Teacher's Pet

Teacher's Pet: Chapter One

The last student finally ran through the door, after taking an atrociously long time to pack up her book bag, and with perhaps the greatest sense of relief Louis had ever felt, he closed the door behind her.

He’d officially made it through his first day, and he’d never felt so drained in his entire. 

He sat down heavily in the chair behind his desk, groaning as he rested his head on the wooden surface and tried not to think about the never-ending list of names that was swimming around in his head. There were too many Emilys and too many Olivers and he was quite frankly unsure of how to pronounce at least a quarter of his student’s names.

With an exhausted sigh he pushed himself up from the desk and fumbled for the briefcase his Mum had given him as she sent her “Big boy off to teach” which had been mortifying, yet slightly touching.

He stacked as many journals as he could in it, pushing down on the case until it was close enough to clasp shut. He left the leftover pile of journals on his desk, to grade in the morning before classes started, and then turned out the lights and stepped out of the room.

It was surprising to him how empty the hallways already were, as he locked up his classroom. He could remember loitering the halls with mates after the bell rang, just for the hell of it, with nowhere else to go. A wave of nostalgia passed over him momentarily, and then left him just a quickly, leaving Louis feeling slight ridiculous for reminiscing about something that had happened no less than two years ago.

He was far too young for this-all of this.

His car was parked in the teacher’s lot, and he walked toward it only to be stopped by an older gentleman who looked quite upset as he approached Louis. He stood a few inches shorter than Louis, gray haired, in a tweed jacket that was comically too small, the sleeves ending inches from his wrists.

This lot is for staff parking, not for students,” he said, crossing his arms, “I expect you to know better young man.”

It took every last bit of energy Louis had not to roll his eyes and instead he just sighed, pinching his nose, “Right. I am, I’m teaching psychology here,” he mumbled and he reached into his pocket for his wallet that has his ID in it. He briefly flashed it to the professor, who reminded him a bit too much of his own Maths teacher from school, and then pushed pass the older gentleman to his car without a second glance.

He allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction once he was hidden in the safety of his car, and watched through the rearview mirror as the old man slouched back to his own car, looking a bit flustered.

The flat Louis was renting was just above a local restaurant, and it was a bit old and worn down, but it was spacious and it had all the amenities one could need. Including company, which of course was a polite way of saying the flat came with its own roommate.

A young lad, a year younger than Louis himself, Zayn Malik was a local boy who’d Louis had known for a total of two weeks, but felt like he’d known for the vast majority of his life.

They’d found each other both in a crisis, unsure of what exactly to do next, in jobs they didn’t like and in a new home without family. It’s easy to bond with someone when you’re both feeling lost.