The Mystical and Foolish Mr. Kirkland (FACE)

1

"How do I look?"

"Like a million bucks, darling!"

Francis gave Arthur a thumbs-up as he looked at himself in the mirror. Today was Arthur's first day working for a new school district. He and Francis lived in England before moving to the states, so both were excited to learn and blend with the American people. The school Arthur would be working at is notoriously known for schooling children from the foster care system. He had never worked with students like that before, but there is a first for everything, he thought.

"You will do great; those kids will love you!" Francis smiled. He smacked Arthur's butt, and Arthur rolled his eyes at him. All Arthur could think was, Wow, this is my Husband.

They have been married for ten years. They met in college and were together for a few years before deciding to get married in their mid-twenties. They were both men, so having a family was not exactly an option they could do within a night.

Both have debated whether they want to adopt or have a surrogacy but haven't decided on anything. At that point, Arthur thought they were turning into old men who did not care too much about it as much. They were happy to be together, and it was lovely. Francis was an accountant and made the most money between them. They did live comfortably and could do anything they wanted to do.

Arthur wouldn't mind starting a family, but he worried he might be too old now. They were in their mid-thirties, and the older they got, the less likely they were to start a family. Especially with small children, that would not be easy.

"You got this! Then, I will be here when you come back to listen to everything you experienced today," Francis smiled. "Thank you," Arthur smiled at him. He placed a hand on his face and rubbed his cheek. He was too good to me, Arthur thought.

~
"Alright, you can decorate your classroom the way you like, don't feel the need to keep it the way it is," one of the office ladies spoke. She showed Arthur to his classroom number and did the honors of taking him there. School was about to start soon, so he wanted to ensure everything was ready. Arthur was given the key, and the lady waved goodbye. "Good luck!" She cheered. Arthur nodded at her and stood in the room.

It was empty, and he began to look at the walls, imagining all the things he could put up. Due to the interviewing process being online, he hadn't had the chance to come to see the room, decorate, or meet the other teachers. He taught history, so he had many cool decorations he could put up.

The school was about to start in a few minutes, so Arthur stood by the door to wait for students to come in.

"Ah! You must be the new teacher; my name is Antonio; I am the other history teacher, and I teach Spanish; it is nice seeing a new face," a man spoke. Arthur turned his head to look at him and smiled upon seeing him. This guy seems really straightforward; he could be nice, Arthur thought.

"Nice to meet you; I'm Arthur; I just teach history," he laughed. "Ah, makes sense; we are in the history hall," Antonio laughed. Arthur nodded and grew excited, seeing students start to come into the room. "Listen, some of them may give you a hard time, but don't stress it out; they are all good kids, deep down..." Antonio laughed nervously. He had thought about how many other teachers quit because of a particular student. Antonio hoped that Arthur would get lucky and not have to be faced with him.

"Thank you, I am sure all of them will be a joy to work with," Arthur smiled.

~
Finally, it was the day's last class, and everything had gone smoothly. He let all his students know that he was doing one on one talks this week to get to know his students more on a personal level. He asked for them to sign-up for these office hours. He wanted to do to talk to each student without disruption. It would take the entire first week of school, but Arthur did not care much about it.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Mr. Kirkland, and I will be your world history teacher; before you get comfortable, I want to arrange all of you in alphabetical order so I can get to know your name," Arthur started. Many students nodded in agreement and even stood up from their seats.

Arthur began to call students out in alphabetical order to arrange them. "Don't worry; this will only be until I learn all your names," Arthur reassured. "Where are you from?" Someone asked. Arthur turned to the student who was crossing his arms. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Arthur decided to answer.

Maybe I'm not used to the forwardness of Americans yet, Arthur thought.

"I'm from England; this is my first year working in the states," Arthur answered with a smile. The student curiously nodded his head and turned away. What an odd student...

"The last name is Jones?..." Arthur asked. He looked around, and the boy who asked the question moved seats. "Nice to meet you, Alfred," Arthur smiled. "Yeah, whatever," Alfred spoke with attitude. Arthur was sure that he would be a tough nut to crack.

"Alright, for today, we won't be doing work yet; I want to get to know all of you first. Take a sheet of paper, and write a few things you'd want me to know about yourself. Maybe some fun facts? Or name preferences? Gender identity preference? Anything at all!" Arthur smiled.

Alfred continued to stare at him with so much curiosity. He seems too nice; I bet he has a temper. Alfred smirked at his idea and began wondering how long it would take him to get on his nerves.

"Now, another thing, I will be holding office hours to talk to each of you one-on-one. There is a sign-up sheet to meet me near my desk. I will give you extra credit points if you come, so please consider it!" Arthur smiled. Many of the students nodded at him except Alfred. He noticed how he would stare at him in this weird way. Like he was trying to figure him out, and he was.

Alfred wanted to know what ticked him off. So he could use it against him. Mattie told me to stay out of trouble this year, but I can't help it.  Alfred was going to make it his mission to tick Mr. Kirkland off.

~~~~~

A/N

Sorry if this chapter went a little fast, I am not good with 3rd pov! But it was important for me to do this so yeah...