Tomorrow
By Jillian
CHAPTER FOUR
Scully applied her lipstick carefully in the bathroom mirror that Monday morning, reminding herself of the importance of first impressions. The May air was comfortable, and she wore a pair of black pants and a white tank top with a blue, three-quarter-sleeve, button down blouse over it. Touching her hair up, she walked out of the bathroom and into the master bedroom. He looked up from the laptop he was typing on, and smiled.
"You know, it's not fair. I have to get dressed and stand in front of teenage kids all day, and you sit home in your pajamas to write UFO articles." She smiled. He got up and walked towards her.
"Mm, but you look wonderful." He said, kissing her lips. He didn't stop right away, and she knew she had to go.
"Mulder," She sighed. "I just got dressed and put on my lipstick. You keep this up and I'm going to be late for work."
"Alright, Mrs. Carter. Do I get detention?" He asked.
"It's Dr. Carter." She replied. "I'll see you later." She said, grabbing her briefcase and walking towards the door of the room.
"Have a nice first day." He called to her.
In the doorway she turned to face him. "And Mulder?" She began. "Brush your teeth. You have morning breath." She smiled, exiting the room.
"That hurt, Scully!" She heard him joke as she was trotting down the steps.
She arrived at the school at seven, fifty five minutes before class began. She went to the principals office, who greeted her welcomingly.
"Doctor Carter! Nice to see you. Are you ready for your first day of work?" He asked.
"Yes, very, Mr. Tuminaro." She smiled.
"Okay, well your schedule consists of a biology class period one. Then, you have a chemistry class period four, seven, eight, and nine. Period five is your lunch period, and period six every day you will teach a chemistry lab class. The labs are assigned by the school and all the material will be in the laboratory. The kids are into a routine now, so you won't have a hard time. Period two is your prep period. Here's a printed copy of your schedule complete with all the room numbers. I will advise you that the biology course is freshman, and all but the ninth period chemistry class are sophomores. The ninth period is a particularly difficult group of juniors making up the course for failing it previously. It may be a challenge."
"I'm open to a challenge." She smiled.
"As your resume would indicate. What are you doing in a job like this?"
"I lost interest of being a scientist. I, uh, wanted to give back to the community." She smiled.
"We're glad to have you... And of course, lesson plan sheets and the textbooks are all in your room. There's a note from their former teacher explaining where they left off, as well as the basic format of class and testing they're used to. You'll be prepping them for the NY State Regents Exam, so they must be doing well. That's all, Doctor Carter. I hope you have a lovely day here at Tottenville." He extended his hand to shake.
"I will, Sir, thank you." She said, feeling like she was talking to Skinner.
"Call me John. No need for formalities, Katherine." He smiled.
"Sure, John." She said, getting up to leave.
"Oh, I almost forgot. You need to be here twenty minutes before period one to offer tutoring to students... It's part of the new UFT contract." He said.
"No problem. Thanks again. Um, John?" She asked. He looked up. "Is the chem lab open period two?"
"You've got the keys in you chemistry classroom, the lab will be empty and all yours." He smiled.
"Thank you." She smiled, leaving the room.
Scully walked into the empty biology room. She had about a half an hour until her first class arrived. She looked down at the lesson plan, and to her dismay learned they were up to the... Reproductive system. "Wonderful," she said to herself, rolling her eyes. The lesson was on the union of the egg and the sperm. It also explained that not simply intercourse, but in vitro fertilization can produce this union, which is known as a zygote. She was all too familiar with this information, remembering her own attempts at pregnancy... She pushed the depressing thoughts away and thought of a good way to tackle the subject of fertilization. After they finished this system, the last of them all to be studied, they were going to dissect a frog in the lab. Couldn't be worse than a human, or an elephant, for that matter.
Before she knew it, the bell rang, and various students began to walk into the classroom. They were all freshman, so they had to be about fourteen or so. They smiled briefly at her and took their seats, chattering back and forth as she wrote her alias on the blackboard. She was so tempted to write Dr. Scully, she was afraid she might slip up and write the "S" before she could remind herself not too. The bell rang, and the class quieted down for the most part.
"Good morning, everyone, my name is Doctor Carter, and I will be your biology teacher for the remainder of the year." She smiled. "Before we start, I suppose we should get a little familiar with one another," She said, looking down at the book that held all their names. "I'm going to take attendance, and I have the seating arrangements in front of me, so I'll know if your not in your correct seats. I'll give you thirty seconds to get in the right spot while I pretend not to notice." She smiled, as a few students moved their seats. She called out each name, perfect attendance, and smiled to each student. She had no problem teaching a class of adults at Quantico… Could teens really be much worse?
"Okay, class, as I said my name is Doctor Carter, the doctor is indication of my PHD in Bio-Genetics. I also have a Masters Degree in Chemistry and Biology, all from NYU. I understand we are on our last unit, the reproductive system in humans, so if you could kindly tell me exactly where you left off--" She was cut off.
"Yeah, I'll tell you." A boy said, from the back of the room. Ignoring his calling out, and the smiles rising on the faces of a few other students, she looked down at the seating arrangements.
"Okay, Rob, what were you up to?" She asked.
"The penis, the vagina... You know, sperm and eggs, sex. Why don't you tell us *all* about it?" He asked.
Ah, she had found the class smart-ass.
"I would, but I don't think it could help you much." She replied quickly, without thinking. The students laughed, and Rob laughed to.
"You're chill, Doc Carter." He said.
"Chill." She contemplated briefly. "I'm, uh, glad you think so. Now, seriously, I believe you were up to the union of the egg and the sperm, through intercourse. However, sometimes, a woman or a man cannot conceive a child due to infertility, or low sperm count."
"Like Rob, over there." One kid muttered, receiving a dirty look from Scully.
"However, thanks to science, they can have a child due to in vitro fertilization." She wrote the words on the board, and continued the class in the same manner. The bell rang sooner than she expected it.
"Have a nice day!" She called out. "And get latex gloves, we're dissecting frogs in lab next week!" Which got a bunch of "eeewww's" from the girls. "I've dissected worse than frogs, girls, don't be so immature. I'll be here in the morning if you need help with anything." She reminded the kids as they left.
Period two. She gathered her belongings, and walked down towards the chemistry lab. It was locked, but she had taken the keys from her classroom to open the door. Quietly as students passed in the hallway, she carried her briefcase in with her. She had actually brought a magnetite sample with her, knowing she'd have access to the lab after school as well as on her free time. Closing the door behind her, but not locking it because it would arise suspicion, she placed her bag down. Looking around, she saw the facility was limited, nothing compared to Quantico, but excellent for a school laboratory. She looked around silently, and took out her cell phone. She dialed her new home number and waited for Mulder to pick up.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Hello, Fox Mulder? This is Doctor Carter... Why aren't you in class today?" She teased.
"Well, my wife wore me out last night and--"
He stopped at the sound of her laughing.
"It's good to hear you laugh, Scully."
"It's good to laugh." She said quietly. "I'm in the lab, alone, on my free period... It looks well equipped to experiment with the magnetite, during this period and after classes. All I would really need to do is try burning it with different temperatures, to melt it down to liquid without diluting it's elements, which are Iron and Oxygen. It shouldn't be hard to put into liquid form, so as soon as I do we can begin bringing in pieces of the metal and bringing out vials of the liquid."
"You said iron and oxygen... Isn't that rust?" He asked.
"That's the difficulty of production... You have to have the right amount of each molecule, or you'll get nothing more than oxidized iron, which is rusty metal. What I'm going to need is a lot of magnetite. We can call John and Monica for that, we can send them to the quarry and they can mail us." She said. "I've got enough to work with for now, though."
"When can you begin?" He asked.
"Today, I suppose. I can try melting it down." She said.
"Alright, Doctor Carter. Get back to work, no cell phones allowed in school." He said.
"I'll see you later, Mulder." She said, smiling as she hung up the phone.
The day progressed on in the same manner, until she got to her ninth period class. Remembering that they were the kids who had failed the course, and the Regents in June, August, and January, she was rather nervous. What kind of kids couldn't pass the test after three tries? She watched them walk in, and took in their appearance. There were the ones with the black makeup and huge pants, the girls with the tight shirts and tiny shorts, the boys who wore sweatpants and baseball caps backwards, who kept grabbing themselves like they were rappers or something. They took their seats, but didn't stop talking when the bell rang.
"Good afternoon." She said loudly, catching their attention. "I, am your new teacher, Doctor Carter."
"Ayo, wuttup Doc C?" A boy yelled.
"I suggest you take your seats, class, because I have the arrangements from your previous teacher." She reminded as they shuffled around the room.
"You mean Mrs. Kline? The one who got knocked up?" Another boy called out.
"Come on, that's unnecessary." Scully said. "Take your seats. Now." She said, in her most commanding voice. They did, and she took attendance. A few kids were missing, probably cutting.
With incredibly effort and patience, she managed to teach until the bell rang. The kids sprang from their seats and exited the room, ready to leave. Scully grabbed her stuff, just as anxious to get home. As she was walking in the hall, however, she heard her name come up.
"You got Doctor Carter?" A boy asked. One of her biology students.
"Yeah.." Another boy answered. A chem student.
"Isn't she hot for an old chick?" He asked.
"Dude, she can't be THAT old. 'Cause she is pretty hot, you know? So she can't be old. She's way better than Mrs. Kline, though, that's obvious."
"Definitely. Finally, a teacher whose not like old or fat or something. Gives me a reason to pay attention."
Scully could not resist.
"Good to know you'll be listening to the lessons then, boys." She said, trying her hardest not to laugh as she walked away from the boys, catching the shocked looks on their faces.
She got home quickly and walked in the door, tired but pleased with her first day of work. Putting the briefcase down, empty of any accomplishments as far as the magnetite was concerned, she walked upstairs to meet Mulder. "Mulder," She called. "In here, Scully." She heard from the bedroom. Walking in, she saw him on the bed with his laptop.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You didn't even bother to take off your pajamas!"
"I was waiting for you to get home." He joked, getting up. "How was day one?"
"Well, some of the students aren't exactly wonderful, but apparently I'm 'chill', and hotter than the last teacher." She smiled.
"Well, the latter was a given." He said, kissing her softly. The kiss wasn't soft for long, and soon she pulled away and looked up at him.
"I just got home, Mulder. Did you miss me *that* much?" She smiled.
"We have a whole year to make up for, Dana." He smiled. He used Dana and Scully interchangeably, but Dana was mostly reserved for something romantic or emotional.
"I believe we should also compensate for the time you were missing the first time around..." She smiled.
"And then there were those seven years of just partnership..." He smiled, kissing her again.
There new life was turning out relatively good. Hopefully it would only get better. With each tomorrow, something more changed. Recently, with each tomorrow, they'd been forgetting the pain of the yesterdays. Scully and Mulder couldn't help but look forward to all the tomorrow's in the world.
.end chapter four.
Love it? Hate it? Still lots more to come! Let me know how I'm doing so far! Review or drop an e-mail to JILLIBEAN@aol.com. If you've noticed, the chapters are getting progressively longer, and soon will have more action, I promise! Thanks for reading!
-Jillian