Chapter 3

Santana left the principal's office and took a left at the end of the hallway, heading for the teacher's lounge. She had missed most of her free period but lunch started in 10 minutes, which left just enough time to grab a quick coffee whilst the hallways were still deserted and make it back to her classroom before the rush. She would drink it back at her desk, where she had a homemade salad waiting in her bag and the looming prospect of a phonecall she would rather make in private, away from her new collegues.

She expected the teacher's lounge to be empty but entered the room to find Will Schuester sat down at one of the round canteen tables with an unopened plastic lunch box, focusing intently on a pile of tests in front of him . He looked up at the door opening and Santana raised her hand in greeting, pleased when he waved her over enthusiastically, shuffling his papers out of the way and back into his messenger bag.

She had met Will that morning on her first visit to the staffroom at break and had warmed instantly to his easygoing and companionable manner. He had introduced himself as head of 'New Directions', the school's Glee club and told her he also taught Spanish, Sophomore and above. After learning her name and what subject she taught, he had introduced her to the room at large, addressing the other 12 teachers at once.

"Hey...everyone listen up"

It hadn't taken much to get their attention, as the arrival of a very young and particularly attractive new member of staff easily pulled focus from the samey, recycled conversations they'd been having about boring topics none of them really cared about anyway. The weather ("unseasonably warm for november"), the students ("getting more uncontrollable every day") and the antics of Sue Sylvester ("she punched Figgins in the face you know...for trying to cut her budget"). So when Will gestured to the beautiful, impeccably dressed latina woman standing at his side, they had fallen quiet, waiting expectantly for him to speak.

"This is Santana Lopez, she just started today...obviously you all know Mandy left to have her baby, so, Santana is gonna be taking her Government classes this year whilst she's on maternity leave"

There had been a ripple of polite hellos and friendly smiles around the room which she had acknowledged with a small wave, conscious of 12 pairs of curious eyes that had stared back at her with great interest. She hadn't been able to help but notice a few of the male teachers exchange very happy looks at her arrival, a sly wink even passing between two sports coaches sat together at the back, and her lip had curled in distaste. She knew that look, and she was really not looking forward to fielding requests from every would be Lothario in this school who wanted to take her out, "for coffee or whatever". Raising her eyes to a god she didn't believe in, she had prayed that she would be given at least a few weeks settle in before the inevitable chasing began, before she had to explain to a gaggle of potential suitors exactly why she would have to decline their offers of a movie, or a drink, or dinner out.

Forcibly pushing that sobering thought out of her head she had turned to Will, smiling her thanks for his introduction. He had led her to a table near the window where they had spent the last few minutes of their break establishing a basic acquaintance and agreeing to meet at the same time the next day. Will had promised to show Santana around a bit and seemed eager to introduce her to the school guidance counsellor, Emma Pillsbury "She's great, I really think you'll get on" he had assured her as they parted ways at the door of teacher's lounge.

And now here they were again, a few hours later, both happy to see each other as she sat down opposite him at the small table.

"So did you go and see Figgins?" he asked impatiently.

They had been discussing the issue earlier and Will had encouraged her to go to the principal. It has started when Santana casually mentioned how small her first class had been and Will had seemed surprised, looking up from his coffee with a frown.

"Really?...I thought all the senior electives were full up"

She had assured him her class was definitely not full, not even halfway, but he had continued to look puzzled. He had explained to her that he knew at least 15 students who used some of their elective periods to do extra sport or cheerleading because, he had assumed, all the classes had already been filled. As she explained again hat her class was far from being full he seemed to realise something and shook his head wearily.

"I doubt it's a coincidence that all these students are jocks and cheerleaders"

She pressed him to explain what he meant.

"I'd imagine Sue has more than a little to do with the Cheerio's getting so many free spaces on their timetable's. And the football team is pretty competitive too, I'm sure Coach Beaste finds it easier fitting in a few extra practises when her players don't have so many classes to go to"

Santana's jaw dropped "Do you really think that's the reason?"

Will had nodded emphatically, "Yeah I do, definitely. I can't see why else they would be let off. I just can't believe Figgins has let it happen..he probably doesn't even know how much they are missing...they could be earning college credit and instead, Sue's got them practising round offs in the gym for hours on end"

That's when he had suggested Santana go to the principal about it, ask him to reconsider their timetables. "Don't mention Sue..just tell him how small your class is, and suggest adding a few of the students who aren't signed up for anything"

Santana had agreed it was worth a try, and sitting in front of Will now, she happily told him how well things had gone with Figgins and thanked him for his help.

"I'm just glad it's sorted" he told her, taking a bite out of his sandwich and nodding at the empty table in front of her "You not eating?"

"I have a salad in my bag" she said, gesturing behind her with her thumb, to indicate her bag back in the classroom. She felt it would be rude to tell him she had been planning on eating at her desk so she made out like she wasn't hungry "I'll have it later"

He offered her the other half of his sandwich but she shook her head, laughing when he placed it in front of her anyway. "Go on, have it" he urged her, smiling as she picked it up with a small sigh and began to eat. He waited for her to swallow before he leaned forward, resting his elbows against the table and looking at her expectantly.

"So...how'd you end up here?"

...

They spent the whole hour together, slowly sharing Will's lunch between them and talking about everything. Education, family, careers. He asked about Santana's parents and she edited her story carefully, not lying to him, but also not wanting to darken the mood by describing how just miserable she remembered her childhood to have been.

She had grown up just outside of Lima Heights, in the more affluent part of Allens county, living in a huge, beautiful house that her mother often boasted was "the most expensive on the street". Her father was an agressively ambitious partner for a prestigious law firm, earning thousands of dollars a year whilst her mother's only job was simply to spend her husband's money as fast as he made it and to make sure Santana didn't ruin his reputation as successful business man as well as the loving patriach of his beautiful, happy family.

Neither of them had any time for their daughter or any real interest in her at all which even Santana became aware of at a young age. Her father was constantly flying to New York or LA for some business seminar or important meeting whilst her mother trailed after him, using the trip as an excuse to go shopping for another pair of diamond earrings, another crystal chandelier for the dining room back home. Santana was left at home, discarded on the lap of some reluctant family member who wanted to look after her just as much as she wanted to be left stranded by the people meant to take care of her.

She had been a difficult child and had proved it by quickly moving through nanny after nanny, until eventually her parents had decided that it would be less hassle to simply leave her on her own when they were away. As a result, most of Santana's early memories were of a cold empty house, all the lights turned on so she wouldn't get scared, whilst she curled up on the sofa in her father's office, eyes shut tight, trying to sleep. They would leave her alone for days at a time, expecting her to cook her own meals, get herself up on time for school. This had got easier as she got older, more self sufficient and by the time she was 16 she much preferred it when they were away. She had friends over most nights, huge parties at weekends and she could pretend her parents didn't exist, that it was her house. In her last year at high school she barely saw them, as their trips became longer and more frequent and when she finally moved away to college in the summer they barely recognized the young woman who stood outside of her dorm room, waving goodbye as they drove away.

After 4 years she had graduated top of her class at Ohio State, then gone straight on to teacher training college, knowing that no matter what she chose to do career wise, she would always have teaching to fall back on.

"Fall back on?" Will asked, interrupting her story "Is this not a permanent thing for you then?"

She had become so caught up in her story, the real memories behind the short, simplified version she was giving Will that it took her a second to react to his question. She fiddled absentmindedly with a strand of hair whilst he stared at her curiously.

"Well I never dreamed to be a teacher" she answered simply "But I knew that if I wanted something bigger I'd have to make sure I had a backup"

"So what was your dream?" he asked, lifting a grape to his lips and tossing it casually into his mouth.

"I don't know really...I guess I wanted to do something in politics, maybe business" she shrugged "I just never got around to working it all out"

"Well, it's not too late Santana. You can't be more than.." He leaned in slightly, looking at her closely "twenty five?"

"Twenty six" she corrected him with a small smile, tucking the strand of hair she'd been playing with behind her ear.

"Exactly, you're hardly past it. You have plenty of time"

The bell rang loudly, surprising th em both. Will reached forward, scooping the crumbs and discarded saran wrap from the table and into the bin behind him, stretching slightly before getting to his feet. Santana followed, slowly standing up and making her way to the rapidly cooling coffee pot whilst Will collected up his bag and jacket which he had hung over one side of his chair. He stood at the door, waiting patiently for her to add 2 sugars before stirring and placing the flimsy plastic lid over the disposable cup. As she walked towards him he looked at her thoughtfully,

"But I'm glad you'll be here for this year, even if you do leave to become the first female president..."

She tilted her head questioningly as he held the door open for her to pass through into the now crowded hallway.

"Cause I have a feeling we are going to be great friends"

...

Still thinking about her conversation with Will, Santana rounded the corner into a fairly empty corridor and walked briskly towards her classroom, not looking up as she approached the door. From the opposite direction a tall blonde girl, also walking quickly, looked up to see the woman headed towards her and momentarily slowed down, slightly dumbstruck by her colossal good looks. Brittany stared so intently at the woman, willing her to look up so she could see the eyes that were surely as beautiful as the rest of her face, that she didn't notice that they were now a little over a metre apart, heading straight for each other.

Too late for either of them to veer to the side, Santana lifted her gaze, having noticed with some alarm the feet that were suddenly directly in front of her own. For a second her deep, almost black eyes met with ice blue and she felt a jolt of recognition, staring into the face of the cheerleader she had seen earlier, crying on the football pitch in front of an enraged Coach Sylvester. But in a second the connection was broken as they collided into each other, Santana stumbling backwards, her coffee cup flying from her hands. It span gracefully into the air, the lid becoming unattached almost immediately as it turned upside down sending a fountain of dark brown liquid cascading through the air. A fountain that fell down from directly above a wide eyed Brittany Pierce, landing neatly with a soft splash, on the WMHS logo adorning her cheerios uniform. There was a moment of silence as they both looked down at the quickly spreading stain across Brittany's chest and then Santana hurried towards her.

"You just walked straight into me! I didn't even see you until you were just there right in front of me. Are you alright?" She scrabbled around in her pockets frantically for a tissue, finally locating one and thrusting it into the blonde girl's hand roughly "You walked right into me, what were you doing? You aren't burnt are you? Are you alright? Does it hurt?"

Brittany took the tissue, still staring down at her uniform and began dabbing at the droplets of coffee on her upper arms and neck "Yeah it's fine, it's really not that hot" There was no point trying to get the stain from her outfit so she dropped her hand, the tissue hanging limply by her side. Coach Sue was going to kill her for this.

"I'm really sorry" she murmured into her chest "I wasn't paying attention and then you were just suddenly there and-" her face flamed red as she realised she didn't have an explanation. "I'm really sorry"

Realising the girl wasn't hurt, Santana's initial panic subsided and she put a reassuring hand on the girls slightly damp shoulder. The girl looked upset and she felt bad for her slightly angry outburst.

"Look, it's fine, I wasn't really looking where I was going either and neither of us is hurt so don't worry." She slid her hand down the girls arm and tugged slightly at the crook of her elbow.

"Come on, come in here for a second and we'll get you a bit more cleaned up, yeah?"

Brittany nodded and allowed herself to be led gently into the empty classroom, offering a small smile as Santana pushed her gently to lean against the desk and took a step back, surveying the damage.

She stood for a second, thoughtful, before reaching behind Brittany and pulling her jacket off of the back of her chair.

"This is probably going to look kind of stupid but it's the only thing I can think of. You can't really go around with that huge stain for the rest of the day" she leant forward and placed the black, fitted suit jacket in the cheerleader's hands.

"Just wear it for today, over the top of your uniform and then just bring it back when you can"

"Seriously?" The jacket looked expensive, Brittany felt nervous just holding it "I don't want to stain it"

Santana dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand,

"It's fine. It was my coffee that ruined your outfit so don't worry. Now you better get to class before I make you even later"

The blonde smiled gratefully "Thanks"

She stood up, placing her arms carefully through the sleeves and pulling it round her, careful not to press it against the stains on her chest. It fitted well, despite their difference in height and as she caught her reflection opening the door to leave she thought it actually looked quite good with her uniform.

"Hey"

She turned her head to see the teacher sitting against the desk, watching her as she checked herself out in the window. Brittany waited for her to say something.

"It looks nice on you"

And with that Santana picked up a textbook and turned to the board, picking up a pen to copy out a page for her next class. Brittany slipped out of the classroom quietly, a delighted blush spreading over her cheeks as she wrapped the jacket around her and skipped to Coach Sylvester's office, no longer afraid to tell her she would be needing her third new uniform this year.

...

I've had some really great feedback so thank you, I really appreciate it. Thanks to anyone who reviewed, especially to meatisadelicacy for helping me to make it a bit less British :)

I am sorrayy that this update is 2 and half hours late but it's really long and hopefully you like it, although it is now 2.30am my time and I am so tired after staying up to write it that it might not make much sense.

Hopefully you like it, please review, as this is my first fic ever I could really do with the feedback. Thanks. :)