Hello! Firstly I want to say thank you so much for reading and for the reviews! I hope you're all enjoying it!
I've almost finished my other project, so this should be updated a little more frequently from now on. This chapter is unbetad because I haven't spoken to my betas for a few days due to timezone differences and my being super-tired. Many apologies for this.
Without further ado, here is the next chapter of To Sir, With Love.
Not the worst first day back, Kurt thought to himself as he sat with the rest of New Directions at lunch. He had prepared his own, and Finn's, lunch today; a classic PB&J. His mom had made them for him every first day of school as a treat (she'd insisted that eating them every day would rot his teeth), and even though he hated crusts he'd left them on, just like she used to.
"You gonna screw that sandwich, dude?" Puck cut across his daydream and gave Kurt an odd look. Kurt laughed and shook his head.
"Sorry I zoned out; what were you saying?" Kurt said eating the last of his sandwich and screwing up the tinfoil he had wrapped it in.
"Just that I think we should go for a little sabotage this year," Puck said with a grin. "Think about it, if we just drop some laxatives in Vocal Adrenaline's drinks, itching powder in the Warbler's blazers..."
"One; that is so kindergarten, two; the Warblers are my friends so we won't be doing any sabotage there, and three," Kurt said fixing Puck with an intense stare. "If we don't win this honestly, because of our talent, we don't deserve to win at all."
"Kurt's right you guys," Tina piped up. "We just have to make sure that everything we do is a million times better than everyone else."
The rest of the Glee club chimed in their agreements and Puck held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, but I've gotta use those laxatives somewhere," he said in a slightly unsettling voice. Mercedes pulled her tray a little closer and Mike hovered protectively over Tina's chicken salad.
"Does anyone know where room 15B is?" Finn asked as he examined his schedule. "I've got music in there next period."
"No way! Me too," Kurt said excitedly, snatching the page from his brother. Sure enough, the little square indicating fifth period on a Monday afternoon contained the words "Music" and "15B".
"I have music then too," Mercedes informed them helpfully. Kurt turned to stare at her. "You never said!" he accused, passing Finn's schedule back to him.
"I've barely seen you all day," she laughed. Just then a tray landed on the table, with rather more force than was strictly necessary, and an annoyed-looking Rachel Berry plonked herself down between Finn and Artie.
"Hey," Finn greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, poking at her salad. "They've changed my schedule, so now I have to take drama on a Tuesday and music on a Monday, something I didn't want to do because as we have Glee club sixth period on a Monday I was hoping to conserve my voice and my talent, but if I want to do drama too I have to take that in the space of the second music class on a Tuesday."
Everybody stared at her. Santana rolled her eyes and resumed her conversation with Quinn and Brittany while Kurt and Mercedes swapped despairing looks.
"So you're saying that you have music next period? After lunch?" Kurt asked finally.
"Yes," Rachel replied grumpily. "And then Glee club last period."
"Great," Mercedes muttered. "Monday afternoons with Rachel, just what I wanted."
"Hey guys, c'mon," Finn interjected. "It'll be fun. Like a little family!"
Lauren looked thoroughly amused, "so all four of you have music lessons together?"
"Looks that way," Mercedes said.
"And Dave Karofsky," Kurt added as he stood and picked up his bag and rubbish. "Are you coming? Lunch is nearly over." No one moved.
"Karofsky? Karofsky is taking music? With us?" Finn asked eventually, concern etched on his face. "And you're okay with this?"
"It's fine," Kurt insisted. "And I doubt he took it so he could be with us. Or me. Whatever Finn, it's fine." Nobody looked particularly reassured; Kurt let out an exasperated sigh.
"Look, it's just one class. I don't have to sit by him, or interact with him or anything. And you guys will be there to protect me," he said in an annoyed tone. "Not that I need protecting."
Mercedes stood and grabbed her tray. "Guys, it's up to Kurt. If he thinks it's okay, it's okay. Now come on or we'll be late." Finn shrugged and pushed his chair out. Rachel shovelled a couple of forkfuls of salad into her mouth then followed suit, holding her tray in one hand and bag in the other.
"You never told me where 15B was," Finn said as they left the cafeteria.
"It's been disused for ages," Kurt said as they walked. "I had a French lesson in there a couple of years ago when they fumigated the usual classroom for those mutant mice that escaped from one of the biology labs."
"Oh right, cool," Finn said smiling.
"Did they ever catch them all?" Mercedes asked in a wondering voice.
"I heard they'd made a giant city in the roof of the school, and that whenever they tried to send someone up to get them out, they got blasted with laz-" Finn broke off as they rounded a corner and found themselves facing the McKinley high hockey team.
"Well, well, well, it's after midday and I haven't slushied one Glee loser today." The captain of the team stepped forwards, bright blue slushie in hand.
"Back off, puckheads," Finn said threateningly. "I swear, if you throw that thing at any one of us-"
"You'll what? Cry like a baby and sing about how sad and loserific you are?" The hockey team laughed. Kurt edged slightly further behind Finn.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Kurt had often wondered if he'd ever truly feel glad to see Sue Sylvester, but right now she was the only person standing between his brand new Louis Vuitton jacket and synthetically coloured ice.
"What's going on gentlemen?" Sue asked as she came to stand between the hockey team and the glee club.
"Nothing, coach," the captain said before taking a long deliberate drink from the slushie he held.
"Good," Sue said. "But if I see one speck of illegal food colouring on any of the clothes these kids are wearing, it will be detention for you all, you got that?"
"Absolutely."
Sue gave them all a "don't-mess-with-me" glare, shouted "Now get to class!" and stalked off down the corridor.
"See you later, losers." One by one the hockey team walked past them, jostling them until only the captain remained.
"Good thing Coach Sylvester's got your back," the captain said in a low voice before taking a step, faking a trip and throwing the ice cold slushie in Finn's face. "Oops."
He dropped the cup and walked down the corridor where the entire team burst into laughter and started chanting "GLEE LO-SERS! GLEE LO-SERS!"
Finn stood frozen on the spot. Rachel began fussing over him and grabbed his hand to lead him away. "I'll go and clean him up, you go on ahead."
"Are you sure? We don't mind helping," Mercedes said awkwardly.
"It's fine, we won't be long." Rachel pulled Finn along the corridor and into the bathroom as people stared. Kurt shrugged at Mercedes, inwardly thanking the fact that his new jacket had been spared.
"This is getting ridiculous," Mercedes complained as they continued on to class. "I have to bring spare clothes now in case I get slushied. I just want one day where I don't have to be terrified that my clothes are going to be ruined."
"I hear you," Kurt said. "You'd think that the school would just stop selling them or something."
"I doubt it - they probably make a fortune from them."
"A fortune from our misery."
They reached the classroom, still abusing the faculty and the slushie machines, and walked in just as the bell rang. Dave Karofsky was already seated at the back looking bored along with five other students. Kurt gave him the briefest smile before settling behind a desk near the front next to Mercedes. He had just pulled some paper out and put his bag under the desk when someone walked into the room.
"Hello class, my name is Mr Anderson and I will be your new music teacher."