Teaching Mr. Cooper

Chapter 10

Wednesday morning sucked. Not only Jezz sleep in and skip breakfast but she missed the bus and was late to first period. By the time second was over and she could grab a snack, her blood sugar was already low.

Spinning away from her locker and heading to the vending machines, she crashed into someone and reached out in vain to catch herself from falling but all to quickly things began to go black.

Moaning and struggling to open her eyes, Jezz became aware that she wasn't standing. The world had turned sideways and she found herself lying on the ground. Great. What else could go wrong this morning.

Something warm squeezed her hand and she felt light pressure on her forehead which then moved to her cheek. A thumb gently stroked the side of her face as she opened her eyes. Above her, Daniel was looking worried. His mouth moved but there was no sound. Jezzy frowned trying to understand what he was saying. Slowly, the sounds of the Commons area returned and through the sea if noises she could make out Daniel's voice. "Jezzy? Hey, look at me. Are you okay?"

Trying to move, she felt a wave of nausea and froze. The hand holding hers squeezed and Daniel shushed, "Don't move. You fainted."

Looking down she realized he was holding her hand with one hand and the other was brushing her cheek. There were students watching and another teacher pushing through to see if she could help. People were talking, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

"She just fainted," Daniel explained. "We'll see if we can't get her up and I can take her to the nurses office." He was talking to someone else, the female teacher. She seemed frustrated, maybe because Daniel hadn't let her take over. Looking at Jezz, his mouth began to move again, "If I help you, do you think you can stand?"

Jezzy nodded and squeezed his hand, trying to pull herself up to a sitting position. Another body dropped down beside her and grabbed her other arm. Together they got her up. Jezz looked up to see Nate on her other side. Before either one could stop her she went to take a step, but still being weak her legs gave out. Both Daniel's and Nate's grip tighten as they kept her from falling again.

"Whoa Jezzy. Take it easy," Nate said as held onto her arm. Daniel slid his arm around her waste and place her arm around his neck.

Daniel looked at Jezzy's face with concern. Jezzy, still in her fog, wanted to reach up and smooth the lines that furrowed up on his brow. "Let's try this again. But let us help you," he said in a low voice, it was almost a growl and made Jezzy quiver inside. But that could have been the low blood sugar.

After a couple shaky steps Daniel nodded over to Nate to step back and he swooped her up in his arms to carry her the rest of the way. Jezzy wasn't exactly up to resisting and instead rested her head against his chest. By the time they got to the office, her head had started to clear and a blush burned it's way up her cheeks. Nate still trailed behind them, making sure she was okay.

"Thanks," she said as Daniel gently set her in the nurses office. Looking up at Nate, she shifted uncomfortably, her face still red with embarrassment. "It's okay, you can go. Thanks."

Nate nodded but only shifted from one foot to the other. "Are you sure? I can stay if you'd like?"

Jezz smiled and shook her head. Bad idea. Trying not to wince, she said, "I'm fine, really."

Mr . Cooper looked up at Nate and told him, "It's alright. I'll make sure she's fine. You'd better get to class."

Nate turned and left and Mr. Cooper looked back at Jezzy, his hand still resting on hers. "Do you know why you fainted?"

Looking down, she shrugged sheepishly, "I sort of slept in and skipped breakfast, plus I missed the bus and ran to school... so yeah. I'm guessing that's why."

Shaking his head, he said, "What did I tell you about skipping meals?" He was talking about their "sort of date". Jezzy eyes widened as they shot up to Daniel and she almost started to blush again.

Seeing her reaction, Daniel cleared his throat and cursed himself for flirting. "So what happened? Did your parents not wake you up in time?"

Jezzy frowned at him for a minute. He doesn't know, she reminded herself. Only a few of the staff were aware of her situation. Although she thought that might have included the teachers that she had classes with. Jezz shook her head.

"Is there anyone that can come pick you up? If you're not feeling well I'd rather not send you home alone," he said as the nurse and one of the vice principals came in to check on her.

Again, Jezzy shook her head. She was going to have to stop moving her head if she wanted this headache to go away. "No, there's no one."

"I can get the receptionist to call someone at work..." he pushed gently. Daniel's voiced soothed, but continuing to ask about her home life just made her more tense.

"I'm fine," Realizing that the bell for third period had rung and she still hadn't gotten her snack, she didn't even get the time to pack a lunch remembered, mentally scolding herself, she reassured Daniel, Mr. Cooper. "I just need to eat... Don't you have a class to teach?"

Daniel chuckled, and looked up at the vice principal, Mr. Harrington, who spoke at last. "I was just going to see if you needed me here or I could go and cover your class for you."

Daniel nodded, "Thanks Bill, I can take care of this." Mr. Harrington nodded and left Daniel in here with the nurse and Jezzy.

"I think she should be fine, after she has something to eat," the nurse said while offering Jezz some orange juice to drink.

The nurse left the room and a smirk played across Daniel's face. "You know, this is a little dramatic if you were really desperate to skip my class." The playful look disappeared and the concern replaced it. "Really, though, if you're worried about being in my class, I can have you transferred. I mean, if that's what you want."

Shaking her head, Jezz wasn't the type of girl to make herself sick because she didn't want to go to class or because of boy drama. Way to make it all about him. "No. That's not why. I just worked late and my alarm didn't go off. It had nothing to do with you. Sorry to bruise your ego." The last comment came off a little snarkier than she intended and she could see the wounded look in his eyes. Ashamed, she looked down at her hands. "Sorry, I'm just embarrassed. I don't normally go around fainting."

"Hey, it's fine," Daniel leaned in. "I'm just worried. That's all. I can drive you home if you want."

"No, that's okay. I'd rather not miss class."

Daniel raised an eyebrow, "Most students would jump at a free pass for the day."

Sighing, Jezz said, hoping to reveal as little as possible, "Yeah, well it's complicated. I can't miss class, I have a contract with my social worker." Jezzy wasn't in the mood for talking about her personal life and was starting to wish he would leave.

Daniel watched as she crossed her arms closing herself off from him. "I'm not trying to make you defensive. I'm just trying to get to know you."

Why was he making her so mad. She knew he was trying to be nice, but everything he did seemed to rub her the wrong way. "Perhaps, it's best if we keep school on a more professional level, Mr. Cooper," she retorted, using his words against him.

Jezzy's words stung as he sat there. Maybe he was wrong about her, she was just another immature teen. Standing up and shaking his head, he wondered what it was that about her that caught his attention in the first place. Here in this highschool setting, she seem liked a sulky kid who did get her own way. "I'm gonna go. You rest and I'll see in you class if you're feeling better by before it's over. Goodbye Miss Collins." Daniel left, leaving Jezzy more embarrassed about her actions than she was from fainting in public.