New Beginnings (Charlie Bartlett Fanfic Starring Robert Downey Jr.)

Chapter 27 - Celia

"Do you get enjoyment out of students berating their parents?"

Sydney had just finished grading her last test and was beyond startled at the cold, female voice that just boomed into her classroom. She turned in her seat and looked at the voice's source. A woman with obviously dyed, reddish hair was all but stomping from the doorway to the front of her desk. "I'm sorry?" she queried, confused.

The woman looked at her, obviously sizing her up. Sydney noticed this and stood, happy that each day she came to school she had a special someone whose eye she always wanted to catch. Unlike the woman in front of her, who was in jeans and a slightly oversized coat, Sydney was quite put together. Her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, her bangs staying where there were supposed to for a change. She recently touched up her makeup and was wearing relaxed gray chinos with a dark red sweater. "Not exactly what I was expecting," the woman mumbled. She returned to her earlier rant. "Like I already asked, do you get enjoyment out of..."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Sydney interrupted.

"Celia Gardner, Susan Gardner's mother," she answered sharply.

Sydney did her best to keep her eyes from going wide. This was the ex-wife who had the nerve to berate Nathan? Who was trying to push him off the wagon? First Sydney wanted to punch her, then she wanted to...well, that wasn't going to help anything at the moment. She really looked at Celia for a moment; aside from the dye job, she wasn't an unattractive woman by any means, though she could tell right away that Susan took more after her father. Her features were pretty and she was, maybe, an inch or so taller than Sydney, but she wasn't an overbearing presence at all. Sydney couldn't help from wondering how she could push Nathan's buttons.

"You have some nerve!" Celia spat, her voice venomous.

"Excuse me?" Ah...okay, makes more sense now, she's a shouter. Anger welled inside her instantly, but she knew she had to be professional. "What, exactly, is it that I've done that proves I have 'nerve?'"

"You encourage your students to say whatever they want about their parents with no consequence!"

Okay, even more of a shouter than I initially thought she'd be. Sydney did her best to compose herself and thought through the best way to handle the situation at hand. She took a noticeably deep breath before she started. Then she realized she hardly wanted to address her as "Mrs. Gardner" – it stung her a little. Huh...how 'bout that? "May I call you Celia?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Good enough for me. "Celia, a lot of the assignments in this class are designed to do two things: strengthen the writing skills that most teenagers are beginning to lack and let the students express themselves without any worries about ridicule or..."

"You're not even her real teacher," Celia interrupted, seething.

Sydney clenched her jaw for a moment before retaliating. "I've been here since October and will continue to be here until the end of the school year. I'm as 'real' a teacher as anyone else here. However, I think the true heart of the matter is that..."

"You've read what she's said about me! You gave her an A on a paper that, more or less, called me a bitch!"

And had I known what a nut job you seem to be, I would have made up something higher than an A. Deciding to play with information she already had, she asked, very innocently, "Did Susan show you her paper?"

"What?"

"Well, I expressly made that assignment one that only the student and I would see. It wasn't to be peer graded or shared in class, so...did Susan show you the paper?"

"That is none of your business." Celia's temper continued to flare.

"Are you sure? Since you came into my classroom during my workday and have been attempting to berate me for the last five minutes, I'm rather certain that's information I should be privy to."

Celia stood silent, finally void of a retort. Sydney could tell Celia was aching to come up with something smart to spout at her, but was failing. She couldn't think of a good enough excuse for invading her daughter's privacy.

"Hey, did I tell you that...oh fuck." Nathan walked into Sydney's room, a bright smile on his face...until he saw Celia, hence the "fuck."

Celia's face twisted into a mask of disgust. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"I work here, what's your reason?" he replied, without a moment of hesitation. Sydney bit back a smile at the sight of him; she couldn't help it. The physical hold he had on her was rather intense...and now, with his new look, it was even stronger no matter how many times a day she saw him.

Celia's head cocked to the left. She was studying Nathan the same way she had studied Sydney. The last time she saw him, he was in a wrinkled shirt and baggy slacks, his hair all over the place, and looked defeated - just as she preferred. Today, however, he was well groomed, bright eyed, and wearing a crisp green button down shirt and black pants that hugged his rear assets in a way that had been making Sydney crazy all day. "All dressed up for another demotion?"

He ignored his ex-wife's comment and turned to Sydney. "Whatever she's in here for, I sincerely apologize."

"She read Susan's paper," Sydney announced, still pretending it was the first she'd heard of it.

Nathan was pissed to say the very least. "What the hell is wrong with you, Celia? Susan made it very clear to me that nobody was to read that and I thought we addressed this the other night. Her teacher has nothing to do with this – Susan even told you that the assignment was a 'free write'; she chose to write what she did, she wasn't forced to!"

"Did you grow your balls back since last week or something? How dare you yell at me here..."

"But it's okay for you to yell at me?" Sydney interrupted, finally letting some of her frustration show.

"You didn't," Nathan barked, embarrassed.

"It's all over her journal for this class, too!" Celia screamed, trying to make her point seem more important.

"I don't even read their journals," Sydney retorted, now flabbergasted by this woman's actions toward her daughter. "They are private exercises!"

"You read my journal, too?" Susan was standing in the doorway. She had gone to Nathan's room, looking for him, but heard the commotion across the hall. "I'm so sick of this, Mom!" Susan stormed out of the room and Celia dropped the current argument to go after her daughter.

Nathan walked over to Sydney and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm so, so sorry," he said, his voice shaking with irritation. "I..."

Sydney actually smiled at him, stopping his words. "I stood my ground, made my point, and am slightly happy to know that I don't think I have anything to worry about."

Still angry, Nathan managed to return Sydney's smile. "Never," he said. He kissed her cheek. "I'm pretty sure I have a fire to put out."

Unable to help herself, Sydney slapped Nathan's rear. "Go to it, then." She winked and he went back to her, kissing her fully on the lips, forgetting that the door was wide open. Nobody passed in those few moments and Sydney was flush. "Oh?" It was all she could manage.

"Pretty sure you're the one who let me know it was time to 'grow my balls back.' I'll thank you much more appropriately later." He left the room and Sydney went back to her desk to grab her things.