Hot Cocoa

9

For the next week, neither the principal nor your coworkers gave you much trouble, and by that, you meant that they didn't talk shit about you or the Dixon's and your relationship with them in front of you, and that you weren't called to the principal's again, but they still acted like you didn't exist and were invisible, or acted mean towards you pretending that they didn't realize it, or talked over you when you needed to discuss anything about school or students, and so on, and so on. You tried to pay them no mind, though, as you had told Daryl that you should do.

You had kept seeing Daryl every afternoon when he came to pick up Sam from the art activity, and then, on Friday, they had gone to your place to watch a movie and have dinner with you, and you were happy that it was becoming some sort of weekend routine, that you loved.

On Monday, something happened that made you way happier than it maybe should, and maybe it was mean on your side, but you couldn't help it. One of the other teachers, Adam, who always was mean to you and shared your student group, broke a leg and applied for leave, and they sent a substitute.

And that new teacher, Naomi, was not mean to you, she was nice, friendly, a normal person, for once. When she introduced herself, she seemed surprised at how snarky or condescending everyone else seemed to be, and you felt for her, and so you tried to be extra nice.

You both had lunch together, talking about the other teachers and how you'd never been on a school with so many assholes that seemed to team together to make an even meaner entity, and it seemed that finally, you maybe were going to have a teacher friend, or at least a coworker who was helpful and not a prick to you.

Later that day, you were with Sam in the classroom, waiting for Daryl after the other kids had been picked up, and when Daryl walked in, both you and Sam grinned at him, talking at the same time as if you had rehearsed it, which you hadn't.

"There's a new teacher!"

When you realized that little Dixon and you had said that at the same time, both grinning excitedly, you almost snorted. Daryl seemed amused too, blinking at you both with a small, half-smile.

"Don't know which one of ya looks happier 'bout it," he said.

"She's nice!" Little Dixon said, as if that explained it all...and for you, it did.

"Yes, she is nice!" You sounded like it was the last thing someone might expect, and for you, that had been the case in that school.

Daryl still seemed amused at how excited you both seemed about it, but he nodded. "Sounds good."

"It is!" Sam grinned.

"Yeah." You nodded. "Hey, wait if we get some cocoa before leaving?"

"Yes!" Little Dixon said and Daryl nodded too.

"Alright...help me with it, Daryl?" You asked him, and he nodded again.

"I'll put everythin' in place while you make the cocoa," Sam said, and you smiled at him, reaching to mess his hair.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

You walked to the teacher's room with Daryl following you, and you turned to smile at him.

"She really is nice, we had lunch together, I think I might have a teacher friend, finally," you told Daryl, you could help it, happy about it. Daryl was looking at you with that half-smile, and for some reason, the way he looked at you made you feel those funny things in your belly again. "We share groups, so she teaches Sam now too, instead of Adam." He was one of those teachers who were mean to Sam for his name, which had been a continuous source of arguments between you two, as you shared that group of students. "So, one less asshole around him too."