Chapter Forty-Seven…
“What is going on here?” Mrs. Danks asked, her voice almost high pitched enough for only dogs to hear, her face red and her breathing laboured - probably from the strenuous walk from wherever she’d come from - as she observed the scene before her.
Jord had instantly dropped his hold on Matt and turned around. His breathing was just as arduous as Mrs. Danks‘, but that was from the physical exertion he’d just put into his fight with Matt, who was also breathing hard.
Jord’s face was still enraged, but I could tell he was trying to regain some kind of professional composure. His eyes still held a dangerous gleam though and it was clear he was still more than a bit riled up. “What do you think you’re doing Mr. Armstrong?” Mrs. Danks’ eyes bored into his as she still held the incredulous quality in her face.
Matt appeared from behind me and Jord and I saw his fist clench. I felt the danger that was surrounding the situation and prayed neither brother would do something stupid. “I…” Jord began, unsure of how he was supposed to diffuse this without making it worse.
“I think all three of you need to come to my office.” She ordered, rather than suggested like her words implied.
Jord walked in front, I made sure to stay in the middle and Matt at the back. Somewhere along the way, however, we all managed to form a line so we could talk to each other. “What have you two done?” I hissed quietly when I knew we weren’t going to be overheard.
Matt and Jord glared at each other, but neither attempted to restart their fight. “Jordan punched me!” Matt exclaimed in a whisper, already having put the blame on his brother.
“Matt provoked me.” Jord rebutted, scowling at his sibling.
I sighed exasperatedly. “Can’t you just agree this is both of your faults and start thinking of a way out of it?”
They both paused for a moment, before finally nodding in acknowledgement of my suggestion. “Fine.” Jord agreed. “But what do we do? We don’t even know what she’s going to do yet?”
Matt grimaced. “No, but we’re about to find out.”
Mrs. Danks had come to a halt in front of us, having reached her office. I guess we didn’t have time to come up with some kind of excuse other than the real reason, which obviously wasn’t going to be spoken aloud, after all.
“I’ll speak to you all together at first, but be warned I will be talking to you individually afterwards.” Mrs. Danks gestured for us to enter her office and occupy the three conveniently placed seats in front of her desk.
“So, who’s going to give me some kind of explanation?” Her eyes scanned across all three of us, stopping longer on Jord and Matt, since they had been the ones actually exchanging punches.
“We were fighting.” Matt began, making Mrs. Hippo narrow her eyes at him.
“This is not the time for cheek…” She trailed off, realising she didn’t even know who he was.
“Matt.” He filled in for here. “I’m Jordan’s brother.”
That fact in itself should be a step in convincing her this was nothing, but I knew it was only one of many. Shock momentarily crossed Mrs. Danks’ face, before she remembered where she was and made it neutral again. “I guess that explains a lot.” She commented, before waiting for a real recital.
“I was fighting with Matt because…” Jord’s eyebrows furrowed manically as he tried to come up with some kind of realistic response that wouldn’t threaten our relationship. “My girlfriend Lydia was cheating on me with him.”
I held back a smirk as I realised what a good excuse that actually was. Not only was it a legitimate reason for him to have been physically quarrelling with his brother, but he had also established the fact he had a girlfriend with Mrs. Danks, without her having to ask him because the rumours had reached her ears.
I didn’t miss the appalled look she shot at Matt, but he wasn’t bothered. Her opinion of him was irrelevant as far as he was concerned, as long as all three of us could escape this mess without being caught out. “I see.” She made sure she didn’t say anything too opinionated. “I think I’ll speak to Jordan alone now.”
Matt and I were hesitant to leave our seats, but knew we had no choice and reluctantly vacated the room. As soon as the door was closed, however, we both had our ears up against it.
“Jordan.” I heard Mrs. Danks begin, her tone scolding and demeaning. She sounded as though she was talking to a naughty child and I knew she was doing it on purpose. “You have acted completely inappropriately.”
I could almost picture the way Jord was hanging his head in mock shame. I knew he would be regretting his conflict with Matt, but he wasn’t the kind of person who would openly express that to someone like Mrs. Hippo. He was far too proud for that. “I know.”
“You were lucky to get this position in the first place.” She was reminding him now. “You were an extremely young teacher, recently qualified and with no experience.” He was supposed to be looking at her with gratitude now, but I doubted that was the case. “If it hadn’t been for the lack of interviewees, you wouldn’t have gotten the position.”
“I know.” His voice held the same apologetic tone, but I knew he was getting wound up with her stalling now. If she was going to say something, she might as well get to the point.
“The events I witnessed this lunchtime are completely unprofessional and I hope you realise you’re going to be punished.” She was still talking down to him, and I could almost feel him biting his cheek to hold back from saying something he’d regret. I felt my chest constrict with the looming threat however. Jord couldn’t be punished for this, like Mrs. Danks had pointed out, he‘d barely gotten this job in the first place. “You can’t just go around fighting people in classrooms, especially not with a student present.”
“But Jess…” He trailed off, knowing if he said anything else he’d have said too much.
“But Jess?” Mrs. Danks inquired mockingly, knowing he wasn’t about to say what he’d been about to.
“Nothing.” Jord muttered disgruntled. He had no defence and he knew it.
“Well then,” Mrs. Danks’ voice became the same degrading tone again. “I’ve weighed it over.”
“That was quick.” I muttered to myself, before realising Matt was still stood next to me when he sounded a quiet grunt of agreement.
“I’m forced to give you a temporary suspension, whilst I decided whether to take further measures. That could be permanent exclusion, or a journey to the police station. I can’t be doing with assault happening within my classrooms Jordan, whether it is towards a family member or not.”
As soon as she’d finished speaking, and before Jord had had time to react himself, Matt and I had opened the door, the word “NO!” springing simultaneously from our lips.
Mrs. Danks raised a warning eyebrow at us. “Have you been listening at the door?” She inquired.
I gave her an incredulous look. “That’s hardly the point.” I responded, my voice bitter. “You can’t punish Jo-Mr. Armstrong for this.” I caught myself just in time, before I raised Mrs. Danks suspicions.
“I think you’ll find I can do just that.” Her voice was just as cold as mind as she looked me dead in the eyes, face straight. “You, out of all people, should recall the fact Jordan has already faced one assault charge since taking this job. This is just further proof of his violent nature.”
“Violent nature?” I cried, outraged. “He was messing around with his brother! That hardly proves anything.”
“The fact it was during a school day proves a lot.” She retaliated. “Besides, this has nothing to do with you Jessica.” She said my name like it was a dirty word and I knew the hatred she’d had for me was beginning to rekindle.
“Like hell this is my business.” I shot at her, Matt grabbing my arm in a warning gesture as my fist clenched and the muscle in my cheek jumped in irritation. “It was my fault the fight started.” I lied, hoping she would buy it and that I could come up with some whacky excuse before she asked for one.
“And how, exactly, is this your fault?” Mrs. Danks inquired sarcastically whilst I racked my brains for an even slightly realistic reason.
“I was the one who told Mr. Armstrong about Matt and Lydia. I told him at lunchtime and then Matt happened to turn up. If I’d told him at a more appropriate time, then this would never have happened on the school premises and it wouldn’t even concern you.”
Mrs. Danks nodded, but didn’t look convinced, much to my annoyance. “And how exactly did you come to find out about Matt and Lydia’s rendezvous’.”
“I was going to see Matt at his apartment,” when Mrs. Danks’ gave me a puzzled look, I sighed. “We’re good friends, we used to date.” I clarified for her. “And when I got there, I didn’t bother knocking, because I never had.” Even that was a lie, I always knocked on Matt’s door, just like I always knocked on everyone’s door. “Him and Lydia were there on the sofa…” I trailed off, knowing she would get the false picture I was trying to create.
I saw Jord fake a pained look as he sat in his chair, clenching his fist in false anger and making the tale seem more realistic.
“This is all well and good, but it still doesn’t take away from the fact Jordan was fighting in school time, in a classroom, with a student present.”
I felt a pang of guilt as I kept being one of the things putting Jord’s career at jeopardy. As if I hadn’t done that enough already. “I don’t care and Matt doesn’t care!” I tried to persuade her. “Matt’s the one who was involved and he was the one to throw the first punch.” I added that bit of information with the hope it would turn the situation on its head. Just like with the Zack case, if Jord was seen to be acting in self-defence, it put him in a much better position as far as everyone was concerned.
After Matt nudged me in the side slightly, he begrudgingly agreed. “It was me who started it.” He conceded. “Jordan was making me feel like shit and I reacted.”
Matt had just created an even worse picture of himself by including the swearword, but that was probably a good thing if we wanted Mrs. Danks to take Jord’s side over his. She sent him a particularly harsh glare and I just hoped we’d done enough to stop the possible jail sentence for Jord.
“That changes things slightly.” She admitted. “If Jordan was acting in self-defence, then I find myself in a completely different position.”
I couldn’t contain the small smile of relief that spread across my lips. Any sort of improvement was a good thing.
“That does not mean he is off the hook Jessica.” She made a point of reminding me. “Not that I’m too sure why you’re so bothered about saving his career anyway.”
I could hear the confusion, which was hinting on suspicion, in her voice and I quickly invented a respectable reason to care so much. “Mr. Armstrong’s been a fantastic teacher and I’ve learnt a lot more than I did when Mrs. Joules was teaching us. And I think it’d be a shame to see his career wasted when it wasn’t even his fault in the first place. There’s no justice in that.”
Jord’s eyes flicked to mine and held my gaze for a second, realising that everything I’d said there had actually been genuine, even if it had only been a half truth. He offered me a quick smile, before averting his eyes and turning back to Mrs. Danks.
“Fair enough.” She agreed, actually looking quite pleased by my reasoning and the fact I regarded Jord as a good teacher. “I have decided I’ll make my decision by tomorrow and I will let you and Jessica know then.” I knew she’d only missed Matt’s name out because he wasn’t a part of the school. “I just have one more question for Jordan. Are you thinking of pressing charges on Matt for his assault?”
Jord shook his head instantly. “Of course not, he’s my brother. We were both just mad.”
It looked as though that was what she wanted to hear and she nodded. “You’re all dismissed.” She announced, waving her hand in a flippant gesture and ignoring our presence now, busying herself with some sheets of paper on her desk.
We all exited as quickly as possible and any fake smiles that we’d put on for her benefit dropped instantly. Grimaces took over expressions and there was no happiness in any of them. Lunch had finished ages ago and I assumed someone was covering Jord’s class for him, because the corridors were deserted as we traipsed down them, not even sure where we were going.
“I’m so sorry.” I whispered to Jord, who was wearing the biggest scowl of all of us. “She won’t fire you, she can’t fire you.”
“She can and she will if that’s what she wants.” He stated grimly. Then, a wry, half-smile quirked on his face. “At least certain things will be easier then.”
I sighed, not finding his logic funny in the slightest. “Stop talking as though it’s already a definite fact.” I scolded. “You won’t be fired, there’s got to be something I can do to stop it.”
Jord gave me a flat look. “If she’s going to fire me then you won’t even try to stop it, you’ll just be risking your own position in the school. There’s other careers I can do and there are other schools I can try.”
I shook my head. “You love teaching, that’s more than obvious and you know it. Mrs. Hippo was right when she said you were lucky to get this job, I’ll be damned if you lose it.”
He sighed but still grabbed hold of my hand for a second reassuringly. “You’re too generous.”
“You know you love me for it though.” I teased, managing a half smile.
“Yeah, I do.”
Matt snorted from the side of us. “This wasn’t supposed to turn into some kind of soppy moment.” He complained. “Aren’t we supposed to be working out who walked in on you two earlier and how we’re going to avoid Jordan losing his job?”
“We’ve got endless amounts of people who could’ve found Jord and I.” I pointed out rationally. “That would take us forever and for now, we’ve done all we can for his career. We just have to wait until tomorrow for the verdict and carry on from there.”
Jord nodded. “Right, I just want to get out of here now.” He stated. “But I suppose I should go and see what’s happening with my class.” His face dropped again. “God knows what theories they’ll have come up with for my absence.”
I chuckled, even though it wasn’t at all amusing. “Lets go back to your classroom then, Matt and I will wait outside the door.”
He nodded and carried on our course, which was already heading for his classroom anyway. When we got there, Matt and I walked past his door to a desk which was placed outside for any misbehaving students. That meant I got a quick peek into the room and could gauge that it was students a year below me in there.
Still a worry, but not as bad as the year above them.
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Actually on time for once! This chapter was kind of boring, and I'm not sure what you'll make of it, but still.
Thanks for the comments and votes, I actually got 24 on the chapter where someone caught them! I was so amazed by that, so THANKYOU!
I love All Time Low, not so much their new stuff, but Nothing Personal is an amazing album.
Hope this is a good chapter! :D