and been told, simply, that he had to let the staff know.

As he stood at the front of the teacher's lounge, he felt all eyes on him. He noted that some, like Ariadne and Eames' were sypmathetic, but he also knew that Robert's were full of triumph. He took a deep breath.

"Um, I'd like to inform you all of something." He swallowed, hoping his voice wouldn't crack. "Due to the fact I'm taking on more teaching duties due to Tom's illness, I'm handing over my responsibility as Vice Principal to Mallorie Cobb."

He heard a slight gasp, but ignored it. "I hope that you'll give her the same respect co-operation as you gave me."

He closed his mouth, and felt himself blush scarlet. Then, conscious of all eyes being on him, he hurried out of the room.

Ariadne waited in her classroom for her first class. As they entered, she strained her eyes, seeing if she could catch any snippets of gossip about Arthur.

The Ninth graders entered relatively calmly, and took their seats. As she smiled at them, they nodded, and smiled back. Then one spoke. "Ms Henderson?"

She paused. "Yes, Jeff?"

"Are you going to show us how to paint a still life today?"

She exhaled with relief. "Of course. Now, lets start mixing your palettes!"

Arthur twisted a pencil as he waited for his Twelth graders. As they entered, he already guessed something was up. They came in cautiously, and a couple of them threw knowing looks at him.

"Please sit down," Arthur said, politely. To his relief, they complied. He cleared his throat, and began to address them. "Now, about your assignments. I'm afraid I haven't marked them."

There was a slight murmur. Arthur decided to ignore it and pressed on.

"However, I will have marked them in time for the next class. So, if you-"

"Mr Ogilvie?" One student interrupted. He swallowed, and looked at him. "Yes, Joe?"

"Is it true-" the boy paused, as though Arthur were a dangerous animal he might provoke - "is it true that you're no longer Vice Principal? For the moment?"

Arthur felt his heart sink. He realised he couldn't deny it. "Um, yes Joe. It is," he admitted.

Joe nodded, then leaned forward again. "is it also true-" he swallowed - "that its because you threw ice cream at Mr Fischer?"

Arthur felt his heart sink even lower. "Um, who told you that?"

"Mr Eames."

Arthur gritted his teeth. Eames. You're fired! he ranted in his mind. "Um, what did Mr Eames tell you?" he asked, politely.

Joe was still leaning forward, as though he were divulging state protected secrets. "That you and other staff went out for a meal, and Mr Fischer upset Ms Henderson, and you tipped your ice cream in his lap!"

Arthur felt frozen. All eyes were on him. "Um, yes." He admitted. "Thats true."

Suddenly, he blinked. The class were applauding!

"Mr Ogilvie!" Joe said, impressed. "You're the man!"

"What?" Arthur said, looking slightly astounded. "I am!"

Joe nodded, vigorously. "Everyone likes Ms Henderson - she's really cool. And Mr Fischer's a creep!"

Arthur began to grin. "Well, I can't condone that language, Joseph. But I do appreciate the sentiment!"

The group started to laugh, some still applauding. Smiling, Arthur began to write on the board. Perhaps this wouldn't be so difficult, after all.

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