"God, it's like the good old days." Laughed Martin, sitting back down at his desk in the music classroom.
Zoe sat down on the piano stool,
"So what are we gonna teach them?" She asked him,
"What's your favourite duet in the whole entire world?" Asked Martin, looking over at her from across the classroom,
"God, that's a tricky one... well, actually, a few weeks ago I had started them on some Phantom of the Opera pieces." Said Zoe, sitting with her legs crossed on one of the tables.
"Really?! Were they any good?" Asked Martin, watching her and smiling,
"They're getting there." She Replied, walking over to him and massaging his shoulders from behind his chair.
Martin let himself sink into the chair and look up at Zoe's calming face. Her cheeks had lightly blushed and her blonde hair had fallen down her onto shoulders.
"You're my whole world, Zoe." He breathed,
"So you've said." She whispered back, stroking his neck before the door knocked.
Martin immediately sat up straight and leaned close into the computer while Zoe jolted back towards the other side of the classroom, looking to the door which Lottie protruded from the entrance.
"Heya." Greeted Zoe, walking towards the door, inviting Lottie in.
"Hi Zoe- Martin I'd wondered where you'd gone." Said Lottie,
"You can't keep me away from the music department forever! It's a Friday afternoon." Laughed Martin, his hand against his neck where Zoe had been stroking it.
"Correction: can't keep you away from Zoe?" Questioned Lottie, her hands on her hips.
Both Martin and Zoe laughed, "it was a school trip, Lots." He chuckled,
"Okay, Okay." She laughed, "Are you alright? With the letter and all."
"I mean it tore me apart but I'm recovering, eyes have had a good rinse." Said Martin, remaining seated at his desk, fiddling with a pen while blankly smiling.
"You two need a rest." Said Lottie, "sleep much for those two weeks?"
"I slept more than the kids." Martin remarked, "we were all grand."
"I heard you played with Natasha Devangie..?"
"Oh... yeah.. that happened." Laughed Martin,
"Oh dear- is she different in real life?" Giggled Lottie,
"She fancied him." Whispered Zoe into Lottie's ear which resulted in hysterical laughter.
"W-what?! You should have gotten in there! Missed opportunity, Martin!" Complained Lottie, laughing at him.
Martin chuckled, "I don't think so!"
The bell sounded and Zoe looked to Martin.
"Ugghhh.. do I remember how to teach anymore?!" He asked with a sarcastic worried smile on his face.
"You two collaborating?" Asked Lottie,
"I'll start work officially on Monday." Martin said, standing up to sort out papers on one of the shelves.
After Lottie left, about thirty twelve year olds filed in through the door talking loudly to each other and sitting down in their usual seats.
"Right, quiet down guys." Martin called, standing in the middle of the classroom while Zoe leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
"How are you all? Long time no see." He added, sitting informally down on one of the unoccupied desks at the front of the classroom.
There was a cluster of nods and a murmur of 'good's in response.
"Are you both teaching us today?" Asked one of the boys who liked to act older than he actually was, Joseph.
"Yeah, thought we'd give it a shot." Said Martin, turning over and looking to Zoë, "Mrs Flynn tells me you were doing a bit of Phantom of the Opera while I was off?"
There was a murmur of "oh yeah.!" As the first years remembered, then Joseph asked loudly,
"Why were you off?"
"School trip." Said Martin,
"No, before that." Joseph pushed,
"I wasn't off, I was just hiding." Martin told him, smirking while Zoe giggled.
"Are you two a thing?" Asked another girl, sitting at the back.
"A thing?" Questioned Martin as he sat down to take the register, "no, we're people. She's a person and I'm a person. Not things. I know you don't like your teachers very much but we're still living creatures!" He laughed.
"Stop winding them up." Chuckled Zoe, moving towards the piano again, "right, what do you remember of 'All I Ask of You'?"
The class separated into two lines against the walls of the classroom, facing each other, split into girls and boys.
"This looks interesting." Remarked Martin, sitting back and folding his arms.
Zoe sat down on the piano stool with no notes in front of her she began to play a beautiful introduction before, with one hand, she conducted her beginnings-of-a-choir to sing.
Martin sat absolutely transfixed as he listened to the most beautiful version of the song he'd ever heard. The harmonies she had added were perfect and her accompaniment accentuated everything magnificently.
Near to the end of the song Zoë had stopped playing as everyone had stopped singing.
"This is as far as we've practiced." Said Zoe, turning to look at Martin who remained in awe.
"I was not expecting that.." he said, "god, that was beautiful."
"Thank you very much, Mr McCafferson; care to help me teach them the next bit?" She asked him, looking encouragingly over at him with bright eyes.
"Oh god, does that mean I have to sing?" Laughed Martin, standing up and hearing a few chuckles from the students as he stood beside Zoë, reading the music that she had written by hand.
"I take it I'm the lower part?" Asked Martin, pointing to the tenor part.
Zoe nodded, feeling him place one hand on her shoulder.
"Count me in." He said.
They both felt so overpoweringly in love as they harmonised together, feeling as they did when they were back in the nightclub in their early twenties.
"Say you love me." Sang Zoe on her own.
"You know I do." Martin responded before they harmonised the final lyrics.
"Love me, that's all I ask of you."
As they sang the last line they couldn't help but gaze at each other in the eyes and smile.
It was just perfect.