Chapter 4

The next few days passed quickly as Santana slowly learned her way around McKinley. In his breaks, Will would go to her usually empty classroom and offer to show her the choir room, or the gym, or whatever part of the school she hadn't seen yet and Santana would happily accept. She appreciated the help, and since her extra classes didn't start till friday it was nice to have something to do with her copious amounts of free time.

She had been given her new rosters on wednesday, after being reassured by Principal Figgins a day earlier that yes they were a top priority, but that one day really wasn't enough time to change mulitple timetables. When they finally arrived in her pigeon hole she was pleased to see her original twelfth grade Government course had gained 5 new students, as well as an entirely new class made up of 10 kids. Scanning her eyes down the list of names she was drawn to a handwritten addition scrawled messily at the bottom of the page reading "Noah Puckerman".

The name had made her pause as she thought back to the morning before, to the boy in the hallway who had helped her to find her classroom. He had seemed genuinely disappointed that she wouldn't be teaching him and hadn't he called himself Puck..short for Puckerman she wondered? It was probably the same kid. She smirked, wondering how he had managed to swing that, but also felt a small wave of relief , pleased that she'd have at least one student who wanted to be in her class. Ever since her meeting with Figgins she had felt slightly apprehensive, it was going to be hard to convince these kids that taking her class was a better use of their time than playing sports and cheerleading. And when Coach Sylvester found out she had taken it upon herself to cut their practice time, well, there was no point worrying about that yet. Not that she was actually scared, she just didn't want to make things harder for herself when she hadn't even been at the school a week.

And now it was Friday and she had her new students straight after break. And she had to try and think of a fun and exciting part of politics to talk about to get them interested in the course. She sat down at her desk, running her fingers through her long hair and sighing heavily...that ruled the Republicans out then.

...

Friday morning dawned crisp and clear, the sun shining in brightly through Brittany Pierce's window as she hurriedly got herself ready for school. Checking the timetable her dad had made her blu tack above her desk so she wouldn't lose it, she packed her bag, stuffing her spanish homework carelessly behind her maths book and chucking her pencil case on top. She had woken up late and her mother had already come into her room twice to check she wasn't dawdling.

Still in the oversized football shirt she had worn to bed, she crossed the room and threw open her window before leaning out to test the temperature. A light wind caught her hair, swinging it gently around her shoulders as she inhaled the cool morning air.

"Hey Tubbs" She said, pulling the window shut and turning to address the large cat spread comfortably across her bed.

"You think I should wear my cheerios jacket today?...it's pretty cold out"

Lord Tubbington streched lazily on the patchwork quilt with a non committal mewl, which Brittany took as a firm yes and pulled the jacket out of her closet, tossing it by her bag.

After taking a quick shower she brushed out her hair before slicking it up into a high, tight ponytail and securing it neatly at the back with a scarlet ribbon.

"Brittany, honey" her mother's voice rang out from the kitchen "We're leaving in five"

"Yeah, I'm nearly ready Mom" she called back, turning to check her hair from both sides.

Smiling at her appearance in the mirror she applied a little mascara and then pulled on her cheerios uniform, grabbing her bag and jacket as she left the room.

"Be good" she shouted over her shoulder at the overweight cat sprawled across her blankets "Remember to smoke outside"

Her mother called out again, a note of impatience entering her voice.

"Brittany hurry up , your sister's already in the car"

She jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen where she saw a brown lunch bag and a banana sitting on the counter. Her mother pointed to the fruit as she walked past Brittany and into the hall.

"You can eat that on the way to school, since you missed breakfast"

Brittany tucked her lunch into her school bag and grabbed her trainers, sliding them on before following her mother out onto the driveway where her 9 year old sister, CJ, sat impatiently, frowning out of the car window. Brittany opened the car door and climbed in next to her, ignoring the glare she received for holding them up and slowly unpeeling her banana.

As they drove along, morning radio softly playing in the background, Brittany's mother suddenly remembered something.

"Oh Britt, honey, I've got that jacket in the back of the car. I picked it up from the dry cleaners yesterday with your dad's suits"

Brittany looked up from the fruit she was eating and swallowed hurriedly

"Did the coffee stains come out?"

"Oh I didn't check, but I'm sure it's fine. It was only a tiny bit where it rubbed on your uniform, and it was on the inside of the jacket anyway so it should be alright"

She looked at Brittany through the rearview mirror

"Anyway, I thought you said Quinn's mom didn't even wear it anymore"

Brittany shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had told her mother that the jacket belonged to Judy Fabray, that she had spilled coffee all over herself at Quinn's house and her mom had lent her the jacket to wear home over her ruined cheerios uniform. Her mother had tutted at Brittany's clumsiness but taken the jacket from her, promising to take it to the dry cleaners the next day. She had come into her room that night, asking Brittany why Judy Fabray would give her such an expensive jacket to cover her uniform when surely Quinn had some old jumper that would have done just as well? Brittany had stuttered out something about the jacket being last season, about Quinn's mom only wearing new clothes, to which her mother had rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the sheer decadence of the Fabray's and left the room.

Looking back Brittany wasn't even sure why she had lied about it to begin with, she hadn't done anything wrong, she didnt need to keep it a secret. But she just felt like she wanted to. The way the woman had been so kind, softly patting Brittany's shoulder when she saw she was upset. How she had insisted she take the jacket, even telling her she looked nice in it. And the reason they had banged into each other to begin with, she didnt understand how that had happened herself, how she had been so captivated by her. She didn't want to explain that to anyone, she wouldn't know where to start and her biggest concern, she didn't want to get the woman in trouble. She knew it had mainly been her own fault and it would hardly be a sackable offence for the teacher but she didnt even want to risk finding out if there was a punishment for that kind of thing.

She met her mother's gaze in the mirror,

"She doesn't..but you know what Mrs Fabray is like..."

She let her sentence tail off and her mother nodded understandingly

"I do. But I'm sure it's fine. You worry too much Brittany"

At this point CJ, who had been sitting quietly, huffed loudly and pointed her face to look out the window, muttering

"She doesn't worry about me getting to school"

Their mother raised her eyes with an amused look "Oh CJ, don't be so dramatic honey..."

Brittany turned to look at her sister, bemused

"Why are you so desparate to get to school all of a sudden C?"

The younger girl let out an angry sigh and crossed her arms

"You don't even care about my life...I've already told you like 6 times"

Brittany held her palms up to the sky and looked at her mother for help

" I don't even..what?..What is she talking about?"

"Today is an important day for Claudia, Brittany. It's the results for class president, remember?"

"Ohhh, of course I forgot...I'm sorry CJ, I've just been really busy"

"Today is an important day for Brittany too, CJ. She has her new class today"

Brittany frowned, she had forgotten about that. On wednesday morning she had been called into the office with Quinn and a few other girls who were on the cheerios for a meeting with Figgins at breaktime. Puck had tagged along as he wanted to talk to Quinn about a duet they were planning for Glee club so they all arrived together to find Dave Karofsky and a load of other jocks standing around, obviously having been summoned there too. After a few minutes of speculation, they had been called into the principal's office where they had all been given new timetables.

Quinn had noticed the change first "Government?...I never picked Government as an elective"

Figgins had spread his hands wide "That is the problem! You didn't pick anything Ms. Fabray...none of you did"

Quinn was indignant "No, no this isn't right. We have cheerleading in this period" She gestured at the girls sitting next to her "We don't have time for another class"

Everyone had objected, the office choatic with everyone talking at once, but eventually Figgins had made it clear that there wasn't an option. They would take Ms. Lopez's Government class or they would take detention every night until the end of the year.

"Ms. Lopez's class?" Puck had interjected from his seat behind Quinn, speaking up for the first time since he had been swept along with everyone else into the office

"What are you doing in here Mr Puckerman? You are not on the list"

"I have to be in that class Principal Figgins"

Everyone in the room stared at him confusedly

"What are you talking about Noah? You already take a class in that period"

Puck pushed his way to the front of the group and stood directly in front the principal, desperation on his face

"Please, listen to me...I have to take that class. I had this ephipany, a few weeks ago, a moment of complete clarity, it was like a light turned on in my brain and suddenly I just knew what I wanted to do with my life...and I have to get in that Government class to do it"

He paused for effect and then declared to the room,

"I'm gonna be the Jewish Obama"

Surprisingly it had worked, and although the rosters had already been printed, Puck was allowed to write his name underneath the other students and join the class starting on friday. He swapped the elective he was already taking, Spanish, with one of the cheerleaders and they both left the office cheerfully, the only ones happy with their new timetables.

And now it was today and Brittany thought about it with a grimace. Her mother saw the look and questioned her

"What's the matter? I thought you'd be pleased about taking a new class. You always say Coach Sylvester works you too hard and now get to have a new elective instead"

Brittany shrugged "I know but, Government...it's gonna be so hard and kind of boring and the teacher, Mrs Jackson, she doesnt really like m-"

Her mother cut her off,

"Brittany, honey, you'll be fine. I think it's going to be good for you. You'll have Quinn, and lots of those nice kids from Glee and I'm sure the teacher just adores you...oh, honey, remember to get the jacket out the car to give to Judy"

They pulled up outside McKinley and Brittany leant over the seat to give her mom a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah ok, bye mom"

She opened the door and climbed out, running around to the boot and lifting out the jacket carefully. Before going into school she went back round to the passenger seat and leant in quickly.

"Hey sis" CJ begrudgingly turned to look at Brittany who blew her a kiss.

"Claudia Jean for class president" she said , before turning and running over meet Quinn who stood waiting for her on the sidewalk.

...

Santana sat behind her desk, waiting for her students to arrive. Aside from the original five who had actually chosen her class, she was expecting 5 new kids, 2 girls and 3 boys. Kurt was the first to arrive, 5 minutes early, immediately complimenting her on her immaculate new Helmut Lang trouser suit which she had known he would love when she put it on that morning.

That was the one good thing about her parents, the ridiculous amount of money they had always given her. Instead of attention she had been given crazy amounts of pocket money, instead of birthday presents she had been given the cash to buy her own, which she had never really done, not having had the time or the inclination to spend it. She had saved it all away and now, now that she was earning more than enough to take care of her bills, she used her boundless savings to keep herself in the best clothes she could find. She kept it simple with classic, beautifully cut suits at work but the names were always high end. Her wardrobe was full with Burberry, Balenciaga, Gucci, Prada, and it was nice to finally have someone like Kurt who truly appreciated how nice her clothes really were. As the door opened and Sam walked in with Rachel, Santana made a mental note to wear her black Manolo Blahnik's to work on monday, Kurt would love them.

"Hi guys, take a seat" the door opened again and Blaine walked in with Mike following behind.

"We're just waiting for the new kids to arrive"

Rachel looked nervous and muttered something unintelligible to Kurt who nodded, eyes flicking guiltily to Santana. Blaine who was sitting beside them laughed

"Rachel, they aren't going to kill us..they might take some getting used to but we already know Quinn and Brittany, how bad can the others be?"

Rachel looked at him sharply "I am just worried, Blaine, that we might be at a slight disadvantage being put in a class with conscripted students, as they are more likely to be disruptive and less inclined to work"

She turned to Santana and raised her hands in front of her, palms forwards "No disrespect Ms. Lopez, I am sure you are very capable when it comes to dealing with rowdy students. I just feel that perhaps we won't all be quite on the same level...academically"

Santana stared at the girl, her brow furrowed, unsure of what to say.

"Right. I'm glad you got that out of your system Rachel, I suggest you don't repeat it when they get here..unless you like getting thrown in the dumpster, in which case, by all means go ahead."

Ignoring Rachel's attempt to explain her previous point Santana turned to the board and began to write out questions. She was planning on doing a short pop quiz just to see how much the new students knew, nothing serious.

There was a knock at the door and Santana turned around to see Brittany step into the room. They looked at each other in confusion, Brittany expecting to see the round, unnattractive face of Mrs Jackson and Santana, surprised to see the cheerleader she had spilled coffee over just days before.

"Oh, I think I have the wrong class, uh, sorry, I-"

Santana stepped towards her "Wait, what's your name?"

"Brittany Pierce. I'm meant to be taking Government, with Mrs Jackson I thought?"

"Brittany Pierce." Santana smiled, checking the roster on her desk "ummm...yes, yes you are definitely on my list...Why don't you take a seat Brittany?"

Brittany tripped her way nervously to a seat behind Kurt, beaming hello when he turned to her. Quinn and Puck arrived next, Quinn finding a seat quickly next to Brittany, determined to sulk for the whole lesson, whilst Puck grinned at Santana, pleased when she returned the smile. Finally Dave Karofsky arrived, a permanent sneer plastered on his face, flanked by his best friend Azimio. Two huge boys, towering over Santana as they sauntered into the classroom and took seats at the very back, away from the rest of the class.

"Ok, everyone's here" Santana clapped her hands together "I thought we'd start with a short pop quiz"

Sam and Mike groaned audibly.

"Short, boys..short. I promise" She looked around at the new students, her gaze finding Brittany who was listening intently "Now don't worry if you don't know any of the answers yet, it's fine, this is just meant to be kind of fun, just to see how you do"

She stepped in front of her desk and sat on the edge, placing her arms behind her and crossing her legs.

"Ok, I'll ask the question and then you guys write it down, yes Sam that means getting out some paper, and then we'll go through the answers after...ok, ready?"

She asked 15 questions in all and then gave them 5 minutes to go over their answers.

"Ok, time's up, let's go...first question, who was the 39th president?"

3 hands shot up. Rachel, Blaine and Mike.

"Rachel"

"Jimmy Carter, Ms. Lopez"

"Good..next, which state has the largest land mass?"

The same hands appeared.

"Mike, you go"

"Texas?"

"No, not Texas. You wanna try Blaine?"

"Alaska"

"Well done. Ok 3rd question, where was JFK born?"

Only 2 hands this time. Santana was surprised to see Brittany's was one of them. She nodded towards the cheerleader encouragingly.

"Brittany"

"Brookline, Massachussetts" she said proudly, ignoring the looks of amazement that surrounded her and staring straight at Santana who smiled back at her "My grandparents live there...they always tell me about it when I visit"

"Come on" said Puck "Next question, I think I know this one"

Santana broke eye contact with Brittany and looked down at her sheet of answers.

"Ok, number four, I say a person and you say what their job is ok? Right, so, Joe Biden is...?"

"Vice President" Puck shouted

"Yes, that's right. Put your hand up next time though yeah? Ok, next one, John Boehner is...?"

Quinn put her hand up, surprising herself at how much she wanted to get the answer right

"Yes, uh, Quinn is it?"

"Yeah it's Quinn...and umm, is he..speaker of the house?" she said nervously

"Yes, well done...Ok, now, Hillary Clinton is...?"

"A DYKE" shouted Karofsky from the back, much to the amusement of Azimio who laughed loudly and stuck his hand in the air for a congratulatory high five. The class sat in shocked silence, waiting for the teacher's reaction.

Santana narrowed her eyes before turning to the jock with a cold smile.

"How devastatingly original of you Dave" she deadpanned, leaving a pause "although I think her husband might have something to say about that statement"

She walked briskly over to his desk and placed her hands on his open textbook, slamming it shut without a word and leaning towards him until their faces were inches apart. He swallowed nervously, disconcerted by her proximity and flicked his eyes around the class, who watched in fascinated silence. Without breaking eye contact she slid the textbook across the desk and pushed it, open handed, into his broad chest, surprising him with the force behind it.

"Now get out of my classroom"

It was firm but quiet, barely above a whisper but the whole class heard her perfectly. Including Karofsky who scrambled to grab his bag, furious at having been humiliated in front of the whole room.

Santana walked back to the board and began to write down the different modules they would be doing throughout the year, the quiz having come to an unfortunate end.

"Oh, and Dave"

He paused at the door, jaw clenched tight with embarrassment.

"In case you were wondering, the answer I was looking for 'secretary of state'"

Her pen paused mid air and she turned her head with a patronising smile

"Just so you know for next time"

...

I stayed up till 3.30 this morning writing this so I hope you like it.

Thank you so much for reviewing :)

I am trying to keep it as america as I can, which is hard, but I think I'm getting used it. So anyway, I'm going to bed now, I'll update hopefully tomorrow but more likely monday cause real life stuff gets in the way.

Thanks x