RETURN

Summery: Future fic, slash. Bright's job introduces him to a old friend, and they try to start what was impossible before. Bright/Ephram.

1.

Bright stood awkwardly in the main hall of the Howard Friends School. He looked through the table, picking his name tag.

"Bright Abbot. History Department." A woman's voice read. "Hello, Bright Abbot of the History Department." Bright turned around to face a stern woman in her late sixties. Reaching out to shake her hand, Bright smiled.

"Hello, Marcy Steiner of the Classics Department." The woman's face broke into a smile at Bright's dry greeting.

"You can just call me Marce, dear." She took him by the arm and led him over to a group of people. "I teach Latin and ancient Greek."

"Thank you, Marce. Tell me, what's the appropriate name to go by when school's in session?"

Marcy smiled at him. "First names. Quaker idea of equality. Rather silly, if you ask me, but the school board's rather determined about it." Reaching the group, she let go of his arm. "Bright, this is Lucy Morgan of Modern Languages, Della Tyler of English, and Josh Yarnell of Math," she announced, pointing to a smiling Italian woman, a shy black woman and a short man who faintly reminded Bright of a leprechaun. "Everyone, this is Bright Abbot of History."

Bright shook their hands. "Hello."

Marcy smiled. "We forgive Josh for teaching math, because he's fluent in Italian."

Bright smiled a little, mentally marking Marcy as one of the more eccentric teachers that Howard's was infamous for. Looking around, he began to feel uncomfortable. He was by far the most dressed up of this crowd. Following his eyes, Della grinned.

"Noticing the polo shirts?" She glanced around. "Just trying to camouflage with the students, I guess. Dick's the only one who dresses up, along with the people in the admissions office." She pulled at her own cropped tee shirt. "I mean, no one cares. Most teacher's don't go farther than a sweater vest, but whatever you feel comfortable in."

Bright smiled. "Small town public school kid. Casual Friday, maybe." He glanced around the room, taking in the groups of teachers. Ages ranged from mid twenties to seventies. One group caught his attention: five teachers all under thirty-five. Turning to Della, he flashed a smile. "Who're they?"

Della smiled. "Minors teachers, mostly. Joe's a drama teacher, Lisa and Susan teach art, and-" she cut off. "Want me to introduce you?" she asked, quietly taking his arm. "They won't bite."

Bright looked down at her hand on his arm, and bit his lip. "No thanks. I appreciate the offer, though." He pulled away. "I'll be back. Don't turn on me."

At her chuckle, he slipped away. There were three men, two women. One of the men really caught his eye: he was turned away, speaking as the rest laughed slightly. He wasn't tall, but he seemed secure. Bright had always been attracted to people with self-confidence.

Approaching them, he turned on the charm. "Hi," he said, offering his hand to the women first. "I'm Bright."

Smiling, the fair brunette took his hand. "Lisa," she said, pointing to herself, and then to the other woman. "Susan." Susan reached out to shake his hand as well as Lisa continued to introduce people. "Joe-" she pointed to a tall, redheaded man, " and Mark-" a blond, pony-tailed man, whose tag announced he taught programming and media classes. Finally pointing to the man who'd caught Bright's eye, she smiled at little as the man turned around to shake his hand. His dark hair was unruly, and Bright knew he'd been right about this one. "Jamie."

Jamie smiled a little, pushing a strand of thin hair back from his delicate, Asian features. Bright grinned. "Where are you from?"

Jamie smiled. "Susan and Joe are locals, and Lisa-"

"Don't!" Lisa interrupted, sounding amused and annoyed.

"Lisa's a Jersey girl," Jamie continued teasingly. "Mark's from Texas, and I'm from New York."

Bright smiled. "I'm from Colorado." At the questioning looks he got, he shrugged. "Hey, people actually live there. I mean, it's not Nebraska or anything."

Susan laughed and shrugged. "It's not that. It's just that most teachers are locals- at least northeast- and you're the second teacher in five years to come from there."

Bright looked confused. "What? Where?"

"Oz," Lisa teased. "Or, maybe, Colorado. There's a music teacher who went to high school there."

Bright wrinkled his nose. "Weird."

Jamie grinned. "Yeah. He's cool, though. I guess he's a about your age, even though he looks pretty young." He eyed Bright. "What did you do before teaching?"

Bright shrugged. "Actually, this is my first real steady job. I had two years between high school and college, and then I worked on a few digs to get my degree as an official historian." He eyed Jamie, gauging his reaction.

"Yeah, well, we can't all be so exciting." Jamie teased. "Some of us have to go to college, major in advertising, and then get a job teaching art."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him. He's just bitter because the school board won't let him teach an art class in commercialism."

"For a Pratt graduate, he's pretty whiney about having a job doing what he loves." Joe teased, poking Jamie in the arm.

Bright laughed. "So, where's the original Colorado teacher?"

Jamie smirked. "Late, no doubt. Boy couldn't find his way out of an empty room with his car keys," he added fondly. "We actually knew each other in New York. I was in Brooklyn, he was in Manhattan. Met at a club downtown when I was a senior and he was just of high school, fighting his way through Julliard."

"Oh!" Bright exclaimed. "I know a kid who went there."

"Tiny, tiny world," Lisa stated. "I feel like we should all swing like metronomes and sing the song."

Susan giggled. "You go first."

Bright smiled nostalgically. "Anyway, the kid dated my baby sister, dumped her after a year and a half together. Shocked the hell out of her."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Weird thing to sound fond about."

Bright shrugged. "He was a friend before that, haven't spoken to him since it happened. Anyway, the two of them were the epitome of teenage drama. Honestly, once the two of them broke it up I stopped having to be the mediator between them."

Jamie patted him on the arm. "Amen. Little sisters and friends always suck. If nothing else, it changes the friendship, because-"

"-How dare you dump my baby sister?" Bright finished with him. "Yeah."

Before anyone could respond, a man called out to them. "Everybody, take a seat. Let's get this show on the road!"

A/N: Thoughts? If all goes well, then nest chapter will be up nest week. Got to keep me inspired, though... Review!