(COMPLETE) The Teaching Elective - A Logicality Fanfiction

Chapter 2 - September

Summary: It's the first day of school and the first day of the Teaching Elective. Patton is excited even if none of his friends will be taking the class alongside him - but a very familiar face emerges.

So um... I dropped Spanish in high school around five years ago. Google Translate is my bestie but please correct me if you know Spanish :).

Today was the day! Patton was starting the year off strong with his already favourite class: Education Placement. The structure of the elective was quite different to other classes. Every Monday and Friday Patton was going to be taking the morning, and then the whole day after Christmas, to play with dozens of the local kiddos! He was so excited!

Everyone taking the class met with Mrs Torres-Rosario just outside the school doors sitting under a tree. Patton didn't recognise anyone in the crowd of around 20, but then just meant opportunities for new friends! Logan didn't seem that invested anyway. Mrs Torres-Rosario was taking attendance as Patton approached and sat cross-legged in the grass. "Alright sweeties, so I believe on the last day of the year last year you all told me your preference for which grade you'll be in?" Patton wanted to help the first grade class because they were cuties of course. "So, I'll read out the class and you'll find and sit with your partner, OK..." Patton was practically shaking with excitement – he'll be happy with any class. "Class A in first grade will be – Patton Baker and Logan Croft!"

LOGAN? He actually decided to do the class! But Patton didn't see him. "Oh, he's not here yet Patton sweetie, hopefully he'll turn up soon."

So, Patton kept his eyes on the school buses as the other classes were read out. Soe students were overjoyed with the grade they got while others seemed less pleased, citing that's not the grade they wanted to interact with and the class they were given was either 'too old' or 'too young'. Patton kept his eyes on the road ahead of him though, and he soon spotted a blue car he didn't recognise. But then he saw Logan climb out of it – there's nothing wrong with being a little late on the first day.

Mrs Torres-Rosario also seemed overjoyed to see Logan approaching the group, although Patton could immediately identify the nervousness. He had his head down, he was pinching his arms, and tapping his leg slightly. "Mr Croft! You're in first grade with Patton Baker!"

Logan's eyes widened and he looked up at the teacher in shock. "First grade? But I put down fifth..."

"Unfortunately, we couldn't place you there right now, but we can change things after Christmas!" Mrs Torres-Rosario put an arm out to the nervous student, trying to reassure him. She was a woman in her fifties who would never hurt a fly, constantly acting as every student's mother on school grounds. But at the simple touch Logan flinched and made a low mumbling sound, causing the class to giggle and the teacher to give an even more sympathetic look. "Patton? Do you know the way to the elementary school?" Patton nodded – he had walked kids back from there several times when helping him mom with day-care. "Do you mind staying behind for a little?"

"Of course Mrs Torres-Rosario!" Logan eventually sat next to Patton, his knees up to his face and sat in a ball as the teacher got the rest of the class ready and gave them instructions. Patton sat in silence wondering what to do, he had helped Virgil through panic attacks before but Logan didn't seem like he was having a panic attack. There was no panic about it... He was just quiet and frozen. "Do you have any comfort items?" Logan shook his head. "What can I do to help?" Logan shook his head again. Patton must have something to help!

The junior searched through his bag. He had taken a few small objects from the day-care to entertain the children if needed, like teddies and dolls – but he didn't want to infantilise Logan if that would make things worse. Cards, bubbles... Oh, a Rubik's Cube! The kids loved watching Patton do his Rubik's Cube, maybe Logan can solve the Rubik's Cube too?

Logan noticed a colourful cuboid be placed in his free hand and looked up to Patton's nervous smiling face. "Maybe fiddling will help?" The boy tried, tapping on one of the stickers with his nail. "No pressure though." Logan focused his best on the cube, staring at it at first. Things became quiet when the rest of the class started their walk. Slowly Logan could manage to tear away his other hand from his jumper and he fiddled, starting to build his thoughts again to solve the puzzle. He loved doing and looking at Rubik's cubes as a kid.

"Sorry about that." The first words Logan uttered after some kind of involuntary bodily function was an apology? It wasn't his fault. Logan stood up quickly and slung his bag over his shoulder, placing the Rubik's cube back in Patton's bag. "Should we get going?"

"Do you want to talk for a little bit?" Patton tried, but Logan shook his head. He had experience of Virgil though – Patton knew sometimes he had to be direct with the root of panic before a person talks through their emotions. "Did anything happen this morning to make you panic?"

Logan's eyebrows furrowed a little as he took steps forwards to catch up with the class. "I wasn't panicked, no. The routine after summer is just – a lot." Patton nodded and just quietly followed Logan. "I can't believe Mrs Torres-Rosario put me in first grade though! I stated my preference for the older the better, so if fifth wasn't available I could have done into fourth. First grade though is just ridiculous!"

"Well, young kids are super sweet. They really look up to big kids like us, maybe you'll actually like it!" Patton flashed a smile, but Logan rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. All Logan seemed to care about was venting and staring at the sidewalk they were walking on.

"Falsehood, I'll never actually like kids. I'm purely here for the work experience."

*******

Patton was really in his element in the first grade classroom. Hearing all the giggles and excited shouts as children used blocks to add together numbers, craving praise with every step. And their smiles were so sweet. Patton was the first in the chaos, helping a large group who were shouting and giggling the loudest.

Logan was stood at the corner, unsure of what to do. He can't ask the teacher though, they're busy actually teaching, and Patton had abandoned his side. But he can't just stand in the corner. This was a lot of noise, a lot of chaos... This was a little too much.

"Mr Croft!" Patton was looking over, using his 'teacher name' that the first grade teacher had asked the two high schoolers to use when referring to each other. Patton didn't say any more though, just nudged his head behind him slightly, keeping the smile. Behind Patton was a quieter group of three working together on one of the puzzles. Seems like Patton knew him well after talking for an hour.

The children seemed focused on the worksheet and didn't pay Logan any mind when he walked over. "Do you guys need any help?" He asked. The kids looked up and just gave him a confused face.

"¿Hablas español?" One of the kids quietly asked, before speaking quickly in her native tongue that Logan could barely understand. She was pointing at the blocks though, so she was probably asking for help. Logan sat on the floor besides the three children and started to recall every word from his Spanish class.

"Hablo un poco. Sabes... este número?"

"Cinco y diez así..." The boy opposite started counting on his fingers. "Quince?"

The children on this table hadn't understood the activity correctly, they were just assuming to add all the blocks rather than believing that some blocks signified ten times the amount of blocks like the four pink blocks meaning forty. Logan was happy to quietly help them though. "Más grande, más grande. El numero es..." On the sheet Logan wrote the number '50', and the children's eyes glowed in realisation. "Sabes este número?"

"Concuenta?" The last child cheered, causing the three students to excitedly grab their pencils again and start over, cheering "Gracias Señor!" as Logan moved to another table.

Patton was watching the interaction Logan had out the corner of his eye, finding it hard to look away as he went to find the quieter kids in the class. Even if Logan didn't like kids - there was no doubt he was good with them. The kids gravitated to his calm and quiet demeanour.