Life Is What You Bake It // A Harry Styles AU

Chapter 2 - Term 3, Week 1

Monday

"Alright my children," Steve starts the Monday afternoon lesson with a loud clap, "who aren't actually my children but still continue to suck the life out of me every day that we spend together in this shitty building we call a learning establishment."

"Charming." Paisley mutters.

"He's been on one all day, have you not noticed?" Ben's question is dry; sarcastic.

"I am about to ruin the rest of your year." Steve beams. "Because from today forward, this session on hellish Monday afternoons will be used exclusively towards helping your end of year exam. And this year... you're doing it in pairs."

A cheery noise picks up through the room, each of the students expression an optimism that is, of course, over eager.

"Yeah, don't get too excited, darlings." He smirks, sitting on the edge of the desk with his clipboard at the ready. "I'm picking the pairs."

The mood in the room swiftly changes, a number of students voicing their disappointment loudly. Steve simply sits still, pursing his lips as his students begin to digress at the awful news.

Adele rubs her fingers into her forehead with stress, keeping quiet like she normally does, but equally unnerved by the revelation. She's praying it's with someone at least half-decent. And preferably not Josh.

"You can complain all you want, but this is how it's gonna go. I've already paired you all up, so quit whining." Steve shrugs. "I'm gonna call you out in your pairs, and you're gonna go and sit at a computer together, and then I'll call the brief, alright?"

The class remains silent, knowing they won't get anywhere with him now.

"Fabulous." Steve smiles falsely. He starts reading out couples, waiting for the first to find a computer before he moves onto the next pairing.

Adele starts to chew on her nail as she watches student after student being paired off, with Ben, Eden and Paisley being partnered with people they're not necessarily friendly with. She knows he's done it on purpose, like a life lesson of sorts. You don't get to choose who you work with in the real world, and you don't always have to like them to work well, either. She knows it'll be a long shot getting to work with Hattie, and even if she did, she knows a certain someone would only kick up a fuss about it forever afterward.

"Alright, Miss Redfern," Steve looks to Bella, "you'll be working with Miss Hahn."

Adele blinks when she hears her surname, looking to Bella with a gentle smile. Bella looks over her shoulder blankly, clearly not knowing how to react. Her lips lift up a little at the corners, and both are frankly relieved. They both stand, finding a nearby computer to sit around, and wait for Steve to finish pairing the rest up.

Eden catches Adele's gaze from the other side of the room where she sits with Jess at one point, giving her an unnecessary grimace. Adele doesn't acknowledge it, instead turning back to Steve to wait for their instructions. The last thing she wants is Eden trying to force pity on her for something that doesn't need to be pitied.

"Okay, now before you log on," Steve walks around the perimeter of the classroom, handing each student a sheet, "I just want to mention a couple of things. This assessment gives you a lot of creative freedom, but you will need to make sure that you and your partner are on the same page. Last year's Level 2s had to do this on their own, and I shan't lie - it was a shit show. And probably the reason no one turned up to do Level 3. Even I wouldn't want to come back if I were one of 'em, so that's why you know the six Level 3s that did come back are probably psychopaths."