A/N: I have read or seen plenty of Resident Evil fanfics based in high school and honestly I was hesitant to write one. But since this one of mine will be a bit different since the main characters are mostly teachers and adults rather than high school students. Still crossing my fingers with how this one will end up.
Claire smiles as she smells the pancakes she is cooking. The scent was enough to distract her from the sound of rummaging stuff and muffled arguments emitting from her brother's bedroom. While contemplating if she will prepare a table for three or only two, she hums in tune while flipping the pancakes. She already reprimanded her brother not to bring any of the girls he sleeps with but every once in a while, some girl ends up too drunk to tell him the address which gives Chris no choice but to bring a lady to their house rather than spend money at a cheap hotel. Regardless of how cheap it is, the Redfield siblings are thrifty like that.
Claire is in the middle of setting the table when she hears the woman step out from the bedroom. She greets the woman with a warm smile and the latter returns the favor despite being hesitant at first. Based on Claire's observation, she's not American and is obviously wearing the same clothes she wore last night from whichever bar Chris has met her. From her posture and body language, she had a rough night and would just really want to go home. Surely not because her brother treated the lady badly but probably because the lady is late for an important appointment or someone will soon be angry if she won't go home soon.
"Breakfast? I can hail you a taxi just outside while you eat." Claire politely offers but the woman just shakes her head
"If it's just outside then I can do it myself. Thank you. Tell Chris that I couldn't wait for him to finish and he doesn't need to drive me anymore." After she answers, she hurriedly walks towards their front door and exits the house.
Claire watches her leave through the door then hums again while setting the table. Just after she pours the caramel syrup on each of their plates, Chris emerges in the kitchen.
"You really have a thing for exotic and foreign beauty." Claire greets him.
"She is a long-time friend from my previous work and we just met in a bar." He looks around and when he confirms that she is not around anymore, he looks back at his sister and raises his eyebrows in question.
"Well you long time friend already left. She looks like she's in a hurry." Claire takes a seat and starts happily slicing her meal.
"Sheva had a fight with her boyfriend Josh last night. She's probably going to head back to him. Her phone just wouldn't stop ringing until I woke up." He says casually while preparing coffee.
"What did I tell you about getting yourself in trouble?" She pauses for a second to look up at him.
"Same thing about not drinking and having a one night stand. 'Never do it a day or night before school, Chris'" He pats her head before taking a seat and placing the cup of coffee on their table.
She groans but resumes eating her breakfast. Of all the days that her brother choses to misbehave, he chooses to do it on her first day of teaching. He didn't mean it though, truthfully speaking it was really unintentional. His main goal last night was to just get tipsy enough and get some sleep. The very reason why he had trouble sleeping is the mere thought of Claire's first day at work.
"You know, kiddo . . . you can still back out if you want. You can always go back to teaching kindergarten students again. High school students are really not that easy to tame."
Claire gulps down her orange juice before replying. "One, we don't tame students, Chris. You teach and discipline them. Two, it's not my fault that my degree, knowledge and ability is enough to teach High School students. So deal with it."
Chris slumps his shoulders in defeat. "Fine, but I'm driving." He felt his sister side glancing at him but he just continued to drink his coffee, even taking a bite of the pancake she prepared. "What did I tell you about riding your motorcycle?"
She gives a scoff in return, not letting him have the satisfaction of hearing the very same rule they discussed earlier. At least she can still ride her Harley during the weekends.
Her class room was not that spacious and only had enough distance between each chair for her to walk in between them. If her butt would be any thicker then she doesn't think she can freely walk around the class full of 20 – 25 students. Still, it was tidy and has all the necessities she needs like bookshelf, desk and a small cabinet.
"This is yours until further notice, it's up to you how you'll arrange things around." The principal, Alexander Ashford, informs her. She smiles warmly and shakes his extended hand.
"Thank you so much, Mister Ashford. I'm really thankful you walked with me all the way here just to greet me and show me to my classroom."
"It's nothing. I do it to all our new teachers. I'm actually not sure why almost every year, one of our best teachers always leaves school." Confusion was evident in his face. "That's why I always encourage everyone to give warm welcome to our new employees, no matter what their work is for them to have a nice stay and just stay here. Anyway, the bell will ring anytime soon. I'll give you time to prepare. If you have any questions then you know where to find my office." With that, he waves his hand before walking out of the classroom.
Given the fact that she still has half an hour before first period, she starts to move all the stuff in her box on the table and bookshelf. Chris wouldn't stop complaining about how she is too early for work but she knows it will take her a few minutes before she can get used to her new teaching environment.
While arranging her stuff, some students enter her classroom without sparing her a glance while some others ask her the subject and her name just to confirm if they are in the right room. As the bell rings, she slowly walks towards her desk while basking in the ambience of the room filled with hormonally imbalanced teenagers and reminds herself that she can ace this school year. She picks up a chalk and starts writing her name on the board.
For the past 15 minutes, Piers has been eyeing the pretty redhead from across the room, thinking that she is just another one of his classmates, trying to charm her with a few nods and grins. But how he wanted the ground to swallow him as he sees her write what he assumes is her name on the wall. He now understands that the reason why she would politely bow her head as a reply to all his attempted seduction is because she is his got damn teacher.
"Good morning, everyone, I'll be your geography teacher. My name is Claire Redfield." He stares at her as he hears her speak for the first time. Even the very sound of her name sounds familiar to him.
Miss Redfield pointed her hand at the student beside her who was raising her hand. "Miss Redfileld? Isn't that the last name of our school's basketball coach as well? Are you related to him?"
Piers suddenly felt his heart skip; how come he didn't notice it earlier than anyone else, especially since he is in that very team. His fingers wander at the side of his armchair while waiting for his teacher's reply. He is not ready to accept the fact that the girl who caught his eye this early morning is his teacher who might also be taken as well.
"Yes, I am. I'm actually his sister." She responds and he sighs in relief.
He hears his classmate Sherry ask another question. "Really? I don't see any resemblance- I mean. Sorry. But it's just that you don't look alike or anything at all."
"It's OK. We get that a lot. I'm used to the surprised reaction from everyone." She waves her hand in a carefree manner as she starts to discuss her short employment history, how she got hired in Raccoon City High School and why she prefers to teach geography.
Piers is astounded by how she transitions from one topic to another. She doesn't only have the most soothing voice to listen to but also because it didn't feel like a lecture at all. She would occasionally ask the class about the other countries they would want to visit or have visited and will share certain trivia about the country. As the class ended, he was almost sure that he memorized at least 3 capitals of the 3 countries from Europe.
He stands up from his seat, fiddling with the straps dangling from his bag. He wanted to raise his hand and recite earlier but he wasn't confident with his answer or opinions earlier. He wanted to ask a question related to the subject his teacher was discussing but he wasn't able to construct any logical question. If anyone got Miss Redfield's attention, it's his classmate Sherry Birkin because of how participative she was. Now he wants to at least introduce himself to his new teacher.
He slowly steps towards her desk as the students leave the room one by one. His teacher is busy checking what looks like their seat plan. He was about to raise his hand or clear his throat in an attempt to get her attention but a knock on the opened door beat him to it.
"Good morning." A brunette lady smiles and enters the room.
Claire looks up from the paper, catching a glimpse of one of her students in front of her before looking at the woman who just entered the room. She mirrors her smile. "Good morning. How can I help you?"
"Hi, I'm Jill. Jill Valentine. I teach geometry next door." She waves her hand then looks at Piers. "I hope I'm not interrupting you and Mister Nivans here?"
"Claire Redfield." She stands up and offers her hand and the latter gladly shakes it. Claire glances at the student in front of her desk. "Sorry, Mister Nivans? Do you have a question for me?"
Piers licks his dry lips as discreetly as possible. "No, ma'am."
"Don't you have basketball practice, Mister Nivans?" Jill inquires and the boy nods.
"Thanks for today, Miss Redfield. I learned a lot." He simply tells Claire before leaving the room.
Jill waited for him to step out of the room before raising her concern. "Claire, I know it's only the end of first period but . . . do you happen to have spare chalk?"
"Yeah, sure. I'm new here so I made sure I came prepared. Hold on." She replies and begins checking the drawers of her desk, trying to recall where she placed her box of chalks.
"Thank goodness." She sighs in relief. "Claire Redfield you say? Are you related to the school basketball coach?"
"Yes, I'm the younger and cuter sibling between us." She answers with a giggle then hands three pieces of chalk to Jill.
"Hmmm, it's hard to tell that you are related if not for your last names." Jill follows up as she receives the chalks.
"I know, my students were all surprised earlier."
"Thanks for this, Claire." She smiles and walks towards the door. "By the way, once you have free time. Give me a knock or better yet. Let's have lunch together. I usually eat lunch with Rebecca, our school nurse. You can always see her in the clinic at the end of this hallway."
Claire cranes her neck towards the direction Jill gestured and then nods her head. "Sure, give you a knock before lunch."
Claire walks along the hallway while sipping her Oreo smoothie. After her lunch with Jill and Rebecca, Claire went back to her classroom roughly 15 minutes earlier before the start of her class. There is something about being a few minutes earlier than her actual class that puts her at ease. She hates cramming and always wants to make sure that everything is prepared before she starts her lecture. She enters her empty classroom, playfully spinning the miniature globe at the corner of her desk before putting her drink down.
"Is this geography? Are you Miss Redfield?"
Claire places a hand on the globe to stop it and looks at the guy who just knocked. "Yes, it is. I am. You may take your seat."
"Oh, sorry, ma'am. I'm not a student. I'm an intern here in school. Steve Burnside" The thin, pale guy approaches her with an extended hand. She stands up in embarrassment at the fact that she assumed he is one of her students just because he looks young. She shakes his hand and apologizes.
"Sorry about that. I thought-"
"It's OK. It's OK." He politely shakes his head with a smile. "Miss Valentine also thought the same a few months ago, last summer class. I'm actually here to just introduce myself since Principal Ashford told me that you're new. "
"Yes, that's correct." She nods then slightly tilts her head in confusion as to why Steve needed to give her a visit.
"So if ever you need any help around the place. I'm just right next to the principal's office. Maybe you might need the keys to the multimedia room or need to photocopy test papers. I'm your go to guy."
"Oh, I see. Thanks for informing me about it."
"I finished my college at Rockfort University, it's a few miles from here. I just need to complete my internship units then I'll be graduating. I started during the last month of summer class. I'll be taking the teaching exam in a few months. Hopefully I'll be a full fledged teacher like you soon." He tells her as he puts his hands in his pockets.
"Well, that's good to hear. Good luck with that." She gives a short reply.
"Thanks. That's basically why I went here. Just to introduce myself and tell you where to find me." He waves a salute and slowly steps out of the room.
Piers would usually spin a pencil around his fingers during class, would impatiently tap his foot on the ground while waiting for the bell, would use his phone if he is lucky enough to have a seat at the back of the classroom. He still does but never in his Geography class. He attentively listens while his teacher talks about the Anime she just watched during the weekend.
It has been three weeks since he set foot in her class and he has known few things about her hobbies and interests during the class. Last week, she talked about the different cuisines she has tried and loved, relating those dishes to the countries they were supposed to discuss that day, countries in Southeast Asia.
Today, she talks about the characters from the anime she binged watched last weekend. These certain characters are fighters in a competition who happen to be from different parts of the world. Before he knew it, he'd been talking down notes in his small notebook while listening to the lecture. Who knew talking about "Street Fighter" would be so informative.
"So do you all understand why Dhalsim looks and fights like that?" Claire probes her students. Some of them nod while others gave her an ecstatic response, mostly from those who are familiar with the Anime she was talking about.
The sound of the bell echoes through their walls and Claire goes back to sit behind her desk. If it were up to her, she would sit or at least lean on her desk while discussing but she thinks it wouldn't look professional even if she is wearing slacks pants so she endured the entire hour, trying to walk around the classroom while delivering her lecture.
The size and height of the desk is enough for her to discreetly remove her doll shoes, even if it's just for a few minutes. As she removes her other shoe, she sees one of her students approach her. "Yes? You have a question about the lesson?"
He shakes his head. After his many failed attempts to strike a conversation with his teacher or to raise his hand to either answer her question or ask a logical question during her lessons, he finally decided that there is only one way for her to notice him.
"Will you be watching the game this Friday?" He asks while holding the straps dangling from his bag.
"Oh, yes. I will." She quickly responds.
"Really?" His eyebrows shoot up as his slips curve to a wide smile.
"Yes, Chris told me about it. He said I should cheer for him." She replies with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Oh, right." His joyous feeling drops as quickly as it escalated just a few seconds ago. Remembering that the teacher in front of him is the sister of his coach, of course she probably knows about the game. Which is totally normal but he can't help but feel defeated once again, knowing that his teacher is only attending one of his games just because she is the sister of her coach. "Yes, cool. Hope you'll like the game."
Claire gave him a nod. She couldn't really say anything much since Piers was already on his way out of her classroom because she could utter any other words.
The beating sound of the drums were almost deafening inside their school stadium. Raccoon High Tyrants Team has the home court advantage against the Konami Hills Monsters. She takes a seat at the courtside and slowly unwraps her cheeseburger and takes a bite just as Chris walks over to her. One of the advantages of having the coach as her brother is how she easily reserved three seats.
He extends his fist to her which she gladly greets with a fist bump. "So did you bring your poms poms for the half time?" He teases as he pinches a small chunk of her food and eats it.
She only scrunches her face for a second before retorting. "Yeah, I also brought your Tyrant costume so you can put it on later and dance with the crowd." She yanks her food closer to her as he attempts to grab another bite.
"Hey, Claire!"
The siblings divert their attention to the two ladies waving and heading over to their direction. "I didn't know you were friends with them."
"I said give me three seats, right? Unlike you who always looks brooding, I happen to be doing better than you in making friends." She waves him away.
"This arrogant kid." He snorts and shakes his head. "I gotta go anyway. I have a team to handle." He makes his exit just as Jill and Rebecca arrive.
"Are we late?" Rebecca asks. Claire leans a bit closer and Rebecca asks her questions again but a little louder the second time around for her to be heard pass the loud rhythmic sound of the drums.
"Nah, it's fine. It's not even starting yet." Claire.
"Good thing you got us seats" Jill comments. "Her boyfriend was supposed to handle that but they were too busy canoodling in the clinic."
"Jill!" Rebecca lightly swats the latter's thigh.
"It's true. Where is your boyfriend now? Let Claire confirm it from him herself." Jill playfully taunts.
"He is not here. You already know he is busy because there is a school event." She says as she crosses her arms and sinks into her seat.
"Wait." Claire joins their bickering. "Why would he be busy if there is a school event?"
"Because her boyfriend is the head of security of this school. Cool, right?" Jill bumps her shoulder to Rebecca. "You always have a knack for attracting older and mysterious men."
"Billy is not that much older to me." She says in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.
"Hmm, yes. I guess so. But before him, I think that Glen guy you told me about was way too old for you. Weird man too." Jill answers while Claire silently listens from her seat. Claire is intrigued by the topic they were talking about but she knows this is neither the place nor time to talk about it.
"Let's just watch and focus on the game." Rebecca suggests.
As if it's on cue, their school Mascot, Nemnem, emerges to the center of the court. As the flesh colored mascot dressed in a red university t-shirt and black trench coat waves the red and white triangular flags while skipping around the court, their school basketball team trails behind him.
Piers instantly catches a glimpse of his favorite teacher which wasn't any help to his tingling hands and erratically beating heart. Their bench is situated right in front of her. He lets out a deep breath as this is the first time he has seen her dress so casually in plain jeans and black t-shirt. It was far from her dress suits or pencil cut skirts and blouse but he finds her far more alluring in the clothes she is wearing now.
His coach snaps his finger and he focuses again on the game plan his coach Chris is discussing. He reminds himself that he needs to be steady because, being a shooting guard in his team, they are counting on him to score.
Steve tries to hold his box of nachos, piece of pretzel, cup of soda and bottle of water all at once while heading over to his seat. Balancing all snacks in his arms before taking a seat, he leans forward and cranes his neck to get a better look at the person sitting in front of him.
"Miss Redfield?"
The woman turned around along with the other ladies she was talking with. His hunch was correct and smiles as she warmly greets him back. He had to do a double take since neither of the three ladies in front of him are wearing their usual school attire or clinic uniform he often sees them in.
"Would any of you like some?" He offers the box of nachos to all three of them. Jill politely refuses while Claire and Rebecca help themselves. "I hope we win."
"We won last year, kid. They can do it again." Jill comments before cheering on their team. "Go Tyrants!"
The rest of them follow suit as the players start to walk over to their designated spot in the court before the jump ball.
Their mascot Nemnem could even be seen at the visitor's side of the court, shaking his hips and butt in front of their opponent's mascot. The Pyramid head mascot didn't hesitate to accept the showdown invitation and busted some disco point dance moves of his own. Only when one of the referees stepped between them and stopped the dance battle did Nemnem skip back to his side of the court.
It was a tight game. By the end of the first half, The Monsters were ahead of the Tyrants by 3 points. Piers barely took a seat on the bench the entire first half. He wipes his sweat off with a towel while Chris thinks of what will be their next plan.
"Damian." Chirs calls out. "Think you are well rested?" The boy courtly nods. "You better be, you did great in the first quarter but ran out of energy. I told you to run during the weekends to get rid of the belly"
The entire team, along with Damian, lightly laughs.
"Anyway, get back out there and take points. Steal that damn ball when you can but not from Mason, he is just too agile. You might get tired trying. While DC, you take center again, keep your eye especially on Sunderland. Piers, you know what to do."
He adjourns their huddle and the players roar and cheer as they make their way to the stadium once again.
Piers decides to take a quick detour while the two mascots have a friendly dance showdown again. He walks over to Claire.
"It's really great to see you here."
He hears his classmate Sherry tell Claire
"Maybe someday, you can come see our pep rally too?" Sherry asks in between her pants, obviously breathless after their half time performance.
"I will try. Hopefully I'll be free whenever it would be." Claire nods. "You should go back there and have a water break."
"Will do! Thanks, Miss Redfield, Miss Valentine and Nurse Chambers," She excuses herself just as Piers steps forward.
"Hi Miss Redfield."
"Hey. You doing fine?" She asks.
He suddenly feels conscious of how he probably looks untidy and sweaty in front of her. "I-I'm doing fine. Are you enjoying the game, ma'am?"
"Yeah, you better make some point or else my brother might join the game himself." She jokes.
"Or even better." Jill intervenes. "Let Rebecca join, she probably plays better than half of your team."
They all laughed just as Chris appears behind him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, kid. The game is that way."
"Yes, sir." He politely bows and makes his way to the center of the court.
"What did you say about my team?" Chris crosses his arms but Jill still doesn't find him intimidating despite his posture and size.
"Relax Redfield, me and Rebecca have been cracking the same joke since last year." Jill raises both eyebrows and waits for the best counter remark he could think of.
"If you would only lessen the homeworks you give to my players then they would have more time to practice in their homes or at the gym."
"You know very well that I don't treat a student differently just because they are school athletes."
Claire stands up and playfully tries to pivot her brother around, to which she was glad he did despite her lack of strength to actually turn him around manually. "Play nicely, Chris."
When the buzzer signals the game to start, Claire looks at Jill with wide eyes. "Girl, I thought I'm the only one who can piss off Chris like that."
"That was actually awesome to see, Miss Valentine." Steve joins their conversation from the back. He even bought another box of nachos for them to share.
"Well, it's not the first time they bickered." Rebecca points out. "They have been like that since Jill joined this school last year. Chris is like that to almost all teachers, a bit protective and proud when it comes to his team."
Claire looks back at her brother knowing very well that there is some truth in what her friend said.
"Miss Redfield, here's water for you." Steve offers her the unopened bottle of water. "I noticed you ate a burger earlier but you didn't have a drink."
"Oh. . . " She was not planning on accepting it and was about to insist that she could buy one for herself once the game ends. However, as she raised her hand, Steve softly held her wrist and put the bottle in her hands.
"You're welcome." He smiles and moves his attention back to the game.
Last six minutes into the game, DC was able to get a rebound and passed it to Piers. Piers dribbles the ball to the free throw line and makes a shot. The crowd cheers as the ball perfectly goes through the hoop and the referee even calls a foul, giving him a chance for a free throw. Earning another point from the free throw, he gives the team a four point advantage.
His team will not simply settle though during the last 2 minutes of the game. As the Monsters try to make a run for it and try to at least even the score to force the game to an over time, Damian steals the ball and dashes towards their side of the court. The other players quickly ran and blocked his way though. He passes the ball to Piers at the corner and Piers shoots the ball. The crowd once again erupted as he just cemented a seven point advantage after that shooting from the three point line. Piers celebrates with his team for a short moment before looking at Claire's direction.
She looks like she is having the time of her life, pointing and looking at the scoreboard while saying something inaudible to him. As she turns to her side though, she smiles and talks to the guy behind her so cheerfully. Piers felt a pang of jealousy at how the guy eagerly nods his head and smiles while listening to whatever Claire is saying. He even sees her take a piece of nacho from the box the guy is holding while they chat.
The buzzer rings one last time and marks the end of the game. His teammates approach him. Some gave him a pat on the shoulder or some ruffled his hair. His coach each gave them all a high five for the victory but all he could think about is how much beer he will be drinking for the after party later.
After what he witnessed last Friday during the game, he wasn't looking forward to attending his geography early Monday morning. He walks along the hallway wearing his hat, ignoring the cheers and congratulatory greetings of his schoolmates. He never went out of his room during the weekend, truth be told he just stayed in his bed playing video games. He imagines the zombies his character was shooting in that game were the guy he saw with his teacher last Friday.
Papers suddenly block his vision as he loses his balance and hits his bottom on the floor. He groans and looks up at the person he bumped into.
"Sorry, man." The very same guy who has been making his blood boil kneels on the floor and gathers the papers he dropped. "You should remove your hat once you are here though. I think you didn't see me because of that."
Steve didn't say it in a condescending way but it doesn't mean it didn't make Piers any more furious. "Maybe you should hold the papers properly so that it won't block your vision. Maybe get a haircut too. "
"Easy there, man." Steve stands up as he arranges the papers in his arms. "What's wrong with your morning?"
Piers stands up as well and lightly pushes him with one hand. "What's wrong with yours?"
"Hey, I'm not someone you can just push around." Steve retaliated by pushing him back but Piers was quick to retract his fist and it landed on his jaw.
A/N: That's end our chapter for now. I hope it wasn't that boring. It felt like a montage when I was reading it myself. By the way, there will be mentions of many other games especially from Capcom. I know that Street Fighter is a game but in this Universe it will be Anime. Let's make Claire an indoor type of person who likes to binge watch Anime and other TV series. Who knows. Other characters from other game franchise might appear here.
This story has a final plot and I know how it will go but somewhat doesn't have a final ending yet. So let me know if what you fellas think for now. If you are liking it then leave a review or message me.