Broken- And Fixed Again- (A Jamilton Fanfic)

Chapter 15: A Talk With Professor Washington (part 2)

//TW: abuse, swearing\\

Washington

"Do we have any homework this weekend?" one of my students asked. They all looked so lifeless, so drained, so overworked. Exams were in about a month, and either they were studying as hard as they possibly could or they didn't even know when the Exam was.

There are two types of students.

"Uh... just send me a picture of your favorite Pokémon and we'll leave it at that," I said.

A sigh of relief escaped their mouths collectively as they stood up to leave, quick to abandon the pursuit of education behind in favor of the less rigorous, less demanding life of a college student on any given Friday night. And I do not blame them. Even I hate sitting here, trapped within cinderblock walls.

Me.

Why did I pick this job again?

Faces raced past, leaving behind the classroom, running off to enjoy their weekend. I nodded to each one as they left, trying my best to stifle my smile at the eagerness with which they fled. I skimmed the crowd, searching for one student in particular. The one with the bobbed head, the one who clutched his arms tight to him to minimize the space he took up, the one who flinched at any given noise. The one who disappeared the moment you tried to pin him down, as temperamental as a dandelion tuft floating through a blue summer sky.

Things had been better, for a while. Just enough for the absence of his fear to be starkly noticeable. But I suppose that's the funny thing about progress: it doesn't always follow a straight line.

"Uh, Thomas?" I asked. "Would you mind staying behind a moment?"

His head shot up as his name left my mouth, and a wave of fear passed through his gaze for a fraction of second. But it disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving me to question whether it had been real in the first place, or perhaps a trick of the light. Thomas flashed me a wavering smile, a total contradiction to the terror flitting through his gaze a moment earlier. I'll give him this, he knows how to hide his emotions.

But just not well enough to hide them from me.

He blinked, glancing over at the boy gripping his arm tightly. The realization seemed to wash over both of them simultaneously, and James stiffened and his jaw clenched and the frown perpetually residing on his face only worsened.

"This isn't going to take long, is it?" asked James, and if I did not know any better, I would not have heard the irritation lurking beneath the surface of his voice. But I had known this kid practically since he was born, and it would take a lot more than a feigned smile and few pretty words to conceal the way he gripped Thomas's arm. Most people only look at faces, but faces really only give one side of the story. And with people as guarded as these two, that side of the story is often the farthest from the truth one could ever get.

"I'm not sure," Thomas returned quietly, darting out of the way of two students as they rushed past. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Thomas."

"I really do need to talk to him," I added. "It's about a test grade he may need to make up."

Thomas nodded, eager to play along.

"I promise, it'll be quick."

"Come on, Tommy," James said, frowning. "I just wanna get home and spend time with you. Is that really so much to ask?"

"It shouldn't take more than five minutes."

"I'll stand outside," James said to Thomas, smiling sweetly.