Chapter Four
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Monday morning had come by way too fast for Piper's liking. She had spent the weekend trying to mentally prepare herself, going back over teaching notes and glancing back at dog-eared pages she had found particularly useful from teaching books in her training days.
"Piper", Neri came and massaged her shoulders aggressively, causing more pain than relief, "if you're not ready now, you'll never be. You know what you're doing, just get in there and show those kids that you love history".
"Mummy's going to be the best teacher ever Ashy" cooed Cal, who was following Asher around with a bowl of porridge, swooping a spoonful in whenever Ash was too distracted by his toys to notice he was eating the very food that had caused an almighty meltdown just minutes before.
"Please Cal, don't let him eat like an animal, we have chairs for a reason"
"Children like to be free Piper, they have their own intuition. They know what's good for them."
"Thanks Neri, but I also know I do not want my child choking."
"I'm feeling some negativity" Neri sang back. Piper gave an exasperated look at her brother.
"Look, Pipes, it's chill. We're all cool. Your son is not going to die, he's not even going to miss you. Just get out of here and make us all proud."
"Thanks Cal," said Piper, rolling her eyes and making a beeline for her tiny boy, intent on fitting two lego blocks together. "I'll see you later Ashy, I love you."
"Mumma" he mumbled in his concentration. Piper smiled and gave him a light kiss and a squeeze.
"Be good" she said as she grabbed her suitcase and backpack.
"He always is!" Said Cal, ruffling the child's hair.
"I wasn't talking to him." She smirked back. "I can't thank you both enough for doing this. I will never be able to repay you enough."
"Piper, we love you, we love Ash, this situation rocks! Now get out of here."
She smiled at them both, gave one last lingering glance towards her son, and went out into the September morning.
Summer was still hanging on, and the air felt balmy on her face as Piper climbed into the car. A pang of nerves hit her sternum. She took a second, thinking back to a technique her midwife had taught her when she had been so terrified to bring Asher home for the first time.
"Just imagine the room is filled with colour smoke. This smoke is light, you can breath easy. Imagine as you breathe in, the smoke is sucked in through your belly button, filling up every space in your body. Now push that smoke out through your toes, and it's disappeared. Keep going, that's right"
Piper tried it now, imagining the car was filled with lavender coloured smoke, her favourite colour. Soon her breathing had settled and the butterfly feelings were a light impression rather than full blown panic. She started the car, and backed out her driveway.
"Nikki I swear to God, if you make us late-"
"I'm coming, chill your tits." Alex had been sat on the front step of Nikki's building for 20 minutes now, waiting for her to be ready to leave. It's lucky she lived on the ground floor, Alex thought to herself as she heard her friend stomping around and throwing things across the room to find what she needed. She would surely drive a downstair neighbour insane. Alex leant back so she could see through Nikki's open front door in the hallway behind her.
"What have you lost?"
"Room key" Nikki huffed, pulling a cupboard drawn out and emptying the contents onto the sofa. Alex sighed softly and stood up to help. As she entered the building, a woman who lived above hurried out, scowling through Nikki's front door as she passed.
"Charming"
"Miss Rosa. Harmless but real pin in the balloon. Got them!"
"Great, let's get out of here." Alex felt the stress starting to build in her chest. As confident as she was, and as much as she loved her job, she always felt ill on the first day of term. She always had since she had been a young girl. She threw herself back into the car and tapped impatiently on her steering wheel as she waited for Nikki to lock up and stumble down the front steps of the building. The red head huffed, her hair falling into her face as she scrambled into the car, hitting Alex's shoulder with her back as she lobbed it into the back seat. Alex rolled her eyes and turned on the engine.
Their ride to the school wasn't far, but the first wave traffic of morning commuters, desperate to avoid the school run rush, were out in full force. The women laughed and speculated about their current and new students on their way.
"How long before Jessica Dale's parents complain?"
"I give them three days."
"That's generous," Alex laughed. "I hope I get some good new kids. I want a real Jesse in my class."
"A what?" Said Nikki, bemused.
"Jesse, like in Gilmore Girls. Come on Nikki, we watched the whole thing in a three day hungover haze." She glanced at her friend, who was scowling, confused. "Jesse, like a real trouble maker, everyone thinks he's a bad kid. Massive nerd. I love it. The ones you have to fight to get on side and they hate you but love it."
"You're a weird one Vausey. Imagine actually enjoying teaching."
"You love it."
"Yeah, but I don't let them know it. That's why Im so popular, Im aloof!"
Alex chuckled. Suddenly she remembered about Piper, and the feeling of first day nerves came back. She realised, with a pang, that she really did want Piper to like her, but she wasn't going to make that known. If Piper turned out to be as waspy as Nikki said her parents are, Ale wasn't interested. She had spent enough of her life being made to feel shit by girls like that.
"Whatcha thinking there stretch?"
"Piper." Answered Alex honestly, then, seeing the look on Nikki's face added. "Wondering what kind of teacher she will be. Seems a bit reserved. Hope the kids don't eat her up."
"Nah, I reckon she has a real fire in there somewhere. Can't wait to see her come out of her shell."
"Reckon she's shy?"
"Nah, reckon she's trying to play the game Vausey. But don't you worry, we'll get a few drinks in her Friday and all the secrets will come flying out." Alex smirked, and then remembered their bet.
"That's if she still goes out with you"
"We'll make it a group outing"
"I don't think that means you've won you know."
"I still got her to be there though. That's the real skill." Nikki sniggered. They were pulling into the carpark now. There were a few cars parked up in the teacher area, and even one or two eager parents with their girls in the drop off area.
"Think their parents are over them after the summer?" Nikki chuckled, as they pulled their bags out and headed into the staff room.
There were a few teachers there, making coffee and picking up post. Heading over the pigeon holes, Alex noticed there was a couple of a huge boxes marked 'History Dept". "Nichols, these are for you?" Nikki headed over to have a look.
"Might be, probably new text books or something Jones ordered. Help me take them over?"
"Sure, Ill grab a coffee on the way back."
The two women grabbed the boxes and headed over. "Jesus fucking christ, why do they have to pack so many in here. I didn't sign up to work out today as well as teach." Alex chuckled, following her struggling colleague. "Come on Vause, take a shortcut through Chapman's classroom if it's open."
Nikki leant on Piper's classroom door and it swung forwards, although the room was empty. Alex followed Nikki through the room, pausing as she noticed some of the posters around the room. She had always been a fan of history as a subject. Alex was an avid reader after all and she loved to mix her fiction with her non. She recognised a poster on Russian absolutism which she had just been reading about a couple of weeks ago when she had borrowed a book from Red.
"Vause, in here" Nikki called from the office, and Alex followed her in. Piper was curled up in a desk chair, coffee in hand, making some notes in a small notebook.
"Morning" Alex smiled, and was happy to see that Piper made eye contact with her. "How you feeling for your first day?"
"Good," Piper said, although Alex recognised the higher pitch which gave the young teacher away. "First day nerves but Im sure they'll go away."
"You'll be fine. If anything, Figs back to school assembly for the first half an hour of the day will almost kill you off, so won't be anything to worry about anyway."
Piper's brow furrowed. "Assembly?"
"Every morning, starting with the school hymn, lyrics Im sure you looked at over the weekend from your introduction pack, and wearing traditional school robes.
"What?" Piper looked between the women incredulously. "What robes? What are the lyrics- oh" Piper saw the spark in both their eyes and knew they were winding you up.
"Too easy. There is an assembly though" said Nikki, clapping Piper on the shoulder. She winces slightly from where Neri had attempted to massage her that morning.
"And it probably will almost kill you off." Alex added, "but if you come sit with us, we will keep things interesting" Alex winked with mischief, causing a small smile to form on Piper's lips before she turned suddenly back to her notebook and coffee.
"I'll keep in in mind." Both women took this as their cue to leave, having placed the heavy boxes on the desks in the office. Nikki gave Vause a pointed look, raising her eyebrows and smirking, before taking her leave, and Alex headed back to the staff room for much needed coffee. Piper was so complicated, she couldn't read her at all, Alex thought as she walked across the courtyard. She had seemed so naive and shy last week, and now she seemed, well Alex wasn't sure, but it wasn't welcoming. Or perhaps it was that Alex wasn't used to being ignored in this way. Maybe the blonde needed a few days to settle in, then she'd lighten up, Alex decided.
The first day was going well, and Piper was relieved when she got through her first two classes without an issue. The girls were well behaved, particularly for just coming back from summer holidays, but despite Piper's fears of the smaller class sizes and more focus on her, she wasn't as nervous as she had anticipated. The girls were eager to please, and excited for the newness of the year. She found it particularly amusing that they were all so excited to decorate their work books, regardless of their age.
"Miss Chapman" came a raspy voice during first break. Piper turned to see Nikki swinging herself onto her desk. "How are you getting on kid?"
"Good, I think. No real trouble makers."
"Just you wait. I know there are a couple of girls here who will be willing to push your boundaries. New teachers are always fun" Nikki says with a wink, and Piper fought the embarrassed smile that tugged at her mouth. "So who have you got next?" Nikki asked, picking up the register on Piper's desk.
"Middle form"
Nikki takes an exaggerated intake of breath as she looks down the list of names. "Suzie Down, she's a talker. Millie Pocket, super sporty and has no time for anything that involved writing more than two words. Katy Hackett, as waspy as your parents, you'll have a lot of fun with her" Nikki smirked sarcastically.
"I hope you're not scaring her off on her first day Nichols." came a calm voice from the door. Alex Vause was leaning against Piper's classroom door. Girls were running about behind her, and glanced into the room as they passed. New teachers really are fresh meat, thought Piper. She looked up at Alex from where she was leant against a table, and didn't notice as she allowed her eyes to roam down the English teachers body. Alex's hair was in a low bun with loose tendrils curled, framing her long face. She wore a light pin-striped shirt with an open colour, and tight black trousers that accentuated the woman's muscular curves. Piper looked away, realising what she had done, and turned to Nikki, avoiding eye contact with what she knew would be a smirking Alex. "I can deal with waspy".
"That's our girl!" Said Nikki, jumping up. "What you doing over here Vause? Can't keep away from me, can you? Just need to keep coming back for more."
"You're right Nicholls. It was the site of you passed out on my couch, snoring and drooling on Saturday night that did it for me."
"Hey, don't mar my sexy, perfect image"
"Please, don't pretend for my benefit." Joked Piper, and both women laughed. Piper couldn't help herself looking back up at Alex's face. Alex looked back at her, easily.
"I was actually just coming to see how our newbie here is getting on. If I had known she had you here to settle her first day nerves," Alex peeled her eyes away from Piper towards her friend, "I would have come and saved her a lot quicker."
Nikki gave Alex the finger.
"I don't need saving, thanks." Piper stated quickly and flatly. The room was silent for a beat, long enough for Piper to regret her words and caused her heart rate to quicken considerably. Piper couldn't look at either woman, and felt frozen in her place.
"Well that's us told" Nikki said in a light, joking tone. Immediately air flowed through the room again, and the tension was knocked to the side. Alex chuckled, although Piper felt this was strained. She doesn't dare look at her, instead she heads to the desk and picks up the register. "We'll leave you to it, good luck with your next class Chapman. Sure you're smashing it." Nikki jumped off the desk and heads to the door. Piper heard it open and close, and turned slowly, seeing she was alone.
"Idiot!" Piper muttered to herself. She didn't know why she got so defensive. Maybe it's the way the women made her feel last week. They are trying to be helpful, Piper chastised herself, Alex was just being friendly. She thought.
No time to think about that now, the first bell rang and Piper knew she would have students will her soon. She would make an effort at lunch, she decided. If they would let her.