Chapter Thirteen
Will Blakeney stared out the window at the ominous brick building growing larger in the car window. He shifted in the back seat and barely listened as Miss Corin assured him he would do fine. After three months of living in her apartment, Olivia had announced that the public schools in the area were getting started for the year, and suggested he attend. At first they had all protested, especially the Captain. From what they could tell by television programs young people in this time were troubled, rude, and disrespectful to their elders, and Jack Aubrey was not pleased with the idea of exposing the lad, which he was responsible for to that sort of attitude. However, Olivia had countered with the argument that none of them knew how long they would be in her time, and if they were stuck there forever a modern education would be essential for young Blakeney's success. And so, he could himself in the back seat of her car with the Captain in the front and Miss Corin driving, off to his first day of school.
"Okay, here we are. Newberry Middle School." Olivia announced, parking the car. "Do you remember our cover story?"
"The Captain is my Uncle Jack, and legal guardian. You are our distant American cousin and we have moved in with you until we adjust to life in the States." Will recited with a frown. He paused a moment, the asked with extreme doubt in his ability to cope in this situation. "What if they ask about my arm?"
"Um… tell them you lost it in a boating accident and don't like to talk about it." She replied. "The girls will love it. You'll be that cute mysterious English boy."
"A boating accident?" Jack raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"What? It's not that far from the truth." She said with a shrug, getting out of the car, flexing her hand under the brace she still wore for her arm. It had been two weeks and she had gotten rid of the sling, but still needed the brace, and found it quite an inconvenience. "Come on. We didn't drive out here to look at it."
Will sighed, getting out reluctantly. "These trousers are too big." He said, tugging at his pants critically.
"All the kids wear them like that." Olivia assured him.
"I look ridiculous." He complained.
"He does look rather silly." Jack muttered to Olivia.
"Kate picked out his clothes. She wouldn't steer him wrong. Fashion is her life." She told Jack, leading them up into the building.
The first thing that struck Blakeney was the noise. The front hall was filled with people about his age and they were all yelling at the tops of their lungs. Boys jumped each other, and poked and annoyed the girls. The girls chattered amongst themselves, and shrieked and giggled at the boys. He had no idea what to do and clung to his bag, feeling awkward. He wordlessly followed Miss Corin and Captain Aubrey into thankfully a much calmer, though still rather hectic room with "office" written on the door.
"Can I help you?" A stern looking woman asked from behind a desk.
Olivia cleared her throat, electing herself as the spokesperson for the group. "Yes, we're here to see Mr. Turner? New student." She said, putting an assuring hand on Will's shoulder.
A short man with boundless energy seemed to pop out of nowhere, obviously startling Olivia, who jumped as he stuck his hand out to shake forcefully. "Hi!" He said brightly. "I'm Mr. Turner! Welcome to Newberry!"
"Um… hi…." Olivia shook his hand seeming a tad overwhelmed by his greeting and causing Blakeney to hide a laugh, exchanging an amused look with the Captain. "I'm Olivia Corin, and these are my cousins Jack Aubrey and Will Blakeney."
Mr. Turner shook hands all around, a tad too enthusiastically for Will's tastes, and judging by the Captain's expression, he felt the same. He then turned to the stern woman, "Cindy, which peer helper is showing around our new student?"
The woman gave him an annoyed look and dug around in her desk for a paper, "Caitlin Takashima." She replied.
"Send her to my office when she gets here please. In the meantime, why don't we discuss your schedule?" He smiled kindly, adjusting his glasses and staring at Will for a response.
"Very good, sir." Will managed after an awkward pause, following the man into what he assumed was his office.
Jack hesitated a moment, turning to Olivia with a questioning look. "Does that man seem rather…. odd to you?" He asked softly.
She nodded, trying her best not to laugh. "He's a bit… enthusiastic."
Enthusiastic was hardly the word Jack would use for the man who appeared to be rather mad, and was in charge of overseeing the education of young people. "Leave it to you Americans to have the young educated by madmen." He commented, a mix between irony and teasing. "After you, miss." He stepped back allowing Miss Corin to pass and followed them into Mr. Turner's office.
"All right, have a seat, pull up a chair!" Mr. Turner went to his desk and sat behind a computer. "Well, William, I think we'll put you in 8th grade and see how it goes, I'll be his guidance councilor so if you have any problems, Will, can I call you Will? Please don't hesitate to find me. Coming to a new school is challenging enough, but you've got a whole new country to deal with!" He laughed at his own joke, if it was a joke, and continued. "Have you thought about your extra-curricular? We've got band, chorus, and interest block."
Will stared blankly at the man, he had no idea what he was talking about and looked at Miss Corin in alarm.
Olivia caught what she referred to as the 'deer in headlights' look and spoke up. "I think he'll need to know a bit more about your programs before making a decision."
"Well, we just got a new chorus teacher, and could certainly use some more young men to balance out the choir, or so Miss Young says." He started.
"Miss Young? Reagan Young?" Olivia raised an eyebrow.
"Yes! Do you know her?" He asked, typing into his computer.
"We went to school together." Olivia turned to Jack and Will. "She was another vocal major, though she was going education route while I was going the opera performance. Nice person. I forgot she had a job here. You probably met her at the 4th of July party."
"Choir wouldn't be so bad, I suppose." Will said, remembering the nice young lady who had introduced him to hacky-sac at the party.
"Very good!" Mr. Turner punched more into his computer. "Now, here's your schedule." He said, reaching over and grabbing it from the printer. "1st period is math with Mrs. Ortiz, today you'll be tested to see if you have the skills to move up to Algebra with Mr. Milton instead. 2nd you have 8th grade science, which is sort of like beginning chemistry and physics, with Mrs. Harris, then 3rd period is English 8 with Mrs. Dalton, then 4th period physical education with Coach Sheineld. Don't worry, we'll alert him to any special needs you may need because of your uh… disability."
"Disability?" Will stared at the man for a moment before realizing he was referring to his arm, and he blushed slightly.
"Will can manage for himself, Mr. Turner." Olivia spoke up, defending him. "You'd be surprised how resourceful he is."
"Of course, of course, no offense intended." Mr. Turner quickly apologized. "Now, after PE is will be lunch, 5th period you may take a language. Either French, German, or Spanish, which would you prefer?"
"French I should say." Jack spoke up. "You have some command of that language already, do you not?"
"I do, sir." Will nodded.
"Excellent. French with Mrs. Williams it is. Now, 6th period civics and economics with Mr. O'Reilly, and finally 7th period chorus. Sound good?" He asked, looking at Will, waiting on a response.
"Yes, sir." He replied after a short awkward silence.
For a moment Mr. Turner looked like he was about to say something else, but they were interrupted by a dark haired girl bouncing into the little office. "Hi Mr. Turner!" She chirped.
"Ah, Caitlin, good morning." Mr. Turner smiled kindly at the girl. "William, this is Caitlin Takashima, she'll be showing you around this morning."
Will stared at the girl. She was lovely, like one of those girls on the television, only real and seemed to radiate a certain type of glow. He suddenly remembered his manners and rose to his feet. "How do you do, miss?"
She blinked, and giggled, "Fine, thanks. You're like, from a totally different country aren't you?"
"Uh… England, miss." He replied, casting a confused look at Olivia, who smiled encouragingly.
"Miss? It's Caitlin, I'm not like, a grown-up or something." She replied. "Mr. Turner? Can we leave? He has his schedule." Caitlin pointed at the paper on the desk.
"Of course, Caitlin." He said, handing her a piece of paper. "Here's his locker number and combination. William, if you have any problems let me know."
"He won't have any problems, Mr. Turner." Caitlin rolled her eyes.
Mr. Turner laughed, "Not under your wing I'm sure. Have a great day you two."
Caitlin turned and left, with a rather shell-shocked looking young Will Blakeney after her.
"Well, Caitlin's a nice girl and will take good care of your nephew, Mr. Aubrey." He said after they left.
Jack nodded, slightly confused himself and silently cursing Miss Corin for insisting Blakeney come to school. "I'm sure, Mr. Turner, I'm sure."
Olivia cleared her throat, "If there's anything else? I need to get going."
"Oh! No, not really. Back to school night is next Monday, and I hope you both attend. It gives you a chance to meet his teachers, address any concerns with the curriculum, that sort of thing." He rose from his desk, shaking Jack's hand then Olivia's in turn. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call."
"Thank you, sir." Jack replied, still casting an annoyed look at Olivia, who was ignoring his dark looks and looking worriedly at the clock.
"Well, I won't keep you. Pleasure meeting you both." Mr. Turner said, seeing them out of his office.
"Yes, nice to meet you." Olivia replied distracted. "Jack, we better hurry."
"Very well." Jack was not really listening, he was watching as that little Caitlin girl was introducing Blakeney to a group of her peers, though she seemed to be more interested in showing off than helping him. He hoped the lad would be all right in this strange new environment and that sending him here was indeed the right thing to do. He was so distracted he did not notice that Mr. Turner had disappeared back into his office and Olivia was heading out the door.
"Jack!" She called over her shoulder. "Come on!"
He jumped, and turned to follow her, once out of the building he cast another worried glance at the door. "Miss Corin, are you sure this was a good idea?"
"He'll be fine, Jack. Besides, he needs some people his age to hang out with. Poor kid was so bored at the apartment all day he looked miserable. If he really hates it then we can pull him out." She answered, without much consideration. "Now hurry up, or I'll be late to class and Baker will fry me alive."
"Of course, Miss Corin." Jack replied, sliding into her car with a less than enthusiastic expression. He still was not convinced, but he supposed it would be all right. After all, what harm could attending this school do?
Will followed Caitlin down the crowded hall as she babbled on about which students to "hang out" with and which to avoid. She seemed to have an explanation for all the groups of students as they massed in groups outside doors of classrooms and the little metal closets she called lockers. They were on their way to his so she could show him how to open it and he could store his jacket.
"And you should hang out with Peyden and Jeremy and their friends. They're the cool boys. Laura, that girl I introduced you too down the hall, is going out with Jeremy, and she told me that Peyden was going to ask me out by the end of the week. Though I'm really not sure I should go out with him, I mean, he's kind of short and looks funny with me. I don't want my 8th grade dance pictures to look funny, you know?" Caitlin said cheerfully, waving at her friends and weaving through the crowds.
"Uh… indeed." Will replied, unsure of what 'going-out' meant exactly, though he assume it might be a courtship of sorts.
"Well, here's your locker, 448." Caitlin proceeded to show him how to open the lock, and he stashed his few extra belongings in there before following Caitlin to his 1st period class. She seemed to know everyone and had something to say about everything. He wondered vaguely if she ever stopped talking.
A loud bell rang throughout the building and Blakeney looked at her for an explanation. That was the third bell he heard that morning and he was starting to become curious.
"Oh my gosh! The late bell! Come on Will, we got to get to class." Caitlin took off down the hall.
Will noticed that there were not as many students in the hall now that the bell rang, and he rather preferred the less crowded conditions. "So, the first two were warnings?" He asked.
"And the third means you should be in class." Caitlin explained. "Some teachers want you seated while others don't really care. You'll figure it out when you meet them, the strict ones tend to be sticklers for being on time."
"I see." He followed her into the classroom, encountering what might actually be the largest woman he might ever have seen.
"Hello!" She said cheerfully, stepping aside to let them into the classroom. "Try to be on time next time you two, I was about to call roll." She shut the door as they entered and Caitlin immediately saw two of her giggly friends and sat with them.
"There's a free seat by Kyle, Will." She called, greeting her friends who giggled when they saw him and immediately began chattering to Caitlin.
"Hey, so you're the English kid?" The boy Caitlin indicated, Kyle, asked as Will sat down awkward with so many eyes on him.
"Yes, Will Blakeney, nice to meet you." Olivia had explained to him before he came to school that introducing himself as Lord Blakeney might seem a bit odd. Best keep the title out of things and blend as much as possible, and he could see why. His classmates all seemed terribly informal.
"Kyle Scheiner." He replied. He was a red haired boy with freckles, who pointed to the dark skinned boy with braids on his head. "This is Jerome," He turned to indicate the blond boy behind him, "And Tyler."
"Hey." Jerome greeted, looking hardly interested.
"Hey." Tyler however, seemed to be staring at Will's missing arm and he shifted in his seat as if he were dying to ask but afraid to.
"Boating accident." Will said, coldly. Students had been staring at his arm all day and he was rather tired of everyone whispering about it. "And I'd rather not talk about it."
"I didn't ask!" Tyler immediately replied, turning slightly red.
"You were staring, Tyler." A girl with glasses and short curly hair said from behind her book, without even looking up.
"Who asked you?" Tyler snapped.
"No one, but it's rude to stare and it's his first day at our school, we can at least try to be civilized." She answered, looking at him from over her book, eyebrow raised appraisingly.
"That's Marian." Kyle muttered to Will. "She's… well… she's Marian."
Across the room Caitlin was chattering with her friends. "And he's like totally clueless! It's soooo cute! He's totally out of it!"
Will knew they were talking about him and blushed a deep red and looking at his hand on the desk as the other girls stared and giggled at him.
Marian however, looked up from her book at Caitlin and the other giggling. She a stern look she raised her voice, mimicking their giddy little mood of speech. "And he can sooooo like totally hear you!" She mocked them, her book still open in her hand.
A couple of the other students laughed, mostly those sitting around Marian. Will looked up and gave her a grateful look. He was quite certain those girls were still talking about him, but at least he could not hear them anymore.
"All right class!" The large woman, Blakeney assumed was Mrs. Ortiz, rose from behind her desk. "Time for roll! Then we'll take the algebra test and see which of you will be joining Mr.Milton and which will be staying with me."
"Marian may as well pack up now." Tyler grumbled, looking over at the girl who had gone back to her book.
"Marian the Librarian." Kyle joked, lamely, causing the other boys to snicker.
Marian cast them a withering look, "Oh what, you thought of that nickname in like the 3rd grade?"
"They haven't matured since then." Another girl behind Marian commented.
"Okay people, settle down." Mrs. Ortiz said, though it seemed only half the class was listening for Caitlin's group of girls began to chatter away again and the teacher began going down a list and calling roll. Everyone answered 'here' and so Blakeney did the same. She paused and offered him a smile upon hearing his accent, but did not comment and went on seamlessly.
After his name was called Will glanced at each student as they responded to their own names, attempting to remember the faces along with the Christian names. He noticed with some amusement that Marian Campbell did not even look up from her book as her name was called and she responded sounding rather bored, as if being present in the classroom was the very last thing on her mind.
The rest of class was fairly uneventful. Mrs. Ortiz gave them a test to see who would move up to another class. Blakeney, having a strong foundation in mathematics as a midshipman had no trouble with the basic skills involved in the test. He found that he was one of the first to finish, second after Marian, who had finished and gone back to her book while the rest of the class seemed to ponder the test and struggled with the basic calculations.
When the bell rang everyone turned in their papers and filed out, all chattering among their own groups. Blakeney stood, unsure of what to do as Caitlin had left with her giggling friends, completely involved in their conversation and not noticing confused Will at all. The only people left in the classroom were Mrs. Ortiz, who seemed wholly involved in organizing the stack of tests, and Marian, who finally closed her book with a snap and slowly stood, gathering her belongings.
With a deep breath and a sigh he approached her, unsure of what else to do. "Excuse me, Marian is it?"
Marian seemed surprised he was even still present, "Oh! Yeah, Marian. I thought you would have left with the populars."
"No… they all left. Have you any idea of where room 117 might be?" He asked, feeling rather shy.
"Science with Mrs. Harris? Yeah, I'm heading there next too. You can walk with me if you'd like." Marian offered.
"Thank you, I will." He replied. "Caitlin seems to have forgotten to tell me where the classrooms are located."
Marian snorted as they walked out of the room and into the once again chaotic halls. "Caitlin probably doesn't think classes are the important part of school. I assume she told you the social pecking order though?"
"She pointed out a few groups, yes." Will grinned. "And informed me which groups I should socialize with."
"Well, I'm considered a geek, so if you socialize with me you'll probably lose all chance of popularity." Marian informed him honestly.
Will laughed, Marian so far seemed the most friendly and intelligent of the students he had met so far. Everyone thus far had seemed kind enough, at least to his face, though he found the way Caitlin talked to her friends about him behind his back disturbing, and Kyle and his friends seemed a tad on the idiotic side, the way they had all jumped up and started shoving on their way out the door of the classroom. He smiled at Marian, who seemed completely unconcerned with the opinions of her classmates and outspoken for what she felt was right. "I'll risk it." He told her.
Marian gave him a smile, and Blakeney had to admit she was right pretty when she smiled, "You may not think that later. Come on, we don't want to be late on the first day." She said, leading him to a stairwell and through the halls, explaining which classes would be located where and all the particulars of academic life Caitlin had failed to mention earlier.
In science class he found the desks quite different than in mathematics. Here they were arranged in tables of two, and so he sat with Marian, who the teacher announced their deskmate would be their lab partner unless she found they could not behave themselves, in which case she would assign them seats. The teacher reviewed what would be covered throughout the year, and although much of it seemed foreign to him, it was at least interesting and he had no doubt Marian would be a good lab partner, whatever that was.
English followed, and thanks to Marian he had no trouble finding the room. No one he recognized from earlier was in the class, so he sat in the back, listening as the teacher, Mrs. Dalton, allowed the students to "get to know" her by asking questions. It was relatively boring, and Mrs. Dalton was young and reminded him of Miss Corin's friend Kate in that she seemed rather flighty.
Next came PE in the gym with Coach Sheineld, a brutish looking man with a strong jaw and a tendency to bark at the class. They did not "dress-out" and so they were all seated in the bleachers where they listened to the Coach lecture on how he would not tolerate laziness in his class, nor would he tolerate smart mouths or talking back. He seemed to have quite the list of things he would not tolerate, and most of the class seemed to be only pretending to pay attention. Most eyes in fact, seemed to be resting intently on the clock, willing time to go a tad faster so they could go to lunch.
Upon entering the cafeteria Blakeney found it to be pure chaos. Everyone seemed to be searching for their group of friends to sit with and were hollering and carrying on. He momentarily longed for the familiar mess of the midshipmen's berth and wondered where exactly he should sit. He followed the example of the other students and stood in what he assumed was the food line, picking out the food that seemed the most appealing. None of it seemed too bad, though several students complained about the lack of "real meat" in their food. He paid the smiling woman seated at the cash register with the money Miss Corin had given him that morning and went with his tray in search of a seat.
"You look positively lost." An amused voice behind him commented.
He turned to find Marian, with her tray, scanning the lines of tables. "Yes, well, I'm not sure where to sit." He admitted.
"You can sit with us if you want, assuming I can find us." She said, still scanning the tables. "There they are." She pointed at a small group of students seated at their own table, chattering among themselves. "Come if you want."
Having no other offers and happy to sit with Marian he followed her to the table where three other girls and two boys were seated. "Hey, guys this is Will Blakeney, he's new to the school, okay if he sits with us?"
"No, Marian, he has to pass a test first." One of the girls said, rolling her eyes. "Pull up a chair, Will, and tell us how you like Newberry." She welcomed him, offering a smile.
Will sat, pleased to have a place to sit and what appeared to be friendly people to eat with. "Thank you, I'm afraid I don't know your name?"
"I'm Ashley." The girl replied, she then indicated each person seated at the table. "This is Britney, Mark, Ian, and Melissa, you know Marian obviously."
"You're in my gym class." Ian said, "What'd you think of Coach Sheineld's speech?" He asked, biting into his pizza.
"It was… interesting." Will replied, not wanting to offend by saying it was boring and rather ineffective.
"Interesting. That's a nice way to put seriously boring, right?" Britney asked, reaching over and stealing one of Marian's fries.
"Geez! Brit, why don't you just get your own fries?" Marian asked, poking her friend in the ribs to prevent her from grabbing another.
"My mom insists on packing my lunch, claiming I won't eat healthy if she doesn't and I'll become a fat lazy commercially self-involved teenager." Britney grumbled, attempting to steal another fry.
"Oh, like you have to worry about getting fat." She replied, swatting at her friend and stealing her fry back.
Blakeney studied Britney curiously. She was quite possibly the skinniest girl he had ever seen in his life, and in his opinion looked in need of a good meal.
"I know, I know, it's this diet Mom insists on. She's decided we're veggan or something and took all the meat out of the house. Dad's threatening to leave her if she takes his bacon. I eat and eat but when it's all tofu and steamed carrots you can't exactly gain much weight." She complained.
"What's tofu?" Will asked, curiously.
"It's nasty!" Mark said, digging into his sandwich like he hadn't eaten in years.
"It's not so bad." Britney said, elbowing Mark. "It's like, fake meat, I guess."
"With the consistency of jello." Ian added.
"It does not!"
Marian cleared her throat to end the argument about tofu. "So, are you having a good first day, Will?"
"All right I suppose." He replied.
"Where are you from?" She asked. "I mean, where in England?"
"Hampshire." He answered, deciding to keep in general and hoping no one asked for specifics. He doubted they would. Miss Corin did not seem to ever have a clue as to any of the specifics of England and he doubted many of these people would either.
"Cool." Ashley glanced over at the table where Caitlin and her friends were seated, staring at Will and giggling, making no effort to disguise the topic of their conversation. "Is it just me, or has Caitlin and her band of giggling clones gotten stupider over the summer?"
"Oh but, like, now they have tans!" Melissa chirped, mimicking their mood of speech. "Nevermind that like, the sun has like, totally fried their brains!"
"They had brains?" Britney asked in shock. "No way!"
"Come on you guys, they're not that bad." Mark toned them down.
"That's just because you went to the spring dance with Myra, Caitlin clone number three, last year!" Marian accused.
"Hey, she's hot and she wanted help on her earth science homework." Mark defended himself. "And I'm close enough to the jock group to be allowed to date a popular girl."
"Yeah, Mark plays soccer but he hangs out with us. He's a freak." Ashley explained, receiving nods of agreement all around the table.
Lunch continued much like that, friendly chatter all around. They made an effort to involve Will in the conversation, though he much preferred listening and learning from their chatter then attempting to keep up. By the time the bell rang it had been established that Ashley and Ian were in his French class, Marian in his civics, and Britney and Mark were both in choir, though Britney teased Mark, saying the only reason he was in choir was because Miss Young was considered "hot". Since they had discovered three of them were in the same class Will set off for French with Ashley and Ian.
The French classroom was brightly decorated, though the amount of French Republican flags decorating the walls made Will cringe in distaste. As an English sailor he had an automatic affinity for that particular flag, and found the displays distasteful.
"What's wrong, Will?" Ashley asked, settling into a desk.
"Well," He hesitated, wondering how to explain.
"He's English! They don't like the French, do they?" Ian answered for him, turning to Will for either a confirmation or denial.
Will chuckled slightly and nodded, "Well, I wouldn't say we're best of friends, but I wouldn't say hate." He said, quite diplomatically.
Ashley laughed, "So you're pleading the 5th huh?" She then noticed the clueless look on Will's face and waved her hand. "Nevermind."
"Tsk tsk tsk." Came a tut from behind the desk. There sat the jolly, round looking teacher, a woman with a bit too much make-up and a smile that was so cheery it should be illegal. "Don't like the French? Oh no no no, we must get rid of that attitude straight away eh?" She laughed at her own joke and puttered off to the other side of the room to gather stacks of textbooks.
"Yeah, because in one class she's going to erase hundreds of years of historic sentiments." Ian muttered, crossing his arms and glaring at the back of the teacher as if she had never opened a history book in her life. Ian was the son of a history professor and an English professor at Newberry University and was quite the history buff himself.
"Did we say someone didn't like the French?" Ashley added, raising an eyebrow. "She's crazy." She whispered mischievously under her breath.
Blakeney held back a snort and quietly got out his notebook, waiting for class to start. When they received their textbooks Blakeney was relieved to see that this was one class he certainly was not going to have a problem with. It was beginning French, as if he had never learned a bit of it in his entire life, and Will, while not entirely as fluent as the Doctor, could already manage a little bit of French, and so he anticipated this being an easy class. Especially since the teacher seemed intent on treating them all like children and spoke to them as if they were puppies, occasionally throwing in some French here or there. She had them all go around the room and say "Bonjour! Je m'appelle….." filling in their names. Then they had to introduce themselves to every other person in the classroom and spent the rest of class counting with the teacher. It was quite boring and Blakeney was relieved when the bell finally rang.
In civics he met up with Marian again and overheard Caitlin and her friends in the hall saying in a loud voice, "Oh, we lost him to the geeks" but thought nothing of it. He enjoyed his newfound friendship with this group, and could keep up with the small group of so-called "geeks" far easier than the "populars" who seemed to grow larger by the minute. Marian rolled her eyes at this comment and as Will sat down she leaned forward a bit to speak to him.
"Looks like you've been judged and labeled one of us "geeks". Welcome to the club." She said easily. "But if you're good at sports you can still become a jock, so all is not lost yet!"
Will laughed, "From what I've seen so far, Marian, I'd rather be a geek any day." He said boldly, sitting down in the desk next to her.
Civics was taught by a man that was much like Coach Sheineld, but much fatter with a gruff voice. He immediately launched into how their generation had no knowledge of their own government and went around the room asking random students questions and mocking them for not knowing the answer. This made Will very uneasy as he was English, obviously, and not from this time, he had no idea what any of the answers were. He sank lower in his seat, as if hoping he would not be called upon, while the tips of his ears began to burn red.
"You!" His prayers were not answered, Mr. O'Reilly was pointing his beefy finger straight at Will.
"Yes, sir?" Will said, making his English accent as obvious as possible in an effort to make the teacher realize his disadvantage and have mercy.
"How many Justices are there on the Supreme Court?" He barked.
"Um…" Blakeney stalled for time, blinking slowly. "I don't know, sir."
"You don't know?" He mocked, stamping his tree trunk like legs. "You simply don't know? Do you even know what the Supreme Court is?"
Several students laughed and Blakeney's cheeks burned in embarrassment, but Marian was immediately sympathetic and looked positively outraged. Her hand shot up like a dart and all eyes turned to her. "Will's English and just moved to this country so chances are he wouldn't know how many Supreme Court justices there are just like you probably don't know how many Members of Parliament they have."
Mr. O'Reilly's eyes narrowed at Marian, who seemed unmoved by his glare. It seemed quite obvious to the whole class he did not know how many people where in Parliament or he would have answered just to show Marian up. "Well, what's your name missy?"
"Marian Campbell." She answered boldly, unafraid, though Will felt horrible that he might have gotten her in trouble.
"Well, Marian, I suppose you can tell me how many justices there are on the Supreme Court?" He asked, his eyes shining in triumph, certain that she did not know the answer.
"It's been nine since 1837, except for a brief period during Andrew Johnson's presidency when it was eight, then it went back to nine and has been nine ever since." She answered, sounding almost bored with the question. Then added for show, "Everyone who was born in this country knows that."
The teacher's frown grew deeper. "Who's chief justice?"
"Rehnquist." She answered automatically.
Mr. O'Reilly stared at her for a moment, assessing her, and Marian stared right back, never blinking. Then he seemed to give up, muttered to her, "Very good, Marian." And moved on to torture the next student.
When the bell finally rang Mr. O'Reilly watched very carefully as Will and Marian left the classroom.
"Thanks for that, Marian, but you could have gotten yourself into trouble." He said with a frown.
"Hey, he was rude. I can't stand rude people." Marian said, tossing her head. "I hate when teacher's mock us like we're stupid or something. They were our age too once, you know?"
Will smiled, knowing the feeling. "Well, I have chorus. Will I see you tomorrow?" He asked.
"Of course, Will. I'm here everyday unless I have a fever!" She laughed. "See you tomorrow." With that Marian turned and headed off to her own next class, which was band apparently, with a wave over her shoulder.
In chorus Will met up with Mark and Britney, who were arguing over when part try-outs would be. Britney apparently wanted to sing soprano, but Mark was certain Miss Young would never take her off alto as she was apparently the anchor of the alto section. It was quite a heated argument that continued until the bell rang and Reagan Young rushed into the room.
She immediately recognized Will and smiled, "Hi Will, remember me?" She asked kindly. She was certainly dressed differently than the last time they met. Reagan was dressed in a long skirt, tall boots, and a blouse of deep purple, looking wholly professional and very much like his other teachers, though she was younger, and he silently agreed with Mark that she was the most attractive of the teachers he had seen in the school.
Will returned her smile, "Yes Miss Young. It is a pleasure to see you again, ma'am." He greeted.
Mark looked at him curiously and leaned over Britney, "You know Miss Young?"
"She's a friend of the cousin I live with." He explained, adding in part of the story Miss Corin had concocted to explain.
"Okay, people, no time to play around!" Miss Young called after marking in her roll book. "Grab a folder, whatever part you were on last year and line up in the old seating arrangement."
Mark gave Britney a triumphant look as the students in the choir ran off to get their folders. Will paused, unsure of what to get.
"Will, share with Mark for now. I'll talk to you after class, okay?" Miss Young said.
He did so, sitting next to Mark in the second row, noting Caitlin, who was in the front row with a folder marked, 'soprano' was giggling, yet again.
"Settle down Caitlin, it's a boy, you've seen one before." Miss Young rolled her eyes at the giggling and Caitlin immediately stopped. "Now! Part auditions will be in two weeks, let me know what part you would like, but remember I have to think of the choir and so you may not get your choice, okay? So, open your binders to "Let there be Peace" and let's sightread!"
Thus choir practice began. They seemed quite good, though Blakeney was unsure what to sing. He had never been in a formal choir before, and though he could sing along with his fellow midshipmen quite well, he had never had a specific part or harmony. He would have been completely lost if he had not been between two boys singing what he was supposed to sing, so he followed their voices. Mark was quite good, while the boy on the other side, Dwayne, seemed to know just a little more than Will's complete lack of knowledge. Miss Young of course, had plenty of areas for them to improve upon, and scolded them all for forgetting their pronunciations and vowels over the summer.She sang lines emphasizing certain words with a smooth clear voice and played away on the piano at the from of the room with one hand while conducting with the other.
When the bell rang the usual chaos occurred. Everyone rant to put away their binders, and Miss Young beckoned Will to where she was gathering music at the piano.
"How was your first day?" She asked kindly.
"Well enough, Miss Young." He answered.
"Have you ever sung in a choir before, Will?" Miss Young continued, putting some sheet music in order as they spoke.
"No, ma'am. I'm afraid I was rather lost today." He admitted.
"Well, lucky for you, you're living with one of the best singers I know." She said with a smile. "Tell Olivia I said to help you with this music." She said, handing him a newly created binder. "She'll teach you everything you need to know to get caught up and then some."
Will took the binder, "Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am." He said, blushing slightly.
"You're welcome. Now hurry or you'll miss your bus." Miss Young shooed him away and Will hurried off to his locker to gather his belongings and rushed out to the front of the school where he was to get on bus 42 and get off at the top of North Street to walk to the apartment.
"Will! Hey Will!" Ian and Marian were both seated on the bus, and Will was happy to see them. He saw the unrestrained chaos on the buses, and feared the ride home, but now Marian and Ian appeared to be both on his bus and he quickly went to join them where they sat in the middle of the vehicle.
"Hello Ian, hello Marian, it's good to see you." He greeted, putting his bag beside him and turning to speak with his newfound friends.
Marian adjusted her glasses on her nose, "Survive the first day?" She asked with her usual slight sarcasm.
"I managed." He answered. "You?"
"Well, I think I've made an enemy of Mr. O'Reilly, but oh well." She shrugged.
"Our French teacher is the dumbest woman I've ever seen." Ian groaned, drumming his fingers on a large case beside him.
"Perhaps it will get better?" Will looked at them both with hope.
"No." They both replied together. The three continued to talk until the bus shuddered to a stop at the top of North Street.
"Oh! Here's my stop." Will said, rising to his feet and gathering his belongings once more. "Until tomorrow?"
"Until tomorrow." Marian said giving him a grin. "Oh! Will, some of us are getting together Friday at my house and watching movies and stuff. Want to come?"
"I'll ask, but I'd love to." He said, happy to spend more time with his fellow students, even if some of his new friends were typical "modern" girls.
"Great." She glanced out the window. "You better go, Will."
"Yeah, miss this stop and you'll be walking five miles back." Ian commented.
Will nodded, waving over his shoulder and exited the bus. He watched as it rumbled away and turned to go down the street, back to the apartment. He was pleased with how the day had gone, despite the problems and confusion, and looked forward to tomorrow. He was still smiling when he returned to the apartment, where the Captain, Doctor, and Mr. Pullings were playing a game they found in Miss Corin's hall closet that she had explained the night before called Monopoly. It was strictly based on luck, and the Doctor obviously had none whatsoever, for he complained quite loudly as Mr. Pullings collected the pretend money from him.
They looked up as Blakeney entered, curious to know how his day had gone. "Well, Mr. Blakeney, I trust school was successful?" Jack asked, noting the grin on his midshipman's face.
"Very successful, sir, thank you." He replied, shifting his bag. "I have assignments from school, they call it homework, I would like to get it done straightaway, do you not agree?"
"Of course, Mr. Blakeney." Jack said, impressed. It was obvious Miss Corin was correct, judging by his smile, school had been good for the lad.
"I've been invited to one of my classmate's house Friday night, might I go, sir?" He asked, while it was on his mind.
They all exchanged surprised looks, unsure of how to proceed. "Well, I suppose, but you'll have to ask Miss Corin for a ride."
"Yes, sir, I will." With that Will retreated back down the hall to the room he shared with Mr. Pullings to complete his homework.
"Well, school seems to have been a success." Stephen commented.
"Indeed." Jack said, collected the dice and rolling. "Indeed."
"Sir, I do believe that is my property." Tom said, a hint of triumph in his voice. "That will be 800." He said.
"Mr. Pullings, I am wiped out." Jack said, disappointed in his luck. "Unless the good Doctor could offer some support?"
"I am hardly in the position myself as Mr. Pullings's fine hotels have taken their toll upon my funds." Stephen said wryly, throwing his cards on the table.
"Then the game is mine, gentlemen?" Tom asked, beaming in his monopoly of the board.
"Indeed." Jack answered, throwing his cards on the table. "Though, the next game, my good sir, shall be mine." He proclaimed.
"Is that so, sir?" Tom leaned over the table a bit, amused. "Another game then, to answer your challenge?"
Jack grinned, "Deal Mr. Pullings, and you will rue the day you crossed my property!"
A/N: So there's Blakeney's first day of school! I haven't been a middle school student in a long time, though I've taught middle school in the past year, but that's quite a different prospective. I hope you guys liked it! I rewrote this chapter five times. Yes that's right. Five times. By now I'm so sick of this chapter I just want to post it and be done! I'm also working and it's hardly inspiring like my student teaching gig… so don't expect quick updates! Sorry guys! I hardly want to sit in front of a computer after doing that all day!
Anyway, next chapter will probably be Tom and Olivia…. maybe…. haven't decided yet. I might have to throw Marian in the next chapter because I like her. Marian's a bit of a smartass isn't she? Haha I love that!
So… there's the long awaited Blakeney chapter! I know some of you are screaming finally! Lord, I've been being bugged to write something Blakeney centered since the first story! Shesh! I hope that met your expectations!
Where will I go next? Hm…. Stay tuned and find out!
Et-spiritus-sancti: No worries about not reviewing 11. Yes, Olivia is very very screwed up. That was the goal! I'm glad you don't think it's too over the top to be realistic, that was my main fear. And now that the cousins are gone I know Olivia is hoping for more alone time with Tom. Hehe. Don't worry though, the cousins will be back. I like them too much for that to be their only appearance! I shall try to run over Gary with a lawn mower but I'm not quite sure how to work that out. As for embarrassing Tom, no worries. I have plenty of ideas in that regard.
Tom: (whimper)
Me: Mwahahahaha
Tom: (whispers) Save me Sancti! Please?
Haha thanks for reviewing and I wrote this chapter kind of long just for you! Cheers!
Archer of Darkness and Callie: Softball keeps one busy, I know. I've been busy working, though I'd rather not. One must earn money for the all important tuition and rent. Thanks for taking the time to review though! Hope this chapter lived up to your expectations m'dear!
SweetiePye2332: Wow! Lots of reviews at once! How surprising! Welcome m'dear, to my insanity and I'm glad you've enjoyed it thus far (though I will admit your comment about the walkie-talkie in your first review of To Wives and Sweethearts made me laugh as I'm a history major and would have had to hurt myself if I messed up the period correctness THAT badly) and am happy to have you along for this insane journey! Let's see…. Your questions on this story…. Does Will ever get a sweetheart? Not telling yet! Actually… don't know yet… As for Olivia telling people about the guys being from the past, she only told Kate and Kate told Lannie. Kate and Lannie are pretty much her best friends and she told them about MOST things in To Wives and Sweethearts… expect that she and Tom are engaged because Kate will freak out. The rest of the world gets the cover story. Haha and yes I am a fan of these touching feely moments. They make me happy! The cousins ages? Maria is seven and Katalin are five, they are based on a collaboration of kids I babysat and my mom's preschool students I've worked with. My favorites mostly, though I'm not going to bother identifying who is who! Haha congrats on guessing about Olivia's past! Hope you enjoyed the Blakeney chapter and thanks for all the reviews!
Sakai213: Haha no worries m'dear! You reviewed and that's all that matters! Lannie is a direct descendant of Jack… I'm not sure I've specifically established that but it's not important to the plot so there you go. I just threw it in for fun! Glad you're enjoying the story and hope to post the next chapter quicker than this one! Thanks for reading m'dear! You guys make writing this stuff worth while!
Wing Pikepaw: Haha Blakeney's chapter is all for you dear! Hope you enjoyed it! LOL I do like the back-up squad idea, though I doubt a water gun would scare Gary off. I agree that she shouldn't have to go through all this, but I'm abusive to my characters. Do be careful with exploding soup. That sounds dangerous and I don't want to lose one of my favorite readers! Haha thanks for sticking with me and sorry this took so long. Had to rewrite it five times! Hope you enjoyed!
Sfinx: Haha well the rate I'm going this story isn't going to be done for a while! It's already 121 pages single-spaced in word. Shesh I've never written such a long story in my life! And it's nowhere near done! Ack! And then I'm planning a third story if not more! Wow I'll be writing these guys forever. Anyway, haha Olivia teaching Tom to drive might have to be written. That'd be fun. Thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoyed the Blakeney chapter.
Frannypants: Haha I know, I know, I'm mean to Olivia, but it's fun! I gave you Blakeney, now be gentle with him! He's not used to this type of attention poor kid! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I didn't butcher middle school too badly. Like I said, I haven't been a middle school student in a long time, though I have taught them, it's not the same! Thanks for reviewing m'dear! I can't draw worth crap so if you ever feel the need to illustrate something I write…. Haha just kidding… I'm not hinting… though you can if you really want! Hope you enjoyed the update!
Anyana: I'm glad 12 filled in the blanks. That was the main point of it haha. Hope this chapter was worth the wait! Thanks for sticking with me!
Angel of the Night Watchers: I'm glad you approve of 12. Writing that chapter was a challenge to say the least. Haha and I totally didn't think about the whole Tom touching Olivia deal. Wow good catch. I'll keep that in mind in the future Angel. Yes, Olivia's worked through it fairly well I think, but they'll be some scenes I'm thinking of having in the future that bring her past up yet again and she'll have to confront some things. Since I'm a sap for Tom/Olivia moments Tom will of course be his sappy supportive self…. But Olivia's reaction is yet to be determined by my brain. Haha thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the much lighter Blakeney chapter! Despite taking me forever it wasn't as hard to write… somewhat… haha. Thanks for sticking with me m'dear!
ClaireRickman: I'm glad you liked 12 and I hope you liked this chapter too! Stephen needs to keep his hands to himself and off moody Olivia! Yeah, Tom needed to know about Olivia's past, and the Aunt telling him was a random idea because Olivia's character is so stubborn!
Olivia: Hey! You made me like this.
Tom: Yes… why did you do that?
Olivia: Shush!
Anyway, hope Stephen is behaving and hope you enjoyed the update! Remember to make sure he gets lots of veggies! Thanks for reviewing!
Norma Jean the Dancing Machine: My best chapter is 12? Really? Wow thanks! I always get myself in over my head and I think this story is one of those times. As for letting them get married soon… haha you know it can't be that easy! I have to drag you guys along some more twists and turns and bumps first! By the time this story is over you may have a hit list of characters you want dead a mile long! Don't worry, I have no plans of stopping. I'm committed to it now! Keep reading and I'll keep writing deal? Thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoyed the update!
Mary Ann Talbot: Yes, Olivia has some evil family. But she has a large family. Don't worry, not all the Hungarian relatives are evil. I'm planning on giving her a Great-Aunt that I want to bring to life and make her my real Great-Aunt! Haha I'm a bit at a lose as to what to do with an upcoming family get-together type thing, you know, foods to serve, that sort of thing. If Olivia's grandmother and great-aunts and uncles were southern American I would have fried chicken, black-eyed peas, and of course, grits and dumplings, but her grandmother is Hungarian so I don't know what to do! Haha if you really want to be nice you could help ;-) No pressure of course! Come on Mary Anne Talbot! You know you want to help me make this story really awesome! Email me ideas! Okay, I'll stop bothering you in my review reply, but I promise not all the Hungarian family members will be mean. Many will be nice and friendly happy people. Just the Grandmother is a little mean. I have mean family members also so it has nothing to do with nationality I assure you! And yes, there are Blakeney fans out there. Haha talk to Wing Pikepaw! Thanks for reviewing m'dear and hope you enjoyed the update!
Eldarwen999: Olivia's had a rough life, I agree. I'm mean like that. Tom is an absolute sweetheart… too good to be true eh? Tom torture will come soon I promise. In the meanwhile, hope you enjoyed the nice happy chapter where Blakeney makes friends! Thanks for reviewing!
Elessar King: Haha I ran out on you on IM so I could post this and get to bed! And you're my last reply before I sleep. Shhhhhh! Don't talk about kidnapping here! There are spies everywhere! Haha okay like I've ever cared about spoiling people. And I promise I shall not hit anyone with a car or bus. Though I may have to work in getting run over by a horse just because it's a challenge. I'll work in the Napoleon ice cream soon just for you I promise. Pat Little Jack for me. He should come to Ireland with us! Because we are going (poke poke poke) if I have to kidnap you myself! Pirates was half you, you know, so you were laughing at your own brilliance. Good job. Anyway, I have to work as an Human Resource assistant tomorrow…. so anything else I think of I'll have to tell you tomorrow eh? Night!
Special Notes: Okay guys, I'm pitching shamelessly here, andthey did not ask me to do this, but I'm doing it anyway!Everyone go read Crimson Rose by Zen Lady and all of Miss Flossy's work. All very awesome and worthwhile and make my writing look like the stuff I use to wipe of my rabbit's accidents with. You think I'm mean to Tom? Read with Flossy does to him in Woman Scorned! Shesh! And Flossy, if you're reading this I hope you're feeling better!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys make writing this story so much fun and it's always so great to hear from you! Now… Tom's trick since you guys were so nice and reviewed…..
Tom: I'm not coming out!
Me: You will if you ever want to have a nice evening with Olivia!
Olivia: You don't look that bad!
Tom: (grumbles and comes out wearing a bright pink tutu with fake boobs)
Me: You look pretty!
Tom: Where do you get this stuff?
Me: (shrug) My mother sells them at the store where she works. (note: she really does, they're "man tutus")
Tom: You're so evil.
Me: Next time, if I get lots of reviews, you'll have to dance.
Tom: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
There you have it. Review and Tom will dance. Now, I'm off to bed. Until next time m'dears, happy reading!