Patron Saint of Lost Causes

chapter 4: let's get this over with

Even when you're out of work you still have a job to do
Even when you don't know what it is
Your job knows what it is
What it is is it's coming to get you
I'm talking to myself even when I'm saying "you"

And when you wake up you can feel your hair grow
Crawl out of your cave and you can watch your shadow
Creep across the ground until the day is done
All the while the planet circles 'round the sun
Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it
And let's get this over with

--"Let's Get This Over With" by They Might Be Giants

Hotch didn't sleep the night before the first day of school.

It wasn't from excitement.

He stayed awake, staring at the ceiling, running through disaster scenarios in his head. There were twenty-four boys on his floor that he was responsible for, and what had seemed completely easy and manageable when he applied to be a resident advisor now seemed impossible. What if there was a fire? Or a flood? What if none of the kids on his floor remembered to set their alarms, and they all overslept?

His alarm was set to go off at five; at four-thirty he gave up on trying to sleep.

One of the perks of being an RA was having his own bathroom- the smallest bathroom in the world, but his own. He showered in peace and quiet and even had time to shave the faint stubble spiking on his jaw without dodging seven other teenage boys like he had the past two years. It didn't make him feel better, exactly, but it at least took off the sharpest edge of stress.

He hated to admit it, but he'd missed his school uniform. There was something safe and familiar about it- khaki pants, white button up shirt, the navy and gold striped tie. He had new shoes for this school year too, glossy and still perfect, straight the box.

He could hear the first rumbles of the other kids starting to wake up, chatting and slamming doors, the hallway lights shining under his door. Somebody was playing music, maybe a little bit too loudly, but it was the first day of school and everybody was bound to be full of nervous energy, he'd let it slide just this once.

He slipped out of his room and headed down the hall. From the looks of it, lights were on in every room and multiple showers were running. A little bit more of the tension in his shoulders relaxed. He didn't have to worry. At least not too much.

The door to Derek and Spencer's room was partially open. Hotch peeked inside. "Hey, how's it going?" he asked.

"Great!" Spencer said cheerfully. He was already dressed, but he had opted for the khaki shorts that the underclassmen were allowed to wear. Except-

"Hey, Spencer?" Hotch said. "Your socks don't match. And that's...that's not exactly how you tie a tie."

Spencer looked down at his mismatched socks, one red and one blue, and then up at Hotch. "I never match my socks, it's for good luck," he explained. "And my tie should be right, Penelope looked up a tutorial on YouTube for me."

Hotch laughed. "Not quite, buddy," he said. "And I get the sock thing, but you don't want to get dresscoded on your first day, do you?"

Spencer sighed. "I guess not," he said.

"C'mere, I'll show you how to tie your tie," Hotch said. He nudged Spencer over to the full length mirror and stood behind him so he could watch him work. "You leave it like that, you'll strangle yourself."