***MR. GREY'S POV***
Principal Kapo's presentation consisted of the dangers of drinking underage, teenage depression and suicide, peer pressure, and how all of this adds to the stress of finals. The actual facts and slideshow were interesting but I swear, anytime I even think about Mrs. Kapo I yawn. She's one of the most boring public speakers I have ever witnessed in my whole life. When I looked around the room I saw that the other staff members were out of it as well.
"Alright, if no one has any questions you are all free to go." Mrs. Kapo concluded without even a hint of a smile.
I sat up in my chair and twisted around the crack my back, all while letting out a huge yawn. "I'm sorry that this topic is such a bore to you." I heard Mrs. Kapo's voice behind me. Shit.
I turned around to meet her evil glare. "I'm sorry, it wasn't anything about the presentation at all, I just haven't been getting much sleep lately." That part was true. Ever since the hospital visit I couldn't stop thinking about what Danni (and the rest of the students) were going through. Sure, back in my day a ton of my classmates were drinking underage, some even drove while tipsy. But nothing like this ever happened, not ever.
"Mhm." She mumbled and left the teacher's lounge, giving me one last glare before she left. I sighed and picked up my blank notepad. I noticed Tracey in the corner of the room, she waited until Mrs. Kapo left the room to stretch. I couldn't help but chuckle at the cleverness.
"What are you laughing at?" She smiled and picked up her coffee mug.
I shrugged, "Nothing." She just rolled her eyes and left the room, leaving me all alone. I always spent my free time either in my classroom or in the math teachers' office but never in the teacher's lounge. I made a mental note to come here more next year, it was actually pretty nice. There were couches, vending machines, smaller tables, and the big table for conferences such as the one we just had. There was also a mini fridge that was always stocked with soda and coffee creamer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now that finals were next week, I made sure that everyone was confident in what they knew. Most of my students were very good about their studies especially with only a week left of high school. There were always those few seniors who are going to community college and couldn't care less about their final grade.
One of those seniors was Aaron. He's been an excellent student all year and I'm still confident that he'll do well on the final but all during class he's either on his phone or spacing out. I debated talking to him about it but I had a hunch that this behavior was in response to Sasha's death. I remembered back to Mrs. Kapo's presentation earlier that week and how she mentioned that we should talk to any students that we think are having a tough time but this was Aaron, we had an interesting history to say the least.
I thought about it during class then at the last minute decided to call him over. They were all lined up at the door and he was reluctant at first but then willingly walked to my desk and put his phone in his shorts pocket.
"What's up?" He asked casually.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing?" I noticed Danni out of the corner of my eye, she was looking our way.
"I'm okay." Aaron looked down at his feet then back to me. "Been better." I've always loved that answer. I used to use it all the time when I was looking for sympathy.
"I get that." I nodded my head. The bell rung and everyone filed out of the classroom but Aaron stayed where he was. "Look, I know how hard this has been on you, it's been hard on all of us." I was half expecting him to play it off as if Sasha's death didn't phase him one bit.
"Yeah, it has been pretty tough." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"We only have one more official class together until your final on Monday and I want to make sure you're fully prepared. I know that you know the material, I just want you to do well." His eyes started to turn glassy.
"Thank you, Mr. Grey. But I'll be okay. Don't worry about me." He looked down at his feet and kept his head down.
I shifted in my chair creating a loud squeaking noise that broke the silence. "I want to make sure there's nothing to worry about." I wheeled my chair closer to him so that our legs were just inches apart. He moved his head up just the slightest to meet my eyes.
"There's nothing to worry about." He took his time. I knew that he was holding on to every last bit of strength to keep it together.
"Just know that I'm always here, okay?" He nodded and walked towards the door and paused when he put his hand on the handle.
"Thank you, Mr. Grey." He briefly glanced at me then went out into the hallway, letting the dor slam shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All the math teachers met up on Saturday at Panera to go over the finishing touches on the final. Of course I hadn't gotten any sleep in the past week and I could barely keep my eyes open.
"You okay, sleepyhead?" Tracey nudged me and I perked up quickly.
"Yeah, sorry. My neighbors were hosting a birthday party for their teenager daughter and it turned into a sleepover. God, I had no idea they could make speakers go so loud." I chuckled. The whole story was a lie but I needed a cover up. I couldn't tell them what I was really losing sleep over.
'Yikes, that sucks." She went back to doing her section of the test. Each of us were assigned a different page (front and back) to answer the questions to make sure there weren't any mistakes. Everyone finished their page way earlier than I did. When I finally did, Tracey patted me on the shoulder.
"Why don't I take over for the precalc tests and you take the day off? You look like you could use it." She smiled softly. I looked at the other teachers and they agreed, I was holding them back.
"Alright, yeah. Thank you guys, appreciate it." I stood up and grabbed my bag and handed my copy of the precalc final to Tracey. "Thanks again." I smiled and walked slower than normal to my car.
I took the back roads to my house. Given the state I'm in, driving probably wasn't the safest thing I could do.
Once I got home I changed into my sweats and attempted to take a nap. Every time I closed my eyes all I could see was Danni's face when I saw her in the hospital. It made my heart ache, I promised her I would do anything in my power to keep her happy and here she was, suffering from a loss. Yes, there was no way I could have prevented it but I couldn't stand to see her like this.
I woke up at 9:13 and it was already dark outside. I was still a little droopy from my nap but it was nice to actually get some sleep for once.
My kitchen was pretty empty, I didn't have much of an appetite either. I grabbed a box of Life and sat in front of my tv, looking for something decent to watch. A repeat of Breaking Bad was on but I decided to watch it anyways. It was early in the series and it was weird to see the characters from that long ago.
The episode ended and it switched to a different show I had no interest in. I sighed and looked at the clock: 10:45. Going back upstairs, I decided to give sleeping one last shot. To my surprise, I fell asleep immediately.
***A/N***
Hey guys! Sorry for a wee bit shorter update but I hope you guys are liking the story! Also can we just appreciate how handsome Lucas (hugh jackman) is!? Holy goodness. Wishing you guys in school best of luck as finals szn in coming around! <3
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Mr. Grey
Teen Fiction***COMPLETED*** Danni had been growing a little too close to her 4th-period calculus teacher, Mr. Grey. The two had a special connection that was forbidden by society as well as the high school's policy on teacher student relationships. However, tho...
