Fic: Back to School

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

Title: Back to School
Setting: Pre-Season One for the first part and during Season Four for the second part
Summary: Xander deals with Mrs. Henderson, his elementary school teacher.
Notes: Thanks to lusciousspike for the beta.




~*~*~*~




Last night had been really awful that Xander couldn't stop yawning in class – like one of those chimpanzees on the Discovery Channel. His parents had a big fight that ended with a harsh slap on his mom's cheek, followed by his dad storming out. His mom had gone straight to the kitchen and tried to find anything alcoholic to drink. Xander had stayed up all night, thinking of what had happened, scared of what time would bring.

"Xander. Where is Russia located?" Mrs. Henderson asked as she covered the map behind her with her broad body.

Xander stood with tepidity, swaying a little from the lack of sleep. His head hung back as he forced his brain to think.

His silence brought an uneasy tension in Mrs. Henderson's body. "You weren't listening?" she asked dangerously.

"I was," he lied.

"Then answer the question."

He felt a headache, praying that he wouldn't be punished for spacing out. He remembered when Jesse commented on lunch break days ago, "I'd like to see how she handles Mr. Henderson." Xander's reply to that was ripping into his sandwich in gluttony.

"You don't get to sit down throughout the class," Mrs. Henderson stated coolly. She picked another victim to answer the question.

Xander rested with his shoulder against the wall. Jesse's head behind him peered trying to look past him. "I can't see the board," he complained in an attempt to get Mrs. Henderson to order Xander to sit down, because Jesse wanting to see the board didn't make sense on every level.

"Maybe you should have spitted out that gum before you decided to whine," Mrs. Henderson snapped at Jesse, avoiding looking at Xander.

Jesse spitted out the gum into his palm and poked it inside the desk, then looked down at his book in embarrassment when other students laughed at him.

Mrs. Henderson pointed some questions at the students. Xander raised his arm to answer but she ignored him. His legs felt tired from standing while his arm chased her as she walked from student to another. When she stood near him and decided to notice him, she raised an eyebrow. "You weren't that enthusiast for my questions minutes earlier."

"I was, but you didn't give me a chance."

Her mouth trembled in anger. "You're raising your voice at me!"

"No," he replied weakly. "Just answering."

"Don't. I don't want to hear your voice."

"But…"

"I don't want to hear your voice," she repeated, throwing her arms in the air as she passed by him.

"Yeah, because not listening to students is the new approach in teaching," Xander retorted.

Mrs. Henderson spun around in fury. She regarded him irately before she stormed out of the class.

Cordelia looked at him, her eyes sparkled with wickedness. "You're so gonna get it. She's off to the principal’s office."

Willow shook her head, looking nervous. "No, no, maybe… maybe it's something else. Less scary." She cast Xander a reassuring panicked smile.

"Why'd you have to give a comeback?" Jesse questioned. "Do what the boss says, no objections."

After a little while, Ms. McLean, their young computer teacher, appeared at the door. She looked sympathetically at him. "Xander Harris, to the principle's office."

Xander felt Willow's hand touching his. He looked down at her. "You can have my banana in lunch break." While he didn't like bananas, the small gesture was enough to make the situation less intimidating.



~*~*~*~




He was finally there. He checked himself in the window glass and sighed at his unruly hair. He walked wryly down the long, old, eerily quiet halls. He never thought he would apply to work in his old elementary school. Willow thought it would be a good experience for Xander to be a teacher, adding how much she had loved it when Snyder had assigned her to be the substitute computer teacher in their sophomore year. Of course, Xander had decided to ignore Buffy's considerate laugh of amusement at the idea of Xander teaching, because honestly, it was a ridiculous idea.

If he wasn't that desperate for any job to pay this month and last month's rent, he wouldn't even have considered it. Plus, teachers got more than pizza delivery boys.

The problem was: would they actually accept him? Other than his high school diploma – which wasn't promising – he had no qualifications. He could trust Willow, though. She was the one who sent his information to the school and with her recommendation, he could at least be a janitor.

Principle's office. Same location, same door. He felt a little shiver running down his spine and taking away all his confidence, nonetheless, he opened the door. "Hello," he blurted with a hoarse voice.

"Hello," Mrs. Henderson replied coolly, not taking her eyes off the papers in her hands. Xander thought he deserved the cold treatment. When would he ever learn to knock first?

"Hey, there," he said lamely. "I came to ask about my papers… am I accepted or do you need anything else?" He wasn't sure what to ask about or what applying to work at a school needed. Willow had taken care of everything so far and all he had gotten out of her were squeals and encouraging speeches about the nobleness of an educator.

With completely lack of emotions, Mrs. Henderson looked up at him. "Name?"

Xander blinked. He seriously didn't think she would remember his name, now did he? "Uh… Xand- Alexander. Alexander Harris."

He thought that once he told her his name, an expression would arise in that stone-like face. Surely not a smile, but at least something. He always remembered her as Grumpy because of the excessive glares she would cast in one day. But she gave nothing, not even a grump for old times' sake.

Then suddenly she interrupted his thoughts, "We got nothing."

He was dumbfounded for a moment. "What? I sent them two weeks ago. You didn't receive them?" Willow had taken care of it, there was never a time where Willow messed up taking care of anything. Unless it was related to witchcraft.

Mrs. Henderson cast him one freezing look of wonder, as frozen as the Alps in the winter, before she shrugged. "I don't know."

He nodded like the dumb guy he was, adding to the insult when he gave her a soft "Thank you", and then found himself in the long halls again. The loss of his papers was creeping him out. Could it be a stupid joke from Willow? Very unlikely.

Someone behind him called out his name. He turned around and found Ms. McLean. Except she was a "Mrs." right now according to Willow. At the moment, he wasn't sure he could trust what Willow told him, anymore. "Hey, Ms. McLean. How's it been?" Yep, not so much with trusting Willow at the moment.

She smiled at him, looking more experienced and attractive since she aged. "All good. I didn't expect to see you here today. I wish Willow told me."

"Yeah, well, I came to ask about my papers and was told they didn't arrive."

She frowned. "They did."

Another speechless moment. "Huh?"

"Wait, follow me."

They were inside the computer lap in a second and then her fingers started pressing on the keyboard. "Yes, your information is registered."

"That's… weird. I was just at Mrs. Henderson's office and she told me that…"

"Nothing arrived," she concluded with a knowing stare before she called a number. After a few seconds, she placed the receiver down, and looked at him. "Go to the principle's office." He blinked stupidly for a second before he turned his back to leave.

"And Xander?"

He looked back at her.

"It's Mrs. Taylor."

Never doubt Willow. He smiled at Mrs. Taylor and then left the lap. When he reached the door to the principle's office, he remembered the coldness and emotionless stares he had received. He almost backed down, but then his hand pushed the door, without knocking again.

She didn't move or look at him. "Hi," he said lamely.

"Hello." It was a very much expected déjà vu.

Xander approached. "You asked for me?"

She said nothing and he waited. The dullness of the situation almost killed him. "I wanted to tell you," she began, at last. "That we have your information."

No kidding, he almost snapped. "Okay, anything else?"

She raised her head a little while her fingers went through what appeared to be the same papers since the first meeting on her desk. "Nothing."

"Thanks for your time." He itched to add a sarcastic 'valuable time' but chose to walk out quickly. He passed the thin halls without a spared glance, and once he reached the school yard, he let out a long sigh of frustration. Who was the idiot that let her run the school? He wanted to yell that some people never changed but that wasn't true. She changed, all right. She used to be an exploding volcano and now she was an ice statue.

He wasn't sure he wanted to work here, anymore, not when she was the principle. But then he would be his least favorite word, one he heard too many times today, "Nothing," he muttered.



The End.