Chapter 5
It was as he arrived at the school that it hit him. He'd just witnessed and been a part of his first crime scene in over ten years. God was he getting old and delusional if that was what it took to get him to really hunger for what he used to be. And thinking of his old life made him realize that he was really late for his new one. *Thank goodness I called* Alex thought to himself. He knew he already had one lecture expected because of today's events. He didn't think his laid back attitude would survive a second one. He'd been slowly building up a subtle rebellion within himself that promised to explode if the she bitch that was his boss kept picking at him.
*Alright Enough Alex* he told himself, time to put his game face on. He had finally gotten the nerve up to leave the car and trudge inside the school and into hell, when who should he happen upon when the doors open none other than the very woman he'd wanted to avoid. He zoned out as he heard her lecture on punctuality and the responsibility a teacher and a coach has. As he's walking towards the gym with her on his heels he just nods his head and then asks, without a thought, "Should I have gotten a note from police then? I'm sure that would have gone over well Madam Principal." He didn't even turn as he said it or even notice just how off that response was from his usual stern and silent nature. *Well hell let her chalk it up to exhaustion* Alex thinks but he also has to whisper to himself as he walks into his own office, "Hopefully she'll leave me alone now, I just need to be left alone."
But what Alex forgot Tony remembered that a man was never left alone and abandoned by his team. And while he was wasting away in Miami, his team, his family still wanted him to come home, to come in from the cold, even decades later they would have waited but no more. As Alex's slow burning rebellion became a fiery storm that Tony called upon his lonely world would soon collide with the one he still dreamed of. NCIS would be calling his number sooner rather than later, and unbeknownst to Tony he would be going home soon. Home would have to wait another day or two though. Because just as Alex was wishing for his old life back his new life was interfering with those memories. *Thank God* Alex had to think to himself, I'm finally away from that woman and now I can get back to teaching those numskulls called children. Alex just mutters "Ugh, why did I ever agree to this?" before continuing on into the gym calling out as the doors opened "Get into your dodge ball teams now, playtime is over."