Fashionably Late

character development!

Not once have I been late, not in my entire life. That's what I told Matthew, and at the time that I told him, that was the truth. However, this morning has decided to fuck up my perfect record due to one of my human functions.

Two weeks into school, I recently assigned a first essay to my students, and I was up all night grading them, which caused me to sleep past my alarm, an alarm I'm getting very angry at for failing me this time when it usually doesn't fail me every other time. Normally I can diligently grade papers, but I guess I'm just out of practice now. I would be fine with being exhausted at school as long as I'm not late. But I am, and I now realize that life isn't a game of would you rather.

I prepare myself in record time so as to not further increase my lateness, taking note of how to do it like this in the future so that I'm not so rushed when eating breakfast. Oatmeal isn't very portable, and if it is, then it's not very safe to eat while driving, and I'm not going to abandon its nutritional properties for a portable snack, anyway. My gaze bounces against the mirror for the last time as I notice that my speedy work is only slightly worse than it is regularly. I have no choice but to be satisfied with it, for I have no time to fix it.

I arrive at school out of breath from Usain Bolt-ing across the parking lot, but at least I didn't dawdle for around for thirty extra seconds, based on my estimates. I burst into the classroom at 8:03 to find Mr. Taylor taking attendance.

"Oh, that's a nice Scottish name," he says to the red-head in the middle row, and instead of continuing down the list like an efficient teacher, which he is training to be, he makes his own comment. "You know, I went to Scotland last year, but I couldn't tell you about it, because I was drunk for almost all of it. I think that made the trip better, though." He finally notices me in the threshold due to the amount of students with their heads swiveled towards me instead of him. His eyebrows elevate. "Oh, Mr. Webb! Good morning. I brought you some coffee that I got on my way here. I woke up extra early so I could feel productive and also wouldn't have a repeat of the first day, and I had a bit of free time before I needed to be at school, so I decided to spare you from the torturous teachers' lounge coffee at least for a day." He lifts one of the two coffee cups on his desk and brings it to me, and I just stare at it in confusion.

It's not that I've never seen a coffee cup before. It's just that it's so unlike him to ever be considerate for once. Why would he think of me while getting coffee?

"Um, thanks, Mr. Taylor," I acknowledge, still incredibly bewildered.

"Do you want me to do attendance, or should I hand it over to you?" His dark lashes sweep over his eyes multiple times as he patiently awaits my reply.

I shift the strap of my leather messenger bag on my shoulder, suddenly snapped back to reality and in need of an adjustment. "Would you mind finishing it up?"

Without asking for the reason why I am incapable of doing it myself, Mr. Taylor just responds, "Not at all," and lists the next name and the next and the next.

I sit down in my desk chair, using Mr. Taylor to block my view as he sits on the ledge. Normally I would reprimand him for unprofessional behavior and make a comment in my head about how he is reversing his good deed of the morning with a bad deed, but I value this coffee more than that, and goddamn it a blessing on a day like this.

~~~~~

A/N: oooh interesting development for jamie and levi

~Dankota