WARNING:
Includes mentions of bullying, isolation, pregnancy struggles, single parenthood.

After another early morning meeting, the Reception Crew went back to their office. The meeting was centred around the same topics that usually came up—budget cuts, behaviour management and grades. It was actually quite disheartening. Government officials put an awful lot of pressure on schools to do well, without actually giving them the funding they need to do well.

"Michael seemed really stressed today", said Nalini.

"Yeah, I can't imagine it's easy being a head teacher with so much going on", said Jax.

"It's part of the job", said Ruby.

Nalini and Jax shared an uneasy look. It was no secret that the tension between Ruby and Michael had reached new heights. Before, Ruby was happy to coexist with him, but after his blatant dismissal of her suggestions, she couldn't care less about helping him. Maybe there was a small part of her that still felt sympathy for him, but if it did exist, it was buried pretty deep.

A bell sounded at the gate, and Jax went to look at the monitor to see who it was. Gasping, he quickly buzzed the person in, rolling over the counter to get to the door. A tall, thin woman with long blonde hair was stood outside. She had baby Cheyenne in her arms and a bag at her feet.

"Holly! What happened?", asked Jax, stepping aside so she could walk through the door. "Is Cheyenne ok?"

"She's fine", replied Holly, gently bouncing Cheyenne in her arms. "Look I am so sorry to do this, but I just found out my boyfriend has been in an accident, and I have to go to the hospital now."

Jax's eyes widened. "Wait, but, I'm at work!"

"Oh you poor thing!", gasped Nalini. "I hope he has a swift recovery."

Holly smiled gratefully at Nalini. "Thank you."

Holly handed Cheyenne to Jax and gave the bag to Nalini.

"I've sorted her baby milk out, and I've packed all the essentials."

Before Jax could object, she ran out of the building. Gently patting his baby's back, Jax turned to Ruby, who looked far from impressed. Her eyebrows were raised and her arms were crossed.

"Jax, you can't keep her here!", she exclaimed. "This is a work place."

"You heard Holly! I couldn't just ask her to take my baby to what could be her boyfriend's potential...", he started, covering Cheyenne's ears. "... deathbed."

"Oh, don't say that! I'm sure he'll pull through", said Nalini.

"That's not really the issue we're having right now, Nalini. But yes, hopefully he will", said Ruby. "Michael will not take kindly to you bringing a baby in here. It's unprofessional."

Jax's face softened. "Ruby, please. I-I... I really need this job."

"How exactly can I help you keep your job though, Jax?"

"Help me hide Cheyenne from Michael?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow at him. "You are joking, right?"

"Of course we'll help, Jax", said Nalini.

Ruby glared at Nalini, though her eyes softened just a little when she looked at her. Then, resolve unlike anything Ruby had ever seen before, appeared on Nalini's face. She meant every word. Ruby sighed.

"We can't hide a baby."

"Sure we can! We'll take turns looking after her. And we'll keep Michael out", suggested Nalini.

Ruby sighed. "What am I getting myself into?"

¤¤¤

In another part of the school, the place of beep tests and blue mats that cushion basically no one, Eulan was supervising football practice. I say supervising, rather than coaching, because Coach Eulan hadn't been doing very much coaching these days. He was physically present, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"Coach Eulan!", called out Michael, gesturing for Aahan, who was trailing a few steps behind him, to quicken his pace.
"How is practice going?"

Eulan screwed his face up, in a mixture of disgust and confusion, when he saw Aahan. He wasn't particularly pleased to see Michael either, but the Principal's presence atleast made sense in his mind.

"Yeah, it's going fine."

Michael and Aahan turned to look at the team, who were walking around the hall. A few were putting effort in, but it had been half an hour of Eulan barely registering their efforts, so most just gave up trying.

"The players are catatonic, Coach Eulan", said Michael.

"They're just tired", said Eulan.

Michael shook his head. "This is the third practice in a row where they've looked like this. It's not good enough."

"What do you want me to do, chase them with a hammer to get them moving?", he asked.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You're paid to coach, not give attitude", he fired back, before turning to Aahan. "Luckily for you, Aahan has agreed to help you."

"You what? He's just a supply teacher, what does he know about coaching football?"

"It's not up for discussion", said Michael. "Together, I expect you to whip this team into shape, or we won't stand a chance against Pepperden. Aahan will report back to me after practice."

Eulan rolled his eyes. Ok, the 'reporting back' part was definitely not something Aahan was aware of. It was already bad enough that he had to work with someone who, for some unknown reason, didn't like him, but now he had to effectively snitch on him too.

Gosh, Michael wasn't making it easy for Aahan to make friends here.

"I'll leave you to it", smiled Michael, turning around and leaving, unaware of the potential carnage that could occur.

Eulan turned to face Aahan, his eyes scanning his body, sizing him up like usual. It's like he just couldn't see a purpose for Aahan.

"Do you know anything about football?"

"Uh... no, but I'm a fast learner", he replied, not exactly being truthful about that last part.

Eulan scoffed, shaking his head. "Just perfect."

"To be honest, when I offered to help Michael, I didn't know he wanted me to help you coach."

"Look, why don't you start by inflating the old footballs?"

"Huh? But they're already using a football", said Aahan.

"I'm the coach, aren't I? Do what I say. We need those footballs for later."

"Oh", said Aahan. "Ok..."

¤¤¤

In one of the more hidden side rooms, right next to the office, Jax was changing Cheyenne's nappy. It wasn't a job he particularly liked to do, but he knew he'd have to just grin and bear it.

"I'm just going to go and throw her nappy away", said Jax, leaving the door open so Nalini and Ruby could see Cheyenne.

Nalini sighed. "He sure does work hard, huh?"

"That's part of the job, Nalini", said Ruby.

"I know, but... he has to do a lot on his own", she replied.

Ruby nodded, glancing at Cheyenne. "I suppose."

"Well, he's not completely alone", said Nalini, smiling. "He's got us."

"I hope you're not saying you want this to be a regular thing", said Ruby. "This is very inappropriate work place practice."

"I know, but babysitters are expensive when you add up how many times he'll have to book one", said Nalini. "I bet bringing Cheyenne along with him to work a few times would really help his wallet."

Ruby shook her head. "Not going to happen, I'm afraid."

Nalini frowned. "Wishful thinking then, I guess."

Nalini turned back to her computer, tapping the keyboard gently. Her eyes widened when she came across something, then her tapping became more frantic. "No, no, no!", she exclaimed, grabbing the mouse.

"What's wrong?", asked Ruby.

"There's no coach for tomorrow's trip to the zoo!", explained Nalini.

"What? How?"

"I-I don't know! But... I'll sort it!"

She jumped up, hurriedly grabbing her keys and mobile phone. "It's too late to book one now, but my uncle is a coach driver, so I'll see if he can pull some strings!"

"Wait, where are you going?", asked Ruby.

"He lives five minutes away from here, I'm going to go and see him now", said Nalini.

Ruby's eyes widened. "No, Nalini, you can't leave!"

"I'll be quick!", she exclaimed, pressing the green button near the door and running out when the doors opened.

"But, the baby!"

Ruby watched in horror as the doors closed again. She turned to look at the baby, who was playing with a plastic rainbow caterpillar. Her eyes softened, a sadness taking over. She looked down at her stomach, her lips forming a frown.

"Ok, ok, how about... Jed?"

Ruby pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh. Michael turned into her, burying his face into her curls, to hide his own laughter.

A blonde woman gasped, shaking her head. "Wow, ok! So, clearly no one likes the name Jed."

"No, if you want to name your baby Jed, go for it Mel", said Michael, fighting to hold his laughter back.

Ruby grabbed his face, moving it so he was looking right at her. "Control yourself", she whispered, the big grin on her face contradicting her words.

Michael chuckled softly, pressing his forehead against hers for a brief moment.

Mel smiled. "Alright, alright, we'll put a pin in that one. But I wanna know when you two are having a baby."

Ruby and Michael froze, their eyes wide. They quickly looked at each other, incoherent muttering escaping their lips. Mel raised an eyebrow, before breaking out into a smile and shaking her head.

"Oh come on guys, you two are like lovesick puppies. You'd make the most loving parents ever", said Mel.

"Thanks, Mel", said Ruby. "But uh, we're still young. I-I don't think we're ready to be parents just yet."

"Do you feel the same, Michael?", asked Mel.

Michael opened his mouth, but no words, let alone the response Ruby was expecting, came out. Ruby looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing. His blue eyes glistened with adoration.

"I mean... there's no one else I'd rather have a baby with."

Mel gasped. "Aw, that's adorable!"

Ruby couldn't believe it. Making such a big commitment was so unlike Michael. He was the funny, man-child that never took anything seriously. Ruby was the more serious, grounded one. Perhaps she was starting to rub off on him.

"Michael... are you serious?", asked Ruby. "We're still young–"

"Hey, we don't have to have a baby now", said Michael. "But... I'm just saying, I think we'd make good parents. We already make a pretty good team."

Ruby smiled, nodding. She reached out and held his hand. "Yes, I suppose we do."

Cheyenne's cries pulled Ruby out of her daydream. Instinctively, she got up and made her way over to her. She hesitated for a few seconds, before tentatively picking her up. She gently bounced the baby in her arms, watching intensely to check that she was still ok.

Ruby felt a lump form in her throat, and her face get hot.

"Ok, I'm back! Thankfully he was walking past the—Ruby? Are you ok?", asked Nalini.

Clearing her throat, Ruby nodded and handed Cheyenne over to Nalini.
"Good that you managed to sort that", she said, walking back to her seat.

"What's wrong?", asked Nalini. "Why do you look so sad?"

Ruby shook her head. "I'm not. I'm fine."

¤¤¤

Meanwhile, in the gym hall, Aahan was inflating footballs. He watched for the past twenty minutes, as Eulan did as little coaching as possible.

"Sir, shouldn't we go over tactics for the match?", asked one of the boys. He had curly black hair and was quite tall. He had very pale skin, with light brown freckles dotted all over his face. The nostrils on his button nose were slightly flared, thanks to his exhaustion from running.

Eulan screwed his face up, a mixture of confusion and amusement in his expression.
"No, that's still weeks away."

"I think that having a good strategy early on could be really helpful", said Aahan.

He didn't mean for words to come out. He had been watching the students play for a while now, and even though he knew very little about sports, he could still tell they weren't playing their best.

Eulan whipped his head around, his left eyebrow raised.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise we had a professional football coach with us. Do you know anything about football?"

"Um, we'll... no. But I'm a fast–"

"No, see, what you are, is an interfering so-and-so."

The players shifted uncomfortably. The boy from earlier locked eyes with Aahan, giving him an apologetic look, as if he was used to this attitude from Eulan.

"You're a nobody at this school, so why don't you do as you're told and inflate the rest of the balls?"

Aahan wasn't quite sure what to do. Every bone in his body was screaming to leave, but he just couldn't. Why was Eulan being mean? Some of the boys had begun to laugh at the altercation, some out of genuine amusement, but most just seemed to be so confused and uncomfortable about this whole situation.

"Get lost!", yelled Eulan.

¤¤¤

After school, Aahan made his way to his car. He was parked right next to the school gate, so could see some of the parents coming in to collect their children. You could tell a lot about a child, just by looking at their parents. Whether they were confident, or beaten down by crippling anxiety and towering expectations. Aahan found that this never changed the older the child got.

Pulling his ringing phone out of his pocket, Aahan saw that his brother Aadi was calling. Picking it up immediately, he brought it to his ear.

"Aadi, hi–"

"Can we borrow your car?", he interjected.

"What?", asked Aahan.

"Davkha, Amma and Baba want to go shopping for the wedding. I'm taking them. We're almost at the school."

"How am I meant to go home?", asked Aahan.

"The house isn't that far, Aahan", said Aadi. "Come on, you know Baba's got dodgy legs."

"Mr. Patel!", shouted one of the boys from the football team. As he got closer, Aahan recognised him as the boy who looked most apologetic when Eulan started picking on him. "Sir, I just wanna say sorry about Coach sayin' all that mean stuff to you. He's been really weird the past couple months, it's like he's a different person sometimes."

"Oh. Well, it's very kind of you to apologise, but it's not on you. You uh, you were working really hard today. Good job."

The boy smiled. "Yeah, the team means a lot to me."

"Yo, Oscar! We're gonna miss the bus!", called out another boy, who Aahan assumed was one of Oscar's friends.

Oscar turned back to Aahan giving him a quick smile and a wave, before running off to join his friend.

"Aahan? Bro, what was that?", questioned Aadi, reminding Aahan that he was still on the phone.

"Oh, nothing."

"Who is being mean to you?", asked Aadi. "Another teacher? You can't let him get away it."

"Punch his lights out!", added Davkha.

"That's enough", said their mother. "Aahan, you listen to me ok, don't listen to your brother and sister. Don't go causing trouble."

"But Amma, I'm not causing–"

"Amma, he can't just let himself be walked all over", said Aadi.

As his family argued amongst themselves, Aahan hung up the phone. He was grateful that his siblings were protective of him, but there was no way he could stand up to Eulan. And his parents, well, they only seemed to care about keeping their good reputation, so objected to Aahan rocking the boat.

"Aahan, hey!", exclaimed Paige, as she made her way over to him. "A group of us are going to the pub tonight. Me, Michael, Nalini, Ruby and Jax. Why don't you join us?"

"Oh, uh... I don't know", said Aahan.

"Oh come on, please! It'll be a laugh!"

"Um..."

Paige placed a hand on Aahan's arm. "We never see you outside of school. And I feel like I barely see you in the staffroom these days. Come on, I really wanna hang out with you."

"Y-You do?"

Paige chuckled. "Yes. Why's that so hard to believe? Look, I've never really been fussed about the whole 'school spirit' and 'we're all a family here' stuff, but the other teachers here make this job bearable. Just join us for one evening at least."

Aahan sighed. "Um... ok."

______

Hi! It's been a while since I updated this, but I hope you like this chapter! It was centred around the adults, and the next chapter will be split between the adults and a couple of the younger characters.

I'm very excited for what lies ahead for these characters!

Aahan thought volunteering to help Michael would boost his chances of getting the teaching award, but it seems to just have landed him right where he doesn't want to be—in Eulan eyeline.

Oscar revealed that Eulan hasn't been himself for a little while. What could be going on with him?

And Nalini really is just such a lovable friend. Jax is finding life as a single dad tough, but he'll always have a friend in Nalini and, albeit reluctantly, a friend in Ruby too.

Ruby and Michael's complicated past has already been revealed previously, but we're starting to see more of how it impacted Ruby. What are your thoughts on this?

Paige is trying really hard with Aahan. Could she just be really friendly, or is a part of her hoping for more?

What are your thoughts on this chapter? I'd really appreciate feedback on the pacing, characterisation, descriptions and plot please!

starryeyedturtle

niallhoranslovebot

LeMystical-Puffle

DoodleYeet

@Tornado-Jockey