A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese!
Disclaimer: Don't own OTH
Chapter Three
Haley was barely out of the principal's office when Lucas showed up. She jumped as he spoke. "So did you get the job?" he asked her anxiously as she started to calm down. He then grinned as he added, "Because I will take it easy on you if you do."
"Mrs. Davis is willing to give me a shot. I just have to talk to Mrs. Jagielski for approval," Haley replied. Lucas smiled happily. Haley then started to get suspicious. "Why are you so anxious for me to get the job here anyway? I'm not one for favoritism, Lucas."
Lucas didn't say anything at first. "It's not that. I'm hoping that you could do a favor for me since I'm doing one for you," he told her as they walked down the hall.
Haley nodded understandingly. "I see. Does this have anything to do with you being nice to your brother during breakfast?" she asked as she raised her eyebrows. Lucas was surprised. "It was too obvious that you want something."
"Yeah, but I can't have it because I'm grounded. You see, I have two concert tickets to see The Wreckers this weekend and I was going to take my girlfriend Lindsey. But everything changed when Nathan grounded me," Lucas explained.
"So you were hoping that I would talk to Nathan about ungrounding you for that night?" Haley asked him. Lucas nodded. She gave him a stern look as she said, "Lucas, I can't do that. This is between you and your brother. Besides, I think you should ask Rachel. After all, she is your brother's wife."
Lucas rolled his eyes. "She may be his wife, but she certainly isn't a great sister-in-law to me. We don't get along at all. She would never ask him to let me off." He was so busy talking that he didn't realize that he bumped into someone. He quickly apologized to the brunette, but she just brushed him off before walking on.
Haley frowned. "What's with her?" she asked as she watched her walk away towards the library.
"That's Brooke Davis, the principal's daughter," Lucas told her. "She is quiet and likes to keep to herself."
Haley was surprised. "Does she have any friends?" she asked him.
Lucas shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really talk to her," he said as he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned around and gave his girlfriend a wide smile. "Hey Lindsey," he said as he embraced her in a tight hug. Lucas then did the introductions. "Ms. James, this is my wonderful girlfriend, Lindsey. Lindsey, this is Ms. James, our new substitute teacher."
Lindsey turned red. "Please tell me that my boyfriend hasn't been bragging about me again."
"Why not?" Lucas asked her seriously. "You're the best girlfriend that I ever had."
Lindsey gave him a look. "Lucas, I'm the only one you've ever had."
Haley just shook her head in amusement. "I'm going to leave you two lovebirds alone and go and find Mrs. Jagielski." She didn't let Lucas ask her anymore about his request. She wanted to help him out, but it wasn't right to butt in his personal life.
She walked through the hall until she reached the right classroom. She knocked on the open door and the pregnant blonde woman looked up from her work. "May I help you?" she asked her.
Haley gave her a wide smile. "Hi, I'm Haley James," she replied. "I hear you are looking for a substitute teacher for your classes."
Peyton frowned. "Yes, I am, but I don't need one until next week. Didn't Mrs. Davis tell you?"
"She told me that you're expecting any day now and I should start today so you could get some rest," Haley replied. She paused for a moment before she added, "No offense, but it looks like you need it."
"Why haven't I heard of you before?" Peyton asked her. "You don't seem like one of our usual substitutes."
"I'm new and just moved into town," Haley replied. "Nathan Scott told me that you were in a jam and thought that I could help you out."
Peyton nodded understandingly. "I see. Well, I appreciate you coming in, but I don't need you today," she said. Haley was about to leave when Peyton continued. "However, you can observe if you want."
"That would probably be best. I've never taught high school students before," Haley replied. "I had gotten a job at the elementary school, but it fell through. So I'm stuck here without a job. That's when Mr. Scott suggested your job."
"How do you know Nathan?" Peyton asked her curiously.
"I'm his new neighbor," Haley replied as Peyton suddenly grabbed her stomach and groaned. "Are you ok?" she asked her concerned.
Peyton nodded. "Yeah, it's just these darn Braxton Hicks contractions. That's all. I've been having them on and off for the last couple of hours. I've been having them a lot lately. I wish that they would quit so I can be in real labor."
Haley was about to respond when she suddenly saw water began to pool on the floor underneath Peyton's feet. "I think you just got your wish," she told her as Peyton looked at her shocked. "It looks like your baby is coming a few weeks early."
Soon, Peyton and Jake were on their way to the hospital and Haley had been officially assigned to Peyton's classes. As Peyton was having her contractions, she had managed to tell Haley that her lesson plans were on her desk. She nodded in acknowledgement, but she started to get nervous. She didn't expect to teach the first day that she was there.
She gently pulled Nathan to one side, away from the crowd of students and teachers that had gathered to see their two teachers take off. He looked at her curiously and wondered what she was going to say. "I can't do this," she told him. "I can't take over her classes today."
Nathan gave her a comforting smile. "Sure, you can. You'll do great." Haley still wasn't convinced. "Just follow her lesson plan and you'll be fine. And you'll have Lucas to help you out."
Haley gave him a look. "You do know that he is only helping me to help him in return."
Nathan sighed. "I figured." He then thought for a moment. "I could be in there as well if you want and make sure the students don't give you too much of a hard time."
Haley smiled gratefully. "Thanks, but have you ever taught before?"
Nathan turned red. "No," he admitted. "But I have been on detention duty before."
"Well, that is completely different to teaching," Haley replied. She then let out a sigh. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I should have thought this through before I agreed to do this."
Nathan tried to calm her down. "Whoa, you haven't even had your first class yet. Maybe you should see how your first class goes before quitting."
Haley knew that he had a point. She thought for a moment before speaking. "Ok, I'll teach my first class and then I'll decide."
Nathan gave her a wide smile. "Great. I'll show you the way." He then couldn't help asking, "So what does Lucas want?"
Haley finally managed a smile. "As I told Lucas, you two will have to work it out yourselves. This is none of my business. Besides, I hate being stuck in the middle." She then thought for a moment. "Actually, I hate the color pink, flying and clowns." She shivered at the thought of those creepy clowns.
Nathan frowned. "You don't like the color pink? Then what will happen if you have a daughter?"
"I don't know yet. I'll figure that out when I get married and start a family with my husband," Haley said. "I might have the nursery in yellow or something." She then realized that she was getting ahead of herself. "Anyway, the point is that I'm not going to help you or Lucas with the problem."
"Would you at least tell me the problem?" Nathan asked her.
Haley shook her head. "Sorry, but I'm staying out of it," she replied as they reached the classroom.
"Are you sure that you'll be ok on your own?" Nathan asked her. Haley nodded. "Ok, I'll be around if you need me."
"Thanks, Nathan. I really appreciate that," Haley told him before she walked into her classroom. She walked over to Peyton's desk and started glancing over her lesson plan as some of the students walked into the room and to their desks. She ignored the whispers and whistles as she concentrated on her work. She glanced up a couple of times and noticed that Brooke had walked in. She sat quietly at her desk and just read a book. Haley was curious to get to know her.
Soon, it was time for her to begin in class. Haley looked at her class list and noticed that Lucas and Lindsey were both in that class. However, neither of them had shown up yet. She wasn't surprised and she decided to go ahead and start without them. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Good morning, class. I'm Ms. James, your substitute teacher. As you may or may not know, Mrs. Jagielski went into labor this morning and is at the hospital right now. So I'll be taking over her classes. Now when I call your name, please call out 'here' and a nickname if you would prefer one." She went down the list and found that everyone was there except for Lucas and Lindsey.
Just as she was about to discuss the lesson plan, Lucas and Lindsey quietly slipped into class and to their desks. However, Haley noticed them right away. "Mr. Scott, Ms. Strauss, how nice of the two of you to decide to join us. Perhaps one of you could tell me what your assignment was for last night."
Lucas and Lindsey looked at each other. Lucas then cleared his throat before speaking. "We were just finishing up Robert Frost poetry," he told her as his friends looked at him shocked. "We are supposed to have a quiz on it today before getting into Edgar Allan Poe."
Haley nodded impressed. "Ok then. Lindsey, why don't you pass out the papers and we'll get started?"
After the quiz was over, Haley started the discussion of Edgar Allan Poe. Nobody seemed interested at first to hear about yet another boring poet. However, once she started telling them about his life, then students started to become more interested about the man and his poetry. She then knew that she had got their attention. She hoped that they would enjoy her teaching style once they really would get going with the material.
After the class was over, she called Lucas over to her desk. Lucas walked over along with Lindsey. Haley gave them a smile. "I hope that I wasn't too hard on you two."
Lucas shook his head. "No, I understand. You're just lucky that I was prepared. How did I do on the quiz?"
"I haven't had a chance to grade them yet," Haley told him. "I'll probably do them during my lunch hour." She then changed the subject. "So how did I do for my first class on my first day of teaching?"
Lindsey gave her a smile. "I don't know about Lucas, but I think you did great," she replied.
Lucas nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and I'm not just saying that because of my favor either."
Lindsey frowned. "What favor?"
"It's nothing," Lucas replied quickly. "We should get to our next class. We'll see you later, Ms. James."
Haley nodded in acknowledgement as Lucas and Lindsey left the room. As the day went on, she didn't have a chance to see Nathan again. However, she did hear from Mrs. Davis that Mrs. Jagielski had had her baby and it was surprisingly a boy. Everyone had guessed that it was going to be a girl. Haley was happy for them and told Mrs. Davis that she would take the job until Mrs. Jagielski would be able to return to school.
At the end of the day, Haley was getting prepared to leave when she heard a knock at the door. She turned around and was happy to see Nathan. "So how did your first day go?" he asked her anxiously.
Haley gave him a wide smile. "It went better than I had expected. So I told Mrs. Davis that I would be happy to take the job until Mrs. Jagielski is able to return from maternity leave," she told him.
Nathan smiled in return. "I was hoping you would say that. I want to invite you to come and have dinner with me and Lucas at my house tonight."
Haley was surprised, but pleased at the invitation. She didn't even have to think before she accepted it. "I'd love to," she replied.
