Author's note: Ssshh, I'm on a roll:D
"Yo, Gemma!" Liz called. Gemma span round and saw her four friends standing there and waving. She waved back and ran over to them.
"Hiya!" she said brightly, "Ready for tutoring?"
"Ssh!" Laura hushed her, "Keep it down, there's loads of people here! We can't get caught!"
"Sorry," Gemma whispered.
"I…I'm not sure I want to go today," Robyn muttered.
"Why not?" Liz asked.
"No real reason, I just…don't really feel like it."
"Is this 'cos Rimmer knows you're in love with him?" Bex asked.
"Shut up! I'm not 'in love' with him! And that's not the reason anyway."
"Why, then?" Gemma asked.
"It's just…" her lip trembled, "OH, I CANT BELIEVE HE'S TAKEN!" she wailed.
It took a solid seven minutes to calm her down.
"Look, I don't care what you say, I'm not going today."
A boy tapped Laura on her shoulder, "Can I go instead then?"
Laura feigned innocence, "Hm? Go where?"
"Tutoring," the boy whispered, "I heard you lot go to private tutoring, and I was just wondering if I could join in."
"How did you find out about that?" Gemma hissed.
"Well, word's been getting about. I reckon half the school knows by now."
"What?" screamed five voices simultaneously.
"Look, my name's Armin, and-"
"Armin?" Gemma interrupted.
"Yes…" the boy said, confused, "Why?"
"Nothing," Gemma replied with the hint of a smile, "Unusual name, that's all."
Armin studied Gemma for a while before shaking his head dismissively, "I need help. I'm failing Bio-engineering. I need to get the theory part up to scratch so I can take it for Further Studies."
"Well…" Laura started, "It's not that we don't want you to come…it's just…"
"We're not sure what our tutor would say," Bex finished.
"Yeah," Liz agreed, "He might not let you in. He very nearly didn't let us in!"
Armin looked disappointed.
"But," Gemma sighed resignedly, "We can always ask."
Laura knocked on the now-familiar door. Rimmer opened it before she'd even stopped.
"Hi girls!" he greeted them then saw Armin, "And boy…" he added confused, "who is this?"
"Armin," the boy in question replied, "I, er, I was hoping to join your tutoring classes."
Rimmer sighed. He really hadn't bargained for this.
"Well now, you do realise I'm not a qualified teacher."
"Yes. But all theses guys have had their grades go up," he indicated the five girls, "and I want that, too."
Rimmer frowned, but Armin continued, "It's only one subject I need help in! Just Bio-engineering. Please?"
Rimmer's frown dissolved a little, "Oh, alright. I can give you lessons every…er, every…"
"Tuesday," Liz supplied.
"Yes. We have Bio-engineering lessons then anyway."
"And what about Jack and Roger?" Armin asked hopefully, "Can they come too?"
Rimmer had pretty much given up, "Fine."
Anyone under 18 will tell you word spreads fast in schools. Soon Rimmer had hordes of children gathering outside his room each day asking him to teach them various subjects. Within a week his total students had reached a total of sixty-two. Thankfully, most of them only took one or two subjects with him. In fact, it was only Gemma, Bex, Laura, Liz and Robyn who attended all subjects with him. But he found himself working a lot harder anyway. On top of a day fixing and cleaning vending machines, Rimmer then had to come home, teach for an hour, then revise the next day's subject until he was too tired to revise any more. Luckily the rewards he got for it were worthwhile; everyone's grades started to improve. The only downside to this was that Captain Hollister and the Red Dwarf Council attributed this to the school which started to win awards. Rimmer couldn't help feeling jealous, but he didn't let it interfere.
"Now, have you completed your essays?" Rimmer asked. Five hands shot in the air with bits of paper attached to the ends, "Good! Any volunteers to read them out?"
He looked pointedly at Gemma who pleadingly shook her head. Rimmer sighed. She hid it behind a false layer of self-mocking and jokes, but Gemma was good at English. More than good. Her stories were the most vivid Rimmer had ever read. Not that she didn't have competition with the other four who were also excellent writers, but she could certainly hold her own.
Rimmer sighed and nodded at Liz who read out her vivid story about a treasure hunt. Bex proceeded to read her take on vegetarianism in 18th century France, an obscure topic, but one she had managed to illustrate beautifully. Laura read her description of a nightmare world, with plenty of torture and blood which was so believable Rimmer nearly fainted on a fair few occasions. Finally, Robyn gave her pen portrait of the person she most admired.
"You should have seen her original version," Bex couldn't help but say, "She kept going on about how gorgeous Rimmer is, and how she wants to leap on him every time she hears his voi-"
"Shut UP!" Robyn screamed, "I have enough of that at school!"
Rimmer was secretly chuffed that they thought about him outside their lessons, but he maintained his 'teacher' persona and calmly said, "Girls, settle down."
The rest of the lesson passed in a not-too-awkward silence until Rimmer glanced at his watch and dismissed them. All of them sauntered out except Robyn who hung back.
"Sir?" she said.
"Mm."
"Do you…I mean…are you happy? With that person."
Rimmer looked up, "Do you mean Nicole?"
Robyn looked at the floor and nodded.
"Yes, Robyn. Very happy."
"Dammit," Robyn whispered.
"Robyn, we've had this conversation," Rimmer said gently, "You're far too young."
"But-"
"No buts."
"But-"
"No!"
Robyn sighed, turned and made her way towards the door. She turned back just before she got there, "Sir, I…um…"
She couldn't speak. Words couldn't express it. Instead she dropped her bag, ran over to him, leapt on him and ran her hand through his hair.
"Mumphedy!" was all that Rimmer could exclaim in surprise as he tried to prise her fingernails out of his back.
"Sir, please, I love you!"
"Robyn," Rimmer said, finally getting the use of his vocal chords back, "You don't love me."
"I do!"
"You don't! You may think you do, but you don't."
After a very awkward silence, Robyn slipped off him, robotically picked her bag up and shuffled out of the room with not a word uttered. Rimmer leant his elbow on the desk and rested his head in his hand.
"Unbe-smegging-lievable."
His eyes scanned the room for something to focus on. They settled on a small blue bag at the back of the room. He went over to it and picked it up. It was Gemma's. Rimmer laughed; he could see what she'd done. She hated PE and was trying to get out of it by 'losing' her kit. He set off to her room to give it back.
"Room 474. Floor 35," he said to himself when he arrived for no real reason. He knocked on the door and Gemma answered it.
"Oh, hi!" she said brightly. Her eyes lowered and she noticed the bag in his hand. Her tone became more despondent, "Oh…"
"Yes. 'Oh'," Rimmer said forcing it into her hands, "Don't think you can get out of it, Gem!"
Gemma sighed. She was so sure that would have worked!
"Gemma!" a voice came from the room, "Who is it?"
Rimmer nearly fainted. He knew that voice. He knew that voice very well. The voice of the angel in his life. The voice that he imagined and soothed him to sleep. Nicole's voice.
"Just a friend, Mum," Gemma called back.
"Got to go," Rimmer said hurriedly.
"What? Why?"
"Just do. Bye," Rimmer ran off.
He felt sick and confused. Room 474. Floor 35. Why hadn't he made that smegging connection before? He'd heard Gemma talk of her sister Faiyre. He'd heard Nicole talk of her daughter Faiyre. How many 16-year-olds could there be on this ship called Faiyre? He had been seriously stupid, blinded by his love for both of them. The first thing he did when he got back to his room was collapse onto his bed and hug his knees. This was all very weird. Too weird. He fainted.