Hey people! I'm a band geek (and a choir geek) so I figured that, since I made Henry a band director, he needed a scene while he's teaching. I modeled this after something that actually happened to me, and the orchestra director at my school. It was very sad- the kids hounded him until he got very upset.
Poor Henry.
Obviosly I own nothing or I'd be dating Henry be now. Duh.
REVIEW PLEASE!!! Lemme know- am I writing too much Henry/Nat fluff? Because I personally believe that there can't be too much, but you never know...
"Ok, guys, listen up," Henry said, tapping his baton on the director's music stand and stepping off the podium. He picked up a stack of pink flyers. "I'm not going to be here for the next few weeks- hey!" he said, actually raising his voice a little as the kids didn't stop talking. Teaching high school is a bitch, he thought to himself. "I won't be here next week, or the week after, but I'm coming back Tuesday. You'll still have band every day, and for those of you in jazz band, that stillpractices both Tuesdays and Thursdays, ok? Mr. O'Connor will be directing you," Henry said, referring to the percussion assistant.
The sixty-sum band kids looked up from taking apart their instruments and putting their music away and gave him confused looks.
"Where are you going for two weeks?" one girl asked.
"You can't leave us, Mr. Carter!" a boy, Jamie, said overdramatically, just trying to make people laugh. "We love you!"
Soon everybody was asking.
"Where are you going?" they all wanted to know. "Tell us! Tell us!"
"I'm, er, getting married," he said nervously, and began handing out the flyers.
"What?" they said.
"You're kidding," one boy said. Henry even heard somebody start laughing. Ouch.
"Hey!" Henry said, offended. "Don't laugh! I am! I really am!"
Henry had a slight problem with maintaining authority in his classroom. With a bunch of sarcastic high school kids and a less-than-forceful personality, he wasn't exactly up to it. And his last comment, he realized, probably did nothing to help.
"We're not laughing at you, Mr. Carter," a girl- Danielle- said. "We're laughing at the way you said it- like you were making it up or something! I mean, you didn't mention anything about it. At all."
He heard murmurs of agreement.
"Well, fine. But I'm not. And this sheet has all the info you'll need for jazz band for the next two weeks. I'm obviously not doing private lessons, though. I gave you my email, so if there's any problems, just write, but I don't know how much I'll be able to, er, check it-"
Somebody catcalled ferociously from the back of the room. A percussionist. Damn those percussionists, he thought.
"You have to tell us more, Mr. Carter!" one of the flute players demanded, and her three friends- or cronies, he wasn't sure- giggled. Celia, Catherine, Nicole, and Katie. They made him nervous with their giggling and girly gossipy-ness.
Why did he take a job in high school? He was always the outcast in high school. He'd see the popular kids in this school and he still would be intimidated by them, until he remembered that he'd already been through college and didn't have to worry about them anymore. Band kids were usually not as hard to deal with, though. But sometimes...
"Tell you what?"
"Well," Jamie, the same boy who'd tried to make people laugh before began, "what's her name?"
"Her name's Natalie," he answered. Was he letting them control his classroom, or was this ok?
"That's a nice name," the kid said, teasing him. "How did you meet her?"
This Henry didn't want to go into. How could he retain the little respect he had in this classroom and say that he met Natalie in sixth grade, but didn't speak to her until junior year? Well, he'd leave out that part. "We went to school together."
"College?" someone asked, this time not in a patronizing tone, so he resumed.
"No, um... middle school and high school. We both played piano. But she plays classical."
"Is she good?"
"Better than me- she works in music business now."
"That's intense."
"Yep."
"So you guys dated since high school?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Danielle said. "You're marrying your high school sweetheart."
Ok, this was just embarrassing. And furthermore, even though people often said that to him or Natalie- the high school sweethearts thing- he never thought it sat right. Natalie didn't mind it at all, when people said it to her. He supposed it was because 'sweet' wasn't exactly the best word to describe Natalie, especially in high school. So she wasn't exactly his "high school sweetheart," though he liked to admit that he was hers. But they didn't need to know that.
"Er, right."
"Did you guys go to college together?"
"No, she went to Yale, and I..." he pointed up to the BU banner that hung on the wall.
"How did you ask her?" Celia demanded, and everyone nodded in agreement. Henry blushed.
"Guys, you're going to be late for your next class-"
"No we won't. We still have five minutes. Please tell us," she said.
Henry sighed. "Fine. We were watching a movie, and I put the ring in a bowl of popcorn she was eating, and then when she found it, I asked her to marry me."
"Was she surprised?"
"Well, sort of, but we'd been dating for like six or seven years, so..."
"Jeez," one kid let out, who Henry had seen date three girls already this semester.
"Can we see a picture?" somebody blurted out. Henry felt blood rush up his neck- not at the request, but at how fast everyone began hounding him. They kept giggling and laughing and he heard them all talking and it made him so nervous! He tried to make band fun, and usually he enjoyed it, but there were days like this- days when they just acted so much like the kids who scared him in high school- that he wondered why he wanted this job at all.
Why did they all have to agree? Everyone wanted to see Natalie's picture, and they were all asking for details... he just wanted to go play piano in some quiet room somewhere. And get away from these teenage hormones.
"We know you have one," somebody taunted. "You probably keep it in your wallet..."
Damn it, how did he know?
"Fine!" he cried, sounding absolutely defeated. "Fine!"
He took out his wallet and found the picture of Natalie that he kept there, and set it under the computer projector. "There."
"She's pretty!" one of the flutists said. Flautist. Whatever.
"... Thank you?" Henry said. Why did he respond?
"Where are you going on your honeymoon?" A trumpet player, Joe, asked.
"Joe, you can't ask him that!" a girl whispered, obviously thinking that Henry couldn't hear.
Maybe he should have said that he planned on getting mono over the weekend instead, and that's why he was going to miss two weeks of school. He doubted they'd notice that he came back wearing a wedding ring.
Worse than these questions, he knew, would be the ones he received when he returned. Oh, joy...
"Hey," he called into the apartment, dropping his keys down and stepping over a bunch of empty boxes. In the past few weeks, they'd bought a new apartment, sold their old, separate ones, and were moving everything in. Obviously Natalie- who only could have been home for about twenty minutes or so- had finished unpacking another five boxes. Jeez.
He made his way into the kitchen where Natalie was, leaning against the counter with a diet coke. After leaning over and giving her a quick kiss, he reached into the cabinet and found the Advil, taking out two tablets and swallowing them dry.
"Tough day?" Natalie asked.
"You have no idea. They asked me questions," he said, shuddering.
"Oh, no."
"About you. And getting married!"
"No!"
"And they were acting like teenagers! And giggling and catcalling and hormonal and- I know!- and they wanted to know everything and... and... and you're making fun of me," he finished, hurt by the amused look on Natalie's face. "Fine." He sulked away.
She laughed out loud and reached for his arm, pulling him back. "Get over here, you overgrown puppy. I'm laughing because you just turned twenty-five and you're acting like an old man."
"I'm not acting old, I just didn't like high school very much, and even now that I'm out of it, there are days when it just all comes flooding back... the teasing, the sarcasm, the patronizing questions they asked teachers..."
"Ooh, poor baby," Natalie said, again amused.
"Hey!"
"Sorry," she said, wiping the smile off her face. "I'm not being a very supportive fiancee."
"No, you're not," he whined. "I just don't like high school."
"Well, be glad that this time around, you're in charge. Don't let them get you down."
"Right!" Henry said.
"You're the teacher, they're the students," she said, her voice getting a little louder.
"Right!"
"And there's nothing they can say about you that changes anything. They can try to hurt your feelings, but you have to let them do that. Why do you care what they have to say? They're just kids. You're-"
"A man!" Henry said. Natalie laughed.
"Right."
He sighed. "Thanks for the pep talk, Natalie, but I think what I need is just a vacation from school."
"Well, you'll get one. Starting now, actually. But you do have to spend some days of it with my family," she said, cringing.
"But not all the days... they're not coming on our honeymoon," he said, grinning and putting his arms around her waist.
"Thankfully. I think I'd die. I'd just about kill myself. But only if I got rid of them first."
"For once, regarding your family, I have to agree with your animosity and say that it's perfectly healthy. Your father is not coming on our honeymoon."
He kissed her, and then she kissed him back, their arms wrapping around each other and holding tightly. She stepped backwards without breaking the kiss, and Henry leaned towards her as they both leaned against the counter top...
Just then Natalie's phone rang obnoxiously loudly, buzzing against the counter top next to them and blasting an ugly techno ring tone.
"Ah!" Henry cried in surprise and annoyance.
She picked up her phone. The caller ID said "Dad."
Before she answered, Henry muttered. "He's not coming, but he just might try. Nat?"
"What?"
"I think your phone shouldn't come, either."
She had almost opened her phone when the little tone sounded, signifying that she'd missed the call.
"Crap!" she said. She was about to redial when Henry's phone started ringing.
"Dan," it said.
"He must really want to reach us," Henry said.
"It's nothing important, he just wants to talk, I'm sure."
Henry answered, and then passed the phone to Natalie, who chatted for a few minutes, and then hung up.
"Henry?"
"Yeah?"
"Your phone isn't coming, either. There is no Dan involved in our honeymoon. No Dan, and especially no Diana."
"Agreed. Or either of my parents."
"I somehow think you're parents won't be a problem."