Gimpy and Admissions
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters.
As I busy myself with straightening up the classroom for the day my mind can't help but wander back to my conversation with Jacob. Neither of us mentioned what happened the last time we saw one another, my impromptu 'run-away bride' act, the surprising 'I love you' or even my postponement or calling off of my wedding with Sam – depending on who you ask. We were both able to go on and talk about the kids that are being counseled right now and trying to look into scholarship for our soon-to-be graduating seniors.
It's weird how Jacob and I are able to carry on so well even though there is obviously something hanging above our heads. I'm sure it's eating him up on the inside as he always wants to talk about anything and everything that is bothering him. Not that there's anything wrong with that but I guess…maybe it's because I overanalyze things just like Jake always says. I put too much thought into most things and wind up going against my –
"You're not ready yet?" Embry calls snapping me out of my thoughts. I turn around to look at him and wind up walking into the edge of one of the kid's desk. Embry chuckles lightly as I hiss and rub the area. "Don't hurt yourself now."
"Don't you ever knock or announce your presence?" I ask with a deep frown as I straighten up the desk and rush over to Gimpy's cage.
"Now why would I do something like that? I love catching you off guard and watching your facial expressions." Embry states with a smile. "You really should consider teaching kindergarten, you're so animated." I roll my eyes and check to make sure that they didn't forget to refill Gimpy's food and water dish.
Gimpy is our class pet, he's a small chinchilla born with a crooked paw. I had stopped in at the only pet shop in Forks trying to find something for the classroom. An animal in the classroom helps teach responsibility, helps bring some peace into the room and makes you stand out as a teacher. But I saw this small, furry, cute, adorable and soft little chinchilla sitting in the corner of the cage. The girl in the pet shop let me hold him and he came to me immediately and began snuggling into my chest. Turns out the little guy had been born with a crooked foot and nobody wanted to buy a crippled pet no matter how cute. After that I knew that the little guy was right for me and my class. Sometimes as kids we sometimes feel as if we don't fit in or feel wanted; nobody's perfect and we all have something that's…not necessarily 'wrong' with us but makes us different and that's okay.
The class took to the little guy right off the bat and agreed upon the name 'Gimpy' since he had that gimp in his walk. That was when I first became a teacher at tribal school three years ago. Since then Gimpy has gotten bigger and stronger thanks to all the love and care that he's received. Every class has loved him and even the kids that have had a hard time sitting down to read are able to manage it when I let Gimpy out of his cage and he free roams around hopping from one lap to another.
I smile as Gimpy hops up to me, his tiny paws pressing against the glass as I reach down and stroke his soft head before giving his ear a soft little tug. Making sure that he's all settled for the night do I turn around and grab my bag before joining Embry outside.
"You ever think of getting Gimp a girlfriend?" Embry asks as I shut my door and we start walking down the hallway. I look up at Embry a bit confused and surprised because I felt certain that he was going to start questioning me about what Jake and I talked about – as I'm sure he knows that the two of us were alone in my classroom.
"No, not really," I admit waving at Junior the school janitor.
"My class keeps talking about it – they think Gimp,"
"Gimp? Since when have you Gimpy been on a nickname basis?" I ask chuckling.
"We've kind of bonded there during the proficiency exams." Embry says with a shrug. Last year some of the kids were nervous about the exam. So to ease their stress and worry I allowed Embry to borrow Gimpy and in true dependable manner he hopped around the room and sat with the more stressed out kids for a while before moving on.
"Why not just get a class pet?" I ask and can't help but giggle at the memory of walking in to Embry's classroom to see him busy grading tests while hugging Gimpy close to him. Gimpy's little grey head resting just underneath Embry's chin and his nose twitching like crazy.
"No guarantee that it'd be like Gimp." Embry says with a matter-of-fact shrug. I can only nod my head because I actually did luck out my crippled chinchilla born with a heart of gold.
"Well anyway this is where I leave you." Embry says with a sigh snapping me out of my thoughts. I'm surprised to find the two of us standing outside the detention room. "I've got detention duty today." Embry explains noticing the confused look upon my face. He begins to laugh as my expression must go from confusion to…what, horror, fright or maybe grim realization? "It won't be that bad." Embry says squeezing my shoulder as if in reassurance. "I'm sure the two of you can manage,"
"Embry!" I snap before he smirks at me. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?" I asked through clenched teeth. I'm convinced at this point that Embry is all a part of some Billy and Rachel conspiracy. Phase 1 of Operation Blackwater: Leave weak, hormonal and recently sexually peaked Leah alone with charming, witty and sexy-as-fuck Jacob. Phase 2: Have charming, witty and sexy-as-fuck Jacob fuck the shit out of Leah. Phase 3: Jacob get Leah pregnant and I'm sure marriage fits in there somewhere but Billy and Rachel seemed to be obsessed with me getting pregnant. Billy wants grandkids but Rachel – I think Rachel just doesn't want to be pregnant by herself.
"You know if you paid more attention to the schedule board in the lounge, you wouldn't keep being blind-sided." Embry says and I pout. I really hate it when he's right. "Now you go, get to work with Jake, be good and you'll have no worries." Embry says grabbing my shoulders, turning me around and pushing me off down the hall.
Reluctantly, I slowly begin to trudge down the hall preparing to face the music. It's one thing to have Jacob in my classroom when the entire building is full of children but to go to his office, where only a handful of people are left and knowing that no one will show up…well, that's a whole different story altogether.
But I boldly, well, not so boldly, but I head over to Jacob's office. Tribal school isn't built like the traditional schools where there are offices inside the building. There is a secretary and principal's office but all other rooms have had to be utilized for the students. Years ago the Bureau of Indian Affairs used to provide the tribe with its teachers. Most of the times these were individuals who wanted to 'save the savages' souls' or experience life on a reservation. As part of reservation rules, in order to work anywhere on the reservation, you had to live in it. So the Bureau built small cottages out in the back of the school. Some still house teachers while a few others have been changed to be used for other purposes – Jake managed to get a cottage.
There's a light drizzle outside but I don't let that bother me as I quickly cut across the playground towards the cottages. I know I should carry an umbrella with me but it rains here so much that you eventually get used to it and besides a little rain ain't never hurt nobody. I knock on the door of the cottage and wait to see if Jacob answers just in case he has someone inside.
As I'm waiting I suddenly hear Maury Povich talking and I look over to see Ms. Gloeckner, the high school history teacher. I can't help but let my eyes narrow as she stands with her door opened just a crack and glares at me. She's the meanest, nastiest and ugliest teacher on the face of the planet! She's old as dirt too. The old hag has never married and was one of the first rounds of teachers that were sent in by the Bureau. She was strong proponent of beating the savage out of us – at least that's what my Dad told me. I grew up on the stories about the false hope and inattention that the Bureau has handed out while on the outside pretending to be a strong supporter.
"You ever think that maybe if you didn't glare at her, she'd probably not glare so hard at you?" Jacob asks breaking into my bitch-stare off with Ms. Gloeckner.
"She's a mean old hag that beat kids." I hiss out never breaking my eye contact.
"Afternoon Ms. Gloeckner," Jacob greets her with a wave. She breaks her hard glare with me – ha! I win, to look at Jacob in mild annoyance before nodding her head and shutting her door. "Are you done gloating?" Jacob asks and I become aware of the self-satisfied and smug look upon my face.
Nodding my head, Jacob welcomes inside and I know he's shaking his head at me. He always does whenever she is involved.
"You know people change, right, Lee?" Jacob asks as I sit flop down into a chair.
"People do but she's not a person." I sneer with my eyes narrowed.
"And this would have nothing to do with that D she gave you on your freshman paper, is it?" Jacob asks knowingly as he sits down at the other side of the table.
"No," I answer curtly with a frown. "But if she wanted a paper based upon old, out-dated lies then she should've said so."
"It was a paper about JFK – not about the conspiracy theories of who assassinated him." Jacob says laughing at me as I begin pulling some of my notes out from the last meeting.
"How can you talk about a man and mention nothing about his death as well?" I ask before I too start laughing. I can admit that my freshman year in high school was just the beginning of my rebellious phase. I did the assignments but always added my own personal twist to all papers. Mrs. Barnes, our Literature teacher, didn't mind but that one bad mark isn't the whole basis for my dislike of my teaching nemesis…it just doesn't tip her up in my eyes.
Jacob and I get to work as in the months we've been apart hasn't just been because of personal reasons. Jacob has been busy with the high school students and in the meantime Embry and I have been helping them pull together their resumes, study for their ACTs and SATs and even look up colleges. It's always nice to know that our work isn't always focused on the problems in life but on the positive as well.
In about two hours, we've accomplished quite a bit as Jacob had brought along a few mock resumes and papers that the future grads had been working on during the first few months of school. I'm even happier to hear that there are even some sophomores and juniors already thinking about going to college and looking into possible extra credit to help them in the pursuit for a degree.
Neither of us bothers to mention anything about Embry being a no-show to this meeting as detention only lasts for an hour. Embry's absence really doesn't occur to me until I'm heading towards my car with Jacob walking right beside me. Suddenly I feel small, self-conscious and awkward; Jacob's body is too warm and now much, much too close. I look up at him from underneath the umbrella he is holding over us. There's a small frown on his face and his eyes are dark – he's thinking. I can't help but wonder if maybe he's starting to realize that it's just the two of us – alone. Is trying to think of something to say? Does he regret making that bold declaration?
We stop beside my car and I'm not sure if he's looking down at me as I find myself looking down at the ground, my hand stuffed into my bag and doing a horrible job of pretending to be looking for my keys. I bite my bottom lip and in frustration with myself because I'm literally at a loss of what to say to him.
Do I tell him 'I love you'?
I'm sorry for spazing out on you and running away?
Do I remind him of the day I caught him skinny –
My thought train is derailed as I feel his arm wrap around my waist and he pulls me into his chest. Somehow I immediately relax against him and wrap an around his waist holding him close. He chuckles at our exchange as I smile into his chest.
"I'm sorry." Jacob apologizes as he kisses the top of my head and I lean back to look up at him in surprise. In that same old, comfortable and Jacob Black fashion his eyes are soft, gentle, understanding and sincere. His apology makes me feel guilty because he hasn't done anything wrong and I've made him feel this way.
"No, don't be." I state shaking my head. "I – I'm the one that should be apologizing." I admit hanging my head in shame and embarrassment. I'm a school teacher and tell my kids all the time that they should apologize when they are wrong and yet I was struggling with it not too long ago.
"But I shouldn't have blurted it out like that – not after what happened." Jacob says with a sigh as he rests his chin on top of my head.
"It was sudden but I shouldn't have run away because of it."
We're both silent for a while possibly both processing the apologies given and received. The combination of Jacob holding me close and the soft pat-pat of the rain hitting the umbrella above us only seem to calm me down more. I think over Seth's words of how I deserve more, deserve better than what Jacob and Sam have given me and my own advice of taking things slow. But I can't deny that I love the way Jacob makes me feel and not only that but the person I become with him around.
"So the wedding's been called off." I state as that is the first real thing that falls from my mouth. I can feel him tense a little and I can hear his brain cranking out explanations, reasons and most of all what it means for 'us'.
"I know," Jacob states. "Harry stopped by and told us." I can't help but chuckle and shake my head thinking about Daddy running to Billy to give him the good news. Daddy hasn't been as forgiving of Sam Uley as I or my mother has been. "What brought that on?"
"I was doing some thinking." I admit with a simple shrug.
"Over-thinking, probably, huh?" Jacob teases as he leans back a little and we look up at one another.
"Just a little bit," I say with a smile holding my right hand with just a little bit of space between my thumb and index finger. "And I realized something."
"And what might that be?" Jacob asks with a raised eyebrow.
"That I love you."
A/N: So it turns out that ideas from the fired flashdrive are slowly coming back to me. I'm hoping that Wake-up Call will be no exception. I know it's been a while since I've updated but so much has been going on and I'm just trying to clear out the cobwebs of a few ideas in the meantime. But you all know what to do and I'll keep looking for my lost muse.
Missing Muse: Cash reward if found.