Break the Law For Me [completed]

mr way

Frank shrugged, "I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thank you." Mr Way's voice wavered and he clasped his hands together behind his back to stop himself from fidgeting.

A few moments later, a stampede of footsteps shook the floor, meaning twenty-or-so students were about to flood in to the classroom.

Chewing his lip, Frank quickly hurried to a seat and kept a hold of his folder. Mr Way retreated to stand behind the desk, as close to the wall as he could to distance himself from the teenagers.

Brendon waltzed in, caught sight of Mr Way, then slumped in a seat next to Frank at the back of the class. Raising his eyebrows, he nodded in Mr Way's general direction, careful not to stare. "Who's he?" He quizzed curiously, poking Frank's arm until he answered.

"New teacher." Frank replied, batting Brendon's hand away.

Heat found its way to Mr Way's cheeks, painting them a faint red. Wide eyed, he scanned the students. Most of their gazes were settled on him, others were chattering amongst themselves. Thankfully, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mr Wright walk in and he was relieved he didn't have to go through the first bit himself. He knew he would have freaked and made a right mess of it.

Mr Wright nodded to him, then turned to the class and watched as the students quietened down. "I doubt you all know, but Mrs Barkley won't be returning this year-"

Rudely, a student interrupted him, their eyebrows raised expectantly. "Why?"

"I'm sure that's none of your concern." Mr Wright quipped, silencing the student, who shrank back in their seat, knowing it was sensible not to push any further when it came to badgering this particular teacher. "So, for this year, Mr Way," he paused, gesturing, "Will be teaching your class. Now, I expect you all to behave. Those who don't will hear about it from me. I'm only next door, remember?"

Mr Way surveyed the room; biting his lip. There were so many curious eyes trained on him, so it stood out when Frank had his eyes averted to the floor as his leg bounced impatiently. He was eager to escape.

While Mr Wright explained the general rules and situation, Mr Way tried to catch Frank's gaze. Though it took a long time, finally their eyes met and a smile tugged at his lips as he nodded towards the middle room. He would hate for Frank to feel any worse than he seemed to, so he granted him permission to slip next door.

Fortunately, Frank understood the message. Slowly rising to his feet, he felt his cheeks burn as he prayed no one would call him out. He managed to make it safely, a huge weight lifting off his chest.

Leaning against the back of the door, he closed it before collapsing in to a chair. Gradually, the pounding in his heart died. Despite the fact his legs weren't steady, he began shuffling around the table, gathering and sorting his things, separating his own sketches so the work he'd be doing this year wouldn't get mixed up with it.

-

Fifteen minutes stretched past and Frank was surprised that it was strangely quiet. Though he wasn't going to complain.

The door clicked and Mr Way entered, appearing timid. Cautiously, he offered a consoling expression. The denim jacket he'd been wearing had been discarded in the other room and the sleeves of his slightly baggy shirt were rolled up just above his elbows, the bottom tucked in to his jeans.

"Thank you." Frank blurted out, truly grateful. Anyone else probably would have left him to fret at the back of the class until he'd bitten his fingernails to the bone. He simply hated sitting amongst the other students. His experiences of the people at this school hadn't been good ones.